Five Question Friday-- March 28th

TGIF! Oh wait that means nothing anymore, ha ha. 

Woo hoo for the weekend. I'm so glad Monday is not a payroll day because this week has been rough. I'm praying it's going to warm up this weekend and maybe E and I can walk to my favorite park. There's still snow on the ground so I'm doubtful. 

I have so many questions to answer so I'm going to try to get this show on the road every Friday. We'll see how that turns out! 

1. How is E sleeping, how is she napping, etc? 

For the most part, good. She sleeps great for me at night. She gets to sleep by 8:30 and will stir once (sometimes twice) before waking up around 7:30-8:30. I'll wake up to her moving around in the middle of the night so I'll either reswaddle her, nurse her, give her her paci, or just rub her cheek. She always sleeps through whatever I end up doing..which is me just winging it. 

She hates naps. We have a routine, a lovie, a paci, a swaddle, an "aquarium". It. Don't. Matter. She hates naps. I'm lucky to get one hour a day, usually around 10-11AM. 

2. Are you still working? I thought you didn't work? Are you going to quit/move to part time? Is it hard to work with Little E?

Believe it or not this was a very popular question, LOL. Yup still working. No plans on quitting or moving to part time at the moment. 

Yes! Imagine bringing your baby to work, that's what it's like. It makes for very awkward phone calls, conference calls, and emails that take me two hours to reply to. I have no tips for any work-at-home-moms, but if you have any for me please email or leave a comment below! 

3. How is breastfeeding going? Are you still BF'ing? You're STILL BF'ing? 

..Like my kid is in high school. 

Yes, still BF'ing! I feed her on demand, so if you've seen her thighs, that's about all the time. :) In all honesty she eats about every 2 hours if we're at home. If we're out, she rarely gets hungry. She's a very distracted nurser so feeding her anywhere besides our quiet house (or car) isn't very easy. 

It is going great! It's so easy and requires no thought anymore. 

4. What is E's weight/length?

Not really sure. She was at the Dr on Monday and she was 16 lbs, 2 ounces. They didn't do her length but she's well over 24 inches. We'll find out at her 6 month appointment. She's wearing 6 month sleepers and clothes. Some 6 month pants are too tight on her little legs! 

I have to be completely honest.. I'm currently checking out on Etsy so I'm not sure what I'm typing. 

5. What are some of your must have items you are using right now?

Good question! We use A&A blankets, her Pack N Play, Baby Einstein aquarium, rings, teethers, and her play mat the most.  

Okay E is awake! xO

Life Lately-- March 27th

I'm trying here, people! E is passed out and my husband is browsing Facebook, so I'm hoping to give you a peek into our life as of late.

My dad came a month or so ago. We went to BJ's (we became members around Christmas time) and he was like a kid in a candy store. It was so funny.  

I think we'll end up going 4-5 times a year. We get all the normal stuff plus diapers (for bedtime) and wipes. There tissues were way pricier than Target so I didn't get tissues. I love the big boxes of cereal. Awesomeness. 

Little E sucks on her hands/fingers all.the.time. Note: Her first sproutie! I called it a pony and my friend quickly corrected me. Sprouties 24/7. 

The first time we really took her out on our own for a good while-- we went to the mall, a sports bar (parents of the year), and did some shopping. Fed and changed her in our teeny tiny car. 

Just in case we forget her name!

Got peanut all tucked in for bed, got my jammies on, and the freaking fire alarm went off. Correct that-- we don't have a fire alarm. It's a man's voice saying "There's a fire reported in the building. Please exit immediately". 

Scared the crap out of her. My husband was getting ready to leave for work so he took Little E and I got some blankets (it was 30 out) and the dogs. Ayyy yi yi. 

Thirty-ish minutes later we were allowed back in. Oh, turns out the fire was on our floor. 

Can't have enough pictures of me and my girl. :) I want E to have lots of pictures when she grows up! 

PS-- No, she never wears clothes.

Alive!

That would be how we describe it. Alive. These days the day is a success if everyone is alive. Bonus: If the house is tidy. 

I'd say we are finally, finally getting a little "routine" going. The days are long. Hard, sweaty, full of poop, frustrating. Long. But oh so much fun. I couldn't imagine doing anything else. And what do they say? The days are long but the years are short. 

