reflections

This year has been pretty eventful for us...

...We visited New York
visted Louisiana
had a booth at the local farmer's market
got pregnant with our second child
quit smoking
bought a house
watched our son grow
became a sole proprioter
had an enormous birthday party for our son
lost friends
became closer to other friends
made new friends
had friends move away
had friends move closer
had family move closer (1 block away to be exact!)
took birthing class
planned for a home birth
decided I would quit my job and stay home
got a new kittie
lost a young family member
watched my dad transition back into a dad for his grandson
kept in better contact with family in other states
sent out Christmas cards for the first time
watched John's hair and beard grow longer than ever!
buzzed my son's hair
got rid of my locks
gained weight
watched friends join the army
started a blog...

Make a Smilebox slideshow

crumbs on the counter

I'm not sure if this happens to all new moms, but after I had my first son, I turned into a clean freak. I'm not really concerned about germs or any of that, I actually think that the germs are better for the immune system. Anyway, I am obsessed with having things 'just so'. It was close to getting out of hand, then I calmed down, and now at the end of this pregnancy a dirty house drives me crazy! I really wish I could go back to my old ways...I didn't even notice when things weren't cleaned up. Now, if the dishes are dirty in the sink, I can't handle it. And half of the stuff that bothers me, I don't have the energy to take care of. So, my poor husband gets lists of things to do for me.

Maybe this new baby will bring peace to the house, and help me to realize that it really doesn't matter if the bed isn't made.

holy Toledo

I just visited a chiropractor for the first time in my life today, and it was glorious. I have been having back pain for most of the second half of my pregnancy, and just recently found that my baby is in posterior position. So, my midwife recommended a chiropractor. I am ever so thankful to have been lead to this wonderful woman. The pain is in no way gone, but I can definitely feel a difference. And the technique she used was taught to my husband, so I can get this relief back whenever I want!! Not only is it wonderful to feel some relief, but I feel confident that baby will turn to where he's supposed to be once I get a good balance in my back.

home birth? seriously?

So, tonight my husband and I made the decision to birth at home. We've been taking Bradley Method birthing classes, and have wanted a natural birth from the beginning. A hospital has always seemed like the normal and safe place to birth for us. I have been comfortable with the hospital birth for the safety aspect. If anything were to go wrong we would be in the right place with the right people to be able to tell if something were going wrong with either me or the baby. That is the ONLY thing that I like about the idea of a hospital birth. Everything else that happens in the hospital for birthing procedures is against my birthing plan. I want a comfortable place to labor..no medical intervention, unless something is wrong..freedom to move around..no textbook standards for my body to follow to prove to the staff just how far I'm progressing..etc. So, after talking all of this over and looking at our plan, it seems that the minute we walk in the door of the hospital, we are going to have to be fighting these docs. The main problem is that I trust my body to labor and deliver this baby safely. The medical staff seems to be under the assumption that I will need help. And they have a list of guidelines that my labor should be following...well, every labor and every person is unique. It makes no sense to have such strict guidelines for me to follow. And once you've not met one of these rules, they take over. You aren't progressing, so they introduce drugs, or artificially break your water. Your body was not counting on these distractions from it's job to labor, so everything is thrown off. Then you fall into the trap of getting farther and farther into medical intervention. This is what I don't want, so I think I'll pass on that and stay home. We are going to look into the local midwives to see who we should hire, and how the whole midwife deal works.. I really think this is the BEST decision we could make. I want the comfort of home with the comfort of someone with us to know if something is going wrong with me or the baby.

plaid pants

I had a weird day. Around noon I suddenly started getting flu symptoms, we'll not go into the details. It was no fun, so I just went to sleep. Now I'm ok, so it must have been a weird food thing or pregnancy side effects.

This pregnancy is taking it's toll on my energy. I'll try to avoid going on about all the discomforts and just direct the focus on my husband. He is wonderful. He has taken on a lot more responsibilities lately. I feel badly that I am constantly asking him to do something for me. Now, he's doing almost EVERYTHING, and I'm the lazy slob on the couch in her plaid pants, old T-shirt, and dog hair covered robe. He even has started to insist that I take it easy. I love him.

