Merry Christmas

We're moving!

We closed on the new house today!

It took way longer than I ever imagined - think we first saw our house in Sept or maybe the start of Oct. But it's finally ours. We even started taking some of our stuff over there today and baby N and I will be hanging out there tomorrow while the carpets get cleaned and the cable guy comes.

I'm happy about the house, it is such a great family home and one that gives us plenty of room to grow. But I have to admit that I'm a little sad to be leaving our little 'cottage'. Although this place is way too small, seriously old and in need of some work, it is the house that we brought our little baby home to.

Lunch date

We were supposed to close on our new house today but thanks to some paperwork delay on the sellers part it didn't happen. :-( As J had already taken the day off we decided to make the most of it. We dropped our cranky baby off at his grandparents house and headed to lunch.

After lunch we headed to the local big box home improvement store to pick up some stuff for the new house. Who would have thought that a few years ago a date would involve walking around home depot picking out paint colors, door locks and new toilet seats! Don't think I know anyone in England that buys new toilet seats when they move into a new house, but I guess it happens here! It was a great date, so nice to spend time together and get some things done without the baby. I did feel a little bad for his grandparents as he's been cranky for the last couple of days and probably wasn't the best company! We're not exactly sure what's going on with him, but he hasn't been happy. He could be getting another cold, or tooth, I wish he could tell us what's going on. The result is that he's not sleeping well - waking almost hourly every night and deciding to start his day way too early at around 5. Hopefully it'll get better as he starts to feel better.

We're keeping our fingers crossed that our new closing for Wednesday goes through without a hitch. And that any snow holds off until after we can move. We have things set up for Thursday and Christmas Eve and don't want to have to reschedule them again. We'll start moving on Boxing day. Our aim is to be in before the end of the next week - J is off work until the 3rd and my sister arrives on the 1st so we're going to be busy!

After talking about it for weeks I finally managed to capture N's giggle on video. When we try to get him to giggle for the camera it never works, but the cat always gets the job done!

Pic with Santa

First tooth

I felt baby N's first tooth this morning! I can't see it yet but when i run my finger over his gum it's definitely there. Our little guy is growing up so fast, he'll be 6 months old in 2 days time. He's rolling all over the place now and often gets himself stuck up against our furniture. Having time on the floor at work is tough as their floors are all wood and stone, with very few rugs. Now that he's rolling he doesn't stay put on his blanket and sometimes bumps his head when he rolls from his tummy to back. I find that i'm carrying him around more or he's sitting in his car seat or the little man's high chair. He has also started to be able to sit for longer periods of time. On Tuesday he sat through most of music class and seemed to enjoy the different viewpoint.

We had a photo session with the lady that took our birth pics on Sun. She took over 200 pictures and i'm slowly working my way through them to find the right one for our Christmas card. N did really well despite being seriously sleep deprived as we'd taken him to lunch with some friends right before. Luckily he loves to be outside so that probably helped to get the pics we did....

Happy Halloween!

Cool vest

Check out what my mum made for N. It is so cute, she did such a great job. She started working on it when J was pregnant and even brought it on vacation to NC with us. I think she only worked on it once while she was here tho! So it headed back to Spain with her and she finally just finished it. I was worried that by the time it arrived it wouldn't fit him, but it just about does! Almost makes me want to pull the knitting needles out and work on something myself, but i never made it past making hats. Think a sweater would be too complicated for me, so i'll leave it to the experts! I've already told mum that she better start working on a bigger one for next year.....

Pumpkin patch!

We took baby N to a local pumpkin patch with his grandparents to celebrate his Pop's birthday. Think we were way more into it than he was but we look forward to continuing these traditions as he gets older. He was trying to put everything into his mouth - the pumpkins, straw, corn, anything he could get his hands on.

Our poor little man is sick right now so we've been keeping a low profile at home. He caught a cold from the kids at work so has a low grade fever and cough. Despite not feeling good he's been a good sport about it all. He's still feeding pretty well, but has no interest in solids so we've stopped them for the time being. I love how well J and I work together as a team, it's even more apparent when we have a sick baby. Last night baby N was having a hard time sleeping, so i took the first shift, bunking with N in his room. Catching a little sleep between rocking, walking and hanging in the steamy bathroom with the baby and J took over at 2am. So we both managed to get a little sleep. I'm so lucky to be sharing this whole experience with J. She is the best thing that ever happened to me...I love our little family so much!

5 months

Our little man is not so little anymore! At his 5 months check the other day we found out that he now weighs 17.3 lbs and is 27 inches long. Our ped says that he's the size of a 7 month old, so i guess that's why we've been pulling out the bigger clothes and packing away the ones that are too small.

The biggest development is that he's now rolling over. Despite the ped telling us that he'd roll from his belly to back first he did the opposite. He starting rolling from his back to his belly and was then kind of stuck there. Which he is none to happy about as he's not a tummy time fan. But today he's rolling back again so that's great. We're some very proud mommies!

He also just started solids. We started with the baby rice, but he really didn't like it, so i started making my own baby food. He seems to like the orange things - sweet potato and carrots are favorites and pears he's not too bothered about. I'm really starting slowly. We offer him some after his milk and if he takes a little that's great, if he's not interested then that's ok too.

Check out how cute he is!

First cold

Poor baby N has his very first cold. It's hard to watch your little baby coughing, spluttering and sneezing his way through the night. We know that he caught it from the little man at work. He adores the baby and it's been hard to stop him sharing the germs with all the kisses and hugs he gives the baby. We knew it was going to happen with the start of school for the big kids and the music class the boys now go to. I'm sure he will feel so much better tomorrow, which is good as we head back to work and music class.

Baby N loved his first music class last week. I think he liked it more than the little man who's class it's really supposed to be. He led on his blanket and kicked away as he took in everything going on around him. He loves music and is such a big people watcher. The class has lots of babies in it and mostly boys for some reason. Not that I want him to grow too fast, but I can't wait until he's a little older and can take part a little more!

