Breastfeeding Supply Haul {from a second time mom}

In no particular order of importance – here are my recommended breastfeeding essentials! I BF my first, Calvin, for 9 months and I’m so glad we did, but there is a little bit of a learning curve. My goal was to make it to one year but a demanding work schedule left little time for pumping and a lot of time away from my baby. This time around, I now work part time out of our home and will be able to be with my little girl more frequently. If you are a full time working Mom, it is so possible to breast feed a lot longer than 9 months, just make sure you advocate for yourself and for your breaks to get those pumping breaks in!

Vinyasa Scarf / Nursing Cover

For covering up during those very public feedings. MOST places don’t have a nursing friendly area for Moms. I found this scarf at Lululemon and it is PERFECT for a nursing cover – breathable, functional, and pretty. 🙂

Medela Pump in Style

This is the pump that I used with my first born and it worked great. Because I already have extra parts for it and bottles that fit onto the pumps, I decided to just replace and use the same one. Visit the medela website to insert your insurance here and see if you are eligible for a FREE pump. Most plans will cover one pump per pregnancy.

Racerback Nursing Bra

Supportive, comfortable, affordable, and functional nursing bras are EVERYTHING! My favorites have always been from Motherhood Maternity.

Clear Fridge Bin

For easily storing and organizing your breastmilk in your freezer or fridge.

Button Down Pajama Set

Supportive, comfortable, affordable, and functional pajamas are also EVERYTHING! I love this set for both the hospital and lounging at home.

10 ft phone charger

You will want a long charger for both the hospital and home as well. You are pinned under a feeding baby so often, you’ll likely need a longer cord for charging that phone. I know I will be using some breastfeeding time to get work done. And take photos of her sleeping. So many photos.

Medela Collection Bottles

Medela 8oz Bottles

These bottles twist and secure right onto the medela pumps. The collection bottles are great for when baby is 4 months or less and only eating about 5 oz at a time. After that, the 8oz bottles are great for taking to the sitter/daycare with milk.

Milk Storage Bags

Because I used the medela pump, I thought it would be smartest to grab the medela bags. This was not the case….these bags hold more milk, store better, and are all around just easier to use. They are my favorite!

Boppy Pillow

For breastfeeding support that wraps right around your waste. Don’t forget to bring your boppy to the hospital – they don’t always have a great nursing set up or supportive pillows.

Nipple Cream

For the early days when you are dry, cracked, and hurting. After a few weeks you should be healed and in the clear.

Disposable Nursing Pads

For milk leakage. You will have a lot at the beginning, especially in the night! These are so helpful and will keep you dry.

Haakaa Milk Collector

The Haakaa wasn’t a thing with my first born, so I am pretty excited to try this and save even more milk this time around. You connect to the breast you are not feeding on so that any leakage goes into this device and is not wasted!

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Essential Maternity Basics You’ll Love

It’s true – I’m a creature of habit with the clothing items I love! Especially when I am pregnant, and even more so when I have found the perfect level of comfort! After two pregnancies, I can confirm that these items are my very favorite go-to’s. Most of the items are shown in black but most do come in other colors as well – I just tend to wear a lot of black when pregnant! Black tends to be a bit more slimming while lighter colors and patterns add to the cause. 🙂 All items are linked below, trust me, these are the very best – I wouldn’t steer you wrong!

Aerie Real Me Boybrief Undie

Comfort Slip On Memory Foam Slippers

Surplice Front Jumpsuit

Full Busted Seamless Nursing Bra

Play Real Me High Waisted Legging

Pure Body V-Neck Long Sleeve

Pure Body V-Neck Short Sleeve

Maternity Tank Dress

Maternity 3/4 Sleeve Dress

Ruched Waist Sleep Shorts

Secret Fit Shaping Panty

Jill & Joey Maternity Belt 

Here are some images of me wearing these items over the past 9 months:

I’m so basic 🙂

Which items will be you be grabbing? What am I missing from this list? Let me know which items you try!

5 tips for Transitioning from Crib to “big kid” bed seamlessly

Hi Mamas! If you are here – that PROBABLY means you are about to go through the infamous crib to big bed transition. I was dreading this day for so long. The crib was the last form of confinement we had, and I was so nervous to lose that! But….we got a bit lucky! Calvin lasted in his crib until he was over 2.5 years old! He is a crazy, persisent, outing child, but has never been a HUGE climber. Probably because he is so big! When I first witnessed him scale his crib to perfection on the first try, I think I literally yelled, “NOOOOOO!!!” lol…. while I was glad that he learned how to do it safely on his own, I knew we were about to turn over a new chapter and likely lose some sleep.

To our surprise, the transition went extremely well. Knowing what I know now, I would tell other moms, it’s not nearly as bad as you think and as long as you have a good mindset and set some expectations – you will be fine! Although I didn’t read any tips (I’m more of a wing it type mom), I am here to share mine, ease some fears and give you some ideas to make the transition that much easier.

1.) Hype up the BIG bed

We decided to go straight from the crib to a big bed that my mom had saved for Calvin. Although taking the side off the crib first is another option, we just pulled the band-aid off all at once. We didn’t want to have another transition for him in a year or less, we wanted this to be it for a while. Plus, we are lazy and wanted to keep the crib in tact for baby #2 and just move it out of the room (no, I’m not preg!) Once we got the plans in place to put his big bed together (it is a double bed but pretty low to the ground), we let him know. He watched us put it together, bring the mattress in, etc. He knew that this was going to be his big bed. We did this as opposed to just putting it together, removing the crib, and then saying, “here’s where you’re going to sleep now!” He watched the whole process and was more than ready when it was his first night to sleep in the big bed.

