Oh, baby!

That's right. Baby. And not just any baby- M!!! That's who!

Her birth wasn't what I had expected, but babies enter the world the way they want anyhow. On Monday, the 21st, I had a midwife appt. The midwife, Kim, checked for fetal heart tones... I had already told her that I was certain baby was breech. She was in denial, and after much searching she looked a little higher. Bam. Heart tones. She checked my cervix, and she couldn't feel a head. We ran accross the office to the OBs side (they share). She again searched deep in my pelvis for a head. I pointed to the hard rock under my ribs. "try here", I said. And there was a head. We scheduled a version for the next day and I went home. Once home, I tried inversions, tilts, everything. Nothing. Ceci (mother in law) and I went swimming at Independence Park. It was very relaxing, but nothing would turn M.

The next morning, Jaime and I went in to the ultrasound. In the waiting room, I saw one of the nurses from my midwives practice, and she wished me a ton of luck with the version. We had the ultrasound, and baby was still breech, as expected. We then went upstairs to the 3rd floor- labor and delivery.

We got put in triage, and awaited the OB and my midwife, Kim. Kim checked my cervix, and found that I was at 3cm and stretchy, 50% effaced. Progress from 1cm. I was also contracting pretty strongly every 5 or so minutes. Time came for the version to be done, and I allowed two residents to watch. They tried three times to turn M- once forwards, once backwards, and once forwards again. They offered to give me a shot of terb (muscle relaxant) to ease me up from the contractions while they tried the version, but I declined. Baby wouldn't turn, but they wanted me to stay a little longer for monitoring. They said until 12:30pm. So, we waited.

In the meantime, I debated whether or not to attempt moxibuxtion (sp?), accupressure, etc. techniques as I was only two days until my due date. Was it really worth the time and money? My midwife had already scheduled a c-section for Wednesday the 30th. Jaime and I decided that it was in our best interest to have the baby that day (the 22nd). That way we wouldn't miss the holidays, nor N's 2nd birthday. I was already likely in early labor and they wouldn't deliver a breech vaginally anyhow- and I was uncomfy UCing a breech at home, as was he. We called Kim back, and let her know that we'd like a c-section today if possible. She said that she'd talk to the OB and let us know. Obviously, the OB said yes, and agreed to section me that day.

I was ecstatic. Scared. I'd never broken a finger even, but had just signed myself up for major surgery. They took us into a delivery room, and gave Jaime his gown to get suited up. By this time, his mom, my mother in law, was there. Anesthesiology came in to ask me some questions. I loved her. Her name was Dr. Martini :) Before I knew it I was walking accross the hall to the OR. They got me up on the table, and got my spinal in. Was a tiny bit painful but Dr. Martini was AWESOME. Jaime was then let in after they catheterized me, shaved me, all of that fun stuff. He said that he came in while they were actually cutting me open. Wow.

During the surgery I basically felt like I had N jumping on my tummy- very weird sensation. I had some nausea, dizziness, and pain in my shoulder from an irritated diaphram, but Dr. Martini effectively managed all of it. She needs an award- seriously. I was also shocked because Jaime was the only male in the room during the c/s. All doctors, my midwife, nurses.. all women!

Things got blurry, and before I knew it they were pulling my daughter out and saying "look at that belly!". They put her on the warmer and dried her off, did her apgars, etc. Jaime and I looked on in awe. She had curly hair (which is gone now) and was very light skinned (as she is now). Beautiful. 7 lbs and 52cm (20 inches).

They let him hold her, and that was it- the birth of our M. I breastfed her right away in recovery, and she's been my boobie monster ever since.

Her weight at birth was 7lbs, her weight at discharge was 6lbs8oz, at 6 days was 6lbs 15oz, and at 8 days was 7lbs5oz!

39w2d

No baby yet!

38w6d- still here!

First update of the day:
We've decided to spell M's name differently.

Second update (long)

So, a couple of days ago I had decided to take a low dose of castor oil to move things along since I've been in prodromal labor hell. Nope- nothing! I did it two days in a row and the only thing I have to show for it is a sparkling clean colon!

Yesterday, at my 38w midwife appointment, I had the midwife, S, strip my membranes. She swept around a few times, got blood on her fingers, and said she's hopeful. I'm 1cm dilated and still "kinda thick", though I knew that from self cervical exams anyways. Yesterday we walked around the mall, ate enchiladas (MMM!) and nothing happened but fatigue and pelvic pain and pressure. Which is understandable because she said the baby's head was "right there". Also she said my bag of waters was bulging. Later on I had some intense back pain, but that has subsided. I think I've had a few contractions today (small ones) but I don't really know. M will come when she's ready!

37w4d- SNOW!

I woke up to a nice surprise... fortunately I didn't have to go out in it.

Yeah. I've been through tons of winters in Chicago yet I still manage to get that knot of anxiety in my tummy every time hubby has to go out in the snow. I find myself uttering numerous "be careful"s and "zip up your sweater"s and "are you sure you don't need another pair of socks?"s. My mind is a bit at ease though since he's taking public transportation & that's probably the safest- the slowest, but the safest. Then I worry about him being late to work and getting in trouble because he took a sick day yesterday on top of this. Bleh.

With any luck, today I'll go into labor & birth the baby while on the phone with him. Hoping that I don't have a quick labor- just for these circumstances. I could do it alone but would mean so much if he were there :)

36w6d - lots of preg updates

Time is flying by :) I have updates to report!

I had my ultrasound on Monday, and baby Maddie is head down, not engaged though. They told me that she had a ton of hair- I saw it for myself! No pics but that fuzzy head image is forever in my head. When they were giving me the "tour-de-baby", I saw the placenta and the baby. I was told earlier that the placenta was anterior (stuck to the front of my uterus, by my belly button). Baby was facing the placenta. Why didn't it occur to me at that time that baby was posteior?! I've not got some baby flippin' to do.

I had my appointment on Tuesday. BP and everything was great, didn't gain a pound this week. Fundal height still 36cm. BUT.. I found out that I'm POSITIVE for Group B Strep. Bleghhhh! SO- I've started my new regimen for it. I've got to get some stronger acidophilus. I'm taking that, garlic, and cutting out sugars. Oh, my life isn't too fun at the moment. Nope, nope, nope. I've also got a cold... boo hoo!

And- I think I'm dilating!! When I put in my evening primrose oil last night, a string of mucous came out. Today, I checked my cervix and a chunk of plug came out (though it was small). :) Woohoo!

Now off to flip this baby!

36w1d- Lots&Lotsa stuff.

