Pictures

Here are two of the pictures we took Monday.  Okay, the only two that came out even remotely good.  I'm trying to update my sidebar, but Blogger is being a pain.  I'll try again later.

This one is very cute, but I think I look ridiculously pregnant in it.  The angle is just not the best, but oh well, we're all smiling and James isn't making a break for the door.

This one is pretty cute too, but you can see the slight bit a sweat starting to form on James' parents foreheads.  Chasing him around a photo studio is hard work!

Early pregnancy differences

So far this pregnancy has been fairly different than my pregnancy with James.  My silly side wants to believe that these differences will mean that we're having a little girl this time around, but I know that may not be the case.
I was very lucky with James, while I was nauseous, I never actually got sick with him.  I was tired, obviously, and moody, but for the most part, the first and second trimesters were very easy.  This time around I am feeling very nauseous, but am also having lots of tummy problems.  Without being too gross, there have been issues on every end of the tummy spectrum.  Again, I haven't been puking, but things have been rough the last few days.  I have also been much more tired that I was with James.  While this could be a difference in the pregnancy, it is more likely a product of our current situation.  James is constantly on the move and we are always running after him.  We are lucky that after James gets home from daycare he is very interested in playing independently.  I guess after sharing all day, he enjoys doing what he wants with his own toys.
Either way, I know that the tummy issues will pass and once I'm into the second trimester, I will hopefully be feeling better and more energetic.  Even though I know that its better to find out that you're pregnant early on in order to avoid complications, sometimes I feel like it draws the 9 months out even more.  We were exactly 4 weeks when we found out about James and at 3 weeks, 4 days this time around, so there is a long way to go!

New photos

On Monday, we attempted to get photos of James for his second birthday.  To call it an epic failure would be an understatement.  We did manage to get a few family shots, which I will be updating shortly, but James refused to take pictures on his own.  Toddlers are so much fun!  But we tried and that's the best we could do.  Hopefully James will be cooperative in a backyard photo shoot sometime in the next few days.
We went to The Picture People this time and I don't think we'll be going back, as James started to cry the second we entered the store.  My silly child!  I think the next time we get photos done, we may try to work with a photographer and maybe do something outdoors.  Then again, the cost of doing this may make me change my mind.  Until then, I'm going to keep working on my father, brilliant photographer extraordinaire, to come visit his Grandcub!

The joys of diabetic pregnancy

There are a lot of things about being a pregnant Type 1 diabetic that make the 9 months a fairly challenging time.  The pregnancy is classified as "high-risk" from the beginning, your blood sugars are monitored almost hourly, and towards the end of the pregnancy there are more visits to various doctors than you can imagine.
This time around, we're doing a few things differently, but for the most part are sticking to the regime as with my previous pregnancy.  I found out that my previous OB-GYN is now only doing GYN (I think, I have yet to confirm this, but she's definitely not doing OB anymore).  When I went to see her, she told me this and I almost cried, but it actually has ended up being a good thing.  When I was pregnant with James I saw the regular OB and the high-risk OB.  This time, the high-risk OB, Dr. Rossiter, has agreed to do my basic pre-natal care as well.  After 32 weeks, I will going to non-stress testing, as well as weekly appointments and being able to combine those is a lovely thing.  After 35 weeks, I will be going twice a week for non-stress testing and so again having one doctor is going to cut down on my visits.  I suppose that assumes I will make it beyond 35 weeks this time, which is definitely a goal.  If we can get to 37 weeks, I will be a happy camper.
I am testing my sugars a lot, which isn't so bad.  Really, I feel like I'm still in the habit of doing it since it wasn't too long ago that I was doing it with James.  Having good control, especially during the first trimester is really what lowers the chances of birth defects.  Even with good control during that time, James has a birth defect (his heart murmur counts as a birth defect, we've been told), so I am trying to be vigilant this time around as well.
For me, its really not so bad, my sugars are under control, I have a handle on what I'm doing and what I need to do to maintain my health, and I'm so excited to be a mommy again!
But here's the kicker -
One of my biggest "issues" with diabetic pregnancy is this - ill informed people wanting to butt in!  Okay, I sound irritable, probably because I am.  But it really gets under my skin when people (co-workers, random strangers, etc.) ask me about what I'm eating or should be eating or should be doing, when really, they have no freakin' idea.  I know people mean well, but are you a board certified endocrinologist?  Did you study to be a perinatalogist?  Have you been living with the disease for 15 years?
I didn't think so.
Okay, I'm done complaining now.  Although I guess my complaint could be used during pregnancy overall - everyone has an opinion.

