For Better or For Worse

As of August 11, 2011, my husband and I have been married for 4 years. I'm not going to pretend that it's been easy but I can honestly say that I have never been happier.

We dated for 3 years before we became engaged and then a year later, got married. We are both very stubborn and set in our ways, making life interesting to say the least. It's hard always being right and my poor husband always being wrong, not to mention being delusional enough to actually think that HE is right even part of the time. You see where our problems stem.

Between these brief moments of strife, we really do love each other. My husband is an amazing man. He works hard to support us. He does laundry, sometimes cooks dinner, cares for the baby a few days a week when he's not at work and tried hard to make life pretty close to perfect for us. I love him for his loyalty and his steadfastness. He was there for me throughout my complicated pregnancies. I admire his love for our son. He worships the ground he walks on. I am lucky to have such an amazing man in my life.

A Son's Love

JJ has never been clingy, apart from when we have food that he's interested in. Is this case, he stands at your feet like a puppy, whimpering until you give him something. I could imagine that this is a sign of love for me, but, in fact, it's a sign that he just loves food.

In the last month or so, JJ has figured out that I am a pretty important person in his life. He now cries and holds on to me with all of his might when I leave him at the baby-sitter's. This only happens once or twice a week. He knows I'm leaving from the get go. He sits on my lap, wraps his little arms around me and cries. It kills me every time. I know that when I leave and he get the chance to settle down, he has a great time there, playing with Katie and the other kids, but that initial separation is enough for me to call up my office and tell them that I will not be able to make it that day. I love and hate it all at once. I don't want to leave him and I feel terrible, but I love that he misses and needs me (finally!).

In a few years he will have friends of his own and will not want to be around me as much, and I will be the one clinging to him, crying as he walks out the door.

15 Months, Where Does the Time Go?

My son is 15 months old today. It's amazing how quickly time flies. He is the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me, not to say that he's not exhausting and frustrating., because he is. JJ has somehow gotten the best of both of us. He's happy all the time and loves being around people. He's a bit of a show off and a total comedian. He makes my day worth waking up to.

Predictions

Since my last pregnancy was a disaster from beginning to end and this one has, thus far, been a complete dream, I have decided to make my predictions for baby #2 concerning this delivery.

This is what is going to happen:

I am going to go into labor naturally on November 26th around 8AM. I will labor at home for the appropriate amount of time and then head to the hospital where I will labor there for 3 hours. I will not need meds because I will be able to handle the contractions. I will then push for 30 minutes after which our baby will glide into the world easily and naturally. The baby will be perfectly healthy, scoring high on her APGAR. She will weigh 7lbs 4oz and be 18 inches long. The baby will be born at 3:07PM.

Obviously this is wishful thinking, but really what's the point of getting worked us about something you can't control, so I choose to be optimistic. We'll see how much of this actually pans out.

I feel like I've been pregnant for 3 years now...

This is actually my third pregnancy. I had a miscarriage at 9 weeks with my first. It was one of the hardest things I have ever had to deal with. Fortunately, it was just one of those things and I haven't had a problem since. I got pregnant March of 2009 and lost the baby in May.

In September of 2009, I got pregnant again with my current son, John Jr. (JJ). He was born one week late on May 25, 2010. Although the pregnancy wasn't easy at all and the birth was just as difficult, I have an amazing son who has somehow (so far) not gotten any of my husband or my negative personality traits. He's happy and full of life, he loves people and he loves being the center of attention.

With all of the problems we had with JJ, I knew I wanted to either adopt the next one or have the next baby soon. I'm not getting any younger and with all of my issues, I am already considered high risk. I also want my kids to be close in age and relationship. My husband was against adopting so here we are again... pregnant... for the last time. I am 28 weeks along, just starting my third trimester. I am due on Thanksgiving Day, November 24th, 2011. We are having a girl and she and JJ will be 18 months apart.

So, this is the story of our Million Dollar Family. Updates to come!