2.) Pick a room theme or bedding your LO will LOVE

When I picked out Calvin’s new “big boy” sheets, I made sure to get something he would love. Although he didn’t come with me, he was sooo excited when I came home and showed him his new dinosaur bedding, new pillows (he had never used pillows) and SUPER comfy new blanket. While we’re talking about blankets, I have to share that this isn’t just any blanket, it is a MAGIC blanket – I feel like when we put it on him, his eyes just start closing. It is SO SOFT and affordable, and now he associates it with sleeping in his big bed. Once we lay him down it is the first layer we cover him with, and you can just feel him settle down. This gray blanket is the one…go get it!!

3.) Continue your normal routine or establish one ASAP!

Bed time routine – this one is different for every family but our bed time routine is the same every night and has been for about 18 months. Bath and/or diaper change, jammies, movie of his choice on the big tv, brush teeth, sip of water, kiss from mommy and then daddy takes Calvin into his room. Then Calvin turns on his noise machine and nightlight before we lay him down. Yes, we tend to do a movie instead of a book before bed…sorry, not sorry. It is one of my favorite times of the day because Calvin gets so calm and snuggly and we do it as a family. If your routine has previously included your child getting into bed with you, make sure that you start to develop a consistent routine where they are now going into THEIR bed. Do the same thing each night before you take him/her in so there are no surprises. We did change ONE thing about our routine, which I’ll talk about below, but only for a few nights.

4.) Use the Certified Cantor COMFORT and then COUNTDOWN method

The first couple of nights in the new bed, Calvin would cry hysterically when we tried to lay him down and leave him. He never cries at night when he is ready for bed, so we knew that he really was genuinely scared when he said he was. It wasn’t a whine cry, it was a what’s happening, I’m terrified cry. We decided to lay with him and comfort him for 30 minutes the first night, 20 minutes the second night, 15 minutes the third night, and so on. Almost like sleep training, but he didn’t keep crying when we left. We then started saying we will lay with you for only 5 minutes, buddy. Now he basically asks us to leave so he can sleep. He doesn’t want us to lay with him at all, and we don’t. 😂 I know a lot of people believe in the cry it out method but this was so new for him – and honestly the days where he needs us to comfort him are so limited. We didn’t mind laying with him for a week or so until he got used to the new, open sleeping arrangement. We knew he needed our comfort for a few nights and that is OK with us. We would have drawn the line had he asked to sleep in our bed night after night or had he wanted us to keep laying with him for 30+ minutes every single night. We call this the “comfort and countdown” method, I’m not sure if we made it up or not. But basically we will comfort him and then say okay you have x amount of minutes left and he takes it so well. We also do this with iPad/TV time, meal time, bath time, etc. We let him do what it is he wants to do but we set boundaries with the timing of it. (Ex: you have 5 minutes left, you have 4 minutes left, etc.) Its a give and take method that really seems to work with our persistent, strong willed child who needs boundaries but won’t comply if we just try to take something with no warning. I don’t read many parenting books because of limited time, so everything we have figured out has been trial and error – including this method. It is probably named something else, but this is what we have discovered to work!

5.) Become a story teller

Sometimes if Calvin is having a hard time calming down for either nap time or bed time, we talk about all the fun things he’ll get to do and people he’ll get to see when he wakes up. We talk about how he won’t get to see those people if he’s tired or play with those toys if he doesn’t sleep first. Because he naps later in the afternoon, I usually use the daddy bribe. “Daddy will be home from work to play with you when you wake up, but only if you take a nap!” Now I will say you have to hold true on those after nap promises if your child has the memory of a steel trap, like ours does. That way, the next time you say it, they know you are telling the truth. It’s all a mind game, my friends!

These tips tend to work MOST of the time. There are nap times and nights here and there where he won’t nap or he keeps climbing out, but 99% of the time they do! Once of the nice things about his big bed is that he can get out on his own and come up to us, we don’t have to go get him out of the crib now. Mini perk 🙂

Let me know if you try any of these tips – I know that this transition is one of the biggest in the toddler years, so I hope they help! Good luck!

 

Diaper Bags for the Cool Mom {Part 2!}

Hey mamas! How are we!? Anyone getting winter depression/anxious from being cooped up in this horrid weather!? It’s a thing… LOL I certainly am! I was just in CA for 5 days and came back to a blizzard – not exactly my idea of enjoyable BUT I am glad to be back with my guys! Hopefully only 6ish more weeks left of winter…we can so do it!!

Last year I posted a list of “diaper bags for the cool mom” and got a great response on the suggestions, so here I am to do part 2! I’ve tried a ton of diaper bags and definitely prefer the backpack style OR a bag that can convert to both an over the shoulder and a backpack. You already have enough things to carry as a Mom – your diaper bag should make your life easier and allow you to be hands free.

