Breastfeeding well uh....

Breastfeeding has been hard to say the least. Now, I am going to be brutally honest in this post about breasteeding so I hope it doesn't offend anyone about what I have to say.

I am being well, truthful. Breastfeeding is damn hard. I am still trying to find the women who say it went so beautifully for them and was the easiest thing ever! Yeah, I kind want to have a few words with them. Yes, I do understand there are many women out there where breastfeeding just comes "natural" and yes I envy those women because I was not one of them.

In fact....we are still ironing out some bumps. Where do I even start?! Lets start with the fact that there is no amount of preparedness that can make you a breastfeeding champ besides the "extra" wealth of knowledge which flew out the window the minute Harper was born. We envisioned the birth and breastfeeding as something so amazing like kids running in fields full of dandelions. Ha, well try fields of dandelions with lots of thorns on the ground. 

As soon as we had Harper  they placed her on me immediately and they respected our wishes of not having her weighed, measured or cleaned until after an hour of bonding time with her. She laid on my chest and it was the most beautiful thing ever. During that time we let her try and find my breasts but she was so sleepy from all the meds that was not going to even began to happen. It didn't matter at that time because all three of us were in a place I can't even describe to you in words. It was just pure magic.

After the hour of our bonding time family came in and after an hour of them visiting we decided to try again with breastfeeding and my nurse Tina helped me out. It seemed so easy at that time. I was presently surprised. It felt weird, and it hurt but she was latched and that was all that mattered. After that we had our "celebration dinner". She started crying but as soon as we picked her up she was content. I continued to breastfeed her. It was going to perfect.

Then as the night creeped on we were exhausted. We got settled for the night. Got a new nurse and tried to go to sleep. At this time Harper started to cry and I put her on the breast right away. Nothing. Her latch was gone. Its like they switched our once beautiful latched baby with a different baby. She didn't want anything to do with my boob. Nothing. I called the nurse to have her come in and help me and she came in for a  brief moment said my latch was perfect and left. Long story short we got no sleep that night and no help. Finally, our night nurse changed and we got our new day nurse. She helped me with latch and called the Lactation Nurse to me right away. As soon as she came in I felt a sense of relief. Soon to find out one of the reasons Harper was not latching was due to my flat nipples. She left the room brought a nipple shield and helped me with it. Bam, our baby was back. She was latching no problem.

Long story short...I am still using the nipple shield, pumping/nursing like a mad woman, taking supplements to increase supply, doing all sorts of tricks to help milk supply, and trying to get away from formula supplementation since she dropped weight so drastically. We are doing pretty darn well because were down to one bottle a day and now my goal is to get away from the nipple shield!

One step at a time!
Till next time!

The long awaited post....the birth of our daughter!

Sorry it has been a long time since I last wrote! It has been crazy busy with our little one. Here is the long awaited post our our birth story! Enjoy! :)

Harper was born on September 14, 2013. Everything we wanted and made a plan for completely went out the window. I was in labor at home for over 30 hours! Our goal was to labor at home as much as possible and then go into the hospital to have the most stress-free and invasive-free experience. We really did want a "natural" birth, or at least give it our best go. My contractions started on Thursday the 12th pretty sporadic about every 45 minutes to an hour, but it wasn't until 3 in the morning on Friday the 13th that they got closer and consistent. They just continued to get worse and more intense as the day went on. I felt like I was doing great, or at least the best I could for labor! I remember at one point distinctly my contractions were 8 minutes apart and we were so sleep deprived that we would fall asleep for 8 minutes and then be woken up for the next contraction and so on. We were so exhausted. There is nothing like not being able to sleep because of contractions! By the time she was born, we were going on 4 days without any sleep! 

To make a long story short, when my contractions got 3-5 minutes apart, and I just couldn't take it anymore crying in pain, we went to the hospital. On Friday late afternoon we headed to the hospital to see what was going on. They checked me and I was 70 percent effaced and only 1 CM dilated STILL!! Are you kidding?!! I was in so much pain and my contractions were way too close but they sent us home. We tried to take the edge off and Sarah convinced me to try and go to dinner with her to take my mind off of things. I could barely make it through dinner. I just didn't understand how I could be contracting so constant, be OVERDUE by a week and a half, and they just send me home? I had to cut dinner early because of the pain and had Sarah bring me home. Before going to the hospital I had called my mom to let her know I was in labor so she could start to drive down here and now I just felt like a fool because they sent us home. 

