Help Preparing for Baby #2

Welp... done a ton of research ... and talked to friends ... and friends of friends ...

Yes, my husband and I will need a double stroller.

I'll figure out a way to convince him later.   :)

Okay, so in the running were the Peg Perego, Kolcraft and Citi Mini.

All waaay too expensive, but the easiest to maneuver and store for a mom who may find herself running out on errands solo with a 2-year-old and newborn.

The winner -- (drum roll please) -- the Citi Mini 2011 Double Stroller !!!  By an overwhelming majority.

I say the 2011 model because it's cheaper than the 2012 ... though not by much I've found.

Anyone have a used one here on the First Coast they'd like to sell?

Also looking for some advice on baby monitors.

The one we have (which saved me from having to have Alexandra sleep with us when she was born) has been great!

It's a Summer brand model, but with so much use by so many different people at our home (family, sitters, etc) ... it's starting to short circuit ... and the company no longer sells it, so no 2nd camera for baby #2.

Any suggestions?

I'd like another monitor equipped with audio and video and multiple camera capability... though I'm sure Alexandra will be climbing out of her big-girl-bed when she's done sleeping so no need to really monitor her ... buuuuttt .... mommy can't help it.   :)

Truckin' Along

Why ... am I in such a rush to have this baby?

I'm uncomfortable -- well, my lower back is, trying to carry this boulder in the front --  but I'm definitely not in any pain...

I'm told i don't look nearly as swollen as I did this time last pregnancy. Walking this time is more of a challenge but no biggie....

And no signs of trouble at the doctor's office!

Still, i was soo excited to tell the doctor today, that the baby had dropped waaay low in my pelvic region -- thinking the doctor would say I'd be due to give birth sooner rather than later......

"Nah.  It doesn't mean anything," the doctor said, barely looking up from my charts and measurements on his computer.

Darn.

The only difference for the docs -- i have to see them every week for regular visits, until delivery day.

Sounds easy enough.

Now, if I could just find a way to not feel so sleepy throughout the day!

It's the funniest thing -- hits me all day long.

I want to sleep when my alarm goes off for work in the morning.. and then right after the morning newscasts ... anytime after I eat... or if I'm stationary for too long...

It's actually fascinating.
And even after I've gotten a good nap / night's sleep, I'm good for a couple of hours -- then I'm sleepy again!

Don't We Need A Double Stroller?

The nesting process has begun  (not a fan of that word, but that's what we're doing...again.  lol!)

We got Alexandra's big girl bed -- YAY!   Just need to get a mattress for it -- which, at the rate we're going, could take another week.... ugh!

And NOW hubby wants to paint Alex's new big girl room ..... yes, now -- the month before baby's due.  Oy.   He doesn't like the pale yellow that's already in there.  I think it's fine, but ... whatevs.

Here's something else my husband and I disagree on.

He thinks we don't need to get a double stroller to cart around baby and Alexandra.  But I think we do!  

I mean, we're not always going to leave the house together -- what the heck are we supposed to do, with a child that can't walk yet and one that doesn't always feel like it?!?

I've started searching for one -- they're awfully expensive!

The only other thing I'd like to have but can't -- yet -- is clothes.

Problemo -- are we having a boy or girl ?!?!? 

The suspense is now killing me!   Don't know how hubby can stand it!!

8.5 Months Pregnant

Yeah.  I'm a little blissfully nervous.

I say blissfully, because the end of my pregnancy is nothing like what happend my first go-'round.

With Alexandra, I had to have an emergency c-section.

Back then at 37+ weeks, I went to a regular doctor's appointment for a checkup during my work break.

We all knew I'd have to have a c-section because Alex was breech; her butt was situated where he head should have been.    :)

However, the nurse & doctor noticed during that checkup, that all my amniotic fluid had disappeared.

Not good.

I was told to go straight to the hospital because I was having the baby that day!

This time around, the baby is head down and has already 'dropped'...  Funny- i happened to notice this week i could walk from my bedroom to the kitchen without becoming winded because the baby was no longer wedged up super high into my ribs. lol...

So now -- i guess i just wait, and enjoy being able to breathe normally for the first time in a few months.

The doctor told me I don't have to have another c-section, but there is a 1-percent chance of the old c-section cut ripping during labor.   It's not a big percentage, but if it were to happen ... it could be deadly due to the loss of blood, among other things.

So, I think i'm opting for another "c"... but i'm not so sure what happens if i'm already in labor when i arrive at the hospital..

Gotta write that question down for the doctor.  Next appointment- next week!

Do I Warn Alex About Breastfeeding?

I've gotten 2, totally different pieces of advice from friends about the same topic.

Do I warn Alexandra beforehand, what breast feeding is?

One friend of mine was adamant.

With her eyes opened as wide as someone just scared by a ghost during a funeral, Kim warned me -- "YES!!  You NEED to tell Alex what breastfeeding is all about!!!"

Apparently, when her 2nd child was born, her older (but still very young) son FREAKED out when mom suddenly whipped out a breast and let baby #2 start suckling away.

Scarred him for a few months, actually.

Not sure how old her son was at the time ... but my best friend Karen just had her 2nd baby -- and gave me the opposite advice.

Karen has a 2-year-old daughter who saw, for the first time, her mother breastfeed over the weekend.

"What's that?" little Madison asked.

Karen said, referring to her own breasts, "There's milk in there for the baby."

Madison was satisfied with that answer, and went about her day ... until a little later, when Madison wanted some milk.

Karen caught Madison squeezing her own chest.

"What are you doing, Madison?"

"I want some milk."

"You don't have milk in there," Karen said while trying soo hard not to laugh out loud.

"Yes I do!" Madison insisted.

"Well, you only have milk in there if you have a baby in your tummy.  Do you have a baby in your tummy?"

