Welcome to the World Oliver Alan

Captain Destructo and his parents want to introduce you to Oliver Alan, the newest boy to enter the Destructo family.  He was born Monday, March 24th at 4:17 PM after about five and a half hours of labor.  I did get my natural birth for those who were wondering.  He weighed 7 lbs 14 oz and was 19 3/4 inches long.  We are so in love and so very tired.  Sorry for the quiet on the blog.  I hope within a few weeks to get back to posting Destructo's adventures more regularly.

Week 39: Watermelon

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The fruit of the week really makes me anxious for summer gardening.  I had never planted cantaloupe or watermelon until last year and they did really well.  I look forward to planting them again this year.

How far along: 39 weeks. 

Total weight gain:  Up 30 pounds.  At one point it was up 32 pounds, but last night when I weighed myself I was back down two pounds.  

 Maternity clothes:  Yes.  Not many of those even fit me anymore.  My belly is always hanging out.

 Stretch marks:  They are all over my hips and butt even onto my upper legs.  

 Sleep:  I was incredibly queasy last weekend and discovered that Dramamine really makes me sleep well.  So I sleep crappy the nights I don't take it and pretty good the nights I do.  

Best moment of this week:  Well the week is only half over so hopefully having a baby will be the best moment.  If not, probably just chilling with Destructo.  I have been staying close to home just in case I go into labor.  With Destructo being malpositioned and this being my second baby, I truly have no idea what labor will be like since Kai's was so far from normal.  I don't want to get too far away and have labor start fast and furious when I am out with Kai.  Plus the weather has been gorgeous so we have been going for lots of walks so he can ride his bike.  And by walks, I mean waddles in my case.

Miss anything:  Knowing with a fairly good degree of certainty I am not going into labor when I lay down to go to sleep at night.  I hate the uncertainty of everything.  Plus the having to line up who is coming to take care of Destructo each and every night sucks.  So I guess I miss the relative certainty that is life.

Movement:   Quieter than normal especially today.  He has barely moved today.  He was pretty active last night so apparently he wore himself out.

Food cravings:  Cherry slushes from Sonic.  My hubby brought me one home the other night and I have had to have one each day since.  Pure sugar I am sure, but so delicious.  

Have you started to show yet:  I am huge.  End of story.  In fact, maybe I will even include a picture.

Yep looks like a watermelon to me

Gender:  Baby boy who will probably never have a name other than knowing it will be a Biblical name.  

 Labor signs:  Tons of them.  I was 3 cm dilated and 80% effaced at my appointment on Wednesday.  I had timeable contractions Thursday evening for two hours, but then they went away.  I have had other gross labor signs we won't blog about.  And tons of contractions and cramping, but nothing regular as of yet.  

 Belly button in or out:  Out yuck.  I actually don't think it can get any further out.  Mr. Destructo is fascinated with poking it and it makes me irate.

Wedding rings on or off:  Off.  My hands and feet are both quite swollen and now even my face and upper arms is a bit swollen.  

Happy or moody most of the time:  Happy  but anxious.  I want  life to settle into a routine again.  Plus I am tired of uncertainty.  I get quite angry/moody when I am really having contractions and uncomfortable but luckily then it passes and life moves on.  I will still take this a thousand times over compared to Destructo's birth because I am making progress with not a ton of discomfort.  I was in hard active labor for days just to get to a 3 with Destructo and I am sitting at a 3 (and hopefully even more) with just minor annoyances.  I hope this continues.

Sign up to join in the Carnival of Natural Mothering in April

Join us April 1st in the Carnival of Natural Mothering.  This month's topic is what you wish you knew.

Remember when you got your first positive pregnancy test? What do you wish that woman knew? Write a letter of love and encouragement to that awesome mama just starting her journey.

I have written a post similar to this a year or so ago, but am going to add my thoughts to it about pregnancy a second time around with a toddler.  

Sign up by March 30th over at Growing Slower.

I have curbside recycling!!!

Since we have lived in our house, I have wanted to have curbside recycling service.  Where we live you pay for trash pick up and the like.  It isn't provided by the city.  There are all different companies and they are all individually owned.