We got home and Sarah did everything to try and help me feel better. She rubbed me, helped me take a warm bath, walked around the block with me at midnight. Everything. By this time, my mom had arrived and my contractions were coming every minute. Sarah was afraid I was going to have this baby at home,  and I didn't care if I looked like the crazy woman at the hospital, we were going back! By 1:30 in the middle of the night, we were back in L & D. These people weren't sending me home this time.  No way. No one could tell me that or I would just explode! The pain was unreal. Finally, they hooked me up to a contraction monitor that only goes from 0-100. My contractions were measuring 80-over 100 at points. The nurse came in to check me after being admitted this time.....STILL 70 effaced and 1 CM! They couldn't understand because they said and felt that my contractions were definitely intense enough that it should be opening me. I was crying and moaning in pain at this point. I didn't understand what was wrong. I pleaded that they induce me even though pitocin (evil, evil drug I was trying at all costs to avoid) was the last thing I wanted! At that point, I was no other way! Of course my doctor was on vacation and the covering doctor didn't feel comfortable inducing me! I was not leaving. They came to do an ultrasound to make sure of head placement and they couldn't get a good view of her head. There were three nurses pushing and squishing my stomach for 10 minutes. Come to the conclusion that Harper's head was kinked somewhat, so when I had a contraction, she wasn't dropped down to open or dilate me. That is what they gave me. FINALLY....after all of this, the doctor finds it best to induce me. By this time my contractions were constant and this almost 42 week pregnant woman was ready to get this baby out! They induced me with the smallest amount of pitocin to "open" me. Pitocin started at 6:30 A.M. (Yes they made me wait till then..) I had an epidural which I also wanted to avoid but by this point, I threw that all out the window since this was beyond my control. I'm pretty sure with the pain I felt without progression, I could of given birth naturally if only her head wasn't kinked! 

At 3:50 PM on Friday September 14, 2014, our beautiful 41 and a half week womb tenant, made he debut! She was 7.99 pounds and 20 inches long. I was sure she would be well over 8 pounds since she was so late! We could only imagine, if she were to be born "on time" she would of been 6ish pounds! Now being a mom, and knowing they drop weight, I'm glad she was late! It's scary how much they drop. She was absolutely perfect. This was such a life-changing moment. We had a birth photographer there to capture every moment, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Sarah watched the whole thing and as soon as Harper was coming out, she started to cry, before I could even see anything. I just knew she was seeing her and before I even saw her I started to cry just looking at Sarah and her reaction. They pulled her out, Sarah cut the cord, and they put her on my chest. It's a love I just can't describe.. This is our baby. I grew this baby from a one-cell organism. I remember the day they implanted the embryo inside me. Something so small you couldn't even see unless you had the most powerful microscope. 

This was our miracle. She was ours. It's just indescribable. I didn't even realize they needed to deliver the placenta. Having her on my chest, everyone but Sarah and Harper just disappeared. We got to spend our time with her, but no time would ever be enough with her. After an hour, our family was welcomed in to see Harper. I never felt so much love in one room before. It was incredible. Thankfully, even though I had a hard labor, I'm glad that there was a silver lining and only pushed for "26 minutes before Harper was out. That even included the so called "practice pushes." They said it was easily going to be over 2 hours. 

Breastfeeding started off rocky but we are finally getting the hang out it. My milk came in at day 5 or 6 and before that, my colostrum was nothing. Like teaspoons on a good day! We had a very rough first night, I wasn't producing any colostrum from her breastfeeding nor from pumping. Our nurse didn't want to help us, and refused to give us any formula. Trust me, formula was not what I wanted. It was actually the LAST thing we wanted. We wanted to EBF. If I am doing all I can for hours and still nothing, my daughter is not going to starve! She was just scream and scream and the nurse would come in and swaddle her and leave her screaming. She went 12 hours without any food. Finally with a new nurse in the morning, we got formula through the S & S tube. I've never felt like more of a failure in my life. I was furious at this nurse. We actually ended up being discharged the next day at night. We wanted to get out of there as soon as possible! I had a 2nd degree tear, but it was manageable. It is what it is, I say! We were determined to just breastfeed. It was an incredibly hard week. Harper dropped down to 6 pounds, 14 ounces and despite our daily lactation visits, we were left with no choice but to supplement until she got back to her birth weight. That did not take long since her body was playing some "catch up"! By the time she was back up to her birth weight, we took her off the formula and have been doing great since! My milk is increasing and we are only giving her 2 ounces of formula all day at night (if that). I'm still working on increasing my supply! I'm getting about 2-3 ounces every 3 hours. (breastfeeding post will come soon)!

Harper is almost a month. I can't even believe it. It makes me want to break down and cry! She's growing so fast. No one is joking when they say time flies. After having a baby, days literally feel like hours! I can't believe she will be a month this Saturday. She is weighing in about 7 pounds 12 ounces now. Our small little girl. It's been hard because everyone told us not to buy newborn. So we bought minimal and she can't even fit into some newborn things till just recently!

Enjoy the beautiful pictures from our birth photographer!

NST & AFI Check

Today was an interesting day...I had the worst sleep ever. I know I need to get used to very little sleep and trust me I wouldn't mind little sleep but this sleep came with pain. Both my hips were killing me to the point I couldn't lay on any side. I had to sit sleeping so if you can imagine I woke up with my neck killing me. To say the least I only had three hours of sleep. I had to leave to go on the recliner so I could actually sleep!

I woke up around 5 AM and just stayed up until my doctor appointment at 7:30. It was sad because Sarah couldn't join me but it was fun because it just reminded me that soon we will be on the Labor and Delivery floor getting ready for our baby girl!