Little E will be 5 months on Thursday. Woo hoo! Each month is more fun than the last. 

I'm so sorry for the lack of life and completely neglecting this little old blog. I will be better (I hope)! 

Let's see:

:: She's rolled over a few times. Still not loving tummy time, but hangs out on her belly for a good while every day. 

:: Emma loves her beauty sleep. She's still waking up once a night for a quick nurse. I don't even think she's really awake..she just stirs. 

:: She loves playing! She can grab all her toys and she puts them in her mouth immediately. 

:: No teeth yet! Our pedi recommended starting solids/Baby Led Weaning at 6 months AND when she can sit up on our own. She turns 6 months on Easter Sunday. Ham, anyone? ;)

I'm going to try to be better about posting. Have a great day, y'all! xO

Emma Jane-- 2 Months

Holy macaroni how is our girl 2 months old? We have had so much fun these past two months. Lots of snuggles, baby smiles, and sleepless nights. 

Emma had her 2 month appointment last Friday. She got 3 shots and an oral vaccine for Polio. Emma did pretty good for getting that many shots! Screamed her head off but stopped after Mama bounced her around the room and fed her. :) 

She was also diagnosed with Torticollis. We were sent home with 6,000 pages of information on it and told to stretch her neck out when we can. Emma will see her Pedi again in February and they will tell us if we need to go to physical therapy. 

Height: 22 1/2 inches

Weight: 11.44 pounds (11 lbs, 7 oz)

Clothing size: Some newborn, o-3 months, and 3 months. 

Diaper size: She wears disposables at night and she wears a size 1.

Milestones: Sleeping so well for mama! Emma loves smiling. She smiles every time her daddy walks in the room. 

Sleep: Emma is sleeping pretty good! We start settling her down around 10-- put her in her sleeper and a swaddler, sound machine and humidifier on, TV on, lights off, and put her down around 10:30. She'll get me up around 4/4:30 and will sleep until 9ish. 

She loves napping on her side in her bouncer

Typical day: She gets up around 9 and we'll do tummy/play time, read, count, etc for about an hour. Around 10/10:30 she usually takes a nap until lunch time. She'll eat again then I'll put her on quilt with some "toys" or in her bouncer for an hour or so. She'll usually take another long afternoon nap and wake up pretty hungry. We'll have another play time around 6PM and from then on she'll doze off and on until bed time. I feed her on demand so we have no set schedule. It seems to work best for us! 

Favorites: Mama's milk, her pacifier, watching TV or her Daddy, the bouncer, zip up sleepers, and getting ready for bath time. 

Least favorites: The snot sucker and getting her diaper changed when she's asleep.

This month we really started taking Little E out! She went to the mall and saw Santa, has been out to dinner a few times, and loves Target like her mama. 

Merry Christmas from our family to yours! xO

Five Blessings on Friday-- December 20th

Woo hoo for Friday. Hope everyone is having a great morning! 

I thought I would change it up a bit this week and do my 5 blessings on Friday. Click here to see past ones.

What are your weekend plans? We don't have too much planned. Little E has her 2 month appointment this afternoon and Christmas cookies are in the oven. :) YUM! We have officially finished Christmas shopping, just have to wrap a few things. 

Have a great weekend everyone! xO

1. My aunt being here was such a blessing! It is so nice having someone around who can hold Miss Emma so I can pee, brush my teeth, or take the dogs out. It is sooo nice. And it was obviously good to see her, too! 

2. How could you ever have a bad day looking at this sweet face? E is really starting to smile! If you want to get technical, it's called social smiling. Most infants start social smiling at 8 weeks. 

3. Mommy Has An Angel has been such a blessing. Natalie wrote this children's book for grieving mothers. I don't consider myself still grieving from the loss of my mom, but she will always be missing from my life. 

You can read more about Natalie's book here. 

Clearly Emma was interested!

4. SwaddlePods. Are. Amazing. E has been sleeping great and I give all the credit to these bad boys. I'll try to post more about her sleeping when I get a hot second!

5. My husband's grandmother sent E the best present ever..a homemade quilt! We had no idea she was even making her one. I got an email saying it was arriving and couldn't wait to get it! She is the sweetest lady ever. 

We've been doing tummy time and reading on it every day since it arrived! 

