Reading on the message boards recently, someone asked if newborns have nightmares. I thought it was an interesting question.

On one hand, they have working brains and gain experience and memories throughout the day.

On the other, I don’t think they have much imagination. And if they’re in a solid, happy, safe and secure home, what would they know to fear? My first thought was “probably not.”

So I did some research.  Multiple studies have been done on the topic; one in 1966 by Roffwarg and associates suggested that we dream more in the first 2 weeks of life than at any other time. That babies 3-5 months dream more than 6-12 month-olds. And 18 month olds dream twice as much as 3 year olds, and every year, as we get older, we dream less.

So what would a baby dream about? Everything that they experience in their day. A brother being noisy, the new sounds and smells at Grandma’s, Daddy smiling, Mommy giving him a bath.  So nightmares would consist of being left alone for a couple minutes, shots at the doctor, or even being hungry.

I learn something new every day.

A couple weeks go (not sure of date) my mom got into a fight with a horse and lost.

Somehow she got her leg hurt and, long story short, had to have surgery on Monday. The infection in the damaged part of her leg was deeper than the doctors thought, so they decided to go dig around and cut it out. She still hoped to come to the beach, but the doctor warned that an infection away from home could be very serious with a chance of losing a leg. And while it might be slightly amusing to dress up my mom as a pirate for Halloween**, it really is best she stay home and take care of her leg. Especially with the danger of sand getting in the wound.

So we’re all a little disappointed. We were looking forward to my parents hanging out with the kids at the beach for a week. But I’m thinking we should go to the Bahamas next year to make up for it!!

**Disclaimer: the pirate comment is a joke!! No one write me telling me how terrible a child I am. I already know

I’ve always been one to think about mortality. I think this was ingrained into me by Grandpa R. He always said, “Life is just too short.” “See that picture of me there? I was young then. Now I’m an old fart.” “It’s hard getting old. I don’t feel older; I just look it.” “Getting old is a terrible thing.”

Yikes. Great things to tell a growing kid!   So since I was a teenager I’ve dreaded getting older. Every birthday is a challenge; some have been downright depressing where I’ve spent the day in tears. It’s so hard to see time go by so fast. I see it in my children and am reminded I’m getting older with them. One of these nights I’ll go to bed and wake up a 70 year old woman with grandkids. I’ll be dying my hair blue and taking casseroles to young women who’ve just had a baby. I’ll tell them stories of when my babies were born.  I know there are many positive things about getting older. Hopefully Paul and I will be able to build a good retirement fund and travel some. Ok, so that’s the only positive one I can think about right now…

I believe in life after death…it’s the death part that concerns me. I enjoy this phase of life too much to see it pass to the next.

So it’s up to me to make the best of every day I have NOW. I have to enjoy my children at the ages they are now and not wish for when they’re older and out of a difficult temporary phase. I have to look in the mirror and see me for who I am now, and not fear what I will see in the future. I would hate to look back when I’m 70 years old, and wish I didn’t spend so much time fearing old age so much.

If life is too short, as my Grandpa said, I better live it to the fullest now.

I find this very interesting, though I don’t really believe in coincidences. I totally believe things happen and we meet people for reasons; everything has its purpose in life and we just need to find it.

Anyway…my pregnancy with my #1 was easy. Not a lot of pains, morning sickness was over everyday at the same time, etc. And she was an easy baby; slept like a rock, her feedings were like clockwork, she slept well in the car.

The pregnancy with #2 was more difficult. I attributed that to my being 7 years older than the first time around. Morning sickness was bad, I had heartburn, my back hurt badly, I was exhausted, you name it! He turned out to be a difficult baby; colic, didn’t sleep well at all, spit up like a faucet, was jaundiced, cradle cap, and the list goes on.

Pregnancy #3 was easy. Much like #1, so it wasn’t about my age. I was tired here and there, but not bad and the morning sickness was very tolerable. Baby is easy and totally mellow. He’s only woken up once a night from birth (crazy, I know!) and is sleeping through the night (technically-7 hrs) at 5 weeks old.

So….coincidence? Does ease of pregnancy coincide with ease of baby?  Only one way to find out…have a dozen kids and keep score!

I’ll just continue to wonder.

I just find it very wrong that Paul and I can go on the same diet, eat the same foods for the same amount of time, I exercise (he doesn’t) and he loses 15 lbs and I lose 2!! Grrrr…

I am very ready for a vacation but my body is not beach ready! Next week we’re heading to the Outer Banks for a week on the beach. It’s been a traditional vacation spot in Paul’s family since he was a kid and luckily I get to tag along.

I wasn’t planning on going this year; Paul and I had decided he would take the 2 older kids and I would stay home with the baby. I remember taking Pierce to Wisconsin for a few days and it was not the most pleasant trip we’d had.  He was a difficult baby and cried much of the time; the 11-hour drive was exhausting. So knowing I would be 4 weeks post-partum, I knew it would be best to stay home for multiple reasons. (can you say “hormones”??)

But things have a way of changing!! Dean came 2 weeks early and is a very easy little guy. I began to think about missing out on watching Pierce and Gab play and the wheels in my mind began to turn. Of course, Paul was all for me changing my mind. He wanted me there the whole time, but supported my decision to stay. But then another issue came up; my parents would be bringing Gab home (from her vacation w/them) and I couldn’t just turn around and leave them here. Luckily Paul’s parents invited them to come, so problem solved.

Ok, so that’s the background. Back to the point. I still have 15 pounds to lose!! I was a regular gym rat before baby came along and was in fairly decent shape. Babies have a way of changing things   Luckily I can squeeze into my swimsuit and I found some good self-tanning cream to help with my blinding-white legs.

So while I still may scare many small children, and give the older folks heart attacks, I’m looking forward to a much-needed vacation!