Oh my. Lots to update on :)

Pregnancy/Baby Stuff
I had gone into L&D on Monday because M wasn't moving. She ended up being fine but I was contracting quite frequently. I really, really, REALLY love my midwives. A few of them make me want to bite the bullet and just do the whole hospital thing- but I can't. Anyways, this particular midwife decided against administering IV fluids and just let me drink drink and drink. My nurse even offered me a sandwich- and juice and some pop. Wow :) Anyways, in the end it didn't really have any effect on the contractions, and my cervix was still shut, thick, etc., so they let me leave.

On Wednesday, 35w6d, I had an appointment with my *favorite* midwife. She is awesome! She doesn't think that baby M will make it to her due date, which my midwives calculate 12/29 (for induction avoidance purposes only! another reason I love them...). She did my GroupBetaStrep test.. yuck. I've got my fingers crossed that it's negative, honestly. I'm taking acidophillus so I'm hoping that that keeps any bacteria at bay. She ALSO tried feeling for m's position. She did an internal to try and feel the head. M sort of un-dropped herself, so it's hard to tell butt from head. We *think* she's head down but she let me schedule an ultrasound for Monday to be sure.

This has all gotten me thinking- when would I be comfortable to birth (as opposed to deliver.. tee hee)? So, I'm kind of trying to figure out if I'd be comfortable at 36wks or not. I started my Evening Primrose Oil internally last night- and from what I noticed, it hasn't been as bad as I've read on forums and the like. I didn't wake up in an oil slick or anything- lol!

N, thxgiving, etc.
Yesterday was thanksgiving, we enjoyed ourselves. we went down to bedford park where my stepdad's brother lives and had dinner with them. my stepdad's brother's mother in law is awesome. she decorates for xmas like crazy- it's so beautiful! Nayeli saw the exterior decorations and was in *love* with them. the music, lights, colors- it was awesome. if it weren't so cold i'd have busted out the camera.
We then went home, and about 8pm-9pm we ate dinner with hubby's family. everything was good :] i just had to go downstairs though.... I was in alot of pain.
My poor hubby had to wake up at 3am (I woke him up at 3:15 though) to go to work. Stupid Black Friday!! He gets off in a few hours so I'm hoping to have the house clean so he can just go to sleep. My poor hubbs!

We've started co-sleeping. It's been 3 nights straight as opposed to every-so-often. N only had to go back to her bed once because the heat was crankin' and her room stays generally cool. She had seriously left a pool of sweat on my pillow! She was much happier in her room. Today though, she slept in, way longer than I. She's a pretty good sleeper too- she loves to cuddle with me. I think that if we continued this after M is born, we'll be fine. We fit 3-accross in our bed and m can go in the sidecarred crib which is just like being in our bed anyways.

I know there was something else to update on but I can't for anythign remember.

35w2d

I am seriously unaware of the baby's position. Why is she hiding on me?

35 weeks even!

I think I may have just began to win this ongoing battle with getting N down for bed. I woke up around 7, and she woke up about a half hour later. We had breakfast. She colored, played a bit, watched a little bit of *relaxing* TV, and I had a mini nap. Her TiTi (hubby's sister) woke me up with some food she had brought for us, so I got up, we ate, and I watched Caillou with her. After it was done (Caillou always says "bye!"), I explained that she had to take a nap and why. I gave her a few little kisses, took her and her pillow to her bed, and off she went sucking her thumb. After I closed the door she let out a few small whimpers but she was perfectly fine :) I'm wondering what time to wake her up though, since she went down at 1. I'm kind of thinking I want to do it at 2:30 or 3. That should give her a good two hours. Then I'll put her to bed at.... 9. Giving her 10 hours of sleep at night and 2 hours of a nap. Goodness I just created her new schedule via this blog :)

Next dilemma: What to make for dinner. SKIP.

Next dilemma: Where is the baby?

Well, obviously, she's in my womb. But- where. I'm thinking head down because of the pressure but I cannot always find the "hard ball". When I do cervical checks I can feel the contours of her head. I think I feel feet on my right side near my rib but I also feel them pretty low- so either she has two sets of legs or really long ones. I also don't feel the "butt" lump.

Strange.

34w6d, Best Analogy of birth ever!

First off- I want to wish a happy 4th anniversary to my husband and I! And one year of marriage <3 <3


ANYWAYS, pulled from bellybaby.com, here's this:

Birth As A Bowel Movement
Imagine if you will, that about a hundred years ago, people began having great difficulties having bowel movements (BM for short). It all came about because of some very unhealthy lifestyles. People weren’t eating correctly because they were desperately trying to be thin and beautiful. They had malnutrition and took a lot of pills and other drugs to help them become and stay thin. People were so concerned with looking good that they put their health aside to get there.

As a result of this lifestyle, many people had a terrible time having BMs. Some people even died. Something had to be done to save these folks. So instead of changing their lifestyles, people flocked to the doctors to have their problem fixed. The problem became so prevalent that people became fearful of having BMs. Everyone dreaded going to the bathroom because of all the horror stories of pain and death. This normal, natural bodily function was labeled dangerous and hazardous and needed to be monitored and controlled to save lives.

Over time, it became the ‘norm’ to go the hospital whenever someone had to have a BM so that doctors could monitor the process and intervene if they needed to. This continued through the years and is still practiced today. An onslaught of new life-saving technology and machinery was invented for us in aiding people to have a BM. It has become such a common practice to go to the hospital to have a BM that people have become uninformed. They don’t trust their own bodies to have a BM on their own. People are scared to have a BM that having one anywhere besides a hospital is considered irresponsible, dangerous and risky. Even though the old, unhealthy lifestyles, which caused the problem in the first place are no longer practiced, having BMs is no longer considered a normal event. Even the healthiest of people go to the hospital to have BMs out of fear that something might happen. The go ‘just in case’.

So, you have to have a BM and even though you are a healthy man and having a BM is a normal, natural physiological function that your body was designed to do, we go to the hospital. We grab the hospital bag and head out the door in a hurry. During the car ride you get very tense because the cramps are coming on strong and you can’t get comfortable. You try breathing through them but this only helps a little with all the stop and go traffic and bumps in the road. Not to mention that you just wish you could be at home and have privacy. Upon arrival at the hospital, you are wheeled up to a room and instructed to put on a gown with nothing else on (it has a large opening in the back which will show you rear end if you get up and walk anywhere). You are told to lie down so that a nurse can examine you. Then a strange female nurse comes in and explains that she is going to have to insert 2 fingers into your rectum to check the progress of your feces. You obviously feel humiliated because someone you don’t know has just touched a very private and personal part of you.

