Last Time....

Tonight was the last time David and I will tuck Jessica into bed for several days. Not sure if it is the pregnancy hormones or the fact that the longest I have ever been away from Jessica at a time since she was born is 12 hours. Being away from her smiling face is going to be the hardest part of the entire labor, delivery, and hospital stay!

I had to settle for this picture because my husband deleted my favorite picture (and yes it was one purpose).

I couldn't ask for a better place for her to be though! She will be staying with her best friend and one of my best friends. I know she will have a wonderful time!! Friday they are going to play in the pool, and Saturday they will go to Sabbath School. We have also arranged for her to come visit Saturday afternoon, so I am really looking forward to that! She will come home either Sunday or Monday, depending on how tired David is.


We have really been fortunate to have so many friends to offer to take care of Jessica, bring meals, etc. I am so very excited to meet baby John and could not ask for a better way to bring a new baby into this world than in the company of such loving and thoughtful friends!

One Way or Another

One way or another, by Friday, May 21, 2010 we will cease to be a family of 3 and become a family of 4 (although really....I think we are close enough you could go ahead and call us a family of 4!). I had my last doctor's appointment today. We are at a solid 3 centimeters. He gave me the option to schedule an induction for Friday, and I took it since it was the absolute best timing we could have asked for given David's off-time situation and the fact that we will not have the benefit of my mother this time. (However, we have many, many awesome friends who have offered to help out in so many ways!!!) My doctor plans for us to arrive at 5:30 am, start pitocin for several hours, and then he will come in and break my water. I am not so sure about the last part. I didn't have my water broken until 9 centimeters with Jessica. After some introspection in the hospital on Mother's Day, I am still planning to avoid an epidural. I realized that the reason I don't want an epidural has nothing to do with fear of needles, wanting "the experience," or feeling the need to prove something. The sole reason I don't want an epidural is because I can't stand sitting still....at all!!!!!!!! I also do not focus terribly well, and it seems like giving birth to your child would be a good time to focus on what you are doing!! As I experience more pain, I tend to go into myself. All other stimuli is blocked out. For someone who has never been able to focus on ANYTHING, that is really amazing. That being said, I always sign the epidural form because you never know how things are going to go. Each labor and delivery is completely different! The thing I keep thinking to encourage myself is: "Well, you had pitocin, broke your tailbone, and had your water broken at 9 cm all without an epidural when you had Jessica. You can do this too!!" If I get in there and decide that I really do want an epidural, I will not be disappointed because let's face it: "Pregnancy, labor, and delivery is not all about me! It's all about the new little life coming into the world!" However, I will gladly accept all forms of encouragement towards my goal of an epidural free delivery....I really think I would feel like someone was putting me in time-out!!!!! :-)

Update

As you may have noticed, I have not posted much this week. I have been rather lacking in motivation since being told that we were going to have a Mother's Day baby and then finding out that we were not having a Mother's Day baby. I have also been rather uncomfortable this week....lots of contractions and now pains in my thighs followed by my legs giving out from under me....lovely! We have also been staying home a lot this last month due to heat and me not wanting to get out with a very busy two year old when my body is behaving so unpredictably! On the upside I have finished all of the projects I wanted to get done, organized all of the pictures to print and stuff into Jessica's photo albums, and gotten the house in order (not exactly clean but that is beyond my physical limitations at this point)!

I also managed to sit down and watch Food, Inc last night. I have heard a lot of people talking about it so I finally sat down and watched it. I think it is less of a commentary on the food industry and more a commentary on society at large. We have gotten to a point as a society where people prefer to relinquish responsibility for themselves and their families to other people, and when that someone else gives them less than they believe they are entitled to, then they bring a lawsuit against the individual or company that they relinquished their responsibility to! It's not the fault of capitalism, big business, the food industry, or elected officials. It is the fault of "the people." When we choose to let others make decisions for us, we should not be surprised when the decisions they make are not necessarily in our best interest. Food, Inc. and a cookbook review I was reading the other night have definitely made me excited about having more energy after baby John arrives to do more cooking from scratch and to learn more of the culinary skills we have lost in favor of convenience. I hope to be able to pass a better understanding of nutrition and how to prepare food from scratch on a shoestring budget to my children, so that they will KNOW how to safeguard their health. Knowledge truly is power.

Front Porch Friday: Produced from the Couch!

