Oh baby...

You know, it is impossible to be grumpy when a little boy wakes you up with a song filled with gibberish that ends with "e-i-e-i-e-i-oooo", then puts a can of soup in Daddy's back pack so he has lunch. :-) Liam has only been throwing away his own diapers, grabbing a diaper and wipes when it's changing time. He's kind of using the potty. And my god, the words! Daddy, Mommy, yes, yeah, yep, no, kitty, cars, cheese, bubby, baby (while pointing at my belly), bobbyboo (belly button), boobies (we've had to define 'boobies' because he likes to use mine as handholds to climb up on the couch with me. Ow!)... and so many others. And he knows what everything is. It's amazing. I can tell him we can have the cheese that's in the fridge, and he runs to the fridge door hollering "cheeeese!". He's helping get himself dressed, though he is far better at stripping himself naked. His favorite activity is playing outside, but hopping in the bath tub is absolutely a close second. I just love watching him grow.

But, boy, am I feeling the baby itch! I can't wait to nurse a newborn and buy a mountain of cloth diapers. We're going with the Flip system this time. For a few reasons. Yes, they're more expensive. But, they are one size, so baby can wear them until they are potty trained, and Liam can even use them if he's not potty trained by then. You can get disposable inserts for them, which will make Seth happy, and be convenient if we're out or one of the babies is with Grandma for a bit. And, my grocery store sells inserts- both cloth and disposable. So God forbid the washer has an issue, we know we can get inserts real fast. And I've found that the Flip and GDiaper stuff has the highest resale value. Oh! And the Flip accomodates regular old prefolds, which are crazy cheap. I'm also going to make fleece liners, because we had the easiest time with those with Liam since they wicked away moisture. He would freak if he was the slightest bit damp, so we'll get more use out of them if they have the liner.

We got into the CSA I was hoping for and our first pick up at the farm is this Friday. Since the hours are 1-5pm, we'll go do that, then pick Daddy up from work. I can't wait for fresh veg and freshly picked salad greens. YUM! Other CSAs in the area do pick ups at that farm, so we're looking into a dairy one as well as a bread and pork one. but we'll see. The veggie one is cheap, which was our deciding factor. If the others ones are too pricey, we'll pass. I can get just as good, local products right at our grocery store.

We should know on the 11th what we're having. It's early for a Level 2 ultrasound, but with the diabetes, they are doing it early. But you know what? I've been controlling my glucose just fine without medical intervention, and I'm refusing the insulin. I've got this. :-) My morning numbers are a little bit high, but I am willing to start taking a Metformin at night to stop that. So, all is well with Baby Jacobs and I'll reveal the gender once we know.

So. Baby Gear.

What are we buying for new baby? Not much. We bought soooo much crap last time that did not get used. Like the swing we paid $100 for in a moment of "omgwillthischildeverstopcrying" and then he hated.. and we waited too long to return.. and ended up giving it away. My sister got the exact same one... and her kid hates it too. Our list this time is so short.

We're going with this bassinet. It is awesome! It is a bassinet, bedside sleeper, in-house carrier, and changing station, all-in-one, and has storage. It also has vibration, sounds, and a built in nightlight. Our plan while I'm healing is for me to sleep in the recliner at night. Easier to nurse, easier to get up and out of, and it lets the guys sleep uninterrupted in the bedroom. And once baby and I are back in the family bedroom, I can just lift out the carrier and come out into the living room if baby is awake and/or fussy. I also like that if we stay over somewhere, we can just take the carrier part for baby to sleep in. Which, after the last hotel we stayed in unexpectedly, due to inclement weather, provided a dirty playpen as a 'crib', is effin important.

We won't need a crib. Liam got gifted a toddler bed, so new baby can have the crib eventually. We just need a mattress for it. Once Liam outgrows the toddler bed, little baby can have that, and then the crib converts into a full size bed for Liam, so we'll just need a mattress again. So our only bed purchases for these kids will be 1 crib mattress, 1 full mattress, and then a twin bed when little baby is big enough to need one. And we likely won't need to actually buy any of that. We have enough family that will at some point be getting rid of any of those things.

We're getting an infant carrier carseat. We only used Liam's for a couple of months and then went with a convertible style because we found the carrier one cumbersome and awkward. Putting him in a sling or whatever was much easier. With two kids, a sling may not always be an option. Bending over = baby hits the floor. Plus we're having this one in winter as well and who knows if this winter will be as mild as the last. We're planning on getting one of those fleece carseat cover things (Snuggle Me I think they're called) in lieu of a snow suit. Dealing with Liam in a snow suit was a disaster last year.We still have his, and we'll always keep it in the car with us, just in case, but with those fleece things, we won't really need it much. I'm pretty sure baby won't freeze on the 30 second walk into the store or grandma's house. I refuse to buy car seats pre-owned because you just never know the history of them. BTW, completely unrelated, our grocery store has 6 or 7 parking spots right up by the store doors specifically for "Parents with Children". How cool is that?

Clothes will all be yard sale and thrift store finds. We did pretty much the same thing with Liam. Most of the new stuff he got was either bought by other people or found on clearance if new. He completely skipped the 3-6month size, so we'll buy as we need as much as we can with this one. This summer I'll be doing probably $100/month for yard sale stuff. If I don't use all that, we'll just bank the extra.

Nursing pillow. I may buy this used, but I want to go to the store and try some out to see what I like best. I'm too fat to wear the Boppy one comfortably, but there are so many other options. So we'll see.

Things I'm going to be on the lookout for, and specifically want to buy used:
Double stroller
Portable high chair (we have one for Liam but I want one that can be used for an infant too)
Swing like the one we had for Liam. The seat was a detachable bouncer chair. Definitely a space saver. I got his used and the motor eventually died. But we certainly got our $40 out of it.
Swaddle Me blankets for swaddling. So much easier than the receiving blanket method.

So, maybe $300 worth of stuff? Less if I can find most of this stuff at yard sales and the like. If we have another boy, we won't even need clothes because I've been sending all Liam's outgrown stuff to my sister, and I can just get things back as her little guy outgrows them.

School. Classes are good. Easier than expected. Yay! I'm planning to do the fall term but prearrange extensions with my instructors since I'm due a week prior to courses ending and I'll likely not go full term.


Life as a whole is great right now. I'm still having some issues. Mostly with controlling anger. Not that I'm beating my kid or husband or anything. I just seethe sometimes and it's unhealthy. I'm looking into therapy. I have 3 free sessions through the EAP Seth gets at work, but I want to budget for weekly sessions and we're a little ways from being able to spend the $400/month on that since our insurance doesn't cover it. But, with the weather and noticing these cool things about Liam, and our finances getting better... the depression is lifting. Thankfully. There's been a few times I've considered being hospitalized. I'm not suicidal or anything. It's just not fair to bring my family on the depression trip with me. They don't deserve it.

Well, that's all from me. :-)