Then the nurse straps a monitor to your belly to measure the severity of your cramps and stick an iv in your arm. This is very distracting and makes the pain of the cramps even worse. Soon, your cramps become stronger and you are getting very uncomfortable. At this point, the nurses change shifts and new nurse comes in. She says she needs to check you again since it’s been awhile and you don’t seem to be making any progress. She inserts 2 fingers again and shakes her head from side-to-side and gives you a very disapproving look. You have not made any progress. You want to try so badly to relax so you can make progress but with the iv, the strangers, the fingers in your rectum and the negative attitudes of the staff, there are just too many distractions and you can’t. By now your cramps are very painful and it takes all you’ve got to just stay on top of them.

The hospital team decides to insert a wire up your anus to determine if, indeed, your cramps are as bad as you say they are. They again insert 2 fingers to check the dilation and fecal decent. They tell you that if you don’t make any progress in the next 30 minutes, they may have to cut the feces out. This causes you to be even more tense and you have a hard time trying to relax just knowing what may happen if you can’t push it out yourself. After another hour of laying in bed, the female doctor comes in and does yet another exam with 2 fingers because he says he wants to be sure the nurses were doing it right. He feels it is time for you to begin to push. So you are in bed, flat on your back with your feet up in stirrups trying to have a BM and pushing with all your might while the strange nurse and a doctor intently watch your anus. The feces is not coming down fast enough so the doctor decides that your anus must not be big enough for the feces to pass through so they make a large cut in your anus to make it bigger. They also need to use a vacuum extractor to help pull the feces out.

You finally manage (with the help of a large cut and vacuum) to push the feces out. You are in a lot of pain, you’re bleeding, exhausted, spent and humiliated. You feel like something in your body is broken and didn’t work correctly. This must be true since you needed all this help for a normally natural bodily function right? The nurse then pushes on your abdomen to make sure all of the feces has been expelled. This is VERY painful but thank God you were in a hospital or else something bad might have happened. Someone stitches you up and are given instructions on how to aid your healing.

So, you made it through. You’re alive and that’s what really matters right? Is it though? What about your pain? What about the humiliation? What about the violation of privacy? What about the anger you feel towards the whole damn thing because your experience could have been completely normal and uncomplicated at home?

Now, this scenario is absolutely and utterly ridiculous right? It seems absurd to go to the hospital for something that could have easily, and much less painlessly, been done at home. The same is true of birth. This scenario is exactly what happened to birth (the ‘unhealthy’ habits were obviously a bit different) and many women are suffering, needlessly, as a result. I can attest to the fact that this scenario is VERY common in hospitals today – I have even experienced it with my own hospital birth.

People have been raised to fear birth and to think that it needs the medical community to make it happen. Birth interventions have become so common that people accept them, and every side effect that comes with them, as necessary for a good outcome. And most don’t believe it when someone tells them that it can be so much better if those things weren’t done routinely.

A healthy, informed woman who is knowledgeable in birth had just as slim a chance of dying in birth as someone does while having a BM. All you need to have a safe birth is to be informed and to listen to your instincts (something that is very difficult to do with people watching you – just like it is difficult to have a BM with people watching you!). Birth is safe and simple. Just like having a BM is safe and simple. I need as much assistance while birthing our children as you do while having a bowel movement

34w4d. GO TO SLEEP!

I think that toddler sleep regression and the terrible twos have hit our household at the same time. With a pinch of "mamitis". I hope she gets this out of her system before M is born. For three nights in a row, N has been the worst sleeper on this planet. The second I mention bedtime or naptime she flies up the wall and throws a tantrum. Day 1 she wanted to be with mama. So she ended up sleeping in mamas bed (or really, M's crib which is connected to mama's bed). Day 2, mama ended up laying with her in her bed. I was planning on staying until she fell asleep, but the baby's head was on my bladder, so I told N, "Momma has to pee, okay?" and she let me leave to pee. Day 3, last night, we had a big flip out all out crazy tantrum. First she was complaing about her closet so daddy had to get the nail gun and nail a sheet in the doorway so she couldn't see anything. Wonderful. That was ok. THEN, we put her in bed, and shut the door. She flipped and had an argument with the door, shouting her toddler obscenities at me.

an hour or more later, she gave up, went to her bed, and went to sleep.

34w3d- We are in the 30s now...

...in terms of days left until my due date, that is! 39 days. I've been feeling alright, on and off contractions but nothing that worries me too much. Pololo gets home from work late today (they switched to holiday hours), so I'm going to nap, and then clean.

On a side-note, I got N some play food, and a mercer mayber book for xmas. I got M a wooden fish rattle as well. KidSurplus.com had Melissa and Doug & Haba at 20% off. As if they're not cheap as it is! :)

I scoured all over the place for an aweosme toy play kitchen for N. I'd like to get something that's a combo (sink & stove with oven, or something along those lines), but they're all downsized or not made with non-toxic stuff.... yeah. Then I was thinking of just getting the stove part, since she will have her play table and doesn't really need the sink yet. There are sets that come in parts- sink, stove, dishwasher... so I was thinking of that. Gotta do some more reasearch though. I know that I want it to be wooden and nontoxic. I wish we had time to work on our carpentry skills ;) Or I wish someone would offer to make one for her. But eh, I figure it is better to support eco-friendly toy companies.

It's Christmas Shopping Time!

Oh, wonderful :)

So far, N's Christmas Presents are:
-Table with 4 folding chairs (like she really needs 4.. pfft. Ok. MAYBE tea parties are in our future!)
-Big bag of Legos Megablocks.

I've been racking my brain trying to figure out what to get her. I don't want to spend too much money, but I'd like to get her something that would be nice for her and her sister to play with in the long run. The table is in that category. I'm nuts for getting MORE blocks, but I couldn't pass up the offer. They were cheap ;)

I think I would like to get her a small wooden play kitchen. I found this one. The cheapest I can find it for is around $70. It is an "island" type kitchen. Complete with stove, sink oven, washing machine, and overhead microwave. On the reverse is a dry-erase board.. which won't get use until she's older for obvious reasons (I think the couch has seen enough marker for its lifetime).

If I go with that kitchen, I'd also like to get her wooden or crochet play food to go with it. Forget the plasticy crap- tried that last Christmas and all was disgusting or thrown away... either way, you get the idea ;) I'd like to keep the play food in the interest of wood, and crochet but only from a nice work at home momma on etsy or hyenacart.

Aside from that, I'm thinking maybe a few books and definately a stroller for her baby dolls.. MAYBE one more baby doll, but that's iffy. She needs the stroller though- I'm sick of her emptying her mini-hamper, putting her baby in it, and pushing it around the house. Really. Girl needs a stroller. Asap.

So.. that was my middle-of-the-night blabber on prospective Christmas gifts.

