Latest challenge: No-spend month

Ever on a quest to save money, we had gotten a bit lax as of late and so with no births on the horizon for November, we've resolved to make it a No Spend Month to try to keep our budget balanced. Well, no extra or nonessential spending. Gas and food are non-optional; as, I've found, is parking if I'm to make any money by working at the hospital. (Getting dropped off would be the only other option, but would cost more in gas than it would save in parking.) But anything else strictly nonessential is out. I meant to keep a tally of how much we've saved, but ha! In my free time, right? So I'll just rattle off a few of the things it's occurred to me to buy, and how I've circumvented it:

-Baby wipes (I know, I know): switched back to cloth.

-Greeting cards: called or emailed instead.

-Groupon, LivingSocial, et al: did without.

-Ditto for eating out (a particular Achilles heel) or getting coffee.

-Buying lunch at work: brown-bagged it (the usual, but tempting to skip when I'm running late, which is always).

And the month isn't even half over yet. Stay tuned for updates, including a fantastic recipe for a natural solution to use on cloth wipes!

We're still here

In more ways than one. It's hard to believe it's been two months since I've posted! In the meantime, we've been through a variety of challenges as a family and had to make some major decisions. Perhaps the most visible of those is that we've decided to stay put for the time being. Thinking it over carefully, alternating parenting round the clock just so we could pay our rent didn't feel like the right thing for our family or the best thing for our girls at this point in our lives. We feel really lucky to have a branch of the family that is happy to have us and our girls camp out with them as long as needed--as well as another branch within a few hours' drive that love us and are happy to lend whatever reinforcements we need as well. We've spent several days this summer with three and four grandparents on deck, and I have to say it's been a lot of fun and very gratifying to see how well everyone works and gets along together. We're grateful and humbled by all the love and support everyone shows us on a daily basis, and it's really reaffirmed for us that there's nothing more important than our family.

So for the foreseeable future, we're going to continue to function as one, big, happy, multigenerational, four-pet, two-business household. (Sounds a little crazy put like that, doesn't it?) One that note, midwifery is starting to take off, which is a little overwhelming but extremely exciting. I remember doing my training in Pennsylvania and spending beautiful fall days with my favorite midwife, driving around the countryside and visiting expectant families in their homes, and thinking "This is the life." Well, it's now at least partially my life as well. And while there are definitely things we miss about the various towns and landscapes we've occupied in the past, being near family is definitely right, and Iowa is starting to feel like home.

Eden is definitely moving into a more settled phase of being as well. She's definitely still intense and energetic, we're all finding our way together and learning to relax and enjoy one another more in the process. She's also learning to channel her energy and focus for longer periods of time. We spend lots of time playing and climbing outside, building with Duplos, and playing with Play-Doh. She's now potty trained and continues to be a spectacular big sister to Eve--who's morphed from a sleepy sack of a newborn into a curious, smiley and easygoing baby who loves watching Eden's adventures from the safety of the sling or Bumbo.

Matt and I are feeling like we're really beginning to hit our stride, in our marriage and as parents. Much of this is due to deliberate reflection and effort on each our parts, and I think it's also helpful to feel like we're finally in a settled spot for awhile. As opposed to our various moves in the past few years, we can make friends or find a restaurant we like without thinking that it's too bad we'll be leaving soon. Even if we don't live at Belmont Hill forever, we feel like we've found the region we'll be calling home, and that's a tremendous relief for everybody.

Easing up

Things with Eden were 1000% better today. While we still had our share of tantrums, potty accidents, and other standard 2-year-old fare, and she is still "declining" to take a nap, she was actually very sweet, cuddly, and affectionate most of the day, did like she was told more often than usual, and spent most of the day using the potty and wearing dry training pants. 

I felt like I'd been let out of jail.

Having it to do over again

Awhile back, someone commented on a blog post to ask whether we'd be doing things more or less the same way with Eve that we did with Eden. For the most part, the answer is yes.

