Prepping for Baby Number 2

This is where Clover will sleep for the first month or so, Note the cuter than cute new sheets I sewed for the moses basket!

I'm finally finishing up some of my baby related projects and really getting down to business preparing for our new addition. I felt like everything was on hold until after our trip to Asheville last month but now that all my travel is behind me I can settle down and finish up some last minute things before baby Clover arrives.

It's so weird the difference between a first and second pregnancy, for me at least. Last time I quit work about a month ahead of time so I could have plenty of time to relax and prepare for the new baby. This time around I my job is taking care of a toddler so there is no "taking time off". Life goes on just as it always has and I try to squeeze in some of the things I want to get done before we have this baby in between naps, play dates, snacks, laundry, making dinner and cleaning.  In a way I feel much less prepared this time around but I also know that there really isn't that much that has to get done before we bring a new baby home. Babies really don't need anything except breast milk and cuddle time with mommy and daddy so there really isn't much that has to be prepped. Still there are things that I know will make my life easier, so here is my list of stuff that we've done to prepare for our new baby and a list of things that still need to be done. Hopefully this will help me be organized and get through some of the items that are still hanging over my head!


Done

Assemble crib and set up nursery.
We had to move out our guest mattress, straighten things up and put the crib back together. I also pulled out a bunch of younger baby toys that echo had outgrown so that Clover can use them when the time comes.

Bake and freeze breads to have on hand for after we come home from the hospital.
I love having fresh baked English muffins and bagels around for snacks and breakfast but I know I won't be up for baking for a while. Thanks to our new freezer space I now have a decent stash of baked goods to see me through the first few weeks or months.

Sew new bedding for our moses basket.
Echo slept in the moses basket for about the first month of her life and we loved it! It has so many advantages, it's small enough to be cozy, it's easy to pick up and carry around so we can move her from room to room with us and not wake her up, plus it's adorable! I bought the basket at a consignment store but was never crazy about the bedding that came with it, it was a floral blue pattern with lace trim that felt really dated and overly girly to me. Last time I didn't know how to sew well enough to make some new sheets for the thing but this time I realized just how easy it would be to give it an update. I sewed three new sheets for the basket in bright and modern prints that are so much cuter than the set of sheets that came with the thing. Now I can rest easy knowing that Clover will have a place to sleep when she comes home with us.

Unpack newborn and 0-3 month clothes.
I did this first thing after I found out we were having another girl. It's fun to see some of my favorite outfits that Echo wore again and I like to show Echo the tiny clothes and tell her that Clover will wear them some day. Echo will then hold the clothes up to my belly in an attempt to give them to Clover, it's adorable. We have all the teeny tiny baby clothes put away in the dresser in Clover's room now, awaiting her arrival.

Buy the basic new things we needed for a second baby.
We didn't need much this time around because we are having another girl and pretty much everything can be reused. There were a few items I picked up new for this baby just because I am hoping they will make my life easier. The biggest item was the double stroller ( a gift from my parents) which has already been amazing and awesome. It's a sit and stand so Echo can either stand or sit on the back and there will be room for another baby in the front. I also picked up a new baby carrier for wearing Clover which I'm hoping will be more comfortable than carriers I've tried in the past and (thanks to a an amazon gift card for my aunt) an extra wet bag, a white noise machine (to help baby sleep), gel nipple pads (for that potentially painful first week of breast feeding) and new nursing tanks and bras.

Buy a big sister present for Echo.
I knew I wanted to get Echo a little something to make her feel special for after the new baby arrives. I know it might be hard for her since she is the apple of our eye and not used to sharing the spotlight. I couldn't think of any one big thing she would want or need so I opted for a little goody bag of activities and books that she can have with her at the hospital to play with. I got her a farm play set with nice all wooden pieces, a book about dogs, a book about cats, and a paint with water activity book. Hopefully it will help keep her entertained and let her know how special she is to us ( I suspect she will be even more excited about having a new baby around but just in case).

