A Year of Gratitude: Day 268

Today I am grateful that we, as a culture, are starting to talk about what post-natal bodies really look like.  (Check here, here, here, and here for further reading.)  I think back to my own experience, going from a glowing, yet very large, lady at 39 weeks ...

... to what, at the time, felt like Jabba the Hut.

I knew my body wouldn't snap back immediately, but I had no idea I would look as I did.  And I felt so bad about it, so uncomfortable.  (Though I imagine at least part of the discomfort was because of the c-section.)  When they told me Baylor weighed 10 lbs. 10 oz., I imagined losing that weight and being close to back to "normal", even though I knew I had gained a total of 64 pounds with him and weighed more than my husband did.  So it was a shock to see my post-baby body and it was awkward seeing others and wondering what they thought, and I hated seeing all those celebrities snap back within weeks, maybe a month, of having a baby, and I wondered what I was doing wrong that I couldn't attain that.  I consider myself to be a relatively smart person, but my whole world had been turned upside down and this was just one more thing that didn't make sense.

That seems like forever ago, these pictures and that feeling of "Jabba-ness", and thankfully all I really remember feeling was this ...

Joy.  So much joy.  In the end, it didn't matter how big I still was, how soft my belly had become.  All that mattered was my little boy and the love that was growing rapidly in our hearts.

(Sadly, postpartum depression set in pretty quickly and wiped away a lot of that joy, but I try to view that time with a grateful heart, so grateful that I have moved past that point onto much happier times.)

So let's get this acceptance going.  Let's let new moms off the hook and allow the love to spread and build like it should.  Forget the judgement and take a pass on the gossip and just ... love.

Have a wonderful night!

A Tip for Summer Pregnancies ...

To all my friends out there who are pregnant and will be during the summer, I have a little tip for you.  When your doctor tells you to wear compression socks and cut back on sodium a bit ...

... it's a really good idea if you heed her advice.  These were my feet in July before Baylor was born, and yes he was born a full two months later in September.

If you think, "Gee, that looks painful ..." you are correct; it was.  And no, I couldn't wear regular shoes.  I wore flip flops all the time.

So, watch your salt intake, pregnant friends, and if your doc says to wear compression hose, wear them as often as you can stand it.

(I believe I posted a long time ago that I'd put up this picture and since I actually found it on my parents' computer over Christmas I thought I should make good on my word.  I can't believe my feet and ankles were ever that big ... whoa.)

Just Over A Year ...

It's hard to believe that Mollie has been in our lives for over a year now. Yeah, she's only four months old, but we learned about her presence just over a year ago (July 28th, if I remember correctly).

It all started with this photo in the Banana Republic Outlet dressing room, a shocking realization that something was most definitely up.

Followed the next morning with an "Oh ... my ... God!"

I so wanted to tell Bryson in some weird, wacky, fun way that I was pregnant but I ended up blurting it out while in traffic near the corner of Kalamazoo and 28th. That spot still holds a special place in my heart, and I think of that moment every time I drive through that magical corner.

Our first glimpse of her beautiful face.

And my protruding belly the morning of the fall.

And then, in the flashiest of flashes, she was here, in my arms.

Doing amazing things like meeting her brother.

Who knew I'd have such a tiny baby after my 10 lbs. 10 oz. baby boy?!

Who knew that after positively swimming in her going home outfit (which I almost accidentally consigned the other day!!) ...

... that she would grow enough to be wearing 9 month clothing at only 4 months of age!

She hasn't liked her car seat from the get-go. But really, who can blame her?

She was truly a newborn baby, something I hadn't really experienced much with Baylor; right out of the oven he was bigger than some 3 month-olds.

But as she filled out ...

... and brought out her personality ...

... she's grown into the girl we know and love today.

Amalia, we love ya and we can't wait to see who you become in the months and years ahead!

Cord Blood Banking: A Real Life Saver

When I gave birth to my two kiddos, I was given the option of banking my kids' umbilical cord blood should someone in the family need it in the future for a life-saving procedure. The price was steep, though, and the chances of us needing it are unknown (and hopefully slim). I would have loved to donate this stem-cell-rich blood to a public bank, but our hospital didn't participate in such a bank so there was no way for me to do so.

