RIP Aunt Jemima

After the first trimester, a pregnant lady should start to feel a little better. That's how it was in R's first pregnancy, but it has not been the case for this pregnancy. When people ask me how R is feeling, I have to say that she's not doing so hot. She's continued to have some serious tummy troubles for the whole 2nd trimester. Horrible pains, five times in five weeks.

After a while, she started wondering if it might be something she was eating. In the past, we have suspected she has had issues with a few foods (Ccocolate: not so good; lettuce: don't overdose on it). Well, she wasn't eating either of these things. Then R's mom came up with a possible diagnosis.

R's mom has a friend who has some striking similarities to R. She had stomach problems. She also had abnormal iron balance, which is interesting. This lady was eventually diagnosed with gluten intolerance, called Celiac Disease. Until last week when I learned that such people are called Celiacs, I referred to it them as "unlucky", or "those people who can't ever eat anything."

R and her mom became particularly suspicious about the Celiac hypothesis, since R's grandpa was just recently diagnosed with the disease. R decided to consult with her midwives, who were somewhat dismissive at first, but became increasingly convinced of "The Hypothesis" as R laid out the evidence. After first consulting with our dentist over a souvlaki dinner, R met with our doctor to get a requisition for a blood test. The blood test results came back today.

Unlucky.

I guess we'll now be one of those families that can't ever eat anything.

Well, there are tons and tons of great things that we can still eat (including buckwheat!), but there is a whole world of readily consumable foods that we can't eat. Basically, R has been suddenly yanked out of the Great North American Fast Food Culture. Well, she would have been -- had she liked any of that stuff to start with. She joked that her grandpa has appeared somewhat disappointed as he's been "deprived" of his favourites, but she really hasn't lost many of her real favourites. She's a fruit and vegetables lover, and those are still on the table.

Although R has had hints of Celiac symptoms previous to pregnancy, it seems like pregnancy was the trigger. It could disappear as soon as it appeared. R has her fingers crossed for that, but she has to deal with it for at least the next few months, and prepare for the possibility that Celiac is here to stay.

Despite the optimistic attitude, we must mourn our loss.
No more Kraft Dinner
No more Little Caesars $5 pizza
No more Submarine Sandwiches
No more Aunt Jemima Instant Waffle Mix

RIP Aunt Jemima

Jack-O-Lanterns: Scary or Icky?

According to Scott, the insides are icky. I tend to agree.

This Pile of Leaves is not Your Pile

Scott is really enthusiastic about raking leaves. He particularly likes to be the one with the rake, except that he finds it tricky to handle the thing and actually rake a pile together. He tries valiantly, but mostly what happens is he spreads out the tidy piles that I have made and then tells me to back off when I try to put them in the waste bag. Apparently, all leaf piles are his property.



That's fine with me. I think he enjoys them more than I would. What a cutie.

Those Blue Eyes

What malice could possibly hide behind the big blue eyes? Our baby boy looks so old suddenly.

Milestones

Today I broke the 1000 km mark on my bike.

Scott learned to count to 10 without skipping 5 -- as opposed to King Arthur, who skipped 3.

(Note the new carpet! Scott will be sad now that the renovations are over, because he won't have as many screwdrivers and wrenches to play with.)

This not a milestone, but I thought it was cute how Scott tried wearing my backpack. This explains why I found a screwdriver in there when I got to work this morning.

Big Boy Bed

Scott has known about his Big Boy Bed for quite a while. He's encountered it a number of times in the attic. Every time I have gone up there with a box or come down with a suitcase, he has climbed up the ladder for a peek. One of the only things he could see from the top rung of the ladder (he's not allowed off the ladder to walk around up there) was the frame and headboard of the toddler bed we got from R's sister. Since the first time that I pointed it out to him, he has greeted it like an old friend -- along with his big yellow dump truck that is hibernating up there.


Finally, the bed came down out of the attic. We did some renovations last weekend to divide our master bedroom in half to restore the original floorplan of the house and provide a baby room. It was an opportune time to replace the carpet, so we had to pull all the furniture out of all the bedrooms. Scotty's crib had to be disassembled, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to make the transition. We are trying to prep him for the baby's arrival by emphasizing his new status as a big boy, so he won't feel like the baby is stealing his identity -- and his bed.


I have never seen a child so excited to go to bed before. We worried that training him to sleep in this bed would be a difficult, sleepless battle. It's been a breeze so far. We briefed him on the bed's use, laying out two simple rules: 1) no jumping on the bed; 2) stay in the bed. Rule 1 came out naturally, since that was his first impulse. Rule 2 has been working quite well so far. He has waited in his bed for us to come get him -- much like his crib. We wonder how long it will last before he realizes that he can get out himself. Imagine if he arrived at his first sleepover with Rule 2 intact -- all the other kids would get up for breakfast and he would be stuck there, waiting for someone to let him out.

I think Rule 2 will fade quickly -- but hopefully not too quickly.

Big Brother In Training

The tummy is growing and Scotty is learning --
Starting to understand that he's going to be a big brother

He frequently tells us that there is a baby in mommy's tummy. You see, the baby is sleeping in there, getting bigger. When it gets bigger, mommy will go see the doctor at the hospital. Then the baby will come out. He's really helped me figure out how things work.

Each night he gives each of us a hug. Hugs for daddy.

Hugs for mommy

Hugs for the baby in mommy's tummy

Our little baby is turning into a big boy so quickly. Hopefully, big boy brother will give out more hugs than slugs when baby sister arrives.