Q & A

I got a few questions in response to my call for post topics & ideas, so I thought I’d answer them here.  I’ll also plan to do a few more day-in-the-life posts since a few people requested them.

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How are you prepping for baby #2?

I wrote this post about what I’m doing to prep for baby #2.  I’ve made a ton of progress on both of those lists, but still have a few things to do (pack hospital bag, install carseat, get basinet ready, freezer meals, get organized). But, I  feel like I have a lot to do mentally? I want to get Emerson back in school in September, and then want to focus on yoga, preparing my body for labor (will probably do the dates, raspberry leaf tea, and borage oil again), and a few other things like making a playlist, reading some birth stories, and doing some meditation at night with the Calm app. Anything I’m missing?

How are you prepping Emerson for baby #2?

As far as prepping Emerson, we’ve just been talking about baby a lot and how babies need mom’s attention and  cry, etc. I’ve been giving her summaries of what is going to happen (Grammie will come, mom will go to the hospital, we’ll get to bring the baby home, etc.).  That,  along with feeling baby’s kicks, has seemed to help her understand that this is real! My mom also got her a bunch of books, but she’s refusing to read anything other than Angelina books right now:)  The two Daniel Tiger episodes about the new baby are also really good! Lastly, I’m planning to do some special dates with her (nails, ice cream, etc) in the coming weeks to give her extra attention. Oh, and I’m planning to get her a gift from baby and vice versa!

How is your birth plan different this time around?

In terms of a formal birth plan, I’d say it’s the same as last time – limit all interventions except for the epidural.  My hospital also offers laughing gas, so I may try that as well if labor is going quickly or if I’m in terrible pain waiting for the epidural.  My biggest take-aways from last time are don’t wait to call my doula or and don’t wait to ask for the Epidural, especially if I’m on Pitocin. [Read my birth story with Emerson here: Part One, Part Two.]  I’d really like to avoid being induced again, but also feel less opposed to it this time around because it seems I’ll have more choices in the process (such as stripping membranes, just trying a little Pitocin, pausing the Pitocin, ect.)  My doctor and hospital were great in Dallas, but it sounds like I will have a bit more say in things at my new practice/hospital versus last time when I just got the you’re a first time mom;  you don’t know what you’re talking about and induction could take days look. Of course, there could be an emergency and all this goes out the window.

Thoughts on working vs staying at home

This topic could probably use it’s own post, but I’ve touched on it in previous posts such as The Mental Load.  For me, staying home right now makes the most sense and the main reasons for that are:

• Matt’s job is demanding and involves travel (also see Mental Load post above)
• Now that #2 is on the way, the cost of daycare for two children would almost be more than my salary as a learning specialist or school psychologist in NC
• Every mom/family is different and this works best for my personality/parenting/how I handle stress (and I realize it’s an incredible privilege for me to be able to say this!)

That being said, if we still lived in Dallas and I hadn’t had to quit my job, I’d probably still be working part-time. In a perfect world, I think part-time work is the best case scenario for me and I had an incredible set-up with childcare on site at my school in Dallas.  I still get sad thinking about giving up the perfect role in order for Matt to take his current job, but that’s what made the most sense for our family at the time. My general plan is to look for something similar once this new baby is in school in a few years, as I can’t really imagine staying home indefinitely.  The contract work I did  this past spring was great for me to use my degree and connect with others, so I know it’s best for my sanity to have something outside of mom-ing.  Even just working on Beautycounter newsletters, answering emails from clients about products, and blog stuff has motivated me with new goals/challenges. So yeah, to summarize: I’m very fortunate that I don’t need to work full-time right now but will also plan to continue some type of non-mom part-time work once I adjust to life with two kiddos. A big shout out to Matt for working way more hours than he probably wants to so that I can stay home.

How do you prep for weeks when Matt’s traveling?

Luckily, Matt only travels for 1-2 nights at a time and gets home late on the second/ third night, so I only have do do shorter stretches without him (versus when he was in consulting and was gone the whole week). The main thing I do when I know he’s going to be traveling is meal plan ahead of time and prep things that are fast and easy for dinner: Banza mac & cheese with chicken sausage and veggie, TJ’s cauliflower pizza crust topped with veggie, piece of salmon on the skillet, or healthy takeout. Em is old enough now that finding time to make dinner isn’t that tough  – it’s more than I’ve been super tired since being pregnant and don’t always have the energy to cook dinner at the end of the day.  I also always do grocery shopping on weekends (or do Amazon Prime Now if we can’t make it) and mostly do laundry on weekends (or never fold the clothes and get dressed each morning at the dryer:)) Matt’s work schedule is such that he’s really only home in time for dinner and putting Emerson to bed, so I’m used to doing the morning routine and everything else on my own anyway. The bigger deal for me when he’s traveling is not having our TV/catch-up time/a companion to look forward to at night and not being able to sleep well since being traumatized by an attempted break-in back when we lived in Dallas:(

Let me know if you have other questions and I can round them up for a post in a couple of weeks. Thanks for reading:)