The Perfect Travel Stroller

I used to think it was crazy when people would mention that you need more than one stroller. I never believed it well until I had children. Let me tell you, they were right! A good every day stroller with a large basket, one with three wheels for trails & of course a compact city stroller. I had the first two now I was searching for the best compact lightweight stroller. 

I found the BILY 

It folds & unfolds with one hand, brilliant! Super lightweight & takes up minimal space in the trunk. It also offers a large storage basket. The bonus of this stroller is that is reclines for naps on the go. The small wheels work best on concrete or smooth surfaces. All in all it’s a great compact stroller! 

Harrison's First Year

Trying to document as much as I can with Harrison but unfortunately he is the second child. That means not as many details or blog posts. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The First Month With Harrison

I still remember the day after we arrived home waking up in an absolute newborn fog. So glad to be home but everything was slow moving. The first couple weeks felt good insanely busy but good. As the next couple weeks went on they became more & more challenging. 

It's been a hard transition... I've gone from being efficient & being able to do everything to starting back at square one. Harrison hasn't been the easiest baby. He only wants to be held, in the wrap or be rocked most of the day. So the little to-do's that were once so easy to complete are now a big deal! It's an accomplishment now if I get out of my pajama pants by noon! Trying to enjoy these moments of newborness in between the chaos. 

Harrison has just started smiling & it's absolutely adorable! He starts his day off with a big grin & coo's. He's been tracking with his eyes & curious about everything. Does not enjoy the Mamaroo, so we might as well just get rid of it. At 6 weeks he weighed in at 12lbs 14oz. Despite having reflux I guess he's getting exactly what he needs to thrive. Avery adores him. She always wants to touch his face, give him kisses & check on him. Thankfully she doesn't refer to him as "Chip" anymore. She calls him "Baby Bro" or "Harrison John". Pretty special to watch the two of them together. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The DockaTot

We had a heck of a time with sleep with our first born. Nothing seemed to work for us.... All I can remember was endless hours of standing up bouncing & rocking with tired, heavy eyes. Along with singing the same nursery rhymes over & over again! What I would've done to have had a Dockatot back then... I probably would've given my right arm! 

 

 

 

I had said to my husband from the beginning of our second pregnancy "the only thing we really need this time is the Dockatot". He actually agreed with me! There's a lot of things you forget about newborns but the non-existent sleep was something that we both never forgot about. We received the Dockatot for Harrison & so far it's been amazing! We've placed it in our king sized bed on top of our duvet. I put Harrison in there & he will sleep for a couple of hours (when he's not struggling with tummy issues). Then when it comes time for his nap I try & place him in there.  It's also been handy to move the Dockatot from room to room. That way I'm able to get housework done & he can sleep soundly. He's cocooned perfectly in the Dockatot & extremely cozy. It's the perfect baby item for the expecting parents! 

Harrison's Birth Story

The weeks leading up to Harrison's birth had so much anticipation. "Would this be the day?" Which is what I thought every night before going to bed. Of course we all thought he would come early but we were all wrong. Avery & I made the move to Nanaimo on March 25th. It was an emotional trip leaving Chris & Finn at home but we knew we wanted to be in Nanaimo in case he came early. Finally Chris joined us on April 3rd. 

With 4 attempts of membrane sweeps & what seemed like endless doctor appointments (it was only an appointment every other day). Nothing seemed to be progressing. So I decided to start moving around more; the beach stairs, walks every night & attempting to keep up with Avery at the playground. I think I drank an entire box of raspberry leaf tea as well as ate some spicy food. All the myths of bringing on delivery 😉. Yet again, none of them seemed to work. I left my doctors appointment on Wednesday holding back tears because I saw the closure notice on the door for holiday weekend hours. I remember thinking "how could they be closed for 4 days?" Clearly I was at the end of pregnancy & only thinking about myself. 

On Easter Sunday I started having contractions. I was super excited as I thought they would progress. By evening they were virtually gone. However; around 11:00 they picked up again. By 2:00 they were increasing & back pain set in. I thought for sure this was the start. I text my doctor to tell him. We then decided to head into the maternity ward to be assessed. Timing them on the way still about 7-8 minutes apart. We were assessed & by that time they were slowing down & weakening (go figure). After we answered the million questions they ask we were told to go home & get some sleep. For some reason I wasn't upset about leaving. I knew that there must be something going on & at some point it will progress! I also felt good about getting checked out as you just never know. 

