Life As I Know It

Before I became a full-time Mom I was a Monday to Friday girl. I used to live for the weekends! Now I find it hard to tell the days apart. Days turn into weeks & the weeks blend into months? When your energy is focused solely on the well being of your babe, time doesn't matter. Things are starting to get a little more "normal" around here. We are trying to be a little more organized such as planning out meals & grocery shopping for more than one meal at a time. So far so good!  Started to sleep more now usually only up once a night (knock on wood) Speaking of time, it's limited these days with getting myself prepped & ready for the day. I find myself throwing on boyfriend jeans, simple graphic tees, a pair of Converse & a few accessories (if I want to get fancy). Not only is it easy but it's become my "Mom style". I'm always rushing to have a shower & get ready during Avery's happy time in her Mamaroo. Hard to believe in just a week we will have a 3 month old.... And it will also be our 1 year wedding anniversary. What a year we've had! Everything seems so fast paced but this is life as we know it & I love it! 

Melissa xo 

Letter to A

Dear sweet girl, 

You have completely melted my heart. Life feels complete with you. I wasn't sure what to expect before you made your entrance into this world, now I can't picture my life without you. I could go on about my hopes & dreams for you but what I hope most of all is that you love & that you are a kind person. You will go so far with these two attributes. Love yourself & others, the world needs more love. "Be kind everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle". My promise to you is to care for you, love you unconditionally & teach you important life lessons. Love you to the moon & back!

Mom xo 

(Image Anna Bond) 

6 Weeks

I am seriously wondering how 6 weeks already went by! Wow... I guess that's what happens when you have a baby. I felt like the first month of Avery's life I somewhat went into survival mode (of course after the adrenaline wore off from having a new baby). All I could really do every day was "get through". I think sleep deprivation, hormones & a new little human to care for finally set in. Newborns are harder than I imagined. Everybody says "oh newborns are so easy because all they do is eat & sleep". All I kept wishing for was for our baby to get past the newborn phase so we could get to know her adorable personality. Well here we are at 6 weeks & I couldn't be more in love with her & her personality. She is such a joy! It's non stop smiles all day long (don't get me wrong she does have her grumpy moments) She will even wake up in the middle of the night smiling at me... Melt my heart! She's very responsive now as well. Makes the cutest coo's when having her diaper changed.  Analyzing our faces & turning her head when she hears our voices. It's also so special to see the bond between her & Dad. He's so great with her. It's nice to have him more involved now too as the beginning seems like it's all about Mom & baby. She gets excited every time she hears his voice. I look forward to all the special moments the two of them will have together. She is chubbing up quite well, all the little rolls are starting on her arms & legs. We can't get enough of her these days! 

I decided to quickly do some photos of Avery this morning before her nap. Since we have a great camera I thought I would put it to use. We didn't get newborn photos done the timing didn't seem right & I thought it might be a bit much having wedding, maternity, delivery & newborn photos all done in one year! 

Melissa xo

The First Month

Our new adventure began the moment we were released from the hospital. It was bittersweet saying goodbye to all the nurses (or little angels is what I think they should be called). They provided us with the best care & support throughout our entire stay. I was also a little sad knowing baby A would never be this small again (seems obvious but I was having a Mom moment). 

I never really knew what to expect in the first month. I kept trying to picture us coming home with our baby. It was a visualization I had quite often. 

First off, we introduced the baby to her black lab brother, Finn. He had no idea what to think of her. He would run to her side every time she would grunt or cry. Such a gentle soul! I think he was more scared of her than anything.  Thankfully, Chris was off for an entire month to help me. We spent the first few days trying to bond as a family (minimizing visitors) it was a special time for us but also hard. Not only are we adjusting but also healing from delivery (now that's a whole other story) Of course, lots of interrupted/ sleepless nights & learning our new roles as parents. This is the stuff books cannot prepare you for! Well in my opinion. We would try & get through the night & then do the same with the day. It's all about going with how you feel during the day. We would try & get out once a day. Even if that meant a quick trip to the grocery store. It felt like a success clipping the baby into the car seat correctly! Really it's the little things in life... Thank goodness we had a good baby. She was calm, a good eater & slept well during the day. Which made it easy for us to go & do something while she was snoozing away in her car seat. Avery was a sleepy newborn until about 2 weeks. Then she "woke up" found her little voice & started communicating with us about her wants/ needs. 

Highlights of the first month:

. Met cousins Everett & Oliver

. Baby shower (all aunts came Taryn, Christina, Krista & Brittany)

. Being babysat by Grandma 

. Lots of doctors appointments, back up to birth weight by the first visit

. Opening eyes 

. Smiling when she hears Mom & Dad's voices & see's their faces 

. Growing every single day 

. Loves to grab onto fingers 

- Leaving the hospital, I swear if it wasn't for the nurses we would have never known how to use that car seat! 

