100 Days of school....by a rookie Kindergarten Mom

100 Days….by a Rookie Kindergarten Mom

100 days of Kindergarten are officially in the books….! It literally feels like yesterday that I was fighting back tears as my oldest turned his back, held my neighbors hand (THANK YOU, Ezra!), and walked on the school bus for his first day of Kindergarten.

I had no idea what to expect going into the school year, especially with this being our first experience with school other than preschool. On one hand, I was so excited …but on the other hand, I was scared, nervous and so sad because I felt like a new chapter was starting for us.

I’ve had this post in the back of my mind since the fall, but I wanted to give us all time to adapt to our new rhythm and “normal” before I opened up about what I’ve learned over the last 5 months & my thoughts for those who will be sending their firstborn into kindergarten.

1. I wasn’t prepared for the emotions I felt the first 2-3 weeks: I can honestly say I thought I was somewhat prepared for the morning that my oldest stepped on the bus. And I was. Sure, I cried….But to be real with you it wasn’t the moment that he stepped on the bus and I cried that really got me. It was the moments after that I wasn’t prepared for. I had an empty feeling inside the whole day…wondering if he made it to his class alright? Was he ok on the bus? What was he doing that moment? Was he making friends? Was he making good choices? It was so hard not knowing what he was doing all of the time. Can someone invent a body cam for kids please???!! ha! I swear I looked around the house for him for the first few weeks.

   I’m not going to lie in saying that I felt like a part of me was missing.

2. There are a lot of good people. Pick a school where you can trust in your community: I still feel a little bit of that emptiness, but I will tell you that the incredible community and support system that we have puts me at ease. Parents, do your due diligence and make sure you have people that genuinely CARE about kids, and your kid in particular when picking a school. I’m forever thankful for the fact that we are surrounded by so many great people in our community. From our neighbor that held my son’s hand as he was on the verge of tears getting on the bus for the first time, to the principal that chased down every single bus trying to find my son when he got on the wrong bus, to the lunch lady that makes him smile, and to his great teachers, I’m forever grateful.

3. Hello, germs. Everyone said “just wait till they get to school” and I kind of rolled my eyes thinking….both boys are already in school…we know all about germs. #ROOKIEMOM lol. Preschool ain’t got nothing on Big kid school. Trust me….YOU DO NOT KNOW GERMS UNTIL BIG KID SCHOOL. I realized this about 2.5 weeks into the school year with Max basically walked off the bus on a Friday afternoon and puked everywhere. He proceeded to spread it to my middle son and ME (UGH) and right then and there, I knew that I had been initiated. Then in November, he caught a horrible cold that last a good 3-4 weeks & had an eye infection. After that point, I was desperate to find a way to battle the germs! I’ve been using thieves essential oils and the boys have elderberry every morning. I started this the day after my middle son, my husband and I got the flu and I swear its the reason Max didn’t catch the flu from us. Also, I was putting thieves on my middle son 2-3 times a day and I he was recovered from the flu within 3 days! Coincidence? Maybe…? .maybe not.

4. They’ll be tired: the first few days of kindergarten I think Max was running on adrenaline. But as the first full school week came to a close, he was exhausted. I’m talking….whiny, tired, and in bed at 5:50 pm exhausted! The first 6-8 weeks were a huge adjustment. A couple of times we even gave him a nap when he got home from school! We also napped him on the weekends. I will say that now that we are 5 months in, he’s nowhere near as tired. I think this is partially him adjusting, and partially maturity and growth especially because he is on the younger side in the grade.

5. You think you’ll have more time: In the back of my mind, I thought once Max went to kindergarten I would have so much more time. But in all honesty, I feel like I have less! I’m trying to cram everything into that 7 hour period that he’s gone so that when he gets home, I’m there. And if I’m not, I have the worst mom guilt ever. Also, it has been hard juggling my schedule. I used to have a schedule where I worked in the afternoons. I’ve completely swapped that so I’m home to get him off the bus, and I feel like I’m still adjusting to being ready to leave the house at 8 am 3 mornings a week. I also feel like I’m missing out on one on one time with the baby & my middle son because when I get home from work, Max is straight off the bus, and I have all three of them awake. But if I work later, I have less time with Max. Sometimes you just can’t win…

6. Get involved: I think it is a no brainer that being involved in your child’s education at home will only make them more enthusiastic and learn quicker. I also highly recommend getting involved in your children’s school, if time allows. I volunteered to be the room mom which keeps me really switched in with his classroom and events. I also volunteer in the lunch room twice a month. He is always really excited to see me at school, and it allows me to be a part of his day, spend time with him, get more familiar with the school, and meet his friends!

7. Prepare for mental overload every morning. Get organized!: Sometimes I feel like my head is spinning. Is it library day? Is it show and tell? Oh, next week Wednesday is PJ day?? Did you pack all of your books and your sneakers in your bag? I have a huge calendar on my fridge with all of our schedules because if I didn’t…we would be in trouble! I can’t wait till all 3 are in school LOL. Creating a routine in the morning has also been huge for us. It helps set him up for a successful day and keeps our mornings as stress free as possible.

8. They love it. I revert back to #2. My boy loves going to school. He loves his friends, his teachers, and everything about it. Don’t be surprised if they have a blast (most days) at school. This really helps with #1.

9. It’s not going to always be smooth and easy: I think we all know this from our own experience with school, but we are all guilty of living in the “bubble” and thinking “that won’t happen to my kid.”

   Every day isn’t going to be easy (for them and us). I’ve tried to remember this, knowing his journey through school is a long one, and everyone develops at different rates. Playing the comparison game can be a dangerous thing and its best to keep the blinders on.

   Celebrate the days where they come home with awards-no matter what they are- (build them up), and on the days that aren’t so good….just remember they’re humans too. They’re just kids, trying to find their way. We all have not so good days even as adults! The key is learning from them, and moving on!

10. You’ll be amazed with their growth:

    100 days later, I’m amazed with his (and his classmates) growth in every area! Reading, writing, math…. and most importantly his growth as a young boy.

    As hard as it is to say goodbye in the morning and see him turn his back and head on his latest adventure, it is even more fulfilling and rewarding seeing him gain confidence, and grow as a person.

    I guess this quote sums this whole motherhood thing up:

    “Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body."

    - Elizabeth Stone, teacher and author

xo

Alex

9 Month Baby: Sleep, Nursing, Food & Routine!

Its been a few months since I’ve been on here sharing a little baby update and I think we all need a little more baby Sammy in our lives, right?!! Little man is NINE months old!

It has been a crazy 9 months and really just a whirlwind with 3 boys 5 & under! While each stage is incredible, it also brings different challenges. At times I really have to just take a deep breath and soak it all in. Its so easy to feel overwhelmed and stressed between things to do around the house and work! But, At the end of the day, there’s no rushing a nursing baby, and no ignoring a baby who wants his mama! That is the most important thing right now and I want to look back on this time fondly! The vacuuming, dishes, and dirty clothes can all wait. I think that has been the biggest lesson I’ve learned going from 2 kids to 3….! Just because your house is a mess for a period of the day doesn’t define anything about you as a wife, a mother, or a housekeeper! Let it go! You WILL get to it!

It’s been so fun to see Sammy’s personality emerge over the last few months as he starts to become less of a baby and more of a toddler! He definitely is going to have a funny sense of humor and already laughs and does things to be a smarty to his mom! He is still super duper smiley, happy and absolutely adores his brothers. I love watching their relationships grow as he gets older! He is super observant and wants to be in on the action with his busy older brothers!

I’m going to share about his schedule, milestones, nursing, FOOD, and of course our favorites! Later this week I’ll be sharing 9 Months Postpartum Part II- All about Postpartum including weight loss, how I’m feeling & coping, and my fitness goals moving forward.

Milestones

First…the milestones. This guy is crawling like nobody’s business. He is constantly on the go, exploring and getting into basically everything. I like to let him roam so he gets stronger with more movement…. BUT we have had to put the pack and play up because hello, I can’t follow him around the house all the time with 2 other kids ha. Or if I need to…say ….go to the bathroom, make dinner, etc. You know, life essentials lol! It also makes me nervous because he literally puts everything in his mouth so I’m constantly scouring the floors to make sure nothing that is dangerous is on the ground!

He isn’t cruising yet, but he’s pulling himself up on furniture, etc. and standing. I’m sure he’ll be cruising before we know it!

Sam is also channeling a little bit of ET and points at everything, ha! He is babbling and saying “da-da”, and “a”. Still working on mama! He just started to wave the other day and we are working on clapping!

Schedule

Sam has settled in to 2 naps a day naturally. It is so funny because I don’t really remember even trying to get to 2 naps. It just happened!. He is a super good napper- much better than my older two were. I feel like we really had to work on a nap schedule especially with my oldest (he was literally in the swing until he was a year haha. ).

I don’t really have a “set” time for his naps-I go by his wake time. In the mornings his wake time is usually anywhere between 2.5-3 hours, and in the afternoon 3 hours. He usually gets up between 6:30-7:30 am (although the last few days have been earlier ugh!) so he sleeps from about 10-11:30 am and again 2/2:30-3:45.

I nurse him before he naps and its one of my favorite times! Between the other two boys, and how busy and on the go he is, it is so nice to have relax together! There is something so special when they fall asleep nursing on you…ugh..brb crying….

Sleep

Like I mentioned already, he’s a really good napper. Rarely does he ever boycott a nap or have a catnap (unless we are on the go in the car). Although, I just typed this yesterday and today he had the worst naps and woke up super early because he is getting a cold! I jinxed myself. haha.

As for nighttime, I still haven’t officially sleep trained him. He’s been honestly improving slowly on his own sleeping in bigger chunks and most nights he only wakes once, which I don’t mind. I mostly don’t care as much because I know he is my last and I love, love, love those moments alone with him. Life is so busy, LOUD and hectic with 3 small boys and that time is so precious. Half of the time I’m nursing him is spent with his two brothers jumping around him and yelling! So to have quiet time with just him and I is priceless.

BUT, let me be clear…f he were to sleep through the night tonight, I definitely woulden’t hate it. Haha.

Some nights he will wake up more than once and I usually give it a minute or two before going into his room to see if he will self settle. He usually puts himself back to sleep. Obviously if he’s teething or sick, he doesn’t sleep well but thats pretty normal.

I’m still at the point where I feel legitimately exhausted pretty much all the time LOL, so hopefully over the winter he’ll get to sleeping through the night and I can get back to feeling somewhat like myself again!

Nursing

Speaking of nursing, Sam is still nursing and loving it. Every now and again I think about how we are closer and closer to the end and it makes me so emotional! Ah! Sam nurses about 4 times a day and then once or twice at night depending. He’s like a little ninja when he nurses with his legs and hands flying everywhere. For those of you who have nursed, you know what I’m talking about! lol! The only time he is relaxed is before naps and bedtime!

This is honestly my favorite time to nurse during the first year. All the kinks are out, they only nurse every 4 hours, and the pressure if off! Now that he is a little bit older and having food, its SO nice when I go to work and only have to pump once!

Food

Sam has been having puree since he was 6 months old and has worked his way up to about 3-4 oz per meal. He has Breakfast, lunch and dinner. We had his checkup the other day and the Dr encouraged me to start table foods and I’m over here like….ugh. How is my baby ready for real food?! Also…anyone else hate the process of feeding baby table food for the first time? I swear I’m so nervous about him chewing and choking! I don’t really remember this being a thing with my oldest, but with Seb i feel like it took forever for me to feel comfortable. Anyway, he loves puffs and does a great job with those. We’ve tried bread and he does ok so we are going to continue adding foods in slowly!

9 Month Baby Favorites

Here are a few of our 9 month baby favorites!

Loves

brothers
exploring
crawling
Balls
bathtime
animals
pulling himself up

Hates

His face being wiped
strangers holding him
Being in the pack and play on his own!

Thanks for following along

xo

Alex

Florida Vacation: Hotel, Travel Mom Hacks & Fashio

It has been absolute crazy town around here lately! I feel like its been ages since I’ve hopped on here and shared with you all. Life has been nuts with preparing for vacation and then the trip, and coming back! We start school with both of our 2 older boys in the next two weeks so I feel like things will somewhat slow down with the kids being gone.

I’ve honestly just been trying to soak up every minute especially with my older son who is off to kindergarten NEXT WEEK. AHHHHH.

I wanted to talk a little bit about our family vacation, where we stayed, what we did, and of course what I packed :)

For those of you who follow me on insta, you probably all saw that we headed down to Florida for a week. We knew it would be hot, but its a place that offers so much no matter what time of year you go. Plus, Orlando is obviously really kid friendly and having three children aged 5 & under we were all about doing what was right for the family.

Flights

90% of the time we fly southwest, and this trip was no exception. We were able to save some money though vouchers we received the last time we flew and had crazy delays. Once again this time we were delayed (ugh!). The kids were great, and to be honest, usually I let all screen time rules go out the window on travel days (especially when we have travel delays!). We have 2 separate ipads and we tried to keep them occupied with the ipads, toys they brought, walks around the airport terminal, and snacks. Our flight was delayed almost 3 hours, but the baby was an absolute champion and we ended up landing a little bit before 9 pm.

Hotel

We actually stayed at the Grove Resort in Kissimmee. We have never stayed there before and one of the main reasons we booked this hotel was because of the southwest points that we got for staying there for the week. Through booking this hotel on southwest hotels, we were able to get enough points to get the companion pass. For those who don’t know what this is, its a pass that allows me to fly, and my husband to fly for free when we fly together! YAS. I had also seen tons of ads on social media for it and it looked nice & had good reviews.

We had a 2 bedroom hotel room (they also have 3 bedroom hotel rooms) and it was very spacious which was awesome. The hotel room was clean & new (it was just built 2.5 years ago) which I really loved. It came with all the amenities: dishes, washer/dryer, stove, microwave, fridge, etc. I always find it important to have a hotel room with these amentities when you have kids. The pools were great and they had an awesome lazy river, tons of slides for the kids (some for older kids, some for younger kids like mine). The hotel gym was decent as well.

It was however VERY big and getting to the pools was a hike. There were TONS of doors you had to go through just to get to the elevators and they weren’t automatic which was super annoying as a mom of young kids (and with a baby in a stroller). They didn’t service your room everyday which is not a deal breaker for me, but also not ideal. I also had to wait over an hour for the pack and play that I had called and requested the day before we checked in. I was pretty upset about that because we got in so late and the baby was exhausted- so waiting for an hour at 10 pm when we checked in was pretty ridiculous!.

The hotel was about 15 minutes from Disney and they did have a shuttle to and from the parks (nice), but I did feel a bit isolated. We were pretty far out from malls and other things to do. I think if you have older kids this is not a big deal, but with 3 small kids (especially a baby) driving 30+ mins to get places was kind of hard. The price point was really good in my opinion. All in all, I liked it but not sure I would stay there again with 3 small kids-I think its more suited if you have kids ages 4 & up!