I checked in for my first ever NST and they had me do a pee test which I passed with flying colors. I was pretty nervous because baby girl is really active in the afternoon/evening but she must have known the spot light was on her because she was a moving machine! They ended up letting me go early because they got just the right amount of stats they needed. Oh, and only one teeny tiny contraction. After my NST I had my AFI ultrasound to check the fluids around baby. That too was excellent!

So all in all baby girl (aka Nemo) is comfy in her home :)

She will come when she is ready to come! In the mean time I enjoying all this time before baby arrives!

40 weeks!

Today is our official due date day!! YAY!! We officially made it to 40 weeks! Such a bittersweet moment. I remember when we first got pregnant I was deathly scared something would happen along the way of our pregnancy after all if seemed like all the stories we heard were sad. I remember holding my breath every time we had an ultrasound. It was one step closer to meeting our baby girl. After we hit the first trimester we both finally were able to breathe a sense of relief that everything was going well. For me I think around 24 weeks I finally felt comfortable that everything was going great and this pregnancy was rockin! 

As I sit here 40 weeks pregnant now we want this baby to come out!! This past week we have tried what seems to be everything under the sun to pop this baby out....outcome....nothing! It was a bunch of fun though!

So what did we try?!

• Raspberry leaf tea
• Lavender oil bath with fresh lavender (Only thing that came out of this was I smelled like a lavender bush, LOL!)
• Pineapple (boy, did the acid in all that pineapple make my tongue raw!)
• bouncing on the exercise ball
• dancing like a crazy fool to Michael Jackson!
• Walking
• Jumping up and down
• Pedicure 

So, while it was fun to try out all of these ways on trying to induce labor naturally, we have come to the conclusion that baby girl has her own agenda!

All I know is we are waiting her anxiously! Especially her mommies! Even our dog Jake wants to know her arrival is!

Other than waiting I have been dealing with some constant hip pain. So bad I can't seem to sleep or get comfortable at all doing anything. I have tried heating pads, stretching and propping my hip with a pillow. I am so desperate that I am going today to get an adjustment/hip massage in hopes of alleviating this pain! Any recommendations from anyone?! I am desperate!

Till next time!

Still cooking away!

You read right, baby girl is still cooking away! She wants to make sure she comes out just right! No sign of her coming either. My Braxton Hicks continue and are becoming stronger, I have been having major leg and hip pain, but that is about it. We want her to come out when she comes out but at the same time I would really LOVE to not be induced. Now, that is a whole other story. We finished our birth plan. Many told us to not have one because it gets thrown out the door as soon as you enter the hospital but we have decided that we would like a birth plan to go over what "we" want. After all this is our baby. I would post our plan on here but we have decided to wait until after she is born for certain reasons as many would not understand our "thinking".

We are starting to try at home remedies to see if by chance baby girl will make an early appearance and we even tried acupuncture last week! I know it can be a bunch of just gibberish but its worth a try! Tonight we will be trying a lavender oil bath with some pineapple as a snack! Its funny to think for so long you want to make sure the baby does not come out and you do everything in your power to keep them safe and warm and then BAM one day you want them out and you do everything in your power to get them out, LOL! Yes, we do know that she will come when she wants to come after all this is her agenda! We are just so excited and anxious to see her beautiful face and we can't wait to meet the love of our life!

So besides that for the next two days since Sarah is off for Labor Day we have decided to lock ourselves in our house and not leave once. We plan on just relaxing and resting. We sure can use all the R&R before baby girl arrives! It has been filled with some nice bonding and straight out being a couch potatoes. I also did some baking because lets be serious...that wont happen for a very long time once she is here because I know we will be very two exhausted mommies, but worth every second!

This past week I also attended my first Le Leche League meeting and I had my first private consult with a lactation consultant. I have been doing my reading on breast feeding and have joined many groups on Facebook to try and become as prepared as possible although I know nothing can ever prepare you for things such as labor and BF but all you can do is try! The consult was amazing and was the best three hours I have ever learned anything. This past weekend I set up "snack" baskets in the three places I plan to breastfeed the most within our house. It is filled with drinks and snacks because just as I am nourishing our baby I need to make sure I nourish myself and you never know when you may need a sip of water and you can't get up because you don't want to move, LOL!

Oh and how could I forget this past week we got baby girl her first Spanish book! I can't wait to show her Spanish. It was my second language when I was four and I can fluently speak, read and write. I hope to pass this down to her and the best thing is for a while I have been talking to Sarah more and more in Spanish and she is understanding more and more! Makes me SO happy and lights my heart up!

Hopefully, the next post will be a birth story?!

