2011 - a year in Facebook status updates

January 7
Thank you for the thoughtful birthday wishes. Whether writing from across town, across the pond or the bottom of the world, it was wonderful to hear from you all!

January 8
Looking for vacation suggestions! Somewhere warmer than Minnesota (in March), direct flight from MSP and with either cultural and/or outdoor opportunities. Oh, and we'll have an 18-month-old with us. Where's your favorite place to visit?

February 19
In light of the protests in Wisconsin, I was reminded of this Onion article from last year bringing to light the increasingly hard work teachers face. Increasing Number Of Parents Opting To Have Children School-Homed
WASHINGTON—Thousands of mothers and fathers polled as part of the report believe that those running American homes, such as themselves, cannot be trusted to keep their kids safe. "Simply put, it's not the job of parents to raise these kids," said one parent.

March 16
JT Haines is running. Former policy director for John Marty, believer in universal health care (organizer for PassMHP), lawyer, film producer, swell guy, and Hansa teammate. In no particular order, of course. Election primary: March 29th!!  Seven candidates file to replace MN Sen. Ellen Anderson

March 19
Made it to Santa Fe!

March 21
Had my first biscochito, the New Mexico state cookie...why doesn't Minnesota have a state cookie?

April 30
I couldn't resist posting this in honor of any of my friends who take on the full-time, stay-at-home parenting job. What Did You Do All Day?

May 30
Suggestions on how to recycle old textbooks and paperbacks? We've donated what we could, but the rest is so outdated and we're not sure what to do with it.

June 17
About to hit the road bound for Duluth and the start of a Grandma's Marathon-filled weekend.

June 28
Arrived at 6:15 a.m. to return the rental car...the guy checking cars in saw I had a young kid and told me to not worry about unloading my bags because he'd have someone drive me in the car directly to the terminal...it was the nicest gesture I've experienced this whole pregnancy....then I threw up on the plane.

July 11
Anyone have a recommendation for an electrician in the St. Paul area? We're trying to get quotes as we march ahead with our basement renovation.

July 14
Chris is home from Dallas for good - no more business travel! Cue the Hallelujah Chorus.

July 17
Still so proud of U.S. women's soccer!

July 30
Good deed for the day: donated a bookshelf to a garage sale to benefit a bunch of Great Danes instead of selling it on Craig's List (original plan).

August 5
Found a permanent sitter to help keep our household afloat when Chris goes back to school and the new baby arrives. What a relief!

August 24
St. Paul ECFE families...anyone else in the Tuesday morning B-3 class at Monroe?

September 29
Oliver turns two today! And he's not going to have to share his birthday with his new sibling afterall.

October 11
Chris and I welcomed the arrival of Soren on October 11 at 12:16 a.m. in St. Paul, Minnesota. Everyone is recovering well from a long delivery and Oliver is excited to meet his new little brother.

October 19

October 23
With Oliver at Grandma and Grandpa's, Chris gets to yell at the TV while watching the Vikings, like in the good old days, pre-kids.


October 27
I know someone is definitely not a parent when he or she asks if my barely-three-week-old son is sleeping through the night yet. My response, do I look like he's sleeping through the night?

November 5
Chris gets four bars of reception on his cell phone in his deer stand in northern Minnesota. I can't even get that on my phone in my own home and have never gotten reception at the cabin. I guess I know where I'll need to go to make a phone call at the cabin next summer.

November 5
Anyone good at Blogger layout who could help me figure out how to make a few design changes?

November 8
I voted. Polls open until 8 p.m.

November 12
Pro multi-tasker - get the baby to nap and rake the leaves.

November 14
No mere babes in the woods

November 23
Had one of those dreams last night where I was relieved to wake up and confirm it had been just a dream. So my dad didn't really get me a puppy and a convertible for Christmas/my birthday. Generous gifts...just not practical for a mom of young kids living in Minnesota.
November 24
You know you're in Minnesota when your six-week-old son gets his first gun in preparation for deer hunting.
 

 
November 25
Took Oliver to visit a family member's farm...got bitten by a 300+ pound pig and then declined the opportunity to get in the pen with the cows, because it was too mucky...that was before I even saw the bull in there...Maybe I'm not cut out for farm life afterall.

November 30
Two Lesbians Raised A Baby And This Is What They Got

December 18
Made a lasagna tonight. I realized how easy making just one pan is now that I've grown used to making nine pans for my meal exchange.