One more thing- I'm thinking of getting her a stuffed animal of a character from her favorite TV show- Wow Wow Wubbzy or Yo Gabba Gabba (why do these shows have names that are completely made up of non-words?). I don't know if it will do more harm than good though. I'm trying to wean her off of the shows (momma needed something to keep her busy during my icky-pregnancy-days where I couldn't tend to her as well as I should have been able to).

34w2d

Has it really been this long? Anyhow. Ummm.. nothing new to report :)

N has made bed and naptime hell. She decided this yesterday.

I started my Red Raspberry Leaf Tea yesterday. Vitacost doesn't have nettles in stock (still!) so I'm going to just do their pregnancy tea by Yogi Tea. I'm also gonna get some evening primrose oil for a little later on to soften up my cervix.

that's about it. fun update, huh? :)

33w4d

I couldn't come up with a title for this blog, let alone a clever one.

Today we took N to TotSpot. She enjoyed herself but was a bit on the shy side, not sure why because it was only family there. She went down the slide feet first on her belly all by herself- not sure if that was intentional or an accident, lol.

I've got to go grocery shopping. Probably going to do that when Jaime comes home from work. We just need a few things, though.

On a sidenote, I'm trying to wean N from sweets and juice. I cannot believe I've fallen into that trap. I'm trying to get myself off of them too, easier said than done. I figure if we have nothing in the house, there is no issue. The only "sweet" that I will allow her to have now is fresh fruit.. which we don't have any of because I ate the last apple. We've got veggies, carrots and broccoli. I'd like her to be able to eat whatever RAW though, because all of the vitamins and nutrients are kept in.

So that's about it, really. I'm washing diapers. Well, drying them. Debating on whether or not to take a nap or to prep M's fitteds. Eh.

33wks even!

I ordered a few more birthing supplies tonight.

-Cord Clamps (for emergency.. I'm using a pretty tie otherwise)
-peri bottle (yeah. a must.)
-Placenta Out
-Shepherd's Purse
-5 chux (just in case the towels aren't enough)
-Red Raspberry Leaf Tea (3 boxes)
-Emergen-C (for my laborade).

Coming tomorrow: my towels (10 of em'... 30lbs!) and 2 dipes for N.
Coming later this week: my embroidery thread for the pretty cord tie (and maybe a mommy baby bracelet for n & i.

So I think I'm pretty well set. The best supply I have right now and will always have is my will and my faith in my body.

In addition, tonight I did fill up the tub to see how long it'd take. 10 minutes, about. 15 if the hot water starts to go cold. Not bad :) I also tried to gauge and see how high I'd have to fill it in order for it to cover my belly.. pretty good, and still extra room. I got into all kinds of birthing positions and found them extremely easy to do in the tub. That was a relief.

Currently, my concern is the baby's position. She was head down, and now i'm feeling a possible transverse lie.. so I'm hoping that if she IS sideways she doesn't stay that way. I'm also kind of thinking she's a bit diagonal and has her head in my left hip- not sure though.

Bedtime for me :]

32w4d - Preparing for Birth

So I've made my decision to have a freebirth. It has been something I've wanted to do for a while and I completely trust my body. I will clearly transfer to the hospital if something arises, but freebirth is what I'm doing.

I've got a small list of things that I'd like to get.. not 100% sure on everything, but this is my general list:

-Embroidery Floss for cord tie- going to make it pretty :)
-Cord Clamps in case of an emergency where the cord needs to be cut asap
-Sharp Scissors
-Gallon bag for placenta, I'm debating the smoothie. I might just save it to bury at a later date.
-Chux Pads. Like- 15 of em'.
-Towels. Not quite sure how many, depends on how cheap I can find them for. Maybe 10, but not in excess of that.
-Shower curtain or tablecloth
-Bowl for placenta
-Bowl for puke ;)
-various herbs for postpartum hemm. & retained placenta.
-peri bottle & some witch hazel.
Yep. 'tis it, for now, I think.

32w3d - Happy November!

Today is November 1st, which clearly means... I AM HAVING A BABY NEXT MONTH!

I don't quite feel like blogging, so I'll leave it at that.

31w3d- Sundays are Bum-days

Happy Bum-Day everyone :) N and I are just bumming around today- nothing special. Bears game is on later so I've gotta get her jersey on.. and like I said it's a bum-day so we're still in PJs.

I've got to do some cleaning today. Boo :(

Also, We bought the MyRide 65 yesterday on sale for $96 with a coupon!! Woohoo!! So that's M's seat, she'll be able to ERF now. Yay :)

Right now my house looks like a big car seat factory- I've got four of them sitting around ;) Will post pics.

31w- A bad, bad case of MAMITIS!

Definition of the day: Mamitis. A Spanish word for condition where a child has an allergy to anyone except for her mother. Read on.

N's part of this blog entry (since she tends to steal the spotlight):
N has a horrible case of mamitis. Seriously. She's basically got an allergy to almost anyone who isn't her mom. You could say that she has a bad case of papitis as well, because when daddy gets here it's all about him. But really! So this has started to lead me back to my orignal thought.. I want a homebirth.

..dun dun dunnn....
and now to..

Megan's part of this blog entry (because I can. muahaha!):
So since N has developed a bad case of mamitis/papitis and I'm sure not going to let daddy away from me during labor... I've decided that my only logical solution is to have that desired homebirth. Okay, so it will cost me 3100 dollars. Eep! Well, hey. If you think about it, I'm NOT vaccinating anyways, not doing "standard procedure", and am signing out against medical advice ANYWAYS.. leaving me to pay my hospital bill and for any follow up care needed.. so.. it's about the same :)

I spoke with the midwife at the practice of my choice (she was actually the only one that called me back. *grumbles..*) and she at first said 3900 and then said 3100. Which was nice :) Theres also like a 60 dollar fee for supplies... but whatevvv... I'll take that. She said she'd want to schedule extra appointments with me since homebirth is so personal and she'd like to get to know me better, etc.etc. Plus- her office is between Trader Joes- what's not to love? Anywho- I'd love this opportunity. LOVE it. Anyone wanna convince my hubby? Maybe I should have a baby shower and take donations towards my homebirth ;] since I have everything I need already. And that's REALLY what I need!

30w1d- toaster oven!

Proud owner of a new toaster oven! I love it!

It cracks me up at how much N loves to draw. She will doodle on anything and everything that is paper. Really. It's like an open invite, I suppose! anyways, she's drawing on a piece of paper that came with the toaster oven.

30w even!

'Tis good to be a family.

Working out the kinks is the easy part. Keeping everything wrinkle free is the challenge- but I'm full of hope.