Wordless Wednesday-- December 18th

Be silly, be happy, be sweet, be kind. Our new family motto. :)

Happy Wednesday, folks! xO

Wordless Wednesday-- December 11th

Yay it's Hump Day! 

Five Question Friday-- December 6th

Happy, happy Friday! So happy it's Friday. Plus we have a special guest this weekend, Christine! Emma is so excited to meet her Auntie. Cannot wait to post some pictures! 

What do you have planned this weekend?

We don't have much planned-- catching up with Christine, movies, and I am getting fitted for my bridesmaid dress for her wedding in May. Woo hoo. Operation bridesmaid body starts...tomorrow! 

Once again these are a bunch of questions that have come in via email. I'll try my best to answer all of them!

1. What kind of camera do you use for your pictures with the giraffe? 

Canon Eos Rebel T3i

2. How are the dogs liking Emma? Does Emma like them?

They love her, but they don't really acknowledge her. Does that make sense? They are already protective of her but they don't love cuddling with her. I think that is typical of poodles. 

3. Where did you get the blue and pink headband? (This post)

Jameson Monroe on Etsy. 

4. How is sleeping in the Rock N Play going? We are thinking of getting one. Do you recommend it? 

Well. LOL. My husband doesn't think Emma likes the Rock N Play, so she's now sleeping in her MamaRoo. It's been a little less than a week and we're getting lots more sleep. She's waking up twice, but they are two quick wake ups. 

With that being said, the Rock N Play is super cozy, warm, and serves its purpose. It was pretty inexpensive and I definitely recommend it! 

5. How are you liking being a mama? Are you stressed out? How is being back to work? Etc, etc. 

I am loving being a mama to Miss Emma Jane! She's such a sweetie and snuggle butt. Tonight she was mimicking me and we were sticking our tongues out at each other! She's so fun. 

Nope, not stressed out at all! Being back to work was tough in the beginning. Now it isn't hard and luckily my job is very understanding. I had a conference call on Tuesday and Emma squealed/farted/cooed throughout the whole call. The people thought it was adorable. :) 

Wordless Wednesday-- December 4th

Yup. And our tree is crooked. Awesome. 

Thankful

This year we have lots to be thankful for! 

The fact that I have a husband to take pictures of me and my sweet daughter..

There we go!

Thankful that I was able to carry a sweet baby..

...Even though my belly is a giant pudgy mess right now (Also thankful for my belly bandit). 

Thankful for sweet friends who send Miss Emma cute clothes that are not on sale from Baby Gap.

And for sweet friends who send her Christmas presents a month early and insist she opens them right away. 

Thankful that I can run to Target (for my one outing of the week!) and that I can buy random crap that we need want. 

Ahem. Whoops.

Thankful to be a mama to the cutest, snuggliest, dark hair little gal..

..Even though she looks nothing like me! 

Thankful I'm able to feed my baby mama's perfect milk and that I get sweet smiles like this all day: 

Even though 3 minutes later we had to use the snot sucker. Poor baby. 

And thankful that my in laws bought Emma this cute little play mat. 

..Even though my MIL caught me being mother of the year ignoring my child for my phone. Awesome. 

Emma's Birth Story

I wish so badly I had 600 pictures of Emma's labor and delivery. But the truth is, we showed up and I was 9 cm dilated. There was no time for pictures, no time for me to put my cute cozy socks on, and no time for my husband to call our family (actually while I was pushing he said "Can I call your dad and my mom?" NO YOU JERK WAD). 

Seriously. 

Okay, so this story begins 1 day before my due date and 2 days before Emma's birthday-- Friday, October 18. 

I had an appointment that morning. They usually don't check me but I asked to be checked since I felt like she had dropped a bit. Wrong. 0 station, 0 cm dilated, nothing exciting. 

After our appointment we went to the mall and had Panera, found me some sweat pants to wear home from the hospital, and grabbed some groceries at Harris Teeter. 

I ran my husband to work immediately after our errands, came home and cleaned up the house. I made lots of work calls and was a little bit crampy. I thought I was on my feet too much. That night I ran to the mall to get my rings inspected and my nails done (nobody wants an ugly mama!). I walked the length of the entire mall and even got a cinnamon Auntie Anne's pretzel. :) 

All throughout my pedicure I was having "cramps". Nothing painful, just annoying. I texted my husband and he started to get nervous. 

