A Little Update

I had some time and thought I would make a quick post. Mr Lucky Bud usually let's me have Thursday evenings to go out and do stuff by myself. I went maternity clothes shopping finally last Thursday. I had a lot of fun. I went to all the department stores, but only really had luck at Motherhood Maternity. It was fun to get a bunch of new clothes.

The boys have had a stomach bug all week, so there have been a lot of long nights and a lot of extra laundry to wash. I am really hoping that the worst is over and that they will be feeling better soon.

We rent out our basement and our tenant moved out today. Mr Lucky Bud and I are keeping busy getting the back yard back into shape and things in the apt ready for the next tenant who will move in on the 1st.

Here is a photo since I didn't take one last week.

28 weeks, 4 days

28 Weeks

Belly Measurement/Weight: 28 inches and up 2 pounds.

Physical Progress: Some of my maternity shirts are getting too short.

How I am feeling about my body: I feel good about how my body looks but physically I feel crappy much of the time. My ribs are so sore! My back hurts too so I am just uncomfortable.

Energy Level: I don't have much energy anymore. I think I am tired because I am not sleeping well at night. I do a lot of tossing and turning due to pain.

Baby Movement: With all the stress I have been under, Baby BB moves a lot! As I said before I really enjoy the movement.

I had my glucose test and I haven't heard anything, no news is good news with my Midwife but then again I only took it 2 days ago. I also started my Bradley Classes on Tuesday. Mr. BB was out of town for work (boo) so my mom came with me since she will be in the room for our labor. I really liked the Bradley instructor she was very fun but also knew what she was talking about. The other couples in our class are around our age and everyone is having a girl except for 1 other couple who are Team Green like us. We have homework already which I have yet to do!

We haven't made any progress on the nursery with everything going on which makes me anxious. We have a little less than 3 months to go! Not to mention my shower is in a month, so we will have baby stuff but no where to put it. I'm honestly not sure how we are going to get it all done. I was 8 days early with DD so I am thinking this one might be early too! If that is the case we have even less time. Ahh stress, apparently I can't get enough.

Congrats to Sassy Bud, B is so beautiful! We will surely miss you on the blog, good luck with everything.

All the best,

Shower Time!

Last week my husband and I packed up our bags, hopped on a plane, and headed clear across the country to visit family and have our baby shower. Due to the distance we'd have to travel, we decided to do the shower early (28 weeks). When we'd picked the date weeks ago, we'd never in a million years figured that so many members of his very spread out immediate family would be able to attend. The visit turned into so much more than we'd planned.


In addition to the shower, we got to celebrate birthdays with two of our grandmothers and one of our nieces. We also got to meet two other nieces for the very first time, which was great. The only downfall to all the celebrations was that they were exhausting. We literally were being pulled in different directions pretty much every day that we were there. It also was really hot there. We went from 70 degree weather here in California to 95 degrees and humid on the East Coast. Lets just say that my cankles didn't appreciate that change very much and that I was very thankful I'd invested in a bathing suit before the trip.


Though it was warm the day of the shower, it was great to see everyone and I'm still amazed at how generous people were. Since we live so far away, we got a lot of gift cards that aren't pictured. We've already bought our pack n' play (see image at end of post) with them and plan on getting some other things, like perhaps a swing and/or a breast pump.


I'm not sure how well I captured it in pictures, but the shower had a retro theme. There were old fashioned toys, blocks, even toys from my childhood used as decorations. The giraffe in the photo below is mine from when I was a baby. I love the watermelon carriage as well.

Apparently when I'm opening gifts I'm the queen of making funny faces. Please pardon my expressions. The lady sitting next to me is my mother.

Just a few of the outfits we got. Surprisingly there were very few newborn sizes (the outfit I'm holding was the only one!). We didn't get a single receiving blanket either, which surprised me.

There were also several handmade gifts. This particular blanket was from my mother.

There were a LOT of little kids attending the shower. Here is one of my attempts to get a photo of some of them. As you can tell, getting a photo with them looking at the camera was kind of like trying to herd cats. Notice that they were enjoying some of the retro toys used as decorations. We got to pack those toys up and take them home with us!

Since I didn't get great photos of everything at the shower, I tried to do what I could to show you some of what we got as I was unpacking.