So today has been pretty uneventful, except for the fact that I JUST realized how far along I am. 30 weeks. Time is going to FLY by, and it scares the crap out of me! N isn't ready for potty training and I really don't mind.. so I'm gonna continue using diapers on her. She's been in sposies- yuck! I cannot stand them. Not one bit! I did buy a GoodMama dipe for her (brand new only 20 bucks!) and it should be here next week. Right now I'm on the hunt for a crib mattress- an organic one in particular. I found one made by PureRest, so I'm thinking of that one :)

29w5d

First and foremost.. I found my new favorite candle scent. My mother used to love vanilla, which I did as well.. at least until I found my new love- Pumpkin Spice. Oh I could just eat it. Today I had N smell-testing candles with me.. her favorite was obviously "sugar cookie", but I couldn't help but get the Pumpkin Spice candle. It's a tri-color/scent candle in a pretty glass jar, and was only 5 bucks! I'm dreading going to sleep- I don't want to put the candle out.. it smells so yummy!

I also got M's first Christmas ornament today, and it's beautiful. Let's see if she can make it here before Christmas. Her big sister decided to skip it out all together and be home from the hospital right in time for new years. What a party animal ;)

Also today, I had an appointment with my midwife, saw the one I saw in L&D a few weeks back. I've had nothing but great experiences with all but one of them. Another one was very kind and sweet but just too medical. Anyhow, her name is Darcie. Super sweet lady. We discussed my concerns about my desired postpartum stay, and she said that 24 hours was fine. I had originally been pushing for 12 hours or less, but I figure I could give 24 hours post birth to practice breastfeeding. I might fight it and find a doctor with priveliges at this hospital to release M if I take her in to the doc soon thereafter, but still and all, since we aren't vaccinating, 12 hours is still ideal.

For the technical stuff, my weight is now at 134.5, meaning that in about 30 weeks I've gained 19.5 lbs. , which is pretty good, seeing that with N's pregnancy I gained a TON of weight. Blood pressure was fine, I'm anemic, and my glucose test was fine :)

29w2d

TGIF :)

28w5d

Just had to brag and say that I got a Moby Wrap in black for 27 bucks at Target today! I was beyond thrilled, especially considering the fact that I nearly bought a pink one off of Spot's for the same price. Used. Haven't tried N in it since I'd need to do her in a back carry and need help with it, but M is sure going to love it. I was shocked at the great amount of material it is... honestly I could probably lay it through N's room twice. I was scared it'd be a little big, which it is, and I have to wrap it around my waist an extra time before tying, but other than that it fits like a charm and I love it.

I also got the rest of M's sleepers and onesies, as well as a few pairs of PJs for N today. Had to use up my Carter's coupon! I've only got to get a few more things.. Boppy, Mattress, & Bouncer. I might hold off on the mattress and just use the bassinet for a bit, though that will be short lived because of the giraffe-kid gene. Oy.

28w4d

Laying in a hospital bed next to a lady with Swine Flu sucks.

the nurse telling you to run like hell to the midwive's office.. doesn't suck so much :)

So nothing much happened, nothing that antibiotics can't fix (though I hate them so!). Baby M is staying put. Thankfully. My glucose tolerance test however, was less than fun. Yuck.

N got a hair cut today, and then went to totspot. Not many people were there, so she pushed the cozy coupe in circles and played a little basketball. I'm very dissapointed with this class.. the instructor had said that we'd be doing "activities", parachutes, beanbags, etc... but the only thing he has done was roll in a boombox and play some Raffi. I think some of the other parents are fed up and just aren't bringing their kids in anymore. Too bad, because they were some of N's favorites.

She's a Gymnast!

I signed N up for Gymnastics this morning, as well as Tot Spot. I ended up putting her at the same park as her cousin, just so I can see how she likes it before investing more money into it. She'll have some good bonding time too, even though he's 9 months older.

I feel like I'm catching the flu. :(

Block Party Photos

Here are the photos from the block party last week.


Night before the party, my cutie patootie!

















and cause she's cute:

Revenge of the Maggots

As if today weren't bad enough, a fly did NOT need to lay eggs in my trash bag. It sat there for not even an entire day. I went to take it out and thousands of maggots just started oozing out of the top of the bag. What right did they have? Obviously their momma put them in the bag because the food was in the bag. Did they need to escape from the bag? Apparently, they did.

So, I was armed at first with Lysol, because in disinfecting my home from the germs my child & husband leave floating around (they're sick), it was all I had at reach. Didn't work. So I bust out the bug spray (odorless, thank you!), and NOTHING. The little assholes just kept crawling and climbing and wiggling... so I beat the heck out of them with the dustpan. Still wiggling. I got two dustpans and starting squee-jee-ing up the goopy mess of maggots, crumbs, bug spray, and lysol. I started hyperventilating, I had let out a few shrieks at this point so Jaime came over to help. I ran out to the laundry room and sat on a hamper to have a good cry. The lid caves in and I fall in the hamper! Think "nerd in a trash can". Yep, it was like that.

So in the end I managed to scoop together the maggots and round em all up. I then sent N upstairs and disinfected the floors with a bleach-water combo.

I'm currently in OCD mode- everything is filthy and must be disinfected. Twice.

Oh, and our garbage cans have a temporary home in the backyard until Jaime is well enough to put their conents into the big can and hose em' down. My day was nothing short of traumatic.

Block Party & Diapers

Strange title, I know. Anyways, we had a block party this past Sunday. Nayeli had a blast, and so did I- sort of. It was just WAY too hot outside! Everything was good for a "first block party", nobody had any inflatable jumping machines and no clowns were present, but other than that it was pretty fun. Hopefully next year it will be a bit more organized.

Diapers. Yes, I ordered 12 preemie prefolds from CottonBabies the other day. They sent me 13. So I'm prepping my bakers dozen of prefolds as we speak. I also bought and received some really cute (but hairy) newborn longies with a monster face on the butt :)

Namey. We're naming our daughter M ;]

Blah Blah. N is a big talker all of a sudden- just as I was beginning to worry about her speech development she starts talking my head off!

That's all :)

The wait is over!

Well, half of that wait! We found out today that we are expecting another sweet princess! N is going to have a baby sister. Not only am I super duper happy because I get to sell off my boyish diapers and buy girly ones, but I get to re-use our car seat :) Woohoo!

So the baby was doing good, we haven't finalized a name yet. She weighed 12 ounces :) I had an appointment today as well, the midwife wasn't too nice. I miss the one I had for the past two months, but it's alright. She kind of put a damper on my day because of her bad attitude, but who cares? The baby is healthy! Heard the heartbeat at the appointment and it was in the 150s or 140s. Sweet girl kept kicking the doppler :)

Pics soon.

20w Halftime Report!

The word "Half" is really weird. I don't like the whole "silent 'l'" thing, but I would hate it if it were to be spelled "Haf". Oh well!