I see posts daily on Facebook or in the groups I’m apart of where Moms are constantly asking for diaper bag suggestions. Why is a diaper bag so important? WELL – once you become a mom, your diaper bag is essentially your purse. It’s your sanity for getting from place to place in a prepared manner. No more designer or cute handbags being used on a daily basis – unless you have 3 hands to carry both, which you don’t. Your diaper bag is now your fashion identity (I wish I was kidding!) Don’t feel like your diaper bag needs to be juvenile or have puppy print and hearts on it because it is being used for your child. You can see below that I am a huge fan of the classy neutrals/solids only, in the bags I carry. I also 100% think it is worth investing in a great diaper bag – you will use it DAILY and you need to feel like it’s comfortable, efficient, easy to carry, and easy to pack. Without further ado, here are my 2018 recos:

Skip Hop Greenwich Simply Chic

Fawn Design Backpack

Skip Hop Greenwich Simply Chic Diaper Tote

JJ Cole Backpack Diaper Bag

Freshly Picked Convertible Diaper Backpack

Highbury Hill Diaper Backpack

Honest City Backpack

Itzy Ritzy® Backpack Diaper Bag

JJ Cole Arrington Tote Diaper Bag

Skip Hop Suite 6 Piece Backpack

The bag I am using in these photos is the Fawn Design original in PLUM. Unfortunately the plum is SOLD OUT right now 😦 but it does come in 4 additional colors. I really love that this bag is spacious and can convert from an over the shoulder, to a cross body, to a backpack.

^mean muggin

Does anyone have one of these bags? I’d love to hear how you like it! If anyone purchases a bag above, please let me know – would also love to see a photo! Hope this helps!

 

Affordable & Fashionable FALL Lenses {with the Glasses Shop}

Hey hey hey babes! How is it going? I’m trying to figure out where the Summer went, but I’m also veryyy excited for fall. It is my favorite time of the year, and this year, it is also the season of my WEDDING!

 I am ALSO very excited to share my best kept online shopping secret with you all: The Glasses Shop. I first wrote about this site here last year and am so thrilled to be working with them again. I mean, how CUTE are these purple frames? I’m seriously obsessed – and they are perfect for all my fellow green eyed beauties.

I am always shocked when people remind me how expensive frames and lenses are at your typical brick & mortar stores…and most of the time they are not fully covered by insurance. Ain’t nobody got time OR money for that! Insert: The Glasses Shop. Your online shop for affordable, functional, and convenient frames & lenses. The tag line is technically: “budget buy eyewear site.” Like, really affordable:

• Frames are BOGO with code GSBOGO

• And your whole order is 30% off with my code GSHOT30!!

Update: here is a holiday 2019 deal for you as well:

Your next question may be – what about the quality? I was SHOCKED when I received my first pair of glasses last year. The lenses were immaculate, the frames were sturdy, and they came with both a case and cleansing cloth. I would 100% recommend this (hence why I’m doing a full blog post!) site to anyone looking for glasses!

Because they are so affordable, I like choosing a few pairs as “fashion” pieces. When lenses & frames are typically costing you $300+ at other locations, you want to get the most basic, “go with everything” pair. When you buy from The Glasses Shop you can afford to do a black, a brown, a clear, and even a PURPLE pair if you’d like! I have a feeling that glasses will be my #1 FALL FASHION staple at this price!

Here is the easiest way to order:

• Call your eye doctor and have them email over your prescription and PD (papillary distance) which is essentially the distance between your eyes to fit the glasses – you will need these for placing the order

• Find a pair of glasses that you like & upload a picture of yourself so that you can virtually try them on – this is a really cool feature of the site!

• Order a few pairs and wait for them to arrive!

• Enjoy!

A few more pairs that are in my cart from The Glasses Shop:

 

Douglas Oval – TortoiseFlynn Round – Black

Park Oval – Crystal 

Kimberley Rectangle Purple Frames

Lace-Up Hoodie

Lancer Sneaker (want in every color!)

Lexie Beary + Kiss for a Cause LipSense

I hope you all have an amazing weekend – please share photos with me if you purchase a pair of eyeglasses off this site! love ya!

Livin’ in Athleisure (with Old Navy!)

Hi Friends! Happy Hump Day 🙂 How are your weeks going? We are heading to our tasting for our wedding tonight and I’m pretty excited to finally focus on some planning…and to eat some yummy food (…as I write about athleisure…)

I wasn’t originally going to write a whole post on this but after some good response and questions from my last IG post, I had to write about one of my latest obsessions – activewear from Old Navy! I have been off work for a few weeks and have been LIVING in these items. Now…if only I can find a way to continue wearing when returning to the office. We do have a gym here so I will be bringing with me for workouts when I can!

My brother in law, who by the way has amazing style, asked me where I got this outfit because it “looked expensive.” SCORE! Jokingly I said, it’s from like Lululemon or something like that…

But really, the pants, bra and shirt are all from Old Navy and I am so impressed by the affordability and quality of these items. Although I do believe that expensive activewear is always worth it, I love that I can get that quality from Old Navy and have even more of a variety.

I love putting on “athleisure” type items on weekends or days when I’m off – they are comfortable/easy to move in and honestly, I’m more likely to workout (either run or do a home workout) when I am already dressed. Sometimes getting ready is the hardest part for me!

Hyun Ah Perez Photography

Here are the outfit deets–

Go-Dry Ultra-Light Surplice-Back Top : now on sale and available in 5 colors. I am wearing a size Medium in “Prom Queen Neon.”

Go-Dry Strappy Light Support Sports Bra (similar) : now on sale and available in black & floral. I am wearing a size Large. If I were to run or do something more high imptant, I would have to wear a full coverage bra or add another bra. #bigboobprobs this lighter support bra is perfect for true athleisure wear or yoga/barre/pilates type exercises.

High-Rise Go-Dry Compression Capris: now on sale – wearing a Medium in “Black Mini Dot.”

Where do you shop for activewear/athleisure? What am I missing out on? You babes always have the best recos!! Have a fantastic rest of your week, mamas!