December 22
Gay community apologizes to Amy Koch for ruining her marriage
 
 

A very merry brown Christmas

We had what Minnesotans refer to as a brown Christmas - meaning no snow.  And while snow is what I think Chris asks Santa for every year, with a new little one and a toddler, I'm not complaining right now about the lack of it.  Not only am I not climbing over snowbanks with a car seat or trying to push a shopping cart loaded down with children through a slushy parking lot, but we've had some unseasonably warm days as well.  I've been able to do more walking with the stroller than I usually do at this time of year, and the fewer items of clothing you have to bundle your kids in, the easier it is to "dash" out to the car. 

We did have quintessential winter weather earlier in the month when a few inches of snow and brisk temperatures greeted us on the morning we went to pick out our Christmas tree.  But the otherwise lack of snow the rest of the month didn't make the holidays any less festive.  We baked and decorated gingerbread cookies to deliver to our neighbors, sang Christmas carols with friends, received a visit from St. Nicholas, visited the Macy's "A Day in the Life of an Elf" at Santa Land in downtown Minneapolis and baked dozens of cookies for our annual cookie exchange with friends.  Although Oliver was not happy about visiting with Santa Claus at the beginning of the season, he was clearly interested in him as he excitedly pointed out Santa everywhere he saw him, whether it was a glimpse of him in a newspaper ad or a live Santa exiting the grocery store.

After the last trip to the post office had been made, presents had been wrapped and stockings had been hung with care, we packed up the kids and headed to Chris's parent's for the annual Christmas Eve potluck feast where we caught up with each other on a year's worth of news.  We had planned to put Oliver to bed upstairs around his normal bedtime, but before we knew it, it was THREE HOURS past his bedtime, he had consumed nothing but milk and trail mix and he was making repeated laps around the first floor wearing a Santa hat. 

Soren made the rounds among the arms of relatives and introduced himself to those he hadn't met before.  His Great-Grandma Ann particularly fawned over him.  She has Alzheimer's and although I was cognizant of continuously referring to him as her great-grandson or her grandson Chris's son, I was never completely certain she really knew who he was or if she'd remember him later on.  But that didn't seem to matter that night.  She seemed so happy to be able to cuddle a beautiful little baby in her arms and get a few smiles dripping with drool out of him. 

It was a sentimental evening for Chris's grandfather too who cried when he told Chris how proud he was of him and the beautiful family he had created.  Every time he gets to see his beautiful great-grandsons is a blessing, he said.  Now Chris's mom is the type to cry at weddings, but in my observations of the Cheslas, the Chesla men aren't the crying types. So I found the story especially poignant.
Despite the over stimulation of Christmas Eve, Soren kept his night-wakings to a minimum and Oliver slept in. Awesome!

We got Oliver dressed and camera-ready and went downstairs to open presents, but it turned out we were more excited about opening his presents than Oliver was. As soon as the presents had gone under the tree in the days before Christmas, Oliver had trouble staying away from them. He liked sorting them and using them like blocks, but on Christmas morning, he just didn't get the concept of unwrapping them. He'd become engrossed with the most current unwrapped gift and didn't care much that something equally as fun was underneath the wrapping of the next gift.  It was a good reminder for me as a parent that a few special gifts can go a long way.
After our traditional Christmas Day soup and sandwich lunch, and a nap for Oliver, we had a final round of opening presents at the grandparent's. 

This was the first year since moving to Minnesota that I haven't gone back to Philadelphia at Christmas time.  Now that I have a family of my own and Minnesota feels like home to me, I like being able to spend Christmas here, have my kids wake up on Christmas morning in their own beds and maintain as stress-free of a holiday for them by limiting the number of celebrations we attend and banning travel on the actual holiday days.  Unfortunately, it is impossible to be in two places at once.  So that means there were four of us missing from the Partenheimer Christmas celebration back in Philadelphia.  The first couple of Christmases after my mom died were really tough.  Bu the holidays are once again happier and more lively times now that my dad is remarried.  My brother, dad and I didn't just get a new step-mom/wife, but a whole extra family with Debbie's daughter, son-in-law, two kids, as well as her mom and mom's new husband.  With eleven people gathered around their table on Christmas Eve, they achieved having the most people come together for a Partenheimer Christmas.  So even though we couldn't have been two places at once, that doesn't mean I didn't fantasize about it being possible, or at least how I could convince the Philadelphia relatives to move to Minnesota.

Breastfeeding in public

Every now and then I come across a story in the news about a woman being asked to leave an establishment or cover up because she's breastfeeding.  These stories make me raging mad!  In Minnesota and most other states, (but, frustratingly, not all) breastfeeding is legal in any public or private location (so, yes, that means restaurants) and breastfeeding is exempt from any public indecency laws.  I don't care whether you think breastfeeding is disgusting or if public breastfeeding is okay in one location, but not another, or if a woman should still cover up "out of respect" no matter what the law says.  Sorry, folks, breastfeeding is protected under law. Period.  So I would hope these women had the courage to tell these busybodies to go mind their own darn business or put a blanket over their own heads if they don't like what they're seeing. 

Regardless whether the law protects the right to breastfeed anywhere, perceived perception by strangers, or even a woman's own friends and family, is intimidating.  I know the stories of bad experiences and my own unease about potentially exposing too much flesh when I was still new to breastfeeding were what made me so anxious about feeding my baby in public.  I was always so afraid of Oliver waking up when I was out and about and wanting to be fed that instant.  I'd meet friends at the mall that first winter as a mother to walk and would make the trek far out of my way to find the lounge of a restroom to feed him even as I passed 100 benches along the way.  And on top of that, I'd pull out my nursing cover even though I found it hot (for me and baby) and cumbersome to use.

Within the span of the year I breastfed Oliver, my comfort with breastfeeding quickly increased until it felt like second-nature.  And I stopped caring what others thought.  The nursing cover that once gave me the much-needed confidence to breastfeed in public went mostly unused.  Now I wonder if the cover had brought more attention to the fact that I was breastfeeding when in reality, without one, few probably even noticed what I was doing.  At least Chris's cousins didn't this past Thanksgiving when they swarmed me to get their first peek of a "sleeping" Soren.  They cooed at him as they leaned down just a couple inches above his face to get a better look (you know, since he was turned towards me with his face pressed against my breast) and a few seconds passed before they realized that he was not only awake, but eating.  Only then did they scurry out of the room.  I had a good laugh about the irony.

I'm glad to say that I haven't had a single bad experience, not even a dirty look, (although I've seen plenty of kids, young and not so young, stare) directed at my public breastfeeding.  This gives me faith that our culture's opinions about breastfeeding are indeed changing.  Or maybe public opinion is simply coming full-circle.  I was sitting on a bench at Target last week feeding Soren (cover-less) when a woman who I guessed was in her late 80s walked past, stopped and asked how old my baby was.  I thought it was unusual for a stranger to make small-talk with me while I was breastfeeding, because most people are too embarrassed to look at me, let alone talk to me, (Chris's cousins case in point) under such a circumstance.  She made remarks about what a precious age and how lucky I was and as she turned to continue on her way, said, "It's so nice to see that."   

Soren's two-month wellness check-up

Since Soren is eating well and visibly getting bigger by the day, I wasn't too concerned when he had his weigh-in at his two-month wellness check-up.  At 11 pounds, 10 ounces and 23 inches long, he's in the 50th percentile.  (His head measurement is 15 1/2 inches, 45th percentile, for whatever that's worth.)

So far Soren hasn't been afraid of the doctor.  He gazes around and maybe whimpers or lets out a cry if he gets cold or is startled, but otherwise, he's calm.  Such a contrast to Oliver who has pretty much screamed through the entirety of every doctor's appointment since birth! 

Wellness check-ups are prime opportunity to ask the pediatrician questions, especially the little stuff you're curious about, but wouldn't bother calling the office to ask.  At Oliver's appointments, I often had a litany of questions written out ahead of time so I wouldn't forget anything.  Given that Soren is healthy and this is the second time I've been through this stage, it was a rare moment that I didn' have a single concern about something that was going on with my kid. 

That's not to say that I had nothing to pick the doctor's brain about.  I really wanted to know her opinion about "cry it out." The topic of crying it out is a very contentious topic among moms groups, and even though I believe letting a baby cry in certain circumstances helps them learn to fall asleep on their own and isn't detrimental to their overall well-being, every time I state my opinion on the matter, I wince and wait for the backlash. It's one of those topics, it seems, where people aren' t going to agree to disagree.