That is not the case anymore, however. According to a recent TIME article, three hospitals have teamed up to provide anyone in the continental U.S. the chance to donate their baby's umbilical cord blood to Be The Match, the national cord blood registry.

It takes a little time and cooperation from your doctor, but this little bit of blood can go a long way to saving someone's life. Read the article. Decide for yourself. And if you or someone you know is giving birth sometime soon, pass this article along and consider donating.

For Those of You Who Don't Know ...

I had a baby girl yesterday! Her name is Amalia (pronounced "Ah-MAH-lee-ya") Jean, and she weighed in at 7 lbs. 4 oz. and measured 20.5 inches long. Quite the peanut compared to my 10 lbs. 10 oz. boy!

Here she is!

I had actually woken up at around 4:30 to use the bathroom and I was so incredibly hungry I thought to myself, "Whatever you do, just don't have the baby today ... you have GOT to eat something!"

Ah, the irony!

My water broke, as I previously mentioned, at around 5:00 a.m. That was a fun, messy surprise! We quickly got ready and my in-laws made the three-door trek to our house to be there should Baylor wake up.

I thought I had been contracting, but I wasn't sure if it was a dream or not, so I didn't bother to time them. As it turns out, by the time we got in the car they were three to four minutes apart, but they weren't hugely strong or long-lasting. At the hospital, we found out I was only 3 cm dilated and 50% effaced.

I know this is going to sound weird, but I was so excited that I got to experience labor at least a little bit. Yeah, the water breaking and leaking with every contraction was gross and the contractions weren't fun, but I so wanted to know what labor felt like and it was thrilling to have a little unexpectedness at the end of our pregnancy!

By 7:30 I was back in the operating room getting my spinal block, which went miles better than it did last time, and after a quick bout of nausea I started feeling pretty calm. Bryson came in and settled down next to me with the video camera. They actually let him film her being born, so I'm hoping to put that up here at some point. It's pretty graphic, lots of blood, but it's also kind of amazing.

Anyhow, Bryson got to announce that she's a girl and we quickly found out her weight. I have to say, I was more shocked by her weight than I was that she was a girl. I have never held a baby that small! She's just so tiny!

After the surgery was over and I was all sewn up, they took me back to triage to recover and her to the nursery to get cleaned up and checked out. Recovery for this c-section went so much better than the last one; I didn't have nearly as much nausea or sleepiness, and I actually remember most - if not all - of the day! Oh, and I only threw up once after I drank some grape juice too fast, so that was a vast improvement over last time.

Baylor got to come to the hospital to meet his little sister, but he was much more interested in all the electronic gadgetry in the room than he was in a sleepy little baby. I cried a lot when they left for the night, more for my sake than his ... I knew he was in good hands and would be well-cared for; I was just going to miss him intensely. And I did. But, I have my little girl to look out for now, too. So at least I had a little distraction to keep me from missing him to the point where I couldn't function.

Amalia and I had a decent number of good feedings yesterday, but she has since grown very sleepy and reluctant to wake up to eat. We'll get the hang of it eventually.

Anyhow, I guess that's all for right now. There will be many more pictures and stories to come, I'm sure. Thanks for all the well-wishes!

Have a wonderful day!

Stairs: Did You Know You're Supposed to WALK Down Them?

Yeah, falling down the stairs while pregnant is not a good idea. I did that this morning, and let me tell you, it's not fun.

I was following Bryson and Baylor down the stairs, when my sock slipped against my compression hose and made my foot slip out from underneath me. I grabbed onto the railings on each side of me, gripping for dear life as gravity took me down the stairs. Unable to regain my balance, I hit a few stairs with my rear end, settling finally on the third stair from the floor. Since my doctor said to call if I fell at all, I called up their office and they told me to head to the emergency room to get checked out.

That was not what I had planned for today, to say the least.

After getting Baylor fed and dropping him off at my parents' house, we made our way to the hospital. Upon our arrival, I told the guard at the entrance that I was 38 weeks pregnant and had fallen down the stairs. Apparently they take that sort of thing very seriously, as she came out from her booth and quickly got me into a bariatric-sized wheelchair. They bumped me ahead of the lady who came in just ahead of us, but when they realized I wasn't having any pain or leaking any sort of liquid things slowed down a bit.

