Friday Faves

I'm taking a quick "brain break" at work, and figured why not show what I am loving right now?!

one.

Have you been to Target's home section lately?! Helllooooooo swoon. I want it all.

 

two.

I finally bought a planner. Erin Condren was offering 15% off, plus a few freebies. So, I went with the Life Planner. We will see how I like it! 

 

Photo Courtesy of EC.com

three.

I have never been more excited for the weekend. I am getting my hair done with my mom on Saturday. I am leaving my phone in the other room all weekend, because I need a break! And I can't stand being with my phone all the time. Sometimes you just need to disconnect. It is good for the soul.

four. 

Speaking of weekend, I feel a repeat Lasagna soup recipe and Chicago Fire binge watch coming on.  Check last weeks post for that awesome recipe!! SOO good.

 

Photo: Pinterest

five.

This morning, Warren swatted my favorite mug out of my hand and broke it into a million little pieces. So, I am on the hunt to replace it. And I love this entire collection from Anthropologie. So cute!!

 

Photo

Currently

It's been a quick minute since I have done a currently post [ahem, last February... oops], so here goes nothing!

Currently.....


Feeling: 
Exhausted. Since starting back to work, I am slammed. But, I am excited to be back.

Reading:
About to start The Choice. My girl, Jordyn, and I are going to continue our Nicholas Sparks movie going tradition and see the movie when It comes out!

Listening to:

The baby monitor... Lol, real life. Break on Me by Keith Urban, yes. Just yes.

Watching:

Chicago Fire. Hellllooo where I have I been this whole time?! We started watching season 1, and have made it to the beginning of Season 3 now. Love this show! Also, watching the Bachelor. Olivia is a Chi O. Soooo there's that.

Thinking about:

A nap. Can I get an Amen?!

Working on:

This huge account that has me going cross eyed!

Loving:

My sweet baby boy. He will be Six months in just a few days, and I am not sure how this has happened!


Needing:

The Beach. Cannot wait to take Warren this summer!

Excited about:

This year. There are so many things I am looking forward to! Stay tuned :)

Friday 5

Happy Friday! Here is a [mostly] non-Warren related post about 5 things I am loving right now!


[one.]

I have been given the go-ahead to change our master bedroom paint (nasty, easily stand by barely touching, standard beige, ick)  and get a new duvet! Currently we are rocking a printed one from Pottery Barn, but I am really interested in white with a darker wall? Thoughts?!

 

Picture courtesy of West Elm. 

[ two.]

Maybe I told a fib about not talking about Warren. We are attempting baby-led weaning. Aka, letting him eat people food, not pureed food. I have talked with a few of my favorite bloggers, and they have given me tons of tips on what worked for them. Last weekend, we tried banana, and it was so much fun. I think we are trying some avocado this weekend! He's only 5 months, so I am not rushing it. But this boy is super interested in everything we put in our mouths! Has anyone tried this? Success? Failures?! Let a mama know.

[three.]

I've been searching for a good [dairy free] soup recipe for this weekend, and I found one over at one of my favorite blogger's site. Lasagna soup. Yummmm. I just can't add the cream or cheese to mine, but I think the hubs will love this! 

 

Recipe [pic credit] here 

 

[four.]

We are having a much needed date night this weekend. However, I kind of just want to binge Netflix and start Making a Murderer. We can still get a baby sitter for that, right?!

 

[five.]

Just an update on our life...

We're moving. Haha, just kidding. Sort of. Pat and I have been talking since we got married about building a house. However, if you were like us and got married in the worst housing market year ever (slightly joking), there was NOTHING available. So,we decided to wait on that dream, and after almost 6 months, we found our first home. We love it. However, we are ready to build. This year we will be saving and looking for land. 

Na na nana, Hey Hey Hey

Shew. How is it already time for a New Year?! I just got used to writing 2015...  For the past few years I have reflected on the past year and looked toward the new year in a different way. I am not big on celebrated NYE, really any holiday that requires me to forego my bedtime. Anyways, I focused on one word that would challenge me, grow me, and make me a better person, wife, daughter, friend (now mom). For 2015, my word was intentional. I wanted to be intentional in all areas of my life, and I failed miserably at times. It was harder than I thought it would be, but I truly believe that word made me grow.

