Tag Archives: Family

Some families like to have the tradition of “pizza night” - typically on a Friday as a way of celebrating making it through the week. But since I’m on maternity leave, I don’t really have a “Friday” or a work week, but I guess any day is worth celebrating, right? Not like we need an excuse to eat pizza anyway…all it takes is one of us to mention it and we already have the website pulled up (in other news, don’t ask me about my weight loss progress for a bit, m’kay?).

Maternity leave has brought on some television time for me to catch up on shows on Netflix before the season premiers during this month. One thing I like about Netflix is the ability to watch in more than one location. After all, with 3 tvs and 3 tablets in the house, we all could be watching or doing something different in each room!

So when we had pizza night recently, I was in the midst of a “Once Upon a Time” marathon and wanted to continue watching….and Trent wanted to watch cartoons, so to make it more fun for him, we took one of our many boxes from the garage and created a house for him! But first, it was time for pizza…which may or may not have been bigger than Trent!

We equipped his box with a drink holder, a window, and a stand to hold his iPad. He has his own little “flat screen” tv!

He even has doors…ya know, in case we get too loud! Or for Peek-a-boo, of course!

He can watch Netflix in style while we watch Netflix on the big screen….everyone’s happy! Even when he’s not watching the iPad in there, he still likes to play and put his toys in there….it’s like his own little space that we can’t get into. We may need to upgrade to something more luxurious, but we’ll require a down payment first!

How do you make family night more fun for your little ones?

Need some suggestions on what to watch on family night? Here are some titles available on Netflix for each age range:

To be honest, I really didn’t know how Aubrey’s birth was going to play out - do we ever? From the moment I found out I was pregnant, I was scared. Scared that I was going to have a bad laceration like I did with Trent. Scared I wouldn’t have my doctor for the delivery again. Scared I would have blood pressure issues after the birth and pass out with the nurse screaming for Brett to push the red emergency button. Scared of having a newborn AND a toddler at home.

But being scared is part of most pregnancies I suppose…there’s just so many unknowns. I toyed with the idea of an elective c-section because of all the things I was scared of. My doctor wasn’t a big fan when I mentioned it very early on, but he was willing to discuss all options with me and I think he knew that deep down, I didn’t really want a c-section either. I love my doctor. But so does half the city and that’s why I wait in the waiting room for an hour every time I go for an appointment.

This pregnancy, I had high blood pressure from the beginning and was on medication for that, and I also had diet-controlled gestational diabetes. Those two things combined put me into a high-risk category. When I went in for my 39 week appointment on a Monday morning, they took my blood pressure 3 times…including my doctor once just to be certain. Seeing my doctor fumble with the blood pressure cuff - and even having one of the springs pop out - made me really want to joke about when the last time he had to actually use one of those things was, but I figured now wasn’t the time for jokes. It was high, so my doctor wanted to schedule an induction. After the first BP check, he gave me some options: either come back for a recheck in a few days or schedule an induction. At that point, I opted to wait it out and hoped that it would go down or Aubrey would come on her own by then. But after the 2nd and 3rd high BP checks, he felt I shouldn’t wait and should be induced.

I hadn’t really given that option much thought, but I found myself disappointed and sad. We’ve had two friends in the past couple of years get induced and they were in the hospital for a few days just waiting for something to happen and then ended up with c-sections anyway. I certainly did not want to be sitting in a hospital for longer than necessary, especially with a toddler at home to coordinate babysitters for.

I won’t go into explaining the ridiculous process for scheduling an induction at the hospital, but we were scheduled to go in the following night. The hospital would be calling us between 10pm-12midnight on Tuesday to let us know when they were ready for us to come in. We had Nana & Papa come over around 8pm to stay the night and watch Trent…his first overnight experience without us (FYI - he did AMAZING!).

The hospital ended up calling a little early, at 9:15 while I was giving Trent a bath. It was weird how even though I knew the call was coming, the fact that the call came early while I was with Trent kind of threw me off-guard. Having to stop doing what I was doing with Trent to go do something else made me sad and wondered if that’s what life was going to be like now with 2 kids. Silly pregnancy hormones!

We arrived at the hospital around 9:45 to an empty lobby, which was nice. I filled out some paperwork and then we waited just a few minutes before being brought right back to the delivery room. Thank goodness I got to skip Triage.

I changed, put away my belongings, got hooked up to everything and prepared to be there for a while.

After I was hooked up to everything, they wanted to monitor me for about 30 minutes to get a baseline for how everything was going.

Thank goodness for hospital wifi.

Then, around midnight, I received Cervidil, which is a tampon-looking string with medicine at the end that is put in the cervix to help with dilation. This is given before Pitocin. I was only 1cm, so the Cervidil was supposed to be a better start for the process. Then, I had to pick a side to lay on and not move for 2 hours so the medicine could do it’s job. I chose to lay on my right side and then immediately regretted it once I as there and couldn’t move. The funny thing is that I almost always lay on my right side, but when you are told you can’t move, that’s all you want to do!

Wow - that was a very long 2 hours. I was so uncomfortable and could not sleep. I kept looking at the clock, which I know is not a good thing to do, but I was counting down the minutes to when I could move.

Once the 2 hours were up, I got up because I felt like I needed to use the restroom. In fact, I felt that way every 20-30 minutes for the next several hours. So uncomfortable, in pain, restless. I even asked the nurse if I could lay in the whirlpool tub they have there just so I wouldn’t have to lay back down on the hospital bed. I wasn’t allowed to because that would mess with the Cervidil, but she did offer pain medication. The first medicine she gave me didnt do anything, so she gave me a pill to take…I don’t even remember what it was. It helped a little, but it was such a long and uncomfortable night.

Since it was nighttime, I don’t have many photos. There wasn’t much to take photos of anyway.

Early in the morning, I happily received my Epidural and felt so much better afterward. I wish I could have gotten it sooner, but they aren’t typically given until you are around 4-6 cm dilated.

I don’t really remember the timing of everything exactly, but not long after the Epidural, the nurse came in and gave me an oxygen mask to wear because she said that the Cervidil was causing constant contractions and not giving Aubrey a break, causing her heart rate to change. Not long after that, my doctor came in and took out the Cervidil and ordered that they give me a shot to STOP contractions (what they give moms in preterm labor).

I’m not sure how much time passed, but it wasn’t long before I started feeling sever pain and pressure down there. My first reaction was “WTF! I have an Epidural for a reason!” So I paged the nurse and just said “Can I have a nurse please?”

Then, I felt the weirdest thing…I felt like I peed myself…which to me, must have meant my catheter came out since I had one because you aren’t allowed to get up and move around with the Epidural. My main nurse was with another patient, so her assistant came in. While she was in there, I felt even more like I peed myself and then Brett told me my water must have broken! I would have laughed at myself if I wasn’t in so much pain. That nurse ended up calling in the main nurse asap, and in that short time period, I was holding onto the bed rails and almost screaming. The nurse said “It’s time - tell the Doctor to hurry!”

They actually told me to STOP pushing…but I had never started to begin with. Aubrey was coming and there was nothing I could do. In fact, the doctor was rushing to put his gloves and everything on as quickly as he could and nurses were rushing with tables and equipment. The nurse even had to put her hand down there to make sure Aubrey didn’t come out before the doctor was ready. Once he was ready and after barely a push, Aubrey made her arrival at 9:40am.

After all that worry of how long it would take, she came faster than I could have ever imagined. Surely that meant I had a bad tear right? NOPE! No tear…hallelujah!

With Trent, I started the skin to skin time immediately, but had to have him taken by someone because I started to get dizzy with blurred vision because of the blood pressure issues. This time, I had her for so long, I started to wonder when they were going to bathe her! But I wasn’t complaining. I was so happy with everything. I was able to have MY doctor. It happened quickly with no lacerations. And of course, she was beautiful.

Almost a pound bigger than Trent when he was born!

After her bath and some follow-up necessities, I was able to stand up, so they could get me in the wheelchair and transfer us to my recovery room. We pushed the button to play a lullaby and let everyone know that she was born!

She looks so cute with her little bow hat.

After a couple of hours, Nana & Poppa brought Trent to see us. It was a moment I was looking forward to for so long. First, I got a hug from my little man in his big brother shirt.

Then he met his sister.

He just looked at her and even though he didn’t say much, you could tell he was trying to process what it all meant.

We gave him a present from Aubrey, which was something I read was a good idea to get him excited.

Of course, the toy (which Brett picked out), was the loudest toy ever. But he loved it and played with it the entire rest of the time he was there.

Everyone took turns loving on Aubrey.

We even had a beautiful rainbow outside of our window!

Brett couldn’t resist taking a photo of our princess…he did this right on the hospital bed. He can make a studio anywhere!

