Baby #2 Must Haves

Figuring out everything you think you need for a baby is so overwhelming the first time around. Making a registry helps to break things down by category but oh my goodness all the gear and nursery furniture on top of newborn essentials! I was researching and review reading daily before I was halfway through my first pregnancy. But the second go round....not so much. We have all the big stuff and it hasn't even been 2 years since Fallon was born so the baby world hasn't been revolutionized yet. I made a list of my must have new items for baby #2 and the rest, he or she gets big sissy's hand me downs #secondkidproblems. 

Quilt / Knotted Hats / Changing Mat / Bottles / Pacifier / Drying Rack / Swaddle, also love these + these / Sleeper, also love these + these / Booties / Pacifier Clips / Hooded Towel, also love this / Infant Bath Seat

This Whole Mom Thing: Part II

Way back when Fallon was a fresh little newborn I wrote a post with my thoughts on motherhood in that season of life. I reread that post this morning as I was reflecting on that time and thinking about how we will be there again in mere weeks. So I thought it would be fun to do a little part II as a raw motherhood post is a bit overdue.

This whole mom thing

Is still HARD. And EXHAUSTING. And absolutely freaking AMAZING.

Is up before the sun and long after it's gone down

Is all the tantrums and all the eskimo kisses

Is caffeine, crumbs and clothes thrown out of every drawer

Is too much Mickey Mouse and too little time in the day

Is complete and utter frustration and complete and utter joy

Is finding everything missing from around the house shoved underneath the couch

Is feeling constantly guilty and constantly lucky

Is realizing how easily your toddler can outsmart you

Is snacks all day washed down with mama's drink

Is catching your daughter climbing the furniture, because what else is it good for?

Is appreciating all the #momwins but still stressing over the #momfails

Is cake pops on Target trips and naps in the car

Is blankets, stuffed animals and toys EVERYWHERE

Is thinking you cannot possibly love someone any harder until the next day when you do

Is teething, talking like a big girl and tough days full of tears

Is counting down to bedtime then missing her as she sleeps

Is waiting for daddy to come home by the window and crying when he leaves

Is so many messes and so much love

Is feeling totally helpless one minute and like supermom the next

Is trying not to laugh when you should be disciplining

Is wiping a snotty nose, a poopy butt and crocodile tears

Is public meltdowns and I'm sorry hugs 

Is everything I never knew I always wanted and so much more

See the original post here

Pregnancy Favorites

I worked in a corporate office my entire pregnancy with Fallon. The business casual dress code erred on the side of casual but I still was required to wear something other than pajamas 5 days a week. And the timeframe was about 3 months ahead so I was wearing maxi skirts and dresses nearly my entire third trimester. This time is very different. While I can wear whatever I want, I'm finding it a little more difficult to dress a bump in the dead of winter. My skin is dryer and itchier, I'm far more exhausted and feeling generally blah most days but I am sleeping like the dead. 

I didn't buy hardly any maternity clothes the first time but I've been wearing my favorites. Plain or striped tees go with everything and I have basically been living in bralettes with them. My support tank is much needed these days and it's so breathable it can be layered under all my cold weather clothes. I'm am under the bump kind of girl with bottoms and let's be honest, I rarely wear pants so leggings it is. And I'm thanking myself for ordering a tall length zip up instead of maternity because it's necessary at this point but fit nicely pre-bump as well. Prenatal vitamins make me sick except the gummies so I take a gentle iron supplement separately and it works out great! The maternity pillow I have is no longer available but Iinked a similar option that I've heard is just as wonderful. Like I said, I'm sleeping really well so I've got that going for me. And coconut oil, ALLLLL the coconut oil. I skipped all the store bought creams this time and went for natural. I made myself a balm with coconut oil and a few essential oils and it does wonders for soothing my poor stretching skin but I also just slather coconut oil itself on a few times a day. I've linked everything below aside from the best maternity dress ever right here. 

Here's to a happy + healthy pregnancy, mamas!

18 Months of Fallon

It's hard to believe that, not only is my baby a year and a half old, she's going to be the big sister in just a few short months. I look at her some days and cannot understand how she grew up so fast and other days the newborn phase seems so long ago. Fallon has become such the typical toddler, throwing tantrums over just about everything, tornadoing through the house and embarrassing mommy in public. She lives life in the fast lane, going 60mph with all of her emotions. But she can be the sweetest the little thing, giving out bear hugs, snuggling on the couch before bed and blowing kisses to daddy when he leaves. 