J and I took baby N and my charges to a local Oktoberfest yesterday. The big kids seemed to have a great time taking pony rides, getting their faces painted, playing on slides, bounce houses and rock climbing walls. Baby N hung out in his baby carrier watching it all. I was so grateful that J was there with me too. The big girl and little man wanted to do different things so we had to divide on occasion and that would have been tougher by myself. It sure gave us a taste of things to come for our family!

I had a successful interview the other week. A local family with an 11 month old. I really liked them, they were so much more 'normal' than the family that I work for right now. But after talking it over with J and thinking it over I decided to turn down their job offer. It just didn't feel quite right, was quite long hours and is based at the mom's work place which I found kind of strange. I can understand why she wants her child at work with her (she's a vet) but I couldn't figure out how the space was going to feel good for me to work in and of course for baby N to be in. There is always lots going on there and our son really needs a quiet place to nap (their child doesn't nap during the day, unless in the car) and baby N has a hard enough time at work with me right now. He has a place to nap in the big girls room, but hates to miss out on all the action so only catnaps when we're there. So we've decided that I'm going to stay where I am for now, working the 2 days a week with a family that I've known for 10 years (before the parents were married and the kids arrived) and that I'm very attached too.

On a final note baby N has weaned himself from his pacifier! I am so happy as I always had a love hate relationship with the thing. I never wanted him to have one, but relented when he was a couple of weeks old and we needed some sleep! It certainly served it's purpose but he just started refusing it and I stopped giving it to him. Now he doesn't use it at all. He likes to put his fingers or toes in his mouth but doesn't seem to be turning into a thumb or finger sucker. Not that I would mind if he did, I'm all for self-soothing! Now he doesn't wake up when it falls out and I don't have to carry extras with me in case it gets dropped or the little man decides to try it out for himself!

My honey

Just had a great weekend with my honey. Is it possible to be in love any more?!? I mean life is great...Baby N is just making us laugh all of the time, we're looking for a new house and I get to watch the Nanny being the best Mama ever. Every time I see her in action with her "charges" and Baby N I just can't help but stare in awe. She is so great with kids. She certainly knew her calling and is the best!! Well off to do laundry and clean up..just wanted to stop for my Love infomercial! Love ya babe!

All change

We've almost survived our first week with J being back at work! It's been pretty tough for all of us and so strange for her to be away from the baby all day. She misses him so much and he is definitely missing her too. He's been a little fussy and has needed extra loving the last couple of days. Going from one to three or four bottles a day is taking some getting used too, he misses nursing and even had me worried the other day as he hardly ate anything all day. Thought for sure he'd make up for it by nursing all night, but i guess he just wasn't hungry that day!

The great news is that it's a long weekend, so we get 3 whole days at home together!

As for me, I returned to work to find that i'm being reduced to part time and they are looking for a new full time nanny. I was shocked to say the least, although i wasn't sure what was going to happen with my job in Sept i wasn't happy with the way they went about it. I felt like they should have shown me and my family more respect by being more up front about what they were thinking. It would have been nice if they had decided and let us know earlier, but that is the way they are. They've been interviewing and haven't found anyone as yet, they have a girl coming for a trial next week and i'm waiting to see how that works out. I have a couple of other possible jobs lined up and we are trying to decide what is best for our family. I have loved parts of my job for the past 3 and a half years and i'm crazy about the kids. But there are stressful parts of the job that i would be happy to leave behind. I know that they really need someone who can pick up and travel with them at a moments notice and i can't and don't want to do that anymore. I guess i/we are just trying to decide whether it's better to stick with a family that i know and will let me bring baby N with me, or move on. I'm so lucky to have such a supportive partner. She constantly tells me that i can do whatever i want and that we'll make it work any way we have to. We've figured out that i don't have to work full time, that we could get by if i only work part time and that may be an option. My current boss' are offering roughly 15 hrs a week, but i'm pretty sure it would end up being more. She said that they only want the new nanny to do 40hrs a week and i was doing closer to 60, so they have to fill that gap. I just don't want to do all evenings and weekends or i'll never see my family....anyway it'll play itself out over the next couple of weeks!

The changes in my job have led to other changes too.... I have a new car! I was driving the 'nanny car', but they used it all summer and will of course need it for the new nanny so we got a car for me. My own car for the first time in over 10 yrs - working as a nanny has had some good perks :-)

We are also looking for a house! We were planning to stay in our rental until next spring and to keep saving, but something about having a baby makes you want to settle down! So we just started the search. We're not in any great rush, so are waiting for the 'right' house for us.

Let's see, what's new with baby N?

Sleeping - we had 3 wonderful nights where he slept from 8.30pm to 7am. It was so nice and we were thinking that was it, we were patting ourselves on the back with our great parenting. It was great timing before we went back to work, etc. But it didn't last, he's not ready after all. He's back to getting up once, eating and most of the time going right back to sleep! He takes 3 good naps and sometimes 4 every day. The 3 naps are between 45 mins and 1.5hrs long. If he takes the 4th it's a cat nap to get him through till bed time. We just moved him from sleeping swaddled to a sleep sack and he's done pretty well. He loves his crib and goes to sleep by himself (one of my big things) really well. So well in fact, that he doesn't sleep easily anywhere else - not the kid that falls asleep in his car seat or stroller. But he will sleep in his pack n play at work.

Rolling - he's not rolling over yet, but is so close. he rolls from his back to his side and his side to his back. But hasn't gone all the way yet. I'm sure it won't be long tho!

Laughing - he's a pretty smiley baby. Especially for his mommies and other kids. Is a little wary of other grown-ups but once he warms up he's a real charmer! He just started laughing out loud, it is SO cute! Must try and get it on the camera!

Eating - i really haven't written too much about nursing as i'm not the one doing it. But i'm so proud of J and N so i wanted to include it. They are no longer using the breast shield for nursing! It's so cool, as we were beginning to wonder if he'd ever do it without! Guess he finally got used to having a tongue that works! He eats about every 3+hrs. Nurses and takes bottles of EBM or formula.

He's huge and is just about growing out of all his 3-6 month clothing. I've been getting together all the next size stuff. He has so many clothes, more than us i think! We feel so lucky to have this little guy in our lives and thank our lucky stars everyday!