38 Weeks, 2 Days

Yep, we still have baby girl in my belly! We have approx. a week & 5 days until our due date. Feels so weird that soon she will be joining our family. Can't wait to kiss her and snuggle with her! I will however miss being pregnant. Everyone I talk to asks me if I am over being pregnant and truth is no. Maybe, its because this pregnancy has been a breeze and I have been blessed with a super easy pregnancy or maybe because I love being pregnant. I will miss the days I feel her kick inside of me daily. It stops me wherever I am and makes me smile and realize how awesome life is. I'm going to miss my hard belly and the many kisses I get from Sarah on a daily basis. Thinking about it makes me cry. There will never be a first again. Every pregnancy is completely different and unique. I have had the joy to have this experience for months and maybe that is why I am so sad to see it go because it is something that I have become a custom to. This does not stop me from being super excited to enter our daughter into the world. Dang these hormones are no joke....

On another note, we got the car seat and base installed in our cars yesterday.We had the California Highway Patrol install them and glad they did because they were fast, installed it super tight and talked about car seat safety.

Now when I drive and I see the car seat in the back of our car I smile because soon she will be in there! If this doesn't make it more real that we are having a baby I am not sure what will! LOL

I have kept on swimming and just being a lazy butt around the house. Don't mind me! House is ready for the arrival of our baby. Yeah, baby laundry is not all the way done but the newborn pile but I am way to lazy to finish the rest. Eventually, I will get to it. 

Ready, Set, Relax

Today marks 38 weeks! Wowzers! Literally two weeks until our due date. To tell you the truth I am feeling awesome! Minus the constant, more aggressive Braxton Hicks life is good. We have a doctor appointment tomorrow and then were getting our car seats installed by the California Highway Patrol. I think seeing the car seat in our cars will make it even more real that baby girl is on her way!

I have been off of work for almost a week. Many said it would take some time to get used to the fact you don't have work to look forward to and the schedule but it took me about 5 seconds to get over that. I have been feeling stress free and happy! That will be another story when I have to go back to work :(

On my last day of work they threw a surprise baby shower! It was so awesome and out of the blue. My boss is awesome. It was filled with 20 close managers and directors I work with so it was nice to mingle and receive more gifts! I swear this little girl is SO spoiled and she isn't even here yet! I can't wait to see her in all the cute little outfits she has received. We are very blessed to have such great family, friends and co-workers around our lives. 

Other than that everything has been pretty low key. I have been catching up on some major sleep because we all know as soon as baby arrives sleep will be a thing of the past. It has been nice to be able to nap whenever I feel like it. It's also been nice to catch up on some much needed things that I put to the sidelines because of work.

So with only 2 weeks before baby girl arrives I decided it would be nice to maybe do some last minute stuff...who knows how much we will accomplish because like I have said before baby girl is on her own schedule. Since starting my maternity leave last Friday I say it hasn't been too bad. I'm excited to enjoy some major R&R.

Our list before baby girl arrives!

• Pedicures
• Go to watch the movie "Planes"
• Have a candle light dinner at home
• Cuddle, Cuddle, Cuddle
• Farmers Market
• Go swimming
• Foot massages
• Go to watch the movie "The Way, Way Back
• Go to lunch by myself and enjoy some "alone time"

Yes, this is me at 38 weeks! Can you believe it. I still fit in my bathing suit from before pregnancy. Given, its a tad tight in the top part but heck I won't complain! LOL

I will keep on updating and catching up on blogs!

36 Weeks & 3 Days

Time is sure flying by. A couple weeks ago the thought of time passing by scared the crap out of my. I was both excited and nervous. I am so used to being in control and labor and having a baby is just not in your control. I have learned that I had to let this go and go with the flow. I am now getting excited and I feel ready. As ready as I will ever be. We continue to finish things around the house, little things and I have been reading more and more.

Work will be over this this Friday and I can't even tell you how excited I am to be on maternity leave. I am so tired lately and my feet and back are killing me so being able to be at home and sleep as much as I can before baby girl arrives is my goal. That is if she decides to wait until 40 weeks!

We still have SO much washing of baby laundry it is not even funny. Frankly, I am not even worried. We have some stuff washed and ready for her to use if she comes early. I plan on washing the rest when she arrives and if it doesn't get done, I am sure it will at some point!

Our labor bag is ready and packed. It is sitting in baby girl's nursery along with my Boppy Pillow & Breast Friend Pillow. Every time I sneak in her room I look at everything and our bag and I smile with excitement. I can't wait to meet our baby girl. I wonder what she will look like how big she will be, it's just so exciting!!

This past weekend we upgraded my car. Long story short my car got hit in a parking garage and we decided that instead of paying the deductible to fix it we would just get the car we had been wanting to get since that was our plan for 2014 with tax return. Things just happened quicker. We also didn't want Harper to be in an unsafe/small car. So what did we get?!.....

A VAN!

We love it!! I know, many make fun of vans and I will admit we used to as well but after being pregnant and realizing everything that lugs around with a baby we knew the van was the right car for us. We didn't want to have to get another car 5 years down the road because it was just too "small" for our family. We decided to keep our Honda love together with a 2014 Honda Odyssey. Yes, we are total Honda snobs, LOL!

It was not too bad of a day at the dealership besides the usual many hours there it was fun & exciting!