We just had her 18 month appointment and she now weighs 23lbs and is 32.5 inches tall, slightly above average in both categories. She says so many words I've lost count and we've really had to learn to watch what we say because she's in the parrot stage and will repeat things we definitely don't want her to! Forming short sentences, playing mama with her babies and mixing us up all kinds of creations in her kitchen are all in a days' work. The daytime sleep thing still isn't her strong suit but she's so busy all morning she usually submits to at least some kind of nap, even if it is for 15 minutes in the car. 

She still looks far more like her daddy than me, and I adore those big brown eyes. Her hair may be long enough for a ponytail one day but it's at least visible enough now to show a strawberry blonde color. She loves to wear boots and hats and if it were up to her that may be her entire everyday outfit. Her dance moves are always on point and food will probably forever be the way to her heart. Girlfriend could eat grown men under the table. Washing it all down with mama's water of course, because milk just isn't her thing and why drink your own water when you can steal mom's? Fally girl I cannot wait to watch you grow this year and take on your new role of big sister! Big adventures are in store my dear. Big adventures. 

VDay Mini Style

We are 1 month out from the big day of love! I love holidays because I love a reason to celebrate and decorate and now dress my kid in festive attire. But with the whirlwind of holidays from Halloween - New Year's it's nice to have an itty bitty break in January. And then I get itchy for all heart shaped things. We don't do a lot on the home decor front, just some pink and red sprinkled throughout the house, but you can bet I dress up my baby because she's still young enough to let me. I've scoped out the latest holiday clothes and linked up all my faves so girl mamas, get ready to deck out your mini Galentines!

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10

28 Weeks: Hello Third Trimester

I remember when I was pregnant with Fallon at this point and some people kindly corrected me when I proudly said I was in my third trimester. When I shared this with my OB she laughed and said of course you are in your third trimester, who am I to argue?! But really, some charts do say 28 weeks, some say 29. It depends who you ask but I'm going with 28 weeks and that's that. 

I go back to the doctor next week to see how much my belly has grown and how much weight I've gained but I am feeling pretty large these days. Mostly due to the fact that my lungs are so smushed I'm constantly feeling out of breath, and I don't just mean a little winded, I mean like I'm running an all day marathon. On the up side I am usually able to sleep like the dead when I crash at night until Fallon wakes me before the sun comes up. The pins + needles feeding in my hands and arms has begun again, just like last time, but heartburn is nearly nonexistent! I am a kind of exhausted I've never known at the end of each day but thankfully back pain is minimal and other symptoms are just kind of annoying noise in the background of everything else going on. 

This baby is quite active throughout the day but remains so much gentler than my toddler ever was. Looking back on pictures of my first pregnancy I am pretty much carrying the same way size wise but my belly is a bit rounder this time. I still don't have any feelings on the sex myself but the general consensus from others is girl this time around. It was boy last time for reference and clearly I have a daughter. We've yet to buy anything on my second baby must have list, even though it's fairly short, and the nursery hasn't been touched. Second kid problems. We still have 3 months, right?! I'll probably be saying the same thing in March but we will be down to 3 weeks. Shrugs. 

I definitely have not kept up with a work out routine like I was able to do with Fallon, but carrying + chasing Fallon and going up and down the steps approximately 3 million times a day has kept my energy levels from completely tanking. I do wear some off my maternity shirts but being home this time I'm mostly in leggings and tunic tops or sweatshirts and quite honestly pjs all day far too often. The last time I wore jeans I just did the ol' rubber band trick but we may be beyond that now. I'll have to check and report back. Since we've reached the final stretch of pregnancy number 2 I'd like to do updates every 2 weeks through the end so hold me accountable!

The Bed Time Routine

Even just a few months ago I never would have believed I'd be writing this post. Although Fallon has been an A+ nighttime sleeper basically since birth, getting her to sleep at night was not always so easy. In fact, many nights it took so long I was ready for bed myself by the end of it all. But consistency was key and FINALLY all our efforts to maintain a routine paid off. I can honestly say that at least 95% of the time we take the same steps before bed time within the same general timeframe and Fallon goes right to sleep without so much as a fuss. She wakes us up at the crack of dawn but I can still count on one hand the number of times Chris or I have had to go to her room after she's gone to bed in the last year. We may be failing in all other parenting aspects but at least we've got this going for us! So many people have asked for our nightly routine specifics and honestly I haven't shared because it's nothing fancy and maybe even a little boring. But there must be some kind of magic to it for us so we go.....

6PM - Bath Time

As soon as Fallon was old enough to get sink baths we started doing them every single night around the same time. I can't say for sure that it helped to serve as a base for understanding a nighttime routine but it certainly didn't hurt. We now just do baths every other night unless it's necessary and sometimes baths happen in the morning for a variety of reasons. But mostly we stick to bath time after dinner.

