I wonder about my pooch…

The Beave!

So my pooch Beaver is pretty much attached to me at the hip when I’m in the house and I’m wondering how he’s going to react when little Billy Bubba makes his way into our lives?

I have a sneaking suspicion that Beaver is going to be extremely jealous for awhile because instead of having all of my attention like he does now, he’s going to have to take a backseat to little BB. As it is, the furball gets mad when Dave and I sit next to each other sometimes, so I can only imagine how it’s going to be when I’m rocking little BB back and forth instead of petting him. There are other times when he's even worse, like when I go upstairs and leave him in the living room. He'll cry and have a fit if I'm not around him. My mom suggested that we train Beaver how to be around a baby by purchasing a baby doll, however, I’m thinking that’s only going to end in catastrophe since Beaver will probably rip the doll apart in like three seconds without us ever getting the chance to tell him no!

I did a little research online to find out how to make the transition easier for my dog and little BB. There was talk about setting up boundaries, hiring a private trainer to get him on track, teaching him to be obedient with treats to not jump on people or the baby, and getting him used to infant smells along with the noises that an infant might make. I’m not quite sure how we’re going to go about getting Beaver ready for little BB, but I do know that it’s something that has to happen given that if it doesn’t, it’s not going to be a good situation.

I guess my fear is that Beaver isn’t going to get used to little BB and then we’re going to have to give Beaver away or something. That would be completely devastating to me, even though Dave would probably be okay with it since the pooch can be annoying, due to the fact that we’ve been through so much with this dog. Not only training him mind you, but nursing him through a hip surgery along with an infection that almost killed him. So, if we had to let him go, I would be super sad and for that reason, I’m going to do everything to make sure Beaver and little BB coexist nicely. If you readers out there have any suggestions on how to make things work, please let me know!

Checking into daycare places…

Yesterday, my husband, Dave, and I went to visit the place where we’re thinking we’re going to take little Billy Bubba for daycare.

It might seem like we’re jumping the gun a bit on finding him a spot somewhere. However, in all honestly it isn’t because I’ve heard nothing but horror stories from moms about doing it too late only to be on pins and needles when they do find where they want to take their child, only to end up being put on a waiting list. That doesn’t sound like very much fun at all.

So, this is one of those things on our to-do list that I wanted to cross off as soon as we could and I think we found where we’re going to take him. We went on a tour yesterday at KinderCare located in Green Bay on the Eastside. We met with the center director who was very nice and received a tour of the infant room. There are four infants to one adult. The ladies seemed to like what they were doing and all of the babies were doing quite well when we saw them. One was being fed, two were playing, which doesn’t consist of much since they’re super little, another one was about to be fed, and the others were sleeping. Everything this was clean, nothing smelled, each infant had their own personal crib and storage area, and all in all, I thought it was a good place. Dave also has had personal experience with the location since his grandson was watched there and seemed to like it. He mentioned that the staff was always friendly and very attentive to his grandson’s needs. Before we make our final decision, I’m probably going to look into one or two more spots, but as for right now, I think we found our day care provider. Once I make the call and actually reserve his spot, I have a feeling that I’m going to totally relieved to get this big decision taken care of. Let’s keep our fingers cross that, that actually happens! :)

Along with taking BB to an actual day care, my mom, Nancy, said that she would be able to take care of him one day a week when my dad, Don, and her are not wintering in Florida. She took care of my brother’s kids when they were little too and to have her offer the same thing to us is really special. She really, really, really loves children, and yes, my Dad does too, so it will be good for BB to be with family and I think it will be good for my parents too. Thanks Mom and Dad, you’re the best!

Well, I think that’s enough talk about day care for one day, until next time, this is Carla the pregnant tomboy signing off.   

Sometimes, my mind just races...

Being pregnant can be a little stressful, well, a lot stressful at times and you’re probably thinking to yourself, well, duh? It’s a life changing event, so what do you expect? The thing is, if my mind starts racing about what’s happening and what’s to come, I’m finding that I’m having a hard time shutting it off. It’s been a bit annoying to be honest and I’m hoping that it will get better, but lately it’s only gotten worse. :(

Take the other day as an example, I was just sitting around watching a little television and then little Billy Bubba started rolling around and kicking up a storm. It was super kewl to feel him, but then my mind started going about different things. Like, I wondered about how he was doing and if he doing okay or not along with thinking about if the amount that I was feeling him move was normal or not enough, and then I jumped forward to my due date and thought about whether or not he was going to be healthy when he made his way into this world. Then, my mind got on all the stuff my husband Dave and I needed to get done before he came, the stuff we had to buy, and how much everything was going to cost. It wasn’t all that much fun and after doing this for about an hour or so, I finally decided the only way that I was going to stop was to quit watching TV and take my pooch Beaver for a walk. After getting some fresh air and enjoying the sunshine, I was able to finally clear my head.

Walking Beaver is just one of the ways that I’ve learned to get past all my thinking and over-thinking given that I’ve also learned that going to the YMCA and working out helps as well. Basically, I just find ways to distract myself so I don’t ponder anything and everything over and over again. Some of the better distractions I’ve come up with include:

• Baking 
• Taking a nap
• Cleaning
• Shopping
• Going on a drive with Dave and just talking
• Painting, and not the lame kind, but like with water colors and acrylic paints on canvas
• Listening to music 
• Playing fetch with the pooch or just making him run in circles :)

The distractions I’ve mentioned about are what have helped me through my stressful moments and I’m sure there are other great options as well. If you have any ideas, please let me know because I’m more than willing to try them.

With that said, I do understand that being pregnant isn’t easy and that being stressed while pregnant is something that all of us pregnant ladies have to deal with, yet it still can be a bummer from time to time. My hope is to just be able to get past it and not have it affect me too much. So far, that hasn’t been the case, but I’m doing my best to get better and right now, that’s about all that I can do. What has really helped is thinking about my little boy, he brings a smile to my face no matter how crazy I may be feeling. :) Thanks BB and until I post again, this is Carla the pregnant Tomboy signing off!