That night, Brett went home around 9pm. Since I didn’t have a tear, I was able to get up and walk around without any pain, so I was ok with being alone with Aubrey. Plus, I know the nurses there would help if I needed anything. Brett brought Trent by the next day, but didn’t stay for long since Trent wanted to press every button and pull every wire in the room…that place is like Chuck E Cheese for a toddler!

Brett came back a few hours that night and then slept at home with Trent.

I was able to leave the next day, so Brett brought Trent to the hospital for when I would be able to leave, then we left the hospital as a family of 4.

This was us waiting in the parking lot while Daddy picked up lunch at Jersey Mike’s, so her straps were loosened a bit for comfort, so please don’t leave comments about how I’m a bad mother for not having the straps tight enough. :-/

It definitely was a much different experience than with Trent, but I am so glad to have been able to have two normal deliveries and two happy, healthy babies.

You can also read Trent’s birth story here and watch his arrival video here.

 

 

For Aubrey’s nursery, we decided to keep it fairly simple and chose a general color theme: purple, gray and white. Our reasoning was similar to why we chose a general colorful theme for Trent’s room…it’s easier to decorate and add in extras along the way without clashing. Since this room was full of stuff, we definitely procrastinated in getting it cleared out and ready and then decorated. As you’ll see, we also added in some some other colors (the brown dresser and futon), but stuck with the main pieces being either purple, gray or white. We really love how light and airy this room feels.

Purple Crib sheet from Target

Gray area rug from IKEA

Purple & white curtains from IKEA (love these!)

Photos are Brett’s and available on his website

 

Contrary to the many craft projects that went into Trent’s room, we did one craft project for Aubrey’s room, and that was her name display over her crib.

The letters and paint were from Hobby Lobby. I just painted her name in alternate colors and then hot glued them and the crown onto a wooden board. For the rest of it, we got the shelf and sheer curtains from IKEA.

We removed the closet doors and put up sheer curtains instead. The closet is so large that we wanted it to be a part of the room and an area for toys that can be quickly grabbed. There is an additional storage area behind the closet, which is that small door which we painted purple and glued a little castle in the center. You can see some of her Disney Princess outfits hanging and ready to be worn! Expect photos of her in those!

Bookshelves are from IKEA.

Princess Growth chart is from Etsy.

Gray chevron changing pad cover from Amazon.

Purple blanket, purple heart pillow and gray pillow: all from IKEA.

 

Newborn photo sessions can be tough. You want the baby to be asleep because that’s when you can pose them however you want and they won’t be crying/eating/pooping. The benefit to having a live-in photographer is that of instead of trying to get all the photos in one session, we can just try to get one or two photos during random naps over the course of a few days.

Of course, us being the Disney fans we are, we had to get a photo of her in a Minnie Outfit! (Crocheted Minnie Mouse outfit from Etsy)

The little mouse tail kills me!

And don’t even get me started on those booties….adorable!

We also couldn’t resist a newborn princess crown (newborn princess crown on Amazon!)

I love the contrast of the bright yellow on the gray in these next photos. We also gave up on keeping her asleep for these photos, since she was wrapped up and couldn’t move around anyway!

We also started her weekly progress photos. (Baby Age Blocks from Pretty in Polka Dots)

We also got monthly progress stickers just like we did for Trent! (Disney Princess Monthly Progress Stickers from Etsy)

We originally thought her hair was brown (we even asked her doctor and my boss what they thought because we were unsure!) but these photos and how it’s looked in recent days make us think she will have blonde hair! Wouldn’t it be funny if it turned red like Trent’s hair?!

I started a “See Aubrey Grow Page” to keep all of her milestone posts on one page, just like we have for our “See Trent Grow” page.

Stay tuned for posts/photos of her birth story and nursery…coming soon!

 

Yes, you read that correctly. I went on an interview when I was 37 weeks pregnant. My belly walked into the room before I did, but I didn’t let that stop me from going after the job and getting it!

Warning: Wordy post ahead!!

This actually happened when I was pregnant with Trent (and not this time…in case my boss is reading! haha) and I have had this written ever since then, but am finally just getting around to posting it. I’ve tweaked it a few times, but never actually hit Publish. I don’t know why. I guess part of me felt like I was an exception to the “rule”. That this doesn’t happen to people. But it does, and before it happened to me, I searched everywhere online trying to find advice. What I found was plenty of people giving their opinions without ever having been in this situation. But I wanted to read more from people to whom this actually happened. What were their thoughts? What would they have done differently? Sure, every situation is different, but I wanted to gather as much as I could to make a decision and who knows, maybe even find something that I had not yet considered.