This weekend, we also set up our new bedding for our room. I know I may sound a tad crazy and I am not one bit afraid to admit that at all but I felt that I needed things to be new with our baby on the way. I feel its our way of making sure everything is nice and new for her. We are starting to set up more of her stuff around the house and our house is beginning to feel more like a family unit.

Today, also marks my first day starting Heparin. I was on Lovenox for 36 weeks once a day. I have to say injections are something I am no longer scared of. However, due to my clotting issue I cannot be on Lovenox when delivering due to me not being able to get an epidural and frankly there is just no way I would not get an epidural! SO they switch you to Heparin at 36 weeks so there is no need to worry about this!

AND....last but not least by request a belly shot! I know we have been SO bad with this. I promise to take more!

This was the most recent photo taken just two weeks ago! Many still don't believe I am actually pregnant. I went to the doctor last week and I only gained 7 pounds so I am way under my weight gain goal so I am feeling pretty good that once baby is here I will be able to bounce right back and maybe lose some?! Whatever happens as long as we are both healthy and safe that is what matters!

Nursery & Rambling

SO happy to say as I sit here at 35 weeks & 4 days we are happy to say the nursery is complete!! Oh my goodness I can finally breathe. I was so worried it wasn't going to ever get done. Here is my reasoning behind this feeling....lately we have just been shoving more and more in the closet and room of stuff we receive and frankly after our baby shower we just shoved it even more and shut the door. I never wanted to look in the room because frankly I felt stress each and every time I looked at it. Well, finally my lovely wife had enough and I guess me trying to sweep it under the rug until the next weekend was just not going to jive anymore. I'm glad she pushed us to get it done because like I said before baby girl can come whenever she wants. Its her agenda and we are just following it. So I can now put my feet up and breathe a sigh of relief and best part is I don't have to close the door anymore!

Other than that which took forever because this pregnant woman had to take many, many breaks. Thanks to my lovely wife which I don't think I have taken the time to thank is the most amazing person ever. She has built everything for our little girl and does so much for me. She truly is my other half and I am so excited to start this next venture of our life with our daughter.

I was able to catch up on some books that we have been given which were found after we shoveled through her room and I am glad I am making some headway with reading. Although, I know parenting is something you learn as you go I know it is better to be a tad bit prepared.

Oh and we set up her swing and rocker and that is when I had an "oh shit" this is getting real in here moment!!!

We also received Harper's going home outfit! Truly brought tears to my eyes. I cant believe she is only 31 days away! YIKES!

Till next time!

Sewing Project #1, & Work

A couple days ago I went on a new adventure to start a hobby I had always longed for but never had the time to do it. Finally, after much contemplating back and forth I made the plunge and just did it....I bought a sewing machine. I knew I was crazy, after all I knew nothing about sewing! I turned on the machine and plopped myself on the table with my computer in hand. I watched hours of videos on YouTube and read on how to sew. Boy, was it confusing and more and more I thought I was completely nuts to even start such a crazy hobby with baby girl's due date fast approaching. I decided I was not going to give up after all I had given up many times because of our TTC journey. Finally I made headway and I felt good. I was teaching myself how to sew.

I felt adventures and went to the nearest fabric store, picked up some fabric and brought it home. Continued to read and teach myself and whola I have my first project done! 

Harper's first homemade blanket by her momma!

I'm beyond exhausted!! However, I am feeling rather accomplished of myself. Now as I sit on the couch I will not be moving for the next couple of hours. I may even sleep here that's how comfy I am!

Other than killing myself on a sewing machine today at work I got to thinking. I only have 12 more work days left. I can't believe the end is near and a baby will be in our arms. I have such excitement and nervousness in my body. Emotions I can't even began to describe to you on paper. We are so excited to meet our little miracle. 2.5 years in the making. I am very grateful to be able to take time off to be with our baby girl after she is born. It will seem like a long time but I know for a fact time will go by so fast which means both mommies need to cherish that time with her because as everyone says they grow with a blink of an eye. I am however, rather excited to be getting a break from work. It will be nice to just get away and not worry! 

Well, that's all for now...Till next time!

Organization Mayhem!

So remember in a previous post I had said I got hit by a the nesting syndrome? Well, here is my more elaborate post because I am feeling very confident with what I have accomplished. Given, I have a couple more things to organize these things are so small I could finish quickly. My main concern was getting the bulk of it done before baby girl comes to the world.

To give a little background I am a very organized person. My wife would describe me as a freak when it comes to anything organized. I will admit I do have an organization problem. I am not ashamed of it in any way LOL! In fact I have been like this since I was little. I remember clearly always organizing all my toys in certain ways and shapes. As I grew up I knew I couldn't live my life so rigidly so I allowed myself to just step back and not be so dang organized. I mean I will never be not organized but not as crazy as I used to be when I was young. So my point is ever since becoming pregnant my crazy organization skills have come back and in full swing. There is something about having the house be perfect before your baby arrives. I can't really explain the "nesting bug" other than it really is a true symptom of pregnancy. To make myself not seem so crazy I would like to mention that I know many women out there who suffer from the same symptom...yes, maybe more some than others.

