Why I'm Seeing a Midwife for Baby #2

When I was pregnant with Noah, I didn’t even know that going through a midwife program was an option for me. I knew the hospital I had picked for my appointments and delivery had midwives and I would eventually have an appointment with one when my regular OB/GYN was on vacation, but I just assumed seeing a doctor for regular appointments was how this worked. All of this had been new to me after all and looking back now I wish the different options had been clear to me. Nobody mentioned any other options to me when I scheduled my first appointment and the website which is otherwise updated and filled with helpful information didn’t mention it anywhere. So anyway, my experience with my doctor wasn’t terrible, but I also didn’t get the support out of it I was looking for. I would typically spend more time in the waiting room than with my doctor. It’s not like I needed a ton of extra attention; my pregnancy went smooth with no complications so there were never really any concerns we needed to discuss. At the same time, he never initiated any conversation about things that would be on any first time mother’s mind – like giving birth! And with that he didn’t exactly create a setting where I felt comfortable asking these kinds of questions. In fact, I asked a somewhat controversial question only once, and his response was all I needed to hear for me to decide that I would make any further decisions by myself without discussing it with my doctor.

Heart Beats, Chinese Calendars, and Cravings - Putting Old Wives Tales to the Test

It's been a bit quiet around here for a while but that doesn't mean we haven't had a lot of exciting things happening in the last few months, including finding out that we're pregnant with another little half-Kraut. Now that I'm almost half way there (due date is September 29th) I feel great, but the first trimester of this pregnancy was exhausting. Morning sickness that lasted all day, lack of energy, being extremely tired all day, constantly hungry but no appetite for anything, etc. It wasn't pretty and while I was excited for this baby from the moment I found out, I have to admit I was getting annoyed and frustrated with being pregnant. We had just found a good groove and rhythm that worked for us, but all of that had to be rearranged. I had been the one leaving super early for work to be able to pick up Noah from daycare at a decent time, but I just wasn't able to get up early anymore. When I was pregnant with Noah and tired after a long day at work, there were plenty of days when I just went to bed right after dinner and it wasn't a big problem for our schedule (because there was none) when I went to work late and came home late. Tony has been great and taking over more than his fair share of responsibilities around the house, but life has changed for sure since pregnancy number one and it's impossible to make this pregnancy as much of a priority as I did the first time around. I do feel guilty about that sometimes, but now that I feel so much better, things have been easier and I'm starting to enjoy this journey. I can't wait to meet this new little addition to our family. 

On Monday, one of the big pregnancy milestones is coming up: we have the 20 week ultrasound scheduled and if the little one cooperates we'll find out if Noah is getting a baby brother or a little sister. I remember the feeling when we found out Noah was going to be a boy; it made everything so much more real, we started talking about names, thinking about decorating the nursery, and just the simple fact that we could say "he" instead of coming up with some other phrase to avoid "it" made a big difference. Somehow he felt more like a real tiny little person after we found out and I can't wait for that to happen with this baby as well. 

Of course everyone knows that you can't rely on old wives tales to predict the baby's gender, but since we're finding out Monday, I thought it would be fun to go through the list to see which ones turn out to be true for me.

Holiday Traditions: Christmas with my little Kraut

Happy New Year everyone. Isn’t it funny how we all get in the Christmas mood (whether we like it or not) during the weeks before Christmas, often followed by a week of craziness with families, visits, dinners, and Christmas parties. And then right after New Year’s, we’re right back to our normal lives as if nothing ever happened. All the magic disappears, no more drinking Gluehwein and eating cookies, no more Christmas music. At least that’s how it was for me. We took down the few decorations we had put up right after Christmas so we could start on our kitchen remodel, I went back to work after taking the week between Christmas and New Year’s off, and we were right back in our daily routine. It’s strange how that happens, but I guess that’s exactly what makes the holidays so special. So even though no one seems to be talking about Christmas anymore, I want to share one last post on our holiday traditions and maybe get into the magical Christmas mood one last time until I hear Last Christmas on the radio again. 

Holiday Traditions: Christmas Ornaments

I want my Christmas tree to be full of memories and stories. So we came up with a nice little tradition of giving each other one new ornament for Christmas every year. There aren't really any rules for what it should be, but we try to tie it to something that happened that year. We started this tradition in 2010, the year we got married, so we don't really have a big collection yet, but I find it special to add two (now three) more ornaments each year.

