New Baby List

Things I need to either buy or do before the new baby comes.

• decide if we want a bassinet or figure out where to put the crib
• 3 bassinet sheets if we decide to go that way
• newborn diapers
• new infant carseat purchased and installed
• write out Fritter's schedule for the sitter and pack bag
• go through and wash newborn clothes
• plan two weeks of easy meals and decide what I can do ahead of time
• research and purchase a new sling
• go through nursing bras and tops, decide what I need (if anything)
• sew nursing cover
• order humidifier filters and clean both
• sort through paci's in case we decide to use them
• gather parts and wash pump
• decide about hospital bag, and pack
• bottle of Dreft
• go through swaddling blankets
• make sure we have stuff for circumcision care in case it's a boy
• tour hospital
• plan hospital route

Little Counter

Can I just brag about my son for a minute? The video shows it all, but he can count to five almost by himself! Yay!

Dinner Guests

So I'm totally freaking out. I went out on a limb and invited one of the girls from my Familia class over to dinner this Friday, along with her husband (whom we've never met). She just recently moved here from North Dakota and is pregnant with her first (they're due in December). I figured, heck, she doesn't have any friends and neither do we, so this could benefit us both! ;-) I'm half kidding. She seems really nice, and get this...she's my age! Yay!

Here's what I'm freaking out about, though. 1) We live in a small apartment, and I actually have to go to Target this week to find two matching dining room chairs, because we don't have enough seats to sit at the table. I'm comforted to know that they live in an apartment also, but still. 2) Because we don't know each other well, and we don't know her husband at all, what are we going to talk about? I know we will suffer through a couple of awkward silences. 3) I'm making homemade pizza for dinner (it's fun, easy, and good) but don't know what to do about dessert. Any ideas? Maybe brownies.

I'm sure it will all turn out ok, but this is definitely new to me. I just don't do this kind of thing. Please pray for me, and any advice is a plus!

Mm Hm

Your 80s Hunk Is

Kirk Cameron

Who's Your 80s Hunk?

H/T: Nutmeg

The Two-Year Old Mind

I don't know where he got this, but it sure is cute.

Take My Breath Away

First, let me start off by saying that I did take Michelle's advice (scroll down to the comments) and upped the amount of protein I'm eating. That's helped. I also mentioned this to my doctor, who said that when you eat carbs, your blood sugar goes up, and without the protein to balance things out, it also comes crashing down really fast. She said I needed to be eating at least 10 grams of protein with each meal.

It seems there's always something going on during this pregnancy. Last evening, while DH and I watched The Count of Monte Cristo, I felt like my breath was getting short a couple of times. Nothing dramatic, just a quick shortness of breath and then it would be normal again. I didn't think too much of it until I went to bed that evening. While laying there, it happened a few more times and I also felt like my heart was skipping a beat. So I felt for my pulse and just relaxed and waited for it to happen again. Sure enough, when I would get the shortness of breath, my heart would skip.

At first, I got a little scared and told DH what was happening. I then got up and walked around a little, which seemed to help. So I got online and did some searching, and it seems that this is a fairly normal thing to happen during pregnancy, especially when the mom is carrying like I am this time. That was comforting to know, but it didn't change the fact that it was still happening and wasn't exactly a pleasant experience.

I thought maybe the baby decided to shift a little and put pressure on something, so I did some cat-cow stretches to try to get the baby to shift. It helped a little bit, but I ended up falling asleep sitting up, because it didn't seem to happen as much. It's happened a few times today as well, and while I'm not worried, I think I'm still going to put a call in to my doctor.

It's funny how each pregnancy is different. With Fritter, I did not experience as many of the things I have with this one. I also carried very different. This time everything is right up front, and I almost look normal from behind (almost). I was much wider with Fritter, and gained my weight all over. Perhaps this means we're having a little girl!

Fritter's Art

After carefully arranging the objects just so...
...his masterpiece was finished.

Fritter's Hot Coffee

Notice the coaster underneath. He's a gentleman, that's for sure!

My Little Rule

I was inspired by Cheryl and a few other mom's a while back to begin reading A Mother's Rule of Lifeto try to gain some control over my day. When I start scheduling, though, I tend to start all at once because I get excited, and then I never stick to it. The book, as good as it is, eventually went back on the shelf, and I struggled with making time for prayer and most everything else during the day.