Anyways, today is a fluff mail day!
2 PB&Es are in the mail, and maybe a GoodMama. I've also got N's Big Sister to Bee Tutu coming. I would take a great picture of the diapers for the blog, but my camera cord hasn't come in the mail yet! This has to stop.

Anywho, today PB&E is stocking, so I'm going to get two diapers, and there is one brand new on Spots for $12. So I'm looking into those. After that, I'm done for a while. I'll be working on getting things slowly for baby. I need to get a Bathtub and other things that I'm sure a shower won't bring me. Everything big I have. Clothes I'll leave to other people for the most part. I'll buy the practical things.

Tiny Diapers!!!

I got fluff mail today!



Got the top two today.

Lucky Rainbow XS Fitted, NB Muttaquin Baby Fitted (retro cars), and two NB PiddlePoddles. <3 em all!

Two Blogs, one day?

Hmm. Well, anyways, I'm quite the paypal monster these days. I'm expecting quite a few things in the mail.

- NB size muttaquin baby retro cars fitted
- NB size rainbow baby fitted
-Crunchy Clean detergent
-1 Goodmama diaper for N
- 2 PB&E Preflats
-1 "Big sister to BEE" tutu. <3

18w4d- woohoo!

I got two newborn sized piddle poddles today! woohoo! also my new diaper bag, and my snappis. I love cloth diapering.

18w. discovery

Today's discovery: I can hide a pregnancy extremely well. Maybe I just have cooperative babies.

I need to build my newborn diaper stash. It's looking quite lousy and I'm jealous of the girls on the forums. Boo hoo :(

Spunktastic Sunday

I'm feeling spunktastic :) Maybe it was the overwhelming amount of sleep I got last night, or the fact that my high protien diet is really kicking in. Either way, I've got a ton of energy to use wisely today.

A spunktastic sunday to do list :)


-Follow my diet and report to the blog at the end of the day.
-I'm going to wash all of the laundry I've been meaning to in efforts to try and use up our toxic laundry detergent (I have to be frugal before I be green!) so that I can start either making my own or buying a storebought green one.
-Look online for good deals on natural detergent (although I can't smell test them...)
-Wash N's diapers.
-figure out everything in our home that is potentially toxic.. but since that's almost everything, figure out what to keep and what not to keep.
-Seal away N's plastic old toys for a garage sale. As a matter of fact, I'm going to get alot of things set up for a garage sale.
-Green our kitchen.
-Remove all toxic cleaners. Yes, that means you, Windex!


One last thought.. "Green" is becoming such a dull word to me, since it's in my head all day. There is just too much meaning behind it to be just "green". Maybe I should change it to "Grizzeen". Yes, that'll do nicely.

Changes of life

I'm not talking menopause. I'm talking job interviews. I had one today and got a second (follow up) interview. Went pretty quick but hey, I've got another one.

I purchased a new book today, I believe it is called "Growing Up Green" by Deirdre Imus (I think) and it is teaching me a bit beyond "Raising Baby Green" by Dr Greene. I still think that Dr. Greene's book was better written. However, Dr. Greene didn't cover some of the things that this one does, like the "human body burden". Scares the crap out of me. Even if you're not a green bean like me, I'd suggest you read both. I actually walked into Waldenbooks in search of a book about the Bradley Birth Method, but had no luck with that.

I'm currently pursuing the Brewer Diet, which is a pretty big part of the Bradley Method. I have no clue how i'm going to pull this off.. about 100 grams of protien a day! From food ONLY!

I'm growing quite sleepy so i'm going to cut this blog short. I also wanted to add that I started a green to do list on the right of the page :) enjoy.

She's a Knockout

N sleeps through just about.. anything! Today she slept through the neighbor's roofers hammering a huge tarp to the side of our house. It woke Jaime & I but miss sweet thing just kept sleeping!

My birthday was pretty good, I had me a wonderful Porterhouse steak. It had been over a year since I had me a true steak, so I was dead happy. Baby got a good meal!

It's time to wash dipes. Toodles.

The Big Shot- Happy 18 months!

Yes, N has become somewhat of a big shot. She marches around uttering "no. NO." and replies to all of our questions with a firm "No". I'm trying to erase it from my vocabulary as much as possible in hopes of erasing it from hers, but it's not working too well. N is a bit too smart to drop her favorite word of all time. Her vocabulary is increasing greatly. Here is a brief (probably incomplete) list of her words. I know that her speech is lagging behind for her age, but for many months I was not her sole caregiver, and she got a little bit lost in between languages. Anywho, N can say: Juice, no yes, it's hot, outside, let's go, what's that (and other variations like who's that, etc), mama, daddy, ball, book, baby, and much more. She has said other words, but those are her "main vocabulary" words. I'm slowly trying to teach her more, so in the coming months this should build. We are also encouraging her to use her big girl words instead of whining out every demand. Truth is, she has become quite spoiled in her 18 months of life, but this is to change.. slightly :)

N has also taken to love Michael Jackson. All of his songs have been on the radio, her grandma is blasting it upstairs.. when N hears "Thriller" or better yet, "Billie Jean", she can't help but bust a move. She's not quite moonwalking, but spinning in circles does a mighty fine job for her.

And what have mommy and daddy been up to? Nothing really, actually. Staring at the messy house around us, for the most part. It is just so difficult to clean with a toddler trailing behind me all day. But I'm getting it done with the help and encouragement of FlyLady.
We also took N to the beach last week for the first time. She loved it. I think I blogged about this. So our plans for the week are pretty non-existant. Tomorrow is my birthday and I'm not looking forward to getting another year older. Tuesday might warrant another trip to the beach. It IS free, you know. And on Wednesday N has her 18 month doctor's appointment where they will confirm her height and weight as well as stick her with a bunch of needles and argue with me about the ones that I don't want her stuck with.

14wks-Lemon Love

okay, so since I figure I won't update this for a while, I'm jumping to 14 weeks even though that's tomorrow. Baby is now as big as a lemon or my clenched fist. So exciting :) I keep thinking I'm feeling flutters but surprisingly I'm not sure. I felt N at 13wks. It's only a matter of days now.

I started seeing a midwife and am SO excited about natural birthing.

We went to the beach yesterday! N had a blast. We can't wait to go back!



I've got to go catch up on a ton of math studying.. toodles!

10 weeks :) Our Big Update!

It's update time :)

That was baby bean a week ago! He or she was measuring a day ahead which was great, so now due December 29th 2009. Two days after N's birthday. It's a real possibility that our kiddos could share a birthday!

So I start school tomorrow- I'm nervous as hell. Wish me luck!

Also, N's been doing great with the cloth diapering! Everything is going wonderfully.

So that's my big update- haha!

7w5d- Fuzzy Bunz time!