The recycling places where I could drop off were both 20 minutes away and not convenient at all.  I contended myself with bringing aluminum cans and plastic to work where they had recycling bins.  Bags and egg cartons went to the grocery store.  But I still wanted to do more.

When I quit my job to be a stay at home mom, it was making me crazy to throw everything away.  So I struck a deal with Mr. Destructo that I would go back to regular non organic milk and get recycling service.  It is 130 a year and they will pick up on my curb twice a month.  

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I don't mind giving up the milk since Destructo is dairy sensitive anyways and doesn't drink cow's milk sticking with coconut milk or almond milk.  I like the way the organic milk from Aldi's tastes, but it isn't something I can live without since I don't really drink it either outside of pregnancy since I am also dairy sensitive.  The cost difference more than pays for my recycling.  

So right now I have three giant trash bags of recyclables laying around and can start keeping even more once I get the recycling can.  I can't wait.  If I can get my composter set up, I might be able to drastically reduce our trash going into the land fills.  Yay for positive changes.

38 weeks, 5 days

I really don't have much time left.  I have all the baby stuff sitting at the front door ready to go.  I should just put it in the car, but I am hoping to maybe take the car and vacuum it inside tomorrow as it is filthy.  Brand new car and it looks like a gold fish, chicken nugget, toddler explosion has gone off in it.

My hospital bag is packed and ready to go in my closet complete with toiletries.  Kai's bag is more or less packed.  That one is kind of hard though since the weather is flip flopping violently between warm and cold.  I packed it for cool weather, but whoever takes him might have to repack.  Or maybe I will when I am in early labor and give myself something to do.  My other crap I can't pack until the last minute list is also made and on my night stand.  You know the important things like cell phone and charger and the almighty lap top.

Now if I could only figure out when to go to the hospital.  My labor with Destructo was so screwed up that I can't base anything on that.  If you haven't read my birth story with him, you can read it here.  I don't even really know what a contraction that isn't solely back labor feels like.  Plus he was malpositioned and this is what caused the failure to progress.  Thus far this baby is properly positioned.  (Please stay that way baby, please.)

So I can truly say I am more anxious about this birth than I was a first time mom.  Although I am much less anxious about breastfeeding and having a newborn again so I guess it balances out.  I keep having all kinds of delivering in the car or my bath tub or having to labor for a thousand hours horror scenarios going through my mind.  

For now, I am just focusing on getting done as much decluttering, cleaning, organizing my house as I can since I know it will be much tougher after I have a newborn and toddler running around.  I have made such great progress since I started staying at home.  My house hasn't been this clean in year.  

I am trying to spend as much fun time as I can with Destructo while I still can devote my undivided attention to him.  I will never again be able to dedicate my all to him (or any baby.)  Plus I figure getting him out now is good since I doubt we will get out as much when newbie gets here.

I am also bouncing on my birthing ball non stop.  Bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce goes the pregnant lady.  Sitting on it and rolling on it really helps my aching back.  

I am quite excited though to see if this baby looks anything like Destructo did as a newborn.  And if he has hair or not.  What type of baby he is.  If he is a bit more calm than Captain Destructo.  Only time will tell.

Guest Posts Wanted

If you follow this blog, you know I am about to pop out a baby any day now.  I am looking for some fellow natural living/parenting bloggers who might wish to write a guest post for my blog.  It can be over any topic as long as it somewhat keeps with the theme of my blog.  

Let me know if you are interested in doing this.  I could also do a post swap with you if this is of interest to you once I am back on my feet blogging again after the birth.  I can't believe how fast this pregnancy has flown by.  It seems like I just found out I was pregnant and here I am days away (or less) from giving birth.

Lucky Little Ones Giveaway Hop

Welcome to the Lucky Little Ones giveaway hop with Irresistibly Green, Just Add Cloth, Our Piece of Earth, and a variety of awesome parenting bloggers. This hop is all about your little infants and toddlers! Aren't they lucky? Each blog is offering a baby or toddler related prize valued at $20 or more for you to win for your lucky little one! When you finish entering this giveaway, make sure to check out the grand prize offering over $240 worth of eco-friendly baby gear for one lucky winner.