Settling in

Eve is 11 days old, and of course by now it feels like we've always had her. She's a very easygoing baby so far, and she's even up at night less than I had anticipated--two facts we're grateful for. I'm also incredibly thankful that Eden is turning out to be a doting and proud older sister. She's extremely sweet and loving toward Eve, constantly wanting to give her kisses, hold her, and share her things with her, and has really not acted jealous or anything like that at all. If anything, I'd have to say that Eden's behavior has gotten better since we had Eve. She's really risen to the occasion. Not to say that we don't still have our challenges, like today, when I found myself struggling to keep my patience after repeating, for the 1000th time (today) things like "Keep the sand in the sandbox," and "We only draw on paper." But I try to remind myself that these things are completely appropriate to her age and stage, and not something she's doing to personally drive me insane. I think.

36 week comparison & update

It feels so good to NOT be swollen this time around! I can't speak to why that is--I'd planned to maintain a healthy, low-carb primal diet throughout my third trimester in an effort to keep it at bay, but honestly, that's fallen by the wayside and I'm eating more or less what I feel like eating, pretty much like I did with Eden. But no complaints here! There's also a bit of an angle differential between the pictures, but I think they still confirm my sense that this is a smaller baby than Eden was. Which is just fine--10 lbs, 2 oz leaves plenty of room for downsizing. If this baby follows in her footsteps as far as timing, though, it will be here in less than two weeks! I'm not holding my breath that it will be that soon, but we do have the birth room set up and ready, including inflating the tub--which Eden loves to fool around in.

It's been a challenging couple of weeks around here. Eden is in the midst of some true terrible-2 insanity. Hard-core tantrums are the norm at least several times a day--full-on kicking, screaming, red-faced, sometimes even head-banging-on-the-floor intensity. Sometimes brought on by our unreasonable requests (such as to sit in her chair during dinner or come in from outside) and other times seemingly for no reason at all--like because she woke up in the morning. She does have her pleasant moments in between, but it seems like there's always some raw nerve just waiting to be touched off. I'd like to thing she's getting it out of her system and will be sweet as pie when the baby's born, but that seems like a lot to hope for. At least we have the benefit of four adults in the household (and a few others nearby and more reachable by Skype), because it takes all of everybody's reserves to get through a period like we've had.

Moving forward

It's hard to believe we've been back in the midwest for three months now! And while the first weeks/months involved a lot of uncertainty, trying to find a new routine, and a general feeling of waiting for things to happen, the sensation now definitely seems like one of forward motion. A few of the highlights...

32 weeks: Better this time around

This pregnancy progresses: 14 weeks, 24 weeks, 28 weeks, 32 weeks

32 weeks last time compared to this time

Almost on the home stretch, I can say definitively that this pregnancy has been so much easier than the last one.

Book Review: Simplicity Parenting

I recently read Simplicity Parenting by Kim Payne, after seeing it mentioned in a parenting blog post. The book is predicated on the notion that kids today are exposed to

"too much stuff
too many choices
too much information
and too fast..."

and that the result is an epidemic of anxious, materialistic, self-centered children who can't focus or behave. Looking at children today, I definitely think that there's something really wrong, and we have definitely made moves in the past several years to simplify our own lives--so I was intrigued by the premise.

The author makes the point that everything from picky eating to sleep problems to temper tantrums can be caused by an environment that is overly stimulating (electronic toys, video and computer screens, constant exposure to the adult world of conversation, extreme numbers of scheduled after-school activities), causing kids to make an effort to filter out some of the world around them. Hearing the rationale and case studies made me feel really affirmed about some of the things we've already chosen to do with Eden and our future kids: no TV; trying hard to seriously limit the amount of time she sees us using "screens," whether computer, movie, iPod, or phone; minimizing the number of toys and possessions that are around; and, probably most controversially--and this is not from the book, but I did feel like the overall message of the book backed it up--no Christmas or birthday gifts. (We'd rather tie rewards and presents to hard work and good behavior, and make sure that they stay in the realm of "nice surprise/treat I've earned" versus "Wait till Christmas and then I can ask for whatever I want, regardless," and the diminishing returns that come with buying into a consumerist mentality. More on that to come.) It also gave me some fresh motivation and new ideas--like trying to make sure that the space where Eden spends a lot of time is uncluttered and visually restful, and making particular effort to keep our conversations around her positive and uplifting. I feel like the result of all this is, for the most part, a happy, well-adjusted little girl, and it also made me realize that when she's not acting that way--days with temper tantrums and meltdowns and difficulty sleeping well-- that "too much/too many/too fast" is a good place to start looking for the root of the problem.