What we did

Honestly…a whole lot of swimming! We spent a ton of time at the pools and just spent a lot of time together as a family! We did go to Epcot for one day and it was great. I am pretty sure that I have never been so hot in my life before though LOL. We went to Disney Springs another day which was fun for the kids. There are so many eateries and shops and interactive things for the kids to do. We did end up having lunch there at the Rainforest Cafe and it was a blast to see the kids reactions to the different animals and “storms” they had in the restaurant!

A few Mom Hacks

1. I brought Sammy’s exersaucer in our car seat bag (car seats check for free) and it SAVED. MY. LIFE. I was able to put him in it during the day and it entertained him while I had to look after the others or make dinner/lunch. I also used it to feed him!

2. I did everything on the disney app! I bought tickets, reserved fast pass, and was able to access any photos disney took of us during our Meet Mickey & friends within minutes. Definitely snag that app, its worth it!

3. I also packed Sam’s jolly jumper and I swear that thing is amazing- another place to buy me 5 mins of time! Its easily packed away!

4. Rather than pack (or buy!) 2-3 sound machines for separate rooms, I simply download the “Sleep Sounds” app on our ipads and use those for sound machines when we travel.

5. if you have a toddler/preschooler thats just started to sleep in a bed, put chairs up (back side facing the bed) against the bed rather than renting bed guard rails! This eases any worry that they could potentially fall out!

What I packed

Now onto the fun stuff! Here’s everything I packed and linked in one spot!

The Best swimsuit (comes in black and white!!) My everyday necklace || Adorable straw beach hat || Align bike short || Lulu tank || One of my fave pair of jeans! || One of the best casual tanks || Knotted tee || Pasiley bikini top|| High waisted bikini bottom || Rainbow suit || Birks are always my go-to || Sneaks || Cute gingham set || Overalls || Tank || The best denim shorts || My all time favorite self tanner!!! & applicator to go with it || Cute graphic tee || Tory flip flops for to and from the pool || The best kimono that comes in a ton of colors/prints || snakeskin bikini || Roll Up Visor /Sun Hat || The kids loved these on the plane || This is the excersaucer that I packed for Sam! || Best sunscreen for kids & glides on || The spray version of the suncreen that we love & swear by! || The best car seat cover cases for plane rides! || I’ve gotten my self tanner on amazon as well! || THE BEST baby item of all time y’all..And its portable. This thing is a lifesaver at home and when you travel!! ||

Hope yall have a great day!

xo

Alex

The Willow Pump Review

My Willow Pump Review

I’m so excited today to be finally sharing my review of the Willow Pump! For those that don’t know, the willow pump is new(er) on the market, and is the first wearable, mobile and tubeless/bottle-less pump!

Caslon(R) Tie Front Top • Caslon • $23.40–26.98
Cake Cotton Candy Seamless Nursing Bra • $45
Madewell 10-Inch High Waist Button Front Crop Skinny Jeans • Madewell • $135
Madewell 10-Inch High Waist Skinny Jeans • Madewell • $135

I first found out about the Willow at the end of my breastfeeding journey with my middle son and was so jealous of those who were currently pregnant and able to try the willow! Fast forward a year later, and I was pregnant again! I was looking forward to trying the Willow pump when I had my baby. I remembered how hard it was to manage my time and make time to pump when I was away from baby with only two kids (much less three!). I knew this pump could only help me, especially going into “zonal defense” of raising three boys under the age of 5.

Breastfeeding is probably one of the hardest (mentally & physically), but also the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had. The bond I had with my sons through nursing was truly incredible. BUT the thing about breastfeeding that I dislike the most is …..

The pumping. The time it takes. The cleaning of the parts. The sound. Being tied down every couple hours.

Although I had gotten pretty good at multi tasking and figuring out how to be more efficient, I still hated pumping and dreaded it. Trying to juggle work, meetings, events for my older son…it was crazy, I feel like ½ the time I would have to pump in the car (using my ultimate favorite hands free Ollie Gray bra!)

Other times I would come home from being at work, or running an errand to find that the baby coulden’t wait and needed to be fed, regardless of how I tried to time it. This ultimately meant that the babysitter would be leaving me with an awake baby, needing to pump!  Trying to pump while being plugged into a wall with a  2 year old and a newborn is virtually impossible if you’re on your own. AND, yeah, sure you can pump while your kids sleep. But really?  Using your time while the kids are napping to pump is not really high on your list of things you want to do during that time!  

Imagine being able to live a life where you could make dinner while you pumped. Fold clothes. Hang up laundry. Put your makeup on. Blow dry your hair. Go for a walk.

You can.

Enter the Willow.

How does it work? You simply put it together (minimal parts), wait the initial 3-5 min stimulation phase, and you’re on your way once you hit expression (let down).

FREE TO DO ALL OF THE THINGS. Even lay down #winning.

I thought I would break down pros/cons of the Willow, if I like it better than my hospital grade, and my ultimate thoughts on the pump and whether it is worth getting.

Pros of the Willow Pump:

1.     It’s wireless. You can literally pump anywhere, anytime! Rejoice, mama’s! Go for a walk? Yes. Clean? Yes. Read a book to your toddler? Yes. Prepare a snack or meal? Yes. ANYTHING you want to do, you can do.

2.     Not many parts and easy to clean: I love this about it, its so easy to clean and no super small part to lose.

3.     The bags are easy, and take up less room: I like the bag for the purpose of storage in the fridge, also when traveling I could fit more in a cooler than I could with the bottles!

4.     It’s Quiet: Anyone else feel like their pump sings to them? Do you have to press mute if you’re on a conference call while pumping because yours is so loud? Not with the willow!

5.     It’s Smart: Willow has an awesome app that helps you keep track of how much you’re pumping, what phase you’re in, how much battery life is left as well as great support If you have issues.

6.     Customer Service: The customer service and support team is excellent if you have any issues. There are so many different avenues available for assistance whether its chat, text or phone. Also, there is support on the app.

7.     Battery life is really good: I took the pump with me to NYC for the day and didn’t have to charge it all day and I used it 4-5 times!

8.     Compact & Easy to Travel with: As I mentioned above, I travelled with this pump to NYC (as well as Florida) and It was such a relief to not have my huge hospital grade pump. I swear I have to have a bag JUST for my pump and bottles! The willow can fit this in my purse/backpack and its so compact and much more lightweight. LOVE.

9.     FREEDOM!!! Need I say more?!

Cons of the Willow pump:

1.     The learning curve is REAL. This took me a good 3-4 weeks to get the hang of and I am experienced with nursing and pumping. I could see if you are a new mom this could be hard to get at first. However, as I mentioned above, they do have good support and help via their app, phone, and text. Stick with it! Its worth it!

2.     It’s pricy: This pump is not covered by health insurance. However, if you have a HSA/FSA, you can purchase the willow using that (this is what I did so it wasn’t out of pocket)

3.     Bags: The Willow 2.0 holds 5 oz, so if you’re an over supplier like me, it can be frustrating to have to stop and put a new bag in. Usually this only affects me in the mornings when I have more milk. The bags are also a little expensive and can only be used once.

4.     Stimulation/Expression: The stimulation setting is already set and you can’t change in manually. For those that don’t understand, this is the phase before your milk lets down. This is probably the most frustrating part for me and what I wish I could change. I find I need a lot of suction during stimulation and I can’t adjust the suction until I’m in the expression mode.

5.     Charging: You can only charge one side at a time. I really wish that you could charge two in one with the charger.

Other things to know:

1.     You can only buy their items online (bags, flanges, etc.) on their website.

2.     The flanges only come in two sizes!

3.     I’ve found the most important part of the learning curve is figuring out your alignment! Once you have that down pat, it should be smooth sailing.

4.    Your bra matters. They have a few different ones on their website that they recommend, but I love the Cake Maternity Bra and the Ollie Gray’s nursing/pumping bra!

So what pump do I like the best?

I find that I rotate and use both my Willow and my hospital grade for various reasons (as listed above). As most of you know, you get a pump through your insurance (hello, free!!) and regardless of whether or not you plan on using it, I would definitely get the hospital grade pump even if you think you only want to use the willow.

VERDICT:

All in all, I think the Willow pump is seriously the most amazing, incredible concept and feel so fortunate to be able to utilize one of these pumps! The fact that I can go for a walk, do household chores, drive, etc. while pumping makes me so much happier of a mom and less stressed. All in all, while the willow has some areas it can improve (which I’m sure they will- its only been out for a short time!), this pump is such an empowering tool for breastfeeding moms. Anything that makes #momlife and #nursinglife easier is a WIN in my book.

I definitely recommend this pump to anyone who feels they are going to be giving their baby a bottle 3-4 days a week. I still use my hospital grade pump at work because I’m usually sitting at a desk anyway, and its cheaper (no need to buy bags like with the willow) but I use my Willow on average once a day at home. I use it in instances where I need to do extra pumping session or if I’ve been out running errands. It allows me to not miss a beat taking care of my baby, older children, as well as do ALL OF THINGS we mamas do while still providing milk for my baby which I’m so grateful for!

Happy Pumping friends! Xo

Alex

** This post is not sponsored or affiliated with the Willow Pump. All thoughts & opinions are solely my own.

4 Month Sammy: Favorites, Sleep & Routine

Baby Graphic Short Sleeve Bodysuit • Gap • $8
Baby Camo Pull-On Joggers • Gap • $12
Z Supply Camo Tee 3 Pack • Z Supply • $98
Madewell 10-Inch High Rise Skinny Jeans • Madewell • $128

4 Month Samson

Wow, first of all I have to say that I’m literally going to pat myself on the back for actually getting this blog post up and out on the actual day that he turns 4 months. That. is. impressive. Haha. Most of the time I’m like 3 days late with the photo and I get around to the blog post a few days after that! Ha! #MOMLIFE

So, here we are… 4 months! The last month has brought a TON of smiles, his first plane ride & first time in florida, some pretty crappy sleep (ha), lots of rolling and dirty diapers, and his first giggle!

We went to the dr. yesterday and the little guy had a few shots and had his 4 month check up. Currently he’s rocking in at almost 16 lbs (!!) and is in the above 70th percentile for height and weight. Kid doesn’t miss a meal! ha!

He continues to be a SUPER super happy baby. So smiley, engaged, and talkative (in a baby way I mean, of course). He was a pretty good traveller (other than the sleep side of things) and napped on the go pretty well when we were out and about. He loved the water! I’m totally looking forward to experiencing his first summer starting next month and seeing the “summer world” through his eyes! Every single day, regardless of how tired I am, I feel so thankful for our three boys!

Sleep & Routine

I always find it interesting when people share what sort of schedule, if any, that they have for their infants. Sammy is still on the Eat, Play, Sleep schedule and I’m proud of myself for sticking to this! With my older two we always fed before sleep so they got used to nursing to sleep…which makes it harder on you because they always associate falling asleep with nursing or a bottle! Hopefully this pays off.

Naps

Currently we are on a 90 min wake schedule rather than timed naps because every day is a little bit different. Traditionally I have waited until baby has gotten to be 6 -8 months before trying to implement set times/drop down to just a morning and afternoon nap. The last couple of weeks his naps in the morning have been shorter (about 45 mins). In the afternoon he tends to take one long nap (2-3 hours long)This works out alright because my older two are generally napping at the same time so we aren’t missing out on doing anything during that time frame! I know a lot of people do a set schedule like Moms on call, but I want to have the flexibility to take my older kids to the park, walk for one of his naps, etc. and I don’t want too much structure especially with 2 older siblings. So, I try to shoot for 75% of his naps at home and the rest we just roll with!

Vacation, Swaddling & Nighttime sleep

Nighttime sleep hit a real tough patch when we went on vacation. This happened with both of my other kids at the same age, so it doesn’t really alarm me. Its just part of the process. ((sigh)) Unfortunately none of my kids could just adjust really easily being somewhere new when they were babies!

He NEVER got comfortable in the pack and play and then ended up catching a cold from my middle son. So, needless to say it was rough. I think his best night he was up twice, worst was 4-5 times! Ouch. When we got home from the trip I feel like he was all out of schedule and honestly he was just a mess. It took a couple of weeks to get him back on schedule (and a few nights of crying) because he was routinely waking after the trip out of habit and expected me to come into his room like I did when we were in Florida. On top of the travel, we had to remove him from the swaddle and he was also going through the sleep regression. So, yeah. Fun stuff. ha.

I tackled all three problems (unswaddle, post-trip hangover, and the sleep regression) with the following:

1. Unswaddling: bought the Merlin Sleepsuit and used it for a week to help him transition out of the swaddle. Doing one arm out of the swaddle was NOT working and going cold turkey would have been disasterous. We loved the Merlin! He felt cozy and his reflex didn’t wake him up with it, but he could still move around a little bit which helped the transition. Once I felt he was somewhat used to being out of the swaddle with the Merlin, I put him in a sleep sack because I didn’t want to have to wean him off the Merlin in 4 months.

2. Post trip Hangover: I tried as much as possible to get back into a routine STAT and try to limit naps on the go for a few days. Things improved after a 5-7 days but he was definitely still waking more than usual…which brings me to….

3. Sleep Regression: This has always been such a challenge for me with my boys. Each and every one of them went through such a difficult stage with the 4 month sleep regression. This basically means that their sleep cycles are changing to be more like ours, and not like a babies. Which is ultimately good, but CHANGE is hard y’all. Especially when you WERE sleeping and now you AREN’T. lol.

   So, I reached the point where I had to let him cry a little bit to learn how to self-soothe. We would periodically go back in and check but after one night (two rounds of intermittent crying), he slept 7pm-4 am. Not every night is like that, but at least I have him back on somewhat of a schedule sleeping from 7pm-1 or 2 am. Usually after that he might be up every 2-3 hours but it sure beats being up every 2 hours like clockwork after I put him to bed! ALSO..he’s out of the swaddle! So #winning!

   If he’s still waking when he gets a little older, I’ll get a little more aggressive/serious about sleep training to sleep through the night (between 6-9 months)

Breastfeeding

Nursing is going great- I feel like I’m almost at a point where I’m almost not going to be leaking anymore (yay). He generally nurses about 5 times a day . He still nurses once a night, twice on a bad night. I think its more of a comfort thing for him, not necessarily hunger because a few nights a week he only wakes once. I found with all 3 of my babies that they wanted the comfort and connection when we nursed in the middle of the night. I’m okay with the one wakeup at night, 2 is a bit excessive. ha. So we’re working on that!

I currently still pump when I’m at work or out although I do try to plan things around when he eats (mornings and weekends) because pumping is such a drag. I do love my willow pump though. I can move freely rather than being stuck to an outlet plugged into my hospital grade pump. My review for the Willow is coming in the next 10 days on the blog!

Milestones

Giggling, hands ALWAYS in the mouth (discovering), tons of smiling and rolling from side to side (not onto his belly yet)! Its so fun watching him do new things. A little part of me dies inside because I know its “my last firsts” but I guess thats all part of life, and part of parenthood!

Likes

The Jolly jumper
His playmat
Walks
The Swing
Being around people
Smiling
his brothers
bouncy seat
Baths

Dislikes

Dirty diaper
Car rides (for the most part)
Not being entertained!
Wind
Shots
Sitting in the car seat for too long

Here are a few of our 4 month favorites & some cute apparel we either have or that I think is so adorable!