So for the past couple of weeks I have been putting away and getting rid of "stuff" and organizing. So here is a little glimpse of what I have been up to the past couple of weeks. I feel SO much better with our closets and cabinets!

 Kitchen cabinets

 More kitchen cabinets

Looking at our closets makes me feel so awesome! Plus now everything is so organized I can find things a whole lot easier!

This weekend has been an awesome weekend I have to say. It has been pretty low key. I mean two weekends in a row! I am so not complaining. I m doing things as we go and I am learning to understand things will get done when they need to get done. Plain and simple.

So this Friday we bought my first sewing machine. No I didn't just walk into the craft store and decided this looked like a nice piece of machinery. I have been wanting to sew forever. My mom taught me to sew bits and pieces when I was little...remembering is a whole different story. I realized there are so many cute baby stuff that I want to buy when I could just make it myself. After much research we bought a Brother sewing machine. I am so in LOVE with this machine! I have been sewing and sewing what seems like all weekend! I have been practicing and practicing. Given this is my first time sewing by myself I was scared. I am proud to say I have taught myself how to sew! With the help of YouTube videos sewing is simply easy!

So now I have many sewing crafts on my list and I am hoping to finish one this weekend. On my other list of craftiness. I decided to bedazzle baby girls Converse shoes. They were just to plain and Sarah said I was allowed to since she has so many pairs of shoes.

I am so excited to be making homemade things for our little girl. It means so much more to me and more importantly it reminds me of when I was little and sitting at the table while my mom sewed my dresses or blankets. It makes things that much more special. Now, I just wish I would have paid more attention back then! Oh well! I feel happy learning on my own :)

Liebster Blog Award!

Wow! The over pouring amount of love is awesome! We have been nominated three times in the past week for the Liebster award!! This makes me feel super happy! I love to blog to just let everything out and knowing others are reading it and enjoying it is truly the icing on the cake!

Huge thanks to Our Journey to Become Mommies, Pieces of Religion & Bloggity Bloo

So what is a Liebster award?
It is a way for small bloggers out there to give recognition to other small bloggers (200 followers or less). Here is how it works:

The Rules:

1. Thank the Liebster blog presenter who nominated you and link back to their blog.
2. Post 11 facts about yourself, answering the 11 questions you were asked and create 11 questions for you nominees. 
3. Nominate 11 blogs who you feel deserve to be noticed and leave a comment on their blog letting them know they have been chosen.
4. Display the Liebster Award Logo.
5. No tag backs meaning you can't just re-nominate the person who nominated you.

As solo the first put it "the real purpose behind these nominations are not only as an accolade from a fellow blogger and let's face it, nothing really gently strokes our little writer hearts more than someone telling you they appreciate your work. In addition to the back patting we need to receive from time to time, it also allows us to get a little more personal as we get to know our increasing blogging community. It also helps drive traffic to your site as we reference one another".

Here are my nominations (in no particular order!) I also have no idea how many followers these people currently have, but I love reading them!:

Questions to be answered by me! (Since I got nominated three times I have decided to take questions from all of the fellow nominators!)

1. White, milk or dark chocolate mocha? I love anything sweet but I would have to choose milk chocolate!
2. City or nature person? City! I love being surrounded by people and buildings. Its a big comfort for me.
3. What are you most proud of in your life? My wife. She is my everything. She is the reason why I live and breathe everyday and the reason why we have a little miracle on the way!
4. Paper book or electronic? Paper. I love the way books smell both old and new. Wish I would read more. 
5. What's your biggest pet peeve? People not being courteous. Use your manners. I know we were all taught this!
6. Where do you see yourself in 15 minutes? In bed! YAY!!
7. Hot or cold? Cold, you can always add more layers!
8. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? Anywhere that has beautiful blue water. Fiji.
9. Favorite book? Diary of Anne Frank
10. If you could meet anyone person dead or alive, who would it be? Rosa Parks
11. Best thing about where you live? We have everything at our fingertips.

• Struggling to be Mothers
• Bits and Peaces
• Mrs. Katy Em
• Lezbmommies
• Non Fat Caramel Lesbian does Baby Making
• Two Mommas to Be
• Our Griswold
• The Adventures of Life, Love and Baby Making
• Two Moms and a Journey
• Little One Still to Come
• Mina's Musings
• Expecting to be Expecting

Now here are my 11 questions for the fellow bloggers I have nominated!

1. Sweet or salty?
2. Who would be the perfect dinner date and why?
3. Describe yourself when you were 18
4. What is next on your bucket list?
5. Favorite season
6. Where would your next vacation be?
7. What is the meaning of life?
8. Do you own any pets?
9. Do you have any fears?
10. Who is your role model?
11. How does a perfect day look like?

Enjoy and once again thank you to those who nominated me!