Get a bigger car with more room for 2.
This wasn't originally on my list but when more and more problems kept coming up with my old car we decided to go ahead and get me the station wagon I'd been wanting for a long time. It's definitely not as peppy as my old car but it's nice and roomy and good for a family of 4. We still to get the tags and insurance squared away so I get to enjoy my sweet little car a while longer but should hopefully have all that taken care of before we bring Clover home.


Still To Do

Install the car seats in the new car.
We can't do this until the new car is legal to drive, honestly it doesn't take that long anyway so I'm not too worried.

Pack the hospital bag.
I've started this but haven't finished. I have a list on the fridge of all the things that still need to go in the bag but many of the items are still being used like my camera and cell phone charger. If my labor goes the way it did last time I will have plenty of time to pack last minute items before we head to the hospital ( I want to labor at home as long as possible).

Sew more cloth baby wipes.
Thanks to the generosity of a dear friend we have a huge and gorgeous stash of cloth diapers for newborns, I'm so excited to use them! We also have the diapers we used last time with Echo so we should be covered for diapers for a while. One of my goals this time around is to use more cloth wipes and less disposable but my cloth wipe stash is a little low. This is easy to fix since it's incredibly easy to sew cloth wipes though, I just have to find the time and energy to do it. There are a million other sewing projects I'd love to get done before having a second baby but realistically this is probably the only one that will happen.

Clean and organize as much as possible before going in to labor.
Last time I had lots of time to clean all the often neglected areas like the fridge and shower. This time I have so much less energy and time for cleaning. I would love to get some thorough cleaning done before bringing  anew baby home but I won't stress out about anything that doesn't happen. I know from experience that the baby won't care ;-)


Only 4 weeks to go! Can't wait to meet this little lady!

Breastfeeding Infinity scarf

Ok guys, I am officially in my Third trimester! Woo hoo! The past few weeks I have been feeling very third trimester, as in suuuppper tired. I haven't had enough energy to keep the house clean and stay on top of dinner much less do anything fun or creative. Well yesterday I treated myself to a large homemade iced coffee in the afternoon that left me feeling wonderfully refreshed (caffeine restrictions while pregnant have gone out the window) and I got to spend some time with my much loved but lately neglected sewing machine. 

As much as I would love to sew up a bunch of cute stuff for baby Clover I simply don't have the time or energy. However an infinity scarf is something even this busy momma can handle and it was fun to make somethign I can use when our new baby arrives. I got the idea from this tutorial  but it really couldn't be easier. You basically take a rectangle and sew the ends together. When finished the scarf can be worn like a normal infinity scarf or unfolded and draped across your chest if you need a little extra cover while nursing. 

I had this awesome piece of really stretchy green fabric that I picked up in the scrap bin at Joanne's which was perfect for the project. Not only is it light and soft but it happens to be my exact favorite color in the whole world. I love that mossy green shade. I still felt it seemed a little plain so I decided to silk screen a little fern design on it (although in retrospect maybe I should have done a clover, hmm...).

 I had a really hard time taking pictures of this on myself so my apologies for the terrible selfies. At least they get the point across, showing the two ways the scarf can be worn.

Just a note on breastfeeding covers in general, I'm not a huge fan of them. I really never used one when i was nursing Echo and I strongly believe that women should be free to breastfeed in public and uncovered without shame. However there are always some circumstances where you might like a little privacy so it's nice to have a cute option in case you decide you need or want to cover up. Again, i never used a cover with Echo and I'm not sure if I will with Clover either but I figured if I don't ever use this one as a nursing cover at least I will have a cute new scarf!

It's a Girl!

We got to get our first good look at our sweet little girl today and now I am just feeling so happy and emotional. It just goes to show that my instincts are totally off because I was convinced it was a boy this time. I was amazed at how happy I was when the ultrasound tech girl though! I'm sure I would have been thrilled either way to be honest.