Holiday Traditions: Weihnachtskrippe (Nativity Scene)

I don't consider myself a religious person, but I can appreciate some of the ideas and stories. I grew up without the believing aspect of religion, but the stories and traditions around it were always very present, especially during Christmas time. I have asked myself if it's OK for me to celebrate Christmas when I can't say I believe in God. And I decided that yes, I can. There’s more to it from my point of view than just celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. Many of my own family traditions are so closely connected with Christmas and even when you take the religious part out of it, there are so many wonderful things to celebrate that I’m sure many Christians would also mention when asked what Christmas is all about: family, friends, peacefulness, love, music, food.

Holiday Traditions: Adventskalender

December 1st is an important day in Germany. Children get to open their first of 24 presents counting down the days until Christmas. Growing up, ours were usually filled with chocolates and candy, with the occasional pencil, eraser, or small toy. As we grew older and our parents stopped making them for us, us sisters began making them for each other, and have even made them for our parents for a change. My first year of law school in Germany, Tony made an Adventskalender for me with lots of typical American things wrapped in Barbie paper (why I have no idea). Great idea, except I had to go to customs to pick it up where they wanted to know exactly what was in each of the 24 presents. I had no idea, and didn't want to know (yet). Thankfully I had brought a friend who opened a few to show it was all harmless stuff. Anyway, the point is, Adventskalender are one of my favorite things during the holiday season, I have so many fond memories of opening presents as well as making them for family and friends. So I decided this year Noah was old enough to get his first calendar. Since he's too young for chocolates, I decided to fill it with cute little presents I would have otherwise got him for Christmas. 

I wasn't too creative this year wrapping them - it's just 24 wrapped presents (found the super cute paper bags at IKEA) on a mantle, but there are some cute ideas out there. Maybe next year I'll decide on one to stick with. Ours used to be small fabric bags on a string and I love that they were the same almost every year. It adds to the whole tradition thing. Then again, something different every year sounds fun too and I wouldn't have to settle down for anything.

I knew books were going to be an important part of Noah's Adventskalender this year. They're his favorite thing and so I'm always on the lookout for good books. We already have a few Dr. Seuss books that make for great bed time stories. We found these at Costco. The animal books are part of a series that I found at Goodwill. I paid less than a dollar each for books that are in great shape. I love a good deal and Noah loves any book with animals. Win win! Now that he has opened more than half already, he got used to the fact that not every present is a book, but I have a feeling he is still a bit sad every time it's something else. The fist time he opened a non-book present, he was not amused. Well, still happy, but just slightly disappointed. What a little (book) worm.

I found these cute little finger puppets at the Everett Children's museum. I like about toys like this that Noah has fun with them now and learns the different animals, but he'll hopefully still play with them in a few years when he puts on a finger puppet show on a cardboard box stage. I can't wait to see what he comes up with.

This frog prince is also a finger puppet (IKEA). 

So far, we have only opened one of the presents with a mouse. Noah likes to point out its nose, ears, hands, eyes, and belly. The idea here was to introduce to of the same, to see if he makes the connection. We'll see. I like that they're small and close in size to the real deal.

Flash Cards. Another good deal. I found this set for $1 at Target a while back (in the back to school section). These are great because of the real pictures of animals. Noah loves books with animals and has fun when we go through the cards talking about the different animals. Using flash cards always sounds so serious but he is such a parrot these days and loves to lay in bed and repeat every word we say. These cards are perfect for that. 

These are bells on a strap with velcro you can put around your wrists or ankles. Noah wasn't so sure about these at first but now thinks it's funny when he runs around jingling. They are a great addition to our dance parties. I got these at the Children's museum as well.

 A magic towel. Do I need to say more? Anything that makes bath time even more fun must be a winner.

A new owl hat. He wears his penguin hat every day and I thought we could mix it up a bit. I found this one at Bartell's. It's amazing what you can all find at random places if you just keep your eyes open and start shopping early enough. 

Bird was one of Noah's first words (in sign language) and he is still fascinated by them. This little delicate one might not last very long, but I think he's going to like it. We already have one just like it sitting in a plant that he points to but can't touch. I think he'll like being able to play with it.

Another owl. This one is a hand puppet. We just learned what the owl says and it's at the end of the "The Very Busy Spider" book which is one of our favorites.

Veggies in a basket. I got these from IKEA too and just love them. He hasn't opened these yet (they're the special present on the 24th) and I'm curious to see if he gets what everything is. I just think they're so adorable. 

Did you get an Adventskalender this year? What's your favorite thing you got so far? Or did you make one for someone special? What kind of things did you put in it?