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All images captured by Hannah from Hyun Ah Perez Photography.

Feeling Peachy in Pink Blush {+another giveaway!}

HI BABES – HOW WAS THE WEEKEND?! It’s been a MINUTE since I posted – will share where I have been (& why) later this week<3

You all should know by now that I am a huge PINK BLUSH fan – this is my 3rd time working with them and I could not be more excited!

I received this beautiful peachy/coral off the shoulder shirt earlier this month and fell in love immediately – I love the unique details on the straps and off the shoulder draping. It is an amazing color, flattering, perfect for Spring, and comfortable – what more could a girl want?

Pink Blush is NOT just maternity wear – they carry a full women’s, accessory & shoe line – and every item is adorable! Many of the items in the shop will take you from pre-pregnancy, through pregnancy and post-pregnancy as they are flattering and made for all stages of a women’s life.

I want to gift this shirt or any item you choose this week to one follower – so I teamed up with Pink Blush to give away a $50 gift card! I just announced the giveaway and entry rules on my instagram so head on over to enter! Winner will be choosen on Friday, May 12th.

I hope you have an amazing week – kick some ass & take some names!

---

PS — Can we please talk about my new Cincinnati photographer Hyun Ah Perez Photography? I posted back in March that I was looking for an awesome new photographer to work with after our move back to OH and in the midst of LIFE I started to fall behind on my posts because I was running low on time to find someone great that would just “get” what I was looking for. Through the fate of the universe Hyan (Hannah) found ME on Facebook and here we are! I highly recommend her services – you will be seeing a lot more of her work in the future on Running with Strollers 🙂

 

 

 

 

Moms Matter Too: Post-Partum Stress/Anxiety + The Importance of Self Care

Alright guys, I’m going to do it, I’m going to be another #momblogger writing about self care. Honestly, before I was a mom, I didn’t even understand what “self care” meant and I sure as hell didn’t understand why so many moms were talking about it. I mean, it’s not that hard to take care of yourself, right? But at the beginning of this year, I feel like I got hit by a truck in my understanding of it and why self care should be our #1 priority. Yes – I said #1, before baby, before husband, before work, etc. If you aren’t talking care of yourself, ALL of these things suffer. I have felt it first hand.

I am bringing this up because I think a lot of moms read my blog probably think that I have it all together – a good job, a beautiful and healthy baby, a great fiance, a blog with pretty pictures that I am able to keep up even when life gets crazy…but that doesn’t mean that this shit is easy or that the last year has been all fairies and rainbows. In fact I sincerely hope from some of my other heartfelt posts that I don’t come across that way. It wouldn’t be honest of me if I didn’t talk about this part of motherhood.

For the second half of 2016, I was doing okay on the outside, but literally scraping by on the inside. The stress of returning to work and a normal life, only now with a baby, was probably the hardest life transition I have gone through. Having a baby that didn’t (still doesn’t always) sleep through the night and then going to work all day, left me exhausted by 7pm each night. I curbed that exhaustion with an excuse to not exercise and eat cookies every night if I wanted, because.. I (didn’t) GAF. I didn’t want to get out of bed in the morning because lack of exercise was leaving me even more lethargic, and my body started showing stress in many different ways that I had never experienced before (grinding my teeth, headaches, muscle twitches in random places.) When I ended up seeing a doctor in January for unrelated issues, I brought up my concerns. She is the one who explained to me that stress can present itself in many weird ways and my concern that I had developed a muscular disorder resulting in muscle twitches, was probably just stress.

If all of this sounds concerning to you, it’s because it is. I finally realized at the end of 2016, right around the time I stopped breastfeeding, that I had slowly bottled up a lot of Post-Partum Anxiety (I don’t say Post-Partum Depression, because I don’t think it got to that level) on-set NOT ONLY by life with a baby but stressful work, wedding planning, expectations on this blog, family health issues, and LIFE. I know it wasn’t anxiety caused by baby alone. I have explained this feeling to others as feeling trapped…that’s the best word I have for it. Not depressed, just trapped in a cycle that I couldn’t get out of. I had never once felt anxiety before having a child, and suddenly I was consumed by it. Craig asked so many times how he could help, but he was already pulling so much weight and I realized it was my responsibility to start taking care of myself and figure out how to make it better.

I have become extremely passionate about making sure that Moms Matter – once we have baby, we tend to shift the focus there, lose ourselves, and then fall into an anxiety ridden state of no longer having your own life, goals, and significance. Please tell me this isn’t just me, that others have longed for freedom and time to just focus on what YOU want for once.

 For me, PPA was not immediate upon the birth of my son like it is for some – it was a gradual decline starting at about 4 months PP until about 10 months PP. Only now can I look back, reflect, and write about these things, because I finally feel that I am coming out on the other side. I was too deep in it before and too STUCK to be able to realize what was happening, how to get out of it, or how to help other Moms. In that same doctor appointment that I referenced before, she gave me a mini therapy session on small steps I could take to relieve some stress and anxiety – I had no choice but to try and take her advice.  These are the things that have helped me feel more like myself, defend against PPA and create more energy in my life:

Consistent Exercise

I went from exercising 5-6 days/week before pregnancy, continued exercising until 20 weeks, and then pretty much stopped completely. I started again when Calvin was 8 weeks and felt amazing. Then I went back to work, then I made excuses, then I completely fell off the wagon. Turns out it is the most important wagon of all. Once I got back into a consistent (still not as much as before!) routine, a lot of stress and anxiety subsided, grinding of my teeth lessened, and I just felt overall better about myself and had more energy. If someone is going wrong in your life, I suggest taking some time to get moving and see if that helps.