I have thought hard on what I want this next year to bring. I have thought of the obvious answers: joy, strength, prayer, love, focus. But I wanted to get deeper than I had. I wanted this year to not necessarily be focused on a verb or action. I wanted to push myself further than being intentional or loving. So, this year my word is peace. It may sound like a weird choice, and to an extent it kind of is. 2015 has had its challenges. It has been hard. It has also brought me the most joy. If you know me well, you know I have a lot of anxiety. I have anxiety about everything. But mostly decision making. It has always been a struggle for me.

One of my favorite quotes is "Peace: It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart." The Bible is full of verses regarding peace [Col. 3:15/ Phil 4:6-7 to name a couple], and they are all over my house and office to remind me. But, I want to focus on this one:

So, here is to 2016 and being in the midst of noise, trouble, and hard work, and still be calm in my heart. Here is to be at peace with decisions and have confidence in myself and others. Here's to being attentive to that. Here is to letting the Peace of Christ saturate my life as a person, wife, friend, daughter, and especially as a mom.
 

Hello, It's me....

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone! Blogging most definitely has taken a back burner to life lately. I have an almost 5 month old. WHAT the WHAT?! I am not sure where the past few months have gone, but time has never been longer, shorter, more full of laughter and tears and anxiety and fun. If you have a child, I am sure you can relate. I decided I am going to be posting (maybe not all at once...) about what I have experienced over the past few months and what I have learned. There is a lot of TMI, so may want to skip if that freaks you out! This post will be full of my experiences, with a dash of sarcastic humor. Some times, you just have to laugh. There is a list of a thousand things you will "never do with your baby" and as soon as they hold that baby in your arms, that list goes flying out the window.

1. Labor
Labor is painful. I know everyone has a different experience. The physical aspect of labor and recovery went really, really well for me. It was quick, and relatively easy (as easy as labor can be, haha!). The mesh panties, pain spray, tucks pads were all a God-send. Hoard that crap. Seriously. Put some in your hospital bag that you oh so meticulously packed (and in my case, didn't use 3/4 of what was in it) and ask for more each nurse shift change. Trust me on this one. We went home with like a full set of all of it. I still have some left over! Take the stool softener. I know, not something you want to hear about, but trust me on that one too. It doesn't have to be as terrifying as everyone makes it out to be. The emotional aspect was hard. The 2-3 weeks after labor are full of haywire hormones. I cried a lot. Some times, without prompting. I will never forget sitting on the couch, in Patrick's arms (I am not a cuddly person.. its just not my love language), literally sobbing because I was so overwhelmed and exhausted and failing my baby in every way. That is okay. Time will pass, and you will balance out to just one good cry a day, and eventually once a week. I kid I kid.

** In all seriousness, these hormones are very real and very much out of your control. Post partum depression is real, and not a joking matter whatsoever, so if you are feeling those feelings...  please seek help. Don't let your mental health be defined by a survey at the drs office.

2. Breastfeeding
If you would have told me in July that  I would be breastfeeding at 4.5 months, I would have laughed in your face. It was something I wanted to attempt, but wasn't going to stress about if it didn't work. Honestly, I wasn't sure how I would do with the whole concept... again not a cuddly person. It kind of weirded me out. Just keeping it real over here. Well, my milk came in the day we got home, and has been overloading me ever since. BF has actually been something that I have "enjoyed." If that's even the right word?!!! Haha! Kudos to ALL mama's that feed their babies in whatever way they choose. This stuff is HARD. Back to BF, the first 3 weeks were MISERABLE. I have never hurt so much and dreaded something that much in my life. I wanted to quit every time it was time for him to  eat. Which if you have had a newborn, it's ROUND the CLOCK! But, I had so much milk that I couldn't bear to stop because it hurt. I knew the hurt would go away, and it did. So, my unsolicited advice, how ever you choose to feed your sweet little one, do it with confidence and peace.

Side note... Warren has silent reflux. So if they are screaming more than you feel like they should be.. try cutting out dairy. I wish my pediatrician had suggested that at 3 weeks instead of acid reflux meds, because at 12 weeks, when I finally cut it out, I had a completely different baby.

3. Trust yourself.
No matter how prepared I thought I was, I wasn't. Like, I WAS NOT! And that is okay. Nothing can prepare you for the emotions, the anxiety, the fear, the overwhelming joy. Your instincts will develop. Don't let any one or anything make you question yourself. You are a great mom, or you are going to be a great mom. Don't feel like you constantly need to justify your choices. Yes, I just said all that to myself, because I need to hear it daily.