On the whole, this was a good, quick read, and one that I'd highly recommend, especially to parents or other people working with kids who find themselves up against children with sleep, eating, attention, or behavioral problems.

Braving the cold at Amana Winterfest

We spent the day out and about at the Amana Winterfest. It was just the thing I'd been needing because the recent sub-zero temperatures have had me feeling a little morose about moving back to the midwest in the middle of winter (or, probably more accurately, with more than half of winter left to go). I'm cold when I'm outside, cold when I'm inside, rocking multiple pairs of long underwear like nobody's business, and fighting the family's dogs for the warm spaces next to the heating vent. Mind over matter helped me stay positive about the cold until it started dipping into the negative double digits. At that point, my mind agreed with my body and said, "To hell with it. This is miserable!"

However, in addition to downing lots of hot beverages (Trader Joe's ultra-rich sipping chocolate and my own homemade chai lattes among my favorites) and wearing a hat, even indoors (a tip from my cold-loving and Wisconsin-born husband), I'd have to say that eating a steaming mug (or three) of chili outdoors and attending a charming winter festival would also have to rank high on my list of ways to beat the cold.

No, she's not a cold-despiser like her mother; Eden just woke up from a nap

Matt enjoying his souvenir mug of chili

($8 for an awesome sturdy mug and 3 fill-ups of chili, coffee, cider, or cocoa)

Eden was a big fan of the chili, too

A quick glimpse of the Ice Princess (not sure who she is or how this honor gets bestowed)

Of course, we couldn't resist!

Crosscut saw competition

Matt in the lineup for the Beard Competition--and as you can see, the competition was stiff (sometimes literally)

We didn't win this year, but I'm sure a blue ribbon is in store in the near future

Regardless, we enjoyed the drive through what we think is one of the prettier parts of Iowa, and it was also nice to get out of the house and enjoy some family-friendly activities. Things can start to feel a little cabin-feverish in our situation, even in the nicest of circumstances, and it was great to have a low-cost way to shake things up a little bit.

New year, new everything

New location (back in the midwest). New baby (yet to come). Newfound freedom of not juggling being a nurse and student midwife and displaced family anymore...

The past months of clinicals were incredibly hard on everybody. Money was tight, quarters were very close, and we lived in an unfamiliar area with few people we knew (though those we did really stepped up as friends and support people--thanks, Maribeth!) My schedule was crazy, and my being on call close to 24/7 for births meant Matt was a full-time-plus parent and homemaker--a role he fulfilled brilliantly, but I know not effortlessly. I can never express how much his sacrifices and commitment mean to me. Having the opportunity to spend lots of time with Eden these days is something I cherish--but it's also something that makes me marvel more every day at how he managed to take care of this whirlwhind of nonstop energy and incessant demands, within the confines of a tiny cabin, with absolutely NO assistance from anyone, PLUS cook and clean and run errands--for many months on end. He's truly superhuman, and has given up so much in order for me to become a midwife, and I owe him more than I can ever say. We all felt the strain of being pulled in multiple directions, and the only thing more complicated than our life in Pennsylvania was the fact that every few weeks, we packed up and drove down to Virginia for me to work a stretch of nursing shifts. That meant unsettling the baby's routine, two long car rides, relying on the kindness of friends for a place to stay, and 14-hour days watching a crabby baby in unfamiliar surroundings (Matt) or pregnant and constantly on my feet at the hospital (me).

It's amazing now to think that that chapter of our lives--so intense at the time--is just over. It's also amazing to think of just how many people did step up to the plate to try to make our lives easier at that point--April, Pam, Tara and Mark, just to name a few. And of course, our families have been invaluable sources of support and have gone above and beyond in assisting us in our monumental move back across the country. We're thankful to everyone for their kindness and overwhelming generosity, and we're also thankful that another chapter of our lives is beginning.

We've now moved on to a new set of challenges and joys, which everyone is embracing. We're doing our best to keep up with old friendships, and slowly but surely we're starting to forge new. Eden is thriving with her grandparents so nearby, rather than depending solely on two stressed and harried parents for interaction and play. Matt and I have enjoyed the opportunity to reconnect with our siblings, to go to our first movie in over 18 months, and have more than the occasional conversation actually face to face with each other. The benefits of having family close by are even sweeter than we'd imagined, and we're also enjoying the opportunities to rediscover our favorite places in the area--and getting to know some new ones. I'm sure there will be bumps in the road along the way, but in the meantime, we're relishing some much-needed downtime together.