I explained to the pediatrician that I've encountered a couple of circumstances in the evening (prime over-tired and fussy periods for babies and young kids) where Soren is clearly tired, but doesn't settle down to try to sleep.  He's been fed and changed, so hunger or a soiled diaper isn't the problem.  Sometimes he doesn't want to be held in our arms and will arch his back and cry out in frustration or will repeatedly spit his pacifier out.  Soothing techniques like rocking or shhing may only work as long as we keep at them.  His only problem is that he is over-tired and can't sleep.  So I bundle him up in his pajamas and sleepsack and put him in his crib and hope that my endurance to listen to him scream is stronger than his will to fight off sleep. 

She assured me it is not only fine to let a baby cry under the circumstance I described, but good to allow him the chance to learn to fall asleep on his own.  Nonsense was her response to my comment about how there are a lot of opinions about when one could start using "cry it out" with a baby, such as when the baby has reached a certain age or weight.  She felt bad for the poor mother who was waiting until six months, or whatever age she'd heard it was okay, to let her baby learn to sleep, just so she could get over her own sleep deprivation. 

You always hear that only you know your kids best and you should do what you think is right for them, (but then are criticized if doing what's right for them isn't what the other parent agrees with) so in my gut, I know that letting my kids cry and learn to soothe themselves to sleep is what is going to work best.  But it sure is nice to hear some validation from a doctor.

Goodbye to my life as a stay-at-home mom

I'll just come out with my bittersweet news. I found a job. Actually, a job found me. Just when I was starting to get back into the groove of being a stay-at-home-mom, now that I have more energy and am feeling comfortable with two kids, I got a call about an open position at an organization I interviewed with some time ago. After one interview, the job was mine.

The thought of when and how to reenter the paid workforce never leaves the subconscious of those who stay home with their children. I wasn't sure when the "right" time to go back to work would be. When Chris finishes school? Simply when Soren is a little older? When the youngest enters kindergarten? Even if I had my time as a stay-at-home mom perfectly planned out, there's always that fear that I won't be able to find a job when I want to go back. What if my skills aren't considered current or employers are turned off by a large gap in my resume? So I was thankful my new boss took a chance on me. Even though my youngest isn't yet sleeping through the night, when a job offer landed in my lap, I decided it was the right time to accept.

Given the economy and, particularly, the dwindling number of jobs in the public sector, a job offer is exciting news. But like I said, it's bittersweet. Accepting means that I will have less time with my kids and the wonderful friends who've been a part of my daily life since Oliver's birth. Yes, change is scary, but at the same time it is exciting. So I'm transitioning to this next stage in my life with an open mind and am focusing on the positive aspects.  I will be getting back into my field and learning new skills at a job that will be as conducive to a work/life balance as a full-time job can offer and Oliver and Soren are able to attend a well-run daycare where they can meet other kids. 

Soren update: 2 months

Now that Soren is starting to smile, I'm really going to get nothing done.  I'll be feeding him and then look down to realize he's finished eating and he's gazing up at me.  When I meet eyes with his, he tries to smile.  Can you imagine how that melts my heart?  This is such a precious time in his life when he has eyes for no one but his mom.  And I'm really appreciating the innocence I see in those eyes.  With all the hate there is in this world, Soren knows nothing of this yet.  All he knows right now is love and happiness, especially when they come in the form of a warm cuddle and free-flowing milk. 

I can say that Soren has completely shed his newborn look and is 100% baby now.  He's still little and cuddly, and has the low neck muscle strength head bop going on, but he's definitely getting bigger.  He still elicits squeals from friends and strangers alike about how little and new he is, but I feel like those days are numbered and that makes me kind of sad. 
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Not that I realistically want Soren to be little forever, of course.  It's comforting to watch him grow bigger and stronger.  Since he can hold his head up so much better now, I thought maybe he'd be able to use the Ergo without the infant insert, but he's not quite there yet.  But he can stand tall when supported in a standing position and I've noticed how much higher and longer he can hold his head up during tummy time.  As for size, he's already in size 2 diapers and has outgrown his 0-3 month sleepers.

Soren is starting to become more aware of his surroundings.  Others had pointed out how he turns his head towards me if someone else is holding him, but just recently I've noticed it's true.  Recently we were at the zoo and I had thought Soren would nap the whole morning in his stroller, but when I noticed he was wide awake when we stopped to see the penguins, I took him out of his car seat and held him up in front of the penguin's tank so he could have a look.  At first I thought his head was just rolling around because he doesn't have firm control over it yet, but then I realized he really was tracking the penguins as they swam by us. 

