Trying to meet a midwife, feel like I'm interviewing for a job.

I called to try and set up an interview appointment with a hospital midwife, and was sent to my old OB practice.  There is only one midwife who delivers at the hospital near me and is accepting December due dates, and she is not only in the same practice, but the same office as my old OB.  Fun times.  He has lots and lots of patients and won't even remember me, right??
Before they'll even allow me to meet her, I need to fax over my prenatal records from this pregnancy so far.  Thankfully, since I'm already in their system and they have my insurance information, this is going to be a lot less of a headache than it could've been.  Why am I jumping through hoops just to talk to someone to see if I might want her to be my care provider?  Sigh.  My only hope is that the staff has to put me through all this crap so when I meet her she can be super nice and helpful without having to worry about paperwork or technicalities.  
Oh, one more thing, I'll fax my records tomorrow and then I'm supposed to get a phone call to set up an appointment.  Since I don't want to wait forever I should just call them, right?  Kindof a, "hey, just wanted to make sure the fax went through and you guys have everything you need" type of thing?

Possible birth compromise

So. The hospital near us (as in literally a minute's drive away) now offers midwives as an option for giving birth. I'm going to call tomorrow to try and set up some interviews with them and see if that's a good option for us. Hubby still isn't really on board with the whole home birth thing, and these services will be covered by insurance, which is an extra bonus!

I'm really hoping they offer the birthing options that are important to me, because this could be the middle ground that Bryan and I have been searching for. Wish me luck, that I'll like one of the midwives and won't get bullied into a hospital birth experience that I don't want!! Also that the rest of my pregnancy goes smoothly and safely, because if I join this practice I'm sure I'll be handed off to an OB at the slightest sign of a complication.

There are rumors floating around that they might allow me to bring a tub into the hospital, but I can see that being a pain in the ass. My main goal for labor this time is freedom of movement, minimal poking/prodding, and being able to push when and how I feel is most comfortable and most effective. If I can achieve that in a hospital, I'll be a happy camper with a happy husband :)  I would still much prefer a home birth, but I'm not the only parent in this family and hubby needs to be comfortable with the situation, especially since he's going to be my coach and it will be his job to support me and keep me calm during labor.

I wish things weren't so complicated.

Modified Tibetan high back carry

I'm a novice in the wrapping world, so I kindof took a few things from different carries that I liked and made them work for me.  I bought a wrap specifically to do high back carries so C could see better and be more comfortable, and I had to find a way to avoid tying around my waist, because my waist was quickly disappearing with baby #2 on the way :)
When I tie my wrap in the Tibetan style I find it squeezes my chest and restricts my breathing a bit.  I don't know if this is because my boobs are so big, or if I'm tying it wrong, but I came up with a different way that's more comfortable for me and is also cooler because I don't have fabric spread out over my chest.
Here's my little tutorial of my go-to back carry, I hope you like it! (please excuse the plethora of shots of my big butt).

I hope this is helpful to someone :)

All natural nighttime face moisturizer.

Just a little tidbit about me: I have difficult skin.  It's super dry and super sensitive along with having eczema, and has been my entire life.  I can only use certain soap, lotion, laundry detergent, fabric softener, etc.  I can't wear earrings because no matter the metal content, my ears get red, itchy, and irritated.  If we stay in a hotel I have to bring my own pillow because I'll get a rash on my face if I sleep on hotel linens.  I've learned what products I can and can't use, and have managed to keep it under control for the most part.  
Then, I got pregnant.  My body is drier than ever and flaky, and my face is oily with a nice case of acne thrown in that brings me back to middle school.  I've been at a complete loss as to what to do for my face.  I don't feel comfortable using the strong cleansers while I'm pregnant because of the chemical content, and at this point all they do is make my face even redder and more inflamed because they're just too harsh for my skin.  So I looked around at what I had on hand, and came up with something that works surprisingly well for how simple it is!

20 Weeks!

That's right folks, pregnancy #2 is already halfway gone!  It seems to have flown by.  One one hand I can't wait to meet my little girl, and on the other hand I don't feel anywhere near prepared for having 2 kids under 2!  I suppose it's a little late for me to be reconsidering now though, lol.  

I'm learning to crochet.

I have wanted to learn to crochet for a while now.  It's something crafty I can do, create things for my little ones, and it's quiet and something I can take along with me anywhere, unlike my sewing machine ;)
My very first project was a teeny tiny little hat for my friend Michelle's new little girl Sophia.  It's not very stretchy because I was winging it and used only the single crochet stitch, but it's not too shabby, if I say so myself :).  I put it on a Pepsi can so you could see how little it is: