Magnolia is still doing very well with this big transition. This weekend she was actually extremely happy and content. I’m not sure if it was because she’s feeling the comfort of this simple life as well, or if it had something to do with Daddy being home more than he was during the week. Zac was actually in Couer d’ Alene on Friday evening with two of the principals from The Land Group, Phil and Dave. He assisted with their move out of the office there, and then Phil and Dave joined us back in Moscow Saturday evening. We all went to the U of I basketball game and had a blast. Maggie spent the first half very quiet, watching everyone (especially her “favorite boy” Joe Vandal) very closely. By the second half she was belting out the fight song, dancing, and asked to go down and see Joe. Zac, Dave, Phil and I just watched and laughed. It was so great having them here.
This week is going to be all about getting Maggie back on a child friendly routine---less boring errands ran all day, and household chores that leave me running around like a crazed woman, and her a bored and acting-out toddler. My focus will be to get her out in the community where she can meet and spend time with peers, and to incorporate as many of her interests into developmentally appropriate activities at home. I’m trying to learn the balance of creating an early learning environment and a home environment at the same time. I have to admit, it was always a relief to me that so many of her early learning needs and interests were met at school. I’m also learning the intense benefit of support, growth and learning that comes from peer interaction. It’s a lot to assume you can be your child’s “everything.” Her mother, her teacher, and her friend. I’ve seen some mothers do this very well, and others that have struggled with it. We’ll see how it goes for me.
We attended family story time at the Moscow Public Library last week, and will plan to do that each Thursday. Family story time included many of the same activities as the story time in Boise, but at the end, a family art activity was included. This was actually Maggie’s favorite part of story time, and I got to chat and meet some of the other mothers of toddlers in the area. Most of the families were from Viola which I thought was interesting.
My hope for this week is to also visit the Moscow Parent/Toddler Cooperative. This group meets each weekday morning, but each family chooses which days they would like to attend. Parents prepare activities, snacks, field trips, etc, so participating in the group is done at a minimal cost. I’m hoping it will be a great way for Maggie to meet some new friends. I’ll keep everyone updated about how it goes.
Baby Sister or Brother Update: I’m so happy to report that we found a doctor! After a few doctor interviews we have chosen a family practice doctor in Moscow, Helen Shearer, for the rest of our prenatal care, and labor and delivery. The family practice doctors in Moscow deliver around 50% of the babies born in the area. I think I’m really going to enjoy that she can support the WHOLE family. She’ll be able to care for the baby right after the baby is born, and she will see both the baby and me for postnatal visits. Before our interview with her, which was at 10:45am, she had already done 6 OB visits. She delivers all her own babies, unless she is out of town, and averages 50-60 deliveries a year. I was so pleased to hear the epidural rate is only 50% in Moscow. She shared that Gritman, the hospital here in Moscow, is very supportive of natural childbirth.
Baby is quite the active little thing; moving around inside me all day and night it seems. I even woke the other morning to a lopsided belly! I learned at the 20 week ultrasound that my placenta is in the back of my uterus pushing the baby forward. This explains the early kicks that I felt, and how quickly I started showing. We also watched baby attempt multiple times to bring his/her thumb to mouth. It was beautiful! We can’t wait to meet our little mover and wannabe thumb sucker!
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