Santa

Yesterday, we went to a Christmas party at the Scottish Rite Cathedral in Indianapolis. The building was amazing, and the Christmas decorations were very nice. My father-in-law is a Mason, so that's how we found ourselves at such an event. This Mason, Scottish Rite, and Shriner deal really confuses me. I'm not sure what these guys do, and what the difference is between the "branches" of this organization. Every time I inquire to my father-in-law about all of this, he ends up not telling me much. The conversation ends in him joking about fish fry's and protecting the Arc of the Covenant.

So, maybe I should take some time to look into this subject. It's all a mystery.

Anyway, the party was very nice. J got to sit and watch a magic show performed by one of Santa's elves, a story read by Mrs. Claus, and a puppet show. After the performance, we went downstairs and visited Santa. J was not very clear on what you say to this Santa character, so he was blabbing away about who knows what, and I think I heard something about birthdays. He was happy to meet Santa, and that's all that matter anyway.

To top off the awkward visit with Mr. Claus, J was able to get his picture taken with him. Check out this kid's wonderful smile!!

triple cheese burger

I am ridiculous. I know that fast food is horrible for me and the baby, but this pregnancy is forcing me to eat it! I've been craving the most unhealthy food ever known to man. It's a huge struggle to ignore these awful cravings.

My last pregnancy was not like this. I ate healthy the whole way through, never had any bad cravings ... except for the week straight of only wanting hot dogs. That passed quickly, though. I wasn't really moody, and I wasn't always asking my husband to help me with projects.

This pregnancy is more like the cliche pregnancy. I crave food that will in no way nourish my baby or me. I crave chocolate quite often ... and in the real world of me with no child growing inside, chocolate and sweets are never on my list of things to eat. I also was previously vegetarian, and reverted back to the dark side of flesh eating right after the first trimester was over.

I can't seem to get through a day without asking my husband to come "assist me" with some average thing like taking the laundry back to the bed room, or to put the pans away in the cabinet. He's been so wonderful about all this, by the way.

And the moods. Yay. I'm normally a pretty level gal, but this baby is making me emotional. I'm taking things the wrong way constantly, and having a really hard time calming down. If I get to an angry or worried state, it's difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

BUT OTHER THAN THAT ... things are great! This new baby has inspired me and driven our family into a new direction. I can't wait to meet him!

J

Thought I should share some photos of my beautiful, wonderful, and amazing boy. He is SUCH a unique little person..

tokens of love

Sooo, it's getting to be way too close to Christmas. I planned on knitting all our gifts for the fam, but it looks like a few are going to be left out of that deal. And maybe that's a good thing. Do people really want my knitted scarves and hats?? I'm just a beginner, so I have nothing impressive to make for them in my bag of knitting tricks. I personally would love a hand-made gift.

I've done the scarf and hat thing .. I think my next venture will be in the world of socks or mittens.

Yay knitting!!

cozy

Laptops rule. We just got a laptop over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, and I am in love. we got if for our Mama Kate's business because John and I were fighting over the desktop way too often. Now, I feel like I can stay even more organized with all the stuff I've to going on. Kids, business, family, personal projects, etc.

My next step to take for Mama Kate is to add some items on Etsy and Ebay while I wait on the website project to get wrapped up. Yay!!

birth

I'm taking Bradley Method birthing classes. My husband was not too excited about this plan to begin with, but after sitting through the first few sessions, he's into it. I'm finding out that my birth plan doesn't fit with what our town has to offer for births. I'm not quite comfortable with having a home birth, but the hospital isn't going to allow me to do a few of the things I'd like.

I'd like to have as little medical intervention as possible. It seems like all the procedures done at the hospital interrupt and distract from smooth labor. Of course, there is a need for these procedures sometimes, but mostly things become complicated unnecessarily. So, home birth would seem like a good option, but it makes me nervous to have medical attention so far away.

After my first son's birth, medical attention was necessary. But, I was induced, so who knows how natural labor would have gone for us.

What I would prefer is a birthing center, but our area doesn't offer that. Even after TWO new hospitals have been built in this town, they have not made any progress on giving women in our area more birthing options! They didn't even include birthing tubs!

So, we will see what happens. I plan to labor at home as long as I feel comfortable, and if things move quickly, maybe we will do a home birth.

blah

too confused to blog ...

Up and Up

Things are falling into place very nicely lately. I'm convinced that new babies bring harmony to your life. When Jackson was on the way, good things just kept happening for us. The same is happening now with the new babe. I love it!