Hi Colin!

James and I are surviving our week alone, so far.  He was a bit of a grump on Sunday afternoon, but went to bed with no problems and woke up Monday in a great mood.  Monday evening we had dinner, walked the dog, skyped with Adam and again James went to bed with no problems.
This morning, James and I were sitting together, enjoying a sippy cup and watching the Today Show.  I was telling James who everyone on the program was and he would wave and say hi.  So we said hello to Matt and Chuck (Chuck Todd, the main White House guy) and then we said hello to Colin Powell, who was the guest while we were watching.  Each time they would cut away to a graphic or video and then cut back, James would wave and say "Hi Colin!".  Funny enough, he didn't want to say hi to Mr. President, so either he's a Republican toddler or he couldn't get the word out.
As it was time to leave, I was turning off lights and the television and James grabbed his lunch box.  He made it all the way to the door, then doubled back, waved at the TV and said "Bye Colin!".
Now if that's not cute, I don't know what is.

How do you feel about two?

So I blogged about blogging about being pregnant and then wrote nothing for the last 3 days.  Eh, such is life.  Adam left yesterday for the week and by the time James went to bed, he'd worn me out enough that blogging was not going to happen.  Apparently watching 2 hours of Sister Wives was going to happen, but you know, I choose my battles.
So here we are, a posting about pregnancy.  Let me start by saying that basically as soon as we found out that James was a boy (February 15, 2010 for those keeping track), I knew that we'd be having another baby.  I always figured that if I gave in and had one that I would probably want to have two, but having a boy really sealed the deal.  I'm not sure why, I think it has something to do with my strong desire to buy lots of pink stuff.  Me having kids in general feels kind of odd sometimes, I was always one of those girl power, liberated woman types who said she'd never have kids.  But here I am, and I love every second.  I guess not having kids was a part of a facade to keep up my tough image.  Ha!  Do I even have a tough image?
Anyway, I started to get the itch after James turned one and was no longer really a baby.  Adam and I talked about another baby over and over and finally in November decided that February would be the month to give it a go.  But then in December I got sick and needed antibiotics. Since they render birth control useless, it seemed to be the universe telling us it was time.  So I went off my pills and four months later here we are.
I took a test way too early and was sad when it was negative.  The next morning, May 1, I had the itch.  The itch to pee on a stick.  So I did and it had a faint, but still visible pink line.
I called Adam.  He didn't answer.  So I called about 7 more times.  Finally, on the way to work, Adam called me back.  I asked him "How do you feel about two?"  He had no idea what I was talking about, go figure.  So I told him the stick said I was pregnant.  He said "Congratulations" which struck me as a little odd, but that's what he said.  We chatted a minute longer, decided I'd take another test that afternoon and then call the doctor the next day.  Then, out of nowhere, Adam tells me that my girlfriend Judy, had her twins the night before, he'd seen it on facebook.  I immediately freaked out a bit, because Judy was only 32 weeks and I was very worried.  He told me that things couldn't be that bad if Judy was facebooking, which I supposed was true.
It was kind of a crazy morning.  I got off the phone with Adam and called Jackie and then walked into work, real nonchalant, like nothing was going on.
By the way, Judy's twins, Reed and Greyson, are still in the hospital, but are getting stronger everyday.

Baby bloggin'

I've been writing this blog for about a year now.  Once James hit 1 I realized that time was flying by and that I really needed to capture the moments that I could.  I wanted to write about them and I wanted to be sure that James would have a record of this time later.  I had really great intentions of starting this blog while I was pregnant with him.  Baby Bednarczyk has actually been around since December of 2009, but I just couldn't get ideas out of my head then.  I was pregnant, tired, cranky, bloated, and dealing with a lot.
Absolutely nothing about that last statement is any different than my current state of being.
But I'm kind of used to it.  I've been tired and worn down, but have learned a lot about being a mother the last two years.  So I figured this time, I'd give it a go.
And now since the world (or at least the world of our families, friends, office, and facebook) knows about the little peanut, I can give it a go on the old blog.

Cough, cough

Oh hey, nothing to see here...

Besides a new ticker on the left of the blog.

No big deal.

Mother's Day Weekend

This weekend seemed to fly by!  We celebrated Mother's Day on both Saturday and Sunday and overall it was a great weekend.  

On Saturday, Adam, James, and I took my mom and step dad out for lunch.  We went to one of our favorite places in Catonsville, Matthews 1600 and it was a nice time.  James was well behaved the whole 2 hour lunch and the food was great.  

On Sunday we had planned to take James to get new shoes and check out a few sales at the mall, but in the morning we spontaneously decided to go to the Orioles game instead.  James hadn't been to a baseball game yet and the weather was great, so off we went to Camden Yards.  While James was not a fan of getting on the Light Rail, he loved the stadium.  James can get a little shy in crowds and not want to walk, but he did really well, holding onto both of our hands and walking around like he owned the place.  And since popcorn is one of James' favorite things in the world, he sat happily and watched the game while munching on his snacks.

Although the Orioles didn't pull out the win, we still had a nice family outing to the ballpark and we are excited to take James to another game soon!

23 month milestones

Mastered Skills (most kids can do)
Names simple pictures in a book
Yes, definitely
Uses 50 to 70 words
I think James is up to this many words, it is hard to keep track

Emerging Skills (half of kids can do)
Opens doors
James can open some doors, like our front storm door that has a push lever.  We have to lock it so that he can't break out into the front yard.  He still can't quite open doors with a turning handle.
Sings simple songs
He sings a long with some of the songs on his LeapTop and Fridge DJ, but won't really sing on his own.
Takes more of an interest in playing with other kids
James has always loved playing with the kids at daycare and is always interested in what the "big kids" are doing.

Advanced Skills (a few kids can do)
Talk about self (likes, dislikes)
No, not yet.
Asks "why?"
All the time!

The time James peed on my foot

Awhile ago (I'm not sure exactly when, since my brain is mush and the last few months have been hectic) we bought James a potty.  He picked it out and has been quite happy with it.  The bowl works as a hat and he frequently brings his potty into the living room or where ever he may be playing.  He likes to sit on it, but always in pants.  He will even sit on the potty while I'm on the potty.  He follows us both into the bathroom consistently and does the same with the big boys at daycare.  Our daycare has an open potty kind of situation and I'm ok with that, they're too little to really know what privacy is and they all get their diapers changed in front of each other anyway.
We've been noticing that James stays dry overnight and at naptime, so we decided that we're going to try to put James on the potty in the mornings to get used to going there.  Well, yesterday was the first day of this new stage of potty training.  So I get James up from his nap and take off his diaper (such a rookie move, was I thinking at all?)  We walk to the bathroom and he tells me "No, no no!" and I asked if he wanted a diaper (seriously, take control, Chelsea).  And in that very moment, James peed on my foot and all over the bathroom floor.  I squealed and managed to get him on the potty.  But I failed to immediately point "Lil Jimmy" downward.  So there was more pee, all over my floor.  James was crying, having been startled when I screamed and Adam was downstairs, asking what was going on.  Because clearly, that was the right moment to verbally relay the situation to Adam.  So I said, "we have a situation" and left it at that.  So James peed on the potty.  And on the floor.  And on my foot.
And that was my illustrious intro into the world of potty training.

Almost the weekend

It's Friday and for the first time in weeks (months?) we have nothing scheduled for the weekend!  I'm sure we will do some little things around the house, but nothing too big is scheduled.  Okay, I might also get a haircut, but that's not really a chore.
Life plugs along as usual for us, wake up, go to work, come home, go to bed, start over again.  But I like our routine and James is happy on a schedule.
We had happy news a few weeks ago - Adam was accepted into the Leadership Development Program at work.  He will be doing a lot of training and working with a mentor.  I'm so proud of Adam for being selected.  At least I was until I found out he'd be gone for a week at the end of the month.  Well, I am still proud, but being alone with James for a week should be interesting.  Adam will be at the Federal Executive Institute in Charlottesville, VA and I'm sure he will have a great time, with its catered meals and fitness center!
Happy Friday, everyone!