Baby Merlin's Magic Sleepsuit • $39.99
Baby Reversible Swim Bucket Hat • Gap • $12
Baby Shark Short Sleeve Body Double • Gap • $10
Baby First Favorite Bear Footed One-Piece (2-Pack) • Gap • $23
Baby First Favorite Stripe Bear Hat (2-Pack) • Gap • $11
Baby First Favorite Stripe Knit Pants (2-Pack) • Gap • $15
babyGap | Disney Mickey Mouse Bodysuit (3-Pack) • Gap • $15.97
Baby Stripe Brannan Bear Bodysuit • Gap • $8
Baby First Favorite Long Sleeve Bodysuit (3-Pack) • Gap • $18
Baby Shusher: The Sleep Miracle • $34.99
Fisher Price Fisher-Price Deluxe Kick and Play Piano Gym in Green • Fisher-Price • $49.99
Milk Snob Multi-Use Car Seat Cover in Black/White Stripe • $34.99
Skip Hop Greenwich Simply Chic Diaper Backpack • Skip Hop • $100
Fisher Price Fisher-Price Sweet Snugapuppy Dreams Bouncer • Fisher-Price • $59.99
Fisher Price Fisher-Price 4-in-1 Sling 'n Seat Bath Tub • Fisher-Price • $39.99
H&M - 2-pack Joggers - Gray • H&M • $29.99
Baby Einstein Discover and Play Gift Set • Baby Einstein • Sold Out
Aden + Anais Muslin Waverly Bandana Bib • Aden Anais • $9.95
Homedics HoMedics SoundSpa Sound Machine • Homedics • $19.99
DockATot Grand Stage 2 Dock • $290–300
H&M - Seersucker Sun Hat - Blue • H&M • $6.99
Baby Einstein Take-Along Tunes • Baby Einstein • $9.99
Solly Baby Baby Wrap • $65
Fisher Price Fisher-Price Mini Monsters Activity Gym • Fisher-Price • $24.99
Fisher Price My Little Lamb Platinum II Cradle 'n Swing • Fisher-Price • $169.99
Fisher Price Fisher-Price Rainforest Music and Lights Deluxe Gym • Fisher-Price • $59.99
Bumbo Floor Seat in Cool Grey • Bumbo • $44.99
Baby Einstein My First Library • Baby Einstein • $12.99
Baby Einstein Octoplush • Baby Einstein • $19.99
Jolly Jumper& Exerciser with Portable Stand in White • Jolly Jumper • $79.99
Baby Jogger 2019 City Select Stroller in Jet • Baby Jogger • $540–560
Boppy& Luxe Pillow with Reversible Slipcover in Grey Whale • Boppy • $49.99

Hope you all have a great day! xo

Alex

My Three Sons: The Transition from Two--> Three Kids

I’ve done a lot of reflecting over the last 4 months, that is, when I’ve had time to think. Which has basically been only when I’m in the car, or nursing in the middle of the night because my house is crazy town. ha. Probably the most asked question I get from friends, family, acquaintances, and honestly random people is “So, whats it really like with 3?”

Well….it’s taken me a LONG time to gather my thoughts and really get clarity on Life with 3. Partially because its been so busy, partially because I wanted to wait until I felt like I really had a handle on what its like. But first…we need to talk about the transition from one to two because that really sets the stage.

Flashback: The transition from one child to two

I’m going to be real with you guys. Going from one kid to two absolutely rocked. my. world. mentally, physically. Everything.

And even though it was super hard for me to adjust to the new family of four dynamic, I never really felt I was “done” after having Sebastian, our second. I wanted to be done with pregnancy, and the sleepless nights, and pumping. Done with the weight gain ((then losing it)), and done with all of the crazy stages you go through: separation anxiety, the teething, etc. We were in such an amazing place. The boys were napping at the same time, Seb could play on his own, and was going into the 2 year old Pre-K. I wanted to continue gaining this independence. Going places was getting so much easier, including travel. And I was pretty scared of moving into the so called “zonal defense” 24/7 when you add a third child.

But…. I wasn’t done feeling a baby kick for the first time. Or nursing and snuggling with a newborn, smelling that baby smell. Or experiencing a babies first smile, giggle, and step again. Or watching a baby grow into a toddler into a little boy. Watching his/her relationship with their siblings and my husband. Those were the moments I wasn’t done with.

Regardless of wanting and desiring those special moments one more time, I was definitely super anxious after finding out the news we were expecting our third. Two kids to three. How would we manage? I felt like the transition was so hard from one to two. How would we manage with ANOTHER?!!

So. How is it really?

Well, in a nutshell, it’s hard. And I’m gong to be completely honest. Three kids is kicking my ass. I’m more tired than I’ve ever been. Some days I feel like I’m barely managing it all, that I’m drowning- family, work, things around the house, and having some time for myself. Leaving the house is literally a mission at times. I’ve never ordered more from amazon prime. haha. I look around and the house looks like a tornado hit it half the time.

But then I take a deep breath and realize that my kids are happy. and loved. and healthy. And this is a season that seems like an eternity, but its not.

What keeps me sane in the organized chaos?

This is what keeps me sane: I believe that there are seasons of your life where certain things get prioritized. And right now, prioritizing my babies is where I’m at.

I know people talk about having it all. I don’t believe in having it all. I think the second you realize that “having it all” doesn’t exist, you immediately remove pressure from yourself and really focus on the couple things that need to be on top of that list. And that doesn’t mean that the items on the bottom of the list get forgotten about or don’t matter. They’re there. But they are tucked away for a rainy day when your priorities and life changes.

So, I know I’ve got a LONG way to go. I’m only 4 months into this crazy show and I’ve got a lifetime to go, but here’s some things I’ve learned in my transition to a family of 5:

1. The early stages of being a family of four have prepared you for being a family of five: when it comes to be outnumbered, I feel like I’m somewhat used to this. With my husband working late seasonally, I’ve had to be there putting multiple kids to bed on my own multiple times a week and just figuring it out over the last couple of years.

   Things that I stressed about with my middle, I didn’t stress about this time. For example, “what if the baby cries when I’m trying to make their dinner” “what if he needs to eat during lunch”. That never even crossed my mind this time around. #beentheredonethat

   You learn that everyone adapts, based on your experience with your transition to two kids. If the big kids have to wait longer for lunch, they will. If they go down for their nap 25 mins later, who cares. If the baby has to cry for 3 minutes while you cut up food, it’s okay. If the kids watch the ipad for an hour because you have a screaming baby and you’re on your own…its OKAY. You’ll all survive.

2. Your experience with three children can be completely different based on the temperament of your infant: NO DOUBT my life would’ve been a lot more stressful had my first been born last. Colicky, crying all the time definitely would make this journey more challenging. Samson is a pretty happy, chill baby (most of the time) which makes it easier to manage. Don’t mistake this for me saying he’s easy, because he certainly has his moments..for instance how he’s slept the last month (like crap), and how he screams nonstop in the car. So, let’s just put it this way-no infant is easy. Some are just easi-ER. And that can make things less or more stressful for sure.

3. Letting go. Let go of perfection, let go of cleanliness, let go of even self care for awhile. Embracing the season rather than fighting it makes this ride much more enjoyable. Because, at the end of the day, it’s not forever. 

4. Leaving the house takes on new life: When I go places with all 3 kids, its either we are leaving ____ (insert place) bloodied, bruised, wounded and someone is always crying. Or, like the grocery store the other day….I swear that angels were singing as we walked out, and I felt literally like SUPER MOM. haha.

   This is probably the number one thing I’ve struggled with the most and really has had me feeling frustrated and tied down because the energy I need to invest to go to simple places is CRAZY.

   Leaving the house with two seems so easy now. I think this also has been amplified by a winter that has seemed about 3 years long. Have you ever tried to get a 4 year old, a 2 year old and an infant dressed for 30 degree temperatures for 3 months straight? yes, it is torture. Also: see winter with kids ((hell)).

   But, as I say that, its always worth getting out of the house. And yes, you’ll have some days that are better than others but my advice is to start small to gain confidence. Also, don’t give any fucks about what anyone thinks. You’ll never see them again, and if they can’t respect you for getting 3 tiny humans out of the house on your own, they’re not a good person. So…there’s that.

   On a side note, I’m so looking forward to summer, where we can throw on a pair of shoes and call it a day. No gloves, hats, boots, coats, layers. No wondering where we should head to that day. The best part of summer for me, is keeping it simple. Outdoor time. Walks. Bike rides. Playground. I try to live by the saying “KISS”. “Keep it simple, stupid”. Don’t reinvent the wheel. Kids are actually really simple tiny humans and they don’t care if they go to the park 8 days in a row. End of story. 

5. Lower your standards: I’m not saying wear sweats every day of your life and leave your house a pig sty... because truth be told I actually feel more put together this time around than I did with my second. Seriously. I feel like I learned how to manage my time better after having two kids (see #1) but if you’re struggling, cut yourself a break!

6. GET HELP. End of story. You don’t get a medal, trophy or a special announcement as best mom ever for doing EVERYTHING on your own. Have family help and take the older ones places. Get a “mother’s helper” so you have time to get things done around the house. Ask family friends for help. Its worth it.

7. Plan ahead: Being ahead of the game is super important at this time for me. A lot of times I meal prep and cut up vegetables/food for dinner and put them in containers while the baby is napping in the morning or early afternoon because come 5 pm, I’m on my own with 3 kids & trying to make dinner with three kids all running around…aint nobody got time to be slicing sweet potatoes! LOL!

   My advice: think ahead for everything. Pack diaper bags while baby is sleeping or the night before, put your toddlers shoes on while he’s snacking and sitting in his high chair…you get the drift. Be ahead of the game! It will help you be more efficient at home or getting out the door!

8. YOU 👏🏼 ARE 👏🏼 ENOUGH 👏🏼 I’m a big believer in speaking light & truth into yourself. I did this a lot as a professional athlete. One of my favorite sayings (especially to athletes I coach) is “Nobody is going to believe in you more than yourself.” This is so, so true and honestly every single day I tell myself that I am enough. And yes, there are some days where I believe it more than others. BUT I do think by speaking positive to yourself, you truly can make a difference in your own attitude and self esteem. Sure, I can always strive to be a better ME. But who I am- as a woman, mother, wife, and human being complete with all my imperfections…is enough.

So is the transition to 3 hard? YES. Is it harder than the transition to 2? I guess for me it hasn’t hit me as hard as the transition to two. I was so used to focusing on only one child’s needs. Now, I’ve had the experience. Will it feel like that for everyone? Probably not. I don’t know.

But what I can tell you is that the love that my older two have for their baby brother is intoxicating.

I can tell you his smile lights the room.

I can tell you that his presence completes our family.

I can tell you the support from friends and family was and IS absolutely heart warming and overwhelming.

So, yeah, it’s hard. Every single day is a battle…. with sweet, silly, heart melting moments mixed in.

But I absolutely positively cannot imagine my life without our smily baby Samson.

xo

Alex

Motherhood: 6 Ways its Changed Me & My Mothers Day Gift Guide

Motherhood may have given us gray hairs, wrinkles, loose skin, stretch marks, and a lot of other physical side effects that we might not want (ha), BUT I know its given me SO much as a person to be thankful for. I’ve grown leaps and bounds as a human being, and I’ve no doubt become a better person because of my 3 little guys. In honor of Mothers Day next week, I’m highlighting how motherhood has changed me:

1. Showed me the purest form of love: They always say you never know love until you have a baby. Having kids is like having a piece of your heart walking outside of your body. It actually aches when they’re hurt, when you miss them, when they’re going through hard times…its an incredible feeling that you would literally do anything and everything for their well being and happiness.

2. It’s slowed me down: Gone are the days that I need to be on the go …going somewhere, doing something, being busy, never home. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but there’s something to be said about actually soaking life up and slowing down. I actually LIKE staying home or doing simple things like playing outside with the kids, long walks in the neighborhood, playground days, and trips to the library. Call me boring, but I’m cool with it. Seeing life through their eyes is the best feeling ever…how they learn, grow and experience new things is amazing.

3. I’ve become more easy going: Ok, anyone that knows me knows I am superrrr Type A. I’m all about schedules, routine, and things being perfect, and I’m UBER competitive. Well, if you’re a mom you know that living up to this is pretty much impossible if you want to maintain your sanity! It probably took me up until having 3 kids to really just embrace this, truthfully. But, proudly, I’ve learned to roll with the punches, missed naps, tantrums. crying, messy clothes & house, and tough days. Yeah, sure does it bother me sometimes? Of course. Am I still a little uptight? yes. But I am able to take a deep breath and just go with the flow ((most of the time)).

4. I’m more patient: Patience. One of the most coveted virtues there is. Becoming a parent MAKES you more patient whether you want to be or not. Dealing with babies crying for hours (my first), epic toddler tantrums (my second), or dealing with no sleep with your third baby and having 2 others to look after…yup. Patience is earned, and you don’t have a choice.

5. I don’t take things for granted as much: Little things used to bother me so much…work life, social things, etc. Now…if something happens I know that all is good because at the end of the day as long as our family is healthy we are ALL GOOD. That’s not to say I don’t get fired up every now and again (ha) but I definitely am able to take a deep breath and take things in stride A LOT better now. I don’t take a single day that our boys are healthy for granted and now thats what really matters.

6. I’m more focused and efficient: Time is your biggest enemy when you become a mother. It goes by so dang quick. Your time with them, and your time away from them. I’ve found I’ve become so much more efficient with my time now that I have kids because I want to make it count if I’m away from them. If I’m working out, its going to be a killer workout. If I’m at work or at an event, I’m going to make it worthwhile because I know what I’m giving up to be there! Time=the most precious thing in life!

So, Motherhood. Probably the most challenging, yet rewarding thing in life you’ll ever do. I know that I no doubt appreciate my mom more now that I’m a mother myself. Truth be told, there’s no way you can ever repay your mother for their sacrifice, life and commitment to you…but we sure as heck can try!

I wanted to share a few of my favorite mothers day picks for your mother, MIL, grandma, etc.

1.Dyson V8- This thing is a game changer. I know it seems like a lame gift, but this guy cleans sooo fast and when you clean faster, it means more time to do other things! WINNING.

2. Dyson Blowdryer- you guys know I’ve pledged my love for this blowdryer. Another time saver, makes your hair so soft, and is just all around amazing quality. An amazing gift to give.

3. Apple Watch-Another one of my go-tos gifts

4. Airpods- These are so good for everything- exercising, listening to podcasts, talking hands free. Great gift.

5. This crockpot is hands down the best crockpot I have ever used. the food cooks great and the food NEVER sticks to the actual dish. I can’t say enough about it. I know its pricy but the quality is amazing and the food turns out great-so much better.

6. This air fryer is a great gift. I swear I’ll never cook fries in a oven again. The air fryer takes away all the grease and makes them nice and crispy. There’s so many great recipes also to put in a air fryer.

7. Bath bombs make a great gift!

8. I have a kitchen aid mixer and although I’ve never used it (haha, I never bake) its supposedly one of the best. My mom LOVES hers.

