Wow, it’s been nearly two months since I’ve updated. I’m an ass, please forgive me! Life has been nonstop for weeks now, and it shows no signs of slowing down any time soon. Honestly, the baby coming in November is the least chaotic timeframe we’ve got on our agenda!
July was a fun month, but boy howdy was it HOT. We’ve had like four heat waves this summer, which is unheard of for central Europe. To say that I was uncomfortable throughout the heatwaves would be an understatement; at one point, I was crying and had frozen icepacks laid out on me with a fan pointed at my body. Teddy seemed to do ok with the heat, even though he was sweating buckets in his sleep. His room is like a sauna, and he refused to sleep anywhere else.
My family came out to visit in July as well! My dad, sister, and brother all came out for a week and it was SO MUCH FUN. We hiked all over, saw castles, explored Ulmen and Bernkastel (my favorite town in Germany!), and ate lots and lots of food. I was an emotional wreck when they left, though. Seriously, I didn’t “recover” for three days. Next up is Eric’s family in two weeks! His parents will be alone with us for four days and then the rest of the family gets to Germany and they’ll be staying in Cochem and traveling around.
Teddy is just…amazing. He’s amazing. He’s a kid now, not so much a toddler, and it’s blowing my mind. I feel like he’s grown in such huge ways in the space of the last month or two and I don’t know how to process it. He expresses himself without being prompted to and offers insights to things that he sees and hears. He has favorites (songs, shows, foods, juices, people), he has friends, he can use safety scissors and glue sticks and paint. He has moved up a room in kindergarten and is now in the Bee Room (he was previously in the Spatzenast, or sparrow’s nest). He LOVES being with the bigger kids and has so much more freedom there.
I wish the US would take a page from the Germans when it comes to schooling (kindergarten at least). It’s just the coolest thing…he controls when he eats his breakfast; he grabs his bag whenever he wants to and brings it to the cafeteria. If he wants to go outside, he can just walk outside (the whole area is fenced and supervised). He is not discouraged from climbing on the bigger playground equipment (even though it gives me a heart attack to witness), and his room has a loft with a long staircase that he traverses at will. The progress that he’s made at home because of all of this freedom is just plain astounding. I feel like in the US, kids are so coddled and protected in preschool compared to this. It’s detrimental, in my opinion. I’m so thankful for the opportunity to have him experience all of this here instead of there, and I’ve got regrets that Fiona won’t have the same option!
Speaking of Fiona, she is doing GREAT! We are a few days away from the third trimester; how is that even possible? It feels unreal. She is small like mommy, with her legs measuring in line with the rest of her unlike Teddy who had legs measuring a week or so ahead the whole entire time. She is head down and punching me in the cervix constantly, which is awkward and uncomfortable but I’m grateful for the reminders of her presence…even if it makes walking around in public weird. Her feet are all up in my rib cage, which is interesting. Once in a while I’ll get jabbed directly in the floating rib and it makes me pause, but for the most part the rolls and twitches come in the front of the belly. She responds to pokes and prods now, too! She is active and sweet already.
Took my GD test last week and am waiting to hear back. Basically, no news is good news but I’m not holding my breath. I’m genetically predispositioned to both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes AND I had GD with my first pregnancy, though it was mainly just monitored and only required insulin for a week or two at the end. I would not be shocked to have it again this time, even with my healthy diet and exercise…but now it’s a waiting game. I wish I knew what the window of time to hear back was. I’m going to assume that if I don’t hear by the weekend, alle ist gut!
Staying on top of fitness. Not thrilled with gaining weight, but realizing that it’s part of the process in the second and third trimester especially.
So that’s really that!
Arctophobic 