Prepping for Peanut...Part 1

Chris and I had always planned to have our kids share a room for the first few years at least.  We do have a third bedroom, but wanted to keep it as an office/guest room.  So, now begins the task of getting the nursery set up for both Ginny and her new sister, Lil' Miss Peanut. Since I feel the need to nest, it is only appropriate that we get started on this now.  Luckily, I have an accommodating and forgiving husband. :)

Here are some current pictures of the nursery (please excuse the blur):

"Full" room view

Straight on from the door to window

The far wall

We need to fit in a toddler bed to this room now. Ginny is currently 16 months old. We plan on having Peanut sleep in our room for the first 4-6 months. By the time the baby goes into the nursery full time, Ginny will be at least 22 months and ready for a toddler bed. Peanut will go into the crib (which will convert to a toddler bed in the future).

The room isn't particularly large, but I figure it can be done. One of the first things we did was remove the book shelf.  The plan is to replace the bookshelf with floating shelves and possibly a narrow, small bookcase. I'm getting very excited about moving things around.

Last night I was able convince my lovely husband to move some of the furniture around. Here was the result:

Straight on from the wall

As you can see here, there were no major changes along the wall; however, I plan to move the changing table/dresser against the wall right next to the window. The toy chest, that Ginny's Grandpa Scott made, will be moved to the wall where the changing table currently is.  I believe this will be a better fit over all.

The far wall

Here you can tell that the book case has been removed. We intend to move the table and chairs out of the room (unless we can find a new spot for them) and put the toddler bed there.









The room is just at the beginning stages of change.  I'm hoping to put up the floating shelves soon. As the title suggests, this is only part 1.  I imagine I will have several more updates on the room in the future.

A Birth Plan?

In just 12 weeks (more or less), I will be delivering Lil' Miss Peanut via a scheduled c-section.  I know this as I have known it since I was 24 years old. Ginny was delivered by c-section and so will this new baby.  The date of the c-section hasn't been set and will likely not be set for at least another 6 weeks. I do know that my doctor likes to have a scheduled c-section when the patient is 39 weeks. I will be 39 weeks on November 3rd, a Saturday.

One thing I heard a lot about when I was pregnant with Ginny was having a birth plan.  Most birth plans apply to those who are having a vaginal birth. It is understanding why women (and their spouses) would want to have a sense of control over the birth of their child.  However, how could I have a birth plan? I'm having a c-section after all. I did learn that some women do go into a c-section with a birth plan.  It amazed me, especially considering this was a surgical procedure.

My options during the c-section are severely limited due to my prior abdominal surgery in my 20s.  For example, some women request dissolvable stitches. I do not have that option. When I heard of that, I asked my doctor about them. However, she didn't feel that they would hold well enough over prior stitches, etc.  So, I had to go with staples because they hold things better. Honestly, they weren't that bad and didn't hurt much coming out. I found, through my experience, that I was fine with how my doctor planned the delivery as well as my husband and my role in it. I did NOT want to see the baby delivered. I can't handle seeing that much blood and didn't want to see my belly all opened up. No thank you. I'll pass on that. My DH didn't want to see it either and was happy to pass on cutting the cord to the professionals.  He didn't feel like he missed out in any way.

Chris was able to watch as Ginny was measured and weighed. He even had the camera and took pictures so I could see it later.  Once Ginny was cleaned up and her eyes treated, Chris held her next to me until they finished up on me. From there, the nurse handed Ginny to me and rolled me to my room.

The hospital we will be having Peanut is the same one where we had Ginny. They are very breastfeeding focused and family-centered.  Heck, all their nurses in the birth center are lactation certified.  Again, this leaves me with little concerns adding requests to a birth plan. Not only do they make your room the pre-op and recovery room (so no changing rooms, period), they also make sure they get you started breast feeding right away with assistance, once you are in your room again.

So, our birth plan has taken on a different tone. Our birth plan deals with arranging what we want and need to happen before we go to the hospital and when we come home. Of course, I can't make concrete plans until we know when I will deliver our baby girl.  However, my parents will be coming up to help out with the new baby and Ginny. They will be here at least the day before I deliver and will stay a few weeks to help out. They are left hanging in limbo right now due to not knowing the date of my c-section.  I've told them that I wouldn't be surprised if we had this baby on November 1, based on the fact that my doctor does most surgeries on Thursdays.  However, we do not know if that will be the date or not.  We are quite grateful that my parents will be coming though. It will be nice knowing that Ginny will be taken care of while I'm giving birth and that Chris can be with me.