Vacation

We had such a great vacation and i'm actually sad to see my family leave. It was interesting watching my parents play the grandparent role to my son, and my sister loved being auntie L.

Surprisingly it actually took baby N a few days to get used to them - he cried the first few times my parents held him. Once he warmed up he gave them lots of smiles and was 'talking' non stop. Trying to work out what he's going to call my parents was funny. J's parents are Grammy and Pop Pop and my grandma is Nanny. My mum really didn't want a Grandma kind of title as it makes her feel to old. As they live in Spain now they finally settled on Abuela and Abuelo. It's weird to know that they won't see baby N that often and probably won't have the kind of relationship that i had with my grandparents.

NC was so beautiful. We rented a great house right by the beach and spent our days sitting by the ocean. Baby N has a really cool tent to keep him out of the sun and he napped and played there. Mommy was even captured napping in the tent (see pic below). It was hotter than hot so we stayed close to home most of the time, but the town of Duck was pretty cute and we had a great dinner out. The best bit about having my family along is that we had some alone time too!

The drive was pretty brutal and we're in no rush to do that again any time soon. Although after that, the other drives we've taken since then have felt like nothing! We drove down in one go and it took us around 12 hrs, with lots of stops. N really didn't appreciate that much time in his car seat. For the journey home we decided to split the trip and stopped for an over night in Baltimore. We had a great time at the Aquarium there. There was so much to see and it took longer than i thought it would. After more than 3 hrs i was done and we hadn't even seen it all. We then enjoyed lunch by the inner harbor and headed home.

Now reality is starting to set in and we're gearing up for work :-( Trying to work out the schedules and talking about what routines we need to start. N is coming to work with me on Wed for a little while. It'll be a good introduction for him and the little man, who i suspect is going to have a hard time adjusting to not being the baby any more. Think that the person it's going to be hardest for is Mommy! She's already trying to work out how she's going to keep herself busy while he's at work with me ;-)

OBX

So we are all here in beautiful Duck, NC with S's mum and dad and twin sister. We loaded up two cars, most of the packed stuff was Baby N's items. We are so lucky that we were able to fit in the car! The nine hour drive took about 12 hours! We made a bunch of stops because N didn't want to stay in the car seat as long as we hoped. Then of course we hit major traffic going near DC/Maryland and then once we hit the main drag for OBX. By that time, it was raining off and on. we all had pretty much had it. However, once we turned the corner and saw the house...wow, what a great view of the ocean! We were two houses in and could basically crawl out of bed into the ocean. The house itself is very lovely. There are three bedrooms on the lower level and one on the upper level. There are wrap around porches around the entire house! The only thing it is missing that some of the ones on the beach have is a swimming pool and a hot tub!!

So far we have hung on the beach, did some exploring and shopping and have taken tons of pictures. Very relaxing and chill. N. looks adorable in his swimming gear (even though he spends all of his time in his little tent!) As typical, he is so chill when outside and surrounded by nature. He seems to enjoy the sound of the ocean. Time is flying by. Actually it is so hard to believe it is August and summer is winding down. Before you know it, we will all be back at work and transitioning N. to a new routine.

Tongue tie

Baby N has been tongue tied since he was born. We went back and forth over what to do about it but the last time we saw our midwife she gave us the number of a dentist they recommend. Being tongue tied has made nursing painful for J and takes a really long time as baby N can't use his tongue properly so has to compensate with his lips. As he gets older it could cause problems with his speech development and as he can't stick out his tongue he wouldn't be able to lick an ice cream cone.

We headed to the dentist to have him assessed. The dentist took one look at him and said that he had a true tongue tie - one of the tighter ones he'd seen. So we decided to go ahead with the procedure to fix it. It wasn't easy to watch, but i think i was way more freaked by the whole thing than J or baby N. It was over quickly and J nursed him right away and felt a difference in his latch.

He has been so happy since we got it done and now has a new trick!!!

Lazy days of summer!

This is where we spent our 4th of July weekend! Hanging by the pool at a friend's house, which has been bliss with the rising heat here. We decided not to try and make it to see any fireworks this year as it seemed like more work than it was worth.
We gave baby N a little taste of the pool, he didn't seem too impressed. Instead he spent most of the time hanging in the shade playing, napping and nursing! I'm sure he'll spend more time in the water next year and we'll probably start him in mom and baby swim lessons next spring.

I'm so happy to be able to spend my days with my family. It has been so great to spend more time with N and J. We work so well together as a team and we're all happier and more rested for it. N is starting to get into a routine and sleeping for longer periods at night, sometimes up to 6 hours which is great. He takes his naps in his big crib and always falls asleep listening to his 'music' - the blow dryer cd i ordered him. At night he still sleeps in his bassinet next to us and probably will for a while longer. We're still swaddling him for all sleeps as he seems much happier that way. I love the muslins we got for swaddling and am glad i got so many of them - we seem to go through them pretty fast some days as the double as burp cloths, blankets and car seat/stroller cover too.

We're still working on trying to get a good pic of him smiling. As soon as i grab the camera he seems to stop smiling. But it's super cute and i'm sure we will never get bored of them!

We are heading to a friend's beach house at the end of the week for our first overnight with the baby. We're staying with a couple that don't have kids yet and we're hoping that they'll be ok with the fact that we pretty much operate on baby time these days! Leaving the house is dependant on N being fed and cleaned up and sometimes cleaned up again before we make it out the door!

Summer

Yesterday was my last day at work for the summer. I'm so excited to be done and get to spend so much time at home with my family!
The only bummer is that i seem to have caught a cold from the big girl that i take care of. I managed to avoid it when the little man had it, but wasn't so lucky this time. I just hope that i don't pass it on to baby N as that would be really sad.
We have lots of fun things planned for the next few weeks. I know that time is going to fly by and just want to enjoy every minute of it. We're heading to the beach next week, have a 'meet baby N' party coming up and then my family will be here to visit!

