Domesticated?

Disclaimer: I'm still anti-minivan, pro-SUV.

I consider it wasteful and stupid to have a minivan for one child without having another one coming or even the remote chance of having another one anytime soon. Same for having a large SUV.

**Except in cases such as my parents. They have a full size Tahoe. BUT they use it for pulling their large camper. And they also have a grandchild, another on the way, and 2 step-grandchildren. It also helps that we'll all (me, Jason, Audrey, and them) pile in and go places.**

I just realized that I'll have 2 booster seats, an infant seat, a double stroller, and a travel-system stroller. And to go along with all that, my double monitor DVD player, diaper bag, Audrey's bag of spare clothes, jackets, toys, and who knows what else is back there.

I'm thinking that by the time Amelia is 3 and needs a booster seat, we should at least be down to 2 backless boosters and her backed booster. And then I can get back to a SUV or truck.

34 weeks, 1 day

We have got to be getting close.

We had our class this past weekend at the hospital. I feel a little better about things now. It was nice that it was a class for 2nd time parents. And it was a super small class (just us and another couple) so she was able to focus even more on our concerns. I think even Jason picked up a few things from it.

What kind of worries me, but it may be a good thing, is that she was telling us that typically your labor for the second one can go much faster. Crap. Start to finish with Audrey was about 5 hours.

Fortunately, I'm not really getting pro-epidural vibes from Jason. I think he trusts me enough to know that if I need something, I'll ask for it. But I think I'm still leaning towards just the anxiety IV meds again. Nothing against epidurals (I'd love one for this sciatica!), but they're just not for me.

ARMC has showers and birthing balls and wireless monitoring. So plans are to take full advantage of that. We actually got to try out the balls in our class. I think this weekend we're going to actually get me an exercise ball for at home. It definitely took some of the pressure off my back. And I figure since I have to take a shower or bath every night to try to get my back to relax enough to attempt sleep, using the showers there may be a definite perk.

I figure this weekend I'll get to work on putting together my hospital bag and get it ready to in the car. So far, no signs of pre-e but I don't want to take any chances of not being prepared. I figure the carseat and stroller are put together and parked next to the baby bed. So even if it's not in the van when we end up at the hospital, Jason or my mother can run over here and pick it up.

There is a shower happening at Mom's on the 6th. Hopefully the craziness will be kept to a minimum.

Holy freakin' sciatica. I just hope this means that she's a big baby like Audrey. I'm not very big so there's no real place for her to be and wiggle and all that good stuff. I'm hoping this just means she's cramped and sitting on my nerve. But it's getting so bad that I can't sleep (so Jason can't sleep), I can't walk, I can't bend. Driving kills it. If I can make it to Monday, I'll ask at the doctor's. But I do have to say that Jason is really being super sweet and nice about it. He gets my citrus aromatherapy lotion and rubs my back for such a long time at night. And even better on that note: he says to pack my Hot Hearts in my hospital bag so that he can use them on my back there. ...sigh... I love my Jason.

So much done, so much to do

So this weekend was our "off weekend."

Saturday: Babies R Us and Borders
Travel System
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3232437
I saved 20% on it and Jason had it put together in probably less than 10 minutes.

Little Remedies Kit
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3029064
I got this for half off. I love this because I used all of this stuff with Audrey so it's nice to have it all in one kit and definitely at that price. (The Gripe Water, Saline Spray, and Gas Drops alone are well worth it!!)

Huggies Lavender Lotion
I got the big bottle for something like $.50. Yea for clearance and coupons.

Borders at MOG is closing. I got 4 baby/board books. They were marked down to $2.99 and then 60% off of that.


Sunday: Target
Baby Onesie Vintage/Retro Shirts
Queen, Run DMC, Pink Floyd, and Star Wars. I don't remember the price, but they were between $3.50 and $4. We need smaller sizes in the Pink Floyd and Star Wars ones... but it's a good start.

Organic Socks
...that look like Converse High Tops. Love them. 4 pairs for something like $4.50.


Today: Target
Lap Pads
3 pad packs for $1.75-ish. I got 2 packs, one green, one pink. I remember using these for so much with Audrey.


And today I got us registered for our Special Delivery Refresher class. Well, we're registered. And now our flex spending card is not working for us with this. Frustrating. But the education woman said they'll bill us and they have a note in our file that we're trying to get our card to work but it's just not... And it's giving them a code they've never seen before. So now I get to call the flex spending people and get Jason to talk with HR tomorrow about this. This kind of stuff is why we signed up for it!!! Now it needs to work!!!

Today's visit

So today I am 32 weeks, 4 days.

I'm measuring about a week and a half ahead (not quite 2 weeks). Even though I still look very small. I'm so tired of having to argue people that I'm this far along. (But holy crap! I just realized I'm in my 8th month!)

I've only gained 24 lbs. fully dressed. So that's not bad.

My blood pressure keeps dropping. With Audrey it kept going up.

My sugars are dropping. He said more protein and fats to help process the carbs.

But as a whole, everything is looking great!

And hopefully I can get our travel system before the 18th. (Yea for Babies R Us 20% coupons!!)

So I guess I'm the mean mommy

Just because she's 3 does not mean she should not have rules to follow.

