Getting ready for the girl

I am a couponer. I don't have 30 things of mustard under my bed, but I don't go to the grocery store without making a very detailed list. I go to the store website and load all the coupons I can onto the store card, I study the weekly ad and I use coupons found in the Sunday paper.

Anything to save a little money.

My biggest goal when shopping for food is usually to buy nothing frozen or prepared (other than frozen veggies), but now that my due date is just a couple weeks away the grocery list looked something like this:

Frozen pizza
Chicken nuggest
Canned soup
Fish sticks
Frozen lasagna
Kraft singles (for grilled cheese)

*Sigh*

I recently wrote something on my facebook timeline about Danny being breastfed and only eating homemade, organic baby food. There were lots of comments. Some were serious, some were making fun of me (oh no, next he will ask for white bread). I feed Danny healthy food. He gets treats, but not a lot of junk. I spent about 30 minutes at the store one day trying to figure out which fruit snacks were the least un-healthy for him.

I'm no Kate Gosslin (not even close), but I think Danny is probably fed healthier than the average kid.

So it sort of kills me to know that once the baby is here his dinners will consist mostly of frozen crap, at least every other week while his dad works nights and I am still adjusting to life with two kids. Danny will be in hog heaven, and I will feel mortified for a little while. Life will continue to go on. 

No donuts for us

While Danny is doing great with the whole potty thing in the evenings, he went twice tonight, and even told me when he had to go! He refuses to do it in the mornings. Which means no one has had a special donut treat in our house. The day after I first told Danny he could have a donut in the morning if he went on the potty, my husband was almost begging Danny to give it a try. He must have read my blog when he got home from work that night (what a guy), because I had no idea he knew about the donut proposition, and was wondering why he wanted Danny to use the toilet so bad.

Like I said before, I am not pushing this right now. Danny showed his first signs of super jealousy today, while I was wrapping presents for his cousins birthday party. Danny saw that I was wrapping books and went ballistic begging me to read the books to him. It didn't matter that we have the story he wanted me to read in a collection book, he wanted that one read to him. It freaked me out a little, he hasn't seemed jealous when people have given us gifts for his little sister, but then again, she isn't here yet.

We only have a couple of weeks before we find out if Danny will be a green eyed monster. I am nervous, I can't lie. I am trying to hard to spend extra time with Danny now, even if that means I give him his bath at night, even though it is really hard and uncomfortable with my gigantic baby belly. I just hate the idea of my little guy being sad, or thinking he isn't special anymore. I hope I can find a good balance with two kids--any suggestions are of course welcomed!

The potty training, or lack of. . .

We are still not actively potty training. When I ask Danny throughout the day if he wants to sit on the potty he very adamantly says "NO!!!" At night, right before bathtime he is all for sitting on the potty, making pee, then getting a lolly pop.

He LOVES the potty at night. Not only does he love the treat he gets, but he loves the happy dance that we do after he successfully pees on the potty. He puts his arms in the air, dances around and yells "yay, yay, pee pee, yay." It is adorable.

In an effort to get him to try the potty in the morning, I promised him that we would go to dunkin donuts tomorrow if he pees on the potty when he wakes up. The look on his face when I put that offer on the table was that of "Ooh, this just got interesting." I know I should be more excited about him peeing on the potty, but I am totally looking forward to a donut if we are successful tomorrow.

I mean, can you think of a better way to celebrate being full-term in a non-Gestational Diabetic pregnancy than a trip to the donut shop??

YUM

Summertime

Summertime is winding down, and in our house, we are ready for Fall. My husband and I keep saying how we can't wait for cooler weather, and all the fun things that come with Fall. The pumpkin patch, Halloween, Fall Festivals, apple cider, Thanksgiving, pies, the list goes on and on.

That being said, we have had a great summer! Before my husband and I both graduated we had big plans for the summer, which included several trips to the beach. We ended up being too busy (and too broke) from moving and everything that comes with that, we never got our weekend away. We ended up making the most of my Grandma's pool and the local beaches on the little island we now live on.