Some of the cute knick knacks we got as gifts. The turtle has a light in it and can show constellations on the ceiling. The pig is from my grandfather who loves both John Deere and pigs (very fitting gift, I laughed when I opened it). The 'first curl' and 'first tooth' vehicles are from my husbands aunt who is a hairdresser...also fitting.
Here are some of the outfits we got. (Please pardon the photo being sideways...it won't rotate no matter what I do)

This highchair was also a gift, though it was sent to our home (its the Graco Blossom 4-in-1 Highchair in Capri, image credit to Babies R Us).Here is the pack n'play we got with the gift cards. We intend to use it as our bassinet when the little guy is tiny. As with the high chair, this is the Graco Pack n'Play in Capri with the image courtesy of Babies R' Us. We'll likely be using some of the remaining gift cards to get things like this swing, the Fisher-Price Cradle Swing, My Little Snug-a-bunny. Image courtesy of Babies R' Us. One of my favorite features of this swing is that it has a plug in option. Score one for not having to use batteries!

I had a great time at the shower, even though it was hot as anything and I ended up changing into my bathing suit and hopping in the pool by the end of it (there was a pool right outside where we were seated to open gifts). It was awesome to finally get to have the baby shower I never thought I'd get and all those that put it together and attended really made the day special. I can't believe the change in the amount of baby stuff we have at our house now. Its really starting to become real that we will (hopefully) have a take-home baby in about 11 weeks.

28 Weeks

(Image Credit: http://diffusibility.com/28-3.html)

Seeing as its the last day of my 28th week, I think it's high time I put up an update. I'll do another post later about the shower and such.

I had my 28 week appointment today. He had a heartbeat, which is always good to hear. Apparently I'm measuring appropriately...the doctor never told me the number but presumably she'd have done so if it were too much or too little. She asked about birth control after the baby, which sort of took me by surprise. The only things I didn't like about the appointment were that I again felt rushed with this doctor and the weight gain. I've decided spreading my remaining appointments amongst her and the 6 other doctors who could be on call in the practice on delivery day is probably for the best. I had an appointment with one of the other OBs last week and felt much less rushed. With the weight, I was up 2 pounds in a single week. I know its in large part due to eating horribly while we were gone for the past week, and I know I'm within the normal range still...but its hard to see I weigh the same as my husband right now. I've now graduated from monthly OB appointments to biweekly. Woot!

How far along: 28 weeks and 6 days

Total weight change: Ugh. I had my 28 week appointment today and I'm up 2 pounds in the last week alone. I'm blaming it on eating lousy when traveling. I think my grand total to date is +21. Still within the normal range, but its not looking like I'll make the 25 or less my doctor recommended at the start of the pregnancy. (Sorry that got long, been feeling like a bloated whale the last few days so its a touchy subject)

Maternity clothes: All.the.time. Even the yoga pants I had need to be retired until after the little one is born.

Stretch Marks: Just a few itty bitty ones on the right side of my stomach.

Movement: Generally he's pretty still during the day and is more active at night. Today was an exception to that rule...I'm guessing he was thrown off by the change from east to west coast yesterday. He's been really active all day long today. (Interesting side note: While we were on the East Coast he totally changed his schedule to match my adjusting to the different time. I thought that was kind of neat.)

Sleep: Its hit or miss. Either I sleep great or barely at all. The barely at all nights are generally due to the carpal tunnel & ulnar nerve issues I have (the tingling in my right hand has now progressed to include my thumb to middle fingers as well...which is why I'm now saying carpal tunnel as well). On those nights I wake up with my hands in pain. Not fun. I sometimes fine myself sleeping in a reclined position (with pillows, haven't resorted to a recliner). My doctor put in an order for wrist braces for me to wear when sleeping today. The other thing keeping me up during sleeping is the night owl in my belly. His wiggle fests are great, but they do keep me running to the bathroom which in turn keeps me awake.

Best Moment This Past Week: Having our baby shower

Most Difficult Moment This Past Week: Feeling pulled in different directions when visiting family for the shower. Both my husbands and my side wanted to spend time with us and it was hard to please everyone.

Belly Button In or Out: Still an inny.

Cravings/Aversions: Right now I'm completely turned off by fast food, take out, cheeseburgers and pizza. Its not a pregnancy related aversion though, its because we ended up eating a TON of those types of food on our trip last week. For the same reason I'm jonesing for fruit and veggies.

Symptoms: Tingly fingers, particularly on my right hand. Bloat, including the infamous cankles. Just generally feeling like a whale, which is probably a mix of the rapid weight gain and the bloat.