Now I am just filled with visions of me and the girls baking together, doing sewing projects and crafts, maybe some day sharing a love of Jane Austen novels. I'm looking forward to lots of tea parties and dress up but also sports, playing in the mud and climbing trees. I hope our girls are well rounded and enjoy both traditionally male and female pursuits.

I hope Echo and her sister will be best friends and try not to be too competitive with each other as girls can sometimes be. I feel certain their bond will be extraordinary and I can't wait to watch them get to know one another. Echo is already such a great little care taker and is so sweet to her stuffed animals and baby dolls and I just know she will be a great big sister.

Our new baby girl will be named Clover Elizabeth, it feels so good to finally call her by her name instead of just "the baby"! Here are some more ultrasound photos for those of you that are interested. She was all balled up in there and refused to give us a profile view but we think she is pretty darn cute already. She was playing with her feet in the most adorable way and I feel like I can see lot's of personality already!

Right and left foot

A great shot of her leg

Head and hands

Here she is playing with her toes, her hand is on the left and foot is on the right 

This is the shot I put on facebook and i think it's the best one we got

I can't believe I am already halfway through this pregnancy! Can't wait to meet you Clover!

Pregnancy the Second Time Around

Playing at Piedmont park earlier this month, my bump has already gotten huge!

This pregnancy feels so different from my last pregnancy that it hardly seems like the same thing is happening to me at all. This has me convinced I'm having a boy this time around (not logical I know but it's my gut feeling). I do wonder how much this pregnancy is actually different and how much of it is just my perception of pregnancy changing. here are 5 differences between this pregnancy and my last one.

1. I don't think about it, hardly at all.
With my first pregnancy I thought about the baby that was growing inside me constantly. I was always stroking my belly and talking to my little sweet pea. This time I usually forget that I'm pregnant unless I am experiencing a symptom at that very moment. I'm sure I will be thinking about it more as my belly gets bigger and I really start to feel those kicks but right now I am just so busy with Echo that I don't have much time to dwell on the new baby.

2. My symptoms are different.
Last time around I was sick as a dog the whole first trimester, I threw up almost on a daily basis and found it hard to do much of anything. I was also unreasonably tired all the time. This time I have had a little nausea but not nearly as bad as with Echo. I haven't noticed being particularly tired (maybe I'm just so used to being tired that it doesn't register?). I haven't had much in the way of symptoms yet this time which is another reason I don't think about being pregnant.

3. I'm experiencing everything sooner.
For starters, I'm showing sooner. Much sooner! I can't believe how huge my bump is already, it makes me terrified of having a huge baby this time. I also wasn't quite ready to be so big so soon, *sigh*. At least I have only gained 4 lbs so far. I also am experiencing certain symptoms sooner such as heartburn which I didn't get until late in my third trimester last time. The really exciting thing that is happening sooner this time is that I started to feel movement yesterday! Last time I didn't feel anything until 19 weeks and this time I am feeling it at 16 and a half. Maybe this will help the pregnancy feel more real.

4. I'm not as careful about what I eat and do.
Ok, I was never that careful to be honest. I fall in to the "laid back mom" category and I really don't stress about things that have a .01 percent chance of increasing my risk for birth defects. Still, I at least thought about it a bit more last time. This time  especially since I keep forgetting I'm pregnant, I am doing all kinds of stuff I'm not supposed to. I still drink coffee, I lift and carry a 24 lb toddler all the time, I eat lunch meat, the list goes on and on. I am probably eating more veggies this pregnancy than last but that was just a general life choice not something that is pregnancy related. I figure Echo turned out really awesome and I didn't stress about this stuff when I was pregnant with her so why worry now?