BFF's

Baby N has a new BFF. It's not a paci or a soft animal that he can't be without...it's J's hair dryer! When he starts to get tired and a little cranky the sound of the hair dryer soothes him so quickly. We have a great white noise machine that we've been using since he was born and i was using it before he was born. But the calming ocean sounds that soothe me, just don't work as well for him as the hair dryer. I just ordered him a cd that we can play in his room - 70 non-stop minutes of the hair dryer!

In other news we've just started to see some smiles. They are so cute! I usually get a big one when i'm giving him his bath, but they sure are hard to get a picture of. I'm sure i will have plenty of them very soon!

We're planning to venture into NYC for pride tmrw. I've been practicing with the wrap today which maybe we'll be able to use and avoid using the stroller with all the people.

Work

I'm winding down my last few days at work and can't wait to be done for the summer. I'll miss the kids but am so looking forward to being home with my family! Still not totally sure what is going to happen in Sept, but am waiting to see how it works out.

One of my tasks during my last few weeks has been to take the little man to his swimming lessons. He is doing a special program that I've seen implemented many times over the last 10 years. His sister and all of his cousins all learned to swim in the same way. The program is designed to teach the kids to save themselves if they fall into water. It teaches them to float on their backs to get air, then flip over and swim. Returning to the float to rest and get air, until thye can climb out. You can check it out here. No matter how many times i watch the lessons it doesn't get any easier. Until the kids reach a certain level most of them cry the whole time. It's not fun to watch and i'm glad when the 10 minutes are over. But i know that the little man will be a great swimmer and safe all summer long.

Someone made a comment to me about baby N doing the course next year....i don't think it's for us. He'll just have to learn the old fashioned way just like his mommies did. Anyway check out the little man's skills below.

Thoughts

I love my little family. Our son is an adorable creature who I can't get enough of. My Nanny is the best person ever. She is a fantastic Mama, an amazing person and the absolute love of my life!

5 weeks

How did that happen? Our little tiny baby is 5 weeks old already!

It has been an amazing 5 weeks, we are enjoying him so much and getting to know him and all his little verbal and non-verbal cues.

He had an appointment at the pediatrician yesterday and is now 10lbs! Mommy is doing such a great job feeding him! He's in the 75th percentile for height and 50th for weight. Although after reading another blog the other day i now realise that doesn't mean anything.

I've been back at work for a couple of weeks now and it's been tough going. I hate being away from J and baby N all day. It's strange taking care of other people's kids while you're missing your own little guy. The work schedule is working out pretty well, although i'm never done by 5, which was the original agreement. They have found a college student to take away with them for the summer, so she has been spending time with the kids to get to know them. The little man has been super clingy since i got back and we had to start again with the potty training, but he seems to be back on track now. He now seems so big compared to our baby.

Think i have another week left at work before being done for the summer. I hope to be a much better blogger when i have a little more time!

Photo shoot

Photo shoot fun from a few weeks ago!

My Sweeties!

Amazing

So is it possible to say that Baby N is the cutest baby ever?!? Yes, I know that is coming from a proud mommy. But everyday I just look at him and am amazed at this little being. His every move, noise or expression just makes me want to eat him up! We have been slowly developing a routine, if you can call it that. He is eating every two-three hours. Breastfeeding is getting a little easier except when the little guy is being his stubborn self and takes a bunch of tries to latch on. But eventually we get it going. By the time he is done feeding, basically a whole hour seems to pass by! Then it's usually changing a diaper, putting him down or spending some quality time together. Then the whole routine starts again. S and I have been trying to go on small outings with him. Our first one was to the doctor and then...wait for this..don't be jealous...to WalMart! Haha, never thought I'd be excited to say we made it in and out without any fussing from N. Jeez, how things have changed and how we applaud the simple things in life. Never thought I'd hear myself saying that.

I have to admit that S has been the best teacher ever for this mommy! Thank goodness she has done this stuff before. I mean we are talking that I never really changed a diaper or put in a car seat! She dutifully will "model" it for me and then watch as I attempt to do these things. (some of those strollers are a pain to open and close!!). Of course I can probably only use ignorance as an excuse so many times when I don't feel like doing it. (Can you just show me one more time, please??) Anyway, she is a love. I don't think I would be able to handle it without her. She is the best Mama too. You have to see how she reads to N. and cuddles with him. Just when you think you can't love someone more.... :)

Anyway, life is amazing. It will be sad to see S go back to work this week. But luckily it is only going to be two weeks. So watch out Baby N. It's just me and you. Hopefully he'll be just as patient with me as his Mama is!

He's here!

Baby N arrived on Wednesday the 12th of May by scheduled c-section at 9.50am. He weighed in at 8lbs and 6oz and is 20 inches long. We were very surprised to see that he's a red head, but are so in love. He's nursing like a chanp and sleeping well, fingers crossed it stays that way.

We're leaving the hospital tomorrow and i'll write a full birth story later. Thanks to our doula we have some amazing pics!

Shower and gifts

We had such a great time at our shower and it's hard to believe that it happened nearly two weeks ago already. Time is flying by so fast, which means that our little boy is nearly here. But i'll get to that later! It was so nice to hang out with our closest girl friends, some we don't see nearly as much as i'd like. We ate good food and enjoyed each other's company.

We were totally spoilt and got so many great gifts. Lots of clothes and more gear than we ever imagined owning for one little baby. Among the gifts we received an carved bear. It must have taken it's creator quite a while to make and he's a good looking bear. We have yet to find the perfect place for him so right now he's next to the fireplace. Check him out below!

My favorite gifts are the hand made ones. We got a number of blankets and a couple of beautiful quilts. The knitted sweater above is so cute. That was the only thing that i felt we were missing and it is exactly what i was looking for. So soft and delicate and perfect for the unpredictable weather we have been having lately.

So onto the baby update... We went for an ultrasound last week to find out if it would be possible to perform a version to get our little man head down. The first thing the Dr doing the ultrasound said was, 'he has a big head.' She estimated that his weight was 6lbs 15oz. Now i know that those measurements aren't always that accurate, but it's fair to say that he's a good size! We also watched him practicing his breathing which was so cool. Then she started to take more measurements and take a closer look. Anyway it got quiet and she was concentrating on his head, then she told us that he has a nuchal cord and would recommend a c-section. Yep, our little guy has the cord around his neck and is happily staying breech. She told us that 1 in 4 babies are born with the cord around their neck and if he was head down it wouldn't be a problem. But the risks involved with a version are too high to attempt it with his cord like that. From there we headed to see the OB and scheduled the c-section...for next Wednesday!!!! It is so weird to go from not knowing when your kid is going to arrive to having the date and the time. We are so looking forward to meeting him and are counting down the days.

