Today is the big day...my birthday :). 28 years ago my mom was beginning to endure what I am currently going through. It's weird to think about. And it really gives me a whole new respect for her and all the sacrifices she went through to raise me and my brothers. I could not have understood her hardships in being a new stay at home mom without having gone through it myself. I now understand how hard it was for her being at home all day, every day caring for an infant while life goes on in the "outside world." Just this week I was telling her that I couldn't imagine being a mom 28 years ago with NO iphone! It's my connection to the outside world and she didn't have anything close to that...how awful! :) But seriously...

still taking care of a baby!

Last weekend my bff's flew down from San Jose to meet baby B and spend time with me for my birthday. It was SO great to have them here all weekend. They were SO helpful and did my laundry, changed my sheets, cooked, did the dishes, and spent quality time with me and B. I so needed time with my girlfriends! Saturday we they laid out by the pool ( I was nursing/trying to get B to nap and lay out all at the same time. not so easy). Then that night my family came over for a BBQ. It was fun to use our jacuzzi and pool. As it turns out our new house is pretty great for entertaining and hanging out.

love them SO much!

me, b, and di at sushi dinner!

kel, me, and di at bday bbq

can't wait to frame this! 

not sure we will be making a "cupcake" birthday cake again... but it was delicious! 

Tonight M and I are going out to dinner to celebrate. His parents are watching B...what a great birthday gift!

I'm posting this while nursing my baby girl who only woke up once in the middle of the night!!! She ate at 10pm, 2pm and 6:30am! And while M and I did have one snafu (he didn't warm her bottle at two so I had to get up ad help) it aw still such a successful night! I slept 6 and a half hours but could have slept 7 and a 1/2 if we had worked out the cold bottle better. I am a happy mama and couldn't have asked B for a better birthday gift!

So here are our BW facts:
-she learned to sleep by crying herself to sleep for fifteen minutes first
-she then learned to go to sleep without crying as long as her tummy is full
-she dropped a middle of the night feed
-she sleeps better at night when we're busy during the day
-she has a different cry when she's dirty which helps me better serve her in the middle of the night

 Aunt Diana and Kelly are flying in today! We are so excited!

waiting in anticipation for my bests!

!!!!!!!!!!! So, Tuesday night was amazing! B fussed for 15 minutes a couple times when we laid her down initially but then put herself to sleep. At some points she didn't cry at all! I slept for over 8 glorious hours and could not be more thrilled with Baby Wise. This has been SO worth it! As far as her naps go I have been more flexible. She slept this morning in the stroller while I went for a walk with M's mom. Then the rest of the day she slept in her rock n play (which is like an inclined cradle) for all of her naps. Each nap was an hour and a half! This is one happy mama that is for sure!

On to other news (but really what is more exciting than what I wrote above?) it's my birthday on Monday! I'll be 28...which is dangerously close to 30! Last year on my birthday I flew up to San Jose to visit my college roommates and best friends, Diana and Kelly. This year they are flying down to visit me and my new baby! Wow, things changed quickly in a year... Here we are last year...

wow! i look well rested!

I thought it would be appropriate to share a little realistic birthday wish list below...

colored denim

silver danglies

a new fedora

tanks and Ts that spit up washes out of easily...

 

 

 

uninterrupted sleep

 

a cute one piece..because who knows if i'll be ready to wear a one piece!

Truthfully, I am really just happy to spend my birthday with my family and bff's. I'm looking forward to bbqing, swimming, hot tubbing, and sitting by the fire pit this weekend with the people I love! I hope that B is going to give me the gift of sleep... :)

 I thought I would show you a few more photos that my friend sent to me from the day B was born...

no contractions...

contraction...

trying to ease the contraction pain on a ball

seeing B after she was born

seeing B after she was born

tiny toes!

uncles and auntie!

happy grandparents!

bff and photographer

we did it!

A big thank you to Emily for nominating me for most versatile blogger! Visit her here!