Do Something you Love for YOU

I’m sure a lot of people in my life have wondered why I haven’t given up blogging when things get busy or I get overwhelmed – I mean it’s just an extra THING that takes up more TIME, right!? WRONG. This blog is what I started when I was pregnant for ME. When I was suddenly unexpectedly pregnant, working in a stressful environment, and newly living 600 miles from all friends and family, I needed an outlet…I needed to create something to focus on outside of the other stressors. I posted on instagram here that this blog started out about ME and trying to inspire others, but the opportunities that have come to me and the people I’ve met have inspired ME and I now write for all of YOU as well. I think everyone needs something of their own to work towards, a creative outlet, a business, a platform, that they can be proud of. I’ll be announcing soon Part II of RwS soon – aka my latest endeavor. What can you do for you?

Find a Strong Relatable Community

ALL Moms want to come across strong, like they are conquering the world, and let’s be honest, we are. Moms often answer with, “good!” when we first ask how it’s going…but if you really sit down and talk to a new mom, a veteran mom, or anyone caring for other humans, they will get real with you. I don’t think we feel like we can really say how we are feeling often enough and we think that everything we are experiencing, everything we are feeling is just “normal” for a new mom. Sometimes it is, and sometimes it isn’t. I know we can all relate to the tough stuff, and having a community in which you can talk with, helps so much. Just to know that someone else has been through or is going through the same challenge you may be facing is really helpful. So, please reach out to me and we can chat if you feel so inclined – I would love that!

Break Free of Comparison & Social Media Pressure

I read an article recently talking about how parenting now is harder than parenting was 20, 30 years ago because of the insane amount of pressure put on us to do it all, have it all, while looking and feeling amazing. I don’t think that our parents had it easy by any means and can’t say I totally agree with that statement BUT I think social media is the cause of this statement. The only pressure we should feel is from wanting to better ourselves and our family. If you feel that pressure from other moms or what you see on social media is messing with your parenting, I would highly suggest taking a break. Now that is easier said than done – if you’re a blogger or business owner, your success likely is dependent on your social media presence and interacting with others. Find the balance. Set aside time to be 100% engaged with your family and set aside time to be on your phone (after work until Calvin’s bed time I am in 100% family mode.) Remember that REAL life is happening and passing quickly as your scroll through your feeds. Stay in your own lane, know what your goals are, and don’t let someone else’s success or statements bring you down.

If you’ve been here and can relate in any way, I’d love to hear from you – any other suggestions? Like I said, I finally feel like I have broken free from the PPA cycle and can talk about it with other moms. Thanks so much for reading and for all your support along the way.

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{Part One} Calvin’s First Fiesta Photos!

Hi Guys! Sooooo it’s March?! I honestly don’t know what just happened the past 3 weeks in my life – it was my birthday, then it was Valentine’s Day, then it was Calvin’s Birthday where I planned a party in one week, then we moved across the country. All while trying to keep up with taking care of a 1 year old and working full time. And I somehow got 5 blog posts up in Feb, which was my goal. Wait what? I wouldn’t recommend this level of chaos honestly, lol!

The moving surveyor thought I was insane when he came to our place on Feb 15th, asked when we were moving and I told him the 27th. He said “of this month?” as he not-so-silently judged the baby toys strewn across the room and amount of items we HADN’T packed. He proceeded to say, “you know you wouldn’t want to bite off more than you could chew.” Oh moving man, don’t you know that’s the theme of my life?

So FINALLY I want to share Part 1 of Calvin’s special day – these pictures really just show the wonder, curiosity, and joy we see in him every single day. We had about 40 of our closest friends, my family, and co-workers at our clubhouse in NJ to celebrate and enjoy a Fiesta themed party for our little man. It was very bittersweet to have everyone who welcomed us to the east coast, supported us and have been our friends over the past two years together in one room. We are so so thankful for each and every one of you and are glad to be taking lifelong friendships with us.

[all photos taken by Henrietta of HB Media]

^He LOVES all of the gifts he received. Now that we are moved, he can finally start opening & playing with them fully!

If you ever want to entertain a baby, just buy him a set of maracas, which are apparently the key to happiness.

^We “made” this last minute smash cake – I’ll share more on this in the 2nd post with decoration details.

Calvin started by veryyy gingerly touching his personal cake. He eventually took some bites, picking apart little pieces with his thumb and index finger only. I would say he was a very politically correct cake smasher.

Finally going for it ^^

^Drum sticks rivaled the entertainment from the maracas, but we ultimately decided that a baby running with drumsticks could be the cause of a Mommy panic attack

We want to say thank you one more time to our friends who made this one of our favorite days we’ve had yet and to my family for ALL your help in the party setup and clean up! We couldn’t do anything in our lives without our friends & family.

In Part 2, I will share all of the Fiesta decoration details/photos and 4 tips on planning a successful party in just 1 week! I have so many friends who will be planning parties for their little ones so I will try to get that posted in the next week!

I’ll let you know when that’ll be up – or you can subscribe to my blog by entering your email below, so you never miss another post 🙂 Have a great rest of your week, friends!

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How-To: Plan a Successful Birthday Party in One Week!