  The grand prize includes: 3 WAHMies ine size picket diapers. (Cow, Blue Dot, Pink Dot)
 2 WAHMies pail liners in light blue
 1 large WAHMies wet bag 1 medium WAHMies wet bag
 1 tube Grandma El's Diaper Rash Remedy and Prevention
 1 tube CJ's BUTTer 1 small Planet Wise wet bag
 3 Fuzzibunz Perfect size pocket diapers in choice of size and color
 1 pack of fleece liners (10)
 1 Jellystone Troika teething necklace

  Enter Grand Prize Giveaway Here

 Be sure to continue hopping through the other blogs below for a chance at their fun prizes!

Entry-Form

Disclosure:

Prizes ship directly from sponsor unless otherwise noted. Irresistibly Green bloggers are not responsible for prize fulfillment. Please contact the blogger through whom you won a prize should issues occur.  Grand prize is fulfilled via Irresistibly Green and is available to U.S. entrants only. All prize winners are chosen randomly and notified via email.

Week 38: Pumpkin

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How far along: 38 weeks. 

Total weight gain:  Up 28 pounds.  Well it is more like 27.5 pounds but I prefer no decimal numbers.

 Maternity clothes:  Yes.  I have also confiscated my husband's shirt.

 Stretch marks:  They are all over my hips and butt even onto my upper legs.  

 Sleep:  What is this sleep you speak of?  Even taking Unisom, I am up a lot of the night.  Poor Mr. Destructo has relegated himself to sleeping in the recliner in the living room since I am  up so gosh darn much.

Best moment of this week:  Just spending a bit of time with Destructo before he has to share me with newbie.  I love watching him ride his bike.  He is getting so fast on it.

Miss anything:  Not going through a roll of toilet paper every single day.  

Movement:   He had a dance party of epic proportions the other night.  Other than that he has been normal or even quieter than normal.

Food cravings: Ugh nothing.  I am having a lot of queasiness so no food cravings.  I am just happy when I want to eat period.

Have you started to show yet:  I am huge.  End of story.

Gender:  Baby boy who will probably never have a name.  

 Labor signs:   Lots of labor signs this week.  I got checked Wednesday out of sheer curiosity.  I am 2 cm dilated and 70% effaced.  I am having a ton of cramping, a few contractions, lots of pressure.  Plus some other signs that might or might not be early labor signs.  I am super queasy today and no appetite.  I have had the chills on and off and just feel off.  I am irritable and anxious and feel weird.  

 Belly button in or out:  Out yuck.  I actually don't think it can get any further out.  

Wedding rings on or off:  Off.  My hands are completely swollen and now my feet are a bit swollen as well.

Happy or moody most of the time:  Very anxious and scatter brained this week.  I am just ready to fast forward and have life settle back down.  

HUGE Rock-a-Bums Giveaway

You guys have got to check out the giveaway Rock-a-Bums is doing.  It would be an amazing thing to win for sure.  They are giving away a diaper stash of 9 covers, 18 inserts, and 60 hybrid inserts.  What is even cooler is that they are releasing their new prints.  Let me just say I am drooling over the rock star diaper print and am probably going to have to buy it for newbie.

I love these diapers just for the record. I reviewed a 1.0 here.  The 2.0 is very similar but even better if that is possible.  It has a new inner fabric that is hospital grade hypoallergenic and quick to wick away moisture.  There are now velcro options if velcro floats your boat.  But my favorite new feature is openings in the front and back to stuff/unstuff your diapers.  I love this so you have a which side is less poopie choice.

Check out all the new prints.  I pretty much need them all except for the purple one.

Go enter right now and you can win some!
http://rock-a-bums.blogspot.com/2014/03/rock-it-up.html

Week 37: Winter Melon

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What the heck is a winter melon?  Is it fruit or veggie?  Does it actually grow in the winter?

You hear that.  37 weeks.  Heck it will be 38 weeks on Wednesday.  That means I hit my due date in exactly 2 weeks and not quite 2 days.  Less than 16 days.  I had Destructo a day before my due date and went into labor with him 5 days before my due date.  Which if I did the same thing this time means I only have not quite 11 days.  That is just slightly more days than I have fingers and that isn't many.  Arggghhhhhhh.

How far along: 37 weeks. 