Guess what I did? I bought a bunch of cloth diapers!! I'm supah excited for it. I'm expecting a whooole lotta fluff mail! Here it goes:

24 orange edge newborn size prefolds
24 yellow edge small size prefolds
12 red edge medium size prefolds
12 brown edge large size prefolds

2 small fitted dipes from HC
2 medium fitted dipes from HC
3 Kushies All-in-one dipes, very good used condition

4 newborn covers:
-bummis original, white
-bummis super brite- yellow, green, and blue

4 small covers
-2 thirsties in melon and ocean
-2 bummis whisper in I forgot what prints!

2 medium covers
both thirsties

7w1d. Laundry

My laundry is still kicking my ass. We don't have another dresser until we get around to sanding and painting it (I say "we" because I like to feel included, hehe) so there are stacks of folded clothes everywhere and it is driving me insane. Only so much can fit into ONE dresser. Even N's drawers are stuffed to the point of hardly closing.

The storms last night were nutso. I didn't see any tornados, but the trees blowing like crazy and the lightning flashing like never before was enough to be classified as nutso. Today the weather is gorgeous, but tomorrow we're supposed to get more storms. WooHoo.

I really need to get N a nightlight. I don't know why, but I just don't like leaving her closet light on. I'm a person who likes to sleep in complete darkness, so.. I don't know. But yeah :) Happy Thursday Everyone!

Today Greys Anatomy, CSI, and CSI New York all have season finales. Woah.

6w4d, Happy Mother's Day!

First of all, happy Mother's Day to all of the mommies I know, my mother, and my grandmother. Oh, and to myself as well ;) Second, I just want to say that I have the BEST husband in the world. Ever. He got me the best present for mother's day. It's a beautiful mother-daughter necklace. I hold this gift near and dear to my heart. My mother had one just like it for me (I think I still have it somewhere) and now I have one that represents the bond between her and I as well as my children and I, and my children and her. It is just really meaningful and important to me, big thumbs up to Jaime for it! I have the best husband.

Second, I wanted to say that Busy Ladybug Boutique is going to take a little longer than expected to open due to issues with my paypal account. That and personal factors- I'm on bedrest, and we're still trying to move our mess of junk from upstairs to downstairs.

6w1d. again.

My blog has been dead since I mentioned the stalkers! I was just kidding!!!




So I've got a subchorionic hemorrage. Thats the thing to the left of the baby. I'm on bed rest, baby measured 6 weeks.

A Note for my Stalkers

I see a few of you frequenting my page- Please leave a comment. I DO do this for free, you know! ;) I'm kidding, but I'd love to hear from you!

Meat-NO-af. yuck

Never ever again. Totally mushy. Yuck.

6w3d. My little booger is getting big!

It is mind boggling how much N has grown! From being a couple thousand cells like her soon to be brother or sister to being this babbling toddler that is sitting next to me today!

N is saying so many new words, just today she learned the word "juice". And she says it clearly. She can say the following words:

Daddy, Juice, Baby, Stop, Stay, Sit, Hello, Elmo, Bye, Yes, No (she pronounces it "doe"), Book, Car, Ceci, Cindy, and some others. I think that's pretty good for 16 months, although she has a lot of work to do! She can't say "mama" yet!

Today she also demonstrated to me that she could get herself off of the couch easily. I was shocked! She has just started climbing, so once she was up there there was no coming down. I could put her there and she'd happily watch television and let me cook. Now I'm chasing her around!

Today I'm making meatloaf. It doesn't look so great, it's all mushy, but it smells amazing! N is eating potatoes for lunch. She had blueberries and a blueberry bagel for breakfast. So Dinner will be meatloaf. I wonder how it will turn out! It won't be finished until around 7 or 7:30, but that's fine because Jaime doesn't get off of work until 7:30 anyways. I still haven't tried out the spaghetti sauce I made a few days ago, but the little taste I had was amazing. It has no meat in it but is surprisingly chunky! Maybe I'll have it for lunch tomorrow. I have to find a quick crock pot recipe that uses 1lb of ground beef for tomorrow, it's defrosted and I don't want it to go bad.

Happy 16 months!

Happy 16 months to N, and happy 6 weeks to baby.

Ruby predicted it to be a girl, but the chinese gender predictor predicts a boy.

We will see :)

Jaime gets off work at 3 today! :) We're going to work on moving.

5w6d- Hot Chili in my Chilly House

It is unbelievably cold down here. It is 40 some degrees outside, it is in the 60s down here, which is not comfy weather. I'm used to having the heat cranked up to 73, at least. They won't even turn it on upstairs. During the past two 80 degree days I had left the windows open and it warmed up. It's like an ice box down here. Jaime told me that he'd bring the space heaters down from the garage.. that's great but I have to worry about the fire hazard and burn issue. We're not sleeping down here yet, and when we do, we won't leave them on.

I'm making chili- we'll see how that goes. It doesn't look quite chili-ish... it looks very tomato-y. I added a can of tomato sauce because it looked like ground beef, beans, and tomatoes. So we'll see. Either way, I'm going to eat it. Hot chili in a chilly basement sounds good to me!

Being on bed rest sucks, especially when no one else in the house but my husband knows that I'm pregnant. It's like they expect me to do whatever, and if they see me laying on the couch with my feet up, I look like a bum. Why do I even care what they think? And in case you're wondering how they'll see me laying on the couch like a bum, it's because our windows are ass naked. Seriously I need blinds, black out curtains, ANYTHING. I'm contemplating cutting up pillowcases and hanging them in the windows. Too bad I don't have pillowcases to spare!

Right now N is playing with velcro on the floor, it's stuck to the carpet, and she's pretty frustrated. She looks so adorable though, with her rainbow striped pants and rainbow shirt that says "I <3 mom". I love this kid. Can't believe she'll be 16 months tomorrow.

5w4d

I got my beta back today, it was 155, it just about doubled.
I see high risk at 10 weeks, and I get my ultrasound at 10 weeks too.
I will be seeing this doctor until I'm "pretty far along" :)

Good to know

5w3d

Not much of a title. I am 5 weeks and 3 days today. I've been doing so much thinking. I'm so sleepy. I pee every 10 minutes (ha) and I'm horribly dizzy from my prometrium. N and i are watching Dragon Tales. Anyways.. I've been thinking alot. I'm def. going to breastfeed this one. For one year. At least. I didn't get to do it with N but I'm doing it with this one. The Chinese Gender Predictor says it is a boy. Whatever it is, I'll be happy, still. Im too sleepy to blog right now.

Betas, Refrigerators, all of the above.

