back in the land of the living

It's been six weeks since my surgery, and Steve goes back to work tomorrow. I feel so much better, even compared to two weeks ago. I have more energy; and most of the time, I feel like I can do the normal things I used to do. Except, of course, that I'm nearly 17 weeks pregnant, so that slows me down a little. Sometimes I forget that little detail, and it hits me when I feel a little ache or twinge in a spot well below my incision. Oh, that's right — I'm pregnant! As for my incision, it usually feels fine, except for a very itchy, bumpy rash that has developed around it and is spreading up and down my belly. Apparently, it's a yeast infection. It's really not pleasant, and none of the remedies the doctor has suggested (anti-fungal medications) has made a bit of difference. At least it's not that killer staph infection I read about in the news this week ... or so the doctor assured me!

So I'm nervous about Steve being back at work full-time. For one thing, I will miss him so much. It's been nice having him home, having it be the three of us for all these weeks. Steve says he would love to be able to do this all the time, if it weren't for that little matter of us needing an income on which to live! Daniel will miss him, too. At this point, he is more attached to Steve than he is to me. When Steve leaves the house, or even goes down to the basement to do laundry, Daniel cries. When I leave the house, Daniel just watches me go. He's with his dad, so it's all good. I know we'll be fine together, just him and me, but I think it's going to take some time to get used to the new-old routine. My sister Susanne was here this week, and Steve went into work for most of those days, so we had a little dry run — and I have to say, it was nice to have her helping out with Daniel. Taking care of him for long stretches can still be exhausting for me. I know we'll fill our days with activities and outings, like we used to do, but it's going to be an adjustment.

Daniel had his first real cold this week — days on end of runny, snotty nose and congested head. Poor little guy. The night before his nose began to run, he woke up in the middle of the night crying and crying inconsolably. We didn't know what to make of it — thought maybe he was teething or had a tummyache or something. Maybe he had a sore throat or stuffed head. He's been a trooper through it all, though. He hates having his nose wiped, and I admit the feeling is mutual. I feel like my clothes are covered with snot, and it gets on my arms and in my hair and whereever he decides to snuggle his face. It's not one of the crowning joys of motherhood, that's for sure. But it's good to see him getting through the worst of it and sleeping through the night again.

Daniel is also really into sweeping right now. He loves watching Steve or me sweep the wood floors, and sometimes he likes to help. We bought him a little red child-sized broom, and he pushes it around the floor, but he likes our grown-up sweepers better. Sometimes he goes into the corner where we keep them, drags one out, and hands it to Steve and makes his little grunting sound that says he won't be satisfied until Steve is sweeping the floor. As you can imagine, our floors are quite spotless these days!