What You Think When You're Pregnant

This is what's going through a pregnant woman's mind, in case you wanted to know...

Week 4: My period is a day late, am I pregnant?

Week 5: Oh my God I'm pregnant!!!

Week 8: Oh my God I'm sick to my stomach... what the hell is this baby doing to me?

Week 10: AAAAH I have baby poisoning. Yep, "baby poisoning" is the right word to use.

Week 11: Oh this nice cold toilet bowl feels good against my face...

Week 12: Why is my husband/family/boyfriend such an IDIOT? He left the toilet seat up again and now I want to punch his face in!

Week 13: I never want to eat another saltine cracker EVER again.

Week 15: The morning sickness is gone... oh no! Am I miscarrying?

Week 17: Wait, what happened to the ice cream? Did I really eat it ALL yesterday?

Week 18: Oh no, I can't feel any kicks yet! Is my baby alive? What is wrong with me?

Week 20 (or whenever you got your ultrasound): Oh my God! There s/he is! My baby is so cute!

Week 21: I'm only halfway done???

Week 22: Oh this picture of a kitty is so cute. *Starts bawling*

Week 23: It's seriously only been another week? When am I going to be DONE?

Week 24: OK my baby might survive if it's born now, I really am going to be a mom!

Week 25: What if I'm not a good mom? What if my baby grows up to hate me? What if I can't handle having a child?

Week 26: Seriously, the morning sickness is back??? WTF?

Week 27: Oh wow I'm SO tired.

Week 28: Where did I leave my car keys? Oh well it's too much work to find them, I'm going back to bed.

Week 29: AM I DONE YET???

Week 30: Only 10 more weeks. Am I a bad mom for thinking that I just want him/her to be born now?

Week 31: OMG the baby is almost here and his/her room isn't finished yet! What am I going to do, I only have 30 onesies and my hospital bag isn't even packed yet!

Week 32: OK baby, STOP kicking my ribs now, I'm going to have broken ribs because of you...

Week 33: Is this a contraction?

Week 34: What will labor be like? Can I handle it? I can't even put on my own socks!

Week 35: OK this baby can really come out anytime now...

Week 37: Yay full term! Time to birth this baby...

Week 38: It's only been a week? Come on out baby!

Week 39: I wonder if it's too soon to drink castor oil? Eat spicy foods? Have lots of sex?

Week 40: OK baby GET OUT! Yes, please strip my membranes!

2 hours later: Can I make another appointment today? I want my membranes stripped again, it didn't work the first time. I have to wait a whole week to do it again???

Week 41: Please? Mommy will buy you an XBox if you just get out now! I wonder if it's a crime to break your own water...

Week 42: What do you want from me?? A pony? I'll buy you a pony, a rocketship, anything you want just get OUT!

Early labor: Is this it? OMG I need to get to the hospital pronto!

Active labor: Come on baby just get out...

Transition: I can't do this!!!

Seeing baby: WOW, s/he's so tiny, didn't I just give birth to a train?

2 weeks later: OK baby, you can get back in the womb now, you were quieter in there...

Sock Diaper Wipes?

A couple of days ago I went through all our socks (yes the WHOLE tote of them!) and got out the holey ones to throw away.

Only, instead of throwing them away, I cut them up into diaper wipes for the new baby.

Sounds like a BORING afternoon, but it gave me a feeling of accomplishment.

1. No longer would I have to wear holey socks! Yay!

2. No longer would 20+ holey socks clog up our already jumbled sock tote. (It's a sock tote, not a sock drawer, because we have too many socks to fit in a drawer.)

3. 20+ holey socks would NOT be clogging up space in the landfill. :) Your welcome, Mother Earth.

4. How many diaper wipes does a new baby go through in a week? Well... a lot! A. Your welcome again, Mother Earth, and B. Hooray for having diaper wipes that do not have a ton of chemicals, are free, and are re-usable.

Now to do the same thing with Husband's holey underwear.

Stay at Home Mom

I really dislike being dependent.

At age 12, I started really resenting the fact that I was so dependent on my parents. I wanted to be as independent as possible, but became surly over the fact that I couldn't drive, couldn't live on my own, couldn't be hired to work, etc... As a homeschooler, I was already pretty much in charge of my own education, or at least I wasn't being micromanaged when it came to school. That responsibility made me happy. I just wished I could be entrusted with more decisions in my own life. This attitude lasted all through high school up until I moved out of my parent's house.

Now, I'm facing the same sort of resentment, and I'm really trying not to let it get to me. I'm a stay-at-home mom, which means I'm depending on my husband to provide financially for me while he is depending on me to watch our son, farm, and house.