9. If your mama or MIL is into scrapbooking, snag her a cricut! This is the best way to scrapbook!

10. You can never go wrong with a new pair of slippers. I love these.

11. Barefoot dreams is always a go-to for me for gifts. They have amazing sweaters/cardigans as well as blankets and throws that are so cozy!

12. Real Simple is a great mag to send to Mom!

13. The Vitamix is a top blender and allows you to make shakes, soups, etc.

14. My mom has a roomba and loves it! Another gift to make her life easier.

15. My holy grail product- Dr. Brandt baggage no more. TRUST ME this stuff is legit.

16. I haven’t tried Drunk Elephant but I have heard amazing things about their products. A mask would be an awesome gift idea!

17. The Clarisonic is a basic essential and makes a good present!

18. Tory Burch Miller Sandals. These can be dressed up or down and look good on a 20 year old, or a 75 year old! Iconic!

19. I love Birks more than anything in life and these are so comfy and GOOD for your feet. The gift that keeps on giving-great quality, last forever!

20. Last but not least…this is my FAVE Tula product. I swear by this and how it brightens your under eye area (hello, all moms need this!!). This is a great present for any mom, any age. If you don’t buy it for your mom, buy it for yourself!

Have a great Sunday!

xo

Alex

3 Months Postpartum: the Body

3 months Postpartum: the Body

Happy weekend peeps! So glad this week is over-I always find coming back from vacation is so busy. Laundry, cleaning, unpacking, and then being slammed at work! Yikes! Also, sleep has been few and far between so this mama needs some chill time this weekend!

Last week my little guy and I celebrated 3 months old and 3 months postpartum, respectively. I always found 3 months to be such a milestone. Everything is still hard, no doubt, but by this point nursing is usually in a rhythm, you’re getting some (key word: some…I guess some is better than none!) sleep, some smiles, and you’ve somewhat gotten used to baby and the new family dynamic.

State of Mind

This month brought an interesting dynamic to the postpartum body edition. Going on vacation at 3 months postpartum with your 3rd baby can be tough on your confidence and mind. I would be lying if I didn’t admit that it weighed a little bit on me (no pun intended ha!). I am definitely heavier than I was, and what I want to be, and was reminded of this about 100 times when packing for the trip haha. Packing shorts, bathing suits, etc. was tough especially when hardly any of it fit. Not to mention making sure I had nursing friendly clothing! Basically 70% of my closet still does not fit me.

However, I was determined to not let it ruin an ounce of my excitement for or during the trip.

I focused on these things heading into this trip and threw my bathing suits on with confidence:

1. My body has created 3 human beings in 4 years (!!!!)

2. The extra that I’m carrying is allowing me to feed and nourish my baby.

3. I’m only 3 months out and I need to respect the process

4. My experience will not be determined based on whether or not I’m at my pre-pregnancy weight. End of Story.

In saying that, you can bet your bottom dollar I took advantage of the weather and was extremely active down in florida. Tons of walks, runs, good eating and gym sessions were had because I have some goals to crush. And, yeah, body positivity is great. But something I always remind myself is that there’s nothing wrong with respecting and loving your body and still wanting to see change!

The Stats

The good news: down a pants size. The bad news: I only have lost one more pound. I’m slowly inching my way into the 140s which is going to be a HUGE milestone for me (I was around 135/136 pre-pregnancy). On delivery day, I was rocking about 170 lbs so getting into that 140s range is going to mean a lot to me. Also, disclaimer here that many people may not believe I was 135 when I got pregnant but I was strong/muscular and muscle is so much more dense than fat so that is why I weigh a lot more than what people may think. I know a lot of people are very touchy about disclosing how much they weigh (I totally get it) but I want to be completely transparent on my road to fitness so I’ll be sharing everything!

The scale can be tricky. As I’ve stated before, I know that by being consistent with workouts and nutrition may not show on the scale right away, and show in other ways like losing inches or just looking leaner. So, my hope is that from month 3—>month 4 is when I see a 2-4 lb drop that gets me into the 140s. Because whether we want to admit it or not, the scale does matter to all of us, at least a little bit! I think the fact that its measurable has something to do with it.

Nutrition

I’m definitely doing a much better job of increasing my protein macros and decreasing my carbohydrate macros which was a goal of mine over the last month. Since I’ve returned from vacation, I’ve been more strict with my post dinner snack which is going to help me for sure in the long run.

My meals for breakfast and lunch are always pretty basic. Breakfast i generally have eggs and oatmeal. Mid morning snack is a quest bar, followed by lunch which is usually chicken and a salad. Mid afternoon is a protein shake and dinner varies every night. I usually post my dinner on my instagram stories so hop on there for meal ideas!

My biggest battle from Month 2 continues to be eating some sort of processed carb at night (ie. cereal and granola). I’ve not had any all week since I got home from vacation and I’m determined to stick to it. Instead, I choose greek yogurt with some fruit.

Goals for the next month include staying strict with the bedtime snack, and ensuring my macros are on point every day, not just 4 or 5 days of the week.

The workouts

Right now I’m grinding out about 3-4 strength workouts per week. Generally, they are broken up into lower and upper workouts. Usually I get 2 lower, and one upper in. The 4th day is usually a workout filled with some HIIT weight exercises and simple accessory work that I make up on my own in my basement with bands, and kettlebells.

Cardio wise I’m slowly trying to increase my HIIT workouts. All the way through 10 weeks postpartum I strictly focused on steady state cardio with some HIIT thrown in here and there.

My goal is to ideally get 3 days of HIIT in with one steady state. On average right now I’m getting 2 HIIT and one steady state, which is alright. As the weather continues to improve I would love those workouts to be at the track doing intervals. I find that these work excellent for me in terms of fitness and burning fat.I also find that being active outside of workouts is super important, so I try to ramp up my general activity. Getting anywhere from 8-10 miles a day is definitely a goal of mine over the course of May, June, and July.

How I’m feeling & how I battle sleep deprivation when working out

How am I feeling? I guess thats a loaded question. I feel 100 times better than I felt when I was pregnant. And about 2000 times better than the first month postpartum. My incision is fine and I feel great working out-no issues other than fatigued muscles lol!

But I still have such a long way to go before I really, truly feel like myself. I’m up 2-3 times a night and I think thats not so bad….but when you’re going on month 3 , 4, 5, 6 of doing it …it gets real old, real fast.

How do i find the motivation/fit in working out when I’m not sleeping well?

Well, thats pretty tough. Because there are some days where I don’t want to do it. Sure, not sleeping is definitely a legit reason to not workout.

But, at the end of the day, it is still an excuse regardless of whether or not its valid reason.

So, I grind it out. And getting to where i want to be is an accumulation of little choices I make each and every day that add up to be big choices. Like, take a nap or go for a walk. Eat the yogurt or the processed cereal. Tons of tiny decisions on the daily that will make or break whether I get to where I want to be.

I also get creative with workout times-I try to avoid super early AM workouts for obvious reasons (normally when I get a good amount of sleep I love them), and try to do more on the weekends when I have help.

My biggest motivators are knowing how good I will feel about myself when I’m strong. How much more energy I’ll have because I’m fit and healthy. And …. the feeling when my clothes fit me great, and I’m a confident Bad ass bitch.

Exercise of the month:

I’m (hate) loving burpees at the moment. What a great exercise. No equipment needed, works the whole body, raises the heart rate, and you don’t need much space for it! BOOM.

Thats all for now!

Have a great day! xo

Alex

2 Months Postpartum: The Body

Stash Pocket Salutation Peony 7/8 Tight • Athleta • $71.99
Athleta Athleta Women's Encore Tank Top • Athleta • $33.93
Nike Pro Classic Mid-Impact Swoosh Sports Bra 842398 • Nike • $30

2 Months Postpartum: The Body

It’s been 2 months since my little guy was born. Sometimes it seems like just yesterday he was born.. but at the same time I can’t even remember life without him. Does that even make sense? 🤷🏼‍♀️

There is so much that goes into the postpartum period of having a baby. Not only adjusting to the baby, but the mental and physical side of things for YOU, the mama. Everyone provides so much support right after the baby, but when that first month is over and everyone goes back to work, and their own lives it can be HARD. You’re at home with a crying baby and it can get overwhelming especially if its your first baby. The 24/7 care can be exhausting. Combine that with hormones, breastfeeding, as well as with the physical changes that pregnancy and postpartum brings its no wonder there are so many women with the baby blues or even PPD. So little attention is brought to a woman’s mental state after pregnancy.

As you know, I write about everything…baby, mom stuff, recipes, fashion…it has super therapeutic in a way for me with this third baby. Having a baby can be isolating but this has given me an outlet when I might be otherwise cut off a little bit from society and my “regular” life.

But my favorite posts by far have tp be these body/fitness updates because even though I get frustrated on the DAILY- weighing myself, seeing an unflattering angle in the mirror, trying pre pregnancy jeans on.. the list goes on LOL... (I’m just being real with you during this postpartum phase) when I look back on my previous monthly posts, I can see that I’ve made progress. And I know there are SO MANY other women who feel the same way. And if I can see positivity & progress in my own journey, so can you.

Sometimes progress is hard to see when you’re grafting day and in and day out and things aren’t happening as fast as what you’d like. I encourage you to take progress photos and look at all of this from a “big picture” standpoint. How far you have come, rather than how far you have to go.

I know I feel inspired when I see other women work hard for things they want and I hope in a small way I can do the same for you. I’m not where I want to be yet (not even close), but I’m loving sharing the journey in depth with all of you.

Postpartum Feelings

I've been a mother for almost 5 years. To some of you, I'm still a rookie. And let me tell you, a lot of the time I sure do feel like a rookie. I think in our own way we are all newbies trying to find our way not only for our children, but for our new life as parents, caregivers. Because just when you think you've figured it out, they go and change on you again :) 

I can't tell you how many times over the last 4 1/2 years I've come across messages of "love your ____(insert either body, scars, battle wounds, mom pooch, tiger stripes, curves, stretch marks" etc. ) in social media, magazines, tv. It’s everywhere. Don't get me wrong. I love messages of positivity to uplift women whether you're a mom, a teen, or a twenty something post college graduate. But I guess a part of me has fought this message internally. And its always made me feel weird and to be honest, like an outsider when it comes to this topic. I don’t know if this message is realistic, for me anyway.

I don't love my postpartum curves. I don't love my stretch marks. I don't love my loose skin. I don't love my c- section scars. What I do love? MY SONS. My beautiful three boys. (they of course were worth every ounce of pain, sacrifice, skin sagginess, scars, and stretch marks FYI !)

If you asked me if I could have heathy children and do without the loose skin & stretch marks I wouldn't think twice. Absolutely I would take that. And I bet I'm not the only one who would -whether people want to admit it or not. Those battle scars…They’re just human.. and part of the process for some of us.

What I do is thank my pre-pregnancy body for being STRONG, fit and healthy enough to carry my babies…not my stretch marks or loose skin.

And my postpartum body? I might not love every part of it. BUT I RESPECT the HELL out it. My curves, stretch marks, loose skin and scars.

In my opinion, the most important way (and most realistic way) you can love your body is by respecting & appreciating it throughout all the crazy seasons of life us women go through.

Now…on to Month 2!

Post surgery:

This was the best recovery by far from all of my C sections. I think because my incisions opened (superficial layer, not infected or anything) the last 2 times I was really careful. In addition, I had a lot of help at night with my husband bringing baby to me in the middle of the night to nurse (not getting up out of a chair holding baby) which was #husbandgoals. Lastly, the horrible weather we had the first 4 weeks postpartum actually went in my favor because I didn’t go for walks or leave the house. Haha.

I have no issues with my incision and hopefully every day the scar will fade. Although having the scar doesn’t really phase me, to be honest. I think out of all things “postpartum” that is the thing I least care about.

Workouts

I’m getting 3-4 strength training workouts in during the week and trying to get 2-3 days of cardio in. I’m careful with my cardio; I want to be sure my body is able to handle the impact. Because of this, I’m really focusing on weights and getting stronger right now. During pregnancy I lost so much muscle- and gained a lot of extra fat so I’ve got to ease my way into it. In addition, I have about 2 cm of separation still between my abs-which I am doing DR exercises to improve.

I’ve gone on 3-4 runs and my times have already started to lower. I’m soooo far off where I used to be but I’m trying to focus on what I CAN do and not what I used to be able to do. I know I’ve done this twice before; and I can do it again if I want it bad enough.

Nutrition

To be honest, my nutrition has been better this postpartum period than it was with the other two. I’m eating less cereal/empty carbs at night and if I need a snack at night I choose Greek yogurt. During the day I’m pretty structured and disciplined. Breakfast is usually eggs with turkey bacon, eggs on its own, or chicken sausage always paired with oatmeal. Lunch is usually chicken or salmon with salad, and you have all seen my dinners throughout the week in my Monday meal plan.

Of course, I have “splurge” meals (like pizza last week saturday, for example) and I usually have a treat or two after going to the grocery shopping (I blame the “hungry me” for buying my fave love crunch granola haha)

For those that have breastfed, you know the struggle is real with nursing hunger…or HANGER. Ha. I literally CANNOT go to bed without eating something because I’ll wake in the night hungry.

I definitely don’t portion out my meals too much, I would say breakfast and lunch I know pretty much the macros I’m eating but dinner and before bed all bets are off. For me, maintaining my supply is most important and if it takes me 3 months longer to achieve what I want, then so be it.

Weight/ body image

My clothes are definitely fitting better but I would say 70% of my closet doesn’t fit, or it doesn’t fit comfortably/ the way I want it to. Which is super frustrating, but it is what it is. I’ve accepted it, respect it and I’m going to keep showing up like a bad penny at the gym getting after it.

I’ve also bought 2 new pairs of jeans because I’m not putting some ridiculous pressure on how fast “i bounce back”. Some of my pants are going to take about 6 MONTHS to fit back into, and thats just reality. You don’t get a medal, a trophy or anything special for fitting into your jeans quicker! I’ll get there and I know from my other two babies it takes time. A lot of time. Like over a year. And it takes sweat. Discipline. And of all things, consistency.

Weight wise the scale hasn’t budged in about 4 weeks. It has. not. budged. a. single. pound.

4 weeks of being intentional about walking (the first 2 weeks. Working out the last 2 weeks, 5 days a week.

4 weeks of intentional, healthy eating.

So, basically, I’m still 15-ish lbs above pre-pregnancy weight.

Frustration is an understatement.

I found with my other two babies I was able to lose a majority of the weight (over a 12 month period-let’s be clear!!) but I coulden’t get as lean/lose the last 3-4 lbs until I stopped nursing. Whether that was hormones, or my hunger, I’m not sure. We will see this time around! Everyone’s body is different and reacts a different way to nursing.

So, if you’re in the same season as me (this awkward postpartum phase), know that taking small victories like FEELING good, fitting into pants better, having more energy, being able to lift a heavier weight, or running faster/longer means far more than the scale anyway.

And as those small victories keep piling up ….you’ll see movement in the scale. Because that’s really how it works.

