The Birth Plan

I realized after my last post that perhaps I hadn't enlightened you all as to where and how I was planning on having this baby.

My bad.  Let me remedy that for you.

We are all alone here in CA, no family, just us.  When Jett was born this wasn't a big deal because he was our first.  It was just us to worry about when we set off for the hospital for the induction.  It was just us when we got home.  It was just us to feed.  It was just us and we laid in bed for a week enjoying our new baby.

This time is so different.  We have Jett to worry about now.

When I started to think about it I realized we had very very few options in CA regarding what to do with Jett when I went into labor.

Dom's job is to help me in labor.  The midwife's job is to help me in labor.  Who would watch Jett???  The one good friend I have here is also pregnant with her 2nd and due just 2 weeks after me.  It's entirely possible she could be in labor herself or already have a new baby by the time we're ready to have this one, so she was out as well. 

Really, my options were extremely limited.

So my thoughts turned to Oregon where all my family live and where we own a home.

We already spend our summers in Oregon, so why not just go there as planned and have the baby  where there was lots of help?

I presented the idea to my midwife here in SF and since she saw no problem with it (actually thought it was brilliant) we've plowed ahead.

Oh and we're attempting a home birth again.

If you don't remember, here was what happened last time.  Preeclampsia = hospital induction = I'm trying this again!!!

It turns out the logistics of transferring care at 32 weeks from one state to another has been relatively easy to deal with when it comes to homebirth midwives.  Perhaps since it's not a hospital I'm trying to get "in" with there has been very little resistance and lots of support.

I'm here in OR this week interviewing midwives and by the end of this week when I head back home I hope to have my OR care all lined up and ready to take over when we come back in June.

So, there you have it.  The "Plan".  Seems a little crazy but I think it's for the best for all involved.  Fingers crossed I can avoid an induction and get to stay at home this time!

Baby #2 Bumpdate - Weeks 18 & 19

I am actually not quite 19 weeks, but we had our "20 week" anatomy scan yesterday morning and I knew it was now or never to get both bumpdates from last week and this week documented.

So...here we go.

How far along: 18w6d

Weight Gain: I'm somewhere in the 9-10 lb range.  Spot on for Jett's pregnancy.

What's Up With My Body: CONSTIPATION and it's good friend HEMORRHOIDS.  Psyllium husks work, they do, they work wonderfully but...YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER TO TAKE THEM.  I am unfortunately in a position in which I have to take them 3 times a day or things just aren't running smoothly and for whatever reason 3 times a day is hard for me to remember to take pills!  It shouldn't be hard, these are take when you eat kind of pills, I eat 3 meals a day, just take the pills when I eat, right?  But damn if I don't end up with just 2 doses most days.  So, because I'm skipping a much needed dose on accident (speaking of, I just had lunch, I should take my damn pills!) constipation is still part of my life.  And hemorrhoids (which never 100% went away from Jett's pregnancy) have reared their ugly heads.  I feel extremely sexy.

Apparently I actually look pregnant to strangers now, though in my head I've looked pregnant since like 12 weeks, but officially to the outside world I look pregnant.  I've had 3 people in the last week comment on the bump in some way or another.  

Mood:  I find I'm getting more and more anxious about the logistics of this birth and the subsequent newborn that it will produce.  If I haven't mentioned, we're having this baby in Oregon, which means I'm transferring care at 32 weeks.  I dearly love my midwife here and I'm quite sad that she will not be the one who is with me when I have this baby.  I'm also anxious about having a newborn again, just generally, my newborn experience was not great and I'm not looking forward to repeating it.  And Jett, what's Jett going to think when this baby that we're always talking about finally arrives.  Anxious, anxious, anxious.

Gender:  Guys...I think this is a girl.  It is firmly a "she" when I think about "her" in my head.  Also Jett told me quite clearly the other night while we were listening with the doppler that we were listening to his baby sister.

Bumpdate:

 

And baby:

Preschool

If you would have told me 3 years ago that I would be getting stressed out about getting my child into PRESCHOOL I would of laughed at you.

I mistakenly believed that applying and vying for spots in preschool was reserved for bigger cities where competition is fierce and parents are crazy.  You know, NYC and SF.  But we just moved to BERKELEY, we moved here partly because we didn't want to deal with the craziness of the SF school system!  But here I am, stressing over preschool like it's college.

SF has a ridiculous school system.  It's a lottery system, not district based.  You basically throw your kids name in the lottery pool and then they tell you where your kid is going to school.  It does not  matter if you live next door to a school and could walk your kid to school you might get put in a school a 45 minute drive away.  IT'S WEIRD.

So many parents who put their kids through the public school system in SF tried to tell us it wasn't that bad and you could apply and fight for the school you really wanted (you know, the one next door) and it wasn't THAT hard, but come on...who wants to put that much effort into getting your kid into preschool, then elementary school, then middle school and then again for high school?!  I really really did not.

We also were not interested in shelling out $30K a year for private school.  That is theoretically possible with one child, but we were never going to settle for one child.  So private school was off the table.

So we moved.

There were other reasons for our move as well, but the school system was definitely on the list of reasons to move.

