Baby Boy Part Deux

And the blog writing hiatus continues… The last time I found the energy to sit down and write something other than a grocery list was oh I don’t know, a trimester ago or so? That’s right. I’m preggers. Knocked up. With child and without an ounce of energy, which is compounded by the fact that I have a 14 month old boy who unlike his mama has enough energy to power the great state of Texas.

Thankfully I am feeling more energetic with every passing day. The first trimester was brutal. The past couple of weeks have evolved into doable. It’s no coincidence that my little fire cracker has found himself in mother’s day out twice a week despite the fact that I resigned from my teaching job in June to stay home with my growing boy.

And how is the stay-at-home life treating me, you ask? It’s hard. Really hard. I seemed to have had way more time on my hands when I was teaching, which probably doesn’t reflect positively on my role as an educator, but come on… I taught fourth grade. Those kids are independent. They could work quietly at their desks for hours on end while I worked quietly at my desk for hours on end. And by “worked quietly” I obviously mean trolled Pinterest for recipes I’d never find the time to cook and outfits I’d never find an opportunity to wear. But that’s neither here nor there now. My days of leisurely trolling Pinterest (or leisure in general for that matter) are long gone.

It’s funny how different the second pregnancy is than the first. Other than a closet full of clothes that don’t fit, I really don’t feel pregnant. Perhaps it’s because I don’t have a whole lot of time to focus on this baby like I did when I was pregnant with Jack. Most weeks I can’t even remember how far along I am (15 weeks I think?), and don’t even ask about fruit-size comparisons.

I am happy to report that I have managed to remember prenatal vitamins each night, but I have been wayyyy more lax in every other regard when it comes to this pregnancy. With Jack, I didn’t drink any coffee during the first trimester and throughout the remainder of my pregnancy I would have one cup per day.

These days, a cup of one coffee is absolutely necessary to function within the loosest definition of mother, and most days it requires a second. I haven’t made the plunge into three cups daily, but I often wonder if that would propel me into good wife and homemaker status, as well. Guess we’ll never know…

During my last pregnancy, I avoided cokes (Southern for soft drinks) like the plague as I normally do in everyday life, but the past few weeks, a late afternoon Diet Dr. Pepper has become somewhat of a daily ritual. That ritual may or may not also involve a bean burrito from Taco Bell.

It has to stop.

Jack, the product of my perfectly executed first pregnancy, is pretty dang flawless in my opinion. Sure he’s strong-willed (stubborn) and the pickiest eater around (aside from myself), but other than that we’ve got ourselves a golden boy on our hands. I’m worried that my less than ideal habits with baby boy #2 (yes, it’s a boy) may equate to a less stellar version of baby boy #1.

I’ve got to turn this pregnancy around.

No more late afternoon Taco Bell runs. No more ordering pizza multiple nights in a row. More walking. Less chemicals.

Starting tomorrow, of course.

In my previous post I shared some photos from the first half of our summer. Below you will find pictures from the second half of summer, which include Jack’s first birthday and a trip to Florida, as well. Hope you are enjoying some cooler temperatures this weekend. We are loving this late summer cold-front here in Texas!

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Not interested in his smash cake AT. ALL.

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Not really interested in the beach either. Boo.

Bitty Baby Box

I have finally made it to my last week of school… Ever.

teacher owl

I’m going to miss (most of) my kids and all of the ladies on the 4th grade team who I’ve been so fortunate to work with, but I can pretty much guarantee a happy dance as I walk out of my classroom for the last time on Friday. Gone will be the days of endless grading, the pressure of statewide testing, unnecessary meetings, high-maintenance parents, and bureaucratic crapola in general.

I can permanently delete my five o’clock alarm, say goodbye to eating breakfast in the car, and possibly even find the time to make dinner… Possibly. Jack will get me at my best now instead of twelve hours deep into my day when I am mentally spent. Checked out. Basically brain dead. Twenty-four 4th graders can do that to you. But then again so can a 10-month-old… Maybe things won’t be so different after all?

The past few days we’ve been hinting about our latest endeavor on the LWO Facebook page… The Bitty Baby Box. I am so excited about our monthly subscription box which will consist of organic products from home and abroad, such as food samples, articles of clothing, and other baby necessities that we can’t wait to share with you. We are starting small and offering only twelve subscriptions for our first shipment mid-July. Here is the age/gender availability breakdown:

girl

0-6 months- 3 boxes

6-12 months- 3 boxes

boy

0-6 months- 3 boxes

6-12 months- 3 boxes

A one-month subscription will cost $30/box including shipping. Checkout our Facebook page to peek into our July box! If you would like to reserve your spot for the month of July, fill out a registration form here.