October update

It's been a long couple of weeks around here. We've temporarily relocated three times in the past two weeks (with one more final move to come next Tuesday), including for a stint of four back-to-back twelve hour shifts for me back in Reston, and that has started to take its toll on all of us--especially Eden. The past few days, she's gone from her usual happy-go-lucky self to a screaming bundle of frustration who has no tolerance for-- well, anything. We were about at the breaking point yesterday, and then suddenly today, she was back to her smiling, giggling self. The only thing I can think of to explain it is that in our desperation, we committed to getting back on track with very regular nap and bedtimes and also more primal eating (the throes of morning sickness sent me fleeing into the arms of carbohydrates, which is about all I felt like I could get down at times). Maybe it's just coincidence, but since she's already doing much better, we aren't going to argue!

Also taking its toll are things like living in an extremely small space together (though we just upgraded to a 2-bedroom cabin, which we're thrilled about--no more litterbox next to the dining room table, or peeing in a cup or frying pan rather than barge through the bedroom into the bathroom and wake the sleeping baby), having few of our belongings, my extremely erratic schedule and sometimes long hours, my fairly constant nausea/vomiting/exhaustion, and the fixedness of our budget, which means few treats or indulgences with which to blow off steam. On the other hand, I told Matt I feel a little like the Israelites complaining about always having to eat manna--back when we were praying hard for a good clinical site and an affordable place to live, we had no idea how closely our prayers would be answered. (He did point out that we're paying for our experience, rather than having it fall from the sky.) Still, it has its uncomfortable moments.

But, on the whole, we're having a pretty good time. Upgrading to a 2-bedroom has already made our living situation seem much less stressful. Eden being in a better mood today has put us in a better mood, too. And fall is coming to Lancaster County, which means cooler weather and gorgeous scenery. As you can see from the pictures below, we're managing to squeeze in some fun of various kinds.

Still, I know we're all anxious for the time when our lives will be a little more stable. When exactly that will be is another issue, since once I'm done here there are still the issues of moving back to the midwest (to yet another temporary living situation), welcoming another baby, starting up a small business, and figuring out countless other things about a brand-new life back in the midwest. However, we're thankful that we'll have lots of helping hands nearby while we feel our way and figure it out.

Reporting in from Beaver Creek...

We're settling into life in our two-room cabin, and it's going surprisingly smoothly. While we did have to pare down our belongings when we got here and send more than we'd anticipated back with my parents to our storage garage in Iowa, we've mostly got what we need here and have been pleasantly surprised at how un-crowded we feel. Our setup does pose a few challenges; for example, the bathroom is off of the bedroom, and so our choices when Eden is napping are to hold it, drive to the nearest gas station, or wake the sleeping baby (we opt for one of the former). The laundry is coin-operated, and that makes for a considerable investment in quarters when one is cloth diapering. However, Matt has solved that dilemma by bravely handwashing and hang-drying ALL of our laundry. Surprisingly, it really doesn't take much longer! The grocery shopping options are also less varied, but that mainly means that there are fewer temptations (Trader Joe's vanilla ice cream and Pound Plus Dark Chocolate come to mind)-- which is a good thing, since we're trying to make it on a $40-50/week grocery budget that includes plenty of fresh produce, grassfed meats and dairy, and pastured eggs. In the past year or so, we've come to welcome limitations as a good thing in most cases, since we aren't very capable of placing them on ourselves.

I've been to two births so far, one Amish and one non-Amish. The midwifery practice I'm precepting with has been everything I'd hoped for. The midwives are all very different from one another, and I'm excited to think of everything I can learn from them in the next several months. I finally feel like I'm going with the flow, rather than the frantic paddling upstream I've always felt when working in a hospital setting. It's amazing how good it feels--it hardly seems like work at all.