After a really trying month of little sleep and my zombie-like state of existence, at around 5.5 weeks, Soren started sleeping in longer stretches and I resumed feeling more human-like again.  One night he simply went from sleeping in one-to-two-hour stretches to having a stretch of sleep as long as five hours each night.  I'd gone from losing track of how many times I got up and sometimes not falling back asleep between feedings to only getting up twice at night.  Frustratingly, he's regressed a little and a three-hour stretch is about average, with four if we're (I'm) lucky. 

Soren has been to quite a few parties in his short life.  I'm thrilled to have more energy and be able to go out to see friends past sundown, and I'm taking advantage of Soren's portable stage and bringing him with me.  I catch up with friends and he sleeps strapped to my chest in the Ergo and we're both happy.

A Book on Every Bed

The "A Book on Every Bed" campaign is simple.  Place a book on your kid's bed on Christmas morning (or whatever holiday you celebrate) and spread the love of reading.  The campaign's goal is to put a million books on a million beds because, alarmingly, significantly less than half of kids in the U.S. have books in their homes and/or have parents who read to them regularly. 

Oliver and Soren are lucky, because they will never be lacking books since I think kids can never have enough of them.  (Even if they just want to read the same few over and over again.)  If relatives or friends want to spoil them, then spoil them with books.

I happened to read about "A Book on Every Bed" shortly before I took the kids to story time at our favorite kids bookstore.  They get books from Mom and Dad every birthday and Christmas, so I decided that in the spirit of the campaign, I'd make sure two more books are added to the tally.  We'll see what books await Soren and Oliver at the foot of their crib or bed this Christmas morning.

Soren's first St. Nicholas Day

Oliver helped Soren observe his first St. Nicholas Day by eating his chocolate.  I had made a special exception in allowing Oliver to eat the Hershey's kisses St. Nicholas had brought, but gosh, those little size 6.5 shoes can hold a lot of candy!  So I eventually cut him off. Oliver whined and cried when I put his Hershey's Kisses-filled shoes out of reach, until he discovered he could pilfer some Kisses from Soren's shoes. (Even his little shoes fit a lot of candy.)  I guess Oliver figured Soren wasn't going to eat his candy anyway...

With his chocolate supply cut off for the morning, Oliver still got to enjoy a Clementine and a handful of trail mix with breakfast.

Two lesbians raised a baby and this is what they got

By now you've probably already seen the video Two Lesbians Raise a Baby and This is What They Got, in which Zach Wahls addressed the Iowa House of Representatives, which was considering a Constitutional Amendment banning same-sex marriage.  (It is currently legal in Iowa.)  Actually, this is the second time the clip has gone viral.  I managed to miss its first go at Internet sensation at the time Zach made his speech back in February. 

I found Zach inspiring and as I watched him describe his family as not being different than any other families and talk about how being raised by two lesbian parents has had zero effect on his character, I wondered how anyone could look him in the eye and say his family should be second-class citizens in the eyes of the government.  (The amendment did pass the House, but wasn't taken up by the Senate.)

Sadly, last May the Minnesota House and Senate passed a bill proposing an amendment to our constitution that would prohibit same-sex marriage.  Minnesotans will vote on the amendment next November.  It makes me sad not only that we're even voting on whether to discriminate against a specific group of people, but also because of the divisiveness that putting such an issue on a ballot causes.  I remember how a vote in 1998 to repeal an anti-discrimination law in Maine divided my college's student body.  How you were planning to vote was a heated topic and lines were drawn among friends, roommates and classmates depending upon which side of the issue you supported.

My college years shaped how I feel today regarding discrimination based on sexual orientation. Shortly before that vote in my freshman year, a friend came out to me.  We had become friends when he moved into my dorm after not getting along with his roommates, who I later learned bullied him because they thought he was gay.  Although I would go on to befriend many other gays, and learn that some old friends were gay, but I'd just never known it, my friend and future roommate had the biggest influence on my beliefs.  I never questioned how I would vote, but suddenly the idea of discrimination went from abstract to personal when he came out. 

The vote we will have here in Minnesota is still personal, not just for the many gay couples I know, but for my kids whose sexual orientation is yet to be known.  It would make me very upset to watch my state pass a constitutional amendment that could possibly deny one of my kids a right their own parents had had.  As well-spoken and impassioned as Zach Wahls was, I hope that my kids will never feel compelled to have to make a similar speech.