I never really thought of myself as a party planner, but I not-so-secretly had so much fun planning Calvin’s First Birthday (aka the ultimate fiesta!) I am a project manager by day so I guess it shouldn’t be surprising that planning something for my own life could be kinda fun too. I’ve never really been that into this sort of thing until I had a child – now I want to give him the world 24/7 (spoiled much!?) I even did a craft (see banner below.) Who am I? It’s also kind of true when they say it’s really a party for the parents, lol! I wanted to make sure that our friends and co-workers we met during our time on the East Coast had a great time. I’m so thankful for every one of the relationships we formed in NJ and I really wanted to get everyone (and their kids) together at once for some fun.

For the longest time, I kept putting off the planning for Calvin’s Birthday. I could blame this on procrastination (which is usually the case) but we really didn’t know if we’d be in OH or NJ for his special day. We found out on 2/9 that we’d be moving on 2/27, so I had approximately ONE WEEK to pull together this party for 2/18. Miraculously I did it, and we had about 40 people there to help us celebrate. Why didn’t I wait till we moved back? I was pretty adamant that my first child WOULD have a party on his actual birthday…first time mom probs.

Did I order all of our decorations off etsy? No. Did I send out custom hard copy invitations? No. Did I make all the food? No. So yes, I took some shortcuts in order to make this happen, but I believe the outcome was just as great.

Here are my recommendations for pulling a successful & affordable birthday party together in 1 week–because sometimes that’s all the time we got!

Have a Theme and “Vision” in Mind

(^I made this banner with string, glue, sparkly green paper, plain letters, and gold foil decal paper from Hobby Lobby!)

This one is important to determine first, because all party aspects will revolve around the theme – invites, food, decorations, dessert, etc. Honestly, almost any theme you chose for a small child’s birthday will be cute. First I wanted winter ONE-derland, then I thought we’d do a safari theme, but ultimately decided on a “First Fiesta.” I’m very glad we didn’t chose a winter theme because it ended up being 75 and sunny day of!

Once I made that decision, the other aspects started to fall into place. I knew exactly what e-vite to pick, I knew exactly what to look for in terms of decorations, and the food/drinks became easy to choose as well. This is really random, but once I found a table cloth that fit my vision (see below), the color scheme fell into place and I just had to find other items I loved that matched. Allow yourself some time in the party and/or craft store to walk around, brainstorm, and come up with your own ideas. Remember, you don’t have to replicate something you find on pinterest for it to be awesome – you can have your own vision and build upon that!

Table Cloth

Lantern Lights

Easel Chalkboard – On Sale!

Send Evites

Do you know how much time and money I saved by doing an evite? It was honestly the quickest, easiest and smartest thing I’ve ever done. I downloaded the evite app (yes I did it all from my phone!), found a fiesta themed invite (I would’ve liked to customize a bit more but this did the trick), loaded in the date, time, and a special message, and then started sending out. The best part – I didn’t even need to gather everyone’s personal email addresses. You can send the invites via text message and then when the person RSVP’s they provide their email. From this point forward, you can send group messages to the list that your invitees will receive directly to their email, add photos, and even send thank you notes via the app after the party (this one is still on my to-do!)

Find a Neutral Location

Have you ever hosted a holiday, dinner, or gathering in your home and you decide that suddenly this is a good time to re-arrange, remodel, and buy new items to make your abode look “cooler?” Yeah, me too. Now I’m aware we were moving and hosting in our home wasn’t an option, but I KNOW the stress of making our home spotless + the stress of having a great party would’ve sent me over the edge. If you can, find a neutral location where you can host your party. We ended up renting and having the Fiesta at our complex clubhouse, which I highly recommend. If you don’t have a clubhouse, someone you know might, or you could ask a friend or a relative (hello aunts & uncles!) if they wouldn’t mind hosting for you. I think that this takes the pressure off a bit and allows you to focus more on the actual reason you are having the party.

Outsource the Food

Choosing the food for a Fiesta was a no-brainer (which is honestly why I ultimately decided on this theme.) We love Mexican food and drinks so we went with Moe’s Catering, Coronas & Margaritas! I had heard great things about Moe’s Catering services and I can concur it was simple, affordable and yummy! I saved a ton of time and stress by ordering food that I knew everyone would enjoy and would be ready on-time.

Margarita Glasses

For dessert, my Mom helped us make homemade cupcakes and we decorated ourselves.

Cupcake Stand

Because I started planning his party last minute, I didn’t have time to order a custom smash cake for Calvin. Actually, if I’m being honest, I tried calling the only custom cake company I knew of in the area 3 separate times and they never got back to me. Alas, I decided to take matters into my own hands. You can’t have a first birthday without a smash cake. The plain white cake below was already made & purchased from Stop & Shop – I scraped the generic balloons off the top and re-iced with white icing. I decorated myself with the candles, sprinkles, mustache decals (edible) & maracas for detail. Ta-da! A $15 custom smash cake.

^we cut a strip off the table cloth to decorate his highchair (my sister’s brilliant idea!)

Enlist Help Day of the Party

This was so key – I didn’t realize until after the fact how helpful and necessary having help the day of the party really was. It’s possible to plan on your own, but setting up, talking to guests, taking care of your child(ren) + food/drink/trash upkeep, plus final gift, food, and trash clean-up on our own would have been near impossible. I’m so thankful my family completely helped clean up and load the car while we were still able to enjoy our guests. Lastly, you will probably have friends offer to help or bring items. 99% of the time you will say no, but if you truly need something, it’s okay to take them up on their offer.

For the rest of our party photos, I posted part one here last week.

I loveee seeing all your little ones birthday celebrations, so keep ’em coming! What theme did you go with? What were your time savers in the planning process?