I got checked in in the ER and was wheeled upstairs to maternity triage with another pregnant patient. They got us situated in our respective rooms, told us to get into gowns, and informed us where the bathroom was if we needed it. The nurse also informed me that they like to monitor pregnant fall patients for FOUR HOURS afterwards ... so we called my sister and let her know that it was going to be a while. After using the restroom, I got out of the compression hose I had so carefully squeezed myself into this morning. Then it took my husband and I, two college graduates, a few minutes of analysis before we could figure out how in the world the hospital gown went together.

Once I finally got into the gown, they hooked my belly up to the machine and I sat for a few hours. With nothing to do. I tried to sleep a little, but the bed was really uncomfortable and I was starving. Bryson took out his old cell phone and his new work phone and started entering in all his old contacts into the new phone. I had a few Braxton Hicks contractions, but that was all the action I saw. Finally, at around 1:30, I was deemed safe to leave and we headed home.

Today's lesson: wear shoes all the time. Especially when going down the stairs.

One week and one day left ...

38 Week Photo

I realize my goal of weekly photos has long gone by the wayside, but I thought I'd give you guys an idea of what I look like right now. Everyone loves a good belly bump picture, right?

Enjoy!

New Compression Hose ... The Saga Continues

Well, remember how I said I put a hole in my compression hose the other day? Sadly, shortly thereafter, I put another even larger hole in the thigh of the other leg. It was time for that pair to go, backwards legs and all.

I had gotten another prescription from my doctor just in case something like this happened, so once the little man was asleep and my mom was over to "watch" him I headed out. Usually the Women's Health Boutique is pleasantly not busy, but Friday afternoon was a bit of a madhouse. I thought I'd just be in and out with a new pair of the same compression hose, but I got a different person this time and, unlike the first time I went in, she decided to do measurements.

Now, when you're swollen and pregnant, the last thing you want to do is be measured. Trust me. Then I found out that the last thing you want is someone analyzing said measurements. The certified compression hose measurer took out her little tape measure and got measurements of my thighs, calves, and ankles. Awesome. She wrote down the numbers and marveled that my right leg was smaller by a half an inch than my left leg at the thigh but bigger than my left leg by a half inch at the calf.

Yeah? Jealous?!

Once she was done with her analysis of my misshapen legs, she grabbed the proper size of a new brand of compression hose and started to get me checked out. Unfortunately, though very sweet, this woman thought my name was "Jacquie Bryson" and had a terrible time trying to find my chart. Eventually, we got that straightened out, and I headed home to relieve my mom.

The new hose are fine, pretty much like the last pair. I'm really hoping the legs don't reverse themselves this time, but I'm not holding my breath. I'm trying to give up on the anger towards them and just be grateful that they're letting me continue to wear normal maternity pants and move about like I'd like to ... mostly, anyways.

Ahh, There It Is ... Bummer

It was snowy out today, so Big B, Little B, and I went for a walk in the mall tonight. We checked out a couple stores then made our way around the wings, weaving our way through the crowds of teenagers and families. About halfway through the third wing, I felt a familiar pain shoot up the right side of my belly.

Yup, the round ligament pain I felt so frequently while pregnant with Baylor was back. And with a vengeance, too. Just a few steps into it and I could barely stand up straight, the pain crept around to my lower back, and I was breathing hard ... really hard. We finished wings three and four, and then I had to sit down. Sadly, the seat was still really warm from the previous occupant, and I have to say it was pretty unsettling.

Anyhow, I digress.

I was pretty happy that I had avoided round ligament pain so far this pregnancy, so I was quite disappointed when it reared its ugly head tonight. Up until now I have been pretty mobile; the last time I went for a mall walk I was able to make it through three laps. Yeah, that's unlikely to happen again. Whether it's the way the baby's positioned or his/her size, my round ligament pain is likely to stick around for the next nine days whenever I walk any distance at any pace.

And now I kinda wonder what else the next nine days have in store for me.

Whew. Deep breath, Nicole!

Ten Days

Ten days left. Yup, just ten days.

In ten days I'll have two kids ... whoa. Isn't that amazing? Two whole kids. A boy and a ...?

Ten days feels both so incredibly short and like it is an eternity stretching ahead of me. I have so much to do in ten days; my tick tock list is still hanging out there, waiting for me to complete it, and all I keep doing is adding to it. It probably won't be finished before the kiddo comes, but I'm just going to have to be okay with that. And I will be, so long as some of the items get done for sure.

