Baby Update

I had my first appointment yesterday.  I've decided to switch providers....again.  Guess I'll just keep going until I find one that I really like.  :)  

I'm seeing a nurse midwife this time.  A local hospital just started a new program last year (this wasn't available when I was pregnant with Kaylee).  So I will be at a hospital but seeing a nurse midwife the whole time.  I am SO excited we have this option now!  They offer water birth too - which is fabulous.  Except that, for some reason, some big wigs at the hospital don't think vbac patients should even set foot in the water.  I asked the midwife what their reason was and she said she wasn't sure and that they haven't really been given a very good explanation.  They're working to change this so hopefully by the time our baby comes, I'll be able to at least labor in water. 

Baby at about 12 weeks

Of course, I was nervous about my appointment.  I was nervous about the baby being healthy, about establishing a new patient/provider relationship, about how open and friendly the midwife would be to straying from standard care.  But it was a great experience!  I really felt like she listened and even agreed with how I feel in general about caring for pregnant women!  Right now there are three midwives and a fourth will be joining in March.  

Everything went great at the appointment yesterday!  We heard a good, strong heartbeat!  It was in the 150s - which makes me think it's a girl because my girls were always around the 150s too.  But...I know that's not a 100% error-proof way to determine the gender.  :)

We don't plan to find out the gender this time.  I never thought I could do that.  But the more I think about and even talk to others who have waited, the more I think it'd be a really fun surprise!

I am scheduled to have an ultrasound next week.  We weren't going to do one.  I'm 13 weeks now.  But I've had dreams I'm having twins.  And so has my sister-in-law.  And I already feel huge (although let's be honest, I always have carried quite large).  So it'd be nice to know for sure.  Plus, the midwife said it felt like my uterus was higher than she would expect for 13 weeks - so she thinks I may be further along than I think; although I'm pretty confident about my dates.

So we'll see.  Ultrasound is a week from today at 8:30.  It will be fun to see the baby!  I had early ultrasounds with both my girls so it will be nice to have one for this one too!  

P.S.  I am hiring a doula for this birth.  She's already worked with these midwives and done vbacs with them as well.  So, overall, I believe it will be a much less stressful experience than last time.  Here's her website.  She rocks. **don't know what a doula is or what they do?  click here

Family Photo

I know it's rare to see our whole family in one picture.  We happened to get this shot last weekend when we went downtown after church.  It's not perfect.  But you can see everyone's face.  :)

Handy Hubby

Septtro has been improving a lot around the house lately.  Recently, he got a lot of free pallets.  So he made a new chicken coup.  **the picture below shows it not quite finished.  He put a door on the right side** 

and a fort (or clubhouse as Ri calls it) for the girls -- it's got a ladder inside that leads to the "roof"

The play kitchen out there was free - someone was throwing it away and it was already dirty.  We have since moved it inside the clubhouse.  I didn't have any idea how many cool things you could make out of free pallets!

**he's currently working on a zipline that will attach from the top level of the clubhouse**

I needed somewhere to hang clothes besides my racks in my dining room - not so pleasant when you have company over.  I'm not a huge fan of using the dryer so Septtro installed a rod in the laundry room.  

He put bead board up in our guest bathroom (aka the girls' bathroom).  That poor wall has taken a beating with bath times and potty accidents.  Not to mention the time both of them got into a bottle of shampoo.  It's definitely an improvement and I think it makes the bathroom look bigger.

 I joke that Septtro should have been an engineer. But I mean it.  He built the chicken coup and the clubhouse without any real instructions.  He got on youtube and watched some videos.  But I could never create something like that without specific, step-by-step  instructions.  So thankful for a handy husband!!!  

Changes

I really didn't mean to coincide this post with the new year.  It just happened that way.  

There's a few things that have changed recently...

Kaylee isn't nursing anymore.  Below is the last picture I have of her nursing.  (Yes, I take pictures of her nursing.  I didn't have many of Ri and I regretted it. I don't think it's weird.  It's special to me and I wanted to remember it another way besides my ever-so-depleting memory.  I wanted to remember how long her hair was, where she put her hands, and the feeling of her cuddled against me for a few minutes uninterrupted).  

I suppose it's partly due to me being pregnant that she stopped.  Ri nursed until I was about five months pregnant with Kaylee (18 months old).  She never refused but I could tell she wasn't interested anymore and she never asked after I stopped offering.  Kaylee has asked a few times here and there but since it's been so long, there's not much there. Plus it probably tastes weird.  So she whines about it not being the same.  But it was her choice and I try to explain that to her.  After offering her sippy cup, she quickly forgets all about me - maybe a little too quickly for my liking.  :)

 Kaylee used the potty.  Once.  Apparently, it freaked her out because every time we talk about her using the potty now, she adamantly says "no!"  My goal is to potty train her this summer when Septtro is home right around her second birthday.  We'll see how it goes.  She knows a lot but is fairly stubborn.

Rilynn is becoming such a little girl so quickly.  We went to an indoor play place last week. And I didn't have to help her up to the slide. She did it.  All by herself.  Over and over.  She makes up songs in the car, can make believe anything into existence, and she will sit for hours and listen to me read her books.

 I am on an indefinite break from my cloth diapers.  I know - I am just as surprised as anyone.  Part of this started when I ran into some issues with my cloth diapers.  I just didn't wanna strip them again, replace elastic, try a different type.  Plus, it's really been good to simplify at least one thing in my life while I'm in the exhausted, not feeling so well stage of pregnancy.  I do eventually want to go back to my cloth diapers.  The cost savings just makes it hard for the practical side of me to ignore.  One thing I have noticed that I'd forgotten, is how quickly you can go through a box of disposable diapers!  Thankfully, I have a decent stash still from when I find good deals.

These two.  More and more, they are together.  They share a room and even tonight, Kaylee didn't want to go to bed without Rilynn.  She kept asking "where Ri Ri?".  That makes my heart glad.  They do argue.  But they love each other's company.  And I love that.  They watch shows together, race from door to door inside the house, and throw rocks in the creek together; among other things.  I hope they become super close.  I love that they have each other!