5.  I'm terrified of labor and delivery.
Last time I was pretty confidant in my ability to achieve my goal of having a med free birth. I knew this was what my body was made for and although I expected it to be painful I really wasn't worried about handling it and knew it was a "purposeful pain". Well I was able to have my med free birth like I planned but holy h*ll did it hurt! Anyone who tells you that childbirth is magical and/or beautiful is full of BS. It is messy, violent and incredibly painful. And this is coming from someone who had a relatively short labor (12 hours start to finish) with no complications. This time around I am much more frightened because I know how much it hurts. I am honestly still on the fence about wether I want to go med free again. I guess I have 6 more months to think about it!

How I Handle My Morning Sickness

ginger ale is a life saver

We just got back from our Christmas vacation in Rhode Island and had an amazing time! I caught a head cold but other than that the trip went off without a hitch and Echo was a champ for her first time on a plane. I am currently going through my photos and will have lots of images and stories to tell soon but in the mean time here is a post on dealing with morning sickness the second time around (aka, while simultaneously dealing with a toddler).

One of my big fears when I found out I was pregnant again was how on earth I would deal with being sick while I was getting up all night with my sleep challenged toddler. Thankfully the morning sickness hasn't been nearly as bad this time around but I have been feeling vaguely queasy on and off for weeks now. Here are my top foods for beating morning sickness.

1. Ginger Ale. When I was pregnant the first time I often used crackers to help settle my stomach. The problem with this now is that I am mostly sick in the middle of the night when I have to get up with Echo and coax her back to sleep. If I go in to her room crunching on crackers it will all be over, she'll be awake and wanting to share my crackers and I'll never get her back down. Ginger ale is a nice quiet way to ease my symptoms without disturbing my little one.

2. Lemon Drops. Same deal as with the ginger ale, these are quiet and and I can discreetly suck on one when I need it. They are also great to take with me when I'm out and about for a quick nausea fix.

3. Pretzels. These are a no go at night because they are too crunchy, however nothing beats nausea better in my experience. I fist learned the pretzel trick when I was scuba diving and got extremely sea sick. The pretzels help so much! They are bland and salty at the same time and for some reason they stop nausea in in it's tracks.

4. Apples. I like to have one right when I get up in the morning or for an afternoon snack. They are a good source of fiber and a nice sweet treat too!

5. Yogurt. This is another one I like to have first thing in the morning, it's incredibly soothing on the stomach. I use plain yogurt (our home made stuff) and some home made granola on top.

First Ultrasound Images

So as anyone who is friends with me on facebook now knows, we are pregnant again! We are so very excited, our goal was to get pregnant before the end of the year and the timing worked out perfectly. The funny thing is we had been trying for a couple of months with no luck but when we finally got burned out and stopped trying to time everything just right the pregnancy happened. I guess it's true that you just need to relax and go with the flow when it comes to these things. We had our first ultrasound yesterday and here are the pictures.

I drew the red arrow so you can see where the baby is. Yep, it's that little blob in the black space. Doesn't look like much yet huh? They said it is measuring at 5 weeks 5 days and we have an updated due date of August 1st. They were able to see the heart beat and said it likely just started since I am so early in the pregnancy.

Being pregnant the second time around is weird. It's strange to say but I keep kind of forgetting about it. I think it's because I'm so busy with Echo that I don't have time to think about it. After our appointment yesterday it certainly seems more real though! No I just have to find a way to stand the wait until we can find out if we are having a boy or a girl :-D

New Mommy Survival Kit

This is another post for all my pregnant friends out there. 

One of my dearest friends recently gave birth and it got me feeling all nostalgic and weepy about the time we brought Echo home from the hospital. Those were some magical, exhausting, painful yet joyful days. Bringing home a baby is amazing and wonderful but the aftermath of birth can be not so fun. Here is my list of recommended products to get you through the first two weeks. In my opinion the first two weeks are the worst! After that you tend to figure out what you're doing but in the mean time you might need these survival tools.

1. Witch Hazel Pads. I really didn't think I would need these but my nurse practically insisted I try them and I was so glad I did! they are incredibly soothing on a very sensitive area of your body after you have put yourself through a lot. They sent me home with a bunch of extras and they really helped me though my healing process.