Total weight gain:  Up 27 pounds.  C25K here I come after this baby gets here.

 Maternity clothes:  Yes all of them.  But most don't fit.  

 Stretch marks:  They are all over my hips and butt.  Joy.  My belly is still spared.  Only a few more days to go.  

 Sleep:  I wake up every hour or at best two hours.  If it isn't to pee, it is because my hips and back get so achy I have to walk around.  And that is with Unisom.

Best moment of this week:  My mom coming over all day on Saturday to help me get some cleaning/decluttering/organizing done.  It is so nice to have a more organized than cluttered house.

Miss anything:  Sleeping more than a two hour stretch, being able to easily pick Kai up, not aching, lunch meat.

Movement:   Still fairly active.  

Food cravings:  Everything this week.  I am so very hungry.  I have been eating like crazy which doesn't help my acid reflux up.

Have you started to show yet:  Just all the showing in the world.  

Gender:  Baby boy who will probably never have a name.  

 Labor signs:  Lots of cramping.  And other gross things I won't mention to the general public.  But all these things happened in the week or so before Destructo was born.

 Belly button in or out:  Out yuck.  I actually don't think it can get any further out.  

Wedding rings on or off:  Off.  My hands are completely swollen and it makes dressing my kiddo hard. 

Happy or moody most of the time:   I swing wildly between all the emotions in the world.  I am happy that this pregnancy is coming to an end, sad that I will have to divide my attention between newbie and Destructo, dreadful of the sleep deprivation that is to come, scared that I am going to have a labor like I had with Destructo again, dreadful about the pain of beginning breastfeeding again, excited to meet the baby and introduce him to Kai.  It just goes on and on.  

Best homemade shower cleaner ever

The best thing that ever came into my life cleaning wise is this blue wonderful concoction.  You take a 1/2 cup of Blue Dawn, a 1/2 cup of vinegar (nuked for 30 seconds), mix them together.  Spray it on your tub, let it sit for an hour, and then wipe it off.  I scrub my tub for just a bit too but mostly because my tub is old as crap and never looks super clean even when it is.

Try it out.  It works wonders.  Smells awful but works.  It even makes it easy enough for a 9 1/2 month pregnant woman to clean the tub.

I Finally Packed my Hospital Bag

Yeah it took me having contractions for two hours the other night to get me motivated to do this.  I can NOT remember what I packed with Destructo.  It is amazing what you forget in three short years.  So tell me oh wise ones, what should I pack in my hospital bag?

What I do have are a pair of yoga pants to wear home, a shirt that has the same colors in it as baby's coming home outfit, a robe, some other random clothes I might or might not wear including pajama pants and a tshirt.

I have sports bras for sleeping.  Heck I lived in cotton sports bras last time and never got the hang of 

wearing a nursing bra.  I am going to figure it out this time around haha.  Sports bras were fine for at home where I could just strip down, but made nursing in public a bit harder.

I have clothes for Mr. Destructo (although he packed these so if he doesn't have something not my fault hahahaha.)  I have hair ties in case I want to pull my hair back.  I have the camera and charger fully charged already.  I also have a brand new pack of cotton socks.  I went through so many pairs of socks while I was in the hospital last time that I just grabbed an entire new pack.

On the I can't pack it now because I need to use it list is:
my laptop and charger
my phone and charger
wallet, keys, all that crap
my pillow and blanket that I like
allergy meds
big brother pin I got for Destructo
baby boy doll I plan on giving Destructo (assuming I ever get around to buying one)
massage oil for rubbing my back during labor, toiletries such as my toothbrush, shampoo, razor etc


Okay so what else am I forgetting?

Week 36: Honeydew

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Kai's favorite fruit is the fruit of the week.  He loves honeydew so much.  Which is weird because I don't and I don't think Mr. Destructo really cares for it all that much either.  

How far along: 36 weeks.  Although I am actually 37 weeks today.  Kai has had a weird stuffy nose/ hoarse voice/ occasional fever.  Then Mr. Destructo has dental issues that have had him in a lot of pain.  So long story short very little blogging has been going on.  I got all set to do a blog post last night and decided to start having contractions that were so painful I went to bed instead.  

Total weight gain:  Up 25 pounds again this week.  