We got here in October.  A full year away from the preschool years as Jett had just turned 2.  Purely by chance while researching 2 year old programs I discovered that preschool deadlines for the following year were coming up in Dec/Jan!!!  A mere 2 months away and we JUST arrived.  Luckily I had stumbled upon this because who knew deadlines would be a whole year in advance?!  Again, I thought we were leaving the town of crazy school competition.

It turns out because preschool is private and not public (that starts at Kindergarten) the vying for spots exists even out here in the burbs.

It doesn't help that we got very picky about what we wanted in a preschool.  After I began researching I discovered that a) preschool is fucking expensive and b) co-ops seemed like the shit.

So I narrowed it down to a co-op.  Step 1 complete.

After that the search was dwindled down to only 4 or 5 that existed in the area.  After further research the pool got even smaller as my criteria got more involved.  Must be play based.  Only 3 days a week (more days a week required more time from me as these are co-ops) and accepting of kids that were not yet potty trained (no way was I going to force that issue, if he's not ready he's not ready!)  Step 2 complete.

And with that we were left with 2.  Only 2 preschools in the area that fulfilled all of my criteria.  This was both awesome as it made the choice easy, apply to both, and difficult because FUCK, what do we do if he doesn't get into either?!  Step 3 and Done!  But...

It turns out he didn't get into either.

Sigh.

It would have been too perfect, right? New baby makes his/her appearance in August and Jett starts preschool three mornings a week in September, such good timing.  But alas, it might not be so.

Fortunately for little Jett Jett his birthday allows him to fit perfectly into either this coming year for preschool when he will just barely be 3 and thus one of the youngest in his class OR he would be fine waiting for the following year when he would just barely be 4 and only slightly older than all the littles who turn 4 in Sep/Oct who's birthdays fall after the cutoff for the coming year.

So I'm trying not to stress, either scenario is fine for Jett, but this coming year would be more fine for mommy.

But then to continue the saga, and the stress, and the waiting.

This morning we got an email from one of the preschools saying that Jett is first on the waiting list AND that they had a current family who might be transferring out leaving a spot for Jett!!!

Oh the suspense!

How is everyone else doing with preschool???  I feel like a lot of you had babies at the end of the year Sep and onward of 2012 which means you have another year!

Baby #2 Bumpdate - Weeks 16 & 17

I console myself with the fact that Baby #2 gets "experienced" parents out of this deal and not the shit end of the stick because I'm not paying much attention to this pregnancy.

For posterity sake...

How far along: 17 weeks 1 day

Weight Gain: I'm up 8 lbs.  Which is a pound more than I was at with Jett.  But I started about 5 lbs lighter so it's all good.

What's up with My Body: I can't sleep.  It's awful.  I'm up 4-5 times a night to pee and on top of that have trouble getting back to sleep each time I'm up.  I wake up feeling more exhausted than I went to bed.  I was drinking water like there was no tomorrow to try to help with the constipation (which is under control thanks to psyllium husks) but come on, up to pee every 2 hours!!!  So, I've started restricting fluids at 6pm, basically after dinner I'm only having water if I'm thirsty.  It's helped a bit, last night after FINALLY getting to sleep at about midnight I was only up twice to pee.  Sigh.  I really wish I had these last few months to SLEEP before baby gets here.  But alas my body has other plans, it wants to prepare me for sleeplessness again, what an asshole.

Movement: I've felt baby a handful of times, once right around 15 weeks for the first time, then not again until about 16 weeks, then once or twice since then.  Very infrequent, very light, but there.

What I'm Looking Forward to: Anatomy Scan is just a little over a week away. First and only ultrasound!  We're not finding out sex but it will be fun to see the baby!

Bumpdate:

God I look tired...

Jett at 2.5

I can't say enough about how much fun 2 year olds are.  I LOVE the 2 year old phase.

And for posterity sake I want to write down what Jett was doing at the wonderful age of 2.5.

Talking:  The verbal development over the last 6 months is astounding.  The things that come out of this kids mouth!  He can put full sentences together, he has original thoughts that he can articulate, he asks questions when he doesn't understand something, he repeats things back that you're convinced he shouldn't be able to.  He remembers weird things from days ago that he'll suddenly bring up in conversation.  It's amazing.

Reading:  Last week Jett started reading me his books.  Cutest thing ever.  He grabbed a book, I asked if he wanted me to read it, he said, "No, I read it" and sure enough...he "read" it.  He obviously memorized it (and several others!) but he follows the words with his finger and recites the story.  We now spend an inordinate amount of time with me reading the page first then Jett following the words with his finger and reading it back to me.  I was told the other day by my babysitter (who is also a preschool teacher) that this is the beginning stages of literacy, memorizing books and then "reading" them.

Eating:  Crap eater.  Ha!  He has his good days and his bad.  He's been sick with a cold for the last week and a half and he's always terrible at eating when he's sick but that's what's in my head right now is that the kid doesn't eat!  Yesterday was a fab food day though, he ate all 3 meals plus snacks, by himself with no help.  So, yeah, good days and bad.