Holiday Traditions: Thanksgiving

I am thankful for my family in the broadest sense. I am thankful for Noah, and that he is healthy and happy; he makes me smile even when he wakes me up at 6:30am on a Sunday morning or when I come home exhausted from a long day at work; he allows me to see the world and myself through his eyes, which can be quite amazing; he lights up the room and brings so much joy to the people around him with his positive energy. I am thankful for Tony who is an amazing parent; I am thankful that he naturally assumed his role of the co-default parent; I am thankful that I can be 100 percent me around him, I don’t have to explain myself; I am thankful that we haven’t lost our sense of togetherness during this busy year; I am thankful we make a great team and always have each other’s backs. I am thankful for Skype and Facetime so Noah gets to see all of his aunts and uncles, cousins, grandmas and grandpas on the screen every once in a while. I am thankful for our Schwesterntreff Whatsapp group; I am thankful we share happy and joyful and even sad and frustrating moments with each other; sharing small every day details, pictures, and videos has brought the four of us closer together somehow. I am thankful for my friends, for those that have been around for a while and stick around even though we rarely ever find time to get together; and I’m thankful for my new friends, especially with Noah around I am thankful for my “German Mafia friends”. I am thankful for my job that forces me to push my own boundaries, to leave my comfort zone every once in a while. And I am thankful for traditions which somehow seem to become so important over the holidays; I am thankful that I can carry on some of the traditions I grew up with and that we get the chance to create our own traditions, ones that will hopefully be sweet childhood memories for Noah one day. So I thought why not create a small holiday traditions series on this blog. Some are typical German, some very American, some have been around for as long as I can remember, some are relatively new for me. But all are dear to me and have a special place in my heart.
 

As you have probably guessed from my intro, I’ll start out with the most American holiday tradition: Thanksgiving. History and controversy aside, there are so many aspects that make Thanksgiving special for me. At its core and the way we celebrate it, it’s all about friends and family, giving thanks, and of course delicious food and wine. I’ve been celebrating Thanksgiving with the same group of friends since 2009 when I moved here (the tradition had started a couple of years before that), and we’ve been rotating between three couples. Some things always stay the same: Tony is in charge of gravy, Sara makes sweet potato pie. Everyone gets together early in the day and cooks together while enjoying snacks and wine. The core group of people is always the same, sometimes with additions. Other things change: we try new side dishes and different decorations; and it has so far never been twice at the same house (at least since I joined the group). And I enjoy watching us all grow up a bit more every year. We've bought houses, had kids, threw out the old college-days plates and silverware and traded them in for things we actually like.
 

Carrie and Joel's beautifully decorated dining room

 Thanksgiving 2012 is maybe the most special to me. It was the year we hosted at our place. We had just bought our house earlier that year, built a big table with saw horses and particle board, and I sewed my own tablecloth because I couldn’t find a pretty one that was big enough. We finally had a reason to bring out our set of fancy wine glasses, plates, and silverware we had received as wedding presents. Tony had the smoker finally figured out, and we were excited to be hosting a fancy dinner. I had only one problem I didn’t know how to solve for: how would I be able to explain why I didn’t have a drink in my hand by noon like everyone else without spilling the beans that I was about six weeks pregnant? I managed for a while (with one exception) by drinking non-alcoholic beer out of a beer stein until it was time to toast to our dear friend Elizabeth who is no longer with us with port wine. Looking back, I was totally fine with not keeping it a secret even though it was early; these were wonderful news to share, after all. I just needed an excuse and the right moment to say something. So yeah, that was a pretty special Thanksgiving. Noah played an important role in making Thanksgiving memorable the following year as well – by projectile vomiting on about everyone there! 

The ladies Thanksgiving 2013

The ladies Thanksgiving 2014

This year was our most grown up Thanksgiving yet I think. The table was decorated beautifully, the turkey was the juiciest and flavorful yet, we each impressed with our Pinterest inspired dishes, and we even did some serious Scotch tasting. 

Like I said, it's all about the food. I'll let the pictures do the talking. And yes, everything tasted just as delicious as it looks.

Mama G's deviled eggs and Joel's famous pickles.

Salmon ball a la Elizabeth.

 

Sue's baked brie. The orange peel added the perfect touch.

 

Veggie and Cauliflower tart. Super easy recipe with a serious wow effect.

A fresh salad with berries

The bird.

Green Bean Casserole and Mashed Potatoes.

Everything was homemade, including the rolls.

Cranberry Sauce.

Stuffing. Made with Bagels. So good. Not too dry, not too moist.

Here we are, enjoying our delicious Thanksgiving dinner.

Thanks again Joel and Carrie for hosting this year. Life is good indeed.