We've had a very interesting week around our house (as you may have noticed as I have not posted a lot this week)! Early this week, I felt great and was busy doing some part-time work for a local private school, making fleece covers for Jessica's training pants, amongst other things! By Wednesday, I noticed that baby John had not been moving very much, so I called the doctor's office to ask about it. They told me to proceed to Labor and Delivery to get things checked out. David was on his way home from work, so I made arrangements for Jessica and started having some contractions (probably from anxiety due to worrying about John). We went up to the hospital. They did an exam and monitored his heart rate, movements, and my contractions. Things seemed to be alright so they sent me home. They said he may have just run out of room in there. I thought that was kind of surprising because Jessica never quit moving...it just got more and more uncomfortable!!! Then I thought, "Hmm...maybe this baby will be less active than Jessica..."

The next night I started having some contractions and my pelvis started hurting. I laid down, and it just got worse. I started feeling nauseated, and John was really kicking me! David called Labor and Delivery. They told him to give me some tylenal and that it was most likely late pregnancy symptoms. I thought that was ridiculous as I had never had any feelings like that when I was pregnant with Jessica! I woke up in the middle of the night requesting more tylenal. The next morning I called the doctor's office, and they got me in for an appointment. A friend of mine and her daughter went with us. The doctor said since my last appointment, I had dilated 1 centimeter and that the symptoms I was experiencing were typical for late pregnancy when you carry really low. I had carried low with Jessica, but I have been pregnant twice since then (although one miscarried so I don't know how that would have felt). He said I could continue taking tylenal every 6 hours for the rest of the pregnancy, so that was good. We left the doctor's office, went out to lunch, and on the way home I started feeling very nauseated! When we got home my friend stayed with us to see if I started feeling better. Well, I didn't. It got worse....a lot worse....even with tylenal. I ended up calling the doctor's office, who told us to go to labor and delivery. I called David and told him to come home. My friend dropped the girls off with a friend and took me to Labor and Delivery. (David works 45 min from our house and Labor and Delivery is 45 min from our house in the other direction.) I couldn't distinguish when I was having contractions so my friend tried to check and noticed the very strong movements I was getting from John. She was really quite surprised. She used to work as an EMT, and both of us were getting nervous from the way I was feeling that I was going to be delivering on the highway!!!

We made it to the hospital, and she wheeled me up. They got me on the monitor, took my temperature, gave me some fluids, and some anti-nausea medicine. Baby John's heart was working at 207 beats per minute, and I was definitely having some contractions! According to my friend (and later my husband), I was making very little sense at this point! Thankfully, once the fluids and medicine kicked in, both me and baby John started to feel A LOT better. They got John on the ultrasound. He scored 6 out of 8. They were hoping for some bigger movements, but they were happy with what they got. He was probably just as tired as I was! I was still having to have people help me move because of the aches in my pelvis...probably from the dehydration and contractions. The doctor came by and sent us home. He did say he felt like we would be delivering before 40 weeks (37-38 weeks if he had to guess) and that it would be a SHORT delivery! I told David that the doctor had joked about sending us home with the home delivery kit, and David joked when the doctor asked what we planned to do tonight that he was going to buy a catcher's mit! I am not on bedrest, but they did say to take it easy since I am likely fighting off a virus and I obviously am very susceptible to dehydration (I had at least 10 cups of water that morning, 1 cup of milk, 1 bag of fluids, and 4 cups of gatorade yesterday!)

At any rate, it has been exciting around here! I am on the couch pretty much all weekend and taking it easy for the next couple weeks. David has been taking care of some things around the house, and my friend kept Jessica overnight for us last night. We have a long list of good friends that we can call on at any time, fabulous doctors, and thankfully a little more time for me to get a few more thing organized around here (and almost all of it can be done from the couch)! Things are looking pretty good! Now...off to find the bathroom and drink 4 more cups of iced gatorade!