End of Story.

xo

Alex

2 Months: All about Baby, Sleep & Routine

Happy Tuesday everyone & Happy 2 months to our little babe! This is the best part of the “fourth trimester” for sure…once you hit month 2 everything starts to get better ((a little)) every day! You’ll always have “good” and “bad” days but things are on the up and up moving forward. 2 months signals baby’s first smile, a few giggles (soon!), more interaction, more sleep AT NIGHT and LESS CRYING y’all. #winning

Samson really has settled in the last 2-3 weeks. Weeks 3-6 were hard. Like really hard, not gonna lie. But once we got past that, our little guy is as happy as can be, sleeping longer at night, growing like a champ, and gave us our first smiles. He seems to be pretty laid back, even through the dreaded “witching hours” that haunt me from Max’s early days (and even Seb would get pretty fussy). He still catnaps through that time period (or doesn’t nap at all) but he isn’t THAT fussy so I’m thankful for that!

Routine & SLEEP

I wanted to share what routine Sammy is on. Everyone is different; some people might think what we do is quite “rigid” and have baby on no schedule; while others need more structure than what we do. I try to be somewhere in the middle realizing we have other kids and I can’t sit around the house all day catering to his naps-Especially when I’m on my own on weekends/nights and the kids want to get out of the house ((also for my sanity lol!)

I know there are all kinds of books “getting baby on schedule” like Moms on Call, etc. but for me forcing baby to wake at certain times of day at only 8 weeks is hard. I also think with older kids its hard to have such structured times for naps when you have preschool pickups, or have to get out with the other kids activities. In addition, Sammy usually does a 4-7 hour sleeping chunk at night (which is great for a 2 month old) so I don’t really think I have the need to change anything right now!

I am reading “Moms on Call” however for other sleeping tips though and just for ideas so if you ARE looking for some more structure and just help in general I would recommend that book for sure.

Currently Sammy is on an Eat, Play, Sleep schedule. He honestly settled into that on his own and its worked really well. My two others were the opposite where they nursed before they napped. I tried to incorporate that schedule with Max & Seb but it just never worked with them and sometimes you just have to listen to baby! I do like the Eat, play, sleep schedule because he won’t be associating sleep with nursing (and me, for that matter) and me nursing him before naps when he gets older (bc tbh I love nursing them to sleep :) ) will be on MY terms, not because he needs it to fall asleep!

Sammy is different; he self soothes A LOT better than my other boys which I think helps. I’ve also been trying to be mindful of letting him TRY to self soothe before rushing to get him during a nap or during the night. What’s helped me a ton is the book “Bringing Up Bebe” and what the French call the “pause” where they wait and observe their child rather than pick them up right when they make a sound.

“When a French baby cries in the night, the parents go in, pause, and observe for a few minutes," Druckerman explains. “They know that babies' sleep patterns include movements, noises, and two-hour sleep cycles, in between which the baby might cry. Left alone it might 'self-soothe' and go back to sleep."

Let me be clear in saying that this is not cry it out by any means; its just simply observing and allowing baby the opportunity to self soothe. If he doesn’t, I intervene.

We have him on a one hour- 75 min wake schedule. So basically that means when he wakes up, he has generally one hour of awake time before he has another nap. His wake times I base off of research on wake times and ultimately how long he is able to stay happy for awake time. He eats, sits in his bouncy chair, plays on his activity mat, does some tummy time and when he starts to get fussy/and or hits an hour (usually they tend to coincide) we head upstairs. He naps in his swing currently. I would love to wean him off of that but I’m not sure that will happen anytime soon! He usually takes around 4 naps a day and sometimes (like Saturday) they are horrible cat naps…then other days he has longer naps (90 min-2.5 hours). Erratic naps are still normal at this age so I’m not super worried about it. Generally the morning naps are better and longer; later in the day they are shorter (30-45 mins!).

Bedtime is usually between 7:30-8:45pm. Sometimes he goes down really easy and puts himself to sleep after making noise/whining for a little bit. Sometimes he does full on cry for a couple minutes; usually I wait it out to see if he can overcome it himself. After 3-4 mins I usually go up to soothe him. Then there’s other nights I have to put him down when he is fully asleep..meaning I wait the dreaded 15-20 mins waiting for him to go into his “deep sleep” so he doesn’t wake up right when I set him down because he’s just not able to soothe himself. And thats totally okay, especially because he’s still so little and we all have bad days #amirite??!! I have been working really hard at the “self soothing” though because in order for baby to sleep well, they have to know how to put themselves back to sleep. So this is pretty much #1 on my list of things to conquer.

Last night I had all 3 kids for bedtime….so let’s talk about that. Ha. I’ve had them on my own for bedtime on my own probably 8 times now. Every night is different because Samson still doesn’t have a “set” bedtime so I never know how its going to go!

But last night went SO WELL. Do you ever have those nights that everything goes well and you can’t. even. believe. it. Like am I the BEST MOM EVER?!! haha. ((and then the next day is a complete shit show!) But anyway, I got the baby down ((the boys had a snack and watched a Disney movie)) and the Routine was as follows:

Lullaby on (I have an app on my phone)
Draw blinds, etc
Massage with lotion, Change into jammies, wash face
Turn Lullaby off, nurse one side
Turn white noise on & swaddle (this is the swaddle we use, I love it because it doesn’t ride up around his face)
Feed other side
Put down awake

This whole process took 30 mins.
I put him down fully awake and he made a few noises but went to sleep on his own! And I was able to give the older two full attention after 7:30 pm and put them to bed without a screaming baby in the other room. Like I said, this doesn’t always go this way, but I sure felt like a ROCKSTAR last night. lol. He did wake up after his first sleep cycle and cry out, but it was for about a minute and he went back to sleep on his own.

And if you are reading this, and your baby is the same age as mine/older, screams every time you try to put them down, and NEVER self soothes, PLEASE DON’T COMPARE. Like I said, my oldest I never could have even attempted to put him down “drowsy but awake” this early on. Every baby is different and getting them to learn how to sleep is HARD. They all do it on their own time and you just have to listen to them and see what they are ready for. Listen to your momma instinct!

Last week Samson had a little cold so I had him sleeping in the rock and play to keep him elevated. He seems to really like sleeping on the angle and had his best sleeps in there. Nighttime sleep in the Rock and Play the last week has been AMAZING so this is why I’m resisting moving him from there. Do you blame me?? He has been doing 6-8 hour stretches at night. So basically he goes down at 7:30/8:30ish and then sleeps through til 2 or 3 am. Last week he even did a 8:45 pm-4:30 am. #GOALS.

Before he was sick he was sleeping in the dock-a-tot and was doing one 4-5 hour shift right when he went to sleep. I’m working on getting him in the crib without the dock-a-tot but it didn’t go so well saturday night. I’m not sure if its because he was so overtired from the short naps he had so I’ll keep persevering.

And don’t get me wrong-sometimes after his “long” stretch of sleep (the 5-7 hour window) he might get up every 2 hours after so some nights are harder for me than others!! Especially if he goes to bed earlier (like 7:30/7:45) and then he’s sleeping 7:30-2 am, and then up again at 4, and 6 am. Ick.

I’ll keep you all posted on how this progresses and anything I can pass along to you!

Breastfeeding

Nursing is going great. He weighs more than 13 lbs (in the 90th percentile for weight lol) so he is eating so well. Nursing sessions have cut down in time for sure which is great. I’m still leaking like crazy and getting engorged (especially at night) but I’m sure that will level off in the next 4-6 weeks.

I recently got the Willow pump in the mail and I’ll be trying that out and reviewing it here on the blog! For those that don’t know what it is, it is a wireless and cordless pumping system. It is also very quiet and you can pump on the go-while you’re playing with other kids, driving, while you cook, and you can even lay down pumping!

I do try and do one extra pump a day to stockpile milk; in addition to what Samson drinks we put my breastmilk in my older sons oatmeal (shh don’t tell!!). My middle boy also sometimes likes to drink it still out of a cup! I usually do this pump earlier in the day (morning) and pump only my right side. This side produces more milk for the pump; then I just feed on the other side because I know baby can get what he needs from there because they are more adept at pulling milk while breastfeeding than the pump is.

Milestones & Personality

Like I said before, Sammy is pretty chill. He loves to sit in his bouncy chair and look around and could honestly sit there for a good 15 minutes without a peep! He loves looking out the window, and likes taking walks. He doesn’t love car rides but is definitely getting a little bit better with it! He started smiling about 2 weeks ago (around 6/7 weeks). He kicks his legs fast when we speak to him and its so fun to see his reactions! I can’t wait for that first little giggle. He is also starting to enjoy his bathtime more and more & when he’s on his activity mat he sees everything so much more clear. Looking forward to when he is able to fully hold his head up and jump in the jolly jumper!

Brothers

The boys are honestly so awesome with him. I only worry about Seb because he is only 2 and doesn’t fully understand that he could really hurt the baby. But every single day they talk about Samson and tell me “he’s my best friend” ummm. HEART MELTED. Makes all the long nights and hard days worthwhile! Max is actually a pretty good little helper if I need something too!!

It’s going to be a little crazy no doubt trying to find a routine with all three boys but I think the biggest thing you learn after going with one to two kids is to just ROLL with it! So that’s what I’m doing…

2 month favorites

Here are our favorite 2 month baby favorites!

1.We’ve started to put Sammy in the bumbo for short increments! Its great for when you start solids and just somewhere “new” to put baby when you have to make dinner or tend to something else.

2. We love Mortimer the moose toy!

3. This baby einstein toy was a fave of our older two and plays fun music to catch their attention!

4. More toys

5. The shusher- amazing for on the go soothing!

6. This is a great early sit up seat for baby when they are young! Especially when you have other kids…keeps them entertained but still supports them!

7. The Mommy hook- but with a phone charger on it!!

8. Fun jungle gym that has a fun area for them to kick!

9. LOVE these mickey onesies!!

10. Baby towels from PB

11. Rattles

12. I want to get this portable sound machine!

13. Dock a tot that he loved sleeping/lounging in

14. The must have boppy for breastfeeding mamas

15. The rainforest play mat that we have had for all 3 kids!

16. Swing= LIFESAVER

17. The bouncer we have that he hangs out in

18. The best stroller IN ALL THE LAND. HANDS DOWN!!!

19. Lastly…how adorbs is this bunny onesie for Easter!!!?

Bumbo Floor Seat in Blue • Bumbo • $44.99
Lamaze Mortimer The Moose Plush Toy • Lamaze • $14.99
Baby Einstein Take-Along Tunes • Baby Einstein • $9.99
Baby Einstein Discover and Play Gift Set • Baby Einstein • $24.99
Baby Shusher: The Sleep Miracle • $34.99
Fisher Price Fisher-Price Deluxe Sit-Me-Up Floor Seat • Fisher-Price • $47.99
Mommy Power Stroller Hook • $39.99
Fisher-Price 2-in-1 Flip & Fun Activity Gym • Fisher-Price • $22.97
babyGap | Disney Mickey Mouse Bodysuit (3-Pack) • Gap • $19.99
Pig Nursery Bath Wrap, Pink • Pottery Barn Kids • $22.99–39.50
Fisher Price Fisher-Price Rattle 'n Rock Maracas • Fisher-Price • $6.29
Vtech VTech Myla the Monkey Portable Safe & Sound Storytelling Soother with Night Light in White • Vtech • $19.99
DockATot Deluxe+ Stage 1 Dock • $185–195
Boppy& Luxe Pillow with Reversible Slipcover in Elephant • Boppy • $49.99
Fisher Price Fisher-Price& Rainforest Music and Lights Deluxe Gym • Fisher-Price • $59.99
Fisher Price Fisher-Price Cradle 'n Swing in Safari Dreams • Fisher-Price • $164.99
My Little Snugapuppy Deluxe Bouncer • $39.99
Baby Jogger 2017 City Select Stroller in Black/Grey • Baby Jogger • $529.99
Bunny Sweater One-Piece • Gap • $39.95

Have a great Monday! xo

Alex

1 Month Old & 1 Month Baby Picks

Happy weekend loves! Hope you all had an amazing Valentines Day :)

Happy 1 Month!!!

Oh and happy one month to my little baby! And happy “we-survived-one-month-with-three-kids” to my husband and I! Haha! 

Today I’m sharing a little about our little guy now that he’s a month old  😭 and some of my “one month” baby favorites. 

I plan on sharing some of MY personal one month favorites as a mama that helped me get through the first 4 weeks next week! Also, my fitness/ body update will be shared next week!

I would have to say Baby Sammy falls right in between his brothers. He’s definitely not as fussy as his oldest brother (cause let’s be honest Max was horrible as a baby - cried constantly!!! ) but Sebby was pretty chill!! 

Sleep 

We moved him into his own room about a week ago. He will sleep either in his crib or in his rock and play. I figured he wasn’t sleeping great in our room so might as well move him because we weren’t going to be ruining something good anyways! Lol! 

Sleep in general is still not great although he does do one long stretch for about 3-4 hours. Last night he did a 4 hour stretch; the hard thing is getting myself to sleep at 9 pm and not wasting my life away on my phone, reading or just spending time with my hubby after he falls asleep haha. I hate rushing to bed but it’s worth it so I try to do it. After that long stretch of sleep it’s a crap shoot; I’m lucky if I get more than 2 hrs sleep windows after that. Hopefully he is done with the late night wake ups (like fully awake from 11 pm until 2 am UGH) where he’s up for a few hours. I do have to wait awhile before I transfer him into the crib or rock and play because he will just wake up otherwise. Hey, survival mode rn people!! I’ve been trying to nap a couple of times a week to try and keep myself functioning with the lack of sleep!

Breastfeeding

Big guy nurses like a champ and I would say my biggest issue right now is my oversupply and spraying him in the face haha during let down. When I leave the house and miss a feeding ( pretty rate) I do pump and I use the Madela. I did order the Willow pump (the cordless one) and I will definitely be reviewing that for you all when I get it in! 

Baby Sammy

Sammy is definitely doing more cooing by the day, is super busy and always moving, loves to be held, and doesn’t like a paci! I swear also that we had a real smile from him this morning! He loves going for walks ((so excited for when it’s better weather and we can go every day!)) and likes the bouncer, and the swing!

Not sure how long he is, but he is clocking in at 11 lbs already!! 

1 Month Baby Favorites

Here are a few of our 1 month baby favorites: 

1. Hands down the best investment we made was this swing. It was literally a lifesaver with max…..I mean could not have lived without it. It was the only way he would sleep!! Seb and Sam both have napped in it and it was worth every cent!!

2. The Boppy has been integral to my breastfeeding success especially having a C section. These are also great for working on sitting up later on, and tummy time!

3. I don’t have this version of the Rock and Play (This is the newer/nicer version-mine doesn’t rock automatically, only manually) but I would definitely buy this if I was having more kids/registering for my first. I have used the Rock and Play for napping and even bedtime with all 3 of my babies. They are portable, and put the babies on an incline (some babies prefer to sleep that way, or if they are sick its helpful)4.