I love being a stay-at-home mom! I love the independence that comes from setting my own hours, work schedule, and pace. I love the feeling of accomplishment when I get a big project done despite a toddler running around and trying to ruin my efforts, and I love the flexibility of being able to take a trip to the grocery store or library on MY schedule. When I worked outside the home, I was miserable. I was micromanaged and I didn't get along well with my managers. I thought I did a good job and I certainly wasn't slacking, but I felt constantly watched, criticized, and judged. Often, I felt like expectations weren't clear and I therefore couldn't live up to them. Being a stay-at-home mom is a lot like homeschooling, I can get what I need to get done and not worry about the things that inevitably don't get done.

However, I really dislike the fact that I don't get paid for it! It rubs me the wrong way to have to ask my husband to pay for something. I hate asking for "his money" and I hate just taking "his money." And he hates it too! I know he feels like he has to constantly evaluate my purchases because he doesn't trust me to spend his money wisely. It's a big fat thorn in my dream job. And I'm not sure how to fix it, either. Hopefully, the farm will become prosperous enough to provide me with a little money of my own. Or, after the kids have grown a little, I could get a part time job or a home-based business. Or, my husband could just learn to TRUST me with OUR money... but I'm not sure if that will ever happen.

Baby Brain

...I forgot what I was going to post.

.... This seems to be a perpetual state lately.

Ultrasound! :D

Today I had my ultrasound! I got to see this little baby that's growing inside my uterus. She... yes, SHE, was being camera shy so I didn't get any really cute pictures like I did with my son.

However, I am so stoked that I'm having a daughter! I can't believe it! :) To me, a son and a daughter are just so perfect, I'm wondering what I ever did to deserve this happy life. She looks happy and healthy and everything is measuring normal.

Parenting Naturally on a Budget Part 3: Laundry

These are just a couple tips to be more cost-efficient when doing your laundry, and better for the environment at the same time.

1. Wash most or all of your laundry in cold water.

Most laundry gets just as clean in cold water. It's a simple step to take. Exceptions are washing cloth diapers, clothes or sheets with bodily fluids on them, or anything that has sopped up massive quantities of milk (such as my milk-straining or cheese-making cloths. Or spit up rags.) Washing underwear and socks in hot water is the norm, but honestly I haven't found a difference in cleanliness if I only wash them in hot every other time.

2. Use less soap.

Most people use too much soap. The recommended amount of soap on the jug of detergent is usually too much. You can be just as effective by using 1/2 the recommended amount, or 2/3 if you want to be safe.

3. Make your own laundry detergent!

If you are concerned about the chemicals in commercial laundry soap, or have sensitive skin, then make your own! There are many recipes on the internet, and I will post one here. The powdered form usually does the best, but some washers will only take liquid detergent.

2 Cups Soap, finely grated (Fels Naptha is the most commonly used kind, but I make my own organic soap!)

1 Cup Washing Soda (Not Baking Soda- washing soda. I found it in my grocery store but you might have to go to a department store or Fleet Farm.)

1 Cup Borax (I found this at Fleet Farm. Sometimes grocery/department stores also carry it.)

Mix well and store in an airtight container. Use 2 TBSP per load.

Easy, huh? :) All ingredients are pretty darn cheap, and making laundry soap isn't hard at all. What soap you use determines how "natural" the detergent is. Borax is pretty strong stuff, so don't let any little kids near it. But it's also a great cleaning agent for heavy duty jobs as well. Sometimes when I have a really messy clean-up (like cat pee on the carpet) I'll mix some borax and baking soda with water and wash with a rag. It does the job quite nicely!

4. Line-dry if you can.

If you live in a neighborhood that will allow you to line-dry your clothes, do it! It'll save you money and be better for the environment. Some people experience scratchy clothes when they line-dry, and if this happens, just add some vinegar to the rinse cycle before you hang them out to dry.

Also, they make "laundry trees" for winter use. You put the trees indoors and hang laundry on those. I love using these because in addition to drying the laundry, they also humidify your house! :) You can also use these in the warmer seasons if you put them in front of open windows and it's not too humid out.

Potty Training Journal

Day 3:

1. He now poops on the floor right next to his potty, but won't go inside it. Augh!

2. I... think he ate some of his own poop. :( Not dwelling on that too much...

3. He will sit on the grown-up potty as long as I let him read his dinosaur book while he's up there. :) Still never used it for its intended purpose, but at least he'll sit and try.