Gestational logorrhea, 36 weeks

Now the size of a Crenshaw melon. To which Josh said, "I LIKE Crenshaw melon." So I says, "You want to eat this baby?" Har har.

I'm huge. Swollen feet just starting up, though if I'm smart and stay off my feet, as I was unable to this weekend, maybe I can avoid the worst of it. But the weight gain is definitely on a par with last time, which means it's going to take at least a year for me to get serious about losing it all... Or maybe things will be different this time. Maybe I'll actually try to exercise.

Starting to freak out that we need a babysitter ASAP to get Jonah to his PT and OT appointments, neither of which are nearby so they would need to take him by bus, which will take forever. Or else use a car service and risk Jonah's life in a car without a car seat.

But one major nesting project - fixing the lighting in the apartment - is now done, after two days of three electricians, lots of dust, and somewhat difficult Jonah management to keep him out of their way. It now feels as though we've moved to a new apartment - the light makes that much of a difference.

Jonah is growing and changing so fast it's hard to believe, let alone accept. Yesterday we had a playdate with a school friend of his (whose mom I was anxious to meet because she's Italian and I wanted to practice my Italian). Unfortunately the kid from Jonah's class was in a pissy mood, not wanting to share toys, and also getting into really vicious, physical fights with his older brother, who then was so out of control he actually started hitting his mother, all in Jonah's view. Jonah was absolutely traumatized by this - he started yelling and crying. We should have left, honestly, but I didn't see how we could. When we got back to the car I sat with him for a second and explained that what we saw was very ugly, and that not all siblings get along as poorly as that. That it can be NICE to have a sibling.

Unfortunately, the residual trauma had him attempting to beat up Josh yesterday, and both of us today, at totally unexpected moments - he'd just start flailing his arms and trying to hit us. I held him very tightly and told him to get under control, and it stopped immediately. It was really scary to see how quickly exposure to bad behavior can lead to emulation of said behavior. No TV until college, young man!

Jonah had a small splinter in his hand tonight, and when I discovered it, and saw that he seemed to be recoiling in pain when we tried to touch it, I knew I had to get it out. He threw an unbelievable tantrum while I assembled my first aid stuff, and then Josh had a hell of a time restraining him, but somehow, I got that splinter out.

He stopped crying almost immediately once he had a fancy band aid, and then in the tiniest, most heartbreaking little voice, said that his teacher tomorrow would read about how brave he was in a "mitzvah note" (notes that we send to school when he's done good things). He wasn't particularly brave, I don't think... but how could I deny him that minor revision? Plus, he eventually did stop crying - which is when I started. It was such a harrowing experience, seeing him anticipate the pain I was going to cause him. He looked at me crying for a moment, face frozen in his all-purpose smile, and then did a most amazing thing - went to get me a tissue, brought it over, and asked if I was OK.