What I'm Looking Forward To: This weekend we are going to take the gift cards we got at our shower and buy some baby gear that we'll need when the baby comes home. I'm looking forward to finally getting the pieces in place for him to arrive.

Welcome to 3rd Tri!

I can't believe I am in 3rd tri already!

I just had my 28 week appointment. I'm now going every 2 weeks. Everything was great, except she noticed that my blood pressure has been creeping up over the last few appointments so she wants me to keep an eye out for any headaches or vision issues.

I am noticing that I am much more tired in the morning, and it's getting harder to move around with this belly.

We finished Brynn's nursery! Here's a preview of her crib (minus the mattress) and name wall.

We are going on vacation to Dallas and Vegas in a few weeks and I am hoping I don't swell up or get super exhausted while we are there.

That's about all I have to report for now. Everything is going great and I really can't complain!

Wow, where do I even begin?

Well, I'm typing to you from my new home. The hospital.

On Thursday/Friday, I noticed that my swelling in my feet was more excessive than it normally is. Putting my feet up didn't help, drinking a ton of water didn't help. Even sleeping at night didn't help like it normally did.

So on my Mom's advice (she's an RN), I stopped at one of those blood pressure monitors at CVS Pharmacy. 188/82. Ouch. She told me to go try another one at another store because they aren't always accurate. So off we go to WalMart to try their's. 170/90. Still bad.

I felt perfectly fine so I didn't think it was a big deal but I called my OB. She freaked out and ordered me to come in ASAP. I explained that I was actually in another state visiting for Mother's Day. So she ordered me to go to the hospital there immediately. Off we went.

They checked my blood pressure, which was still very high, my swelling, my reflexes, etc. As of then, my urine was clear for protein, my blood pressure dropped a bit but was still very elevated. My reflexes were hyper which I didn't know was a bad thing and I had Clonus in my feet. I was admitted and spent Saturday - Monday morning in the hospital on constant monitoring. More blood draws then I can rememember, 24 hours urine test, constant baby monitoring, etc.

On Monday, they discharged me with strict instructions to go straight to my local hospital at home. When I reached my own hospital, my blood pressure had spiked into dangerous territory... 180's/100's. I was admitted and have been here ever since.

My 24 hour urine test revealed protein level of 500, I have extreme reflexes and Clonus and my blood pressure is out of control and was still spiking.

Official diagnosis.... mild pre-eclampsia bordering severe. (there's apparently no moderate, it's one or the other).

We've met with my entire team of doctor's from my OB office, the Head of the NICU and the Chief of Maternal Fetal Medicine has been assigned to my case as well. I'm not going home at all until the baby is born. This hospital is my new home until then. :( They are very concerned with how quickly everything changes and that a lot of my symptoms are actually on the severe range. I've been put on blood pressure medicine to try and regulate it, baby is monitored for an hour twice a day, daily blood work, blood pressure check every 4 hours and frequent ultrasounds to check on baby's growth.

Our ultimate goal is 34 weeks. The doctors think this is being optimistic. Realistically, they are hoping we make it 2 more weeks.

I'm not fully stuck in bed anymore and have a little freedom around my room. I can sit in the rocker and eat and read. I can get up and go to the bathroom or shower. But when I'm in bed, I have to keep the Flowtron on my legs which prevents blood clots. I have to report every single headache, blurriness, cramp, etc. Anything at all.

My VBAC is out. :( It's going to 100% be a c-section. But I've been assured that my recovery will be much easier than it was with my daughter.

I'm having a hard time adjusting. I miss my daughter more than anything in the world. I've only gotten to see her a couple times and she's very confused. My MIL is going to take her up to Canada with her for 2 weeks so that Mr. SB can focus on work and being at the hospital with me and to keep DD entertained and occupied so she's not scared and worried.

Today, I've had lower blood pressures thanks to the medicine and I've got a detailed ultrasound scheduled this afternoon with the Chief of MFM. I'm having a lot of dizziness and nausea from the medicine but I know it's all for the best.

The longer I can cook Baby SB, the less time he spends in the NICU.

27 weeks and all is mostly well....

I just wanted to pop in for a minute and say hi - i know I haven't been updating recently.

I'm almost 28 weeks. I can't believe I'm in my 3rd trimester. Smudge is doing great. S/he's very active and finally head down - although that can keep changing for weeks yet. I'm just glad s/he's not transverse anymore - because that really hurt. Anyway - Smudge is about 2lbs 3oz right now and as we speak, headbutting my cervix. I LOVE baby movement, don't get me wrong - but the cervix stuff just feels really weird.