BW update: Monday night was great but yesterday was HARD. B decided to only nap for a half hour in her bed practically all day. That is until my mom came over and I allowed her one "snuggle nap" with her in which she slept 2 hours! I'm telling you, that baby loves human contact! I decided that I will remain a nazi when it comes to her sleeping in her bed at night but I may have to be more flexible in the day with where she sleeps. As long as she doesn't always need to sleep on me or in the moby I don't care. Car seat, Rock n Play, pack in play...whatever. If she's sleeping and I can get things done then so be it! I'm still going to attempt the bed at every nap time and let her cry for fifteen minutes to see if she will put herself down but if it ain't happening there then I'll be trying something else for my sanity. :)

OMG I am so bummed! I spent all this time yesterday writing a post and then blogger re-vamped it's look and away went my post with the old blogger format. :( This does not make a mommy who could have been napping while blogging yesterday happy!

I'm not rewriting all the BW details from yesterday. Basically overall it was a good day. She had two solid naps and is doing less crying when I lay her down. Last night was SO great too! I went to bed at midnight and B woke up at 3:00 for her bottle with M, then at 5:30 to nurse with me. She went back down till 7:30. I got about 6 hours of sleep...which is good! ( I can't believe I consider this to be "good". The old me was not happy unless I got 8 or more hours!)

I re-read a big chunk of my BW book and realized the scheduling isn't as rigid as I thought. It's all about assessing your baby and doing what is best for them in that circumstance. So, if B wakes up a little early from a nap and I give her a chance to soothe herself back to sleep but she doesn't, then I get her up and feed her. My mom said it quite well yesterday, "Babies aren't robots!" I'm so happy to have Blair on a flexible schedule and am definitely going to put our next baby in their own bed immediately.

I got some fun things in the mail yesterday. Here they are:

a collage i ordered for B's room. this isn't how i will lay it out but you get the idea.

our new kitchen table! we searched high and low for a  round table and finally found one we like. thanks crate and barrel! this week i'm on the hunt for some seagrass chairs that fit comfortably under this table because the ones at z-gallerie were going to be a tight fit...

Well, we are on day three of BW today and I can say that naps are getting better along with nighttime sleep. Keep praying that we continue to make progress and that I continue to gain confidence. I have some more new great delivery shots for tomorrow's post...stay tuned!

I have to start this blog off with some great advice from a new friend of mine: "Although you can't spoil a newborn, you ARE teaching them how it works in your house from the day you bring them home." -Maren

After a few tough nights with B, I decided it was time for something I have been dreading new: Baby Wise. I'm sure many of you have heard of or read this book. I have heard of SO many success stories with mommies who use BW, I'm figuring it will work with my kid too! The premise is that you feed your baby, play with them, and then when they show signs of sleepiness put them down for a nap. The key is not to nurse them to sleep. They say that doing a routine for 3-5 days elicits a response from an infant. So, I'm trying this for a week with high hopes! I'm praying it gets better because I have two lovely college roommates of mine who are planning on visiting this weekend... and I would love for them to get some sleep. :) (Actually I tested out their room with a fan on and couldn't hear B at all. So, Diana and Kelly you are safe!)

We started BW Saturday night. I nursed her, gave her a relaxing bath, snuggled for a bit, then sang "Jesus loves Me" and put her in her bed. She cried for an hour till her next feeding. We set a timer and went in every five minutes to soothe her by picking her up and cuddling her. M and I both agreed that it wasn't as bad as we thought it would be. I think it really helps to have two people working as a team. Moral support is key! And this is exactly why I am dreading today...M has work of course. :( Everything with a baby is easier with two! (Single moms I admire you beyond belief...)

After I fed her I put her down in her crib and she went to sleep, no crying, for three hours! I was THRILLED! And M and I finally slept in our new king bed without baby...success! The rest of the night she woke up every two hours, which I wasn't thrilled with but it's respectable for her first night. I must say, it was pretty great not worrying about her in our bed... Around 5am I fed her and then told M I was going to the guest room to sleep till 7. She needed soothing for a half hour, then slept for an hour. Around 6:30 she woke up and needed soothing till 7. I'm wondering if she struggled at this time because it was becoming lighter in her room?