Christmas carols

I can't sing, can't read music, never can remember more than the first line of a song and don't even really have much interest in music, let alone singing.  I'm often embarrassed to sing in groups, lest I annoy the person next to me by singing so horribly out of key.  Heck, I'm self-conscious about singing in front of my own kids.  But the nostalgia of Christmas carols is too strong to stop me from wanting to sing along.

So I actually enjoyed myself when I attended a "Carols and Cocoa" party friends hosted.  I couldn't have found a more wholesome Advent season gathering.  In an era of over-scheduled calendars and music on demand, how many of us have the opportunity to sit around the piano with our kids and friends, mugs of cocoa in hand, and sing Christmas carols? 

They even provided a packets with the lyrics for those of us who don't know the words past Fa la la la la, la la la la.

Maybe next year

We had prepped Oliver by asking if he'd been naughty or nice, whether he'd been a good boy this year and what he wanted for Christmas, but this year he didn't even give Santa a chance to ask.  Last Christmas he was none too happy about sitting on Santa's lap, but he couldn't walk yet and wasn't as strong, so he didn't have much recourse when he was plopped on Santa's lap.  This year he's a full-fledged toddler with a (strong) will of his own.  Letting him swipe as many cookies as he wanted from the snack table had kept him in good spirits while we waited in line, but right before it was his turn to visit with the jolly old man and his sweet wife, Oliver made it clear he was  not interested. So while Oliver hung back with Dad, I took advantage of Soren napping, placed him in Mrs. Claus's arms and got my photo op with at least one of my kids with the Clauses.

We tried cheering Oliver up by taking him over to have his face painted.  Oliver LOVES painting - he'd been talking about it since he got up that morning.  Except he didn't understand that he wasn't getting to paint - that someone was going to paint for him instead.  He probably thought, what's the fun in that?  He sat patiently at the table at first and eyed the paints, brushes and paper, but became increasingly agitated when no one granted his requests for "paint" and "brush."  We decided to leave before a full meltdown ensued and we literally carried him away from the table. 

As we left, we saw a couple of other kids Oliver's age who cried at the sight of Santa Claus, so it's clearly the age.  I guess we'll just have to try again next year.

I love not being pregnant

Chris has a wise cousin who, with three kids of her own, offers pieces of wisdom or encouragement regarding pregnancy or parenting just when I need them most.  The first time I saw her when I was pregnant with Soren, I was halfway through.  I had already endured a very rough first trimester and a half and was already into the "hugeness" stage when I saw her.  I was uncomfortable and, honestly, I wasn't loving pregnancy much.

She hadn't known I was pregnant and my protruding stomach's announcement caused a lot of excitement and rounds of "Congratulations!"  I tried to keep talk of my pregnancy positive and upbeat, but when the usual pregnancy chit chat subsided, she turned to me and said, "I'm so much more comfortable now that I'm not pregnant."  That's exactly what I needed to hear.

She had given birth to her third child four months earlier and looked as equally relaxed, happy and healthy post-pregnancy and she did during.  At the time, I had forgotten what it was like to not have to go to the bathroom every half an hour, eat a decent-sized meal and not feel uncomfortably full, and not stop for a breather going up a flight of stairs.  I really didn't believe her, but she assured me it was going to be better, even when you're trading sleep deprivation due to fatigue and being too uncomfortable to sleep with up-all-night with a baby sleep deprivation.

Now that I'm not pregnant anymore, you know what, I can say she was right.  And I want to sing it from the rooftops.  I'M SO MUCH MORE COMFORTABLE (AND HAPPIER) NOW THAT I'M NOT PREGNANT! 

I still have a ways to go to feeling awesome though. I have a lot of weight to lose until I can feel good about the way I look and my physical recovery has been a frustrating process. I'm still feeling sore enough that I don't think I can handle more than walking for exercise.  Which is a bummer for someone who after nearly a year of not getting any type of exercise that would break a sweat wants to experience a runner's high again.  Sleep is slowly getting better, although eight hours of consecutive sleep feels like an unattainable goal.  But at least I don't feel like a zombie in the morning now that Soren is sleeping in longer than one-to-two-hour stretches.  And I'm not experiencing pregnancy fatigue.  Hallelujah for that.  When I was pregnant, I never felt rested, even with eight hours of uninterrupted sleep.  I'm amazed at how much better I feel now, even though my sleep is always interrupted and I consider six hours of sleep a good night.