 Maternity clothes:  Yes all of them.  Even a lot of my maternity shirts aren't long enough at this point to cover my darn belly.  I have taken to wearing Mr. Destructo's shirts around the house just to not have a cold belly.

 Stretch marks:  My hips and butt look awful.  My stomach is still spared.  Please stay that way belly.

 Sleep:  Up every hour.  On a good night I might get a two hour stretch or two.

Best moment of this week:  Hanging out with an old friend we hadn't seen in awhile on Saturday or going consignment sale shopping with my sister.

 Miss anything:  Not having some sort of pain and being able to freely breathe.   Baby butt not being in my ribs.  Lunch meat.  

Movement:   He was more active again this week.  I have a baby butt firmly implanted in my rib cage.  He is positioned fairly good if I can just get him to flip slightly more.  But head down and his back is to the proper side so that is promising.  I am obsessed with his position because malpositioning was the reason for my 74 hour labor with Destructo.

Food cravings:  Not this week.

Have you started to show yet:  A lot.  I kind of think I might be smaller though than I was with Destructo at this point.  I need to take a picture and compare.  The midwife said that this isn't going to be a very big baby.  She estimates him to be no more than 7 pounds (which is similar to what Destructo was at 7 lbs. 1 oz.)  

Gender:  Baby boy who will probably never have a name.  

 Labor signs:   Nearly nightly now I have some pretty intense period like cramping and last night I was up for two hours with actual contractions that were quite painful.  I thought it might be labor but thankfully it went away after two hours.  I need at least one more week to let Mr. Destructo recover from his dental work and be at his prime to help me get through my hopefully natural labor.

 Belly button in or out:  Out yuck.

Wedding rings on or off:  My hands are swollen enough now that I am not chancing it.  When I make a fist my fingers almost get stuck.  Ugh.  My feet are a bit swollen as well but not as bad as my hands.

Happy or moody most of the time:  Moody this week.  Too much stress and too little sleep.

I got my consignment on (and thought I would put myself into early labor)

Man after an hour of shopping and 45 minutes of standing in line to check out my back was killing me along with my feet.  I finally get in the car and have two such painful contractions I had to stop driving for a minute.  Luckily since I am only 36 1/2 weeks, it was nothing and I just got to deal with an aching back all night long.

Needless to say I am working on Destructo's 4T wardrobe.  He is pretty much good on 3T (and then some thanks to some super generous family who might all have a shopping addiction.)  Be in awe of my awesome deals. 

Tonka shirt 3 dollars

I totally didn't need this shirt but before I left Destructo requested excavator, train, dump truck, and fork lift shirts.  I saw this in a 3T and had to get it for him.  He made me wash it last night and hasn't taken it off since.  Three dollars well spent.

I also got a two shirt and shorts set that was so cute I had to get it even though it was 3T.  I try to keep what I spend on each item around 2 dollars unless it was something really great.  This fit the price tag haha.

Two shirts and shorts all from Gymboree 6 dollars

The other 3T outfit I got that wasn't/was needed was this one.  It is Jumping Beans brand which is Kohl's brand but it had a dump truck and said big bro.  I mean how perfect is that for Destructo?

By the time it is warm enough to wear this, it should be a true statement

Asics tennis shoes three dollars

This outfit is way past my two dollar limit but it looked brand new and both pieces were from Gymboree.  Of course it is a bit of a tease buying all these clothes when there is a fairly good chance Destructo will stay in 3T all summer since he typically grows out of clothes by height and length isn't as important in summer clothes.

Nine dollars

He is also now the proud owner of a U of M jersey.  I didn't buy it haha.  Monk and Grandmama did.  Go Blue!

Three dollars

These shorts were so cute and summery I had to get them even if they were three dollars.  I have to get him a cute polo or Hawaiin shirt to match them.

Two dollars for both pieces and the shorts are Carters .  Fourth of July here we come.

This outfit was only three bucks for both. The shorts are Gymboree.  I love that I can get Destructo Gymboree and other stores like that for dirt cheap.

Overall I was pretty darn happy with my purchases even though it was a rather disappointing sale overall with very little in clothes.  I hope I have better luck with the next few and can finish his summer wardrobe this year.