Fostering Hope

I'm finally 4 months along! 16 weeks and 2 days, actually :) 

We find out the sex of this little baby in exactly 2 weeks and 1 day! Ever since we set that date, time has been dragging on! I can't wait to begin the shopping! The third best thing about being pregnant! (first being feeling your baby, second...having a big baby belly).

Which...I have not felt this baby yet...I'm kind of concerned...because it's my third child and I felt Adison around 15wks. , what's taking me so long to feel this one? I know, some people don't feel their baby until 20+ weeks. I don't have a legitimate reason to worry...but I always do. I have an appointment Friday, I love going to the doctors. Except the weighing in part. I'm pretty sure I've gained in the past 4 weeks...because we've been eating out more than we should. Plus it was my birthday and valentines day and my sister's bridal shower, which all included lots and lots of fattening but yummy food.  Maybe if I "diet" between now and Friday i'll be good. 

So,  the girls are still good...doing their play thing. :) I can't believe that in 2 and three months I will have a three year old and a two year old. They are getting so big. 

No word on Adam's job application yet, as expected. We're still just hanging out and looking at homes in the town that he works in still. He's a good man. For valentines day, I made biscuits and gravy (which i had been craving for ever). We went to church, napped, got a new washer & dryer, went to lunch, hung out, and then I made him steak while he relaxed and played the game I got him for v-day, Bioshock II. 

Today has been an overall lazy-gloomy day. 

One of my best friends Dad died last week of a sudden heart attack. He was only 50. Today was his funeral, which I did not go to because she didn't tell me the time of the funeral until one hour before it started. Then, she said she wanted me to come over later that night they were having a gathering thing at her mom's house. So I said yes and waited around for her to call 5pm...6pm...7pm...then I stopped waiting and decided she's a) too busy to talk to me or b) weirdly does not want me there. Oh well, still feel like I wasted my day. 

So, now that I'm a bit further into pregnancy, I am thinking of all the decisions ahead of me.

 

Cloth diapers or Disposable? 

What kind of breast pump? 

Rubber or silicone pacifier? 

Wide nipple bottles, or regular? 

Glass or plastic bottles? 

Should I use bottles at all? 

Using formula while breast feeding? 

Co-sleeping? 

Circumcise or not circumcise? 

Does this child really need godparents? 

Regular vaccine schedule, delayed, or none at all? 

Cord blood storing? 

Is a $200 infant car seat really that much better than the $125 infant car seat? 

Is a $300 convertible car seat really better than a $150 one? 

Would a wrap or ring sling be better? 

I kind of feel lost. As you notice, not all of these are just purchase situations. But they are medical and "lifestyle" decisions as well. With my first two girls, I bought what I liked. Didn't care what is was made of. Did what the doctors told me to, slept my baby in a bassinet, breast fed for a little bit but ended up formula feeding, never used a sling or child carrier. I was just..."regular". 

But, with this pregnancy  before I was even pregnant) I was introduced into this entire new..."world" of...

"home birthing" - "all natural labor" - "doctors dont know how to deliver babies, they only know how to perform surgery" - "hospitals are baby factories, they dont care about you or your baby, just money" - "I am smarter than doctors because I research things on the internet(surely...the eight years in college didn't teach them a thing!)- "formula is poison" - "no pacifiers, don't you know, your suppose to be a human pacifier" - "cloth diapers" - "co-sleeping"- "breast feeding until the child is about to graduate from middle school" (exaggeration)- "bring your infant to a chiropractor, not a pediatrician" - "IF you vaccinate your child at all, use the "delayed" schedule" - "co-sleeping"- "wear your child everywhere you go" - "dont let your baby cry" - "non-circumcising"...hippie...way of being a parent. 

It almost exhaust's me thinking about it. 

What kind of parent am I? What do I believe in and not believe in when it comes to these decisions for me and my children? I do like hearing about different things and different ways people do things, but sometimes, it can be a bit extreme.  I don't think I'm any particular kind of parent. I kind of take things from here and there and go with them. 

ME....

Home birth? No thanks. A midwife can't cut you open if an emergency arises, no matter how experienced she is. 

Natural birth? I'd like to try it...but really...who cares? In the end, natural or not, you have a baby. 

Doctors...are smarter than you. No matter how much you research online. They do know how to deliver a baby, they did not go to school for nothing, and I bet you would not think poorly of an OB after they save you or your babies life...But I know...until then...they are "stupid". 

A HOSPITAL may be a "baby factory", but that does not mean that the nurses and doctors only care about money. They don't get paid by "tables turned". 

Formula is poison- BS. Breast milk is best, I agree. But I don't think anyone should be criticized for formula feeding. There IS a such thing as "not making enough milk" and sometimes, some women just can't breast feed. 

"Why is it so hard to believe that there really are women with low milk production? There are diabetics for whom the pancreas doesn't make enough insulin; there are hemophiliacs whose blood doesn't make enough clotting factor; there are people whose eyes don't make enough tears or whose ovaries don't make enough estrogen. Why do we think the breast is the one body part that always works perfectly?"

Human pacifier? No thanks...

Cloth Diapers? YES! Actually. As long as they dont leak and arent so bulky my kiddo cant wear jeans. 

Co-Sleeping? Nope. Woke up ON TOP of my baby twice before...will never co-sleep again. 

Breast feeding? Yes! But not when my child is old enough to ask for it, and I like bottles, so  I use them. And formula sometimes too! 

Vaccines? Regular schedule. 

Baby wearing? I'm going to try it this time. I like the idea. 

Circumcision? 100% YES. Even if there are no medical benefits...it's clean. I'm sorry...I refuse to clean my 10 year old sons penis. 

Phew. To each his own. I really could care less how anyone else does anything, I wanted to write this for myself. Now, im tired!