Today, the weather is in the 70s (down from the 90s for the first time since we've been here) and we started the day with a long walk past cornfields, grazing cows, Amish farms, and a one-room schoolhouse. We're planning to go to the farmer's market when Eden wakes up, and run a couple of other errands. We're really enjoying the opportunity to sever some of our previous addictions to technology--by necessity these days, we're checking our email every couple of days or so, have no opportunity to watch TV or movies, and even turn off the radio when we're in the car. While we felt a bit stir-crazy the first day or so, we're settling into a slower pace of life where basic chores like washing dishes, cooking meals, doing laundry, and taking care of Eden are our life, rather than something we have to fit in around it, and I also relish the feeling of not having to compulsively rely on something to entertain me. A couple of recent articles I've read have made me committed to slowing down and learning to actually think and read and focus again (all things that frequent exposure to glowing screens tends to disrupt), and this is certainly a great place to learn how to do that!

Packing up

It's officially less than a week until we move to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, where I'll spend the next 4+ months catching babies and Matt and Eden will spend long, outdoorsy days getting to know our new home. We're hoping that I'll be done by Christmas, but we've learned not to count on hard and fast plans, since ours have changed so many times--yet somehow always turned out better than we'd expected.

Life is about like this right now, but sub in clinicals, working, babysitting, preparing most of our belongings to go into storage for several months, trying to figure out what to pack to live in a 2-room cabin, and taking care of an insanely active 1-year-old.

It's sad to be leaving Reston and northern Virginia, where we went from a couple to a family and shared so many unforgettable moments. Not only have we walked circles around the trails of Reston with Eden in a sling or a backpack, but she now trots along them herself--obviously a big milestone. She's a native Virginian, and it's the only home she's ever known.

We also made our first "parent friends" here--people who'd only known us as a couple and who came to see us as Eden's mom and dad. They shared the pregnancy, admired our baby, and watched her play with their own babies. Corbin, Poet, Lyon, Max, Grace, Camryn, Asher, Camden and others have been Eden's first buddies too.

It will be especially hard for me to leave my nurse friends at the hospital--but then, it always is. What was supposed to be a temporary job while I figured out what to do next has wound up being a 3-year stint where I've met some exceptionally close friends, including Eden's godmother, who have witnessed my transformation from law school dropout into mother and almost-midwife. They've cheered me on, bared their own souls, and laughed at my filthy jokes. It's been an amazing time.

What's especially hard about moving now is that there's not quite finality to it, since we aren't going from point A to point B (which is Iowa, if I haven't said it out loud yet); we're going to point A-and-a-half first, during which I'll make occasional returns to point A in order to earn a little money, so that I don't really know what will be the last time I see people and so it lacks the epic finality that it did when we pulled down the driveway to leave Iowa the last time. In a way, it's sadder, because we always knew we'd be coming back to Iowa--at least sometimes. Once we leave Virginia, though--probably not.

Little sicky

Few things make you feel like a parent quite so singlehandedly as waking up to the hot gush of a child's vomit across your dozing body. Nor subsequently getting in the shower with said child to hose off at 3:00 in the morning. And especially, nothing quite like being the only person in the world that the damp, feverish little bundle wants to cling to.

Eden has the stomach flu, complete with fever. I would probably characterize it as her first real illness other than a couple bouts of the sniffles. Interestingly enough, it directly coincided with the time period where my work and clinical schedule have signaled a distinct downturn in the amount of nursing she's doing, so I'm not really surprised that she's sick for the first time. I've sorely missed the nursing, as well as her in general, so it actually felt really sweet and nice to spend all night and then the entire day with her cuddled on my chest, doing nothing but that and snuggling.

I think she's actually on the mend, since she hasn't barfed since this morning, but she's still quite clingy and hot. Bring on the snuggling and nursing.

A year ago tonight...

...we were settling in for our first night as the parents of a brand-new baby.

We never could have imagined then all the immeasurable ways that Eden would change our lives for the better, and it's impossible to overstate how much richness and joy she's brought to our lives.

We love you, baby girl.

We're back!

Our trip to Kentucky was absolutely fantastic. While there was more screaming in the car than we'd like to have had (including an especially gut-wrenching hour and a half at the end of the trip home, following 8 hours of angelic behavior, and occurring prior to getting home and realizing we didn't have our keys, a long story I'll not revisit heere)--on the whole, the trip was wonderful and relaxing. I met up with an old (well, 1.5 years, since Frontier Bound) friend and made a great new one, and laughed more and harder than I have in years. Matt and Eden spent many hours together tromping up and down a mountain and through the woods, and we were able to eat three meals a day together (despite bringing much of our own food, we were actually impressed with the Frontier spread most days--seems as though there are a lot of people not eating gluten these days, so protein and fresh fruit and vegetables abounded) and spend most evenings together, too. It was nice to get away and enjoy such a beautiful setting for awhile. And last but not least, in terms of midwifery, Clinical Bound was, like Frontier Bound, incredibly inspiring. I learned a ton, and came back recharged.

