Offspring Update

Jamie is doing really well. He was sleeping in his new toddler bed for the longest time, and even started using a pillow. He had almost 2 months of teething his molars which caused some serious sleep issues. Nobody ever told me it could cause such problems! I was worried it was something we were doing. But for the last 3 days he's gone for a daily nap and to bed at night pretty much voluntarily and didn't cry at all! It makes life so much easier. He hasn't demanded to play in the middle of the night either, and last night he woke up and put himself back to sleep.

A couple of weeks ago, he decided he didn't want to sleep in his bed anymore, and moved his pillow and blanket to the narrow space between the foot of our bed and the wall/corner of the room. The mattress fits perfectly there, so we moved his mattress, got a new mattress for the bed (convertible crib/toddler bed) to see if he wanted to keep using his bed, and he hasn't looked back. He likes the floor. So we'll use the crib for Renna and when we move we'll get a twin bed for Jamie. He should be ready by then.

Jamie crawls up and down stairs by himself, and will walk up and down them if holding someone's hand. He walks like a pro and thankfully has stopped falling down from being uncoordinated. He also runs, which is highly cool. He can just barely reach doorknobs now, but can't turn them yet.

We're already potty training him. He tells us when he has to pee on a pretty regular basis, but doesn't tell us about the other yet. This is the only way to solve his diaper rash since it's because of his super sensitive skin and not from the poo itself. I'm very impressed with him that he's done so well and really taken to this potty training business.

Renna is growing well and I have only 7 weeks until my due date. We've decided to do a home birth. I found a midwife, and Louise will still be my doula even though now she'll have to drive an hour and a half to get here. I'm looking into getting a pool and laboring in the water, and maybe doing a water birth. All of this came about after a bad visit with the OB. She said some things that were completely counter to what she had been saying before. I know sometimes she gets crabby if she feels like she's not being given the proper amount authority and recognition. I just didn't need to worry about her mood when in labor and didn't want to have to fight with her about not doing unnecessary interventions. A vbac is healthiest and safest for both Renna and me and the safest place to labor and birth is in the home whether it's a vbac or regular vaginal birth. When Michael found out I wanted to go to the hospital only because of insurance and cost reasons, he was not happy with me. He wanted a home birth just like I did, but thought I wanted to be in the hospital just in case there was a need for an emergency c-section. And since the time it would take to get me into the OR is the same whether I'm laboring in the hospital with a surgeon on call or coming in from 5 minutes away is still a minimum of 20 minutes, it doesn't help to be in the hospital. I'm really very comfortable with this decision and I like the midwife. I am so much healthier and more comfortable in this pregnancy than I was at this point with Jamie. I really look forward to being able to give birth without extensive interference from impatient doctors.