4. Where my Disney lovers at?!! Swaddling blankets are great to have around and these aden and anais blankets are so cute and soft. Who can pass up Mickey?!!I use them for everything including leaking when I’m nursing (I put under his face on boppy so I don’t have to wash the boppy covers everyday)

5. Bouncer for a good price- this is the one we have and both my younger two boys liked it for lounging and chilling!

6. The tub we have for baby and had for all 3 kids!

7. Favorite, Favorite, Favorite bath wash for baby. I even use it on the older boys still to this day!

8. This activity mat we have had for all 3 boys and its great for tummy time, and exercise!

9. Sleep sacks are a must- keep babies swaddled without any hassle! Velcros make it easy for you!

10. The Dockatot is probably the only thing I DID buy. ha. This was new on the market after I had Seb and so many people raved about it. I definitely really like it. I use it more for lounging- I set him in it when I’m upstairs getting ready, putting clothes away, tending to his brothers, etc. and I don’t need to worry about him just laying flat on the bed. I know some people use it for napping and he has fallen asleep in it a few times but I don’t intentionally use it for napping. I also got it on sale through the Nordstrom Anniversary sale so for me it was worth it because I got a good deal on it!

11. Cute bath towels from Pottery Barn- we have used these for all 3 babies. Good quality!

12. Obsessed with Little Giraffe blankets and products!

13. This is the basinette that we used, and I have really liked. I also really like this HALO basinette-its def more modern with more technology and options so I may have picked this one if I didn’t already have one!

14. The shusher- it really works!

15. Obsessed with our stroller, we’ve had it for 5 years and its taken such a beating but we have NEVER had to replace anything on it. We walk sooo much and travel a lot so it has been roughed about but is still in great working condition. The quality is amazing, very easy to push and is easy to convert and add a seat if you have a second child!

16. Car Seat

17. Drying rack for bottles, pump parts, etc.

18. Sammy doesn’t really like paci’s, but both of my other boys used these the first month or two. The animal they can grab on to and it helps to stay in their mouth!

19. Car seat cover to keep baby safe from the elements/strangers!! Different designs and are so cute.

20. Winter baby must: warm car seat cover! 
    

Have a great weekend! xo

Alex

-Last Minute Valentines Day Gifts for Kids-

Last Minute Valentines Gifts for Kids

Hey y’all, hope you had a good weekend! Not much happening over here ((what else is new lol)) My weekend consisted of the usual... nursing, changing diapers and playing referee to my two older kids. Because I haven’t been able to get out as much as usual (( or like.. at all)) for obvious reasons I’ve done some ordering on amazon prime for a Valentine’s Day! 

I don’t know about you guys, but having kids makes Valentines Day that much more FUN and special! They get so into the holiday with their crafts, valentines, and school events! I

I thought I would share some of my picks for cute gifts for your little ones - that are delivered right to your door in time for Valentine’s Day- without any stress! 

| Melissa and Doug Train Conductor costume/dress up. My boys love to play dress up!!! |Melissa and Doug Race Car driver costume/ dress up |Girl Heart Jammies |Shopping Cart ||Dyson kids vacuum | Play Doh |I know the Grinch is another holiday..but if you don’t love Xmas all year round WHO ARE YOU. lol. My kids loved this movie and I might snag it for them for V-Day | How amazing is it that the caboodles for girls are back?!!!|These confetti crayons look so fun|Both of my boys are obsessed with these lego books|Gas n Go mower- both my kids love these! |Walkie Talkies for kids | V Tech Interactive walker |Candy Land Board Game|Duck and Goose Valentine Book| Minnie’s Valentine Book | Franklin’s Valentines Book

Hope you all have a great day!

xo Alex

3 weeks Postpartum Thoughts & My #1 PP Must Have

Happy Thursday everyone!

Hope you all are having a good week and enjoyed the warm up we had at the beginning of the week! It def gave me spring fever 🌸 🌺 ☀️ It also made me totally want to book a getaway ASAP!! 🏝 LOL

Hopping on to give a lil update on 3 weeks postpartum and some of my Postpartum must haves...

3 weeks postpartum

I remember the days going by so slowly postpartum with both of my first two kids, but I feel like this time it’s flying by. Maybe because I have two other guys to look after? I’m not sure but it sure is going by fast. 

The newborn honeymoon phase is clearly over at this point and it’s GAME ON. I know sooo many people who are like “newborns are so easy”. I think they may be on some sort of drugs or .. they had a super easy baby. I prefer toddler phase SO SO much more. Probably because 99% of night waking is my responsibility ((nursing))so home girl is tired AF. So let’s get to it...

Sammy 

Our big guy loves cuddles, milk, and being warm. Tolerates tummy time better than my other two ever did, and likes the bottle definitely less than the others. Hates to be swaddled (wants his arms free) and is the only one of my kids who actually likes to baby wear! All in all, he’s growing, healthy and we coulden’t be more blessed. truly. ((even with the lack of sleep lol))

SLEEP 

Sleep was actually going okay. At first I was getting 2-3 hour stretches at night. Bedtime is all over the show ((which is normal I guess)) and the last week was pretty rough. There were 2-3 nights where he was up 11 pm-1:30 am and then up every 90 min after- which is brutal considering my other kids are up at 6:30/7 am. Last night I resigned to the fact that I needed to go to bed when my older two hit the sack around 8 pm and that’s what I did. So I was able to get two 3 hour stretches of sleep and then once we hit 2 am he was up every hour or 90 mins. I was so happy he wasn’t up for the happy hour at 11 pm! 

How am I managing it? Some days are better than others. Most days I’m okay... but tbh yesterday I felt completely defeated.

Like...I’m never going to sleep again or get anything done ever again??!!. Before I had Sammy, I was usually up before 6 am to get myself ready, work out, emails, work on stuff for our business, blog, etc. Now that’s clearly not going to happen and it’s driving me crazy. It was my “time” to be productive and going to bed at 8 or 9 pm also means I get ... nothing done at night. Ugh. 

I’m not much of napper but I have forced myself to when I have help. I also remind myself 55 times a night on how fast this will go, and how my little guy is so used to being with me 24-7 and that he needs me. His mama ❤️.

Also, caffeine helps. Lol. A lot. Gimme allll of the spark. 

Breastfeeding

All of the pains of the first couple of weeks have subsided including sore nipples, massive engorgement, super leaky boobs, etc. and we’ve settled into a pretty good routine. 

Sammy only has taken the bottle 2 or 3 times; he’s not a huge fan which is okay for me now anyway because I’m with him so much and not working atm other than doing some things remotely at home and a meeting or two every week that I need to head in to the office for.

He’s gaining weight really well and I’m so grateful for my body and ability to nurse him. I’m definitely going to write up a breastfeeding post to share with y’all including tips, things I wish I would have known, and my favorite nursing friendly clothing!! 

Body

I did a big post on this last week. In the past week, I’ve started to walk a little bit weather permitting. My incision feels better and better and no signs of any issues there.

Also ...true story ....after my first walk my abs were sore! Haha! I don’t force the walking though- if the weather is crappy (like today) I just roll with it!

I’m not going to lie that I don’t feel a little frustrated - I weighed myself yesterday for the first time in a week and I haven’t lost a single ounce. So, I’m still up about 18-30 lbs. 

On top of that I ((stupidly)) tried on a pair of my normal size jeans and couldn’t get them over my thighs. On the same day that I weighed myself #ROOKIEMISTAKE lol.

Literally cried for the first time since having the baby. Not sure why I decided to do both of those things in one day 🤦🏼‍♀️Anyway, I have soooo much work to go to get back where I was and I’m definitely feeling down about that. 

It’s actually FUNNY to me typing that. I mean, I did just birth a 8 lb human 3 weeks ago….I guess patience and grace is an area that I need to work on lol. Also I’m not even walking consistently so I’m not sure why i think my body should be back to the way it is. I guess its just been a reality check and thats been a tough pill for me to swallow about the work and grind I’m gonna have to put in starting at 6 or 7 weeks PP. I’m mentally gearing up for it though and ready for the challenge.

I’m definitely going to do a “body image” post sometime soon because its something I’m really passionate about and I have sooo many thoughts about the “body positivity” movement!

Brothers 

The boys have adjusted really well ((so far)) actually. Max is definitely more interested in his baby brother and is pretty helpful!! but Seb loves him as well. Managing all three at one time on my own is a bit of a circus. I resort to a little more TV time than I would normally especially because I have to nurse so much ... and baby wearing 🤷🏼‍♀️when I have to. Newborns DO sleep a lot which helps, and my boys are in school (Seb twice a week, Max 4 times) so the mornings are easier. Early afternoons are okay because both older boys nap so its pretty much the 3-6 pm time slot and I mostly have help for now.

Tuesday night I was on my own with all three boys for bedtime. Luckily the baby napped the hour leading into their bedtime so all was good 🙌🏼I’m looking forward to a month or so from now where I can start to have a routine for the baby (or at least a ball park scheduled bedtime) and it will give us a little more structure. 

Postpartum Must- haves

I thought I’d share a few things that have been crucial to the bane of my existence for the past 3 weeks! These are great for postpartum…but also just COZY and COMFY wear for those on the lookout!!

-My #1 PP Item- The belly bandit. I wear this thing 24-7. Helps me keep my core stable, gives me support, and helps with reducing size of my tummy post baby. Cannot recommend this enough!!!

-Barefoot dreams cardigan. Wearing a sweater at times can be cumbersome when you nurse 10 times a day lol! these are soo warm and easy to wear.

-Another barefoot cardi

-Barefoot socks….wore around house or out and about with boots!

-I wear these C-panties day and night to help protect my incision! A must for C Section mamas.

-Cannot live without my boppy for breastfeeding.

-I wear joggers around the house alllll day. Love these joggers from Loft. Honestly they are like a soft blanket!

-My Dylan joggers from Anthro are on mega sale. Great if you’re pregnant, not pregnant or PP. Come in tons of colors!

-When I actually have to look presentable I wear the Align legging from lulu (high waisted and suck it all in) or the Zella legging!!

-Can’t say enough about these Wit and Wisdom jeans. Elastic on jeans? yesssssss.

-BP t shirts- easy to nurse in and great for layering. ( i sized up for PP life) I have these in solid and striped. Wearin them all day everyday. Also. $10. Add to cart.

-The january tee is an easy postpartum option made by Free People!

Have a great day

xo alex

Week 1 Postpartum & 10 Hacks to surviving the first week PP

My outfit: Free People top | Zella Legging | New Balance sneaks

Hey friends!!

Happy Hump day…although for me right now it seems like groundhog day lol. Allll of the days meld together and I don’t even have a day or night haha #postpartumlife

We welcomed Samson Alexander on January 16, 2019 💙💙we are so over the moon and BLESSED beyond belief

Wanted to give you an update and a few postpartum hacks for every new mama! Below is a few items I have been LIVING in this week cause just give me all the comfiessss.

Barefoot dreams socks- so comfy while the weather has been so cold ||| Barefoot Dreams Cardigan ||| Barefoot Dreams Cardigan || Graphic Tees | Loft Sweats literally the softest things I’ve had on my body!! || Ugg slippers ||

Update:

Birth

Everything went smooth during the surgery. We were scheduled for a 7:30 am, but it went a few minutes late. My spinal worked great and I was actually the most calm I’d been during any of the 3 of my C Sections. I did have some pain when they were taking Sammy out but other than that I felt fine. He had some problems breathing so the first 24 hours was pretty stressful but we got through it! I had a rough 24 hours post surgery, nauseous and throwing up (this didn’t happen with my other two kids)…honestly I felt HORRIBLE. I could hardly open my eyes I feel like…and combine that with trying to nurse your baby, etc. made for a tough day. More about the birth later….

Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding is going really well other than the fact that I feel like my boobs are the size of Texas and that someone is stabbing me with a knife in the nipple the first 30 seconds after latching… LOL. Its actually not funny though. Its so weird how I’ve nursed for over 2 years total with my other boys and my nipples are so sore still? Like why? It should be one of those things where it hurts the first time and then the next couple times you’ve paid your dues and you’re good- no pain. haha. Actually the whole child birth thing should be like that…who’s with me??!

Its always so crazy “learning” how to breastfeed again. I say “learning” because every baby is different and I feel like you almost forget how to breastfeed a newborn after a couple years. Older babies and toddlers are so different because they have the head control and know how to latch on their own so easily.

Breastfeeding a newborn is tough because you literally have to hold their head in place, and help them latch on and it can almost feel like you need an 7 arms to try and work through those first few feeds. Luckily Sammy caught on after the first day and has been doing great ever since. I definitely think the worst part of the first few days of breastfeeding is getting to know your baby and helping them learn how to eat…but also the engorgement ((and painful nipples!!).

I noticed for sure that the engorgement process got worse each time with each kid. With my second I was in a ton of pain and could hardly sleep when my milk came in…and with baby Samson even more so. I’ve finally JUST come through it and I’m so happy lol. They were rock hard and so sore for 4 days straight. Luckily, they gave me a hand pump at the hospital which helped a little, and this time around I was able to use my pump at home and that helped relieve a little bit. For some reason NOTHING would come out when I tried to express milk with Seb and I just had to keep nursing, and icing and it finally just worked itself out. I have about 30 ounces of milk already in my fridge ((um yes total oversupply over here lol) so I’m off to a good start. Its hard because I don’t want to pump too much; but at the same time I need relief!!
Sammy has already hit his birth weight 6 days after birth and I am so grateful for that! Our bodies really are amazing.

Home

The transition home was pretty seamless, mostly because my older two were still with their grandparents (Thank god!!) .

I stayed an extra day in the hospital- I’m so glad I did. I always get anxious when I get home and can’t take care of things myself. The first night home with Max is one my husband and I will legit never forget LOL. I don’t think we slept more than an hour. he honestly didn’t sleep AT ALL his first night home (haha this should have been foreshadowing for his first 8 months) and all he did was cry.

Seb didn’t sleep great on his first night home, but did ok. Sammy, the same. We were just grateful to settle him in and have some quiet time before the others came home! The boys just got home sunday so we are just trying to transition into 2 kids to 3!! It definitely is a lot louder with them home haha.

My biggest challenge is going to be getting rest and recovery but still carving out time for my two older boys. Also, our oldest is up super early ((like 6 am…ouch)) so there won’t be any sleeping in if I’ve been up all night with the baby. I think I’m going t o be permanantly exhausted the next year…but I guess you have done it twice so you kind of know what to expect. I also feel like right now I’m sleeping better than I was when I was pregnant ha! I had the worst insomnia and was so uncomfortable.

Recovery/Body

After the first initial few days, I am definitely feeling a lot better. I am still trying to sit/lay as much as I can to minimize movement with my incision and am avoiding stairs where I can. I haven’t really needed much pain medication since I came home which is great. Its a slow process but I keep reminding myself that every day I will feel 5% better. I came home from the hospital only dropping 8 pounds (like WHAT lol!!??Thats it?>)

I know from experience a lot of that is fluid retention(let the night sweats begin lol) so I’m trying to not read into it and give it time. My stomach is ((slowly)) going down and I know thats just a process!! I didn’t weigh myself the last 2 days (its been like a circus around here lol) but 5 days PP I was down 13 pounds/out of 35 total gained.

I wanted to share some advice/few of my Postpartum Hacks for surviving the first week postpartum cause it can be rough, yall!