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The Highs & Lows: A First Time Mom’s Breastfeeding Journey

I’ll be honest, I’ve had this post written for about 3 months but was too afraid (since when, right?) to share – although breastfeeding is natural, common, and well-perceived, I still do feel like it’s a very personal topic to me. I now know that’s stupid because most of my readers are Moms who have been through this same experience of trying to figure out breastfeeding for the first time. It’s actually crazy to me now that I haven’t spoken publicly on my blog at all about breastfeeding, yet it was such a big part of my 2016, I needed to share. By not sharing, I’m adding to the stigma and not doing my part to “normalize” what is one of the most remarkable things we can do as women.

Through a series of conversations with other moms, moms to be, and friends of moms, I came to the realization that I should share my journey in hopes of relating with even just one more mama. (Also, I’m feeling super nostalgic since I will officially have a 1YO this weekend!)

 Yes, I am calling it a journey because that’s truly what it has been – long, windy, with ups & downs, positives & negatives, a rewarding hardship that I would do again and again if given the chance.

The decision to breastfeed is a big one for new moms, with such a stigma behind it. When asked if I would breastfeed my son, my answer was always yes, with no hesitation. At the time, I have no idea why my answer was yes. I think my unwavering yes was influenced by the fact that my mom breastfed all of us, I wanted to save some cash money and that I was subconsciously afraid that the BF’ing diehards of the world would mom shame me if I didn’t. This unwavering yes of an answer is also what allowed me to persevere, even when I thought I could no longer go on.

My goal here is not to offend anyone as I truly feel there are positives of both breastfeeding and bottle feeding your baby. In fact, you’ll see in my story that very early on, I had to start supplementing – this would classify Calvin as both a breast fed and bottle fed baby. I appreciate and praise ALL moms no matter what their decisions or abilities have been. You HAVE to do what is right for you. This post is also not a story of butterflies and fairytales, promoting the blissful experience of b’feeding – it is my experience mixed with the emotions, the advice, and my opinions that have come to fruition over my breastfeeding stint that lasted 9 months.

And alas, I’ll say it again: EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT.

@ the hospital

 Feb 18, I had Calvin and when the nurses asked me if I wanted to b’feed I said ‘yes, I wanted to give it the good ole college try.’ They try to get baby to eat right away, even though the milk hasn’t come in yet, but more out of developing the habit for the baby.

Right away I noticed that Calvin’s latch wasn’t great. I know it’s supposed to hurt at first but this was horrible excruciating pain. I think I even said that same exact sentence to the nurse. After he would attempt to feed you could TELL he wasn’t latching correctly. I LITERALLY saw 10-12 nurses, lactation consultants, and doctors who all gave me different advice and opinions. This was really frustrating for me, and I remember being really annoyed with the differing advice from so many different healthcare professionals. Even if you are a brand-spankin new mom, at the end of the day, only YOU know what’s right and wrong for yourself, your body and your baby. I tried every position (normal, football hold, lying down) and all left me wincing in pain and tears in my eyes. One of the lactation consultants introduced nursing shields at some point, which were my saving grace and I had to continue using the entire time I was nursing Calvin. Tip here: there are several different sizes you can buy and I would say the smaller the better so that baby can actually put their mouth around it.

My milk came in so quickly/full force on like, day 2, which seemed really quick. I spent one day and night extremely full and thankfully one of my new nurses on morning shift said, “you have GOT to pump!” So she taught me how to use the hospital pump and I got several bottles out of just that one session. I thank god for her to this day. 1, because no one was helping me with the oversupply relief, and 2, because she taught me how to use the pump. Of course the doctor the next day had ANOTHER opinion and said I should not pump or my boobs would think I’m trying to feed multiples and have too much milk. Looking back, I honestly don’t think TOO MUCH milk is a thing – at least not a bad thing at all! But I get what she was saying.

Coming home 

^our first day @ home

By the time we left the hospital we were pretty much at the same comfort level as before. Calvin was able to eat successfully, but not without severe pain for Mom. I spent the next 14ish days in the same boat. Lots of pain, teary eyes, and thoughts on whether or not I could do this. I knew that if I could get through the initial struggles, I could likely make it for the long haul, pending milk supply. We continued to use the shields during feeding – pain slowly subsided and my body started to adjust. Weeks 3-6 were awesome – no problems, no complaints, just smooth sailing from here on out!

At 6 weeks, I had my first post-partum checkup. I passed with flying colors, gave an awesome report to my midwife on how things were going, I was cleared for exercise and thought this new mama thing ain’t so bad! The next day, I went to exercise at the gym we had just joined for the first time PP. I came home and my right breast was much more achy than normal.  I took a bath and was a BIT concerned just because I had been pain free for weeks. Craig and I googled breast pain as I had heard of clogged ducts, mastitis, infection, etc but didn’t think much of it.

That night, exactly 1 day after my perfect 6 week PP check up, I woke up in the night feeling so sick with flu-like symptoms. I woke up the next morning with a 102 degree fever and felt like I was going to die. That’s not an exaggeration. Having a horrible fever as an adult is up there with one of the worst moments of my adult life. I had every blanket on in our house, and was still shivering. I knew right away this was the dreaded MASTITIS (a painful infection of the breast tissue – possible causes are a blocked milk duct or bacteria entering the breast. It usually occurs within the first three months of breast-feeding.)

Of course it was Sunday, so I had to call the emergency line for my Dr. to call in an antibiotic prescription.  My doctor confirmed on Monday and said it could have been because I wasn’t emptying enough or because of infection caused from the breast shield. I spent the next 2-3 days in and out of high fever, Craig had to miss his soccer game and work because I was so sick I couldn’t take care of my baby.

