Thursday, June 12, 2008

For All you Type A's out there

I'm a planner both in terms of personality and professionally. I started mapping my life out from a young age, and in all honestly it has pretty much gone by that plan. I did well in school, went to college, married my high school sweetheart, graduated college, found a good job, bought a house, got a dog and went to graduate school while working full-time. We held off on having kids until we were financially secure and on a good path career-wise, because although we got married young we still wanted to have a good time and enjoy our twenties. And while the whole kid thing did not go as I planned, I wasn't exactly surprised by it given my menstrual cycle history, and because I got help early and my problems were relatively easy to fix, it only set us back by a year. My whole life, I've found that I thrive the most when I have a plan, a routine, and independence. As I look forward to September, I'm realizing that my life with have none of those things and that I haven't the faintest clue on how to care for a newborn.

So being a pretty classic type A personality, I got some books, and signed us up for a class. These are the ones I bought, but if anybody else has some to recommend let me know. Obviously some things you just have to learn by experience, but I operate best when I have gathered as much knowledge on a subject as possible.


Oh and I checked out a bunch of baby knitting books from the library so that I can choose some baby projects. I've found far to many patterns that I absolutely adore. So if I ever get my head out of these baby books, I'll have enough knitting to keep me busy for 50 children.

Also, yesterday the dresser for the nursery arrived. So now we have everything except for the glider that we'll probably buy next month and the hope chest my father-in-law is working on. We also bought a camcorder, which I believe is a stable for any parent who plans to obsessively document their child's every move. This has led to a bit of a debate over filming the birth. Originally, both Jeramy and I were in agreement over not recording this event, because while it is a very special moment it is not necessarily one that I'm interested in sharing with a very broad audience. However, Jeramy has began to waiver on this position and is now leaning towards filming. So for those of you out there who have given birth, what did you decide and how do you feel about your decision now?

10 comments:

CanadianMama said...

I highly recomend the book "The Baby Whisperer Solves All Of Your Problems, by teaching you how to ask the right questions". It's been a good book for me and it gave me an idea of what kind of routine Chicken should follow. It's also got a lot of suggestions about sleeping and Chicken is a GREAT sleeper!

Cheryl said...

I really wish I could have recorded Carina's birth. Although I had a natural child birth and was on no drugs whatsoever, I wasn't really there mentally, I was just focused on getting her out and not really enjoying it much. I felt like I missed out on it somehow and would have loved to see it from a different perspective. You can always choose not to let anyone else see it, or edit it to your liking, but you can't get that moment back once it is gone. I say go for it!

Love, Aunt Cheryl

Kathy V said...

I think we are going to end up having this same discussion so I can't wait to see how people comment.

George said...

Good luck with all the knitting! Fun projects!!!

Thanks for the reminder about getting a video camera - definitely need one of those.

As for filming the birth - I'm a firm NO on that front. I think it's all personal preference...but filming our son moments after coming out, rather than the actual process of coming out, is just fine with me! :)

Barb said...

Thanks for the bootie note Jen! Yeah, I was afraid of the Saartje's b/c they look so complicated, so I tried these first. But now I think I'm ready to roll on those!!

Cece said...

About giving birth, I have NO CLUE. But. As for baby knitting - that book Itty Bitty Hats is AWESOME!!!

: )

Sunny said...

I'm a Type A, too. Unfortunately, being a planner and having a baby do not mix. At all. I thought I was prepared to throw my schedule out the window, but I was more attached to it than I realized! Nothing like a baby's cry to disrupt anything and everything. :) Worth it, though, of course.

I did not film the birth, nor really take any still pictures. So far, no regrets. DH started snapping the baby as soon as the little guy was born, and that is DEFINITELY enough for me. Yeesh.

Birdee said...

I love your book stash, I've got quite the collection going on too.

(ps. did you see my blog?)

Katie said...

Even though I have not given birth yet, we have decided what we are going to do as far as the filming. We are going to take video in the car on the way to the hospital, record geting settled into the room, early labor, etc. Then, when things get more serious, we are putting the camera away. No hoo haw shots for me, thank you very much.

Right after everyone is cleaned up, we will get the camera out again and get some great newborn videos and stills.

So, maybe a compromise like that would work for the two of you?

Katie said...

Oh, and just so you know as you make a decision, some hospitals will not allow you to tape the actual pushing part anyway. Something to do with malpractice lawsuits. If you really want to record the whole thing, be sure to ask your birthing center about their specific rules and regulations. At mine, they do not allow you videotape any of the personnel, even with their permission.