Wishlist for Baby & Pregnancy #2

A couple of months ago, a young relative asked me when I was having a baby shower. Well actually at that time, I haven't really thought about it. And now that I AM thinking about it, my thoughts are along the lines of "is it necessary, for a second-pregnancy?"

Well who knows, right? But between me and Daddy A, we feel that it's mostly not very important at this point. You see, we (sige na nga I na lang hahaha) have been OA parents with our first born, trying most nice things we have read about. And and and....our families & friends have been so incredibly generous that we feel we really don't lack much. Crib, push chairs / strollers, baby carriers, infant clothing, I think we're pretty much set ;p

But there are things a mother could still wish for. Not necessarily material things this time. 

So whatever I'm blogging about right now are things that would definitely make this pregnancy and new birth a little bit more comfortable :) 

1. VBAC

...or Vaginal Birth after CS. This has been my #1 wish ever since we started planning for our new baby. Of course, conditions on the day and our doctor's instructions would greatly influence whether we'll be successful with VBAC or have to resort to CS; after all, safety of mom & baby are of prime importance. But please Lord, we're really praying for a successful VBAC. 

Note: Recovering from a CS operation is really hard (huhubells) so it's not something that I would voluntarily choose, if given an option for this second birth.

I'm currently reading Ina May Gaskin's book on Childbirth and am very inspired with all the birthing stories. Also learning a LOT from the 'midwifery model' of labor and delivery especially how to best "flow" with nature's design. Gosh! I wish I have read this too for my first pregnancy :)

P.S. I really love my Kindle Paperwhite from Amazon. Most nights back in 2014 it was the only thing that kept me awake while breastfeeding little Z! 

We've also attended our second round of birthing class, this time with Ms. Rome Kanapi. These were some of the best 6 Sundays of my pregnancy wherein we just relaxed with the rest of our classmates but still learned a good deal about pregnancy and childbirth. In our case, it was so much more than a refresher course...and I'm so glad we invested time in this again. I also love the support group with the rest of our classmates, sharing along as some of them have already given birth :)

Dashing Dads from our Birthing Class with Ms. Rome Kanapi

Please pray for our success in this endeavor :)

2. Packing efficiently for 2 kids!!

Admittedly, I'm an overzealous packer and I try to provide for every contingency hehehe...this is something that perhaps my dad and my hubby would never get about me. Yeah, why can't they understand the need for 3 bags for me and 3 bags for Z??

Though I've realized the folly of my ways, I can't promise to be content with just bringing 1 bag. 1 bag?!?!?!?! Kidding! Yes I know, tiis ganda ang peg just to calm my mind that I'm not missing anything. 

Since we'll be having 2 kiddos soon, a toddler to be carried by Daddy A and an infant to be strapped on me..well, why don't we just consolidate their things in 1 bag and let Daddy A carry it on his back? Great idea, right?! :D

Seriously now, this may have been one of the best ideas I've gathered from mommy communities in the net. And quite practical here in the Philippines too!

Right now it's a toss up between the truly cute and big Jujube BRB or a North Face Recon backpack. I like the designs of the Jujube, as well as the thoughtful pockets, organizers and accessibility to our things, while babywearing. But it's too expensive for a bag and I have read mixed reviews about it's durability. The North Face pack doesn't at all look like a diaper bag but certain models have proved to be quite roomy as well and many reviews attest how sturdy it is. Bonus points is that if it the bag survives past the toddler stage, we may very well be able to use it for day trip hikes with the kiddos!

Jujube Be Right Back

Northface Recon

Well I'm stil doing research about this very small dilemma so if you have any recommendations, feel free to leave a comment. And please leave tips on how to really pack efficiently for 2 kids without having to bring the whole house!! :D

For the meantime, we'll be using Z's old diaper bag to bring with us to the hospital :)

3. Cloth Diapering (CD)

Of all the things we weren't able to soldier on with our stint as first-time parents, we definitely failed in this aspect. Yes we tried it and we have about 8-10 cloth diapers in total but from my research (and I don't intend to hoard or be addicted to it), there should be at least 21 daw (tama nga ba?) for 1 child due to the nature of cloth diapers (wash & wear and tell me, how often would we really be able to do the washing hehe).

Admittedly, cloth diapering can be intimidating at first especially if you have to research the different kinds, suppliers, methods of care, etc. And probably cumbersome during the course of using - just imagine the difference between handling poop from cloth diaper and disposable diaper use. But if you really really think about it, using it multiple times, passing it on to the next baby, or maybe even destashing/reselling in the future...not bad at all!

Not because it's cute, not because it's in...we have been doing disposable diapers for almost 3 years and very partially on the cloth diaper stash. I feel guilty already for our contribution to the local landfill..besides, it's a gift that would keep on giving through poop and bad times hahaha..I know, not funny :p

So I guess we have to do more research to be more successful CD'ing this time around. ;)

4. Woven Baby Wrap

Okay here's my disclosure, we really love babywearing!!! We might not have an enormous stash but what we have right now (Mamaway sling, Saya SSK, Baby K'tan Mesh, Lillebaby Tie The Knot, Tula Baby-sized carrier, Lillebaby Toddler-sized carrier) would definitely be able to tide us over for the different seasons of baby #2's first year. 

So why am I still putting this here? (1) There's something that I seriously want to try which can be used from birth till toddlerhood - and that's the woven wrap (2) so we can have more wash days and ensure cleaner carriers for both babies. Which I'm sure will be used 24/7 especially for baby's clingy days (i.e. the whole first year) (3) It just looks so magical - diwata levels, ganern! Hahahaha :D

Oscha Slings Roses Vanilla <3

Oscha Slings Evenstar Undome from the LOTR collection

***Hint, hint Daddy A! This could be your Christmas or Valentine's present na hahaha :) ***

5. Breastfeeding Success

Despite our initial challenges in breastfeeding when Z was a newborn, I think we pretty much exceeded our goal then. There were days when Daddy A would give me the option of buying formula milk but with God's help, we were able to manage one day at a time until we reached 28 months of our breastfeeding journey.

There were many things, big and small, that we had to sacrifice but in retrospect, it really is worth it. I just hope that our upcoming new breastfeeding journey with baby #2 would be successful too. That I would also be able to give our baby the best possible nutrition especially during the most crucial stages.

We kindly request your prayers to this request. Our Lady of La Leche, please pray for us :)

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Oh boy, today marks the 37th week of our second pregnancy!!

Which means we are now term, so anytime from here onwards will come a new addition to our family and changes to our family life. I honestly don't know what to expect anymore - save for crazy sleepless nights, crazy sleep-deprived days with newborn+toddler in tow and crazy breastfeeding 24/7.

I used to think that when Z becomes a toddler, my life can go back to "normal". That's so silly of me to expect hahaha, it will never go back to what it was before and maybe that's what life is all about. Moving forward, meeting new challenges, living & loving every moment.

I guess when Daddy A and I are 80 then we'd both look back and just smile at these crazy and happy times :)

Hay sus, hormones...making me cry now :) Happy tears...wish us luck! :D