1. Stool softener.: Ok peeps, if this your first kid this is a must have. Just thinking about going #2 PP is enough to make you cringe regardless of how that baby came out. This is my third time around so I knew to ask for it but they did not readily give it to me this time around (not sure why I had to ask) but it helps SOOOO much. Plz take it!

2. Nipple Cream: another must have for any breastfeeding mom. This has been a savior for me…it keeps your nipples hydrated when they get so irritated in the initial phases of breastfeeding.

3. Hospital Stay: I always recommend to people to stay in the hospital as long as you can. Yeah, I know there’s always people coming in your room checking on you, taking your vitals, etc. but BELIEVE me. Stay there as long as you can. Everything is at your finger tips. The second you get home you are instantly more active and have to be more mobile. I stayed in the hospital the full 3 1/2 days this time around and it was 100% better than the previous 2 deliveries.

4. Preparation is key: I can’t stress prep work enough!! Washing babies clothes, blankets, having a nursing station set up, baby items all set up, having items you need for postpartum life readily accessible (like clothes you’ll be wearing). I tried to get as much food prep in as I could too! As the female…you know where everything is so having it set up before hand so your hubby/SO doesn’t have to search for it is super important!

5. Ice Packs will be your BFF: Ice packs for everywhereeeeee. Down there, and for your boobs. Trust me. The best ones are the small kiddie ones from like the dollar store.

6. Belly Bandit: Get a belly bandit. I can’t say enough about this product and giving you support after you have baby…also it helps (I think) shrink the area and keeps your core “all together” and flattens it. Your core went through soooo much so its important to help it those first few weeks/2 months.

7. Rotate activity with rest: This is one I have a hard time with because when I’m home I just want to go, go, go regardless of how little sleep I get! I try to get 20-30 mins of activity (if baby is sleeping) and then the same ratio in rest time-ie. napping, sitting, reading, checking emails..just resting.

8. Take a shower everyday: Before I had my first, I heard these horror stories about people not showering for days so I always made it a priority for myself to shower every day. no matter what. It always made me feel more put together even if my life was a shit show! And my first was horrible - cried all the time-and I had zero help (as in was on my own with him about 8-10 hours per day every day) but I always showered. Self care people.

9. Take items from your hospital room: Use the products at the hospital as a resource and bring them home with you to make your transition home easier. Pads, granny panties, diapers, vaseline…bring it home!!

10. This is a season: Remember that honestly this is a season. things are going to be crazy, chaotic, frustrating, overwhelming…just remember that babies don’t keep. and that this too shall pass…!!!

Haven’t e a great wednesday loves!

xo

Alex

What I packed: Hospital Bag for Baby #3!

Hospital Bag Packing 101!

AHHHH! It’s almost time. I feel like the last 9 months have flown by and I can’t believe I’m going to have another baby! I wanted to share what you REALLY need in your hospital bag because after doing this two times…I know the drill ladies! If there’s anything you think I’ve missed let me know and add in comments.

Keep in mind there are a few items that I have on here that are strictly for C-sections ((but they are lifesavers)) so if you know you are having a section, get them!!

Here we go:

For Baby:

Honestly, the hospital provides SO much. Diapers, wipes (basically use a cloth with water), vaseline, little tops for them to wear while in the hospital, receiving/swaddle blankets, etc. So you honestly don’t need a lot.

Just a going home outfit including a hat-I usually pack 2 or 3. One in Newborn, and one in 0-3 months because you don’t know how big they are going to be! My last two boys were almost 9 lb but did fit into NB for the first week. I also pack 2 of the NB outfits because tbh they poop so much that sometimes they might get poop on their outfit before you actually leave ha! It happened to me with Max so I am glad I packed two outfits!

I pack these swaddles because I am not great at swaddling. They have velcro and are super easy to use, especially when you get home and you don’t have the nurses help 24-7! I also pack paci’s for the way home, and I packed this baby shusher-it was great with Seb when he was a baby. Nothing worse than baby crying in the car!

Also, I love Little Giraffe blankets—they are so warm and cuddly (pricy but I got as a gift and LOVE). I also splurged and bought these little Ugg boots for him because its so cold :) . When you leave, be sure to bring diapers, vaseline, receiving blankets home with you (they are great for wiping spit up, spraying and leaking boobs…for everything lol) Basically what I’m saying is take stuff from the hospital home with you!!!

For Mama

OK, so as I said earlier I might pack a tad bit more because I am in the hospital longer/have a few extra products but I think its always better to be prepared!

1. Most important item: nipple cream. Yall don’t even KNOW how sore the girls are gonna get. I plan on doing a post on breastfeeding (fingers crossed this guy latches smoothly) to give my tips. Its SO HARD the first 2 weeks. You are so tired, boobs hurt, and everytime they latch it feels like a thousand needles! USE THE NIPPLE CREAM. every time after you nurse!!!

2. Comfy Jammies-I ordered these. They are so soft and comfy and run pretty big. Great for nursing.

3. Warm socks-hospitals can be cold!

4. Slippers-these are the uggs I have.

5. Nursing Bras- I have the Cake lingerie bra and its great for nighttime and right when your milk is coming in. My all time favorite are the Ollie Gray’s Bras! Great support, cute, easy to use, comfy!

6. Nursing Tanks- easy access and can be layered!

7. Boppy Pillow- my tried and true boppy makes nursing soooo much easier. I bring this with me to the hospital. I coulden’t have lived without this nursing my two boys each for over a year.

8. Diaper Bag- I love my skip hop bag. I even get compliments when I’m not with the kids. They have other colors, but I’m obsessed with this mauve color. Tons of compartments to keep things organized and has a back area for laptop/ipads/magazines!

9. Makeup wipes & My travel size Tula products

10. Flip flops for using the shower!

11. Super long iphone charger for hospital room (and when you go home and you’re stuck under a sleeping baby! lol)

12. Going home outfit: I love this flowy three dots top (I’ve shared before), and the Nordstrom wrap top is great too (I will be wearing to hospital). My anthro joggers are still in stock and prob what I’ll be wearing home. My Steve Madden sneaks are super fun and easy to get on and off!

13. I love these basic nursing tops from asos- I packed one of these for the hospital.

14. Fuji instax camera- for instant photos of the babe!

15. Leopard print comfy joggers from H & M! So fun and I live in them right now…will be wearing to hospital!

16. C Section items: The C-Panty are great for postpartum incision healing. They are WORTH THE PRICE. They have a silicone spot to go over your incision so there isn’t any rubbing or irritation, and they have compression in them as well. I have 3-4 pairs and wore them every day for the first 2 weeks. Keep in mind you might not need them at the hospital just because you’ll be wearing the hospital granny underwear (and want to wear the granny underwear because…yeah…lots going on down there yikes).

    I also ALWAYS wear a Belly Bandit Postpartum. THIS definitely helped my stomach go down and gave me support through the midsection (you are like the pilsbury dough boy after giving birth! Stomach is mush!!! LOL)

    .I swear you can see a difference in wearing it for just like 6 hours. I’ve also purchased for the first time the Belly Bandit C Section Panty version-I’m hoping this is more comfy for my C-section while giving me the compression and support that the Belly Bandit gave me for the first week or so when my incision is so fresh and healing.

17. I pack my own hospital gowns for post surgery. If you are delivering natural, you can wear these from the get go! I love that they are cute, but the back is CLOSED. Also, they have snap buttons on the sides to make it really easy to nurse. Usually that first day I don’t even get dressed so I just throw this on and feel totally covered and at least somewhat cute. I do have to wear the hospital provided gown for my surgery for obvious reasons. (scroll down and I linked the one I have comes in tons of designs)

18. I always have my Medela pump readily available incase baby doesn’t latch, along with my fave nursing pads for leaking. I also pack a latch assister from Lanisoh- my left boob happens to be a bit harder for my babies to latch on to so it just pulls it out. Sorry TMI but I thought I would share because you never know if someone else is having the same problem! I also pack a nipple shield (sometimes I need this for my left boob as well. See below for all of these products! I linked all these below on amazon.

A few other things to pack:

-Makeup/toiletries
-Towel (the towels are always small at the hospital so i always bring one of my own!)
-Any snacks you need/want
-Computer/Ipad, charger
-Magazines
-Water Bottle- Water is crucial for recovery as well as for breastfeeding!!
-Hair ties- these are my tried and trues!!
-I linked my suitcase here. It is great for organization, 4 way roller, and I get compliments every time I travel with it!!
I totally recommend bringing home everything from the hospital like PADS (they are huge and amazing lol), granny underwear that they provide, bath sitzer if you give birth vaginally…) Trust me!!!

I also plan on running to Target today to get little bags from the Dollar section and filling it with snacks/goodies for the nurses! Those nurses are your besties! Look after them!!

I hope this post helped you guys pack for your trip to the hospital!

xo

Alex

Change, 38 weeks Pregnant & Saturday Spotlight

38 weeks Pregnant….Change….& Saturday Spotlight

Change. The only thing that is constant in life.

I just dropped the boys off at the airport and I was literally dying inside. All thats been on my mind the last few days is how different everything is going to be when they get back. I’ve been trying to soak in my mornings with Seb while Max is at school, family dinners and breakfasts…ahhhh. Not going to lie, pretty much in tears when I went to the car. Knowing the changes ahead of us, that nothing will be the same, how did this all go so fast??! I know they’re going to have a blast (my oldest was up at 5:20 am ready to go LOL) but its never easy in these moments knowing tons of changes are coming your way. I’m so excited; yet scared, anxious, sad, so many emotions. Here’s to our new normal of a family of 5!

That’s not to say a small part of me is basking in the fact that In the next few days I don’t need to bend over with my huge bump 83939 times a day to change diapers…or pick up toys, put toys together lol, put shoes, coats, gloves, on/take off my toddler, etc. haha.

Or the fact that I’m on no timeline. WHAT? I don’t have to be home at a certain time for the kids or bring them everywhere. So foreign to me.

But still….miss them so much already.

6 am bright and early ready for sunshine and Mickey Mouse with their grandparents!!!!

So…for now I’m going to distract myself with a fun post about my 10 faves of the week!

Saturday Spotlight

things I’m loving right now….

1. DYSON BLOWDRYER. Um yes. Yall. This is life changing. I have super thick hair and I swear I put off my whole hair washing process till the last possible moment cause it takes forrrrever. And also #momlife and I’m slightly lazy abt it haha. I got the dyson blowdryer for Christmas (just the basic one) and honestly I can’t say enough about it. I know its a huge investment…but if you have thick hair and are super busy (who isn’t??!!) you need this. Also, if you have to wash your hair a lot (like every day), it is a must have. This blowdryer has made my hair way softer than my old dryer, my blowout lasts longer and honestly it is SO quiet and dries my hair in like 5 minutes (and I have sooo much hair).

2. I love this Gleaming Heart Roadtrip sweater for Valentines Day and its almost 50% on the rack!

3. This Topshop Belted dress has been on my wishlist for like…weeks now and its under $50

4. This Abercrombie Long Turtleneck sweater is 50% and comes in a ton of colors…

5. This purple pom beanie from Abercombie is so stinking cute and unique and the price is SO good.

6. I’m a sucker for stripes and need to snag a few of these AERIE striped tees for postpartum and layering.

7. Isle of Paradise Self Tanner: I have super fair skin and love to have color. I was never good at finding a good self tanner. Over the last year I’ve liked the Josie Maran Argan Gold but it does get on your clothes/sheets after application if you go to bed after and I wish it lasted longer. Enter Isle of Paradise tanning water (or the drops I heard are really good). I AM OBSESSED. It doesn’t leave any residue on my sheets after application, its SUPER Dark, lasts for 3-5 days, doesn’t come off on my clothes and it has a slight smell but honestly the next day I can’t even smell it. It took me one application to figure out how to use it and make sure it was even. All of my posts lately I’ve had it on. Its a MUST. FYI I use Dark.

8. The double up Ardell lashes are my new fave- add soooo much volume!

9. This Jcrew factory pom hat is GOALS. Can you tell I love my winter hats? Also comes in black/pink!!

10. I’m on the hunt for nursing friendly clothes and this ruffle trim wrap top from Jcrew factory is perfect…and feminine. I also love their tissue turtlenecks. Save 50% off on 2 or more items, 60% off on 3 or more items, and 70% off 4 or more items from clearance!! YAS.

Hope you all have an amazing weekend.

XO

Alex

Tips for Surviving pregnancy with littles

Perspective: a particular attitude toward or way of regarding something; a point of view.

It’s amazing how as you walk along the journey of life, perspective changes as you are faced with different circumstances, grow older ((and wiser LOL)).

My pregnancy is finally coming to a close, and its amazing how my viewpoint of pregnancy has changed with each child. Some of thats due to experience, some of it maturity and age. And some of it is just down to rolling with the punches and taking things in stride even if you have no idea how you’re going to cope.

First pregnancies

I definitely didn’t think pregnancy was hard with my first from a physical standpoint-I felt good, slept pretty well, etc. , but looking back there are so many things I would have changed about my mindset.

There’s something so special (and EASY LOL) about your first and I was so devastated about missing a year in my professional soccer career that it consumed me. I can’t blame myself, but its always a thought on my mind how I never soaked up the pregnancy. I find with the second and consecutive pregnancies you have no TIME to enjoy it because you’re so frickin busy!

Pregnancies with multiple kids

Anyway, fast forward to my second and having a toddler to run around after while being pregnant made pregnancy sooo much harder. From getting more sleep/rest, having time to get things done, to fitting workouts in it was for sure a challenge. But I thjnk with everything we are faced with, you somehow get it done.

When we found out we were having a third, I knew it was going to be extremely challenging with a toddler and preschooler. But, as I close in on 38 weeks, somehow I made it through in one piece!!

I wanted to share my thoughts and some tips for those of you embarking on the pregnancy journey with 2 ((really really)) young kids and some things that helped me get through the pregnancy. Now the postpartum period? haha. We’ll see how I survive that…wish me luck. haha :P

Tips for survival!

1. Take advantage of bursts of energy/days you feel good! This one is huge! When I’ feeling physically good, I tackle bigger projects/chores etc. so on the days I’m more tired or feeling super heavy I can do some lower key things.

2. At night wait to sit down: This one was huge for me. I always felt like a hot mess in the morning if after the kids went to bed that I just sat on the couch. Taking 15-20 mins, no matter how tired I was, at organizing things made mornings SO much smoother. Especially since I wasn’t really being productive on the couch anyway! Straightening up, and setting things up for the next morning really made my life SO so much easier in the long run. It also allowed me the option of sleeping a little later in the morning knowing things were set up downstairs. Once I sit down at night I feel like I can’t get up and then the morning is chaotic. because I’m playing catch up!

3. Have your older sibling help as much as possible: my oldest is 4 1/2, so I try to get him to help me as much as possible. I think this is probably even easier with a girl, but my little man has done a decent job. Helping his brother take shoes, coat, etc off, hanging things up, grabbing something for me upstairs, filling up sippy cups for him and his brother full of water, fixing a toy for his little brother has been really important because it limits putting me in awkward positions with the bump. Also, when baby comes my youngest will be used to his brother helping so it won’t be a big deal if I’m busy with baby.

