I am not one of those parents that use the word NO all of the time but I use for it for when it tells Max that he can get hurt. I go to music class with a number of moms that use the word NO a lot and well the kid does not listen. BUT, it seems that Max does not listen either. I know Max is almost 17 months and so he is testing his limits with me. The worst is that I say NO and he laughs and thinks it is game and just wants to for example..today, he wanted to climb his high chair. If he stands on the back it will fall and that is what he wanted to do. I said NO..he thought it was funny.

I have also just tried to ignore it and see if he stops but my kid is a climber and a dare devil and if he can get excited from something well he tries it. Like for example, rocking in his rocking chair while standing up.

I guess I am looking for some of your experiences on the game of NO or maybe how I can make it not a game.

I know I thought we had come to a decision and I should have not spoken so soon yesterday but last night was it. After writing that post yesterday I started to look at Max’s sleep and realized that he is getting up at 10 pm and coming into our room. I also know that I am now sleeping the opposite way of Max and my husband and the dog just so I can have some room. I also know that Max has been getting up to have a midnight bottle. I was thinking that when baby #2 is born, that Max and his dad would end up in our bed and I would be in another room with the baby. But when Max gets up he wants me and only me. Last night he got up at 12 am and I was so tired and so upset. I had a tough time falling asleep and I had just fallen asleep when he woke and pointed into the air (which means he wants his bottle). Maybe he thinks God makes his bottles and not me. ??) Anyway, so the hubby said to me something like this…babe, why don’t you get him his bottle and I said…babe. we have created this and I said..I can;t do this and he said..what do you want to do? and I said..I am not sure. I woke up frustrated and upset because I was torn. After talking to a few friends today I feel that I am doing Max and myself a favor by helping him to learn how to self soothe. We are putting the crib back together and showing his the crib tomorrow and then using the crib saturday. I am sad but I also feel like we are making the right decision for all of us. I think it may be different if baby #2 was not on the way but either way-I want my baby to learn to sleep and I want to sleep. Please send us good sleep mojo and hope that Max gets the hang of it real fast.

I went into The Apothecary Garden and talked to the owner about my nausea. She gave me a few herbs to take in a tea for nausea-just some chamomile, burdock root, yam and dandelion root. She also told me that nausea in pregnancy can sometimes be linked to iron deficiency. Now of course, she also said that hormones play such a nasty trick and that of course, that will also cause nausea but I started taking Floradix again and I already feel better. I have to remember my iron pill at night because it makes all the difference. I was getting so cold at night that I had to shower to be able to change out of my clothes. I should have seen the signs but I did not. Sometimes it is hard to see that stuff during pregnancy because the body changes so rapidly. Also Max has been so much better with his sleeping. He stills gets in our bed in the middle of the night but he is sleeping till 6:30 to 7 am. It is such a difference. I know we will have to transition him eventually into his room but for now-we are all getting sleep. But of course talk to me when he wakes in the middle of the night and I cannot get back to sleep. PLEASE BABY #2 BE AN EASY SLEEPER!! Regardless, it is all good. I also am noticing that Max is playing with his penis even more than before but now he grabs it, testicles included, and crunches it. Of course this is all new to me since I am not a boy but I can only imagine that he will do this forever, maybe not the crunching part. Well I am off to watch a movie with the hubby. Have a great night.

First off I want to say THANK YOU to Storm for my awesome award. Storm visited my blog during the Blog Party and she and I have become blog buddies. She is a single mother with two amazing kids and she really has a warm and wonderful blog. I enjoy reading her blog because she has such strength in her story. Check it out PLEASE.

I also wanted to apologize for being MIA but I have been having so much nausea and actually I have been throwing up too. I do not remember being this sick with Max. And that can only mean one thing-probably having a girl but who knows. It would be fun to have a girl. I did want a boy first and I just adore Max but I think after being mom to a boy-well it would be fun to be a mom to a girl. So with all that said-I feel like crap and the last few weeks I have been the worst blogger but at the end of the night, and especially after throwing up these last 2 nights, I just have no energy. I cannot wait for the second trimester. Bring it on. I would rather be big with a belly than have nausea. 

As for Max, we started him on Diflucan. It was recommended by his doctor since his food allergies were getting worse. he was having allergic reactions to foods that he would eat usually with no reactions. So it has been about a week of clearing out the yeast with diflucan and already he is improving. The new theory on allergies is that it is a leaky gut-I think I wrote about this before and so with leaky gut- you must clear out the yeast, take away foods that promote yeast and then let it heal. So Max eats brown rice, veggies, fruits, and protein. Sounds like the Atkins diet. LOL. But he is getting better. He was breaking out with rashes on his face and had little pimples around his anus. POOR BABY.

Well it is good to have not thrown up today and have some energy. YEAH!

I have this strange thing that happens to me during pregnancy, which is that I am grossed out by the thought of germs. It is not bad to the point that I have a tough time or anything like that but it keeps me thinking. I knew I was pregnant when I started to just throw things out, which I almost never do. It ranges from old clothes to food in the fridge. I just feel like it has no room in my life anymore and must go. Now the germ thing is strange because I start to feel like bacteria is everywhere and things must be clean. Luckily, I have two ladies who clean my house weekly and do a major scrub but in the last few days I find myself scrubbing the floors and washing Max’s hands. On a side note, before I met my hubby I was never a “germaphobe”. I did not really think of germs and then came my hubby and his family, well especially his father and step-mom, who are obsessed with germs. Now after being with my hubby, I am that girl. I have always flushed toilet with my feet in a public bathroom but now I open doors with my sleeve. I do not think anyone notices but I actually find it very funny. I guess over time we really do become like our partners. The good part o=about this germ things is that it really motivates me. It actually gets my ass to really get cleaning in my kitchen. I am by no means a dirty person and I do not keep a dirty house but the germ thing has me vacuuming after dinner. LOL Through out  out Max’s whole life I have used only natural products that I buy at Whole Foods but now I want real bleach and Real Kitchen Cleaners with Bleach and Clorox and all of those products that are horrible but they make me feel like things are clean. But I am only using them with gloves. I don;t want to harm myself or the baby with too much bleach. Did you experience any funny things like this during pregnancy and if you are a guy-then did your wife?