Tales of a pregnant woman

I'm sitting here 34 weeks pregnant and a hormonal mess. These past couple of days have just taken a toll on me. Yes, I am to blame for some of it but the rest I will blame on just being plain pregnant! I haven't really felt pregnant until oh about 28 weeks. That is when I started to notice a more noticeable bump and it was getting harder for me to just walk normally. Then I got to 30 weeks and I started having the lovely Braxton Hicks contractions...OK no worries I just learned how to adjust to them when they came. Everyone asked me how I was doing and my answer was always "great"! Then all of a sudden this Monday it hit me like a ton of bricks...my breathing was getting a bit harder to control, my groin felt like it got punched a bazillion times, my lower back is killing me and Harper is kicking me in my upper chest/ribs.

Maybe today at work was just not my special day and maybe the gal at the cafeteria didn't make it any better when she said I had the "waddle". I don't even notice that I waddle! She then went into a whole discussion about how I looked like a penguin with my lovely "waddle walk". That just ticked me off. So what if I waddle! I prefer to call it my strut!

Yes! This picture is how I felt when she was pointing out my walk. After that I proceeded to drop my water bottle on the floor and I'm guessing I was just too hormonal that I bent down way to quickly...got up and felt 90 years old. Wow! I had to have pulled a muscle. I then proceeded out of the cafeteria waddle and all LOL! The entire day at work I was miserable. I tried to find any bottle I could roll on my back. I rushed home and took a 1 hour bath. Wow, I must say that one hour bath made me feel like I had my body back for a split second.

My lovely wife then started talking about getting my body back after Harper is born. I continued to dream...she asked if I was excited. I never really thought about it as being excited because this is something we had longed for but a sense of me thought of all the things I will be able to do once baby girl is here. I enjoy being pregnant I really do and this is not me being selfish. It will be nice to be able to sleep on my back and stomach again, only pee once before bed, getting out of breath for every little activity and most of all being able to lift things without me always having to ask Sarah for help because its too heavy. So am I ready for my body back!? Yes and no. I want baby girl to cook until 40 weeks ideally. I mean that's in a perfect world. I hope this post does not offend anyone. I mean haven't we all complained about something while being pregnant? 

So as I sit here with my feet up on the couch and our doggy at my toes I feel great. My back is not hurting anymore and why, yes I do have to go pee again. Thanks for asking :)

Lazy Sunday

Today has been a very low key day. For the first time in weeks it wasn't full of running from one store to another or doing this and that for the house. It was low key which felt amazing! It even included a two hour nap!

I finally decided to get up and do some laundry since I always leave it for the last thing on my weekend. Then again who likes laundry?! So after finishing the laundry I decided it would be wise to start washing baby Harper's clothes. It was the most exciting thing ever and I hate laundry! Her clothes are so cute and tiny and just so dang cute!

So I leave you with some pics of my not so productive day!

Even our pup jake was lazy!

Also, thank you to the two fellow bloggers who nominated our blog! I promise the next post will be about it! Love you all!

33 Weeks & 1 Day

According to my ticker we only have 6 weeks & 6 days (48 days) until baby girl makes her debut. This is getting more and more real as time passes by. It still is all so surreal to me....that in less than 6 weeks we will be moms. Our long journey of TTC will soon end with a baby in our arms. I just can't believe it in all honesty.

The other day we were talking about our maternity photos and what we plan on wearing on the day we take our photos. Sarah had asked me if I plan on taking any photos of my belly. If you would have asked me that when we first found out we were pregnant I would have probably said no. I guess the sight of my stomach made me cringe. I have always battled weight issues since I was little and my stomach being a huge area of battle for me just made me sick. I am so used to seeing all these women on covers, magazines and even friends showing their beautiful bellies. They look so soft and so perfect. I then continued to lift my shirt up at 33 weeks. You know it is really weird. I haven't really stopped lately to just look at my body since becoming pregnant. I guess I try and avoid mirrors at all costs. Sarah smiled and made me tear up when she said I looked beautiful. I immediately went to the mirror and there I stood bare belly and all and I took it in. I loved what I saw. I love what has become of me since becoming pregnant. I don't think I am fat or ugly...I feel beautiful! I feel empowered. Sarah wanted to take a picture of my belly to save and share. I am not embarrassed of my stretch marks that have been made since becoming pregnant. I adore these beautiful marks made my our growing baby girl. In fact they are her imprints on me. I call them her tiger stripes.

I will really miss this belly when she is here but when I see her I will be reminded that she was housed for 9 cozy months. She has forever left a mark in our hearts and on my belly.

Prepping and Putting it Together

So remember how I mentioned in a previous blog post that time seems to be slipping from our fingers? Yeah...well I feel like we need to get things done ASAP. I believe my reasoning behind all of this is the fact that baby girl can come whenever she would like. We pray and hope that she doesn't make her debut until she is ready and well around her due date but reality is everyone is so different and since this is our first pregnancy everything is in the "unknown". This is where I believe our panic mode buttons have come from. I would hate for her to come and we are not ready at all. So the past two weeks we put on our "let's get this done now" hats and work towards having everything ready.

Well, to say the least my OCD has just taken over and instead of me just getting things done I want to make sure everything is perfect. So this brings me to the word "nesting". I know I have mentioned it before and quite frankly I feel like I have been nesting forever. So I decided that nesting is not just for the birds...pfft! Story is I want everything in tip top shape before our little princess arrives and well this means making sure everything is clean and organized.

