What a crappy day

There are some things that really secure your status as a "mommy" and yesterday I experienced one of these. I put Ella down for her afternoon nap awake, as I always do, and went to spend some time with Owen. Maybe fifteen minutes later, she began crying pretty loudly, so I figured I'd console her, get her to go to sleep so I could take a nap myself. When I entered the room, I knew something was amiss. It smelled terribly in her room. As I approached my little angel, I saw something dark on her face. Fear began to set in at this point. When I peered into the crib, my nightmare was confirmed. Lying in the crib was Ella's open diaper, with poo strewn around the bedding. It was on her quilt, the bumper, her sheet, Dolly, her blanket, and of course, Ella herself. I'm talking feet, hands, face, and--brace yourself, ladies-- even in her mouth! The poor little girl was crying and putting her poopy hands in her mouth to console herself but was only agitating herself more because she was eating her own crap! Oh, the horror! Where do you begin to clean up a mess like this? Well, I began with the bathtub. My fully clothed little poopy prankster was tossed into the rather warm running bathwater. I scrubbed her in the hottest water I thought safe, and all the while she was still crying. After her bath, I brushed her teeth (thoroughly) and then commenced cleaning the crappy crib. AN HOUR later, she was finally able to take her nap. What a day. But, alas, I now have my poop mishap to share as I like to embarass my little girl. And that's something to look forward to.

The Second Trimester

I know for most women, the first trimester can be hell. Nausea, vomiting, tender breasts, headaches, etc. For some reason, I've been blessed. I've never been more than really tired in any of my pregnancies. During my current pregnancy, I've even been so bold as to comment that I haven't been all that tired. I chalked it up to not having time to pay attention to any fatigue I might feel as I'm too busy with my other two babies. So bring on the second trimester! I'll take the enlarged breasts, the renewed energy, and the womanly glow without ever having to endure the tribulations of the first trimester.

So, Sunday marked 15 weeks, commonly known to be the beginning of this glorious second trimester. On Saturday, I awoke with the most unusual feeling of vertigo. It took hours of lying very still until I could finally walk without pitching as if I were on a cruise ship. Later, I had a brutal headache that followed. Sunday, I awoke to find that my breasts were incredibly tender, something that I haven't experienced so far in this pregnancy. All week long, I've had headaches and occasional bouts of dizziness. So now I have to face my greatest fear: could the first and second trimesters SWITCH? Has this ever happened in the history of pregnancies? My midwife laughed at me, but amidst her laughing, I noticed that she never did reassure me that this was impossible. Now here I am, five weeks from starting back to work as a first grade teacher, mother of a 4 year old and a 1 year old, and possibly just BEGINNING to experience extreme fatigue, nausea, vomiting, and mood swings to boot? Lord help me! Lord help those AROUND me! Just let it not be so...