Her first nap was a bust because we walked to church and she fell asleep in her Moby wrap. On the way home the same thing happened. When we got home I tried to put her down out of the Moby and she cried for the whole hour till her next feeding. There were times when I thought she had finally gotten herself to sleep because she was quiet for five minutes and then she would start up again.

Nap number two I successfully put her down with no crying. She slept an hour and then M and to soothe her to sleep every fifteen minutes after that. We attempted a pacifier and that seemed to kind of help her initially go down.

Nap number three: total SUCCESS! I put her down with a paci (which I noticed on the monitor that she spit out pretty quickly) but she slept for a whole HOUR and a HALF! No soothing! I sat downstairs watching her on the monitor (here) which was SUCH a great purchase if you ask me, while I blogged (this post to be exact!). I think we're on to something here...

So, M makes fun of me because I ask anyone and everyone for advice. But here comes my ploy...if you have done BW how has it worked for you? I want to know EVERYTHING! I am so thirsty for knowledge for what worked for other mommies. My thing is this...why try to figure it out on my own when someone else already has? No point in reinventing the wheel!

Here are some pictures from our weekend...

Bella trying out her pool

grandpa bushman (bad sleeping habit documented...dangit)

I am expecting our furniture to arrive sometime early this week so I took a bunch of "before" pictures. Can't wait to show you the "afters!"

This week I have overcome some of my fears. Fear #1: traveling in the car with baby by myself. Fear #2: Running errands/socializing by myself (I see a theme). So, it's obvious that I am apprehensive about doing things with B by myself.

currently one of my favorite pics of B...those eyes! :)

On Wednesday my mom and I spent the whole day running errands. It was a great day and I LOVED getting out! Some things I learned were...
-always feed baby right before you put her in the car to avoid an unpleasant car ride
-go to Nordstrom midday/midweek if you want to meet or mingle with other mommy friends
-take someone to watch your baby when buying new bras. (ps be prepared to buy HUGE bras! I was stoked!)
- Costco has a great patio furniture section for nursing. I'm sure this is not what it is there for but definitely what I used it for...keepin' it classy

costco! why i didn't choose to take a picture at nordstrom is beyond me...

Yesterday I took the big plunge and drove to lunch with B by myself. While she didn't scream the whole way there was some crying that went on in that car seat. I have a mirror so that I can see her in her car seat. I'm not sure what good it does since I can't do much for her when she's crying while I'm driving but somehow it makes me feel better when I can see her screaming instead of just hearing her. :( She was such a good girl during lunch! She slept in the baby Bjorn, nursed, and pooped...the whole shebang! I really enjoyed getting out and spending time with other mommies. After lunch we went to Carrie's house to hang out and by the time we got home from there she was asleep in her car seat! Success! I'm learning that it makes a WORLD of difference when I get out of the house. Now if I can only figure out how to get out of the house without spending money...

march/april mommies!

I'm excited because we ordered a sofa table and bench for the end of our bed (here). It comes in next week. And our kitchen table arrived for pick up too! Yay! I'll be doing some before and after pictures very soon! Have a great weekend and stay cool! (It's supposed to be in the 90's here...what?!?)

Last Sunday M and I finally ventured out to church with B. It was good to get out and as long as we time it right with her nursing it seems to be no big deal. I have also been making "walking dates" with some of my girlfriends which has been helping with my feelings of loneliness.

Another new endeavor for me is that I started running jogging again! I gave it a whirl after my doctor said that I was good to go. But, Oh Man!, was it hard! I thought that my neighborhood was flat but it turns out there is a slight incline... which makes it very hard for someone who hasn't run in nine months to get back on the horse!