Picked up hubby from work and of course had to run to Target. I wanted something to help me sleep because I was up the night before and I was still having "cramps". (Looking back, these cramps were timeable and about 6-7 minutes apart lasting 30 seconds). I couldn't take anything so we went home empty handed. 

Friday night I slept pretty crappy..a little bit crampy and just annoyed that I couldn't sleep. 

Saturday, October 19th (my due date) I felt a bit better-- had some breakfast, walked the neighbor's dog, hung out with my husband, and got some stuff done around the house. Still crampy, but manageable (Looking back I was in total denial). My husband had to work so I watched a few Lifetime movies and texted my friends throughout the day. 

Keeping myself busy on my due date.

My husband came home Saturday night and wanted to watch Scandal. I kind of felt bad so I agreed. I ate a handful of yogurt covered raisins and couldn't make it through 10 minutes of Scandal. I was tired and wanted to go to bed now. 

Woke up around 2 with really bad cramps. I let my husband sleep and hopped in the bathtub. By now I had gotten the "Full Term" app and was timing my cramps. They were 5-6 minutes apart and lasting about 45 seconds to 1 minute. 

Again, I honestly thought these were just stupid cramps! They were not that painful, just a bit annoying. Our plan was that we would call our families when we knew we were in "real" labor, so we just waited this out. 

The bath actually helped a lot. I felt OK. I knew Emma wasn't going to come for a long time so I was excited I could go back to bed and get some sleep. 

Ha!

I managed to get out of the tub but I couldn't walk to get my clothes comfortably. I got my husband and said "I think we're going to have a baby today". By now it was 3ish. He helped me get dressed and I laid in bed for a bit. By now my contractions were getting painful and I had to breathe deeply through them. I could still talk through them but I was uncomfortable. They were coming every 5 minutes and lasting a minute. 

To be honest I don't remember what happened next. My husband called the nurses and they said not to rush-- that I could come in if I felt I needed to or I could labor at home for a bit. I wanted to stay at home for a bit longer. My husband helped me tidy up the house and I straightened my hair. By this point I had to stop, lean over, and groan through each contraction. 

By 6AM I was feeling nauseated and threw up a few times. This is when I knew I was in "transition" (basically heading to the end point of labor) and my husband started to panic. He threw me in the car around 7:30 and off we went. 

I wish I could say we drove quickly and got there in record time. Wrong. Wasn't there a 10 mile run that day and roads were closed? I was in the back seat praying out loud and my husband was in the front seat cursing and throwing our GPS (we still can't find it).. GAH. 

We finally arrived around 8:15. I yacked in the parking lot (awkward) and all my husband could say was that I looked pretty. Poor guy. 

What happened next is such a blur..basically we walked in and literally had a baby. It was so perfect/fast/fun/exciting/crazy.  All I really remember was asking to be checked and she said "Oh sweetie, you're 9 centimeters!". 

After Emma was born I was so out of it. It felt good to be done but I was just staring into space. They had to say "HOLD YOUR BABY!" because I think they were afraid she was just going to slide off my chest. My husband took her for a while and once I got some water I felt much more coherent, LOL. 

Looking back, Emma's birthday was the best day of our lives. I wouldn't have it any other way! We are so blessed and thankful to God for her. 

Heading to first Dr. appt

Five Question Friday-- November 22nd

Happy Friday! Hope everyone had a great week. I'm a little sad because I am going back to work on Monday. Booo. The good thing is that I'm needed at my job and that means good job security, right? :)

My dad is popping by tonight very quickly so that should be fun. Besides that it's a quiet weekend of cleaning/organizing/keeping everyone alive. Sunday I'm going with a friend to Michaels and the mall..woo hoo!

At least 50 questions were emailed to me so I'll try to get them answered in the next few weeks. Mostly about Emma's birth, how she's doing, etc. 

1. How was your labor/delivery? Did you have her naturally like you wanted? Did it hurt? How long were you in labor for? Etc, etc, etc. 

90% of the questions emailed to me were something along these lines. I am trying to write a post about her birth but haven't finished it yet. 

Because I thought my contractions (I still refuse to call them that) were "cramps", I'm not exactly sure when labor started. But I had some minor cramps Friday morning, October 18th, after my appointment. But for full on labor I'd guess maybe 6 hours? 