I've also tried Flylady and my own version of keeping a Home Management Journal. Flylady helped some on things like swish and swipe and making my bed in the morning, but the clutter factor has remained...well, cluttered.

On Saturday, I went to spiritual direction and spoke about this very thing. Morning prayers were becoming nonexistent, daily mass was being neglected, and about the only thing I was accomplishing was keeping my home surface clean. My spiritual director told me that I should start small. The most important thing is to make sure I am setting aside time each day for prayer. And not just those prayers uttered throughout my day, although those are important as well. I needed to "go into my inner room and close the door".

I am not a morning person, and it seems that when I do get up early, Fritter gets up as well, and then my day just starts, no matter my intentions. Because I have a weak will, my director said I needed to exercise it by doing one small thing. Set the alarm for 6am, and get up when it goes off. That's it. So I'm working on that and only that. But it sets up my day for success. I get up at 6, and if Fritter is up, he plays by himself in his room until 7. This guarantees me an entire hour to pray, shower, eat, ect.

Yesterday and today it's been great. Not that I've just jumped out of bed, I have had to force myself, but I don't have to sneak in a shower while Fritter is watching Caillou. And I have the time for praying! I'm not going to set any type of a deadline and then move on to the next thing, because this may take me some time to master. But I'm determined, and my spiritual director is sure to hold me accountable for it.

A Mother's Rule of Life will be coming back off the shelf soon enough. Also, I just received my new review book Kimberly Hahn's Graced and Gifted in the mail, which pertains to this same topic. I plan on reading it through once to get a good idea of things (and also so I can review it) and then slowly going through it again to really make progress. I'm excited about my little steps, and maybe one day, I'll be the ideal I want to be (or close to it).

Hunger Pangs

They say never go to the grocery store when you are hungry. But what do you do when you get hungry just about every hour? Out of nowhere it'll hit me, and it's like if I don't eat something at that exact moment, I might end up chewing on my own fingers. :-)

Seriously though. Last Sunday, before Mass, I had a nice breakfast of oatmeal and toast. But during Mass, I suddenly felt faint and weak and broke out in a cold sweat. Why? Because I was hungry! Crazy, right? It also happened on Wednesday during my Familia class. I was sure everyone could hear my stomach growling.

Which takes me to today. I made sure I ate well this morning, and Fritter and I headed off to the grocery store. I had a small list this week and was sure I'd get out of there with a bill of under $65. No such luck. Halfway through the store, I wanted to open the boxes that sat so teasingly on the shelves and sit on the floor and have myself a picnic! I didn't, but I did end up buying too many things that were not on my list, and that are definitely not good for me. I even got one of those king size Snickers bars at the checkout for my drive home. No sharing with Fritter either!

Unfortunately, my grocery bill this week reflects all this. The grand total was $100.17. Considering I did get Fritter a $3 shirt, a $7 pair of shoes, and a $6 package of socks, and I got an $8 bin for our closet, that still brings my grocery total to $76! Hmm...could it have possibly been those oatmeal cream pies, or the box of processed macaroni and cheese, or even the box(es) of muffin mix I may never use? *sigh* I still have 2.5 months left of this pregnancy, and I can only imagine that I'll just get hungrier and hungrier. I'm going to have to start eating right before I walk into the store.

Heaven's Song

Well, it's taken me quite a while to get to the point where I could write my review on Heaven's Song by Christopher West. Although I love to read and usually finish books quickly, lately it seems I either don't have the time or am too tired to read more than a page before I fall asleep. So, if you read many of the same blogs I do, you've probably already read a few reviews on this book. Here's one more.

I was a little nervous when I first picked up Heaven's Song. Knowing that it was based on Pope John Paul II's Theology of the Body, I thought I was in for some tough reading. I was wrong. Each chapter in Heaven's Song starts with a small, real-life story and tells the end of that story (good or bad, it is real-life) at the end of the chapter. Also, each chapter ends with reflection questions that a person can use to apply the teachings to his own life. This was critical for me, because I was able to stop and really understand what I was reading.