So I got my beta back for 13dpo- 84!! This one is sticking- totally happy with that. Last night I did have some pain in my side (like the pain you get when running) so I took it easy and it was gone in the morning. I go back to the doctor on Friday, I'll be 5 weeks and 1 day :) Hooray!

And now for the fridge part. We bought a fridge. they will deliver it between 2 and 4.... yeah. I doubt they will fit in in!

An Update of Sorts

So I called my doctor yesterday. He told me to come in. He is referring me to high risk but I will continue to see him until they can see me. I'm on 4 weeks of bedrest, he told me it's mainly to put my mind at ease. He does want me to take it easy though. I'm on prometrium and baby aspirin too. I go back on Monday for a blood re-draw and results from my last bloodwork. My Due Date is also 12/24/09, not N's birthday. Still pretty close though!

Double Birthdays! Think Positive

And I did :) I'm due on N's 2nd birthday, December 27th, 2009. Wow. I'm thrilled, to say the least. But now I'm going to have to double up birthdays for the next 17 years. I was really excited and anticipating going to Gymboree for N's party. If I'd want to do the party at Gymboree, I'd have to rent it out ahead of time.. and although only 1 in 20 babies are born on their due date, I'd have that lucky 1... even if baby was born a few days prior, we would still be in the hospital. So maybe we won't have a big party for her. I really don't know what I should do about it. Some mommies I know that are having/have two kids... have them/are going to have them nicely spaced out. September and December, and July and December. I don't think we're going to have a big party for her... Maybe just a small cake and a few presents. She was pretty overwhelmed at her first birthday party so maybe we'll keep it on the down low.. Maybe everyone will forget about her birthday what with the new baby coming and all.

A Day at the Shedd Aquarium

This was N's first time at the Shedd. We went with her grandparents, great uncle, and aunt. Here are some photos!




















I'm going to go take a nap!

I called 311 today to order a new blue cart (recyling can) and they put it through. Today is Friday, the truck came on Monday and our can is over half full already- I haven't emptied MY recyclables yet- eep!

$5 Haircut, Never Again

N's hair was getting a bit long. Her bangs were just beginning to poke her eyes (I had cut them a few weeks prior). The back of her hair was by no means even, and had never been cut. It sort of looked like she had a mullet! Anywho, I decided it was time to get it cut, and instead of busting out the 'ol scissors like I should've, I took her to the $5 hair cut place where I get my hair cut. This place has always done a reputable job on my hair. Jaime doesn't like getting his hair cut there because it doesn't come out as well as he'd like it to, and he ends up arguing with the beautician about what size razor to use.. anywho. I took N there. Boy oh boy was that a mistake! I walked into the bustling shop with my giant jogging stroller, which of course got me a lot of strange looks from the stylists and customers and what not. The woman who cut N's hair moved the stroller a few yards behind me next to the ATM. We got N undressed and beginned what would be the process of making my daughter look like who knows what. First off, the lady hardly spoke English. I understand Spanish way better than I speak it, so I was speaking in English, and her in Spanish. There was obviously a misconception somewhere. She began by cutting her bangs. The hair was wet and appeared longer than it was. The woman did a great job on evening out the back of her hair. The bangs are hearbreaking. We have a birthday party to go to tomorrow, and I know everyone will be full of questions about what happened. I was trying to get creative and start making bows again, but I can't find my sewing kit and all I have are a bunch of old headbands. Anywho.. here is miss priss now:


If I come up with any creative solutions to this haircut, I'll be sure and update.

I decided to edit this because there are a few other things going on. I can NOT find my contacts, I am seriously blind without them! So I had to order two more boxes (my eyes are different perscriptions) and get next day by noon delivery which probably won't be here until Monday or Tuesday! Aah! Work is definately no fun, I'm blind as a bat.

Also, I'm also waiting on another package- I ordered a new carseat for N! It's a Maxi-Cosi Priori and I love it, it's brown, orange, and blue. I'll have to post pics when it comes in. I'm like a UPS and FedEx stalker.. I just keep tracking the packages.

I'm probably going to go take a shower now.. I spent nearly $15 on non-organic shampoos (boo me!) so I'd better get to using them up! The Loreal Vive was on sale at Kmart, so I caved and bought it. It's the color revival kind, and I just dyed my hair. Not sure if I like it yet.

Young Mommy vs. the Laundry

This is a constant battle. I can never keep up with the laundry. We own two hampers and three laundry baskets. The hampers are ours, the blue one is for Jaime, the white one is for me. We're doing the no sorting-cold wash thing (although his clothes and N's clothes get washed on warm if they are especially dirty). The laundry baskets are supposed to be for transport ONLY.. except for N's. That one is small and is supposed to go into the wash whenever it becomes full. Right now, I have a hamper full in our room, three piles in N's room (each is a load), and a hamper full in the basement. This doesn't include our comforter or sheets which really need a good wash as well. I have a load in the wash and a load in the dryer. It's crazy! I have NO idea how to keep up with the laundry.

And so it begins.

I've been looking around at a lot of blogs lately, and I'm somewhat jealous. I'm a great writer, I just never seem to have the drive to keep up a blog. I'm pretty much a lazy writer! Anywho, this is my blog, so let me get to an introduction before I type myself out!

I'm Megan, mom to one year old N and wife to Jaime (pronounced "Hi-May", "Hi" being like the "hi" that means "hello". Not HE. It's not HE-May. It's "Hi-May"). You'll sometimes see me refer to him as "JJ", which is what everyone but me calls him.

We live in Chicago, and we're northsiders. We met eachother in our Sophomore year in high school.. on the bus. We became exclusive (aka "going out") on November 18th 2005. I found out I was pregnant with our little girl on April 18th 2007. Jaime proposed to me when I was 8 months pregnant on November 18th, 2007. N was born on December 27th of that year. On November 18th of 2009, we got married. And we are living happily ever after... sort of.

We are currently living with Jaime's parents. Our house is kind of complicated, so I'm going to break it down as best I can. Jaime's parents, uncle, and sister live on the first floor. Jaime's grandparents live on the second floor. So do we. We live in a room detatched from the house, at the top of the back stairs. It's very small.. about 8x9'. N's room is actually inside of his grandparents apartment, and it is probably 1 and a half times as big as ours. Jaime's second cousin, his wife, and three children live in the attic apartment. I think it's safe to say it's pretty cramped. Currently, Jaime's father and uncle are remodeling the basement which is supposely going to become our apartment come April 1st. We will see.

Neither of us are in school right now, I'm going to take a math class (c'mon.. I need a refresher!) in the summer and go full on in the fall. I want to go for nursing, and eventually become a midwife. Jaime wants to do something with cars and computers, but he has also said something about nursing.

We are also, most importantly, a green-living, organic eating, recycling, blah blah blah, family.

That's about it for now.