Is This Thing On?

After a four-month hiatus, I thought I'd check in. If you're my friend on Facebook, you probably understand why I've been a bit absent:

That's John's chest hair, not me!

Surprise! Boo Deux (working on her nickname) made her 7lb, 3oz debut on March 9, 2016, via a scheduled csection. One that I'm glad to have had, because it turns out there was a "true knot" in the umbilical cord, and had I waited to go into natural labor (or really, any longer to get sliced and diced), she might not be with us. 

But in happy news, she is, and Boo is undertaking the big adventure of being big sister. And she's rocking it. She used to get upset by babies crying so I was a bit nervous. I shouldn't have been. She coos and sings to her sissy like a pro, and claims she already smiles at her.

It's been a month and so far, so good.

Boo had colic and was a high-needs baby. We haven't hit the 6-8 nightmare weeks to see if colic is in our future again, but I can say that this one sleeps way more already, and is far chunkier. She has some awesome cheeks, and I can't tell what color her eyes will be yet. Boo's were undeniably dark brown, but this one is still holding out. John is guessing hazel. 

And a dimple! Jackpot.

That baby is warmer than any of us. She slept the entire time we took a walk to get rid of some cabin fever.

I'll be back to work in mid-to-late May. Right now, I'm enjoying the forced slow down in life, and I'm trying to figure out how to be an organized mom of two. I'm realizing that I'll definitely have to shower at night, meal plan, and lay out everyone's clothes the night before to avoid total anarchy. John is a huge, huge help but he leaves for work around 5:30am so the morning routine is on me.

Okay, let's be real. You are all like, "WTF, Amy?!? You didn't say anything about being pregnant on social media, and you did all that traveling in Europe while pregnant?" Guilty. Our families didn't even know until almost November.

Let's get to the why. First, I wanted to walk everywhere and eat whatever and occasionally have a beer or glass of wine (in super moderation, naturally) without being judged or told to take it easy or linked some stupid article. Women have been birthing babies for like ever, and I don't need to sit on a couch to have a healthy pregnancy. In fact, I'd argue that all the walking I did was beneficial. And Europeans are way more relaxed on the restrictions in pregnancy and are doing juust fine. So that's how I rolled. And naps and plenty of days curled on the couch in exhaustion happened; that's just a boring blog entry ;)

I received prenatal care in Lux, and packed plenty of prenatal vitamins. Without going into detail, I prefer the American healthcare system, but suspect it may be because I had a super awful OB, who, besides making me wait HOURS every time, told me I was too fat (at 19 weeks, and had gained the proper weight) to figure out the sex of the baby. Eff. Her. Since I was on a travel visa, I didn't enjoy "free" healthcare and ponied up big bucks for blood tests, etc. but Baby was healthy and that's what matters. 

Which brings me to the second reason I didn't make the pregnancy common knowledge: I had miscarried last February like, a day before I planned to tell the world I was pregnant. We had even taken family photos with Boo holding a sign saying "Big Sister September 2015." Call me superstitious or overly cautious, but I didn't enjoy telling the few we had told "never mind," and bringing up the pain again and again. But I'm not ashamed of what happened. Miscarriage is common (1 in 4 women)  and shouldn't be treated as a secret or taboo. I just didn't feel like dealing with all that while in Europe. 

I paid $40 and learned the sex on my California trip. John was on FaceTime from Lux and it was fun. Boo pumped her arms and shouted "Yessss!" When we told her it was a girl.

Now we have our "rainbow baby," (the beauty and joy after the loss/storm) and life is fantastic. I'll probably try to write a bit about juggling two kids while working, but I won't force it.

Oh, and we bought a house two days before I had the baby, because our motto has always been (seriously, ask John): Go

Big or Go Home.

We even put our motto on our Kickstarter table at Tabletop Board Game Cafe.

 We learned we are sticking around The Cleve for at least a few years, and our dream house (John had been eyeing it while we were in Lux) dropped wayyyy down in price so we went for it. It's a combo of our home in Columbus (brick colonial) and home in Rocky River (old - but super duper updated while retaining beautiful molding and flooring). We move in in around a week and I can't wait! Our apartment is nice but very crowded with baby gear, Boo, and a dog.

And now, I try to nap. Growthy McGrowthSpurt kept me up most of the night.

But first, our professional family pics: