Crocodile Face

Poor Max is cutting all four of his 1-year molars at the same time. Needless to say, he's not very happy about it. We always know when he has teeth coming in, because he keeps making his "crocodile face" (along with being unusually fussy and crabby). I've been trying to snap a photo of the face for months now and this is the closest I've come (and you still don't really get the full effect). At least this round of teething isn't affecting his sleep too much -- he's more restless and doesn't sleep as well, but he doesn't wake all the way up like he used to do.

Max has now decided that he wants everything "again" (his new favorite word). After months of deciding he wasn't really interested in going into our back laundry room, Max has figured out how to sneak down the step so he can play with the new washer and dryer. He's very fast and very quiet -- you won't hear anything at all until suddenly some little feet are pitter pattering across the floor and you can hear the washer buttons being pressed, followed by lots of loud laughing and clapping. Of course, the little button presser already figured out how to turn on both machines. So, the short term solution is to keep the laundry room door closed until we can get a walk through baby gate for that doorway (the bathroom is back there too and Mom is NOT particularly good at vaulting baby gates at the moment).

Grandma came down to help us out this weekend and was good enough (and brave enough) to do some much-needed cleaning that we haven't been able to do. She also made me my favorite beef and noodles and kept us all happy and fed. Max enjoyed spending some time with his grandma and was a very good boy.

I've made it through eight weeks of bedrest -- only six more to go! I'll be 30 weeks tomorrow, which is another nice little milestone. At this point, every week (even every day) makes a big difference in how big and strong that baby will be and how long she might have to spend in the NICU (and the type of complications and issues she might face). If I can make it another four weeks, we'll be mostly out of the preemie woods. I have my regular checkup with my OB on Friday and I'll go up to the hospital next week for another ultrasound. I'm sure my doctor will give me another early labor test on Friday -- since they're good for two weeks and they don't give them after 34 weeks, I probably only have two more of those to go!

I can't say I'm not thoroughly sick of bedrest, but I'm so glad that the current course of action seems to be working. It'll be so nice to be able to DO things again, even if it is just to go out to the mailbox and get the mail or carry the clean laundry up the stairs or bake a batch of cookies or take Max for a walk. I've been so focused on this pregnancy that I haven't put much thought into the delivery or preparations for the new baby. Thankfully, we pretty much have all of the normal baby stuff we'll need, except for some tiny diapers. I'll just have to clean out the bassinet (which is currently being used to store Max's "too small" clothes) and make sure all the tiny clothes are freshly washed. It's probably almost time to start thinking about packing my hospital bag (I've been refusing to pack it before 32 weeks). I'm getting there -- slowly, but surely!