I only have ten days to enjoy this life I've gotten used to over the past year and a half. One week and three days to soak up my time with Baylor, hugs, kisses, tickles, and all, before my attention is divided forever. In just ten days, I have to start finding my way to a new normal. It won't necessarily be worse, most likely it'll be better, but I've never been comfortable with big changes like this so I'm feeling nervous. I keep telling myself that it'll be okay, that not so long ago I made another huge change very similar to this one and look how wonderful it turned out, but deep down I'm terrified. My thoughts are plagued with questions like "how do you take care of two kids", "how can I possibly love another kid as much as I love Baylor", "how do help two kids thrive ... won't one fall by the wayside", "what if it's a boy", "what if it's a girl", etc.

Even happy moments with Baylor feel numbered, and I feel both intensely protective of them and horribly guilty for not being over-the-moon excited for Paco like I was for Little B. It's not that I'm not happy to have another child, but life doesn't happen in a vacuum; things are different now than they were when Baylor was born and emotions change with life. Will I love this child? Yes, without a doubt; I already do. But the carefree elation I felt when I was pregnant with Baylor has been overshadowed by the knowledge of what will happen in the days ahead. Newborn time is not easy time, at least it wasn't for me, and I'm trying to keep as hopeful as I can for a better experience this time around.

And then there is the eternity ... ten days of poor sleep at night, Braxton Hicks contractions, swollen legs, compression hose, waddling, round ligament pain, anxiety, anticipation, and the cruel combination of exhaustion and an overwhelming urge to get things done. This week has dragged on like nobody's business, so the next ten days are a bit daunting. I want the day to be here already, the anticipation and anxiety to be behind me. I want to not feel nervous to start the new normal ... I just want it to be here already!

My doctor has all but assured me that it will be ten days and no less, so I also have begun to grieve a bit for the birthing experience I had hoped for, full of anticipation and unexpectedness. In ten days I'll be cut in half again and have to deal with all that entails. Hopefully I'll remember Paco's first day. Hopefully I won't feel like throwing up until I feel ripped in two all over again. Hopefully I'll be able to hold my baby sooner than I did Baylor. Hopefully.

In the end, all I can do is breathe deeply, try to get as much as I can done, let go of the rest, enjoy the time I have with just Baylor, and remind myself that he'll love having a sibling (hopefully sooner rather than later).

*I realize this post is probably horrible and scattered, but I guess that kind of reflects my mood and thoughts right now so I'm okay with it. I hope you will be, too.

37 Week Doctor Visit

I had my 37 week appointment today. Here are the stats:

Starting weight: 128 lbs.
Last week's weight: 178 lbs.
Current weight: 179.5 lbs.
Blood pressure: 106/66
Belly measurement: 40 to 41 weeks
Dilation: didn't check

To sum it up, I'm huge and the baby isn't coming early. I'm sleeping rather poorly, and I'm a little on the cranky side. Still starving. Still exhausted. And the water retention is amping up (today it feels like my calves are about as big as they can physically get), though I thankfully only gained a pound and a half this week.

In celebration, I'm going to eat a bowl of Mint Cookie Crunch ice cream before bed.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, the little man and I donned green and had a jolly good time today.

After my mom was so kind as to pick up cheese and Baylor's vitamins at the grocery store, we stopped by their house to pick them up. We ended up staying longer than I had anticipated, in no small part because they were interested in helping me get some cookies made to keep in our freezer. So, we set forth with our cookie task!

Little B even got to see the action from atop a step stool!

And he got to help shut the container of sugar!

"Hm ... what's in there?"

In this picture he is asking for the mixer to go "fast" ... one of his favorite words!

He decided to spice things up a bit by tearing little bits of paper off the top of the salt container and throwing them in the mixer. Luckily, Mom and Christine were able to fish them all out before they got mixed in.

Then he got to help put in the M&M's, and he didn't even try to eat one!

His little hands are generally moist (borderline sweaty), so the M&M's started sticking to his wee paws. To help solve this problem, he started picking up the candies with his right hand and transferring them to his left. It was an inexact science, to say the least.

Toward the end, he started telling us what color M&M he was putting into the bowl.

He is endlessly fascinated with the mixer ... I really should bake more.