Through Mastisis, you still have to keep feeding because the duct has to clear itself. Ouch! But not as bad as the flu-like symptoms. At a few points I was too sick so Calvin had to drink the stash I had frozen, which caused my milk supply to decrease during this time and I was unsure I would ever get it back.

Slowly I did, but over the next month or so I started feeling trapped in the cycle of breastfeeding. I couldn’t leave the house for more than an hour at a time in fear that Calvin would get hungry and need to eat. I didn’t have a large supply stored because we used it while I was sick – I was basically at Calvin’s every beck and call. I am an I-N-D-E-P-E-N-D-E-N-T woman, and I couldn’t do anything independently – and if I did I had to pump before, during after, etc. This became really difficult for me mentally. Again, during this time, I questioned whether I was meant to do this for the long haul but decided to keep at it while I had the milk supply to support it.

Back to work 

Being a working mom who continues to pump/breastfeed is a serious task. It’s really difficult to keep up with finding time during the day, cleaning parts, transporting milk, and keeping up milk supply. {PS – LMK if you want me to do a whole post on pumping @ work and best practices, but won’t go into all the details of that here.} I wanted to stick with it as long as possible because I REALLY enjoyed the morning and night feedings that I had with Calvin. It gave us quality time before work, and then again at bed time. He would always fall asleep and then I could hold him as long as I wanted on my chest before taking him to his crib.

I did this whole process for about 5 months and when milk supply started dwindling, I decided to stop pumping at work and only feed him morning and night. Eventually, since I was not pumping to increase the supply all day, it was decreasing even more. I decided one random night after Calvin had bitten me a few times, and was flailing all over the place that something had to give and we would be done. This was right before Thanksgiving and I didn’t realize until several weeks after stopping that it was affecting me.

My mom always told me that once you stop breastfeeding, your hormones get f’ed up, and I think that is true. It brought out an increased phase of post-partum anxiety in myself particularly that I will talk about more on a future post about ‘self care’ Did any one else experience this post-breastfeeding hormonal shift?

So this all sounds like a lot – a lot of ups & downs, a lot of effort, etc….but like I said, I would do it all over again and will for future babies. There is truly nothing as precious as that quality time and bond you form because of spending all of that time literally attached to your babe. I really do like the ease of making a bottle, but I miss that quality time we had together every morning before work and every night before bed.

The only thing I want to leave you all with is the encouragement to not be too hard on yourself. Yes, I think everyone should try to breastfeed if they can. Yes, I think you should give it 1, 2, 3 tries and then make a decision if it’s for you and your baby. Yes, I think there are hardships you have to make the decision to push through if you want to continue. BUT making sure your mental & physical health is important too. If those things are lacking, it’s okay to say, “something has to give.” Making sure you’re on top of your game in those areas will be better for you both in the long run.

Lastly, you will see moms who post about continuing to breastfeed well over a  year, or who can pump 8 oz. from both boobs in one sitting – please don’t compare…you’re kicking ass and taking names in your own way.

Know another breastfeeding new mama or someone who has been on this journey? Don’t forget to share this post!

V-Day Chill Mode + February Favorite Gift Picks!

Hi Guys! We’re well into the month of love and I’m pretty sure we’ll be celebrating this on the blog until March. A lot of people say February isn’t a great month for them but I love it because it is a month for a few special birthdays, including mine and Calvin’s! Also, it’s my first V-Day with two Baes and that’s a pretty cool thing. We don’t typically do anything too special and this year won’t be much different…especially since Calvin is tucked in by 7:30pm each night and we won’t have a babysitter.

ENTER: CHILL MODE

Chill Mode is my favorite mode since becoming a Mom and Feb 14th will be no different. I’m not going to lie, besides seeing Calvin’s sweet face after work, my 2nd favorite part of the day is when he’s finally asleep and I get a moment to just take a deep breath and TAKE. A. BREAK.

Chill Mode often translate to my style as well…I love this comfy, V-Day inspired look. I’m not typically a “pink” girl but this cable knit sweater is the comfiest (#1 priority) – and it’s so festive for Feb!

Sweater

Charcoal Leggings

Chill Mode on V-day for us will probably be dinner at home (maybe we’ll even get crazy and get some Chipotle), a glass of wine (haven’t really been drinking much more than that lately), and probably a netflix movie (we watched finding Dory this week, without Calvin, because we’re really cool.) It’s the little things, you guys. Do you have any other ideas? What are parents supposed to do on Vday? How else do we chill?

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I feel like most people don’t do much more than a card, chocolate, and/or flowers for Vday so you should probably ask for one of these blush picks (or just get it for yourself, duh!) I own all of these items and they are my current February Favorites! 

1 – Burts Lip Gloss

Love how all Burt’s products are 100% natural!

2 – Hearts Mug

Less than $10 and THE CUTEST!

3 – Blush Sneakers

On sale for $20! More colors available. Same pair I am wearing in the photos.

4 – Kindred Goods

This is Old Navy’s new beauty line – Orange Blossom scent is amazing! Pick up in the checkout line in your local store.

5 – Rose Gold/Blush Aviators (similar)

The ones I am wearing in the photo are actually from Forever 21, but I cannot find online. Check out these or find in store @forever.

 Splurge! – Rose Gold iwatch 

I got an iwatch for my birthday and it is helping me so much to stay on track with my workouts! I have gold but love this ROSE gold for the holiday!

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