Which is good, because I'll need it. The next few months might be somewhat grueling as I attempt to work and do clinicals and Matt leaves his job and we start providing childcare for a friend's baby. It's going to be a number of enormous changes in routine for all of us, and with that will almost certainly come stress. This is compounded by the fact that we STILL don't have a clear idea of where we're ultimately meant to live, or what exactly we're meant to do. We're trying to hang onto our faith, though, that if we just take it one day at a time, we'll eventually figure it out.

Freebies & hitting the road

We're getting ready to head out tomorrow on the closest thing we've taken to a family vacation-- driving down to Frontier in Kentucky for a week while I attend hands-on skills training prior to starting clinicals. (Oh, how it seemed this day would never come.) Since Eden is still mainly breastfeeding, she and Matt are coming along and we're making it a family affair! We're also planning to camp one night after we leave Frontier--either in the Smoky Mountains or Cumberland Gap, depending on how the whim strikes us after we leave!

Our changes in eating habits are still going along quite successfully--Matt's lost 15 lbs, and I've lost an additional 10 in the past few weeks; for comparison, it took me four months of counting calories and exercising daily to lose the first 10. We're feeling great, our grocery bill has actually shrunk, and we're looking forward to the farmer's market opening next month--at that point, we should be able to get almost all of our food either from there or the local farmer where we get our meat, milk, and eggs. We're also now eating in a way that could essentially be feasible if we were growing/raising our own food, which is a major long-term goal.

At this point, we've sort of transitioned from the GAPS diet--emphasis on bone broths, tight dietary restrictions--to the Primal Diet. I like the Primal Diet for maintenance because it offers pretty logical algorithms for eating--basically, eat like a caveman--versus the GAPS diet, which is a little bit more arbitrary (not that it isn't based on science, but it requires memorizing more than reasoning). From the site Mark's Primal Blueprint, here's somewhat of a breakdown:

Is it Primal?

You know the basics: Lean meats and vegetables are healthy, grains and sugars should be avoided. But what about everything else?

• Eggs – Yes (even raw eggs? Why not.)
• Nuts – Yes (Almonds, Walnuts, Soaking Seeds & Nuts)
• Seeds – Yes
• Coconut – Yes, in every way, shape, and form
• Coffee/Tea – Yes
• Whole Grains, Oatmeal, Brown Rice – No
• Beans & Legumes – No
• Dark Chocolate – Occasionally
• Red Wine – Occasionally
• Artificial Sweeteners – Not really, but not terrible [we don't eat these]
  
• Cheese – Not officially, but…
• Soy and Whey and Protein Powders – Depends [we don't eat these either]
  
• Chewing Gum – Depends

Here you can read about how this diet works for weight loss, effortless weight maintenance, and why the Food Pyramid results in an average weight gain of 1.5lbs/year for each American. (Hint: it's the 6-11 servings of grains!)

In that spirit, it's somewhat of a bummer that we won't be able to take advantage of many of the Tax Day Freebies--Cinnabon, ice cream--being offered tomorrow, but on the other hand, we look at that as a very good thing. We know our bodies will thank us for it! And,while we've mostly given up on coffee, even decaf, we do partake occasionally as a treat if it's free. And it's certainly a good time for that: we recently got two free cups from Corner Bakery (ongoing), we're going to Whole Foods (good April 14) later today, and are planning to hit several Starbucks (April 15 only if you bring your own reusable mug) on our trip tomorrow.

We'll be back in just over a week!

A happy new year.

Two weeks into the new year, I feel like we're in a very nice place. Certainly better than last January, when I was starting to get big, down with a cold, and lacking in energy. This year, instead of an expanding midsection, we have an ever-more-delightful, affectionate, silly and wonderful little person around.