I've been having really bad sciatica on both sides and my left foot is really numb. So, it's impacting me in a lot of ways. I have a really bad back injury from when I was a teenager, so i expected it was going to act up eventually, even though I've been pain free for years thanks to acupuncture. Right now i'm just trying to hang in there until 31-32 weeks, when my Chiropractor will recommend I'm pulled from work. He'd gladly pull me now, but financially it would be really tough to go out before then because NJ Short Term Disability really stinks.

I'd also like to ask for a favor from the Bloomin' Babies readers. Last week, a friend had her twins at 27w2d. They were both intubated for 2 days, and are currently on CPAP. The girl (Lilly) has a heart murmur, and is being seen by the cardiologist this week. They're both getting head ultrasounds this week to check for bleeding. Please keep Andrew and Lilly in your thoughts and prayers.

27-28 weeks - well hello there 3rd Tri!!

Again, I can't believe how quickly time is flying! I'm close to two weeks into my third & final trimester of this pregnancy! Sometimes I sit & think about just how soon our precious little girl will be here & I both freak out & get giddy with excitement all at the same time! I know I'm technically already a mommy, but it won't seem for real for real till she's actually in our arms...does that make sense? I'm loving being pregnant with our little one though & getting to know her personality. She's all mine for now, but I know that's gonna change the minute she comes out - she already has sooo many people that love her & are so excited to meet her!! This past weekend I got a lot of miscellaneous nursery stuff done. I have gone thru all the clothes & blankets friends have given to us & plan to wash them at some point soon. Her crib skirt just arrived yesterday, so all I have to do is iron it & put it on the crib & her bedding set will be complete!! I ordered the hardware to hang her curtains, but it won't be here until early OCTOBER! So, if I find something else in the mean time, then I'll buy that!

True to form, my baby buying obsession is still in full effect - although, it has calmed down considerably. In the past couple of weeks, I have only bought her just a few things - most of it is nursery related, so that doesn't count. ;op  But one thing I have been wanting badly is a cute little cable knit white hoodie & I found one this week on JCP.com for $12.99! I got it in "polar bear" & 3-6 months, since I already have another cute sweater in 0-3 months. Here it is:

And one reason I triple heart JCP is because they ship SO fast! I already received it & it hasn't even been a week since I ordered! Oh, a cyber friend gave me an online code for 20% off your entire order from Baby Legs (email me for the code at worrybud@gmail.com), so since I have been drooling over baby legs since I first saw them, I decided to head over & check out their selection. BAD idea because I bought 4 pairs (I can only show you a couple b/c the BL site won't work at my job for some odd reason):

I heart them all! I got two in the "lil" size, which is supposed to fit newborns better & 2 in the one size fits all...I'm sure I'll soon get more. :) I'm also on the look out for some faux Uggs for her for cheap, so if you know of a good place to find them, then please let me know!

So, now on to the pregnancy updates! I'm doing well still - enjoying the third trimester overall, but I have been getting more uncomfortable & TIRED as the days pass. I was just telling Mr. Worry Bud that we better get some of our pre-Baby WB to do's done soon because I am feeling my energy quickly drain away. I found out a couple days after taking the test - I passed the glucose tolerance screening, woot! But my iron levels are low, so I have been put on iron supplements...which I keep forgetting to take. :o/ The problem is, I'm supposed to take them opposite of when I take my PNVs, which is a problem since I take them in the evening right before bed. I'm usually in a rush in the morning & completely forget to take the iron pills after my first meal. I have set an alarm on my phone & keep some of the pills in my work bag, so I'm hoping that'll help me to remember now. Everything else was normal though, so I am relieved to have that testing over with.

The weeks seem to just be flying by! I can't believe it's almost September, then really only 2 more full months till the babe arrives! We attended a breastfeeding class last week & I learned a lot & got some good literature to read up on. I have a friend who recently had a little guy & he took to the boob like a champ, so I'm hoping little Baby WB does the same - with minimal hurdles. I have a pretty high pain tolerance threshold, so I'm not so worried about it being painful as I am of the potential complications that can happen to me or to the baby while BF'ing. I'm gonna give it my best try though & if all goes well, I hope to continue as long as possible. I had my last every 4 weeks OB appointment last past Friday (everything looked good - only up 3 lbs since my 24 week appointment & her h/b was 155 bpm) & now am moving to every two weeks...looking forward to hearing her heartbeat every 2 weeks, woo hoo!I also plan to schedule a 3D ultrasound for next week at 30 weeks, so hopefully she'll cooperate & I'll have some good pics to share next time!!