So in my venture of organizing our household I have done some major cleaning and de-cluttering of stuff, which, I will save for another post.

What I will share is what I found useful in my adventure of prepping for baby in the past couple days!

The Diaper Bag!

At first, I thought you just threw in as many diapers and wipes as you could fit. It then sunk in that babies need more than just diapers and wipes. So I sat down with a pen and paper and wrote down what I thought was important to include in a diaper bag. This is what I came up with.

 A whole bunch of everything! 

 So you ask what I have included in our little girls diaper bag? Well, I thought it would be nice to share along to others what I thought was a good head start in getting the diaper bag ready.

1. The diaper bag (Well, duh! I think this may come in handy to help carry the 1,000 things that lug around with a child)!
2. Bibs
3. Changing pad
4. Diapers (I researched that for a newborn a good rule of thumb is to bring one diaper for every hour or two that you will be out)
5. First Aid Kit (You never know when this will come in handy for you or the baby)
6. Pacifier clip (We all know we don't want that little sucker to disappear)!
7. Diaper disposal bags (I can count many places where this will come in handy....we all don't want to smell a stinky diaper).
8. Boogie Wipes
9. Wipes (from what I have been told they say you never have enough wipes!)
10. Kleenex (in case I get so hormonal or just need one lol)
11. Diaper rash cream
12. Pacifier wipes (we hate germs especially those on the floor which is where a pacifier usually falls to)
13. Pacifier
14. Nursing cover
15. Hand sanitizer wipes 
16. Disposable nursing pads
17. Mittens
18. Pacifier bag to keep it away 
19. Extra outfit with hat
20. Socks
21. Grooming kit
22. Blanket
23. Burp cloths

What I forgot to picture...

  24.  Wallet

  25.  Cell phone

  26.  Sunscreen

So I leave you here with some helpful hints-at least I did lol. I have some more exciting posts to come about the good ole nesting syndrome. 

Till next time!

Braxton Hicks

Yes, I am one of the lovely gals that gets to experience the joys of Braxton Hicks. Also, known as "false labor or practice contractions". I started feeling these two weeks ago and at first I went into full panic mode. Oh dear god I thought labor was around the corner. I sat down and called my doctor immediately. She pretty much said that what I described was for sure Braxton Hicks! I was not excited to say the least. I was scared. Thoughts of early labor freaked me out. We were only 30 weeks she couldn't come that early. As time went by I learned that this was something I was going to have to deal with and more importantly I needed Sarah to understand it didn't mean to get everything ready and rush me to the hospital....poor Sarah. 

Things that I have learned make Braxton Hicks come more than usual....

~(lack of water) I learned this the hard way the other night when I woke up to immense uncomfortable Braxton Hicks. I woke Sarah up at 3:30 AM and said to get as many water bottles as she could carry. Soon enough she came in with 6 water bottles. I downed them all. Within minutes I felt 110% better! So ladies drink lots of water!! 

~(overworking myself) lately we have been in full get everything done before baby girl arrives and time seems to be scarce that I feel myself running to get anything done. I noticed when I worked too much it causes these lovely contractions. So I have been listening more to my body and learning this mama needs a break every now and then. 

To this day it amazes me how awesome our body is. It's unique in so many ways. 

So, anyone else have these lovely contractions known as Braxton Hicks?

Baby Shower

Ugh! I hate that I keep forgetting to update on our blog. Makes me upset because I have very good intentions to and then I am not sure what happens but a blog post is never made. Anyways, instead of boring you with my excuses I thought I would share pictures and an update from our beautiful baby shower! When we found out we were pregnant right away many wanted to throw us a baby shower. So we thought it would be nice for it to be a group effort since so many wanted to help including us. I know baby showers are supposed to be thrown for the parents to be but since this was our first baby and we had such a long journey of getting to this point we wanted to be involved. Boy, were we ever involved. I think we went a tad overboard with everything because by the end of the day on our baby shower I was glad I didn't have to plan another detail!

I took on the task of getting everything ready decoration wise for the shower. Sarah helped me even though craftiness isn't one of her key points. I have a very powerful mind when it comes to what I want and sometimes that take over the best of me. I try not to but it happens. All in all we ended up making everything for the shower and it came out fabulous! A memory that will forever be in our hearts and minds.

It was so nice to see how many friends and family we have in our lives and most importantly in our little girl's life. She is so blessed and lucky and so are we! We were so overwhelmed with all the amount of gifts we received. At first when we found it we were pregnant the first thing that was on my mind was making sure our pregnancy stuck and then making sure we had everything we needed for our miracle baby. After our baby shower it came to both of our minds and eyes that indeed we had everything for her. Now comes the task of putting everything away! That shall be another blog post!!

We would like to give a thank you to all of our family and friends for all the help they offered to make our baby shower a huge success! Special thanks to our two moms and grandma! You all are awesome!

Now I leave you with some pictures from the wonderful day!