Third Trimester (31 weeks)

At 31 weeks, barefoot and pregnant ;-)

Well, we just got back from our loonngg morning at the doctor's office! We got all of our insurance information on file at the hospital (unless David's job changes their insurance - which they have been talking about). We also watched the jaundice video as well as the anesthesia video (which is required in the event that you change your mind, have to have a c-section, etc). This is a much smaller labor and delivery ward than Baptist where we delivered Jessica; however, that may prove to be nice as Baptist managed to loose my dinner for 3 hours after Jessica's delivery. I was pretty hungry and none to happy to get a cold hospital dinner 3 hours later!!! This hospital says that I will get a "celebration dinner" with my choice of steak, roasted chicken, or catch of the day! I also think we will really like our experience at this hospital because this is where my new ob-gyn delivers, and he is totally awesome!! (Seriously, I have never had a doctor give a better exam!) Jessica did great through all of this! Then we took a little break to get a snack and run around Sears. (Jessica really enjoyed the riding lawn mowers and exercise equipment!!)

Just so you can see the watermelon I am carrying under my dress! ;-) By the way, isn't this a cute dress? I was really unsure about the style in the store, but I loved the color! Glad I ended up getting it!

Next on our list was a visit to see my ob-gyn. I have been really tired and feeling very uncomfortable all week. Last night I kept waking up to the sensation of something trying to punch a hole through my cervix!! As it turns out, John has turned to head down! Yay!! The doctor is pretty certain that he will be staying in that position until delivery! He also checked, and although John's head is sitting on my bladder and I have been having strange sensations, I have not started dilating, which is Great News at this point in the game!! Everything else seems to be checking out just right: blood pressure, weight gain, measurements, etc. In case you are curious, I have gained roughly 30 lbs this pregnancy. The same amount I gained with Jessica, which is just perfect for my body. I will need all the extra weight to burn while nursing John and keeping up with a busy 2 year old!! I think of it like a bear putting on weight before winter hibernation!! :-) This last week was pretty tough, but I am feeling good knowing that everything is going along just perfectly! Hopefully I can get some more work done on Jessica's Easter dress this weekend and do some shopping for Passover!

So....tired......can't seem to wake up!

I think the tail end of this pregnancy is beginning to take its toll. I have tried this time around to be appreciative of the fact that 1) I am able to get pregnant and 2) that we have a healthy baby on the way. However, I am really beginning to wear out!!! I also think I am going to have to stop picking Jessica up entirely for the rest of this pregnancy. I am carrying so low that I get weird sensations when I pick her up. We are going to the doctor Friday, so I will ask questions, post a picture and an update then.

PS I am also beginning to get the urge to start really cooking again! I have zero energy during most of my pregnancies so we do a lot of prepackaged meals and eat out more than usual. Very soon it will be time to change that trend, especially since my babies tend to be sensitive to onions and onions are in almost EVERYTHING! So...be on the look out for some more cooking related posts soon!

2nd Trimester

Well, we are currently about a month from the end of the 2nd trimester of this pregnancy and that much closer to meeting John David! I became a vegetarian during the first trimester due to major sensitivity to smells and food aversions! David is very thankful that has passed. However, I do seem to have developed a strange craving for refined sugar and chocolate! I am also not sleeping 24/7 anymore, but I do find that I have significantly less energy that normal, which is challenging with a busy toddler. Although my doctor has encouraged me to go about my normal activities (which I have as evidenced by the picture of me below in my dance clothes), I do try to cut myself a little more slack when it comes to food preparation, cleaning, etc. Some people seem to have tons of energy for much of their pregnancy. I am not one of those people!!


Big things going on: Rh negative shot coming up in a few weeks, Glucose test coming up in a few weeks, and spotting may be the norm for the rest of this pregnancy just because I carry so very low...yippee. On the bright side I have discovered the best way to sleep while pregnant..... on a ROPE bed!!!! When I was pregnant with Jessica, I could never get comfortable at night because my belly always hung slightly to the side, but with a rope bed, the bed conforms somewhat to your shape providing support for all of me in just the right places!!! I love my bed!!

I am also beginning to do some planning in preparation for the weeks following John's delivery as I will probably have less help than when Jessica was born. I am not concerned about it, but I do need to think through what all needs to be done: meals in the freezer, Jessica in a toddler bed at least for naps (so I don't have to lift her), etc. I have already arranged for Jessica a place to stay while we are in the hospital, transportation the weeks following, and have several people I can call on during the day and evenings...so the important stuff is in place! Once the baby stuff is finished, the freezer is stocked, and Jessica is transitioned to a toddler bed, all we will have to do is wait to meet this new little life!

It's A....

