Lessons learned
I learned two things coming home from Texas Tuesday:
1. Always pack your carry ons as if you’re going to get stuck in transit. We got stuck in Memphis for 6 hours, and were contemplating the possibility that we might have to spend the night there. Fortunately I had packed plenty of diapers, but stupidly, I did not pack the charger for the DVD player.
2. Always make sure there is a barf bag readily available. Even if you’ve never thrown up in a plane before and don’t get motion sickness, just make sure there is one nearby in case you (or the person next to you) should need it. Though I get a touch of motion sickness once in a blue moon on planes, I’ve never needed a bag, but I guess the combination of the pregnancy and the windy landing that had to be attempted twice before we made it down got me. As we were heading towards the gate, I started searching frantically for a bag, with none to be found. Fortunately Mark found one in the seat behind us, otherwise it would have been a BIG, HUGE, YUCKY MESS.
We had a wonderful visit with everyone down in Texas, and even saw some 70 degree days, which was nice. It was good to get home and back into a bit of a routine though. Jack was difficult to manage and woke up most nights during the night a couple of times calling for Mommy, which he hasn’t done since he was 6 months old.
There were some beautiful birds that visited the patio every day called Green Jays. We had a hard time getting a good picture of them:
Here’s a better picture from a web site- aren’t they purty?
Jack @ 30 Months
At 2.5 years old, Jack is desperately seeking to have some control over his life. Pretty standard behavior for his age I assume, and I need to be doing a better job at offering him a couple of choices when I can instead of just issuing commands all the time. We’re in Texas right now, visiting family, and when we told him we were going to Texas on an airplane, we thought he would be really excited to get to ride in one. When he said he didn’t want to go up in the air, we just took it as his standard negative response, trying to assert some control and really thought the plane ride would be fine. Wrong. He was fine sitting in the airplane, and fine when the plane was moving on the ground, but when it took off, Jack went nuts. “I want to go DOOOOWN!” Screaming, kicking and flailing ensued. Mark used to be a flight attendant years ago, and he said he had never seen a kid flip out that badly. After trying to comfort him by rocking him in my seat, and giving him the jellybeans I had brought along for an emergency, and turning on the DVD player, I finally had to take him back to the lavatory. He was fine in the lavatory. He played with the water, and kept trying to push the Flush button, but when I tried to take him back out, he flipped out again. So…. we spent at least an hour and half in there. I am now very familiar with all the accoutrements in an airplane lavatory. FINALLY, he fell asleep and I was able to take him back out and even get him in his seat- he didn’t wake up until we were at the gate.
We changed planes in Dallas, and we even talked briefly about renting a car to drive the San Antonio area, but decided we had to just bite the bullet. By putting on a big song and dance to distract him with everything we had brought along, and by keeping the shade down, I was able to keep his mind off the fact that we were in the air the second time for the short flight, and we praised the Lord that we didn’t have a repeat of the first flight. Unfortunately, Jack reacts the wrong way to Benedryl, or we would be seriously drugging him up for the flights home. Mark suggested a fifth of whiskey, but I have a feeling Jack would be a mean drunk.
I have worked hard not to end up with habits like rocking Jack to sleep for example, but this month he has realized that he likes to be “petted” before he goes to sleep. He lays down and snuggles up with his cloth diaper “night-night” and his bear and says “Mommy, pet me?” in the most plaintive little voice that I don’t mind if we are in a new bedtime habit. I rub his tummy and stroke his hair a little while before leaving the room and am glad he wants a little “mommy love” before going to sleep.
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A Productive Day
After several months of complete lethargy and lack of motivation, I have finally had a productive day. I wrote 3 blog posts (counting this one), cleaned and organized Jack’s room and even took a walk. Never mind the fact that my house is a complete wreck and I haven’t had an answer for Mark’s daily “what’s for dinner?” question in weeks. Here’s the culprit:
I’m at 12.5 weeks and have had a decent pregnancy so far, though definitely more difficult than the first one. I never threw up while pregnant with Jack, but I’ve been regularly sick with this one, and I know I’m more tired. That probably has something to do with the difference between sitting at a desk all day vs. chasing kids around. Anyway, I’m grateful, because I know many people feel much worse than I have and the second trimester is just around the corner, and maybe I’ll post here more often…. hopefully.
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