After being a in somewhat static/ routine period, there’s lots to report about Martha and Wee Wilson #2.
I suppose Wee Wilson is the easiest to report on as nobody knows exactly what is happening in there, but something is happening because I am beginning to feel wiggles. In general, I feel pretty good, and the morning sickness has gone, although I still have to be a little careful about some activities first thing in the morning. For instance, I try not to even look at the trash can until after breakfast and a walk. I’m finally looking pregnant at 17 weeks. Tomorrow I get the first of a series of progesterone shots designed to help Wee Wilson be a full term baby.
Martha is growing by leaps and bounds. It seems like every day she learns at least one new word, and I’m constantly amazed by the things she understands. She’s on the verge of being able to hold a conversation. She does say some simple sentences: “I see!” “I hear!” “Dada work?” or my favorite: as she’s running to you “I come!” We’re working on teaching her that she is Martha. She has answered to her name for over a year now, but when you ask her who she is she either just looks a little confused, or she points to herself and says “me”, or points at me and says “Mama”.
Around the house or around people she knows well, she talks up a storm, although in new situations she can be quiet and a little clingy until she feels comfortable. She’s full of energy and thankfully so far we’ve only had meltdowns during times when she’s overly tired.
On Sunday after church she fell asleep in the car as usual. I transferred her to her crib so she could continue her nap, but about 20 minutes after I put her down, I heard her wake up excited about something and knew there wasn’t going to be any getting her back to sleep so I went to see what was going on. She was standing at the crib rail in a rather large puddle with her (dry) diaper in her hand. I’d been thinking for awhile that we would get her a potty for her birthday, but we went out and got one that afternoon instead. She was so excited when I showed it to her and helped her sit on it. She kept saying “Potty! I sit!” and we actually had a little meltdown when it was time for her bath because she didn’t want to get off the potty. On Monday we were out of the house for most of the day, so we didn’t practice much, but when we did she was still very excited about it. And today not much happened the few times we sat on the potty in the morning. We tried again after lunch. She sat there, practiced taking her pants on and off, practiced opening and closing the lid, and continued to be excited about “potty” and “I sit”. When we’d been in the bathroom for probably 10 minutes I figured nothing else was going to happen, so I told her it was time for a nap and went into her room to get ready. She started to follow me, but once I got into her room I realized she wasn’t behind me. So I went back to the bathroom to find her jumping up and down and pointing at a full potty. Hooray! She even managed to get the vast majority in the pot instead of on the floor or on herself. I realize it’s still a long way from being diaper-free, but it’s a terrific beginning and I’m so pleased she initiated it herself. I don’t think I’ve been this excited about a milestone since the first night we all got 8 hours of sleep.
In other news, I’m designing sound for Streetcar Named Desire at USC. So far so good. The director and I seem to get along and seem to have similar ideas about the show. I’m happy to be doing something creative and to reconnect with my theater friends. But it definitely emphasizes the shift in my life’s work. In the past I’d have had at least some nervousness about doing a show, now the show is something fun to do and I’m nervous about what being a mother of two is going to be like.