Monday's run started out ok until Bella pooped. When I stopped to do doggy duty B started crying. I was so annoyed at Bella for pooping! I let her cry for a while and then she stopped right as I was getting ready to take her out and console her. This seemed to be the pattern for our run. Tuesday's run went better (Bella didn't have to go #2) but towards the end B started up again. Nothing like a hungry, crying infant to get my tail moving! I hauled back to our house in record time.

Some of you have been asking about how I got back into shape. Well, first of all I am far from being in shape. As far as losing the weight...I'm closer than I thought I would be but still not on target. I have about 5-6 pounds to lose before I get back to what I weighed when I got pregnant. However, I'm looking to lose about five pounds on top of that. So that brings me to a grand total of 10 pounds.

When I got home from the hospital I was solely relying on breast feeding to keep the weight down. Eventually I started walking and now I'm easing my way back into running. M and I are both determined to lose a few so we downloaded the free app called "my fitness pal." A few of my friends use it and recommended it and we have really enjoyed it! It basically helps you keep track of the calories you have eaten, gives you a set amount based on your stats, and allows you to factor in exercise as well. In the end it's basically portion control and exercise. Which is common sense. I like it because you can link up with other friends who are using the app and see their progress as well. It makes dieting kinda fun! Ok, not really.

So far I've lost 7 pounds and am hoping to continue to see a downward trend! And while I'm fitting into my old jeans, it's not an easy zip, if you know what I mean! Tell me what you have done to lose your baby weight?

In other news last weekend we went to a friends house to celebrate her birthday. I loved getting out and having adult conversations! It was fun to pass B around and let people hold her. I know my shoulders and back appreciated the break! Here we are...

Gwen: my high school swim coach and M's family friend since he was a baby

Gwen's daughter Megan...she's so much fun!

is there anything sweeter than daddy/daughter snuggle time? PS love M's tye dyed shirt. :) We made them one year for my Kindergarten students to wear on a field trip :)

Tomorrow I'm writing about losing baby weight...Oh boy!

It's my first birthday...of blogging! Last year around this time a friend of mine suggested that I start a blog (thanks, Rana!) and along with the encouragement of my husband, Nat Your Average Girl was born! I have had so much fun blogging this year. It has been great meeting new people and I really do feel like some of my fellow bloggers are my friends (even though we have yet to meet!). Blogging has been a great way for me to release some creative energy either through journaling, DIY projects, trying new styles, cooking etc. Although at times it can be a pain in my bum (what should I blog about today?) I really enjoy going back and reading about what I was up to a year ago. It has also been quite helpful with my love of scrapbooking since the journaling is accessible through my blog. Thank you to all my friends and family for supporting me this year.

Here are a few of my favorite posts of the year below...

my very first post

2011 Summer Bucket List

The Scariest Thing I've Ever Done

Finding out our baby's sex

Our First Baby

Here's to another year of blogging!

So less than 24 hours before the craziness of having a baby happened we moved across town. We were about to (very quickly) grow out of our two bedroom one bathroom 1916 home so we made the tough choice to leave our quaint little bungalow and buy a newer 2001 home with four bedrooms and four bathrooms. 


Most of you know about my friend Carrie who took B's adorable newborn pictures here. Well, her younger brother has started his own business called Piggy Boxes, and decided to allow us to be his guinea pigs (pun intended) and try out his new product/service. 

It's basically a way to help people move easier and more effectively. What he does is supply durable, stack-able (pink!) boxes by delivering them to your home. He includes dollies, zip ties (also pink!) to keep the lids closed, labels, and packing paper (so your hands/items don't get dirty from newspaper) So a couple days before we moved he and his fiance dropped off some boxes and I started packing those babies full! I LOVED not having to tape boxes together (aka home depot moving boxes) and it was nice that my hands weren't getting filthy with newspaper print. 



On the day that we moved our friends and family were fighting over the "piggy boxes" because they were the easiest ones to load and carry. They stacked so perfectly onto one another. Even at 35 weeks pregnant I was able to carry one end of a box with some assistance on the other side. 