Yes, natural delivery. There was no time for drugs. ;) Umm, yes it hurt but I thought it would hurt more.. hence not knowing I was in labor. 

2. Are you getting any sleep? How is she sleeping? 

Barely. :) Seriously though, yes. We have quite a "system" that allows us to get good sleep (including Emma). 

She sleeps great..now. She did not like her Pack N Play after about 3 weeks. Not sure what the deal was but she would sleep in there for about an hour and end up on my chest or my husband's arms. After talking to lots of friends, we have a whole new bedtime "routine"-- bath (if necessary), lotion her up, tight swaddle, nurse/bottle, DOWN. 

Oh and we packed up our Pack N Play and got a Rock N Play. That thing is amazing! We have had this one for a week and life has never been better. 

3. How is your weight loss going? Are you working out or doing anything differently?

This was the 2nd most asked question, LOL. I posted yesterday that I've lost about 20 pounds and everyone thought that was insane. I think some of it was swelling (I was never really swollen, but maybe?), but I'm not sure.

Right now I have 20 pounds to go. There is no rush-- I'm petrified of losing my milk supply so I refuse to deprive myself. Just been eating healthy (lots of oatmeal, barley, fruits/veggies), working out, and lots lots lots of water. 

4. How is your husband doing? 

He says he's great. :) Thank you for asking!

5. What are your top items you use on a daily basis and recommend for new moms and moms to be? 

Hmm! Like I mentioned above-- the Rock N Play was a must for us. A&A Swaddle Blankets,  4Moms MamaRoo, burp cloths/cloth wipes/etc, pacifiers (Emma loves to suck), zip up sleepers, hats, and Aveeno Calming Comfort Lotion are all items we love. 

Obviously this does not include diapers, wipes, etc. 

Life Lately-- November 21st

Eeek! I'm so sorry. "Life lately" has been busy, obviously. Caring for a newborn is a full time job. :) But we wouldn't have it any other way. 

Yesterday Miss Emma turned 1 month old! I'll do an official post (hopefully before her 3rd birthday) but she's 9lbs, 5 ounces and 21.5 inches long. Our big baby! 

She loves her baby giraffe sleeper. Mama loves it even more! I will cry like a baby the day we put it away in our storage closet. But until then Emma wears it about twice a week. 

Not sure if I posted about it here but my sissy is getting married! I'm so sad I'm not closer but I cannot wait to be a part of her big day. 

I can't remember when but she mailed this box to me and "proposed". No clue where she got the idea but it was so creative! 

Emma was a thumb sucker in my belly and looks like she still is. It's precious.

These two kill me..

Remember when my husband went out and got the boppy? Well that was not necessary. We really don't use it all that much and now it's just a dog pillow. Sigh. Good news? The dogs love it. 

For everyone who thinks I'm "tiny"..ahem, still wearing maternity pants in that picture. I gained almost 40 pounds during my pregnancy. So far I've lost a good 20 and have 20 more to go. Slowly but surely...

LOL my 3 aunts came to visit a few weeks ago. My husband went down to get them and they plowed through our apartment with this shopping cart. Too funny. 

Wishing that hat came in my size..

Emma and I the day my husband went back to work. We have so much fun! The day is considered a success if everyone is alive when my husband gets home. :) 

The day is even more successful if the house is clean. BONUS!

We are finally in a little "routine" and I'm so thankful! My husband doesn't go to work until after 12PM, so I get up and work out every morning before he gets up. Being able to workout (and get out of the house) for an hour every day keeps me sane. 

Oreo loves the baby snot sucker. OMG does he love it. We've washed that thing 6,000 times and he keeps finding it in the "baby basket" (basket we carry around with the baby so we don't have to run to the nursery 800 times a day). 

Favorite day of the week!

My husband is an expert at getting boogers. He has quite a system.

Emma in her first fluff! Sadly they are still a bit big for her, so she's wearing newborn Huggies Lil Snugglers. We have at least one blowout a day.. sigh. 

BUT please note the 2 times she's worn cloth she has not had any blowouts! It was so easy,  too! Just threw them in the wash.

Waiting for Daddy-O to get home!

Oreo doing anything for attention during Emma's weekly photo. I've gotten lots of questions about her weekly photos and I'll be sure to answer them soon! 

Thank you again for all the sweet comments and emails! xO