6:30PM - Calm Down

Lotion, jammies and oils immediately follow bath time or we start the routine now if it's not a bath night. We've been using essential oils consistently for over 6 months with Fallon and I think they've made huge improvements. She has a rollerball of Lavender + Cedarwood for the bottoms of her feet and one with Peace & Calming to go behind her ears for all the winding down for bed time vibes. 

7:00PM - Relax

By this time Fallon has to either sit with me or Chris to read books or watch a movie/TV show. No more playing, just quiet chill time. Sometimes she does protest or even scream if she was doing something she thought was really fun. But generally we do not waiver and she will comply fairly easily. 

7:30PM - Bed Time

A drop of Lavender or Gentle Baby on her lovey or stuffed buddy of choice and upstairs we go. We make it a point to tell her it's time to go Night Night and I'm still shocked when she shakes her head yes as she rubs her tired little eyes. Occasionally she will even get up and walk to the steps. In her room we turn on her diffuser, which has already been filled with water and a sleepy time blend. My go to for her is Lavender + Gentle Baby but we will add Frankinsence if it's been a really rough day or switch to RC + Lemon if she has the sniffles or some congestion. We rock for a minute or 2 in the rocker even though it's completely unnecessary at this point, just a nice way to end the night with her. Then in her crib she goes, we cover her up + give her a kiss and quietly leave the room. I cannot tell you how many times I've come downstairs, looked at the monitor and she's already asleep! 

These are steps we've fallen into with trial and error and learning how our child responds. Essential oils obviously now play a large part in our nightly routine and I am happy to share more if there is interest. But if that's not your thing they can certainly be left out! We are still novice parents over here but when you discover something that seems to work well continuously, it's nice to share.

Sweet Dreams!

Cheers to a New Year

Happy 2018! Hi, it's me. Yes, I'm still here, getting my ish back together after the month+ long holiday hustle. Don't get me wrong, this year was definitely a whole lot of fun with a toddler who we could take on festive outings and understood the concept of presents enough to get excited. But it certainly had this pregnant mama feeling wiped out every single day of December. I made sure to only schedule sponsored projects on my Instagram account, deciding that blogging would have to sit the season out for the most part. As much as I wish I could just rally and do all the things, sometimes super girl has to hang up her cape and reprioritize. 

This pregnancy is quite literally kicking my butt and chasing a wild + growing toddler all day everyday with all the added holiday stuff on top threw me for a loop. I went for a week long recovery followed by a few days to just reset and now, I'MMM BAAAAAACK! As we begin a new year and I find myself looking right at the last leg of this pregnancy there are so many emotions. I'm beyond excited to welcome a second baby into our family, start back up on some home projects and really make a strong effort to meet some personal goals. Of course I'm also insanely nervous about the learning curve I face becoming a mother of 2 little ones and navigating the uncharted waters that will totally change our household dynamic. But I'm feeling motivated, refreshed and ready to take it all on. At least for the next few weeks (insert LOL emoji). 

The new year is always a great time to be goal orientated but I do hope that I can carry on this mindset as much as possible throughout 2018. I'm sure it's going to be the best year yet! You're probably sick of reading other people's goals for this year as I'm late to the party and we are four days into this year. But never the less, I'll share mine, if for no other reason than to write them all down for myself!

Simplify 

- Minimalism goes against my nature but I'm willing to try harder this year to really weed out the clutter in all areas of my life

Hustle

- Last year was my first venture into a quasi work from home situation, learning the ropes of building a public Instagram account, becoming an influencer and using my blog as a money making social platform. This year I want to work hard to build upon those efforts and dive further into the areas I've discovered best suite me and my lifestyle using the knowledge I've gained over the past year. 

Relax 

- I'm almost embarrassed that this is on my goal list but it might be the most important one. I've spent far to much time lately doing things that can actually wait, stressing over the every present to-do list and staying up past a reasonable bedtime to get ahead for the next day when really, resting is more important right now. 

I have lots of ideas and fun (hopefully!) things planned for both my blog and Instagram account that I'm really excited about. But I'm not putting too much pressure on myself to do them by a deadline or worry if they don't happen in the order I expect them too. Lifestyle has become my overall niche and of course motherhood is about to become an even bigger part of that, but I really want to spread new content out over fashion, home decor and healthy living. Think stylish momiform, updating your home on a budget, essential oils, simple recipes and real life tales from toddler town. And before we dive headfirst into all of that, I'd like to thank all of you for following along as I've made so many changes since this all started and the new friends I can't wait to get to know better who have joined in. Wishing you all a wonderful start to 2018. Let's do this!