Good news ... I am only working 20 hours a week until the end of my pregnancy! My back has been killing me from sitting 8 hours a day, so I've decided to cut back on that. That extra time will be much needed to get this new business going, and also, this is a good transition to being a stay at home mom.

I am starting to get really excited about being home. I will be in charge of my day, instead of someone else. Of course, my kids will definitely have something to do with how the day goes, but ultimately, we will all have the choice to be as productive or un-productive as we want to be.

Other good news ... I attended the first CHOICES meeting. It's a group that meets once a month and has a topic for each meeting. We will have various speakers and professionals available for advice and information on our parenting choices. The topics range from cloth diapering, baby wearing, attachment parenting, breast feeding, vaccines, and toxin free toys. We've got doulas, midwives, chiropractors, naturopathic doctors, and many other professionals lined up to speak at these meetings. This is a first for our area to have all of this information for parents readily available! It's nice to meet other parents that have similar values, and also that have kids! Play dates are going to have to be in order once both of the kids are home. I'm sure we'd all go crazy without them.

green shower

I'm now 6 months pregnant with our new son. Which means, I've got to start thinking about a baby shower. I'm having my mother-in-law host it, but I will probably take care of the invites and such. In preparation for the new baby I've been thinking much more in depth than my first baby shower about what I want for my new little one. What I'm beginning to see in myself is a big green snob! I'm wanting to go with all natural and eco friendly gear for my baby this time. I'm going to do cloth diapering, I'm going to use glass bottles (if bottles even get introduced), and I'd prefer to have all of my baby's toys be non-toxic. To me, this all makes sense. I really can't go back to the crap you generally find in the stores after all the information I've absorbed about the safety and environmental benefits of the products I've chosen to use.

So, all this "pickiness" has to be relayed to the people attending my shower if I want to get stuff that I will actually use. Some of the people will be totally receptive to my requests, but others may not be. I really want to avoid sounding like a demanding snob. I've listened to advice, and read articles that give you tips on how to tactfully get the point across, but it all still sounds a bit stuck up to me. Plus, most of the things I want aren't found at the local Walmart or Target. I just feel like I'm asking a lot.

Who knows, maybe everyone is on the same page with me. Or, maybe I will awaken someone's eyes to what is good for their own children. I'll just have to wait and see.

new life

This week I've been learning about (or trying to learn about) the world of cloth diapers. It's a pretty large amount of information to take in, and I'm still confused. I'm leaning towards the traditional pre-fold cloth diapers with a water proof cover. That seems to be an easy and cheap option.

I've learned quite a bit. Disposable diapers have whatever material it was that caused women to develop Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS) from tampons in them still! The reasoning for this is the diapers are not used internally. I thought it was common knowledge that the skin absorbs anything that it comes in contact with. Apparently not! Also, studies are now linking fertility problems to disposable diapers. So, I think I'm convinced. I'd much rather deal with a few more loads of laundry to keep my baby healthy. Plus, there's the whole environmental issue. It takes over 100 years for the disposable diapers to even begin to decompose.

After all this enlightenment, I don't think I can go back to regular diapering. (I say this before I've had the chance to even try cloth diapers, ha) I also feel good about the money I will be spending on these cloth diapers--which is substantially less than what I spent on the disposables for my first son. I plan to buy from a company that was started by a mother, and now employs mothers that are able to work at their own pace from their homes. Wonderful!!

should i stay or should i go

So, I've decided that it might be cool to be a stay at home mom. This is something I thought I would never have a desire for. Circumstances are much different from that last time I considered doing this, though. Back then I was new at the mother thing, as well as the whole wife, home-owner, responsible adult bit. Now, I am experienced with all these things. And, after lots of ups and downs, I think I love being all these things. I love being a mother, I love being settled with someone I dearly love, I love caring for a home, and caring for all other parts of life that make me the (I assume) responsible and sensible adult I have become.

With all of this, I've got a lot of inspiration around me. My son, and son on the way have helped me discover my desire to learn about natural health. Every choice you make as a parent is so important, and the choice to keep my family healthy has become a huge priority for me. With this I am learning something new everyday about nutrition, body care, household cleaners, the environment, etc. All the knowledge I am gaining has led me to find the entrepreneur inside. All the products I have decided to use for my family could be a source of income for us! And this income could possibly allow me to stay home with my new son on the way.

So, my husband and I are slowly piecing together what we know will be a successful business. I just hope I can find a good balance for work, housework, and family. I am sure with time I'll figure it out.