According to The Bump, the baby is the size of an eggplant. Her lungs are maturing & she's putting on more weight now. She's also practicing blinking her eyes, which we will hopefully get to see at the 3D ultrasound! She's about 2 lbs. now & about 14.8 inches, so she's getting pretty big!! And pretty cramped in there I think - she is kicking away more & more every day...and I, of course, love it! So does Mr. WB - he gets to feel her at least once every day now! He thinks it feels like I'm hiccuping, but I told him that's definitely his little one! Some days she just gets into these moods where she just kicks non-stop. And he's just such an awesome daddy already - every night he tucks me & makes sure I'm comfy in my pillow fortress, then he kisses my belly & tells Baby WB how much he loves her! ::dies:: It's so freakin' cute...and I can't WAIT to see him hold his daughter for the first time, I think he'll just melt.

And to end this ridiculously long posts, here are my 27-28 week bump photos - I think I may have possibly finally "popped"?! IDK, but I apparently look pregnant since people give up their seats on the train (I use public transit to get to work) & random people ask when I'm due if we happen to strike up a conversation. Regardless, Dr.  W says I'm measuring perfectly so I suppose that's good enough for me! Oh & still no new belly stretch marks, although I noticed the ones I had on my hips from beforeI got pregnant have gotten a little darker (you can see them a little on to the right of my tummy in my bump pics). Weird right?

 27 weeks

28 weeks

I only have 2 pairs of work pants that fit me & 1 pair of jeans - I am currently in search of some lighter colored maternity full panel jeans, so if you know where I can find some, please please let me know! The lady at Motherhood Maternity said that the lighter ones are being phased out b/c the summer is almost over - is it weird that I still wear them in the fall/winter?! Hahaha. Maybe I'll just buy an even darker pair than the ones I have now & then they won't seem so dark to me?! 

Motherhood

Let me be completely honest here. Being pregnant and the mother of a toddler is hard. I've been lucky enough so far to have a relatively easy pregnancy so far. Yes, I had morning sickness for the first half, but I rarely actually threw up. Once I hit the 18-20 week mark I've felt pretty good. The most negative aspect of pregnancy until recently had been that I failed my one hour glucose test two weeks ago. (I did manage to pass my 3 hour test, but man was I crabby to have to take that!) Now that I've hit the third trimester the real fun has begun. (If you don't to hear me whine, feel free to skip to the next paragraph.) Since I've finally started to put on the baby weight, I've started to have back pain. It has become increasingly worse this week since I've been sitting in the most uncomfortable folder chairs ever in training all day, everyday this week. Tomorrow is the last day of training, so I'm hoping the lack of extreme sitting will help my poor body. To make life even more fun, I've also been waking up with leg cramps. Two nights ago, it was so bad that they woke me up at 4am. I've increased the amount of calcium and potassium, so hopefully these should lessen. I get heartburn from everything (or even nothing). And since I'm sleeping less, I have very little patience for naughty toddler behavior. But, after one of the moms in our preschool class lost her baby at around 34weeks, I try to remind myself whenever I get crabby about being pregnant about how lucky I truly am to be pregnant. In less than 12 weeks, I'll (hopefully) have a beautiful baby boy to snuggle.

28 Weeks and Glucose Hell

Before my 1-hour glucose screening Dr. C said I would have nothing to worry about.

She was wrong. So I get to sit through the 3-hour screening... Ugh!

It all started on Wednesday, I had my 28 week appointment and I went into it thinking it'd just be a normal appointment plus the glucose test. Dr. C let me know that I could eat a really light, sugar-free breakfast beforehand and that I'd have to be there for at least an hour. I didn't eat anything.

So I go in and let the receptionist know that I'd be doing the glucose screening so that they can have me drink the sugar solution. They take me back and give me 5 minutes to get the glucose goo down... someone told me it tastes like orange tang - whoever said that can be shot cause it takes nothing like tang and more like sugar water with a splash of orange soda. It was warm too.

The rest of my appointment goes well. Although I feel like I've gained 25 lbs, I've only gained a total of 13 lbs - go me! I can never remember what my blood pressure measures at but the nurse told me it was good. Pee in a cup - I never know why I do this but they always tell me they need to "dip my pee." Ok - have fun with that. :) Then I get to meet with Dr. C and we listen to Baby GB's heartbeat - today it was at 150 which is a little higher than normal; she says he's probably on a sugar high from the solution. She measures my belly - 28 cm - right on track! Then I get to sit and wait - 20 more minutes so that it's been a total of 1 hour since I first drank the sugar solution. Another nurse comes in to take 4 vials of blood; asks me to pee in a cup again; and I'm on my way. Not so bad! I thought I'd pass with flying colors.

