I never thought it would happen, but I haven't been as into blogging lately as I used to be. Facebook and Pinterest (mostly the latter) have been taking over the majority of the time I spend on the internet.
Remember how I used to post pictures on here of crafts I made? Honestly, since Pinterest, I've been making too much stuff to even have time to take pictures of it all. I've sewed tons of things--pajama pants for Jamie (free pattern), burp cloths (free pattern), and just recently finished a car seat cover (free pattern) for the baby. And my friend helped me make a patchwork quilt-top, but it's actually pink. (I had leftover flannel from my first pair of pajama pants that I made in my high school sewing class. It was more about the process than the finished product.) So that's being saved for our someday-daughter. Oh, and I've also made my own hand soap and laundry detergent, and made around ten freezer meals for post-partum. If you'd like to look at my boards, you can see them
here.
So, I have 4 days to go...ish. I've actually felt some contractions this time around, strong ones even, but nothing regular yet. I had NONE with Jamie until I was induced, so I don't really know what it's like to go into labor in the traditional sense. We're just trying to do everything we can to get ready; Jason is steam-cleaning the living room rug next to me as I type this. Whatta guy. :)
At my midwife appointment last Tuesday, the baby was at a -1 station, and I was dilated almost to a 2, 80% effaced. We were hard-pressed not to get a little excited, but then, nothing. I think this happened about the same way with Jamie. This past Tuesday, he was 0 station, no other changes. So, it will be interesting to see when this little guy decides to come out.
I don't know if the all-natural thing will be successful or not; I haven't had the time/discipline that I wanted to train myself in hynobirthing, i.e., to train the body and mind on getting deeply relaxed on command. Since I'm nervous about having two kids, especially with my limited child-rearing capabilities and in such a small space (still in our little two-bedroom apartment), my focus has been on getting ready for life AFTER baby, rather than the day of his birth. I still feel good about trying, and if I do accept pain medication, he will still be born more gently and peacefully that the average birth attended by an MD--low lights, immediate skin-to-skin, gentle cleaning, soft voices, pokes and tests will be seen to at a later time, etc. We'll see how things go, and I'm going to do my best and not hate myself if I find that it's just not right for me at the time.
I would hope that if I do get an epidural, or due to the fact that I would even consider it beforehand, that no one (especially no one I'd call a friend) would take pleasure in thinking that I was "wrong," or gloat that they "knew" I couldn't do it. Most people who would even read this blog would never do that, I'm sure, but for the few I'm not so sure about--I'd appreciate it if you'd please keep comments of such nature to yourself.
I thought I'd post a few things about Jamie, before the baby starts taking up a lot of the attention. Jamie's...well, where do you start? He hasn't slept in the "big-boy bed" we set up for him yet. He'll say he wants to, we'll kiss him goodnight, walk out, and ten seconds later his door will open and he'll come out and tell us, "I need seep in my crib." Apparently he hasn't figured out that if he would sleep in the twin, he wouldn't need to bellow for us to come get him in the mornings.
In the mornings and after his naps, Jamie will say, "Mama, what I dremt bout?" That means,
ask me. So we say, "What did you dream about?" And each time he'll say, "Boouuut...Dino-sores, and heli-topters, and elephants, and..." the list goes on, the same with new things added each day. "Peatots [peacocks], leopards, air-panes." It's pretty cute.
He's obsessed with helicopters lately, and watches the most horrible, cheesy 1995 low-budget kids' show about them EVERY DAY. It's utterly painful. The small airport a few miles from our house had an Aviation Day this past Saturday--it was such a blessing! Didn't cost us a cent, no long lines, and Jamie not only got to see helicopters and airplanes up close, but got to sit in them and watch a helicopter take off! He still talks about it every day.
I would put up the pictures, but the camera is upstairs and I'm almost 9 months pregnant. So, maybe tomorrow.
***March 17th: here ya go.
About to get on the "bus" that took us over to the festivities from the parking--this got Jamie excited, too. He loves riding on buses. (Still talks about the tram at the airport when we went to Sacramento last Thanksgiving!)
Watching RAPTLY as the helicopter took off.
The military guy who took this picture gave Jamie his hat to wear since we were facing the sun. :)
It was such a good day!
Oh, and thanks to a Father's Day card with a recording that plays when you open it, he also loves Darth Vader. (Doesn't realize how evil he is, of course.) He loves to watch this video:
And, really, it's an awesome video with great music.
Potty-training is at a standstill, pretty much. He can wear underwear all the live-long day (except during his nap) and keep them dry, but he saves his #2's for the diapers he wears while he sleeps. He's pooped in the potty ONCE, months ago, but refuses to since then. So we're down to 2-3 diapers a day. Anyone had this same problem and found solutions?
(Lol. I just thought,
I should ask that question on Facebook--I'd get answers much faster. Maybe that's why I use it more--waaaaay more comments!)
The other day I gave Jamie Peach Mango juice, and when I told him what kind it was, he said, "Dat flamingo juice!" Then enjoyed laughing with me as I busted up. :) He's a happy kid. He loves to laugh, loves to join in playing with others, and is very friendly.
Well, I'm pretty well ready for this baby to vacate, of course. (The only reason I wouldn't mind waiting, besides just having more time to get ready, is that now that I've FINALLY been released from my church calling--nursery coordinator--I can actually go to classes this Sunday if I don't have the baby before then! It's been over a year since I've been able to do that.) He almost perpetually has a little foot poking out of my right side, and quite often I find my ribs sitting on top of a seemingly hard little bottom. But really, it's not too bad. And knowing how things are once they come out, I'm definitely not as impatient as I was with Jamie.
Though I dread becoming a sore zombie, my quiet nights turning into loud and painful (i.e. crying and breastfeeding) ones, and all the adjustments, it will be nice to have my body back to myself. And I do want to meet my new baby and start discovering his personality. I think that it's almost just as hard to picture him and really grasp the idea that he'll be joining our family this time as it was with Jamie--and Jason agrees it's BECAUSE of Jamie. That boy just takes up so much of our time and attention, it's hard to even picture there being any kid for us but him--much less finding time to try to picture what said kid will be like!
As long as this is a wordier, more journal-like post, I'll say that I dread the idea of Jamie thinking we don't love him or need him as much, and his little world being rocked by all the change that's coming. I know it will be good for him to have a sibling, and that we're really giving him a gift. But even the idea of him being unhappy about it for any length of time, since his reasoning skills aren't exactly developed, breaks my heart. If that makes sense.
Ah, hormones. And contractions. I'm experiencing both at the moment.
Well, another day of nesting is ahead tomorrow. Or, technically, later today...yikes. I need to get to bed.
About to get on the "bus" that took us over to the festivities from the parking--this got Jamie excited, too. He loves riding on buses. (Still talks about the tram at the airport when we went to Sacramento last Thanksgiving!)
Watching RAPTLY as the helicopter took off.
The military guy who took this picture gave Jamie his hat to wear since we were facing the sun. :)
This was a common scene on that day--lots of family and friends were calling most of the day to wish our boy a happy birthday and sing to him. (That's Jason's phone he's holding to his ear--I think he was talking to Uncle Justin in this one.) He's so lucky to be so very loved!
(Sorry for the blurriness, I only had my phone nearby + bad lighting)