4. Making them independent: Piggy backing off the above- I have tried super hard to make them as independent as possible over the last few months. Not only for me physically right now, but trying to set the stage for arrival of baby 3. Max is a really early riser (like 6 am) SO…we’ve trained him when he wakes up, he dresses himself and comes downstairs on his own and plays (even though 90% of the time I am already up right now…I might not be in a couple weeks haha). He can obviously dress himself with coats, hats, shoes, jackets, and Getting his own school bag ready, buckling his own car seat are all examples, I’ve tried to work hard with getting Seb to get undressed on his own with shoes, coat, etc. but that process is a little slower because he has just turned 2.

5. Enlist help: This one is obviously a given. I have someone come to the house for when I’m at work but its pretty much for when I’m at the office. If you have friends or family offering to take your kids or even ONE (because one is one and two is twenty amirite??!!) just take them up on it. I definitely need to be better asking for help at times but this pregnancy I asked some family and friends every now and again to help, especially when the kids were sick.

   I am lucky because both boys nap at the same time, so if I wanted to nap when I’m home and not at work I can ( probably have taken 3 naps this whole pregnancy LOL, I’m not really a napper) but if your oldest doesn’t nap anymore, and you need a rest, get yo self some HELP!!! YOU DONT GET A MEDAL FOR DOING IT ALL ON YOUR OWN. end of story.

6. Get amazon prime: LOL. This is kind of a joke, but not really. Especially because I work, I do a lot of shopping online. It allows me more time with either my kids, resting, or doing things I want to be doing and not stressing with traffic, lines in the store, and maybe moving around when I’m not feeling great. Also see: LUGGING TWO KIDS to the store.

7. Pick and choose your errand time: This is piggybacking off the above- I try to avoid bringing them to any store with me especially if I’m not feeling great. Some days I have no choice (grocery day) but if I have to run to target, I might wait a few days until I know when they’re both in school or my husband will be home. I’m more focused and efficient when I’m on my own for sure. With that being said, I’ve made my fair share of trips with both boys (way too many!!!) and sometimes you just get it done!!

8. Lower your expectations: Your kids are kids. they don’t care if they have an activity every day, Ignore pinterest and anything that makes you feel like you’re not doing enough!! Kids actually love routine. Embrace that and don’t try and reinvent the wheel and kill yourself with activities and trips making your day super busy!! Both of my boys are pretty content outside or playing with their toys in all honesty so don’t kill yourself trying to cram things in. THEY DON’T CARE!! As long as they are with YOU thats all they care about. That being said, know when to get out of the house- sometimes its necessary…like when all they are doing is fighting lol.

9. Find me time: I know self-care is a HUGE hype word right now but for me, setting aside 15 mins for a bath, or putting my makeup on in the morning is what I NEED to feel good about myself and happy. Carve out a few minutes here and there for things that you want to do whether its work out, pamper yourself, read, whatever…

10. Lastly, just remember that as long as they are healthy and loved, you’re doing a great job. That means its ok if they have PBJ two days in a row, or watch too much TV one day because you’re tired. You’re growing a human. Thats hard AF.

Have a great day loves xo

Alex

Peanut Butter Blondie's Maternity Favorites!

34 weeks with baby 3! Happy Saturday everyone!

This post has been on the back of my mind for weeks now and I wanted to get it out this week! I had another post planned as well (holiday dress wear) for those of you still looking for your Christmas outfits but I’ll try to get that one up by early next week.

Things have been crazy with my boys being sick, especially my youngest with an ear infection. I’m a little behind on here, and I’ve got boat loads of wrapping to do! Yikes! I think we are on the mend finally, once we got some meds he has been feeling sooo much better thank god! There is nothing worse than sick little babies :(

Anyway, obviously I have been pregnant three times so I have had a lot of time for trial and error on maternity fashion and what feels and looks good. I also love to look good, but also be comfortable! Especially because with my last 2 pregnancies I have been running after other kids , and even my first I was doing a ton of coaching through the whole pregnancy!

There have been so many things that I have either ordered and hated, or wore a couple times, and realized after wear that it didn’t work (ie. fell down, too much pressure on stomach, stretched out, etc.) and I don’t want you all to make the same mistake!!

SO. I have made a huge list of all my maternity faves. I have tried to mix winter and summer stuff in here but that is hard because its the dead of winter! LOL. Also…a lot of this stuff is neutrals…so sorry if it is boring colors lol…I build around it with accessories, oversized sweaters, tunics, cardigans, etc because you’re only pregnant for so long so you don’t want to completely buy a ton! ALSO…these can be GREAT gifts if you have a loved one who is newly pregnant!! Trust me, giving the Zella Leggings is like the GOLDEN ticket for a pregnant mama!!

I also plan on doing a blog post on some of my favorite transitional pieces which are great for first trimester (and even second if you are carrying small or a first time mom). These pieces generally are also perfect for that transitional postpartum period when you’re not back to your normal size but want to feel good and wear regular (not maternity) clothing!! These are all clothes I would wear even if I wasn’t pregnant and most were already in my closet anyway!

I plan on doing a post potentially next week or over Christmas on my favorite workout gear while pregnant so I will have a few more options on different items then! I hope this helps you pregnant mamas….!!xo

……Talking My Favorites…..

1. My number 1 on the list has to be the Maternity Zella Leggings. I wear these basically every day. Amazing quality, can be dressed up or down, they are the BEST. Hands down, the number one item I can’t live without. These fit TTS, select your pre-pregnancy size.

2. Second thing I wear the most is the Pure Body Tees/Long sleeve tees. I wear these under sweaters, coats, to run in, perfect for layering. They are cotton, super comfy and cheap when you get them on sale. Must have. (Gap always has 30-50% off sales!)

3. Same as above but long sleeve option!

4. Finding jeans can be tough. I’ve found that I like the old navy rockstar ones the best. I’ve honestly tried every designer brand and I like these the best! Like Gap, they have good sales so get them on sale (I believe right now these are on sale too!) These don’t fall down too much, are comfy and look good. Note that the dark wash of these run a little smaller. I got the second smallest size for reference.

5. Spanx faux leather leggings maternity! f-these are great to head out to dinner or dress up your every day outfit. I did find they slipped a little but I think I needed to size down to the XS. They look amazing though and are definitely comfortable and you can move in them.

6. I love these fleeces They are great to and from the gym or even just at home. I used them also to run in. Run TTS.

7. Love me some overalls! TTS and super cute…as seen in my photo!!

8. Distressed overalls…comfy and so cute! Can transition from winter to spring, can be worn in summer or fall and a warmer winter day!!

9. I didn’t love the blue wash of the madewell maternity jeans, but I loved the black ones. I lived in them in Paris. Great color, super comfy. TTS to madewell brand (which usually runs a little big)

10. This is a great non maternity dress that you can wear through all stages of pregnancy and AFTER. Its a flattering fit. Not pregnant I usually size up to a S, and when pregnant M. Its on sale right now as well and comes in tons of colors! Here is the tank version!

11. My favorite maternity workout tank

12. Cutest suit

13. This vest is great for layering during fall/winter/spring! I have this in black.

14. Cozy sweater and great fit and price ! Comes in tons of colors.

15. Cutest tee!

16. Joggers are my Go-to. These always sell out!

17. This is for sure my favorite sports bra to wear when I’m pregnant for high impact activities- running, etc. It keeps your girls in place and it also has straps for nursing so when you have the baby you can wear this as well. It is definitely harder to get on but for me its totally worth it because my chest size increases like 3 times when pregnant and nursing so I need the tight support!

18. My winter jacket-

Congrats and let me know if you have any questions about anything!

xo

Alex

Fast & Easy Family Friendly Recipe: Turkey Pepperoni Chicken

Recipe: Pepperoni Chicken

I wanted to hop on and share a quick recipe that our whole family enjoys…I know how it can be a struggle to make only one meal (thats somewhat healthy!) for the whole family, especially with toddlers/kids in tow!

For this meal, our boys love the pepperoni and they LOVE pasta. My oldest son loves this meal and requested it for his birthday!

I put a healthier, lower carb spin on it for my husband and I with the zucchini noodles, but you can totally make yours with pasta.

This meal is kind of like pizza…minus the carbs and packs a mean protein punch with a little zing with the pepperoni. I usually get this in the oven, and steam so veggies and I’m good to go! You could even make this ahead of time and throw it in the fridge in the morning, and when you’re ready to cook or get home from work, just put in the oven and you’re good to go. I’ll definitely be using this trick when baby 3 comes along because…#witchinghour !!!!

Pepperoni Chicken

Ingredients:

Turkey Pepperoni Slices
Breadcrumbs of your choice (1/4 or 1/2 cup)
1 egg, mixed
3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
Chicken (I use cutlets, if i happen to use breasts I slice and pound them so they cook faster)
Motzarella Cheese
Pasta of your choice (you can subsitute zucchini noodles)
Red jarred sauce (any kind you like, I happened to use Chefs)

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Put parchment paper on cookie sheet or pyrex dish ( I always use parchment paper, the breading never sticks to it!)

2. Slice/Pound the chicken if needed. Crack the egg in a medium sized bowl, beat.

3. Pour breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese in a different bigger size plate or dish.

4. Dip Chicken in egg, then in breadcrumb and cheese mixture, coating.

5. Place on baking sheet and continue until all chicken is on sheet. Put in oven.

6. Cook for 25-30 mins, flipping halfway. (at the halfway point I throw my veggies in the steamer and cook my zucchini noodles & pasta)

7. The last 5 minutes, pull out of oven and place pepperoni on chicken breast. I usually do 3-4. Sprinkle cheese over. Place back in oven for 3-5 more minutes. (If you like it crunchy you can broil it!)

8. Warm the sauce, and drizzle it on the chicken and/or pasta. My boys don’t really have the red sauce but I do!

9. Enjoy!

   
   Have a great day!
   xo Alex
   

HBD!! Getting Older is a mindset....

I’m sitting here on the morning of my 36th birthday, and I probably should still be sleeping. Its a rainy, dreary morning but I have so many thoughts on my birthday so here I am!

Its funny when you’re a kid and you think there’s this “cut-off” age where you become old. Like..35 or 40 or whatever it is.

But when you actually hit that age, you don’t even actually feel old. lol, I guess in my mind age is just a number, and if you look after yourself you’ll feel, look and even act younger. I can’t really say that it bothers me like it does some people. Obviously I’m aware of it, ((and sometimes I think about it more than others)) but its all part of life!! I think back to 10 years ago and there’s certain things I’d take from my 25 year old body but I love my experience and wisdom so much more! Don’t get me wrong, there are some days where I totally feel my age (especially when pregnant or newly postpartum), or have days when I look in the mirror and don’t love what I see, but I’ve honestly have had people in my gym ask me “what sport I play” (ie. in college…LOL…umm I graduated like 15 years ago) and some that can’t believe I have kids because I don’t look old enough and am so fit…and thats what I remind myself when I have a negative day!

Today, in honor of my 36th birthday I thought I would share 6 ways I really look after myself to not only feel young (read: energy), but look younger as well. In addition I’m sharing 3 of my favorite memories from this past year!

6 non negotiables on looking after yourself & the aging process

1. Sleep. Obviously this is a tough one if you are a mom (or parent). But, once the newborn/first year stage is over with I always make sleep a priority and try to get at least 7 hours a night no matter what is going on. Sometimes its hard to look away when you see laundry, dishes, etc. but that sleep will help repair your body, skin, and brain. Everything else will be there when you get up.

2. Exercise: You all know I love to stay active and workout…and that could vary from a 30 min walk with the kids to a run, or a lift! But moving helps my body look and feel SO MUCH younger. Start with small goals- don’t try and change your whole life. Add more movement 1 or 2 days a week and gradually increase. Everything in life is a habit and after 3 or 4 weeks you’ll find the habit has stuck more often than not. I love these pegasus Nike shoes, these zella live in leggings to run around in all day, my Apple ipods (so great for working out), and my Apple watch. I’ve also had a Fit bit and have enjoyed that as well!

3. Nutrition: I never grew up loving salads, fish, sweet potatoes, or vegetables. I ACQUIRED a taste for them because it is what makes my body feel good, and I want to live a long time! So, if I can do it, so can you! Change is hard, but we can do hard things ladies!!

   Change your mindset about eating and you’ll find you have more energy eating for alllll of the things! Eat vegetables, whole foods, etc. Give it time for you to start to accept it in your palette! And of course add in pizza and treats every now and again…remember that 80-20 rule :)

4. Water: I’m sure you’ve read this a thousand times, but drinking enough water affects your complexion, how you feel, and how your body functions. I can tell you with certainty that 95% of the time I have a headache its due to lack of water because I’ve been busy. I drink a couple glasses of water instead of reaching for medicine to “fix” my headache. Trust me. Drink your water! This is my favorite water bottle- keeps water cool for up to 24 hrs and is super cute. Can’t go wrong with Swell water bottles, great quality and make great gifts as well.

5. Stay out of the Sun: This is one that I probably have to thank my mom. I honestly was shielded as a kid lol- hat, so much sunscreen, stayed in the shade (I used to get sick in the sun!!) Nowadays I see young college students with more forehead wrinkles than me and it makes me so sad. Stay out of the sun and use SPF! I use SPF 30 even in the winter on my face, and wear hats in the summer to shield my face as well as SPF 50.

   There are so many great self tanners out there these days that you can use in your own home! I definitely hit up tanning beds after years of being covered up when I was a kid (I am super fair) which I completely regret but fingers crossed that into my mid-20s through now I have been super sun smart that I’ll be okay. Obviously you want to be sun smart because of cancer risks, but also think of your skin & aging! I’ve linked my favorite SPF’s from La Mer- the SPF 50 and the La Mer SPF 30 (use mostly in winter), as well as my favorite self tanners: Josie Maran & gradual self tanner Banana Boat. I use Josie Maran all the time and the gradual self tanner is really great too- I just started using that as well. Love this Lululemon hat & this Nike hat to keep your face out of the sun!

6. Mindset. I spoke about this briefly already but honestly I don’t “dread” my birthdays. I’m proud of who I am, how I look because I work hard at it, and look after myself so I have a lot of energy and don’t feel too much different than when I was 19. Both of my post baby bodies were fitter and leaner than when I was 19 (and I am determined to get there after my last baby!), and I’m a lot smarter, more experienced and stronger. Everything in life is mindset!

Goodbye 35….3 of my favorite memories this past year

1. Hitting up NYC for my birthday last year and taking a helicopter over the city. That was definitely one for the bucket list, and it was amazing to get away for 30 hours away from the crazy life of parenthood just the two of us!

2. Our family vaca to Hawaii: As stressful as it was traveling that far, it was awesome to have a family trip and catch up with family we haven’t seen from Aus/NZ. Seeing the boys connect with their cousins was amazing and we really had a great time. A trip I definitely won’t forget.

3. Finding out about Baby3: This was obviously a surprise, and initially we had mixed reactions but I think God had his plan for us and we are more than excited to meet this little guy!

Below I have listed some of my favorite products for my skin, staying healthy & active!

Thanks for reading & Hope you all have a great day!! xo

Alex