Life has been completely crazy for me and my family for the last few weeks so I haven't done much posting. I figured I'd give you all an update on what's been going on with nursing, my pregnancy, and my family.
I will start by relating all of the crazy events we have been through recently. First, my mother in law and her husband decided to give us a car since we've had only one for months and would need a bigger one once the baby arrives. They decided to give us my mother in law's car and buy her a new one. They were to drive it down here from Virginia in January. Unfortunately, the engine died, so they decided to buy us a new car so my mother in law flew down here for the purchase. The first two cars we saw, suggested by them, were a Honda Accord and a Hyundai Sonata. Dealing with the salesman was a total nightmare. The guy was crazy and insisted that we needed to buy the Sonata even if we didn't fit comfortably in it with two car seats. He didn't see, to listen to anything we were telling him we needed in a family car. In the end, we all ended up stressed out and my mother in law ended up going home without buying us a car. Here's a tip for all of you sales people: Listen to what customers say they need and try to offer them that if possible. DO NOT insist that they buy something that won't work and make it seem like they are stupid for refusing. You WILL NOT make many sales this way! We ended up deciding that we would shop around and choose a car, my in-laws would approve it and then send us the money to buy it. That way, they wouldn't have to make an extra trip and the car would be in our name for insurance purposes. I am pleased to announce that, as of today, we are the proud new owners of a Hyundai Veracruz! I am finally not going to be stuck in the house without a car and we will all be able to fit comfortably in our new family vehicle. My mother in law even bought us two new Diono Radian RXT car seats so we are all set in that department!
Our next hurdle was moving. We were living in a tiny one bedroom apartment in an area we didn't particularly love. With a toddler and another baby on the way, we were just out of room and had to move to a bigger place. It didn't take us very long to find the perfect new home, or so we thought. We moved to a 2 bedroom apartment with a huge bathroom with both a shower and a garden tub as well as a small, screened in patio that Daniel can play in. It's in a gated community with a pool, a playground, a computer room and clubhouse and a beautiful lake out back. Everything seemed perfect, until the bites started the day we moved in. It turned out that our new apartment was not so perfect after all, it was infested with fleas, and several other things needed repair. After a few days of our complaining, they finally got pest control to come out. The flea treatment was dangerous and I was told we had to leave the house for 5 hours and not to touch the carpet for about 3 days. Sounds easy, just wear socks, right? Well, it's not that easy with a 15 month old who hates socks, falls all the time, likes to sit on the floor, and sometimes just throws himself down. So we had to pack our stuff and head to my parent's house for almost a week. After much negotiating, the property manager agreed to let us move into a new unit, have two maintenance guys help move the furniture, and discount 12 days off our rent. Lucky for me, when Daniel and I got here on the second moving day, my husband had made sure that everything was already in its place! We still have boxes to unpack but the new apartment seems great so far. Daniel loves the community and loves going to visit the ducks at the lake every day.
Another reason for chaos around here is that, on Friday night, I began having regular, strong contractions about 5-10 minutes apart. I called the midwife on call and was told that I should either got to the nearest hospital for a labor check since the birth center is 30 minutes away, or I could take some Calm (a magnesium supplement), a warm bath, and try to rest and see if that calmed the contractions. I did as she suggested but had to call her back on Saturday morning, when the contractions were still the same. She had me come see her at the birth center and checked my cervix. I was about 1 cm dilated and my cervix was somewhat soft and forward but not all the way. We went over my multiple due dates and determined that I needed to make it until at least Monday, when I would be considered 37 weeks by my earliest due date. She suggested I go on bed rest for the weekend, take 3 doses of Calm, 3 packets of Emergen-C, eat more protein, drink more water, and make sure I took a total of 1500mg of calcium and 750mg of magnesium to try to get the contractions under control. I did as instructed but woke up this morning still having the contractions. She had me come in to be checked again and not much had changed, except the baby moved down over the weekend. As of today, I am safe to go into labor. I am no longer considered preNICU. Although we still have tons of stuff to do before he arrives, I am so glad he can now come safely whenever he is ready.
As for nursing, Daniel is 16 months old today and is still nursing. However, over the last month or so, he has slowed down significantly and now goes days without nursing. I assume there just isn't much there for him at the moment. I'm curious as to how he will react when his brother is born and my milk finally comes in. I feel confident that he will pick it back up and we will make it to our goal of 2 years and beyond.
Now that things seem more settled, we just need to unpack the rest of our stuff, make sure we have everything the new baby will need, and prepare for the birth. I have been reading books and watching documentaries about birth in order to get myself in the right mindset for the actual birth. I've also been trying to work through my feelings in order to be fully prepared. I will be faithfully doing my kegels, butterflies, squats and pelvic rocks, drinking my Red Raspberry Leaf, Nettle, Alfalfa, and Oatsraw infusion, taking my Evening Primrose Oil, doing perineal massage, practicing relaxation, and going for daily walks in order to be well prepared when the time comes. We have done our maternity pictures and will be doing a belly cast. My mom has a baby shower planned for me that I may or may not make it to. I feel that I am now in a good place emotionally when it comes to this birth. I am also feeling more settled and relaxed now that things have settled down at the new place and we have the new car, and especially now that I've hit the 37 week mark. We still have some things we need to do to get ready, like pack our bags but, whenever this baby decides to come, I am definitely ready to welcome him and I'm definitely looking forward to seeing Daniel as a big brother as well as how our family dynamic changes as we go from 3 to 4.