Danny has no idea that we weren't at the "real" beach, hubby and I know that the bay does not equal the ocean, but Danny loved it just as much.

Stephen and Danny cooling off in the bay.

Danny spent 3 hours digging in the sand one day.

Always giving me those famous looks.

And finally. . .

Danny and his "big" mom. He always calls me big when I wear my swim suit!

I have totally enjoyed the last summer of just me and Danny. We sure have had a good time, even if we didn't go on vacation!

Mom stuff

That moment when you look at your dinner plate and realize that you pre-cut every single thing on it. Obviously, you are a grown ass woman who doesn't need to pre-cut your food.

Life with two-year-old.

If I am that scatter-brained now, I hate to know what I am going to be like in a few weeks, with a two-year-old and a newborn, and a husband who will be working the midnight shift for a whole month!

Breastfeeding timeline

One of my old friends (and mom to 3, and one on the way) sent me a link to this great Breastfeeding Timeline blog post. It took me two different sittings to finish (I do have a wild two-year-old), but I am so glad I read it thoroughly.

The post has great information about breastfeeding from day one all the way up to late toddlerhood!

Now, I am sure it is hard for anyone out there to believe that I need encouragement when it comes to breastfeeding, but this blog really did give me a lot of information that I didn't know. It was a nice reminder of why I am busting out the old nursing tanks and stocking up on lanolin cream.

Some of the highlights from this post were:

1. Pain that makes breastfeeding intolerable and /or cracked and bleeding nipples are never normal and needs immediate attention from a health professional familiar with breastfeeding management.
**This would have been nice to know when my son was three days old! I will never forget the nurses at the hospital telling me to feed him right when he was born. I asked "how do I do it" to hear the response "you put your boob in his mouth." Thank GOD for midwives is all I have to say. . .

2. By breastfeeding exclusively for 2 months, your child now has a lower risk of food allergy at 3 years old.
**With all the allergies out there these days it is SO nice to know that I can do something to prevent them!

3. Distraction at the breast may continue. Don't be misled into believing that your baby's temporary lack of interest in breastfeeding is a sign he is ready to wean. It is extremely rare for a child to self-wean before one year of age.
**Now, my son DID self-wean at 10 months, I think a lot of it had to do with how busy he always wanted to be. But also, at ten months the dr. had us start introducing the sippy cup. Once my son got a glimpse of the easy life with a cup he never EVER nursed again. His sister will not be getting a cup until well after her 1st birthday.

Please pass THIS LINK on to anyone you know who has or wants to breastfeed. It is a great resource, and very encouraging!

Baby girl--still growing

Baby girl is still prepping for her big arrival. Here is a pic from a few weeks ago when I was 31 weeks.

7/18/2012

This week marks 35 weeks of pregnancy. I am feeling pretty darn good. I have had a few moments of back issues this week, but nothing as bad as it was in the earlier days of summer. We had an ultrasound on Thursday, it was so cute, as soon as we walked in the room and Danny saw the screen (with an empty picture) he started shouting his sisters name. He cracks me up. She was hiding her face, so we're getting no inclination of what she'll look like, but all of her parts looked great. She is head down, and already in a great position for birth.

I am torn between wanting her to come a few weeks early and wanting her to come on or after her due date, after-all, as soon as she is here my pool days with Danny are over this summer, so it might be nice to keep her inside as long as possible. I'm certainly not going to take any measures to get her here sooner. After my last birth experience I want to do everything naturally and on her time.

The ultrasound measured her at 6lbs 4oz!! That freaked me out considering Danny measured 6lbs 13oz at his 37 week US! I am slightly worried that I am going to have a giant baby, but as my great mom friends keep reminding me, bigger babies are typically easier to birth. And wouldn't it be great if baby girl would fit in her cloth diapers from day one?

Here we are, at 35 weeks, just waiting around for the little girl to arrive:

8/17/2012

 

 

My friends say I am all belly, I'm not sure that that is entirely true, but pretty close. Here is to hoping that I don't gain 10 lbs of fluid and can look somewhat decent right after birth (unlike last time)!