The biggest concern I can think of that affects any potential employer when it comes to hiring a pregnant women is timing. Depending on where you are at in your pregnancy, you could start a job and then need to go on 6 weeks (or more) of maternity leave, which could cause you to forget all your training and need to start over upon returning. Or it could be the other way around: you could be due any day and can’t start until after you have the baby and take leave. When an employer is hiring, typically they are doing so to fill a position as quickly as possible so as to continue running smoothly and not overburden other employees within the organization that have to cover the work of the vacant position. Which person best fulfills the employer’s needs: a non-pregnant person that can start right away uninterrupted or a pregnant woman that has timing restrictions and several unknown factors?

It’s not difficult to see why any employer would hesitate to take a chance on someone that’s pregnant. Your task is to convince them to look past any short-term complications and instead concentrate on what you could offer them long-term. My advice will be very general, as I believe your situation changes depending on how far along you are in your pregnancy, the needs of the employer, and how long you expect your maternity leave to be. Also, keep in mind that there are plenty of things beyond your control, so just concentrate on the things you can control and hope the rest will work in your favor.

 

Here’s my story…

Shortly after I became pregnant, I knew I wanted a new job. We wanted Brett to work-from-home to take care of our baby which would result in a considerable salary decrease to do so. It became my task to make up for this by getting a higher paying job with better benefits. But I didn’t just want ANY job, I wanted to make it worth the time, effort and awkardness I was about to put myself through. When I was just a few months along in my pregnancy, I filled out a couple of applications along with my resume. At this point, I was barely showing any signs of pregnancy, so the immediate need to tell anyone wasn’t there. I didn’t end up getting any calls and since my pregnancy had progressed, resulting in a larger baby bump, I figured I would put my search on hold until after the baby was born.

Then, at 36 weeks pregnant, I saw my friend post on Facebook about a job opening that I had recently seen on a company website (I regularly looked at this company’s site because I wanted to work with them). I kind of disregarded it at first, but it bothered me not to do anything so I decided to inquire more. I called her to ask for more information and she suggested I call the supervisor that would be doing the interviewing and hiring. I had never done anything like that before, but hey, let’s just add another new task to the list.

I introduced myself and asked about the job. Since it was already posted online, there wasn’t much for her to tell me in that regard. What I was basically trying to do was gather whether I even had a chance at qualifying for the position. I am an accountant and I knew that the company’s fiscal year end was right when I would be on maternity leave (good timing, huh?), so I asked how pressing it was for them to fill the position. After she explained what I already knew about the fiscal year end, I spilled the beans. I told her I was pregnant.

I could tell she wasn’t sure how to respond. I had just told her something that she now had to tip-toe around. She was silent for a second but then acted excited for me. From that point on, my honesty was met by her honesty. She told me that me being pregnant and the timing of everything definitely complicates things, but to send in my resume to her and she would consider it.

I sent in my resume that day, but I honestly didn’t expect to hear anything and if I did, I figured it was because they now felt like they HAD to do something in order for me to not cause them any HR problems.

To my surprise, she called and wanted me to come in for an interview. You want to know the first thing I thought of?

What the heck am I going to wear to an interview at 37 weeks pregnant?

Is it bad that I didn’t want to spend the money for a suit when I knew I’d only wear it once?

I wore a black knee-length skirt, a red top and a black flowy cardigan…not something I would ever wear to an interview under normal circumstances, but great for semi-concealing my pregnant belly on a budget. I say semi-concealing, because there was no way it was fully concealed. I was obviously pregnant. The point was to not wave the “I am pregnant” flag everywhere I went, making every person I passed feel uncomfortable. I wanted them to feel as comfortable as they could around me.

The interview went well and I was asked typical interview questions by two people. She ended the interview by saying she was still uncertain how this would play out but wondered what my plans were regarding maternity leave. I told her I had originally planned on taking 6 weeks of maternity leave whenever my son decided to make his arrival, but that it was because I only had 6 weeks of leave to take at my current job. I mentioned my due date and I even offered to start sooner than 6 weeks if they needed me. I left the negotiation floor open, letting her know that I was willing to alter my plans if it meant I would get the job.

Of course, I tried not to be unrealistic about it…you never know if you’ll have complications or need longer to recuperate, so I didn’t want to say “I can start the next day!” but I did leave the 6 weeks as a line in the sand.

After several days passed, I got a call to come in for a second interview. Wow. If they were doing this just to be nice and not get in trouble, I was going to be angry for them wasting my time. Interviews aren’t my idea of a fun hobby and I would rather just be told no.

Oh yes, and I needed another outfit. Great.

This time, I wore something I already had that was business-casual. I met with my future supervisor, her boss and someone that had been covering the position I was interviewing for. I was given some more standard interview questions, except for when they asked me what my favorite food was. How are you going to ask a pregnant woman what her favorite food is? I think I named at least 5 things and thought of 5 different things on the way home. Great, now I seem like I’m an indecisive fatty.

At the end of the interview, she said she would call me to let me know either way.

A couple of days later, she called to tentatively offer me the job (pending successful background, credit and education checks).

Yes, my big ol’ pregnant self got the job. All the worries of being able to find one once my son was born were lifted off of me. It was a truly wonderful and exhilarating feeling.

Of course, there was the hassle of giving my notice to my current employer during my maternity leave once I found out my start date and the offer was official (yes it took that long), which they didn’t take so kindly to, but it had to be done and I was relieved once it was all finished. My new employer had even TOLD me to take my 6 weeks of maternity leave and that I could start afterwards and that they would just make do until I could start. She made sure to inform me of insurance timing so that I could make the best decision in regards to not missing coverage. I was extremely pleased at her honesty and willingness to discuss something many employers would be too afraid to discuss.

 

Here are some of my general pieces of advice if you are considering looking for a new job or interviewing while pregnant:

Just do it. As cliche as that sounds, it’s true. Submit your resume, because you never know how long it may take for them to contact you. Some companies take a long time, so why not put your name in the hat for when you’re ready. If they call you sooner, then…

Be honest…to the extent that you feel the situation deserves. I don’t recommend lying to potential employers. If they hire you, they will find out you’re pregnant when you start showing. Starting a working relationship by lying does not prove well for long-term trustworthiness. If you aren’t showing, it doesn’t need to be the first thing out of your mouth during your initial interaction. Get a feel for how the interview went first. Some people even recommend waiting until you receive an offer to tell them. I can understand that, but sometimes the opportunity presents itself at other times too. If you are obviously showing, I would address it as soon as comfortably possible. For me, that was in my initial phone call when we were discussing how fast the position needed to be filled. Heck, I was far enough along that I could have had the baby while I was on the phone (“so, umm, does this prove I am good at multi-tasking?”), so I felt it was best to be upfront about it from the beginning. I mostly did that so I didn’t waste my time interviewing if they absolutely had to have someone start within the month and I couldn’t do it, but I also felt it would be rude to surprise everyone.

Be willing to discuss varying start times. I know those first few weeks are a time for caring for the baby and for recuperating, but if they need you to start a few days earlier than you originally planned, it’s just a small sacrifice to make for an improved long-term situation.

Be honest…with yourself. Since this was my first pregnancy, I knew in the back of my mind that you just never know how the birth will play out. You could have the baby early or late, there could be complications or it may take you a long time to recover (I know it did for me)…don’t be so naive to think you can start the day after you give birth.

As wonderful as being pregnant is (except for the morning sickness and gas and all that fun stuff), don’t be loud and proud about being pregnant. It is a truth that can be discussed, but don’t tell everyone you meet before they say anything and don’t go screaming it down the hall. Dress conservatively as best you can given your new body shape. If you’re one of those women that barely shows and just looks like you had a big lunch at 9 months pregnant, then 1) I hate you and 2) obviously you have the odds working more in your favor here. The rules of conservative dress still apply for interviews. However, sometimes you have to work with what you’ve got. I have 2-3 places to get maternity clothes in my town and it’s slim-pickins, and since I was working with such short notice, I had to find something as professional as possible, but it definitely wasn’t a suit that I normally would have worn.

 

Here are some great maternity interview outfit ideas I found online (what you can wear to an interview while pregnant):

A blazer is always a good idea.

Of course, I was fortunate enough to have a female employer that was willing to talk about the situation and took a chance to hire me. Some employers just will not have the same reaction. If there is obvious discrimination, than that’s another situation entirely, but aside from that, I say take a chance!

 

Your Thoughts…

I’d love to hear your feedback in the comments, maybe someone searching for this advice will find it helpful to read everyone’s thoughts!

 

You may also be interested in…

Favorite Pregnancy Items

Then vs. Now: Pregnancy

Tips for Going to Disney World While Pregnant

My Pregnancy and Baby Book List

Pregnancy Progress Photos – Part 2