***Spotlight on newmamatobe***

[Shachar613]

Hi, newmamatobe!

What are you planning for this birth and why?

Do you work out of the house? What do you do?

If money were not an object, what would you do with your life?

What is the weirdest thing you will ever admit to having done in the past?

What is your favorite book?

What famous person would you want to be friends with?

What is your favorite city and why?

Have you bought anything for the baby yet?

[kirk_heidi]

I was looking for this a little while ago!!

HOw many kids do you want to have?

Where would be your ideal place to live?

What is your favorite thing about being due in December?

[DucetteMama21842]

Trying to think of some really good questions...

[*MamaJen*]

Yay, I forgot it was my spotlight until I saw it.

What are you planning for this birth and why?
I'm planning a homebirth and waterbirth with a really wonderful midwife. My boyfriend will be there along with two of my best friends. I’ve been intrigued by the idea of homebirthing ever since I first heard of it—the idea of treating childbirth like a normal event, without interventions, in the comfort of my own home really appeals to me. If anything goes wrong, I’ve found an OB I really like who is midwife-friendly, so I feel like a transfer would not be the end of the world.

Do you work out of the house? What do you do?
Yep, I’ve been a reporter for about four years now at a weekly paper near Austin. I also work at a downtown coffeeshop on the weekends. Sounds crazy but I love both my jobs _almost_ all the time.

If money were not an object, what would you do with your life?
I’d still be a reporter, or at least a writer, but I’d spend a lot more time traveling. I’d also buy a lot more clothes.

What is the weirdest thing you will ever admit to having done in the past?
Oh jeez. Please don’t judge, but once I got real drunk and made out with a Republican.

What is your favorite book?
Probably “Women in Love” by D.H. Lawrence, but there’s a zillion books that have shaped my life. I’ve been a big reader as long as I can remember.

What famous person would you want to be friends with?
Nellie Bly, the famous turn-of-the-century girl reporter. She was bad-ass.

What is your favorite city and why?
I love love love Palermo, in Sicily. My heritage is Sicilian, and when I stepped off the train it felt like I was coming home.

Have you bought anything for the baby yet?
Yep, I bought a punk rock onesie and that’s all so far. I’m sort of waiting to buy and move into a new house before I start acquiring a ton of stuff. Also, this is my first so I’m banking on the showers.

How many kids do you want to have?
Dunno. I didn’t know I wanted this one until it was already on its way. Maybe two or three?

Where would be your ideal place to live?
I love Austin. I was a vagabond for a couple years and I’m pretty happy with the idea of settling down in Austin.

What is your favorite thing about being due in December?
Nowadays I have detailed fantasies about December. The cold weather. Big tweed coats and fuzzy scarves. Resting cups of hot chocolate on top of my huge baby belly. Making someone else carry the Christmas tree inside. Wearing cute little preggo outfits centered around winter weight tights and tall boots. Not being boiling sweating disgustingly hot all the f$%#ing time like I am now, four months pregnant in the Texas summer.

[SheBear]

What are your plans regarding work after the baby comes? Will you continue working, and if so, what arrangements will you make for the baby?

I guess what I'm really curious about is, how flexible is being a reporter for a paper? Something you can do with baby in a sling?

What sort of reporting do you do?

How will your BF figure into daily life with your child? Do you live together?

Where's your favorite place to shop for cute (inexpensive!) maternity clothes?

Have you been looking around at nursing clothes (and if so, same question as above) or are you just planning to wear "regular" clothes that are nursing-friendly?

What is your favorite thing about being due in December?
Nowadays I have detailed fantasies about December. The cold weather. Big tweed coats and fuzzy scarves. Resting cups of hot chocolate on top of my huge baby belly. Making someone else carry the Christmas tree inside. Wearing cute little preggo outfits centered around winter weight tights and tall boots. Not being boiling sweating disgustingly hot all the f$%#ing time like I am now, four months pregnant in the Texas summer.

LOVE this question, and your answer! Somebody ask me this when it's my turn, LOL!

[*MamaJen*]

What are your plans regarding work after the baby comes? Will you continue working, and if so, what arrangements will you make for the baby?
I guess what I'm really curious about is, how flexible is being a reporter for a paper? Something you can do with baby in a sling?

I'm planning on taking the baby to work with me for the first six months or so. I've talked with my bosses and they're really supportive of that. I won't be able to take the baby, say, to a city council meeting, but I'm hoping it will work out for the bulk of the time. Plus, I can do a lot with flex time and working from home. I asked my publisher if anyone would mind me nursing at the office. She cracked a joke that the guys would love that. We're all pretty salty.

What sort of reporting do you do?
It's a geographic rather than a topical beat--I cover everything from politics to business to feature stories to crime. Small town reporting at its finest.

How will your BF figure into daily life with your child? Do you live together?
He's been great, really great. I didn't know what to expect when I told him about the baby, but he's been truly thrilled and excited from the start and made it really clear he'd be a big factor in the baby's life. He's pretty together and sorted in his life, which makes it easier. We don't live together now, but we've talked about moving in together before the baby is born. We had only dated for a couple months before I got pregnant, but we're really growing on each other. It's neat.