4. Schedule
L.O.L. Can I just laugh for a minute?!! I read baby wise before I had him. And I had this schedule all laid out. I stressed myself out so much because he wasn't on a schedule and wouldn't nap more than 30 minutes for 3 months. I cried. A lot. If he did sleep longer than 30 min, it was on my chest. (Which I am not complaining about) If I could go back and change anything, it would be to tell my type A strong willed self to stop the immense worrying about THAT. Breathe. Just let it go. It will click eventually, and it did. Just because your baby isn't doing what some book said he should be doing, does not mean you are a failure. The day I let the idea of a schedule go, life got so much better. We now have a routine, which he rocks at, and he is so so so happy (thanks to no dairy, ha!). This may not apply to anyone but me, but I put so much pressure on myself and I shouldn't have. We just put so much pressure on ourselves to get everything "right," that we forget they are just babies... they will get it eventually.


5. Love
It is okay if you don't feel this immense "so in love, over the moon" love at first. It is okay if you do. But, if you don't, you will. And your baby will. You are new to each other. You have to learn each other. And when you do, oh man. There is no greater feeling in the world. I am given a glimpse of the love that the Father has for us, and my oh my, is it immense.


Lastly, the best piece of advice I was given, and the only unsolicited advice I give to any pregnant friends (unless you ask, then I rattle away hahaha)..... Do what gives you the most peace.   If it's BF or formula, Cry It Out or cuddle, co sleep or crib day one, organic or not, whatever.... just have confidence in YOUR family's choices, and don't let anyone make you feel shame or failure! Don't let anyone fool you, we're all winging it...

Baby Boy is Here!!

Hey there! It's been a quick minute! Life has changed drastically for us in the past 5 weeks. This post may be quite long, but for those curious.. I promise it's a good one! [Disclaimer: Some details may be TMI... but when you have a baby, nothing is off limits anymore.]

Let's start with Thursday, August 6th. That evening my mom jokingly brought over a friends "birthing ball" (I still find that so funny-- it is literally an exercise ball-- she said she went into labor the day after using it). For those that have been pregnant, you try all sorts of silly things. I only tried the ball and walking. Nothing too crazy. I knew he would come when he was ready. I sat on the ball for maybe 10 minutes that night. Nothing. Crickets. Friday August 7th rolls around. I sat on it again for about 10 more minutes. It was weird rolling around on it, but it actually felt good to stretch. I proceeded to take Lila on a 2 mile walk. I was exhausted. Fast forward to around 2 pm. I went to the bathroom, and there was a faint amount of blood. *repeats over and over "this is normal. do not panic."*

So naturally, I do what any sane 9 month pregnant woman would do. I googled it. Yep, normal. But "call doctor if worsens." Um, okay? So I call Morgan, my aunt. She didn't experience it. Okay.... don't panic. I talked with her on the phone for about an hour. I started cramping while on the phone. Man, I did not miss menstrual cramps. They were fairly intense, but I wasn't taken back by them. I decided to get in the shower, because I knew I needed to desperately wash my hair and it may make me feel better. Nope. They were getting worse. So, I call the doctor. Thankfully, my doctor was the on call doctor. He told me I was having contractions, and that if they or the bleeding got worse/5 min apart, come on in.

I did my hair, which was pointless because it was in a pony tail the entire time, but at least it smelled clean. Anyways, I texted Pat and told him: "Hey, I think I may be in labor... but no worries you've got lots of time... I just think it's starting... Do not speed." He immediately responds, "IM 20 AWAY!" Oh, bless his caring heart. The contractions were 100 kinds of AWFUL. I couldn't hardly eat dinner they hurt so bad. They started about 10 min apart, lasting for 20 seconds. At this point, they were about 45 sec long. I went to take a bath. Nope, didn't help. So, we get in bed, and around 11 I just can't take it anymore. I take another bath. As soon as I get in, I realize something isn't right. So I immediately got out. I woke Patrick up, and said we need to go. We get to the hospital at midnight. Apparently, my doctor had stopped by on rounds and told them to be expecting me. I love him.