Yesterday was J's last day at work. She is happy to be done as she found the last few days very exhausting. Now she has a few days to rest before we head to the hospital!

Honey...

Is there any chance you can deliver on the 17th to fit in with my boss' schedule?!!!

It's true, my boss and i sat down to look over the calender the other day and she actually wanted to schedule my time off when the baby comes. The original agreement was that i was going to work up until J goes into labour and then take 2 weeks off to be home with her and the baby. But the lady that can't schedule her own day wants to have my time off written down. ARGH!!!!! So to work with her plan J would have to Bubala on the 17th so that i get 2 weeks at home with them before going back to work on June 1st. I did try to tell her that it may not work out that way as we can't really decide what day to have the baby, but as she was induced both times she's not getting that. Think i'll have to revisit it with her next week...i know she's a little worried about coverage while i'm gone but there are plenty of people around who would help her out.

In other news the little man is breech. We have 4 weeks to go and the kid is not quite playing along yet. J is following all the midwives advice to try and get him to turn - lots of time inverted or on her hands and knees. She's even seeing a chiropractor 3 times a week. He's using the 'Webster technique' to try and encourage the baby to move. The midwife also mentioned getting him manually turned at 37 weeks, but we're not sure how we feel about that. It's supposed to be pretty uncomfortable and not all babies tolerate it. We go back to the midwife's on Monday and we'll see what happens then. If he's still breech we're going to request an ultrasound so we can get a better idea of his size and see where we want to go from there.

I'm really looking forward to this weekend...we're having a very small low-key baby shower on Sunday. It is going to be so great to get together with the girls, hang out and talk babies!!!

Baby love

For some, others weren't so keen!

I took my charges to a birthday party this afternoon and ended up offering my help to one of the moms there. She was having a hard time balancing her 3 month old with her very jealous 5 year old daughter, so i took the baby for her. Any excuse to get my hands on a little baby! He was so cute and was happy to be held by me and check out all the goings on at the party. My big boy on the other hand wasn't so happy about the arrangement. He'd play for a while, come over and see me with the baby, say 'baby up, me up'. Settle for a hug and go off and play for a while longer, before coming back to repeat the previous routine. He loved playing with the baby's car seat and helped me buckle the baby up once he'd fallen asleep. The other moms at the party were joking about me being the baby whisperer. And those that know that we're having a baby asked if i was getting some practice in. The baby's mom asked if i'd go home with her...i told her i'd love too, but that my boss probably wouldn't be happy.

I didn't make the midwife appointment on Monday as they changed the time because of a emergency c-section. But all checked out well. Bubala was sleeping so his heart rate was 128 bpm until the midwife woke him up with some pokes. He wasn't happy about that and kicked J all the way home! He's now lying transverse, having flipped since the last visit. I had told J to ask whether or not they advise taking evening primrose oil. Of course i hadn't really filled J in on what that question was about and she was a little shocked with the response. The midwife did recommend that she starts taking it, as i'd read that it's supposed to help soften the cervix, so she wrote down doses and dates for taking them. She starts taking them by mouth, then starts inserting them (the part that got me in trouble!) Apparently i'm banned from reading any more pregnancy books and threatened with having my computer taken away. What's a girl supposed to do with all the time i spend waiting for my boss' to get home after the kids are in bed?!

Hospital tour

I made it back from Florida in time to make our hospital tour last night. There were lots of us on the tour, but it was really cool to look around the place. Also a little scary to think that before too long that is where our little one will take his first breath. It makes it all seem so much more real!

I love the hospital. It's pretty small and they don't have a NICU, if that was needed mom and baby would be transferred to a big box place. But it does support our desire for a natural delivery. They have 4 birthing tubs, 2 smaller ones and 2 big ones. The rooms are all private apart from the room where women recover from a c-section. .

The hospital doesn't really have a nursery. All the checks done after birth are done in the delivery room. The baby stays with mom all the time, which is something we wanted. Nurses will take the baby to give you a break if they aren't busy, but i can't imagine wanting him to be away from us.

I'll be able to stay the whole time and they have this pull out chair for me to sleep on. They also don't have official visiting hours but i'm not sure how many people we're going to tell that we're there. J's parents will be there, but i'm not sure that we want to be inundated with visitors. We'll have to see though. Once word gets out that bubala has arrived we may not be able to keep the fans at bay!!

I spent my day off today catching up on jobs around the house and hanging out with my honey. Back to work tomorrow and hopefully it won't take long to get back into the swing of being back in NJ. Hope i don't have to work late as we have a midwife appointment and i'd like to be able to go along.

Florida

The weather here in Florida has finally started to warm up. Yay!!

We're spending our days swimming, playing and driving around on the golf carts. It's been fun but i'm definitely getting ready to head for home. I think the big girl misses having her friends to play with and gets bored with just me and her brother for company.

The little man is wild. You can tell that i had 2 weeks off and his usual boundaries were not enforced. He is also sooo becoming a 2 year old. Learning how to throw tantrums with the best of them ;-) We are frequently not included in 'family' activities as his parents don't want to deal if he has a melt down. The truth is he really isn't that bad, he's a toddler and some of this stuff is to be expected. Some of it can be avoided with a little forward planning.

We went to an event at their beach club the other night. It was a carnival and the poor little guy was so overwhelmed by all the noise, lights and activity. All he wanted was to be carried around and reassured that all was well. At 33 lb that's no longer an easy task and i sure was sore by the end of the night. These kind of club events are so strange to me. I guess it's because i didn't grow up in that kind of environment and really didn't know what a nanny was until i became one. You look around at all the families there and you see the parents, a couple of kids and trailing behind is the nanny, carrying all the kid related stuff or pushing a stroller.