I learned quite a bit from this book, not only about the ideal of marital union, but also about things that I didn't even know had affected my ideas regarding the body and sexual love. One such thing that comes to mind from this book is the idea of modesty. Before coming into the Church, I had never really thought about it before, but my own immodesty was pointed out to me a few times afterwards. I began to view the body as something that needed to be hidden, or covered up, because it was bad. But, really (as I'm sure many of you already knew) that's not why a person should dress modestly. To quote Mr. West (pg. 58):

Why do we feel the need to cover our bodies... in a fallen world? We cover our bodies in a fallen world not because they're "bad." The notion that our bodies are bad is a heresy! We cover our bodies in a fallen world because they are so good and we feel an instinctive need to protect the goodness of the body from the degradation of lust.

This may not come as any revelation to anyone else, but to me it filled in holes I was missing. There are so many other places from this book that filled other holes for me, that I couldn't begin to list them all.

Whether a person is new to Theology of the Body or not, there is something to be gleaned from Heaven's Song. It meets you where you are and helps you go even farther. I would even venture to say that a person could get different things from it after reading it a second or third time through. Especially if someone has holes that need filled or are looking for healing, this is a good place to start.

This review was written as part of The Catholic Company product reviewer program. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on Heaven's Song.

Our First Night Visitor

Since moving Fritter to his "new bed", he's slept pretty well at night. Last night however, I heard him on the monitor fussing a little bit. Nothing dramatic, just a little noise making. It lasted about a minute before I heard him settle back down. I assumed he went back to sleep so I did, but about 15 minutes later or so I heard a little whine in the doorway of our bedroom. I sat up to see a small cute little boy, holding on to his duckie, standing in our room. Our bed is only a full, and my pregnant belly and body pillow take up most of the room, and even my poor DH doesn't have much space. Otherwise I would have tucked him cozily in with us, but I scooped him up in my arms and carried him back to his bed and laid him down. He just wanted to be with me, so I sat by his bed for a few minutes until he relaxed and got sleepy again.

I may not think this is so cute later, but right now, I'm glad that he's ok coming to get me when he's up in the middle of the night.

On Glucose Testing and Sleepiness

Tuesday morning found Fritter and I in my doctor's office. It was time for the 1 hour glucose test. Thankfully this particular office has a play room, and they also offer childcare for when you go back.

Today was the first day someone was there while I was, so the kind lady offered to watch Fritter while I went back to have my blood pressure checked and listen to the baby's heartbeat. I decided to try it, since I wouldn't be in the back very long, and we still had to wait another 45 minutes to have my blood drawn. Big mistake. Fritter is not used to being watched by anyone other than his dad. I should have thought about this fact, but I didn't. My brain has been very slow the past couple of weeks (thus the lack of posts). As the nurse took my blood pressure, I could hear Fritter crying very hard. I'm sure the pressure was elevated at that point.

When I came out, he was still crying. I calmed him down and got him interested in a couple of the toys in the playroom, while apologizing to the nice lady who offered to watch him. Although he was now calm, this had put him into a very sensitive and fussy mood. He fussed when I took him back with me to speak with my doctor. He fussed while I got reflexology done on my feet that she recommended for my hips (we were in the playroom even). He fussed while I got my blood drawn, and he fussed all the way out to the car. Once in his car seat, he quieted down, and was happy for the rest of the way home. I think he was finally content to know that I wasn't going to be leaving him again. ;-)

One of the things I mentioned to my doctor was how tired and unmotivated I've been. I could sleep all day long if I was allowed to, and during my waking hours, I just want to sit or lay down. She asked about my diet, ect. and chalked it up to my not sleeping well at night because of my sore hips. After the reflexology, she recommended the chiropractor, which I'm still thinking about.

Yesterday, while napping (that's when I get all my phone calls) she called and said they had the results back from my glucose test. The glucose levels were normal, but my iron levels were very low. She recommended, on top of my regular prenatal, an iron supplement. I had some in the house already, so I took one with my vitamin last night before bed. I still had a hard time waking up this morning, but I definitely have more energy today, and may actually tackle some of the jobs that have been piling up on me. I'm not sure if that was the iron, or if I just slept better last night, but I'm feeling better. Pray for me!