Antepartum get-away

It was so nice to go away for a while. James and I decided to take off some romantic time to enjoy our time alone in this romantic cottage at Williamsburg, Virginia. That is the first British Colony in America. The place is beautiful and wonderful. We also visited Jamestown which is the first English settlement in America. The museums and historic sites were amazing. We stayed in a cottage that almost felt like home. We went to the movies, swimming, for ice-cream, for breakfast, lunch and dinner and we went shopping too. They had these outlet malls with great deals so we did some wise shopping. We took this trip because it is probably going to be our last trip or vacation alone for a long time. And even if we get to go away alone, we have to make so many plans before we can leave home. This time we just got up and left and we did not have to carry diapers or formula or strollers. We wanted to do this for one last time. I'm glad we did because we had a fabulous time.

Fat or Sexy?

Lately, I have been getting a lot of compliments about my glow, my hair, my figure etc. Of course James does not let me go a day without making me aware of this. There are days that I donot feel pretty/sexy at all. My waist line looks different and my chest is huge and this makes me feel huge. I have read many times in pregnancy books to feel sexy and never to feel fat but sometimes I just can't help it. Most of the time I feel pretty though. When I go to the gym, I don't see any pregnant women around and I feel like all eyes are on me. Some people look shocked to see me lifting weights, doing abs exercise etc. I am very careful and I research on what is safe to do and I know what to do so as not to hurt our baby or myself. I feel so much better when I'm active and not just sitting around. When I don't go to the gym, I feel weak and sick and when I do I get this boos of energy that carries me through the day. I've always been a health conscious and I feel that now is even more important time to be health conscious. I am sharing my body with the most precious being and so I have to keep it right. I try to eat right and do things right. I think that is the best gift I can give to Elise at this time.

Making Plans

I would have loved to stay at home with Elise all the time after she is born but we cannot afford to do that at this time. It breaks our hearts to even think about he fact that we have to leave her at a daycare at some point. I am going to be working mostly 3pm to 11pm and James works from 8:30am till 5pm. We are going to make this work out and make sure we or either of us is with her most of the day so we are sure we are raising her ourselves and not somebody else. Since I work at 3pm, I will have the opportunity to be with her all morning until around 2:30pm before taking her to a daycare/nanny/babysitter. James can then pick her up around 5:30pm when he gets off work. So she will be at the daycare for roughly 3hours monday through Friday. The good thing about nursing is that I am off sometimes during the week so she would not have to go anywhere that day. James is also off on fridays until around 4pm so on Fridays I will try to work 7am-3pm so I can come home and be with her. Well, you are probably asking how James and I will see each other...well, I'm off on the weekends, I get some days off during the week, and there are times that I have to work 7am to 3pm so I will see him when he gets home from work. The days I have to work 7am to 3pm will be bitter sweet because Elise would have to be at the daycare from around 8am-4pm. James will drop her off on his way to work( around 8am) and I will pick her up after I'm done with work( around 4pm). I say these days will be bitter sweet because, even though we will be leaving her for the most hours at the daycare/nanny/sitter, these will also be the days that we can all be together as a family for dinner and be able to put her to sleep together, say night-time prayers together, read her bedtime stories together and get to kiss her goodnight together.

We are already sad that we may miss some milestones such as her first crawl because we we both at work. We love our little girl and we want to do the best that we can for her and be the best parents that we can for her. We have been searching for a babysitter/daycare/nanny for a while now. You may think that's too early but all the good ones get filled up quick and they have long waiting list sometimes up to two years so you have to look early. I have been to a couple of centers. Some I love, and some not so much. Some are E-X-P-E-N-S-I-V-E, in fact, most are expensive. I have a lady from LOCATE CHILDCARE OF BALTIMORE who is helping me with the search. She asked me for our preference and our philosophy and our values and sent us a profile of possibilities. During the month of January, I have been going to center after center trying to find a place we feel comfortable with. I always have so many questions and very critical when I visit these centers. I watch how the staff interract with the children, I watch the teacher to child ratio, I check out how clean and how the place smells. I look at the colors and paintings and pictures, I examine how the caretakers dress and how long their fingernails are. I ask if they have an evacuation plan in case of fire or flood, I find out what activities the children get during the day and if they take them out to play.

I also check how they change diapers and what they do for infection control such as sanitizing toys and changing areas. I look into how they store formula, breastmilk, or any food for the kids and the kind of extra foof they may provide for the kids. Most of the daycares have an open door policy where you can just walk in at anytime to observe. I especially like the ones with the one-way glass where you can watch the caregivers and the children without them knowing you are there. If we are to leave our child with someone, we wat to make sure it is safe and comfortable. At the moment, wer are still not sure if we want a home babysitter, a nanny, or a daycare center. All these have their pros and cons but we are looking for the place or the person that we both feel the most comfortable to leave Elise.