I keep joking that we're being 'voted off of' everything..the beach, the boat, the pool, the club. You name it we've been sent home from it! Hopefully as he gets older they will get over it and he'll be included in more of the activities his sister and parents are doing.

Crazy

The last couple of weeks have been completely crazy. I keep meaning to write it all down but by the time i sit down at the end of the day and check everyone's blogs i'm just too tired to write anything here.

We had major storms in NJ last weekend and this resulted in us having no power for 4 days. It was no fun to have no power, no heat and finally no water. Luckily a friend came over and helped me get the basement ready for all the rain as we knew it was going to flood. I brought most of the baby's things up and was surprised by how much stuff we have already. Everywhere i turned there was more baby stuff and that wasn't even all of it. Anything that was already in plastic tubs stayed in the basement and swam in the few inches of water that accumulated before the generator was set up to keep the pump going. We stayed at the house the first night hoping they would fix the problem quickly, but it wasn't happening so we headed out to warmer places with electricity!

As if dealing with the storm wasn't bad enough poor J has also been pretty sick. What we thought to begin with was a cold ended up being pneumonia that she needed a course of antibiotics to shift. Obviously they couldn't x-ray her to see what was going on, but the dr said that it sounded like she had a fair amount of fluid in her lungs. Luckily it looks like she's finally on the mend and we're really happy about that.

The girls at J's work threw her a surprise baby shower. It was so cute of them to do that and of course bubala got lots of gifts. Some people picked off of our registry. And lots of people gave clothes, luckily mostly in big sizes. We have so many clothes for this kid that we won't need to shop for a couple of years!

We went to the midwives on Monday and had a great visit. I was really excited to hear that the baby is head down and to find out that what we've been feeling is his butt! I kind of thought it was a foot, but it felt too round. Now i know what it is it makes more sense. His heartbeat was 132 beats per minute and as always i loved listening to it. We also heard the placenta working away while she was looking for his heartbeat. The midwife talked a little about the delivery and positions that may be helpful, along with some tips for my role in the whole thing.

Tonight J is at a breast feeding and baby care class that they midwives run. If she didn't go tonight her next chance would have been May 20th, but we thought that may be cutting it to close. As that's our due date!!! I'm down in Florida with work. It's freezing down here, think it was warmer in NJ today. I'll be here for 10 days and am hoping it gets a little warmer soon. I'm going to miss one of our birthing classes but hope to be back in time for the hospital tour. I'm going to write about our class another time as it's definitely been an interesting experience!!

One more sleep

Then my honey will be home. I can't wait to see her and see how much her belly has grown over the last week. Last night she said it felt like she had a basketball under her shirt!

I finally found something cool for Bubala to look at while he's having his diaper changed. I know he's going to be spending lots of time on the changing table and wanted something that was fun and stimulating for him to look at during that time. Thought about a mobile of some sort, but didn't find anything that i really like. While i was flipping through a pregnancy magazine the other day i found these. I think they look so cool and they are supposed to be removable so i can change around the setup and get new ones as the baby gets older.

I spoke to my parents today and asked when i should put in my order from good old Mothercare. There are just a few things that i want for the baby that i can't seem to find here in the States. I hope they aren't planning on bringing much clothing out with them when they come to visit as their case is sure to have lots of baby stuff in it!

We were supposed to go for massages this afternoon as part of a delayed valentines treat. I felt a little guilty going by myself, I'm sure J needs it way more than i do. I enjoyed it anyway and feel very relaxed. So relaxed that i don't really want to get back to the things i need to be doing around the house!

It's the start of another week tmrw - only a little over 11 weeks until we'll meet our little boy!

Kicking Right Along

So, can ya believe we are in the third trimester babe? Time seems to be going so fast. I can't believe our little man is going to be here in like three months! So cool and exciting. Since I am stuck in south due to the stupid snow up north, I have become just like the Brit --stalking everyone's blogs and looking up everything about babies via the internet. Do you know that there is nothing that she doesn't know?!? Seriously, if you have any kind of question, she knows the answer. Just ask... Anyway, so I am looking at what to expect for the third trimester and one of the things they tell you to do is that whole business about finding some time to lie/sit down and count the kicks/movements/etc. I started cracking up because this football player or soccer player doesn't need to wait for me to sit or lay down. He is kicking up a storm. Ten kicks in an hour?! Sheesh, try ten kicks in like three minutes. I can't wait to see this little dude. He is going to come out swinging!

The bummer thing about being stuck in the south is that we are missing our first birthing class. I told the Brit to go solo, but she wasn't having it. So what if you aren't the preggie one babe? I am sure that some sweet person would have taken you under their wing, especially cuz you would've been the token girlie! Either that or you could have paired up with the instructor. Good brownie points. Coincidentally, it is probably good that we are not there. We get to miss the whole boring introduction - what are the fears, what are your concerns, what birth is really like...etc. Hey, I watch tv, plus I live with Ms. Baby Britannica, so I know the real deal. Hearing about it and living it is a different story. Birth plans, shots, eye goop, massaging unmentionable parts, things coming out of your body that I never knew existed.... Yeah, so don't need to worry about that until I am in labor, ya know!

I personally am more concerned with the kind of toys this kid will have. I am all about noisy Fisher Price things. That's only because selfishly those are things that I want to play with..hehe. Yes, I still am a kid at heart. Just saw a commercial for a toy called the Rumble and Learn Driver. It has the cool little steering wheel, a horn and lots of fun car noises. What fun! haha.. The Brit will say, "Sure we can get it hon, just keep it down at grandmas."

I know, see what happens when you are bored? So, one more day of this and back home. Never thought I would actually be craving the normalcy of the work day! Can't wait to see the Brit. Totally miss the massages, hugs and kisses! Ciao for now.

Home Alone

I should be at the airport picking my love up from her trip to FL. Thanks to Mother Nature I'm home alone after finishing up a 32 hr shift at work. She changed her flight so now is not coming home until Saturday. I'm so bummed as i miss her so much. It has been snowing all day and is not supposed to stop until at least mid day tomorrow.