It's a Boy!! Today we had our big ultrasound! Everything looked great and we were able to find out that it is definitely a boy! There are a couple pictures below. (David has requested that we do not publish the "It's a Boy!" picture.) We are very excited and believe that Jessica will enjoy having a brother to rough and tumble play with!! I am also getting excited thinking about what cute little things I can make for a baby boy! I have enjoyed making dresses for Jessica so much, and I am sure I will come up with some adorable things to make for a baby boy! I think I have mentioned before that David refuses to discuss names until we know what it is. I am pretty good about waiting to discuss it until then; however, once we know, I will not let him rest until we have a name!!! It took us maybe a couple hours to come up with Jessica's name. This one we came up with in about an hour!


His name will be John David, and we will call him John. Both are family names. David wanted to make sure that the name was practical: easy to pronounce, easy to spell, doesn't sound weird 20 years from now, etc. Also neither of us wanted a name that was currently very trendy, and although John is a fairly popular name, it has not been as popular in recent years. For me, the important thing was what the name means. John means "God's gracious gift." and David means "Beloved." Both names seem very descriptive of this child's place in our hearts, especially after seeing just how fragile life can be. This is also the process we used to pick Jessica's name (and by the way the "J" theme is purely accidental). Jessica means "Gift" or "God sees." Elizabeth is a family name and means "Dedicated to God." We felt this name was very appropriate since we had not expected to become pregnant at that time. So far all of our names have a Hebrew origin, mostly because of what the names mean (not to mention the Bible tends to make them classic American name choices). For now at least I will still be able to have our names in English and Hebrew with the meanings in the kids' room! We'll have to just wait and see what we end up doing name-wise for the next child!


We have a few other details we need to consider (that you will hear about later), but for the most part we are about ready for this little one to join us! I have cemented in my mind that although I did not want an induction that is the best choice for our baby. I had mentioned earlier that I am a carrier for Strep Group B in my blood and that I need 4 hours of penicillin through an IV during labor and delivery in order to ensure that I do not pass it on to our baby. Although it is not dangerous for me, it can be dangerous for a newborn, and because Jessica's labor and delivery lasted only 6 hours, we live almost an hour from the hospital, and second children usually come faster, we do not want to risk not getting enough penicillin to protect the baby. I still hope to avoid an epidural. I felt that it was a positive experience last time; however, I recognize that each labor and delivery is different so we will just have to see! We have had a very long day, and we are both worn out! I am going to go get some chores done around the house while relaxing to some Star Trek!! Perhaps I will share more tomorrow. :-)

Family Planning

I have heard lots of discussion lately concerning the Duggars, probably because they are currently expecting their 19th child. This has also led to a lot of discussion about family planning: How large is ok? How far apart is best? etc. People are all unique right down to their fingerprints. Families are made up of these unique people so it stands to reason that families will also be completely unique. My husband grew up in your somewhat more traditional 2 parents, 1 boy, 1 girl, and a pet kind of family. I grew up the oldest in a family of 5 children, which is a little more unusual. (To make this post more interesting I am including a couple cute pictures of Jessica!)

Jessica at Publix with her best-friend! Sometimes it is difficult being friends with Jessica because she has so much exuberance for life that she can quickly overwhelm those around her. It is truly a beautiful thing to see!

I always did a lot of helping out. Large families have to be team efforts. Overall, I think that was a good experience for me because it taught me to be responsible, how to take care of a child, how to share, and that I wanted very much to prevent having a child until I was ready!! For a period of time while my mom was sick, I also had a great deal more responsibility that I would call raising children (to a degree). This was very different from what I had previously been accustomed to. I was concerned about what kind of adults they were going to turn into, that they learned certain self-help skills, that they learned appropriate social skills, etc. While I did not punish them, I did develop my own way of correcting problematic behaviors and decisions. To this day, I stalk my siblings on facebook and maintain close relationships with them. It has allowed me to be aware of choices that they might not share with Mom and Dad and take action to suggest possible consequences for those actions that they might not be thinking about. I really do see most of them as my children more so than my siblings. I still get a little misty eyed when looking at my graphing calculator that has lady bug stickers all over it from my baby brother, when I think about picking my baby brother up from school when he was in kindergarten and he would jump into my arms, and when I think about how very quickly he is growing into an adult. Do I think helping raise my siblings at that time was harmful to me or a disadvantage for me? Not in the slightest. Yes, there are aspects of my childhood I probably missed out on (being able to be carefree and completely self-absorbed); however, none of us gets to experience everything in life. I also believe that it brought great joy to my life to have siblings/children to share the journey of life with.

