She has arrived!!!!

Baby Watch 2013 is OVER! Little One arrived on Feb. 7, 2013 at 9:37 pm!  After about 24 hours of labor, the decision was made to deliver her via emergency c-section.  Labor was an amazing (and, yes, painful) experience.  I was determined to try and make it through the whole ordeal (before c-section was ordered) without pain meds, but sadly could not.  I got to about 5 cm and then I requested to have an epidural.  Although Little One's birth did not go according to plan, Hubby and I are thrilled the decision was made.  Little One's umbilical cord was wrapped tightly around her neck twice and she did not seem inclined to want to be delivered (she wasn't moving despite my pushing at 10 cm!). Generally, a nuchol chord causes no issues and is relatively common, however, it was a scary experience, nonetheless.   In fact, I have read in several places that it is a myth that a baby can be choked by his or her own umbilical cord because babies in the womb do not breath the same way you and I do.

Little One is a little over two weeks old and continues to amaze us all.  She started to hold her head up at a week and we have noticed her trying to push up on her arms at times.  She seems to be a strong little lady and I look forward to tracking her developmental milestones as I notice them.    We have completely used up our newborn disposable diapers and have moved to cloth diapering.  We do plan to pick up some additional size 1 disposable diapers to keep on hand and carry in the diaper bag (just seems easier to us), but while I'm hanging out mainly at home at this point, we're using mainly cloth.

I have also tried my hand at baby wearing and have found the Maya Wrap to be my favorite sling.  I plan to swap my other slings and carriers on SwapMamas because they just don't seem to work for me.   So far, my maternity leave has been enjoyable and I am already starting to dread going back to work.  I love being home and find my days to be productive and enjoyable.  I am starting to think about how I am going to balance being a full time working mom versus a working mom who has children in her home two days at a time. It certainly will be an adjustment and I hope I'm prepared for it.

What the sugar?!

We're still on baby watch at my house.  I've had a contraction here and there and few days where I felt down right miserable (and, according to my family, was acting like a crazy person), but nothing that says, "Little One will be here TODAY."  So, we continue to play the waiting game.  So far, I've put my nesting to good use.  Clean car?  Check!  Car seat installed?  Check!  Baby's room organized?  Check!  Living room vacuumed?  Check!  Also took the time to make, from scratch, (a feat my father would be in awe of) a chocolate cake with some fluffy white frosting.  While I didn't do all this TODAY, it has been accomplished since I've been on leave waiting for this baby.

I'm blessed to be able to do some work from home during this time, which I made use of all last week.  I have a few things to work on this week while I wait also.  Also found the time to blog, which has been nice.  Last week I posted about baby-wearing and was surprised how many hits (but no comments) that generated.  I wonder if the folks who read were pro or against the practice and if they had anything they'd like to add.  I was surprised baby-wearing received more hits than cloth diapering.  Maybe because cloth diapering has become relatively trendy and baby-wearing is still considered to be taboo by some.  Who knows?!

Today when Hubby and I went in for the prenatal appointment, Dr. scheduled an induction for next Tuesday, just in case Little One does not make her appearance before then.  Hubby keeps telling me I am hording the baby, LOL.   Today, I completed our income taxes as far as I could until I receive all of our I9's.  Hopefully they get here soon so I can get them mailed and get our refund as quick as possible.  That extra money will be helpful, given our current financial situation.  We have a specific use planned for our tax refund.  What do you do with yours?

Baby Wearing Anyone?!

As Little One's arrival draws near, I wanted to touch on the subject of baby wearing.  Like cloth diapers, this is on of those topics people seem to have strong opinions about.  If done improperly, baby-wearing can be dangerous for your child.  However, if done correctly, there are many, many benefits to this old practice.  I am one of those folks who believes, although children should have lots of tummy time and lots of time to explore their world at their own pace, children should also have lots of contact with their parents.    Some of benefits of baby-wearing include:

• less crying
• greater amount of learning about their world
• greater level of emotional organization and regulation
• promotion of attachment
• Allows greater freedom in your own movement

I am very excited to give this a try and have either swapped or purchased several different types of carriers and slings to try.  Here are the types I have so far:

• Maya Wrap:  This seems to be the one which I will prefer (of course, I won't know until Little One gets here and I can try it out for real) because it is adjustable. 
• Seven Sling:  I was really excited about these when I first saw them because they seemed so easy.  You order based on their sizing, however, I have heard from many baby-wearers these slings seem to run small and their sizing does not seem very accurate. The reviews for them have not been very positive and hope that I didn't make a mistake in purchasing this sling.  
• Peanut Shell Classic:  This sling is not adjustable but the sizing was much easier than the Seven Sling.  It is important to make sure you order the correct size or it will not fit properly.  The reviews have been positive for this sling, so I'm very excited to try it out. 

My biggest mistake when ordering my slings was that I ordered based on my size and weight at the beginning of my pregnancy.  Because of this, I will not be able to use my Seven Sling nor my Peanut Shell Classic until some of the baby weight has come off.  Luckily for me, I plan to breast feed, which can help with that! 

For those of you new to the idea of baby-wearing who want to learn more, here are some of the websites I consulted while trying to decide if I would become a baby-wearer:

• http://babywearinginternational.org/
• http://wearyourbaby.com/

If you are interested in baby wearing but don't want to spend the dough on expensive slings, here are some DIY sites:

• http://www.inhabitots.com/diy-wrap-baby-carriers/
• http://www.mammasmilk.com/makeasling
• http://craftingagreenworld.com/2010/08/16/crafty-babywearing-101-recreate-your-favorite-baby-carriers/

Enjoy and happy baby wearing!