I fully expect these things out of my child:

*I expect her to be polite and use her manners. That is a direct reflection of how Jason and I raise her. There is no reason for her to not say please, thank you, yes/no ma'am/sir, chew with her mouth closed, share some of her toys (I don't expect her to share everything because some stuff is extra special to her and needs to be hers alone), things like that.

*I expect her to pick up and take care of her toys. She has been responsible for helping take care of her toys since before she was 1. There is nothing wrong with that. If I am going to spend my money (or anyone is going to spend their money) on toys and books and fun stuff for her, she needs to be responsible for these things. I hope it makes her appreciate her stuff more. So yes, she's 3 and she has chores and if the chores don't get done there are consequences and rewards (we'll spend a little more time coloring, we'll read an extra book randomly, if we have a good week she may get a little treat from the Target dollar section) if they do get done. But if she can make the mess, she can clean it up.
Example: She has been asked to pick up her room. Easy. Nicely put the toys back into the toy box. She refuses and so I go in to help her and end up falling over her toys. What is the consequence? Her toy box gets locked up indefinitely.

*I expect to be able to take her out into public and not deal with a tantrum. She has been raised better than to be one of "those" kids. Sure, every kid has a bad day. And when we have ours I have been known to take my buggy to customer service, apologize, and get in the car and go straight home. I will not tolerate a tantrum over not getting a toy or a treat in the store. And it irks me when I see other people's kids doing that... and the parents giving in just to get them to quiet down. When Audrey thinks about starting up I remind her that she is a big girl and needs to set a good example for all the little kids around.

*I expect her to be the big girl. She's going to be the big sister in a matter of weeks. She walked and talked early. She potty trained early and fast. She's so smart. I need her to be able to transfer that over into helping me out with herself. But I know I need to stop sometimes and remind myself that even if she can carry on adult conversations, she's still just 3.


And at least I'm fortunate enough to have a great husband who backs me and helps to play enforcer in all of this. (Even if he is the pushover sometimes...) I'm not sure what I would do in this without him.

My New Year's Goals

Some of these are so simple that it hurts to admit to them.

*Work more often with Audrey on her school work. (She loves it so why not.)

*Drink more water. (Still have to figure this out. Tap water here looks toxic.)

*Decide on school for me. (Not finishing up in education or legal. Time for something new.)

*Cook a real dinner at least 5 nights a week. (Real=healthy, not thrown together last minute, and eaten together. Even if it is a Crock Pot meal now and then.)

*Get us all onto a schedule that we can function better on. (Cleaning, sleeping, waking, eating.)

*Declutter more and more of the house. (Obvious...)

*Get back down to a size 2. (I'll settle for a size 4. I've only gained about 20 lbs--22 fully dressed--so it shouldn't be very hard. And unless I have a freakish weight gain in the next few weeks, things should be fine.)

*Walk more often. (Thanks to Cathy I have a double stroller and no excuses when it warms up. I can use the excuse of no double jogging stroller as an excuse to not run...)

*Find a part-time job. (Enough to bring in some extra money and get me out of the house.)

*Avoid formula as long as possible with Amelia. (Made it almost 3 months with Audrey.)

*Catch up on my reading. (Real books.)

*Make it to Book Club meetings. (I've really slacked in this. I *will* find a baby-sitter. Somehow.)

*Join the Y as soon as Amelia is born. (Will help get me back to a size 2, help get us both back into shape, and give Audrey some sort of activities of her own. And with Lowe's, we get a discount.)

*Make a point to go out on dates with Jason or even just nights in alone. (Meaning, no kids.)

*Have more patience. (I'm definitely not known for my patience.)

*Listen to more music. (Now that I have my cool new iPod speaker thingie and access to iTunes, there is no excuse. May not sound like a big deal, but music in the background is much better than the tv on in the background. The tv is too distracting.)

*More healthy snacks, less junk food. (I rarely bring in junk food. But when I do, we have no self-control. More fruit and veggies, healthy crackers, peanut butter... Less cookies, brownies, ice cream...)


I'm sure there are more. But my mind is shot today.

Time is going by way too fast.

68 days to go.

Gestational diabetes test passed. Surprisingly.

New insurance paperwork still has not arrived. The Flex Account came, but no insurance cards, plan numbers, anything. Lovely. Yea Kaiser.

We still haven't decided on a carseat or travel system. But I've made the executive decision that I'll be getting it at the beginning of February. And installing the carseat shortly after. (Or at least the base.)

We still haven't officially decided on a middle name as far as I'm concerned.

We still haven't done much of anything as far as planning for the baby actually coming as far as classes or much of anything.

I haven't even thought about packing a bag. Audrey was born at 36 weeks. That's not that far away from now.

And I am totally freaking out about this whole process. I was induced with Audrey. So if everything happens on it's own, I'm lost. I may as well be a first-timer. Crap.

BUT...

We've at least started working on the girl's room. Audrey gets half and Amelia gets half. Audrey's half is almost finished.

Audrey is enrolled in the Big Kids and Babies class at the hospital for a few weeks from now.

I've sorted out everything of Audrey's worth keeping. It's all washed, folded, hung up, or whatever needs to be done.

The baby bed is put together and has sheets on it. I'm still just not sure where the bed skirt is.

My iPod is reloaded and we have a nifty speaker system to go with it that can travel.