It amazes me how different these two girls are and yet how I can love both of their very different personalities!

All of that being said, do we want 19 children? No. In fact one of the things I am very cognizant of is could we still manage to care for our children in the event of a crisis? While I do love having lots of brothers and sisters and would like my own children to have the opportunity to have a bunch of live-in best friends to fight with, I think family size and timing is something that we will have to constantly re-evaluate as we go along. Some of it depends on how many we can handle and still maintain the type of family life we enjoy. Some of it depends on the needs of the children that come into our lives, and some of it depends on at what age we would like to be empty-nesters! No matter how many children we have, we are truly blessed to be given the opportunity to share our lives with such precious little ones as we help them grow into the adults God made them to be!

The Story of Jessica

We found out we were pregnant with Jessica when we were in the process of leaving graduate school and moving to David's new job. David had to leave two weeks earlier than me, and I went down to visit him one weekend. While down there I took a pregnancy test and told him it was positive. He rolled over and went back to sleep hoping it was a bad dream! Then I had to leave to finish getting everything packed up. While I was there I ended up having some pretty heavy spotting and ended up driving myself to the ER in the middle of the night! Thankfully everything was just fine, but they said to follow up with my doctor immediately. Well, since I was leaving the next day, I did not have a doctor yet so I asked a girl I knew down here who she used and made an appointment for the next day!

Probably the only good picture of my pregnant with Jessica!

That summer was rather full. In less that a month we went from both being in graduate school and working to moving to a new state farther from family, graduating, David getting a job, me not getting a job (for like the first time ever), buying a house, getting pregnant, not to mention all of the things that go along with an out of state move! Also it was summer, and it was HOT!!!! I kept getting dehydrated which eventually resulted in another ER visit. I eventually realized that it was just too warm outside for me! I also seemed to have trouble pushing things. It made me feel sick. Overall though the pregnancy itself was uneventful, which we were very grateful for! We were also very fortunate to have so many wonderful family and friends (both old and new) who made welcoming our sweet little girl into the world so much easier and much more fun!

A day or two before we went to the hospital.

A week or two before my due date, I was at 2 cm, and the doctor said I would have her within the week. Well, I didn't, and then I missed my next appointment because he was delivering another baby. That night I started having some contractions so we decided to go ahead on in since it is almost an hour drive and we knew I was over 2 cm. We got there and I was at 3 cm, having good contractions, but they weren't really doing anything yet. By morning we decided to stay and get petocin because we were really afraid David would be at work and would have to drive 45 min home and then drive another 45 min to the hospital. I think it ended up being a good decision because after they got the petocin up to the right level, Jessica was born 6 hours later with only 30 minutes of pushing, which is incredibly short for a first delivery (Average is 12 hours and usually several hours pushing). This is especially true since they did not break my water until 9 cm which also slows down the process. The nurse tried and tried to break it accidentally, but ended up having to wait for the doctor to show up. Apparently they did not expect it to go so quickly. The only real negative was that I broke my tailbone, which really hurt since I did not have an epidural. I did get some medication through an iv which seemed to help a little. The petocin is supposed to make the contractions much worse, but I found it to be doable (not great mind you but doable). Once the doctor got there, things went quite quickly, and he managed to keep me from tearing very much at all. (In case you are curious, I did have a local anesthetic for the stitches!!) Apparently it is uncommon to not have an epidural because the nurses kept having to tell the staff "She can walk. She didn't have an epidural."

Where Jessica slept most of her hospital stay...otherwise she screamed bloody murder....seriously she woke up the family across the hall!

The birth experience I would describe as doable. I had to be hooked up to an iv since I had tested positive for strep group B so I had few options about moving around. I did try a birthing ball at one point and did like that. However, mostly it was the quietest 6 hours of our marriage. The more pain I am in the quieter I get. I kind of go into a zone. David tried to go get lunch once, but I wouldn't let him because I did not want to be alone. I didn't want him to do anything or say anything, but I didn't want to be alone either. He did field calls from family which was good since I wasn't saying much of anything. Apparently the doctor and nurses were quite shocked at how quickly things progressed. Towards the end the nurse suggested I scream to scare everyone in the next room. (I did not) I think she thought I was being a little too quiet, but it seems to work for me! It's one of the few times in my life something has gotten my attention to the point that I can block out everything else!

