My Favorite Baby Products

We already have pretty much all the baby gear we’ll need for baby #2 but I thought it would be fun to list my favorites and what I would buy this time if I didn’t have anything but the experience of living with a newborn. There are so many guides out there that list newborn must-haves and baby essentials, but my general recommendation for any new parent would be: you really don’t need all of that. Start with the true essentials such as diapers, clothes, and blankets, and go from there. What you don’t have but end up wanting you can always buy later. And if you’re worried about getting to the store with a newborn, Amazon.com now even offers same day delivery in some areas! It really doesn’t get any more convenient than that. So – these are not necessarily my must-haves, but items that I loved having when Noah was born or learned about later and added to my wish list for baby #2.

My Pregnancy Centering Group

In my last post I shared why I decided to ditch my previous doctor in favor of a midwife. My first appointment was awesome – in one session she was able to make me so much more comfortable with the idea of having to go to regular pregnancy checkups again which was a big part for me in not being super excited about being pregnant again. At the end of the appointment she told me I had two options on how to receive care through the midwife program: I could either meet with one of the midwives for each of my appointments where I would get all the care I needed and could discuss any questions I would have. The other option was signing up for a midwife centering group, where I would be grouped together with other pregnant woman who all have a due date around the same time. We would meet every four weeks for a two hour long session with a midwife and discuss whatever topics were relevant during our stage of our pregnancy. I was immediately on board when she mentioned it. 

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.