I didn't know that moving could ever be so fashionable either! I squealed (pun intended) with delight when I saw that I would be moving with style! My only suggestion to make the boxes better would be to add some bling. Kidding. ;)


I had NO idea we had acquired so much stuff so I didn't request as many boxes as I should have. This is what moving looks like without piggy boxes...

i'm so embarrassed to even be showing you this picture...i'm sure our neighbors were terrified!

what a mess!

two thumbs down :(

this is what moving looks like with...

moving in style!

so neat!

This service couldn't have been offered to us at a more opportune time! These are the things I like most about Piggy Boxes:
- eco-friendly
-easy to pack
- stackable
-cost-efficient
-no tape
- convenient
- stylish! :) 

But don't take my word for it...try it out yourself! Check out their facebook page and website.

There are some baby items that I have discovered that I can't live without. Here are my recommendations for all you mamas to be (or if you are thinking about having kids soon!).

- MOBY

B loves riding in the Moby. She gets to hear my heartbeat and the rhythm of my movement puts her right to sleep

- nipple shield

this was a life saver in the beginning when B wouldn't latch because she was so used to the nipples in the NICU

- swaddle sleepers

these things are great for night time sleep

- a strapless bra for pumping 

i know this is hilarious but seriously this bra was legit! I would blog and FB while pumping :)

- boppy

perfect for nursing!

- gas tablets

- pacifiers

this is the binky that the NICU used so I stuck with it!

 

*** items I plan to purchase

-a sling wrap (seems faster than the moby)

-a stroller that my car seat can fit into

PS please pray for us during these next six weeks. B had a serious melt down last night for four straight hours. I was beside myself trying to get her to stop screaming. It was HORRIBLE. Now I have "the fear" every night in the evening. I never know what to expect. Pray for M and I to be patient and to know that sometimes there is just nothing we can do to make her happy. I'm hoping it's not colic and that it's just a fussy period that all babies go through in the evenings. Our days continue to be filled with a happy baby who sleeps and nurses. Let's hope tonight is a good night!

***update: so far so good tonight!

Today I had so much fun! Despite the lack of sleep I got last night (apparently B likes to talk in her sleep...ALL night) I had a great day with my mom and Aunt Marla. My Aunt is really talented when it comes to interior design and she went furniture/accessory shopping with us today. We found a TON of things for the house that I love and M and I are going back this weekend to pick them up! B is such a little shopper and was as content as can be in my Moby wrap. She did however have a total blow out on my Aunt's pants. Thank goodness she was wearing black! My Aunt assured me that even B's poop was precious...pretty sure she was just being nice. So here are some shots of our home before we moved in and following it are the pieces we're going to purchase. I will be sure to take "after shots" soon since it's not quite this empty now that we're here! 

A large couch sits on the tile behind the carpet. the sofa table below will sit behind it with two tall thin lamps that have yet to be purchased.

 This table below will sit under the chandelier. along with these seagrass chairs.

This mirror will go on the wall directly ahead. eventually I would like to flank it with two pieces of art that go together, but don't necessarily match exactly. 

And the chair will go at the end of our dining table since we only currently have four.

Finally i want to put this piece at the end of our bed. M is unsure about leopard but I LOVE it! Of course I do. :)

it's functional! a seat and storage in one!

My Aunt told me (M is starting to fear those 4 words...) that "Haste makes Waste!" She was referring to my bad habit of always buying the first thing that I see (and then later regretting it). So this time around I am really trying to be patient and do a lot of looking before buying. Live and Learn! :)

Tomorrow I have my 6 week doctor's appointment. Hopefully things are doing well down there! :) I really hope that the doctor tells me that I'm all set to run again...I'm so over walking! Plus I don't have a baby jogger for nothing! I need to ask her about going on the pill while breast feeding too because Lord knows I would just DIE if I got prego any time soon! DIE! Now you know how I really feel. :)