All cleaned, fed, and sleeping in her little cart!

Jessica was very alert when she was born and nursed almost immediately! She really took to it like a duck to water! She spent most of her time in our room, and the only negative was that she got kind of ticked our last night in the hospital because while I had colostrum, the real milk hadn't come in yet and apparently she was ready for the real deal! Since we were in the hospital over a weekend, there were no lactation consultants which was fine because I didn't end up needing them. The nurses kept telling David to make me get out of bed and move on my own not realizing that I had broken my tailbone (I didn't know at that point either since it was my first!). Thankfully, David didn't listen to them. He knows I don't whine about discomfort until it gets really bad! The two things that aggrevated me the most was that it took them 3 hours after Jessica's birth to get me some food and the blinds didn't block out enough light to allow you to sleep during the day!

Obviously, we were smitten from the very beginning! I think the last picture I have of David smiling like that was when we got married!

Overall, Jessica's pregnancy and birth were relatively easy and without complication. There were challenges, but nothing unmanagable. Although we had not planned on having a baby at that time, we were truly ecstatic at her arrival, and we both believe she is one of the best things that ever happened to us! Obviously....we decided to have another one!! I am undecided as to whether or not we will try petocin this time or not. My new doctor was also absolutely shocked it went that quickly and understands my concern about actually making it TO the hospital!! However, we will see how things progress!

Maternity Clothes

Probably the number one thing I have the most trouble with while pregnant (other than not being able to push anything without getting sick) is figuring what to wear with my constantly changing shape. I am NOT very good at matching clothes...AT ALL....even when I stay the same size!! I also find it challenging because the way my body is I will carry every child really really low, which also means I will carry them straight out in front.

Me 7 months pregnant with Jessica beginning to outgrow the last of my maternity tops.

Although they now carry cute maternity clothes, they are very expensive and are made to fit people of an average size who grow proportionally. Seriously??? What woman can describe herself as an average size AND manages to grow proportionally throughout her pregnancy?!??! During my last pregnancy I out grew the large sized maternity clothes (which fit like a sack) by about month 7. The rest of the pregnancy I ended up wearing XL and XXL sized clothing (which also fit like a sack) because it was the only thing that would cover my gargantuan belly! Is it any wonder that I did not feel particularly good about how I looked, especially with strangers coming up to me and making comments about my size?? (Seriously...the gas station, the grocery store, restaurants...)

Me the week Jessica was born in my husband's XL t-shirt and below the belly maternity pants.

This time around I know what to expect, and I am bound and determined to feel good about how I look! Thursday I am going on a mission to the Motherhood Maternity Outlet to find some dresses that can be worn over leggings. I figure this would manage to cover my gargantuan belly till the very end! Apparently, this style is on its way out, so I need to get over there and buy some of whatever they have left. (From what I understand, they plan to bring back the 80's. Is it just me or was that a bad idea the first time around?!?!?!?!?!) As long as I can find one or two dresses that would work, I could always make more. I also had a friend who just finished with her maternity clothes who offered to let me use some of hers. That will be nice since I don't have a lot of winter maternity clothes and she does!

Trying to Beat Nausea

I usually end up feeling nauseated the entire time I am pregnant; however, it usually lightens up some after the first three months. On the bright side, I have a very strong stomach, so although I feel awful I rarely vomit! (There is a bright side to everything....sometimes you just have to look for it a little harder!) Here are a few things I have tried to do to help fight nausea:

1) Go out to eat. Far better to be repulsed by a restaurant than your own cooking!

2) Prepare dinner in a crock-pot and plug it up outside!

3) Prepare quick prepackaged dinners.

4) Wear a mask when you cook to block out smells.

5) Sleep through it.

6) Drink lots of gatorade (feeling nauseated and dehydrated is not a good combination!)

7) Eat whatever sounds good, whenever it sounds good!

8) Avoid things that don't appeal to you or make you feel worse.

9) Remember that feeling nauseated is often associated with a healthy pregnancy.

10) If it gets to the point that you can't keep food down, get some medication from the doctor.

11) If you have other children, get some prepackaged items that don't require prep-work for lunch!

12) If dealing with cloth diapers bothers you, wear a mask or switch to disposables (this did not work for us....Jessica ended up breaking out into a heat rash).

13) Hang on. It can't last forever!