Totally normal. Happened to me with the first pregnancy and I'm going through it again with the second. I just read until I fall back asleep. There's really not a lot you can do about it.

My baby definitely preferred the boob and started feeding more in the evenings and at night. Have you noticed an uptick in the number of times/legnth that your baby nurses when you're at home?

Before I send another $50 nonrefundable check to another one of the area's preschool lotteries, do the DCUMs think about this situation:
I'm due with #2 in late Sept. DS will be 23 months old. The transition will probably be rough for him. I was thinking that sending him to preschool might give him something to do that's new and exciting and "his" so that he won't be so upset when his sib comes along (and quite frankly giving myself a few hours twice a week sounds pretty good too). However, would it be MORE traumatic for him to start school and have a baby show up (almost at the same time). Opinions please!

I vomited up every prenatal vitamin under the sun with my first DC. Flintstone made me throw up too. I tried gummy vitamins and they worked like a champ. I got them at Whole Foods. You have to take 2 or 3 to get enough folic acid.

I heard sillicone, but I don't remember why. DS had both sillicone and latex. The latex is softer.

First, I want to be supportive of OP b/c it's such a personal decision as to how many kids you want. Second, I have lots of friends who are onlies and they are great people! However, just want to give my perspective as the last of 4 since OP seems to want differing perspectives. I happen to have a great relationship with my sisters and brother. We are spread all over the country, but see each other at least once a year during the holidays. We call regularly. It's nice to have people who share the same memories as you (and remember things about your childhood that you forgot!), who are there for you, and who you don't have to be anyone but yourself (even if that self sometimes regresses back to when you were all 12 years old). My parents were older when they had me, and when they died, my oldest sister ended up doing much of the work since she was in the same town as them. It was hard for her and she was sometimes envious that we couldn't help b/c we were far away, but that's the way it goes. Now that they are gone, I think we all cherish the fact that we have each other. NOw that I have kids, I love that I can compare stories and experiences with my siblings about child rearing and taht my DS will have cousins to play with. We have a set of distinctly older cousins and my DS constitutes the youngest of the young set of cousins. It was really special for me to see the older cousins play nicely with the younger cousins this Thanksgiving and continue to build the sens of family that we have. Maybe I have something rare these days given the rest of the discussion of how people don't get along with their siblings, but I do want to throw a different perspective out there that not everyone with a brother or sister has a strained relationship wtih them, negating the reason to have a sibling for your child.

Master bath in Arlington (esp. N. Arlington)? We're in the 800-900K range and haven't found a one. Small, dated bathroom off the master bedroom yes. Nice master bath with tubs, double sinks, etc, in our price range, no. However, we occasionally go into open houses in the 1.5 mil range (just to torture ourselves) and you usually get a nice master bath there. It's usually those McMansions that have those kinds of upgrades. I agree that most people live in Arlington for the lifestyle, not for the big honkin' house (unless you're in that 1.5 mil and up price range, of course). Bush just passed the stimulus package today and rumor has it there's some jumbo loan relief in there. Hope those interest rates keep dropping!

Between $16-20/hr.

Ooooo Sephora is really hit and miss depedning on the person you get. Sometimes they employ little teeny boppers who have no clue.

Ditto PP. Do you have a share partner yet? We found our share partners a month after DS was born and went through the nanny picking process together. It usually works best that way so that you both agree on the nanny and the nanny gets to know both parents/kids prior to employment. A friend hired a nanny and then found a share partner and it didn't work out b/c the nanny hated their share partners. They ended up keeping the nanny and dumping the share partner which was both awkward and expensive. Good luck! BTW, I was on some daycare lists for over a year (and am happy with my share so dropped them) so it's never too early to sign up!

I think eating really small, frequent meals help. I'm having a hard time gaining weight b/c of what you described, and if I basically graze constantly, I get less of that "I'm going to puke" feeling after eating a normal sized meal. It's a totally different experience from my first pregnancy FWIW.

Ditto to the other posters. I had my son in my arms right after the cord was cut and they did the quick check-over. The only negative experience I had was that the lactation consultant on-site was really rushed (there were a LOT of babies born that weekend and she was whizzing around to all the rooms) and didn't recognize that DS wasn't latching on correctly. Three days and two blood blisters on my nipples later, I called teh Breastfeeding Center and they fixed me right up.

I work 4 days a week as a management consultant and policy analyst. I feel blessed to work at a company that really values work/life balance (we were in the Washingtonian as one of the most Family Friendly companies) and I feel like I have my toes in my profession while having Fridays with DS to play, run, errands, and have a little alone time with my son. That said, I think my career trajectory has definitely suffered (you really can't do it all PT), and sometimes Fridays at home were very LONG (I don't have the gene for being a SAHM without going nuts), but I think this situation works out best for me and my family. I work 4 vs. 3 days a week b/c I get full benefits at 32 hours vs. pro-rated benefits at less than that. Plus, I really don't think I could lead the studies that I do without being around as much as I am.

Good luck and I hope you find a solution that works well for you and your family!

Please, Dreft is such a scam. We used All free and clear and our baby was fine. I'd wash a few things pre-baby b/c you really don't want to come home from the hospital totally exhausted to find that your baby has nothing to wear and you have to do luandry.

I second everyone else's support. My DS hears Vietnamese and English and is NOT confused. I've grew up billingual, now speak 4 languages and think that growing up billingual gave me a leg up with the other languages. We've hired a spanish speaking nanny and I encourage her to speak to him in Spanish as well.