Peanut’s daycare had picture day today. They wanted to take his pictures as soon as he got there, so I stayed to avoid a melt-down.

He is such a ham! He chatted with the photographer, bounced around, smiled a lot and was generally silly. But every time she aimed the camera at him, he would turn around or cover his face. She was eventually able to distract him with bubbles (very smart woman).

At one point she asked him to say “Chuck E. Cheese.” His reply: “I can’t.” So she asked him to say “stinky feet” at which point he got into a rambling dialog of how he was clean and his feet smell clean (he had a bath last night in preparation for said pictures). Up until bedtime last night, he would hold out various limbs and ask Hubby or me to smell how clean he was. I was even asked to smell his bum but declined that offer. I think she got some good shots and several really silly ones.

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Peanut and Hubby accompanied me to my OB appointment yesterday (31 weeks)! They were able to hear the baby’s heartbeat which Peanut seemed to enjoy. The OB asked if Peanut wanted to hear his heart, but he preferred to use Daddy as a guinea pig. I think he was afraid the doppler thingy would hurt.

The boys went on their merry way and I went to the hospital to have the fetal fibronectin swab taken. I was expecting to be out in an hour or so…and was there for about 3. The nurse had me change into a gown and hooked me up to the fetal monitor, pulse ox, etc. (I wasn’t expecting all that.) It turns out I was having contractions EVERY 2-3 MINUTES. Not productive labor contractions, but frequent ones, nonetheless. A couple huge cups of water later and they were down to every 7-8 minutes. The baby’s heart tones were great and the swab came back negative, so I was cut free. The doctor decided to have me repeat the test every week until I’m at 35 weeks, at which point they will not stop premature labor if it starts.

Holy crap! I get Braxton-Hicks contractions irregularly throughout the day, but I had no idea a non-laboring uterus could be so busy. It does happen, according to the nurse, but it was scary. She recommended I up my water intake to roughly a gallon a day – the Florida heat can be brutal on pregnant moms.

Peanut went for another ENT checkup this week. He still has fluid in the left ear (the one with no tube) and although his hearing is normal, he doesn't hear as well on that side. The other tube is still hanging on. They'll give 6 more weeks for it to come out. The good news is they can remove it in the office without sedation. The LPN said they can manage that in kids with one tube, but never with two. It must hurt, but is quick, so the kids don't expect it. However, once they've gotten one out, there's no way the kids will let them back for a second one. If they do the removal, I hope he won't freak out the next time he goes in (like he's done at the pediatrician's in anticipation of rectal thermometers and shots).

The bad news is that if he still has fluid, we'll be looking at another set of tubes plus adenoid removal. We'll have to find out more about the surgery. She said the kids are usually fully recovered in a couple of days. My big concern is anesthesia. The tubes were done in less than 5 minutes under gas. I don't know how much longer the adenoids take and if that requires more anesthetic.

I just want my little guy to be healthy and safe.

Wow. I'm 30 weeks into this pregnancy.

So far, things seem to be going well. Of course, the closer I get to the time when Peanut was born (33w3d) the more I worry about pre-term labor. I've noticed more frequent Braxton-Hicks in the past few weeks and a more frequent need to pee, but nothing really worrisome. The OB and I discussed the fetal fibronectin test at my last appointment and I think I'll ask her to do it at my appointment coming up this week. We also talked about what signs to look out for. Had I known better last time, I would have seen her/gone to the hospital the day before Peanut was born. That was the day I left work early feeling very uncomfortable and with the big red flag feeling of "How am I going to get through 6 more weeks of this?" Apparently being very uncomfortable or feeling a lot of pressure, even without contractions, often happens before a pre-term birth (something the birthing books I read never mentioned). I don't have the horrendous swelling I did with Peanut and hope that is a good sign.

This baby is just as active as Peanut was. I love to look down and see my big belly move with kicks. I think Peanut even felt a kick or two last night! He's usually not patient enought to keep his hand on my belly.

Am I unreasonable in thinking that my 3-yr-old who has only been potty trained a few months isn’t ready to wipe his own butt? He comes home from daycare maybe once or twice a week with soiled undies. Hubby and I assumed he had an occasional accident, although he doesn’t have poop accidents at home.

I was driving home with Peanut one evening and out of the blue he told me his undies had poop in them and he needed clean ones. I asked why the teacher didn’t change his dirty undies. No answer. So I asked which teacher went to the potty with him. The reply: “I go by myself.” Hmmm. One of us usually sits with him when he poops at home. He can go by himself, but requests company (and the door must be shut ALL THE WAY, no noise, and no talking. Until he initiates a conversation, usually in whispers.) We always wipe his butt for him. I’m not sure what kind of mess he would make if left to his own devices. When asked to wipe himself, he refuses and it's not a battle worth fighting.

I brought it up the next day with one of the other teachers since Peanut’s teacher comes in after I drop him off. Apparently she teacher accompanies the kids to the potty in the mornings, but has them go solo in the afternoons. Once the kids are out of diapers, the teachers are limited by law as to how much contact they can have with the kids' private areas, so they are expected to quickly learn to clean themselves and receive little or no help.

When he moves to the next class, he will be expected to go completely by himself. I understand the teacher has a class full of kids to watch, but I also expect her to be observant enough not to let my child sit in soiled underwear all afternoon. Is it so much to ask that they check the kids after they go potty?

Can 3-4 year old kids realistically be expected to thoroughly clean themselves after pottying? Will they wash their hands without reminders and supervision?

Why are so many maternity tops and dresses so low cut? I think they look fine in the store, then I wear them to work and worry I’m flashing too much skin. Thank goodness for cami tops that can be worn underneath.

Summer has arrived. Spring went by in a flash. One day the temperatures were bearable and the nights were cool, the next we were into the mid 80s with "lows" in the 70s. I guess, that still is Spring weather, though. In the middle of Summer the nights stay hot as well. We're already getting the crazy afternoon storms. One thunderstorm last week knocked out our power. Peanut was scared by all the lightning and thunder but loved eating by candlelight. According to one news station, our area had nearly 2000 lighting strikes in 15 minutes. I wish Spring would hold on just a little bit longer... I love opening windows in the evenings and going for walks.

Hubby and Peanut had their first overnight (sort of) at a friend's house. Hubby and his friend used to work together and when the friend got married we all started hanging out as couples. They have a son who's Peanut's age and an infant daughter. The boys (big and small) enjoy playing with each other, so Hubby and Peanut were invited overnight. The little boys slept in a tent in the livingroom until the big boys realized they wouldn't be able to play the Wii without waking them. They were shuttled off to Friend's Son's room and snuggled together in bed. Everything went great until Peanut woke up at midnight crying for me. They arrived home around 1 am. Peanut woke briefly, snuggled next to me, and was out for the night within 5 minutes.

It's nice to be loved and missed.

My parents visited for the weekend. As usual, we had a great time, but it was much too short. Peanut was shy with them for all of about 10 minutes until Grammy got him smiling. He dragged her off to his room to show off his toys. He spent a good bit of time wanting her to hold him - I'm so glad they had some good bonding time. Both Dad and Stepmom were able to feel the baby move. Stepmom didn't see me at all when I was pregnant with Peanut, so it was extra special for her.

We had a nice, lazy weekend together with a couple of nice evening walks and a visit to a local park and gardens. Sunday was difficult for all of us - they left around lunchtime to catch their flight home. Peanut did OK until he woke up from his nap. He cried so hard for his Grammy and Grampy, then I cried, too. We both told each other not to be sad and agreed we would be happy. Snuggle time on the couch helped us both feel better. I still get a twinge every time I use the guest/Peanut bathroom - it smells like Dad's cologne.

They plan to come back in August to see the baby and celebrate Dad's 70th birthday. I'm already looking forward to it.