2. Gel Nursing Pads. These are a gift from God! I can't tell you how much these saved my life. Breast feeding was very painful for me at first and I ended up being really sore and chapped. I honestly don't know if I would have made it without these, they saved my life and allowed me to continue nursing even though I was in a lot of pain.

3. Some kind of E Reader. If you don't have one already, I highly recommend you get one. I took Eric's old one when he got a newer, fancier version and it is great reading while nursing. Personally, I got really bored while nursing in the beginning. It used to take Echo around 20 minutes to eat and I hated sitting there doing nothing. The E Reader is great because you can easily hold it and turn the pages all in one hand which allows you to position your baby with the other. Of course if you can get your husband to read to you that's even better. Eric always reads to me when he's home but once he went back to work and i was by myself during the day it was great to have a book in a format i could easily handle.

4. Yoga Pants. Your body takes a bit of time to get back to normal and being comfortable is really important while you heal. I lived in yoga pants for the last part of my pregnancy and soon after birth. They are as comfy as pajamas but not quite as embarrassing to wear out in public as flannel pants with bunnies on them. You may also want to pick up a pair of fat jeans at the thrift store to wear until you can fit in your old ones again.

5. Sleep Mask. I didn't actually have one of these but looking back I wish I did. You get so little sleep in the beginning and you have to take your naps where you can get them. This was really hard for me since I'm not a napper by nature. I think it would have been easier if I could have blocked out the light with a little sleep mask.

6. Netfilx. This is along the lines of the E Reader as in it's a way to entertain yourself while nursing. I would use it mainly at night when I was up for countless hours rocking and feeding my new baby. It kept me from freaking out about the fact that I wasn't in bed asleep. It's also nice for during the day when you're just too tired to do anything else. Save up a good series or two that you can watch straight through after your baby arrives, it will save your sanity.

7. Disposable Underwear. I know this sounds silly but the disposable underwear they give you at the hospital is the best stuff ever! It's not the sexiest thing ever but I have never worn a pair of panties this comfy in my life, I would wear them all the time if I could.

Your experience may be different from mine and you may have other great suggestions for things to help you adjust to your new life as a mom but these are what came in handy for me. Hopefully it will be helpful to some of you out there!

More Pregnancy Cravings

My latest pregnancy craving is for full fat dairy. Lately I can't get enough yogurt, ice cream and cheese, and no skim milk or light ice cream for me, no sir! It's got to be the good, creamy, fatty stuff. Luckily, people tell me that full fat dairy is good for the baby's brain development so I am running with it :-)

Today I got the chance to try a recipe for pimento cheese that I have been wanting to try for a while. I am all about good, home made pimento cheese. It's especially good on a sandwich with bacon, yum! I have been feeling particularly creative and culinary this week so I had made some home made mayo (which is amazing by the way) earlier this week and was able to use that in the recipe.

Homemade mayo

Here is the recipe I used for the mayo from Drizzle and Dip. I had to make a few changes to this as my first batch was a huge flop. first of all I used cider vinegar since I didn't have any red wine vinegar, also cider vinegar is my absolute fav! The first batch I made was going great, it looked perfect after I added the first cup of oil, however as soon as I added the second cup of oil the texture turned all gross and liquidy. For my second batch I only used one cup of oil and it turned out perfect.

Pimento cheese! Sorry I don't have it in a pretty dish, it's just in my tupperware.

For the pimento cheese I used this recipe from Tide and Thyme but of course I had to spice it up a bit by adding a diced cayenne pepper from my garden. I never would have thought to use Greek yogurt in my pimento cheese but I must say I really liked this version. I found it equally delicious on crackers or on a sandwich. I'm also thinking it would be the perfect dip for celery, I'll have to try that. 