My boss' mom sent us a really cute outfit for the baby. She lives in FL now and i was very surprised when her assistant called to say i needed to go and pick it up. I spent some time last night looking for an appropriate thank you card. I figure we should start stocking up as we will probably have lots to send out over the coming months!

The weather today meant a snow day for the big girl that i take care of. So we've been having lots of fun at home. Her mom tried to convince me to take them to the indoor playground at 4 this afternoon, to which i thought she was nuts. Who wants to be out driving in the snow when you don't have to? Think it was because she wanted me to work late tonight. They have friends coming to dinner, but i was so ready to get home. Being stuck in the house for all that time starts to make me a little crazy! I must have been going crazy as i let the little man go to town with his chocolate pudding. He had a great time playing with it, dumping it out, squeezing it in his fingers and painting with it. Hardly any of it ended up in his mouth but i'm ok with that. Lucky we kept the mess somewhat contained and i hosed him off before his nap then attacked his highchair too.

I've had a few strange conversations regarding the baby this week. My boss is very selective about the people she tells that J and I are having a baby. She didn't tell her FIL and his wife so they were totally surprised when i told them the other day. I thought they knew so hadn't told them before now. Then my boss went on to tell a story about a gay couple who have 2 kids who are now college aged. They have a girl and a boy and apparently the girl was a tomboy and didn't have much of a female influence in the her life. And that now she has a boyfriend she has become much more feminine and they are surprised by it. She then said that it was good that we're having a boy as i won't have to deal with a daughter dating men given what she perceives is my aversion to men! Just because i'm a lesbian doesn't mean i have an aversion to men!

The following day i took the big girl to a birthday party. I was hanging out with the other moms when one that i've known for a number of years come up to me and said 'i heard your news, congratulations.' Then after she asks the due date she says to me 'i had no idea.' I'm like well we don't go around talking about it. But then she lets me know that she's not talking about the baby. More the fact that she didn't know i was gay. Well it's not like i go around broadcasting it!

We have our first child birth class on Saturday. Just hope that J will be back in time!

The Good Times Are Over :(

So, you all have been hearing from the Brit Nanny who has been writing up a storm. Not bad, considering she thinks she doesn't know how to write! Well, now it is my turn. I have to start by saying that I am sitting here watching Law and Order, but really just pouting. My better half had to go back to work! It is so sad. I have gotten so used to her being home, hanging out, chatting, laughing (and selfishly) being doted on. Yes, hon, you are the best little wifey. Almost makes me want to say to you to quit your job. Well, almost! :)

We go for our next Midwives appointment tomorrow. It is fun because you get to hear the heartbeat. It is just such reassurance that everything is going well. Even though the Nanny told you my little secret of sneaking the nurse's stethoscope after hours in order to hear it for myself. hehe..Come on. You are talking to the neurotic who kept peeing on a stick for the first eight weeks, even though we had an ultrasound every week! Oh well, I guess we all have our little idiosyncracies. It really is the little things in life. I mean I was loving life today because we went to the store yesterday to get two new larger bras! It is amazing how great you feel when your boobs have room to breathe. I can only imagine what is going to happen when I am actually breastfeeding...I wonder if my boobs will be bigger than Pam Anderson's?!? Well, I know someone who probably wouldn't mind... ;p

I hope this week goes fast. It is hard to believe it is only Tuesday. It feels like it should be Friday. We are going to see Kathy Griffin in the City this Friday. I think that will be a blast! She cracks me up. Then on Sunday, I leave for Florida. I hope the weather warms up by the time I get there. It should be interesting flying on the plane. I actually had to get an aisle seat (which I deplore), knowing that I will probably have to pee a bazillion times! Hopefully won't be too uncomfortable.

Anyway, not much more to say except I am missing my honey - the best there is!! Get your bottom home soon.

Ciao!

pregnancy weight gain..

Not J's. She is doing so well and has hardly gained anything. But me, that's another story!

I seem to be piling on the pounds and gaining my own belly :-)

I heard the other day that the average Brit eats 30 lbs of chocolate a year. 3 times that of the average American. That is definitely true in our house! J can take it or leave it. Me on the other hand, I have such a sweet tooth. Have to admit that i don't really like American chocolate, but anything else i just can't resist!

This is probably my last day off, although i haven't heard from my boss so am not sure if they are coming back tomorrow or not. Knowing her it's possible that i could end up heading down there myself. I'm spending some time today working on our baby book. J found one online made for families just like ours, so i'm having fun adding all the information and pics.

Back to work...

For J!

I'm lucky enough to be on vacation so don't have to go back until Tuesday or Wednesday, but J headed back to school bright and early this morning. I got to potter around at home getting the laundry and cleaning out of the way before the weekend.

J got 2 snow days thanks to all the snow we got on Wednesday. It snowed non-stop all day, so much snow that J got a bonus snow day on Thursday too. We just hunkered down on Wednesday watching movies, eating some good food and taking long naps. Yesterday we ventured out a little, but mainly stayed close to home.

Now we have the weekend to look forward to. I can't remember the last time i had a full weekend off and thanks for the snow days i get even more time with my honey :-)

Business of being born

We watched Ricki Lake's documentary 'The business of being born' last night. It was very funny and somewhat scary to watch my lovely pregnant wife covering her eyes and declaring some of the deliveries to be gross....um just how does she think Bubala is going to get out of his temporary cozy little home?!

I found it to be really interesting and a little worrying. The amount of interventions scare me and it seems that it's a slippery slope. Once they start you on one drug, it's not long before another is recommended, then another. Before you know it you're being wheeled down for a c-section. I know that J and I have different ideas about what we are comfortable with. When my time comes I would totally consider a home birth with a midwife - minimal intervention in a more private, personal setting. The thought of it totally freaks her out, but i have a few years to keep working on that one ;-) She on the other hand has only a few more months to work out what she wants!

Last week we were at the midwives for our 24 week visit. It feels so great to have past that viable mark. J is doing so well and feeling great. Baby measures just right for his gestation and i love listening to his heartbeat. J has been using the stethoscope at work to check up on him, but i only get to hear him there. We always have to book visits in advance to be sure we get the appointments that work for us and we just started booking them every 2 weeks. Next week we hit the 3rd trimester! Sometimes it feels like the pregnancy lasts forever, but then when i think about being 2/3rds done already it seems to be flying by!