.........................pause............................

"No."

"Well then you don't have milk in there, Maddie."

And that was that.   LOL... too freakin' funny.

So.  Which piece of advice do I go with?   Explain to Alexandra beforehand what breastfeeding is, or just wait for the questions to roll in?

I'm going to have to find a new pet name for Alexandra. lol....

Until yesterday, I never noticed how often I call Alex, "baby" .. or "my baby" --

"Are you all done eating, my baby?"
"Time to take a bath, my baby!"

Yesterday, as I was waiting for the other baby to move so Alex could feel it in my tummy, I said, "We need to find a name for the baby!"

Alexandra looked at me, and without missing a beat she said, "My name Alex."

Ooooooh, yeeeeeaaaaah...... about that........

And then -- during the same conversation, I asked Alex if she knew where the baby was.

I meant, on my body.

She says to me, "I right here, mama!"

Sooooo-- a little deprogramming is in order, though it sure will be hard to break the habit --

Ahem....

"HEAR YE, HEAR YE!  I SHALL NOW ... HENCE-FORTH AND HERE WITHIN AND SO FORTH ... REFER TO ALEXANDRA AS MY 'BIG GIRL', AND THE NEW BABY AS 'BABY #2'!"

Wish me luck!

Baby's BIG !

Well ... bigger than his/her older sister at least.

Another check up with the doctor and sonogram measuring tools estimate my 2nd baby is nearly 4 pounds at the end of the 7th month.

That puts him/her in the 55th percentile in weight.
That's also about how much Alexadra weighed when she was born!  (4 lbs, 10 oz)

No wonder i look and feel twice as big this time around.  lol.

Baby's head is still pointed downward -- so i figure those are his/her feet i feel fluttering up around the base of my ribs  (graphic, huh?)

And now that baby can swivel his/her head, sharp pangs against my bladder and whatever else is down there make it difficult to get comfortable in extremes: moving from a long drive in the car, to walking ... or from sitting upright to lying down for the night.

Pleasant, right?

I Am Eating Like a Fiend!

Even this second time around my husband cannot get over how much I'm eating during my pregnancy.

And believe it or not, I'm not enjoying eating every few hours -- it's become a chore.

I feel like a junkie at work.
With certain co-workers I know who will be passing by food on their travels at certain times -- It's gotten to the point where they just automatically call me at their "appointed times" to see if I'd like them to pick me up something... lol....

At least I'm eating healthy, depending on how you feel about eating meat.   :)

I'm not big on eating red meat.

This pregnancy though -- i just can get enough of it.  Meat in general; any kind.
I try to eat chicken and fish.. we had pork tenderloin last night (thank youuu, hubby!) .. steak on the grill last weekend -- you name it, i'm chowin' down on it.

I don't understand it. I wanted nothing to do with red meat during my 1st pregnancy.

Hopefully my meat craze will end after the baby's born.

Hubby's pork tenderloin w/raisin and pineapple dressing -- YUM!

Peanut-A vs. Peanut-B

As time ticks away and our 2nd baby's birth creeps closer... all kinds of questions are flooding our brains --

Will my husband and I ever "see" each other again with a 2nd child in the mix?
How do we make this a smooth transition for our first born?
Do we go with a prepaid college plan, or education IRA?

What's interesting, is the question my husband asked me yesterday -- that kinda caught me off guard.

"Do you think you might ignore Alexandra because of the new baby?"

I was surprise, because I was thinking just the opposite:  My fear of resentment toward the new baby because of time he or she takes away from Alex.

I don't know why I'm afraid of that ... I have no intention of loving one child more than the other, and definitely want to give equal attention to both... which (now that I'm "saying it out loud") is probably impossible because Alex is pretty self-sufficient, aaaand a baby is, of course, not.

I'm giving myself a false sense of hope we will all adjust splendidly to our new arrival, by making it Alex and my project to fix up her new room!

Yep -- the 3 of us went searching for a "big girl" bed this past weekend -- so many cool set ups out there now!   And these stores are pretty proud (too proud) of their product!  Sheesh.  A little more $$ and hubby and I could get a brand new bed.

30 Weeks And Counting !

Wow!  It's been a while since I've written ... and I'm FREAKING OUT.


Just returned from my now bi-monthly visit to my OBGYN...


I though if a woman had a C-section for her 1st pregnancy, she had to have one for her 2nd ... lowering the risk of ripping and hemorrhaging from the incision which could lethally endanger mom and newborn.


Nope.


Well, yes -- that can happen.


However unbeknownst to me, the chance of blood pouring from my abdomen uncontrollably during labor and delivery the 2nd time around because I had a C-section the 1st time    (sorry -- the translation of a freaked-out brain) ... is only --

 1-percent.

(Pppft!   Whatevs.   It can happen.)

So, imagine me be-bopping into the doc's office, wondering when we're going to schedule my 2nd C-section, and the doc says, "Oh. We can schedule one if you want to...."


Heh?????


Suddenly my brain is instantly spinning --
"ok, let's schedule one... a week before I"m due?!?! .... wait ... what if i start labor before that? ... are ambulances equipped to handle C-section incision rips?!?! ... what if no one's around and i have to drive myself to the hospital... ***GASP*** ... will i even have the strength to call 9-1-1 ???"


 .... sigh......   I'm ok ....


Really.


Usually what I do in these instances is take a nap and save the worrying for some other time. Lol.


Let's see --
I'm 30 weeks pregnant, and twice as big this 2nd time around.


My little Alexandra (baby #1) was born at 37 weeks.


HAHAH!  Whew.  Hope I make it that long!  Not sure how much more my body can stretch!

Ah, well...  zzzzzzzzzzz.....





PEANUT #2 !