We're settling into a nice routine, too; during the week, we get up around 6, I go to the gym for an hour, and Matt hangs out with Eden. I come home, and we spend time as a family until Matt leaves to walk to work. In the evenings, Matt usually does some woodworking, I do some homework, and after we put Eden to bed, we cap it off with an episode of Lost (two episodes on the weekends). On the weekends, I go to work, Matt and Eden have a daddy-daughter day, and we take it easy in the evenings. I feel so fortunate to have been able to rearrange my work schedule around my daughter's teething. I'm actually training up on the postpartum floor as well, to get a few more weekend hours, which is nice.

Eden is also getting bigger and a little more predictable (despite her increasing mobility). Plus, I think we're getting used to her. The more we settle into our life as parents (versus focusing on what we used to be able to do--you know, like sleep in, or have an uninterrupted conversation), the happier we are with it.

Things just feel peaceful and quiet these days--the calm before the storm. We're thankful for both.

Happy New Year!

Compared to my post about Christmas, which was celebrated on the 23rd and not posted till the 31st, my January 2nd new year's post is downright timely. Not that there's a whole lot to say about it; we spend New Year's Eve at home with Eden, who went to sleep around 9pm, while we stayed up watching Lost on DVD. Like with The Office, we're pretty much the last people on earth to discover both shows and now we're just as obsessed as everybody else, except we're about two years behind. Nothing wrong with that!

We also made homemade spaghetti and meatballs, which always tastes so deliciously decadent as to be well worth the small investment of time that it requires to make it. Since our discovery of BPA in a can, and having used up most of our frozen tomatoes, we've switched over to fresh tomatoes in all of our recipes that call for canned. It's a little more expensive, and it can't be called seasonal, but to us, it's worth it. In this instance, it worked quite well.

Besides marking our last New Year's in Reston, 2010 is going to be a big year for us. It appears to be the year we'll move back to the midwest, meaning the end of our current jobs and housing and the seeking out of new. Eden's first birthday, the beginning of my midwifery clinicals, and who knows what else will be other highlights. It was supposed to be the year I finished midwifery school, but it now appears that I'll do that in 2011 instead. Which is just fine with me. In all other ways, we're coming so much closer to accomplishing our dreams than I'd ever hoped we could, that a delay of a few months really doesn't matter at all.

Meanwhile, we're happy right now just to be exactly where we're at. Eden is growing and developing by leaps and bounds every day. Last night, while I was nursing her to sleep (or trying to), she somehow wrangled herself into a position perpendicular to me, worked her legs underneath her, and straightened them, so that she was standing up, bent at a 90-degree angle, still latched on. She's a lightning-fast army crawler and is already imitating sounds we make, making us feel like walking and talking will be here before we know it. Today at CVS, we reached two milestones: we bought her first toothbrush (a tiny yellow Sesame Street number--how impossible is it to buy a child's item that doesn't have some kind of marketing on it?!), and I also sat her in the front of the cart. Having only ever held or worn her in a store, it was amazing to look down and see this tiny, distinct person sitting in a little seat, little legs poked out through the holes, and of course trying to grab and mouth everything that went past her.

Today we also ordered some books, making use of generous gift cards and other funds given to us for Christmas (thanks, everybody!). For Matt: The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live it. For me? A few too many breastfeeding books, so seductive because (like pregnancy and birth books) I can justify them as part of my "professional library." Including:

Child of Mine: Feeding with Love and Good Sense
The Food of Love: The Easier Way to Breastfeed Your Baby
Ina May's Guide to Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding Made Simple: Seven Natural Laws for Nursing Mothers

And, for Eden: What Baby Needs. While it's about the anticipation of a younger sibling, and we don't need that quite yet, we know someday we will and it seems like many of the more naturally-minded or breastfeeding/homebirth-friendly children's books (I am Made of Mama's Milk or Welcome With Love) go out of print quickly and then are quite expensive used. This one was under $5 shipped, and so I figured it was a bargain. Something I didn't get, but totally loved: these nursing animals (pig, cat, and dog) which have babies who "nurse" by magnetically attaching to their mother (which I'm sure is how all nursing mothers have felt at some point). Awesome! I remember how much I loved Puppy Surprise as a kid, and this is even a bit more biologically sound than dogs whelping via a Velcro abdominal pouch. (And who knew, anyway, that there were so many Surprise iterations that followed?)

So anyway. We're happily anticipating what comes next, enjoying where we're at, and already watching our baby girl grow up. And learning that, unlike the proverbial pot, she'll continue to grow and change incredibly quickly no matter how closely we're watching.