Ideas

I have had so many new ideas on my mind lately! I feel like I really need to sort all this stuff out and write it all down!

*The Raw Food Diet
I've looked into this diet before, about a year ago, and I was pretty interested in it. It's all about only eating fresh fruits, veggies and nuts. Seems a little crazy and I've never wanted to be a vegetarian, but something about this diet seems right. My diet right now is so UNHEALTHY! I'm a sugar addict. I love soda! I never/rarely eat fruits or veggies. Heath also needs to find a diet that works for him that we can do together. I also feel like Haven could use a better diet. I feel sad that she didn't get to breastfeed as long as I wanted her to. If we went on this diet, I think it would be so good for her. I just feel tired all the time. I also have floating anxiety. I think my poor diet contributes to these symptoms.

*Baby Led Solids
I've been reading up on Baby Led Solids (also sometimes called Baby Led Weaning) and I'm really liking the idea. The idea is to never spoon fed the baby, but give him regular food from your plate that he can pick up and eat on his own. What I'm wanting to do with Logan is 1)only start solids when he clearly is interested in trying solid foods. This means I will not push anything on him, he may just have to grab it out of my plate, lol. 2)make sure breastmilk is about 90% of his food source until he is 12 months old. I think people overdo the solids before it is healthy for the baby. I think I made this mistake with Haven, causing her to wean way too early. I am not starting solids in order to wean the baby as a lot of mothers might do because I don't want the baby to wean at 12 months -which is the norm.

*Breastfeeding for Birth Control
This idea is what led me to Baby Led Solids. I couldn't figure out why this didn't work for me with Haven. I think maybe the answer lies in the amount of solids I started giving her at 6 months old. She was eating so many solids and so little breastmilk, that she essentially began weaning at 6 months, causing my period to return! I've heard a lot about people who exclusively breastfed and yet their period returned before they ever started the baby on solids, so I'm not sure if my thinking is correct on this, but I think it's worth a retry since normal birth control methods are not for me.

*Minimalism
I've done a few things in the minimalist area lately, but their is more that I want to do. I want to minimalize my clothes again. I still have so much that I don't wear and it's just getting in the way. I also just have other random junk in general. The more I minimalize, the easier my life becomes.

*Elimination Communication with an Infant
I've been doing this with Logan and have had great results. I love the fact that he know how to poop in the potty and he rarely ever has to sit in his poop. He hates to have a wet diaper, so I change it frequently! I wish I could take it to the next level and have him do all his pees in the potty, but I'm afraid that it might mean being in the bathroom all day long! I'm still taking it easy in that regard.

*Rental Property Business
We have finally bought our 2nd rental property -a duplex. I'm pretty excited about closing on it and getting it ready to rent! Eventually, we hope that Heath can quit his job and the rental properties can be our sole income. Once we get renters in this duplex, our income from our rentals will exceed our income from Heath's job! However, we feel that we will need at least two more rentals to feel comfortable with him quiting his job.

*Exercising for the Baby Belly
I'm afraid of not losing my baby belly this time around and I need to do something about it!

Well, now my mind should be clear!

Update

We finally closed on the house! We have started painting it - just priming right now. We plan to paint the entire house a light tan or beige. Our next project is carpet and laminate.

Over a week ago, I went to the health department and they told me I was 2 cm dilated and 50% effaced. She said I should have the baby by new years. Last night I had contractions for over 2 hours. They were between 3 and 7 minutes apart. They weren't painful though. It just felt like a gradual tightening... squeezing... hard to breath. However, after I woke Heath up and told him I thought I was in labor, they stopped. (His response -"no, you're not" how did he know?) I'm still a little nervous, but I want to have the baby before monday so I don't have to have that beta strep test done.

I had a great christmas and got everything I wanted, including 2 nursing bras, underwear and socks. It seems so silly that I don't just buy these things for myself when I need them - it's just so hard to buy new things when you know you could make due with the underwear and socks you have been wearing for the past 7 years. Are we too cheap? I seriously still wear underwear I bought before I met Heath (almost 6 years ago).

The sweetest thing Heath has said about the baby:
Me: I wonder what she looks like....
Heath: I'm sure she's beautiful.