 

Paranoid & Pregnant

Anxiety is a natural consequence of pregnancy; at least that’s my theory. If you aren’t experiencing some form of anxiety leading up to the birth of your little nugget, then you’re either delusional or drugged… Maybe even both.

According to thebump.com, these are ten of the most common pregnancy fears:

1. Laying on my belly (and squashing the baby)

2. My face changing.

3. Eating something that would harm baby.

4. Losing the baby.

5. Baby will be deformed.

6. That the baby weight will never. Go. Away.

7. My water breaking in public.

8. Going into preterm labor.

9. Peeing my pants in public.

10. Being able to care for a newborn.

Without a doubt, my biggest fear throughout pregnancy was losing the baby. At my second prenatal checkup, it took the nurse f.o.r.e.v.e.r. to find little J’s heartbeat. After what felt like an eternity, the hollow swishing sound emitted from the doppler transformed into proof of life… We had a heartbeat.

Of course the paranoia didn’t stop there. As I approached the end of my first trimester, the nausea subsided sending me into complete panic mode, and once I could finally feel the baby moving, I would freak when there were any prolonged periods of stillness.

These are all rather common fears that pregnant mamas experience, and rightfully so. In addition to the normal, everyday worries associated with pregnancy, I dealt with the following, as well.

1. baths– I love a good, long soak in a bathtub- Especially when I am tired and/or not feeling well (hello 1st trimester!). While pregnant, I held off on baths for as long as I possibly could in fear of boiling my baby. That’s right. I was certain that the hot bath water would cook Jack’s brain and lead to permanent brain damage. My aching body trumped my fear during the third trimester however, and as it turns out Jack is pretty dang smart… At least in my completely *biased* opinion.

2. green tea damage– Did you know that green tea can inhibit the absorption of folic acid in your body leading to possible neural tube defects in a developing embryo? I learned this after I spent months on end guzzling green tea in hopes of neutralizing free radicals (whatever that means) in a quest to achieve optimal health. I wasn’t planning on getting pregnant and consequently didn’t know that I was pregnant until five weeks in… After realizing, “Holy crap I’m pregnant,” I turned to the internet and concluded that my five week old fetus was indeed screwed. Green tea, booze, baths, more booze, no prenatal vitamin. If only I had would’ve known! Luckily I was on a vegan kick at the time, and my normally subpar diet was replaced with a smorgasbord of super foods, like avocado, lentils, and sweet potato. Miraculously, Baby J made it out unscathed.

3. living near a highway– About halfway through my pregnancy, I came across a study claiming that children who lived near highways at birth had twice the risk of autism as those who live farther away. And guess who lives near one of Austin’s busiest highways? This girl.

4. maternal trauma– I can’t remember the exact study, but I am fairly certain that it linked maternal trauma during the third trimester of pregnancy to fetal brain damage. Coincidentally, I experienced some serious mental distress during my third trimester from a rather unusual source: squirrels. It all began when a hole was sealed near my neighbor’s roof (we live in a townhouse and share a wall) leaving a happy little squirrel family trapped inside.

Two of the baby squirrels made their way over to our house, and my heart sank a little deeper each time I heard them scratching and thumping against the wall in a desperate attempt to escape. After days of listening to the squirrels suffer, I convinced my husband to cut into the wall and rescue the helpless little creatures. Up until that point, I could barely eat or sleep because I was so upset about the whole situation. Then I read the trauma study, which only amplified my anguish. Luckily the squirrels made it out alive (barely), and I was able to find my zen once more.

What did you worry about during your pregnancy? Did you have any irrational fears?

***

It’s been awhile since I’ve blogged… Between teaching, LWO, and a 9 month old baby boy who is in to EVERYTHING, my hands have been quite full! Here are a few pictures from the past month.

jackbluebonnet          jackandmom

For all of you non-Texans, it is somewhat of a tradition to take family pictures in the bluebonnets each year. 

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Sans baby at the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Man and Woman of the Year party. 

To Induce, or Not to Induce…

Over the weekend, a “Facebook friend” of mine gave birth to an adorable baby girl named Katherine. On Tuesday of last week, said friend posted something along the lines of this: “Today’s my due date! Took a long walk around the neighborhood last night… Hoping to meet Baby K soon!!”

This of course elicited a long string of responses. Some of the replies were words of encouragement and congratulations for making it to forty weeks; others included personal anecdotes on how to trigger labor.

Naturally, I felt compelled to add my own two cents and suggested Evening Primrose Oil and Organic Pregnancy Tea to move things along. Around 39 weeks, I tried just about everything to encourage Baby J to release his death grip on my womb. I bounced on a yoga ball for hours on end and drank pineapple smoothies ’til I was blue in the face (pineapple contains an enzyme called bromelain that supposedly induces labor naturally).

My mother, who is rather old-school in nature, resorted to the method that folks used back in the good ‘ole days and drove me over every speed bump and railroad track she could find around town (and at alarmingly fast speeds, might I add). She was so certain Baby J would pop out after our joy ride that she considered charging my pregnant friends money in exchange for a labor-inducing tour of Austin. Her plan went up in smoke however, as my little nugget didn’t budge an inch. It really is too bad, as she would make an excellent tour guide. 

I can say with some degree of certainty that the combination of EPO and tea did the trick. Of course a full moon didn’t hurt either. Did you know that the moon’s gravitational pull can affect a woman’s body in the same way it affects the tides? It’s called the lunar effect. Ask any medical professional who works in a hospital and I’m sure they’ll agree; the hospital is inundated with crazies & pregnant women (more crazies?) every full moon. Annnd that’s enough science for one day.

Back to my Facebook friend… I scrolled through the responses others left for her and hesitated when I came across the following question:

Do you have a date that you will get induced by if she’s running late?”

The response?

Saturday!! Reaaaaallly want it to happen naturally before then though!”

My thoughts??

Then let it happen naturally!

Perhaps I am a tad hypocritical, as I was almost seduced into an elective induction myself. When I was in my 39th week of pregnancy, my OBGYN dropped the I-word, and I was intrigued at the prospect of controlling the otherwise great unknown: Labor. With a planned induction, I knew that my doctor would in fact be the one to deliver my baby boy, I could arrange for family member’s travel so that they would be present for J’s birth, and best of all, I would no longer wake up each morning and wonder, “Is today the day?”

What really sealed the deal for me was an off-the-cuff comment made by the nurse while the doctor was out of the examining room. I heard the words “increased risk of stillbirth” and developed tunnel vision instantaneously. Needless to say, I left the appointment with an induction date on the calendar. After a little help from the Google machine, I found that the risks of delivering a stillborn baby at term are negligible. The risks do increase after 42 weeks, however, the increase in risk is not even considered significant until 43 weeks.

Within an hour of arriving home from the doctor’s office I was in tears, hysterical at the prospect of inducing labor. I researched Cytoctec, the controversial induction drug of choice at my hospital, and was horrified to learn that it is not even FDA approved for labor induction. I did not want a c-section and I did not want to cause my sweet little peanut unnecessary stress, both of which are common side effects of labor induction. My intuition was impossible to ignore. I could not go through with an elective induction.

At my 40 week appointment, I shared my concerns with my doctor and she agreed to cancel the induction as long as my amniotic fluid levels were normal… We couldn’t have Baby J drying up in the womb! Unfortunately my fluid levels appeared low, which does in fact warrant a medically necessary induction. A biophysical profile was ordered to get a better look at Jack’s overall movements, breathing, and muscle tone, as well as the amount of amniotic fluid that surrounded him. Thankfully, we passed with flying colors. The fluid levels previously appeared marginal because he was storing more than his fair share of amniotic fluid in his belly. Go figure.

Within twenty-four hours of the biophysical profile I was in active labor, which means that I would have missed true labor by a day or so had I followed through with the original induction date. Thank God for intuition.

The night before her scheduled induction, my Facebook friend posted this:

“Last pre-baby workout! Induction scheduled for tomorrow morning. Tried to encourage nature along with extra squats…would LOVE to go into labor today – prayers appreciated!”

I did not respond other than giving a thumbs-up to the following comment:

“Good luck, I’m surprised they are inducing so soon. See if they can postpone as long as she is healthy. Elle was 9 days “late” – I think babies come when they are ready.”

Couldn’t have said it better myself.

Fortunately, the baby was born healthy and from what I can gather via Facebook, all is well with both parties involved. I am certainly not judging this friend for agreeing to an elective induction, nor would I ever judge a woman for making a choice that is hers to make. My reaction is more so a result of my own personal experience and the tremendous emotional response I grappled with when considering an induction for myself. As patients, we trust our doctors and want to believe that they have our best interest at heart. It is a shame that women aren’t better informed about the risks associated with an induction before signing on the dotted line.

Thankfully, labor is not on my radar at this point in time. Instead of fretting about the birth of a child, I am busy enjoying my family.

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Enjoying beautiful “patio weather” with Baby J over the weekend

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Operation Containment

When Jack was a newborn, I wrote a post about the products that were essential to everyday life with an infant. Naturally, my list of favorite products today is different than it was six months ago. Over the past eight months, my once immobile baby boy has evolved into a curious, active little guy, and I need an entirely different product arsenal to conquer life with my (almost) toddler.

One of the most essential products during the first few months of Jack’s life was the swaddle. I only wish I could zip Jack up in a Woombie (my swaddle of choice) now. You see, Jack’s new nightly routine involves waking up around two in the morning sitting straight up, startled to find himself in such a position. Though he can easily maneuver from sitting to lying down during the day, it would take an act of God for him to figure it out at night. I don’t get it (clearly he doesn’t either).

When we’ve tried to help J out he becomes quite agitated, which makes it almost impossible to soothe him back to sleep. I suppose this is one of those reasons parents pass on the video baby monitors… I would have no idea he was sitting up-right, half asleep, swaying around like a drunkard had we registered for your standard, run of the mill monitor.

Last night he simply gave up, leaned forward as far as he could, and slept with his head between his legs in a pike-like position. It looked something like this…

pike

Poor little guy.

Anyway, this is my small list of must have products for my older (*tear*) baby boy. For the most part these products revolve around one thing alone… Containment. Welcome to early toddlerhood.

 

walker

1. Baby Einstein Baby Neptune Ocean Explorer Walker

My MIL gave us this walker for Christmas. At first, Jack didn’t show much interest in it, however, he was singing a different tune when he realized that he can in fact make it move, and rather quickly too. Now the dogs and I spend our afternoons dodging the baby who can achieve surprisingly high speeds in this activity center on wheels. And although I cannot get anything done with Baby J in the walker, he absolutely loves it, and that’s a win in my book. If only the walker came with rubber bumpers…

Buy the walker here.     $44.99 (currently on sale at Target!)

 

superyard

2. Superyard XT Play Gate

Aside from moving a few lamps out of Jack’s way, we have not baby-proofed the house yet, so this pen is essential in our home. Jack loves playing in his “super yard” (glorified cage?), and I love that I can vacuum the house (in theory, at least) without worrying about him.

Even better, this “super yard” doubles as a dog pen. Maybe now the maid won’t shut the poor pups in the bathroom while she cleans the house.

Buy the super yard here.     $59.99

 

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3. Diaper Clutch

These days I find myself shoving a diaper and a packet of wipes in my purse when we are headed out with the baby. I’ve realized that I don’t need quite as much equipment as I did when Jack was an infant. This diaper clutch is the perfect substitute for a bulky diaper bag as your baby grows out of the infancy stage. And it doesn’t hurt that it is absolutely adorable… I would carry this clutch with or without a baby in tow.

Buy the diaper clutch here.     $29.99

 

4. Shopping Cart Safety Harness

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*not Baby Jack pictured above*

Gone are the days of wearing my sleeping (screaming) baby around the grocery store. These days, he’s riding in the cart like a big boy, and he couldn’t be happier. Like his daddy, Jack is a people watcher, so the grocery store is naturally one of his favorite places to go.  Especially the grocery store in my neighborhood… Have you ever heard the slogan Keep Austin Weird? Let’s just say we’re keepin’ it weird at my neighborhood HEB, and Jack throughly enjoys the weekly spectacle.

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This harness is the perfect solution to squirmy babies looking to wiggle their way out of a shopping cart. Did you know that over 24,200 children are hospitalized
each year due to shopping cart accidents? I didn’t either until I visited this etsy listing in search of a solution to my grocery cart woes. Don’t be a statistic. Buy a harness today.

Buy the shopping cart safety harness here.      $19.99

5. Portable High Chair- phil&teds red lobster chair

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I first discovered the portable high chair at a local pizza joint, and I was hooked immediately. I love how you can attach the chair to any table making your little one a part of the group. When my husband questioned the necessity of this product, I reminded him of the 48 hours I spent bringing Baby J into this world…

Worked like a charm.

Buy the chair here.     $79.99

Are there any must have products you recommend for an older baby? Maybe products designed especially for summertime? If so, do share, as I’m always looking for an excuse to shop!