Where's your favorite place to shop for cute (inexpensive!) maternity clothes?
I picked the right fashion season to get pregnant. I've been buying cute little empire waist tops from non-maternity stores like Rue 21 and Charlotte Russe. My mom just got me a bunch of great tops on sale at Banana Republic. I can't believe how normal clothes look like maternity clothes this season.

Have you been looking around at nursing clothes (and if so, same question as above) or are you just planning to wear "regular" clothes that are nursing-friendly?
Same as above. I'll probably follow the whip 'em out school of breastfeeding with a tasteful shawl or something for cover.

[Tiny_Dancer]

Hi!

Any crazy pregnancy cravings?

Are you planning to find out the sex of your baby?

If yes, will you tell the name or keep a secret?

How did you find mdc?

what books are on your nightstand right now?

[*MamaJen*]

Any crazy pregnancy cravings?
Fruit, lots and lots of fruit. Especially watermelon and pineapple and cantaloupe. I hear that watermelon is one of my favorite conversational topics nowadays. I don't just eat it, I deconstruct it.
Also, cigarettes. Quitting my pack a day habit was really hard, and still is. I did it, though.

Are you planning to find out the sex of your baby?
Yep, on Aug. 7 at 8:45 a.m. Can't wait.

If yes, will you tell the name or keep a secret?
I'm no good with secrets. I think it'll be Oliver Granville if it's a boy or if it's a girl, Josephine Mercedes (pronounced differently than the car, with the stress on the first syllable). Both middle names are old, old family names from the early 1800s, so the kid will be the 6th or 7th in the family tree to have that name. The first names might change though.

How did you find mdc?
Through a news story I was writing about a local lactivism issue--a woman was asked to leave the municipal pool for NIP. We got hundreds of hits more than normal on our website from the first story, and I traced them back to MDC. That was a good year before I got pregnant, and I wasn't even thinking of having a baby at that point, but I spent hours browsing MDC. That's how I first learned homebirth even existed, and I was instantly intrigued.

what books are on your nightstand right now?
I'm a big reader. I have the newest Harry Potter book floating around, and also Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Prachette, and Gentle Birth Choicses, and Punk Rock Dad by the lead singer of Pennywise, and Anna Karenina, which I'm finally reading for the first time.

[starry_mama]

Yum, fruit........................ :

I love the names you have picked out!

Where did you grow up?

Whats your current fav movie?

Whats your top 5 fav songs?

Can you still fit in your regular clothes or are you wearing maternity? :

[*MamaJen*]

Where did you grow up?
In the 'burbs of New Orleans. I go back two or three times a year to visit family.

Whats your current fav movie?
Ooh, that's a hard one. I loved Children of Men and Pan's Labyrinth. Some of my classic faves are Monty Python and the Holy Grail and the Princess Bride.

Whats your top 5 fav songs?
hmm...my ipod says:
"Happy as Annie" by Larrikin Love
"Heartbeat" by the Detroit Cobras
"Love me or Leave Me" by Nina Simone
"Wear Clean Draws" by the Coup
"Clandestino" by Manu Chao
plus anything by Gogol Bordello, Jolie Holland, Los Orishas, Flametrick Subs, M.I.A, the Old 97s, White Ghost Shivers and a bunch of others.

Can you still fit in your regular clothes or are you wearing maternity?
I can fit into most of my regular clothes, but the higher-waisted slacks are getting uncomfortable. They'll just barely fit in the morning, but I'll wind up unzipping them after lunch. I've been wearing lots of empire waisted tops and dresses that aren't actually maternity, but serve the same purpose. I need some bigger bras badly.

[YummyYumYumMama]

When did you decide you wanted to do a homebirth/water birth? I know you read about it on MDC prior to getting pregnant - did you decide that's what you wanted as soon as you found out that you are pregnant?

Are you planning to take any childbirth courses? If so will your bf come along with you?

When did you first realize you might be pregnant? When did you tell your bf?

Have your 2 best friends who are attending your birth ever been to any other births before?

[*MamaJen*]

When did you decide you wanted to do a homebirth/water birth? I know you read about it on MDC prior to getting pregnant - did you decide that's what you wanted as soon as you found out that you are pregnant?
Yeah, I pretty much knew that was what I wanted, though I considered a birthing center as well. I did a bunch of research on homebirthing just to get the facts and also did some perfunctory research on hospital births.

Are you planning to take any childbirth courses? If so will your bf come along with you?
My midwife has a series of three childbirth classes that I'll go to, and my bf will be there. I'm not sure if I'll go to any other classes, though I was just wondering about that.

When did you first realize you might be pregnant? When did you tell your bf?
um, actually...the morning after a raging bachelorette party . I woke up hung over as death and realized I was a couple days late and my boobs felt like over-filled water balloons. I used a pregnancy test that was part of the veil decoration.
My boyfriend was out of town for work that week, so I told him about five days later. I cooked him a very nice meal first and he took it really well. It was kind of good that way, in that I had time to get used to the idea and figure out what I wanted to do.

Have your 2 best friends who are attending your birth ever been to any other births before?
One hasn't, but she's the strongest lady I know. I think she'll be great support. The other actually had a seven-month stillbirth about a year ago and was induced. I wasn't sure how she would feel about being there, so I danced around the topic for a while, but she's really enthusiastic about it.