Our biggest concern and issue is what happens if I go into labor before the scheduled c-section??  Will I have to go into the c-section alone, without Chris? After all, someone needs to take care of Ginny. The closest family from us are some cousins and aunts and uncles who all live at least 2 hours away.  We have no close friends in the area either. We don't know what we'll do if that happens. Chris wants to be with me to see our new baby and to support me; however, without someone close to look after Ginny, I may be forced to give birth alone.  All I can do, I suppose, is pray that this baby doesn't decide to come early.

Marching on the Beat of My Own Drummer

I have always marched to the beat of my own drummer politically.  Since I was 15, it became clear to my family and me that I was liberal and a Democrat.  My ideas formed on my own through things I learned in school (and no, my teachers were not teaching political ideology, but my education made me more aware of the world around me), people I interacted with, and the experiences I had.  I figured others that I was around must think as I do because they were exposed to many of the same things. It quickly became apparent that my assumption was quite wrong. Many of my high school friends were quite conservative. However, that did not alter my ideas and position.

I remember the 1988 election and staying up for the election results. At that time, I was a senior in high school, but I was unable to vote because I had only just turned 17.  I hoped and prayed for a Dukakis win.  After he lost, I found myself a bit depressed for a couple of weeks, worrying about how things would turn out.  I finally resigned myself to have George H. W. Bush as our president.  Since things wouldn't change for at least four years, I would give him a chance and hope for the best.  That isn't to say that I liked him and what he did as president, but I also did not hate him from day one of his presidency and start counting down to the next election.

When I got to college, the University of Kansas, I finally found a place I felt at "home." I was around a diverse group of people from all walks of life and ideologies.  I didn't agree with everyone, but at the same time I finally found people who liked my thoughts and agreed with what I had to say on politics. It was heaven in that sense.

One thing that always stands out to me are the people who would tell me, when I was younger, that being liberal was a phase. That, I would, at some point, "see the light" and become more conservative and a Democrat.  Those people were wrong.  I'm still a liberal and a Democrat. The main thing that did change is that I converted to Catholicism 12 years ago.  My views have altered a bit as well. The wonderful thing about being an adult is realizing that issues are not a matter of black and white. There are lots of greys and subtle nuances than need to be considered.

In recent years, I have tried to avoid most political discussions. It usually brings up my blood pressure. I will admit to taking many issues quite personally.  The reason? Well, there are some issues I don't consider political. I consider them a matter of basic human dignity and rights.  Additionally, there are other issues that I don't see as easily solved by legal/political means, but rather need other steps to solve the problems and curtail them.

Unfortunately, I still deal with people today who only see black and white to an issue. I guess that is okay because that is how they think. When I do get into discussions, I try to be respectful with others without resorting to personal attacks, although at times it is tempting to do so.

Recently, I got into a bit of a debate around the issue of childhood vaccination. I won't get into the actual argument on here; I don't think that is important.  What I do feel is important is how the argument upset me a great deal, to the point that I have left the group for a "break." Whether or not I come back is something I will consider, most likely, after the Presidential election (I'm trying to avoid stress and the room is full of very conservative women).  The argument was a back and forth discussion on whether vaccinations should be given to our children or not.  I brought up a couple of points that did not sit well with a few women. It got to be about an attack against me rather than about the points I made. So, instead of losing my cool, I decided to step away and leave the group. I don't mind others disagreeing with me, but personal attacks do not sit well with me.  After I left the group, I have found out that these women accused me of being something I wasn't. Because I disagreed with them on a detail by seeing the grey areas, I was suddenly tagged as being someone I'm not.

I am hurt by this and angered.

It becomes tempting to go back in and defend myself, but I don't see the point. What I wonder is why do people feel it necessary to get personal when the discussion has no need to go there? Is this what is happening in our country more and more? If you disagree with them, you start to bully them? I must admit, being liberal and a Dem, I'm used to this line of attack from others. I have faced it most of my life now. It won't change my mind though. Luckily, I married a man (a conservative Republican) who accepts me as I am whether he agrees or not.  I wish others could treat me with the same respect he does and some other close friends of mine.

Despite all of this, though, I'm proud of the woman and person that I am today. I'm glad that I walk to the beat of my own drummer.