Sleeping:  My kid is such a dream sleeper.  He's such a good sleeper that I cringe thinking about having to deal with a newborn sleeping again.  It's the RARE night that he wakes up AT ALL and he sleeps a solid 11-12 hours.  Bedtime is 8pm and he's up somewhere between 7:15-7:30pm.  It's amazing and I hope he continues to a great sleeper even when his little sister or brother arrives.  That would make mommy very happy!

Naps: We're on the cusp of something happening with naps.  We had been at 1pm nap time for over a year when suddenly 1pm naptime wasn't working anymore.  Jett would go 3-4 days with no nap, nap one day then another 3-4 days just playing in the crib for 2 hours, not napping.  So, I moved naptime to 2pm and he's gone back to napping MOST days.  He will still have the odd no-nap day but it's better...for now.  It definitely feels like he's on the verge of dropping that nap and I can only hope he holds out until preschool starts in the fall where I at least have SOME time of the day where I'm only dealing with one kid!

Personality: He's a pretty sweet kid.  He's still very mild-mannered and even-tempered, I'm not saying we don't have our meltdowns but they're nothing compared to many a kid I've witnessed and generally I can calm him down pretty easily. Half the time meltdowns are 100% food related and if you give him a snack he calms down immediately.  He loves other kids and I CANNOT WAIT until he starts preschool (god willing we get in!) because he's such a social butterfly.  Crowds never deter him, lots of kids are not scary, he never looks for mommy...I'm pretty sure he doesn't care if I'm there, so he'll do just fine when he starts school.  He's even pretty good about understanding and accepting waiting in line and waiting for his turn.  But HE'S SUCH A BOY.  If there's something to climb on, we must climb on it.  If there's something that is in the shape of a sword/stick, we must hit things with it.  If there is a ball we must kick or throw it.

This kid was such a nightmare for the first few months, I'm so glad he's turning out ok.  If I could have 10 kids just like Jett I'd do it in a second.

 

He's finding "his baby" with my Doppler =)

Baby #2 Bumpdate - Week 14 & 15

I can't believe how crap I am at this.

I want to remember this stuff!

But I can't find the time or the inclination to sit down and blog these days.

So without further ado:

How far along: 15 weeks 1 day

Weight Gain: Again, this pregnancy is so amusingly different for me MENTALLY.  Who has time to weigh themselves?  And more importantly...who gives a shit?  Oh right, I did, a lot, the first time.  Well, I think I weighed myself a few nights ago and it was 125?  So, that's up 7lbs...i think.

Movement? I'm pretty sure I felt baby already!  Just once, 2 nights ago, haven't felt it since, but it was that same obnoxious fluttery feeling that I really didn't enjoy the first time around.

What's Up with My Body:  Same old, same old.  CONSTIPATION.  Although I do think I've found the miracle cure.  Midwife recommended psyllium husks and OMG they work!  Unfortunately I tried to lower my dosage (always trying to find the minimum I can take) and ended up a bit uncomfortable again, thus we're going back to maximum dosage!

The boobs have finally started growing again.  SO DIFFERENT THAN LAST TIME.  These babies were already up to D's (from B's) during my pregnancy with Jett.  This time they started at A's (so sad my little A cup boobs) and have just made their way into a B after I stopped nursing...now they look (and feel, sore!) like they'll make it into C's in the next few weeks.

AND eggs give me gas!  MOTHERFUCKER.  I love eggs.  For the first few weeks of this pregnancy I was craving and eating eggs like it was nobody's business but apparently now, out of the blue, they give me such excruciating gas that I would rather be in labor than dare eat eggs again for fear of the pain!  It was like being stabbed.  So...eggs, off the table for the time being.

Gender: I don't care.  Ha!  I spent almost zero time thinking about this.  I don't know if it's because I'm busy with Jett or what but I literally don't have the brain space to worry about this this time around.  Last time I analyzed this thing TO DEATH and changed my mind every other week.  This time I'm like what?  Sex?  Who cares, it's a baby!

Bumpdate:  I can't even be bothered to set up a photo shoot like last time.  Sad.

 14 weeks, trying on maternity clothes!

 15 weeks.

Baby #2 Bumpdate - 13 Weeks

Yeah...I knew I wasn't gonna do these very well this time around.

Sorry Bebe Deux!

This will be short and sweet.

How far along: 13 Weeks 1 day

Weight Gain:  I think we're still at about 5 lbs.

Maternity Clothes:  OMG YES!  I'm going all in, I don't know how I survived the vast majority of my pregnancy with Jett without maternity clothes, but this time it ain't happenin.  I'm all about the maternity clothes.  Bring on the stretchy belly panels and rouching!

Milestones:  I think this is the end of the first trimester and if it's not well fuck it, I'm pretending it's the end of the first trimester so YAY!

What's up with My Body:  Constipation.  Bane of my existence.  But the fatigue is finally starting to wane!  Can't wait to have my energy back!

Bumpdate: It's there for everyone to see.  I still can't believe this a 13 week belly...it's ridiculous.

And last time at 13 weeks.

And at 22 weeks.  How is this the same body?