Jelly Bean & Gus: Getting ready for baby

So this week Mommy got a few things done to get ready for baby. First Mommy signed up for the pre-natal classes being offered at the hospital. Mommy and Daddy's classes don't begin to late February so still a little bit away but still one more thing down. Mommy and Daddy signed up for the package that included 5 Lamaze classes, a breastfeeding class, and a newborn care class. On top of that there is a hospital tour of the maternity ward at the end of the last Lamaze class and because Mommy and Daddy took the package they are also eligible to attend 4 parenting classes with their infant for free! Mommy is excited about these classes because Daddy will have to attend them and perhaps this will get him more excited for Jellybean's arrival.

In other news Mommy has found a doula. Doula's are labor coaches that assist in the emotional aspect of birth as well as providing non-medical assistance such as breathing exercises to help with pain so medication is not required. Mommy wanted a doula, after reading up on them ad hearing other girls report having better birth experiences with their doulas, because first and foremost she thought it would be nicer to have someone in the delivery room with her that would specifically be there for her. Doula's are your advocate in the delivery room and as much as Mommy reads up on what techniques are best for a natural delivery (what we are hoping for) she feels that in the moment when everything is happening she might forget everything and it would be nice for someone else there who knows what she wants to help her implement that. Also she thought a doula might be nice for Daddy as it would take some of the pressure off of him so he can enjoy the moment for what it is too. Mommy contacted DONA International to find a doula. After emailing to a few Mommy set up a phone interview with one. Claudia is a doula in training, meaning she completed her classes but still needs to observe 3 births in order to complete her certification, and so she is actually not charging Mommy anything for her assistance. Claudia's email was so warm and detailed stating that as a doula she would be in contact with Mommy throughout the remainder of her pregnancy, would meet her at home or the hospital the day of delivery, stay for a few hours after delivery to assist with anything including breastfeeding, and make a home visit later on to check how everything was going. On top of that Claudia is pregnant with her 4th child (2 of her children were delivered completely natural) due in March. After meeting with Claudia yesterday Mommy felt like she had met a friend for lunch rather then a business meeting. Mommy hopes that after Jellybean's birth Mommy and Claudia can have playdates with their babies since they will be only a few months apart. On top of that Claudia's main job is making baby clothes! Her husband and her own their own baby clothing line called Magnolia Baby which is simply adorable! Claudia's family comes from Peru where her manufacturing plant for her baby line is also produced. Claudia told Mommy that when she becomes certified as a doula she plans on using her doula business as a way to donate and give back to her workers in Peru starting off with building a nursery inside the plant as well as offering educational workshops for them.

While at lunch with Claudia Claudia showed Mommy some photos of her 3 year old daughter and recommended a baby photographer that she uses for her business to model her baby line. As it happens the photographer she mentioned was the exact same one Mommy had found a few weeks prior and had inquired about. After looking around at newborn pictures Mommy fell in love with this photographer's work. All her pictures came out crisp and clear capturing the adorableness and beauty of babies. She also had a package that allowed for 2 full photo sessions when the baby was a newborn and one later on when the baby was 6-8 months old as well as a mini-session with cake when the baby turned 1 called a cake smash session. Overall that package for the price and the amount of sessions received seemed the best for the money and after hearing Claudia's glowing review Mommy knew that this was the right photographer for Jellybean's first pictures.

In other news Mommy also joined a Mother's Group on Meetup.com. Mommy was hoping to find other mothers in the area to talk with and befriend as well as make friends for Jellybean when he/she got bigger. Through this group Mommy found another new-mother in the next town who is expecting her first a week after Jellybean's due date. Mommy also emailed another mother in the area with a 6 month old who delivered at the same hospital Mommy is planning on delivering at. She gave Mommy some good information about the hospital as well as a pediatric recommendation for the area. Mommy is hoping to find a Dr who works on a delayed vaccine schedule (no more then 2 shots per week) as well as one who will only use vaccines that contain less mercury and toxins within them. Mommy's friend told her about the difficulties of getting Dr's who are not onboard to comply with such requests and thus its easier to just find a Dr that does this already so Mommy is pleased to know there are Dr's in the area who will listen to her requests.

Mommy also is working on some more baby projects for Jellybean. More on those later

Lastly to end off here are some New Year's pictures.

Dinner at Bobby Flay's resturant (yes I bought Melissa's jacket I loved it so much)

At Aunt Becca's house for New Year's

Yes Jellybean this is really how your Uncle Ben is all the time (his face looks like the Grinch here)

One of Becca's Christmas trees (they have 2!)

Mommy and Daddy's gifts from Secret Santa. Daddy got Gestures and Mommy got a little dancing penquin that dances when music is played!

Becca's parents built this dollhouse for her and her sister when they were little. Mommy has always loved it (probably because she never had a dollhouse as child) so she had Gus take a picture with it