News You Can Use

Things I have learned:

1. Buy baby clothing at thrift and resale shops as much as possible. Babies don't wear anything long enough to really wear it out, and they grow out of everything so fast it hurts. Hanna Anderson doesn't count -- nobody gets rid of it until it is well used.
2. Don't bother with the convertible car seats, the back-facing, rear-facing things. When the baby is tiny, you are going to hate digging the baby out of the car every time you get out. And waking baby up. And if you don't have the infant seat, and go into a restaurant, you are going to be holding baby in your lap, which makes eating nearly impossible. Don't even get me started on public bathrooms.
3. Formula isn't bad, but nursing is so much easier, more portable, cleaner. Once you get the hang of it.
4. Be open-minded, but don't let anyone guilt you about co-sleeping, nursing, working, potty training by 10 months, or any other practices. It's your baby, it's your body, and as long as we're not talking drugs or neglect, it's your decision.
5. Travel (by car or air) is not too bad until the child reaches crawling and walking.

An explanation for my large belly: At Monday's checkup the nurse-midwife told me that my uterus is measuring about 3 weeks too large for my projected due date. She said "Maybe we are wrong about the due date," but I told her I am quite certain about that. I was unconcerned, mostly because my friend J-, who is due in two weeks, measured 4 weeks large for most of her pregnancy, and then leveled off. The nurse looked pensive and said "when they did the ultrasound for the genetic testing ... there was just one baby, right?"

As if all that wasn't reassuring enough, we then went on to a discussion of What To Do In Case I Can't Get To The Hospital. (Plastic sheeting, kitchen floor since the bathroom is so tiny and hard to get into, call 911, call J- the maternity nurse). Since Arabella was delivered in 3 to 3 1/2 hours of labor, I am dreading having an unintentional home delivery.