My parents recently got a new oven, and the little man is still getting used to it. So, as usual, he had to inspect it and try to figure out how to make it beep.

Once he got down from the kitchen island, it was time to play.

First stop, under the bar stools to check out the tags.

Next up, a big, shiny, blue ball from Target.

He especially liked it when he'd run into us hard enough to knock himself over and we'd say, "Boing!"

He's also all about climbing; even if it's just atop his little Ikea step stool, he wants to see the world from a new perspective.

Oma opened a blank Microsoft Word document, and let him press on the keyboard. That was a huge hit with him!

On a sadder note, I put one of my fingers through the upper left thigh of my compression hose and now have a wicked run in them. Grrrr. I was so hoping they'd last this last week and a half!

Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone!

"Lightening"? Really?!

Whomever came up with the term "lightening" for when a person's baby drops into their pelvis should have their head examined. Or it was a man.

If you couldn't tell from the previous statement, I'm pretty sure the baby has dropped. It's a lovely, pelvic-breaking, back-aching, pee-inducing sensation really. Over the last few days, my body has gotten increasingly more uncomfortable, and as unprepared and overwhelmed as I feel I'm kinda getting ready for Paco to make his/her appearance.

I honestly don't remember this happening with Baylor; I don't remember feeling so much bodily discomfort at the end of my pregnancy with him, other than the intense swelling of my limbs. Maybe that distracted me from this whole "lightening" process, who knows?

It'll be interesting to see what my OB has to say this Thursday at our appointment. Last week she made it seem like the baby was still pretty high up, so hopefully she'll be able to let me know if this is all in my head or not.

If this is the baby dropping, I'm not enjoying it much. Oy!

36 Week Doctor Visit

I went to the doctor yesterday for my 36 week visit. Here are the stats:

Starting weight: 128 lbs.
Last week's weight: 172 lbs.
Current weight: 178 lbs. (sigh)
Blood Pressure: 104/? (either 60 or 80 ... the computer screen was far away and I couldn't really read it)
Belly Measure: 38 weeks
Dilation: 0 cm

Oh, and the Braxton Hicks contractions are really amping up. Yesterday morning I had 13 of them in an hour and a half, so I called the doctor's office and they told me to go to the ER. I sat there and debated it, then decided to wait to see what happened. They, of course, stopped and later on I found out that I'm not dilated at all, so it was a good thing I didn't rush off to the hospital. Regardless, my uterus is freaking out, and I can't say it's overly comfortable.

In spite of wearing my lovely, insane compression hose, I have still managed to retain a lot of water in my legs, a fact that irritates me to no end. By the end of the day, walking up the stairs to bed makes my knees feel like they are going to explode from all the water pressure. But, thankfully, my hands haven't puffed up too much yet, so I'm not suffering from the carpel tunnel syndrome I experienced while pregnant with Baylor. I hope that bit of it stays away for the duration.

So that's about it. I'm hungry all the time. I'm gaining weight like it's my job. I'm exhausted, stressed, worried, yet still trying to remain excited. Oh, and I started taking Zoloft (an antidepressant) this week to help combat post-partum depression, since I experienced it pretty intensely after Baylor was born. Hopefully things will be much more happy and joyous this time around.

Hope you have a wonderful morning!

Compression Hose ... Really? REALLY?!

For the last two weeks, I have been dutifully wearing maternity compression hose from the minute I get out of the shower to the minute I put on my pajamas at night. They are tight, they are warm, and they are exceedingly difficult to put on while pregnant (an irony that seems to be lost on my doctor).

Yesterday, in the compression hose area of my life, was miserable; I had somehow managed to get the left leg on really twisted and couldn't for the life of me fix it. I even got a second chance to put them on because I had to take them off for my doctor's appointment, and the left leg was still horribly corkscrewed - especially around the thigh area.

I went to put them on today and held them up so I could take a good look at them and try to figure out what in the world was going on. Much to my dismay, I looked at the left leg and found it to be backward. Yes, the left leg of my compression hose - my new pair, only a week old - had pulled an Exorcist-style move and turned itself completely around. Which probably means the other pair hadn't been sewn incorrectly. Apparently, after a week of continuous wear, one of the legs will just decide to freak out and face the other direction in protest.

