Thursday, February 12, 2015

Baby Update

I'm 17.5 weeks right now, and I've been dragging my heals on getting anything done for the baby's arrival in July. I realize there's a lot of time left, but I'm cautious of the ailments that can arise in that 3rd trimester (like numb arms!), and prefer to have most things wrapped up by the end of the 2nd trimester so I can just kind of hang out until the baby comes.

We've been waiting to find out the sex of the baby before getting going on the nursery arrangements. We find out the 23rd of this month - can't wait! We both think it's a girl, but I would be delighted in another boy. Kyle has his heart on a girl. Time shall tell!

This time around there hasn't been nearly as many decisions to make as the first time. The few decisions we did (or still do) have to make were mostly about room situations and baby gear.
A few random decisions we have come to:

  • Baby will have their own room for the first 6 months or so, and then I'd like to move both kids into the smaller bedroom and use the bigger bedroom as a playroom. I love the idea of room sharing for many reasons, and hope that it works out for our family. I've been told it will be as successful as we make it. 
  • We will do cloth diapering again with baby. Two in diapers, you say? YES! I am in no rush to get Drew out of diapers. I can't imagine breastfeeding around the clock, and having to stop to help Drew every 11 minutes with his undies on the potty. Drew is showing zero signs of interest in potty training, and I'm hoping it stays that way for many moons. I imagine he'll potty train somewhere around 2.5 years old, at which point the baby will be 6 months old and I'll be able to better help Drew with that transition. Because Drew will still be using his cloth diapers when the baby comes, I have slowly been collecting a new stash of cloth diapers for the baby. The kids can share the diapers (the Bum Genius 4.0 are adjustable in the sizing), so I don't need another full set for the baby. Drew has 16 diapers right now, and baby has 8, so I'll probably just get a few more for baby. Once Drew is done with his diapers, I'll have a huge stash for the baby! Huge stashes are nice to have, but you still have to wash the diapers every few days because they get stinky, so a big stash doesn't necessarily mean less frequent laundry. I just bought some barely used diapers from a gal, and the stash included some models of Bum Genius I haven't tried yet (the Freetime), as well as some GroVia diapers. I've been trying them out on Drew and so far like them both. Now that I feel more comfortable with cloth diapers, I'm getting more brave at trying other brands. It's kinda fun! 
  • We will not be moving Drew out of his crib before baby comes. We are being gifted a crib by Kyle's sister, so there's no need to evict Drew out of his. Many people transition the toddler to a big boy bed when baby comes because they need the crib, or because their toddler is trying to climb out of the crib. We don't need the crib for baby, and Drew has not yet tried to climb out of his crib. We have him in a sleep sack still, and I think that would prevent him from getting his legs far enough apart to functionally climb out of the crib. So we plan to roll with the sleep sack for a long time! We will be moving Drew's crib off the wall that is shared between his bedroom and the baby's room, and at that time we'll remove the rocking chair from Drew's room and re-arrange his toys a little. We'll probably do that in the 3rd trimester to give him some time to adjust to his new room arrangement.
  • We will be doing Babywise with baby. This worked wonders with Drew, and we fully plan on doing this method again. In broader terms, Babywise is about keeping baby on a schedule that is parent-led based on baby's cues. The benefits are seen in the eating and sleeping departments, and then spill over into behavior and general family functioning. I know with this second baby I wont be able to be quite as scheduled as I was with Drew, but I am more confident in what I'm doing now and being a bit more relaxed doesn't scare me as much as it would have before. I would like there to be a set routine that we aim for each day, thus allowing us to be flexible as we go. You can't be flexible if you don't have a schedule or routine to flex from. The lack of a schedule or routine is not called being flexible, it's actually called chaos. I clarify this because sometimes we get criticized (I say we because Kyle is as much of a fan and supporter of Babywise as I am) for not being "flexible" with Drew. But we both agree it is precisely because of his routine that we are able to be flexible with Drew when we need to. At the end of the day...our circus, our monkeys. So Babywise for us it is! 
As for me, I'm doing great! The first trimester hit me hard, but I was oh-so-grateful for all of it. I'm even more grateful for a easy-so-far second trimester. I was having some posterior pelvic pain, but I started some new exercises at the gym that cleared it right up. Or my uterus moved as my belly grows out, and that may have helped too. When I was pregnant with Drew, I was working full time and not able to get to the gym. This time around, Drew and I go to the gym 3 times a week as part of our scheduled weekly outings. The childcare there is great, and I love the classes I'm taking at the gym (Body Pump and Zumba). The instructors are fun, and so supportive of me trying to adjust the workouts to be safe while pregnant. One lady in my Zumba class came up to me last week and told me I was doing a great job, and I started crying. Hormones! But seriously, it is so nice to feel encouraged for trying to workout when you're tired and just want to eat Oreos on the couch. I would like to say that the gym is helping me stay "fit" while pregnant, but I feel like my body just kind of deflated on me once I started showing. People tell me that your body "remembers" being pregnant and sometimes gets ahead of you; I would say I'm experiencing that! I took a cue from a friend and have mostly stayed off the scale this pregnancy. At my monthly check-ups, I just ask my doctor if my weight gain is on track and adjust accordingly. I have no problem with seeing numbers on a scale, I just find it's easier for me to abstain from conversations about pounds gained when I don't totally know my own numbers. Because really, I'm making life, and as long as I'm healthy and baby is healthy, I could give two toots about the numbers! Amiright?!

The only thing I've really been struggling with is realizing these are my last months with just Drew. He is so delightful and such a joy, and I just want to kiss his cheeks all day long. We're so thrilled that God is giving us another baby, but we already feel like we wont the lottery with Drew. So basically, we're just walking around constantly feeling like our hearts are going to explode from the elation of being parents. And when I'm rocking Drew before his naps (for my sake, not his), I just sometimes weep when I think about how my two kids are pressed up against each other in my lap. Just both my babies, right there (one on the outside, and one on the inside). That I'm sitting there, holding both our offspring, our blessings, our legacy...and I just know in my heart this is the exact place I am supposed to be right now. And I praise Jesus for that, every day.

Here are some weekly photos from the past few weeks:



Stay tuned for the gender reveal in a few weeks!