Switching Things Up

Things were getting crazy at nighttime. Not horrible, but it just wasn't working anymore. So, we've made a change to have it more like nap time (which, oddly enough, goes amazingly well every day). The biggest factor is that nursing has been moved from last to first. Nursing just wasn't getting him to sleep anymore. At all. There was a big "fight" to get him to pass out afterwards. Since he likes reading books in bed now, we've decided that this makes the most sense. Bedtime now goes as follows:

1. gets nighttime clothes on
2. nurses and then nighttime snuggles
3. I lay him on the bed, kiss him goodnight, and daddy comes in
4. bedtime stories (typically 3)
5. rub/pat back; put to sleep

We're still in the first few days, so it's been an adjustment for him. It's going really well so far, though. It works so much better for me and Jony since we don't alternate going into his room every night. It's been taking him a little longer to actually fall asleep, but he's not fussing as much as he was. He has a cough, as well, which is probably a factor in that. Since the jury's still out on if I'll be tandem, I liked that this would make sure that he can potentially go to sleep without me while I'm still in the house. Hope it continues to go well!

8 weeks- oops.

So, I'm 8 weeks, and it completely slipped by me. In my defense, I was on "vacation." Still nothing to really report. I'm having a bit of an issue in wanting to eat food and can't eat very much of it at all after figuring out what to eat, so that's frustrating. Having to feed Jeffrey is a pretty big struggle, but I think it helps me make myself eat. Definitely good when it's just me and him. I've had a few bits of vertigo, but they weren't bad. So, all in all, I still consider myself pretty lucky in terms of morning sickness. The major exhaustion seems to have even calmed down a little!

I'm in shock that I'm already two months! It's going by ridiculously fast, and that kind of terrifies me!

22 Months!

Yikes. We're officially on "get ready for the 2nd birthday party" mode. TWO. I can hardly even comprehend it. Although, I will say that every day I can tell that he's getting older. His understanding is completely there, and he is now able to communicate completely with us. He's not speaking in sentences, but he's able to get this thoughts out there in a way that we understand him. He's so observant and so incredibly smart. He's incredible.

22 month stats:

• no idea about height/weight, but I will say he's far too tall for his own good. Clothing is now an issue, and I'm not really sure what we'll do when cold weather hits. He's too skinny for his pants' length! Good thing this isn't a new issue for mommy OR daddy.
• still equal between 18 month and 2T
• nursing 2x a day, although I'm starting to get  a little push back, which I'm assuming is from my depleting supply :(
• napping and sleeping is still A+, although he did wake up the other night for a few hours. First time he's done that in months.
• STILL just 12 teeth, but all signs point towards soon!
• talks all the time and learns at least five new words a day, I'd say. Latest obsession? speed bumps, the moon and stars
• has his colors down to a science and can name anything you ask. His favorite is currently blue.
• recognizes the letters in his name
• starting to focus on numbers and counting
• can walk on the balance beam by himself
• does somersaults! 
• FINALLY dances when music plays! I've looked forward to this for so long :)
• Favorite food: animal crackers
• Favorite Book: The Little Engine That Could
• Favorite Activity: playing parking lot or traffic with his cars and trucks

7 weeks!

I was actually officially 7 weeks yesterday, so I had my first official decision on choosing between the children. Since, at least for the first little bit, Jeffrey may be getting 2nd dibs a lot, he won this round :)

Plus, there's not a whole lot to report. My pants are starting to get tight, and I've definitely already got a little something there that I can't suck in. It's nowhere near a bump, though, and it's only noticeable to those who are looking for it or if I don't have a shirt on. Should be interesting, seeing as how I was barely showing until almost 3rd tri with Jeffrey! I'm extremely exhausted, very gassy and have moments where a certain food/smell makes me feel gross. No nausea yet, though! I do have moments where I feel less than awesome, however, but it's mainly related to the ridiculous amounts of gas. Lovely, yes?

We made the midwife official, and our first appointment is on the 2nd! YAY!

We're slowly making the rounds with telling people. Jony has been better than I have; I just don't feel the urge to scream it this time for some reason. I'm excited, so I can't really explain it. I guess I feel it's still super early.

Wordless Wednesday

6 weeks!

I took another HPT, and it's still positive! I only have more, so I'll test again in another week. I'm still feeling pretty good, but it's beginning to get obvious when it's time for me to eat more. So, it's back to eating every two hours for me! The gas seems to have gotten better, and I'm glad to say I still haven't experienced any nausea or food aversions yet. Exhaustion, though? It's definitely here. Jony was so nice this weekend and let me sleep in every day. Awesome.

In birthing news, we have chosen a midwife! We're sitting on it for a few days before making it official, but I'm fairly certain that we're on our road to our home birth!

Other big happenings this week is that we told both of our parents and siblings. We had frames with pictures of the grandkids + 1 extra spot. In that, we put a picture of Jeffrey in a shirt that says "Big Brothers Rock." Jony's sister noticed it pretty quickly with his family, but I had to ask what they thought of his shirt with my parents. Both families are pretty excited! They've already started asking questions about this home birth thing, and I'm sure we'll have plenty more coming our way. That's to be expected, though. We'll be inviting both of our moms to a prenatal appointment to meet the midwife and be able to ask her any questions they have of her.

Cruising right along!

Wordless Wednesday

5 weeks!

I'm actually feeling really normal now, although I am a bit tired. That will only get worse since Jony heads out tomorrow, starting his new travel gig until December. Bummer. The plus side of that is that he'll be at home on Fridays now. I don't feel like I have too much to update on the pregnancy so far since nothing is really happening. My bloat is a bit bigger at this point than it was with Jeffrey, but it's still not anything anyone would really care to see. I'm still taking weekly pictures, but I probably won't post until it's actually something. We got all the pregnancy books out of the closet, and I showed Jeffrey the album I made of belly pics from his pregnancy. He would just say "WOAH!" at every week at the end, lol! Whenever he sees my belly, he gets excited and kisses the baby. It's amazing how much he understands, even if he doesn't truly understand what we're telling him.

We only ended up having one interview this past weekend since the other ended up being at a birth. So, we'll reschedule for next weekend. The one we did have was really nice, though. She had a basket of toys for Jeffrey to play with (win), and both of us felt really comfortable with her. We agreed that, if she was our only choice, we'd be really happy. It's hard, though, since we're not familiar with midwives at all. So, we can't make an educated decision until we meet the rest of them!

Also coming up this weekend? Telling the family! Eek! It'll be good, though, since we're going swimming with my family. Jeffrey would give it away when he sees my stomach, anyways- LOL!

The Hunt Begins

I have four consultations set up with some midwives in the area. We'll see how those go and then either choose one or meet with some more. I'm very lucky to have a large selection in my area- a big benefit to living right in the middle of a major city. Two of them are this weekend and the other two are next weekend. Yup, on weekends. 2 Saturdays, a Friday afternoon, and a Sunday afternoon. I'm in total awe of the difference in care I'm already experiencing, and I don't even have a midwife chosen yet.

First off, I'm calling these women on their cell phones. It really doesn't get more personalized that that, does it? I'm actually talking to them, asking questions, answering questions and just kind of getting a feel for each other. They don't have specific appointment times; they just work with what they have available. I actually talked to one of them for almost an hour yesterday! I've been e-mailing back and forth with another one. Incredible. I have no doubts that this is right path for me. I'm pretty intrigued to see how actual prenatal care will be!