Surprisingly, however, they went on really well today; so well, in fact, that I'm dreading having to use the bathroom for fear that they will get all messed up in the the up and down of the process. I have no idea what I did differently to make them feel better today; maybe it was just the complete hopelessness of getting them on correctly that helped out. Who knows?

Anyone ever have this happen with either normal nylons or compression hose? Anyone know how to fix it? Anyone? Anyone?

The Perfect Storm: Day 2

Little B started off day two of The Perfect Storm pretty happily. He got to have bananas for part of his breakfast, always a favorite.


And he got to bring butterfly to my doctor's appointment. Sadly, butterfly fell on the bathroom floor while we were there and now has to (somehow) be sterilized. Ugh.

He was a very good boy for my visit. He read books and generally kept himself busy. When my OB played the baby's heartbeat, Baylor looked around the room trying to figure out where the sound was coming from. Then when she took it off my belly, he said, "Off ... on?" Too cute!

After a quick stop at McD's for a shamrock shake (hey, I only gained two pounds since last visit), we went home and played for a little while. Finally, Baylor got hungry and we had lunch at the counter together.

He just loves sitting in his hippo chair!

He then went down for a nap that was, in my opinion, way too short - only about an hour or so. But, such is life.

After his nap, we took advantage of the warmer weather and went for a short walk. Our end goal was to pick up my in-laws' mail and paper, but we had a lot of fun along the way.

As it turns out, spring has started to ... well, spring!

Gorgeous day, huh? It was a bit brisk, but not too shabby for the beginning of March.

We walked until the sidewalk became bathed in sunlight; then, for some reason, Baylor stopped dead in his tracks and turned around. It may have had something to do with our neighbor's dog being outside and Baylor just loving dogs right now.

So he stared at the dog a bit. (Eventually he was brazen enough to go right up to Simon, the dog, and smile at him. Don't worry, I was right there as was Simon's owner, and he is used to small kids.)

Then we walked down to get the mail and paper, and my poor kiddo was pretty confused as to why we weren't hanging out and seeing Grandma and Grandpa. He banged on their door and tried to open it to no avail.

In all honesty, had he been wearing all black he would've looked like a little cat burglar. It was quite adorable.

He found a newspaper indicator marker on the ground and used it to scrape at the snow. It was a weird moment, but he thought it was hilarious!

Then, though we had accomplished our mission, he decided to go back to the front door and try to get in again. "Step!"

Isn't he the cutest?! (Yes, I know I am biased ...)

I was finally able to pry him away from their house, and we made our way home.

Once we got inside, his nose started running a bit and he seemed a bit tired.

And silly.

Just look at those rosy cheeks! His face and hands were so cold, but he didn't really seem to mind it much.

Yeah, he was a little tired from our walk.

But he perked right back up after a while and wore his Wee Wedgits as bracelets.

He kept making this face ... I think his nose was bothering him a little.

Today, his favorite number was zero. Can you tell?

"Peekaboo, Mom!"

He was interested in reading a book, so he took down his copy of "The New Baby" by Mercer Mayer ... then he said, "new baby". So I had to take a picture of the moment. (Now if only he knew there was an actual new baby coming.)

After a wonderful afternoon of hugs and laughter and all sorts of fun, I think it was expecting a lot that dinner would go smoothly. Little B didn't want to eat anything, particularly if he had to feed himself, so it was a frustrating event and our only real hiccup of the day.

I think it took him about twenty minutes to eat a bowl of applesauce, his favorite food. Whoa.

After dinner, he played in the living room by himself while I cleaned up the dishes. I heard a little grunting here and there, so I decided to go check it out. And I found him just listening to Raffi ... in a chair. He's really getting good at climbing, to say the least.

Then he climbed into his yellow bucket to play with his cups on the hearth. He even did a little mixed media work with his cups and his blocks!

Other cute things from today that I wasn't able to photograph:

Baylor asked for and sat through two whole readings of Horton Hears a Who! He loved the part when JoJo yells out, "Yopp!" So much so, in fact, that when I asked him, "What do we say?" he said, "Yopp!" instead of "Please."

He pointed out light and dark while we were eating dinner, as I didn't have the lights on in the dining room behind us.

He had me read The Digging-est Dog about four times today; I think he is truly enthralled by dogs at the present time. When we saw Simon, Baylor actually tried to enter their house to play with him!

He hugged me spontaneously a lot today. I have no idea why, but I'm not complaining.