While we were at the midwives we signed up for the child birthing classes that they offer. We start at the end of the month and they run for 5 weeks. The final class includes a tour of the hospital, so that will be good. I'm also hoping that we'll make some friends that are due the same time as us. I already know that we're the only same sex couple on the midwives books, so we know we'll be the only ones representing.

We (or i should probably admit that it's me) are a little too organised when it comes to getting ready for the baby. We have his crib up and i just put together his dresser and it's already filled with clothes. Seriously we have more newborn clothes than he will probably ever wear! Or we won't have to worry about laundry in the first week at least :-) It looks like we are going to have 2 baby showers and i'm putting the word out that we don't want clothes - we'd love books or something from our registry. But i know most people can't resist buying cute little outfits!

The family i work for are heading back to Florida tomorrow and i get to stay home and be the housewife for a week. I can't wait to spend time at home and relax. Looks like we might get a snow day on Wednesday so J may be home for the day too. Yay!!!

Work

My boss arrived back from a night in NYC this afternoon and made a comment about everyone in the house looking tired today...maybe that's because i/we didn't get any sleep last night! Between the 2 kids that i take care of i was up every 2 hours putting one or other of them back to bed. They are both such terrible sleepers and it seems to take me twice as long as it does them to get back to sleep once I've been woken up.

I'm praying that our kid takes after his mommy and is a sleeper!!!

Pics

Check out our gorgeous crib! I am totally in love with it and love walking into the room and looking at it. Other than that the room is still very much serving as guest room / J's closet. It is still going to have to serve those purposes once Bubala is in there, as we need space for people to come and visit from England. But I'm working on a few ideas to make it more kid like.....

I have already been busy with a sewing machine i borrowed. We have curtains and i made a pillow with the extra material. The pillow looks super cute in the glider we picked.

Home

I am so happy to be home. It may be much colder here in NJ but it's definitely exactly where i want to be!

J totally surprised me when i got home. She put the crib together while i was gone. It is so beautiful, I love it. I'm so happy that we picked the one that we did after all the indecision on my part. I'll have to post pics soon, although it looks a little bare right now. Can't wait till our little guy is sleeping in it.

I'm totally exhausted from the traveling and non-stop working but hopefully I'll manage to catch up on some sleep now I'm back in my own bed. I don't have to listen to the baby crying or my boss singing like i did in Florida when our rooms were next to each other!

Better get back to work. I'm supposed to be signing the baby up for school in Sept and looking for a Karate class for the big girl!

FL

I'm down in FL with my boss and the kids for the weekend. I hate being away from home, I miss J so much and don't enjoy working 24/7 while we're here. We have a nightly ritual of me moisturizing J's belly and i really miss that time while I'm here. The night before i came down i got to feel Bubala moving for the first time. I was just telling J that i was going to ask the midwives when we see them next week when I'll be able to feel the baby move and she took my hand and placed it on her belly and said can you feel it? And i did! It was so cool to feel these little rhythmic thumps against my hand. So cute!

In other news I finally picked a crib! I'm sure that I've been driving J mad trying to find the right one for our baby. She claims that they all look the same to her, but i think that is so not true. I've spent hours researching online, looking in stores and talking to some friends that have kids about theirs. I really didn't want one of the combination ones that seem so popular here. I can't imagine using the same bedroom furniture until the kid leaves home. Plus it won't be that long (i hope) before we need it for baby number 2. And they are so huge, it would take up at least half the room and we need to keep some of the furniture that's already in there. I narrowed it down to a couple of choices and we headed to the store to check them out. Of course we ended up with the most expensive one, more than i had originally intended to spend but i think it was a good one. The crib arrived on Thur, after i had already flown to FL, so I'm looking forward to checking it out when i get home. J says we're not allowed to set it up yet, but i can't wait till we can!

I have to confess that I'm really picky when it comes to baby stuff. Poor J, she doesn't stand a chance! I've been a nanny for a really long time . So i have some pretty strong opinions about what i like and what i don't. When we started our registry during our Christmas break i have to admit that i was pretty quick to point her in the direction of the stuff i like. I guess I'm in charge of gear and she's in charge of toys - the brighter and louder the better for J.

Ultrasound

Happy New Year!

We went for our ultrasound on the 30th and man was it so much fun! Our little baby decided to be very stubborn (typical Taurus) and make things hard for us. The ultrasound lasted for over an hour, with the technician jiggling away at J's belly trying to get the baby to flip. Apparently she couldn't get all the measurements that she needed and couldn't get a good look at the legs. It was a little stressful at times as she was so intent and so quiet, but watching the baby move on the screen was so amazing. There were times when i couldn't figure out what we were seeing, but for the most part i could make it out.

J even had to take a break to drink some cold water and move around to try and get the baby to flip. It worked and when the ultrasound started again the baby had moved and finally she gave us the answer we were looking for. Everything looks great with the baby and we found out it's a boy! She printed out some nice pics for us, a couple of nice profile shots and a real cute one of his hand.

We celebrated by heading to the store and picking out some clothes. We spent a fortune picking out little outfits, but we had fun. He is certainly going to be a very well dressed kid :-)

Then we had to go see the Dr at our midwives practice as there were no appointments with any of the midwives. It's good that we are getting to see everyone at the practice, but neither of us enjoyed the visit. He went over again our decision not to do any prenatal tests, even though our records say we declined them and had us in and out really quickly. Everything looks good and that's what matters most!

Our time off is coming to an end. We're both headed back to work on Monday. It's crazy how quickly time has flown. We managed to get together with friends and spend lots of time together. I started on the curtains for the baby's room as i have a feeling this may be my last time off before the baby comes.

J's belly is really starting to grow and she's feeling the baby more and more. He really gave her a hard time after the ultrasound as he wasn't impressed with all the prodding! She's been having a hard time sleeping as she can't get comfortable, so is catching sleep while she can before she has to get back to work. She has acupuncture today, so hopefully that will help.