Then tonight I got the call...

First of all, my iron tested low. So I have to add 325mg of iron and take it at a different time than my PNV since together they "could" make me constipated. Ah the joys...

Then the nurse tells me that my blood glucose measured right at 140 which she says doesn't fail the test but it's the cut off so they are sending me for the 3-hour test. Fabulous. She tells me that for 3 days prior to my next test I need to eat my regular diet but add 300 grams of carbs. Then the day of my test I need to fast for at least 8 hours.

I was doing some research and here's what my morning will look like for the 3-hour test:
"When you arrive for the test, the technician will take a blood sample to measure your "fasting blood glucose level" and then ask you to drink either a more concentrated dose or a larger volume of the glucose solution. Then brace yourself for three more arm pricks, as your blood is tested every hour for the next three hours.

If one of the readings is abnormal, you may have to take another test later in your pregnancy. Or your practitioner may ask you to make some changes in your diet and exercise routine. If two or more of your readings are abnormal, you'll be diagnosed with gestational diabetes and you'll need to talk to your practitioner about a treatment plan. This chart shows the levels that the American Diabetes Association considers abnormal at each interval of the test:"

Interval	Abnormal reading
Fasting	95 mg/dl or higher
One hour	180 mg/dl or higher
Two hours	155 mg/dl or higher
Three hours	140 mg/dl or higher

Source

Lets cross our fingers for some normal readings!!!

Going Back to Work After Baby

Oh how I dream of being a stay-at-home-mom (SAHM)... and then, I wake up.

I dream about all the things I could do if I were a SAHM:

• I'd have dinner made every night when Mr GB got home from his long days of work - plus I'd have more time to plan out and try new things in the kitchen!
• I'd be with my first child through every milestone, boo boo and story time!
  
• I'd have time to catch up on the 3+ years of scrapbooking I've officially lost track of - plus all the pages I'd be able to complete of Baby GB.
• I'd be able to make those mid day Mommy & Me classes at my gym.
• The house would always be clean.
• Can you say play dates???
  
• This list is endless...
  

The reality is that there's no way financially we could make it work on one income without cutting back DRASTICALLY. Even then, I'm not sure it'd be worth it because while groceries and cleaning supplies wouldn't be a major cutback; the scrapbook supplies to catch up, the gym membership with my mommy and me classes well, they'd be the first to go. Along with my internet and cable TV probably. Also, Mr GB's job doesn't offer health benefits so without my job - we are S.O.L.

Boo... tear...

We have no family to help in the town we live in and the only things that are going to help us out so that we don't have to put Baby GB in full time day care are that Mr GB will always have a weekday off and that our neighbor (retired military couple with 3 grown kids of their own) are actually begging to watch him. They actually have offered to be our day care but I just have a really hard time putting that on someone full time.

My boss has been asking me since the moment I announced my pregnancy if I'm coming back to work. I guess the last pregnant girl said she was coming back but left for maternity leave and we never saw her again - so I don't blame her for asking so soon. So I've been weighing my options for weeks now. I had a sit down with her and told her that yes - financially I have to come back but asked about my options about only coming back part-time.

Now, first off - to keep my health benefits I have to work at least 20 hours per week. So from what she tells me I have 3 options:

1. Keep my 40 hour a week job. Here we opt for day care at least 3 full days a week - with Mr GB watching him one day and our neighbors watching him another day.
   
2. Keep my position and go down to 30 hours a week (as long as I keep a set schedule). With this option there is also the possibility of going back up to 40 hours a week if we decide we want to. Mr GB and our neighbors would still each take one full day while I'm working then we could do 3 part time day care days.
   
3. Go down to 20 hours a week - no more/no less for the foreseeable future. And I'll have to make a lateral switch to another department along with switching managers. I think with this option I'd still be able to work one full day with Mr GB watching him and then split up a few short days where our neighbors would take him. No day care... so that's a plus!?
   

I'm so torn - there is so much more to say about each option that this post would be a mile long but that's the gist of each. Someone gives me a pro, I give them a con. All I know is that with any option there are still going to be huge sacrifices in our budget, that's inevitable.