I never knew how special it would be to become a Momma. I look at her & my heart is melted! I didn't know how much love you could have for such a little person. So amazing! Both Chris & I are amazed every single day & both feel so fortunate that she is here with us. So excited to watch her grow, teach her about life & become her role model. Happy 1 month sweet baby Avery! 

Melissa xo 

Hospital Bag

I think this was my most searched item on Google. I always like to hear what Mom's think & any helpful advice they can pass along! So now that I have had my trip to the hospital I figure it's a good idea to make a post of my own on this topic. Considering I had never had a hospital stay or a baby this was all so foreign to me! 

I had thought that I had been prepared with my bag for about 2 months. It's funny, the day I went into labour I had come home & added more things to the bag! I felt like I didn't have enough things & didnt want to be sending my husband home to pick up a million things (we are lucky where we live our hospital is about 7 minutes away). Here are my helpful tips below:

• A fan (you don't realize how hot you will get, could be a combination of hormones or maybe the fact you are having the most intense workout of your life! They tend to keep the hospital quite warm a well) 

• Cozy pajamas or lounge wear (you want to be in something that isn't constricting & comfortable)

• Snacks (depending on what time of day or night you go into labour you want to be able to have something to eat after. Luckily my sister had brought me Gatorade which was fantastic to replenish my electrolytes after the fact)

• DSLR camera (I really wasn't interested in having photos in the delivery room. My sister decided to use our camera halfway through the delivery to capture the first moments with our baby. These are photos I know I will cherish forever)

• Flip flops (you don't know what's on the floor & they are easy to slip on & off, plus you can wear them in the shower) 

• Pillow (you want to be as comfortable as possible so any comforts like this from home make it much better)

• Boppy or Nursing Pillow (I had forgotten mine at home & regretted this deeply! My back was killing me within no time. Do yourself & your back a favor by propping your baby up on the nursing pillow)

• Lip Balm (it's amazing how fast your lips can dry out, stock your bag with your favorite lip chap as you will be constantly applying it)

• Baby Sleepers (I had brought the sleeping gowns for the baby, so easy for changing during the night & it also has long sleeves. Our baby wasn't the Swaddle type so she wanted her arms out at all times, this way I didn't worry about her cooling down too much) 

• Shampoo & Conditioner (I wanted to shower as much as I could so these were nice to have as the hospital only provided some foaming soap to use) 

Overall the hospital does provide a lot of care items for the baby. These are mostly items to make Momma's feel more comfortable. I hope you find these tips helpful. 

Melissa xo 

40 Plus Weeks!

Baby girl, what's the hold up? We thought for sure you would be here by now.

 Everybody does say that the first baby is always late but I had a strong feeling she would be early. We have been extremely patient with waiting. It's amazing how every little movement, pain or change makes you think "could this be it? Is she coming today?" Then another day goes on, then another week. I have officially run out of room. It's bizarre to see a foot move across your stomach. Then feel your stomach tighten because the baby is adjusting. These are moments I hope to never forget. 

With the weekly doctor visits & procedures I thought for sure we would not go past our due date. Here we are 40 weeks plus 1 day. Non stop texts, phone calls, emails asking where the baby is. We know that she will come when she is ready.... 

Finn already loves you! As do we. 

Melissa xo 

38 Weeks!

Well I didn't anticipate we would be at 38 weeks so quickly but there was a change in the due date. I guess from having 3 different doctors & having the ultrasounds done it wasn't caught until last week. We are currently at 1 week & 2 days left until our new due date! The feeling that I constantly have these days is butterflies. I go to bed every night wondering "will she come tonight?" Then I wake in the morning to ask myself the same question. The waiting period is hard especially when you are nocturnal. I've never in my life had an issue with sleeping until about the past 2 months. Nobody warned me about that... That's okay though, I have had a few weeks off to enjoy some "me" time. Which was much needed.  Feeling anxious about labour as I'm sure that's normal. How bad is the pain? Will it really be as bad as everyone makes it out to be? It's the fear of the unknown.... All worth it in the end to meet our girl. 

The baby wasn't quite in the right position as of the doctors appointment yesterday. We have another check-up next week to see where she's at. She is the size of a watermelon right now & don't I know it! I can thankfully say most of my clothes fit up until last week. Thank goodness! She's weighing in at approximately 6.5 lbs & between 19-22 inches long. Funny to look back to around 18 weeks, I thought I had a "big bump" then! I can't wait to see her face for the very first time & hold her. We are ready to meet you sweet girl! Wishing you a safe entrance into this beautiful world. 

I don't have a lot of photos but a bathroom selfie will have to do for now:

Melissa xo