They have to do 3258352 things before they decide if they are going to admit you or send you home. They checked me to see if I was dilated, I was only at 2. Ouch. They admit you at 4. I am not going home. They check to see if my water has broken, which I told them it hadn't. Apparently it had. And I missed it. Do you know how disappointed I was?! It was not like the gush of fluid they say. I know some experience that, but I did not. They took my blood, prepped me for the epidural, and it was hurry up and wait time.

I dilated a cm each hour. Around 3 the baby's heart rate/DCells dropped dramatically. My doctor stayed at the hospital and monitored his heart rate the entire labor process. He's awesome. It was scary. They dropped two or three more times, and he was talking to me about a possible c section. I lost it. I couldn't stop crying. Not that there is ANY THING wrong with a c-section, I seriously did not want surgery. I had about 10 minutes to come to peace with it, and if it was what kept him safest, that is what we would do. My doctor is a very patient man. So we waited, and everything was progressing great. No C Section. Around 7 am they came in to check me, said it was time to start practice pushing. Real pushing began at 810, and Warren Christopher was born at 9:39.


His first month home has been an adventure. I have never felt more emotions than during those first two weeks. From absolute joy to complete anxiety. Those two weeks were the hardest two weeks of my life. I had no clue what I was doing [let's be honest, I still don't lol], and my baby was hysterical. I mean at times, the screams were enough to bring you to your knees. It was hard, and you feel so unbelievably helpless. Breastfeeding was miserable. Yes, I said it. It was going great in the hospital, but when my milk came in [and my gracious it came in with vengeance!], it's like he had no clue how to latch anymore. It was the hardest thing not to just say screw it, forget this. But, with the help of a lactation consultant, we made it work. He would only sleep on my chest. Okay, so I am not saying that last part is bad at all. I kind of miss those newborn snuggles... a lot!! And then, just when you feel so helpless, your son pees on the couch and all over your mom's hair mid diaper change. And you laugh. And laugh. And laugh some more. And then, at 3 AM when your mom is handing you the clean diaper, you change it. She asks for the dirty diaper that you SWEAR you just gave her. And then you both realize that you taped the dirty diaper tab to the clean diaper. And you laugh and laugh and laugh some more.

But, I say all that to say, they made me stronger. I think all mom's go through that. At least that's what I am telling myself. Those two weeks gave me the confidence that if I can handle all of that not knowing anything, I've got this. I can do it. It doesn't necessarily get easier, but you get better.  And you just have to laugh along the way. [I read this article the other day, tears streamed through the entire thing. All I can say is, YES. http://community.today.com/parentingteam/post/it-wont-get-better]

This sweet boy has stolen our hearts. I never knew I could love someone so much. I know that is so cliche, but it is SO true. He makes us laugh constantly. He is amazing us every day with the things he can do, and the way he is changing.

37 Weeks

Size of Baby: 37 weeks! [that is a apparently winter melon, in case you're curious!]

Gender: BOY!

Fun fact: All the apps say I am offically FULL TERM! Basically, all of his organs and systems function the way they should if I were to go into labor!

Movement: They've slowed down a little, he's running out of room. 

Sleep: I'm sleepy all the time. I still wake up about 2-3 times a night, so I am sleeping in about 2-3 hour increments. My body is truly prepping for baby!

Workouts: It is H-O-T. With a heat index of over 100 every day, this has slowed down drastically. I am still moving around a lot.. but the "workouts" have definitely slowed down.

Maternity Clothes: Same.Target Black Maxi, you da real MVP.

Symptoms: Other than just being tired, I can't complain. I do have a pretty painful case of carpal tunnel in my hands, but that will go away hopefully after baby is born. My doctor recommended a wrist brace, so I will be getting one of those today.
   
Cravings/Aversions: I crave keeping my dinner down. I have a nice little case of third trimester evening sickness! ha!

Missing Most: Fall. Lol can anyone relate?! It is hot out there!

Nursery: Ready for baby :)

Hubby: He's been so helpful when I move at a glacial pace! Lol

Best part of the Week: Knowing that I am one day closer to having this baby boy! Mom and I made freezer meals on Sunday. I have about 16 meals made up so far. Which will last us awhile, since I know mom will cook and friends will bring stuff over for us. God bless them. I did burn my stomach during the process via baking pan. I was more upset that there was now a mark on my stomach than the actual burn, because I surprisingly don't have any stretch marks [yet...].

Can't Wait For: To have this sweet baby boy!