There's no telling where or how my cravings will strike next. This baby wants what she wants when she wants it and I'm enjoying the excuse to eat whatever I feel like. I had an incredibly strong craving for pizza the other night right before bed and even though he offered I was nice and didn't make Eric go get me some :-)

Baby Morph

On thebump.com they have this little tool where you can upload a picture of yourself and the father of your baby and it will predict what your baby will look like. I thought it was hilarious so I just had to share. Eric thinks it's creepy looking, I think it just looks like a generic baby. I put it on random gender and it gave us a girl (which I am convinced we are having but Eric swears it will be a boy). Only time will tell how accurate this is ;-)

Carb Cravings

If you've noticed a decline in my posting lately, there's a reason. Not only am I exhausted ALL THE TIME but I am also still doing battle with morning sickness. I have to drag myself to work each day and when I get home I pretty much lay on the couch until it's time for bed (around 9:00 PM these days). Housework has pretty much gone by the wayside, the only exceptions being laundry and dishes since those are the two absolutely essential things that have to get done. I thought the morning sickness had just about ended when I had a break in symptoms this weekend but it turns out I just had a lucky few days because it has been back with a vengeance this week. I can't wait for the second trimester so that I will get some of my energy back and not feel sick all the time! It won't be much longer now and I do feel like the worst is over (knock on wood).

As of right now I am feeling nauseous a lot of the time and on top of that I am also having weird food aversions. This means that many of my go to meals and long time favorites are suddenly repulsive to me. Instead I have been craving a lot of weird things, many of which are meals that I loved when I was a kid. For example, I can't get enough sloppy joes and orange sherbet, weird huh? Most of the things that I can eat without feeling like I'm going to throw up are carb heavy such as pasta and bread. Too bad for Eric trying to eat low carb, when the pregnant lady is doing the cooking you have to eat what I want ;-P

Yesterday I had a lovely day off from work and I had an overwhelming urge to bake bread from scratch. Pretty weird since I haven't done that since I was a kid. I roped my mom in to helping me and we had a fun day of bread baking and hanging out, it really took me back to my childhood and the bread was amazing! There is something therapeutic about kneading the dough and I don't care what people say, bread machine bread is not in the same league as honest to goodness homemade bread. Here are some pictures of the deliciousness, half of it is gone already :-) I got the recipe from the King Arthur Flour website, here . It's called hearth bread and it is a really simple recipe to make, plus it tastes great and is perfect for sandwiches.

We're Expecting!

This image is from a congrats card from my parents :-)

I've gone back and forth on the right time to announce this but I am tired of keeping it a secret (let's face it, I'm terrible at it anyway since I've already told just about everyone). Eric and I are expecting our first child in late September and we couldn't be happier!

It is completely overwhelming to be bringing a new life in to the world, I can't believe I have an actual person growing in me! It's like something out of a Sci Fi movie. Being parents is something that Eric and I have always known we wanted to do and we welcome the challenges and rewards that go along with it. I can't imagine anything more fulfilling than being a parent and I know that I am ready (well, as ready as I'll ever be).

If I've seemed standoffish, antisocial or just absent lately I do apologize and I hope that you won't take it personally. I have had round the clock nausea six the 6th week of my pregnancy and pretty much all I want to do is sleep and eat ice cream. I am also extremely emotional and prone to weepy meltdowns for no reason. Let me tell you, I'm *really* fun to be around right now ;-P

Eric has been a saint and is keeping me calm and well fed. The other night I asked him to pick up some orange sherbert on the way home from work for me and he came in with six pints of various ice creams, sorbets and sherberts and a bouquet of daisies, what a sweet heart :-) My parents have also been wonderful and it has made me sooo happy that we made the decision to move close by.

I want to thank everyone that we have told our big news to for all the love and support, you have all been amazing! We can't wait to meet our new family member and I will try to keep everyone updated here on the blog as the pregnancy develops. Yay for babies! Yay for our growing family! This is such an exciting time in our lives, thanks to everyone who is sharing in it with us :-)