I followed up with my doctor the next morning. I'm sure he was wondering what had happened in the middle of the night. Plus I thought it had come time to have the conversation about induction (seeing as I never booked my appointment to see him Tuesday as I was as being optimistic we would deliver over the weekend). I called him & he knew all about what had happened at the hospital. He also agreed that I could be induced on Tuesday morning. He told me to call the maternity ward at 6:30 AM because they would want us there for 7:00 AM or 7:30 AM. I hung up the phone with such a sense of relief. I wasn't entirely sold on being induced but knew that perhaps this is the nudge my body needed. Now we somewhat knew when we would be expecting our baby boy!! 

I had contractions all night on Monday. Making it hard to sleep (but that was nothing new). I finally decided by 6:00 AM. It was time to get up. Chris made the call at 6:30 AM they informed us that we should come in for 7:30 AM. We got our things together, grabbed a coffee & off to the hospital we went! They brought us into the assessment room right away. I changed into a gown & began to answer a million questions again. We were now just waiting on the doctor in order to start the induction. He arrived around 8:30 AM & explained the whole process to me. I was curious how my body would react to the induction but trusted that he would be there to monitor & make sure it went smoothly. He decided that before he went ahead with it he would check to see how dilated I was. I was almost 6 cm's! He tossed the induction idea out the window automatically & decided to break my water. The nurse told him to move me to a room in order to do that. 

We were given room #16. Same room we delivered Avery in. I was given a set of antibiotics for an hour & then the doctor said he would be back to break my water. In that amount of time I sent everyone messages letting them know that today would be the day. He strolled in at 10:30 to break my water. After doing that we were instructed to walk around the ward to get things moving. I came back to the room & layed on the bed for a bit. Chris decided to go to the store to pick up some food for us. I remember eating an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie & stopping in between contractions. That's when I knew things were about to amp up & I would need to focus on breathing. Meanwhile, Chris had his contraction app open & was timing them. He got a notification that said "pack your bags it's time to go to the hospital" haha.  I laboured in my room for about an hour then I decided that I wanted to be in the bathtub. It seemed to be much more comfortable in there. Well as comfortable as you can be for being in labour. I remember getting into the zone, closing my eyes & breathing through each contraction. My body was working hard to progress. The nurse came & checked me again but I was only 7 cm's. Hearing those words made me a little discouraged because in my mind I thought we were getting close. Shortly after another nurse came in to relieve my nurse. She started to panic telling me "you can't have a water birth, you need to get out of the tub now! You're transitioning!" She was right, my body definitely was transitioning but I wasn't ready to push yet & I knew if I had to I would be telling her. I listened to her orders. Although I wasn't even sure if I could walk all the way to the bed without having another strong contraction. I heard the nurse on the phone calling my doctor to let him know it was time to return to the hospital because I was getting close to pushing. 

I asked the nurse if I could use the gas to work through my contractions. It didn't really do anything at first as I'm certain it was user error. I remember having an intense contraction then pushing at the end. I heard Chris say "are you pushing?" And me nodding my head. Just then the doctor walked in. It was go time! Exactly what I had a wanted... My doctor, a nurse & Chris in the room. The nurse & doctor were a good team together. They kept me on track & gave me firm instructions on what to do. I felt that I could really focus & make things happen. I pushed for an hour. Only to let out one giant scream at the end & baby boy was out!! He was born at 2:28 PM. They placed him on my chest & I just stared at him. I couldn't believe how big he was! But oh so beautiful!! I brought him up on my chest & melted in this moment. Once we had a chance to bond they took him over to have him weighed & measured. He weighed in at 9lbs 10 oz, 22 inches long. I couldn't believe it. How did he fit in my stomach? High on oxytocin I relished these moments of our new little love finally joining us! 

 

    

 

Our Nursery for Baby Boy

It still blows my mind that we will be welcoming a new bundle of joy. We were on the fence for quite some time about growing our family (if, when, all those questions you constantly think of). For some reason I never envisioned it to be in the home we currently live in. I couldn't wrap my head around putting a baby in the spare room upstairs. Thanks to my husband for immediately showing me with some new paint on the walls it could become a brand new space. What a difference it made! With our last room having a bit more color & wall decals I felt like this time I wanted something more neutral. I had envisioned whites, greys, along with stripes, polka dots & some natural tones as well. With not knowing the gender until 22 weeks I felt it was our best bet to keep it quite gender neutral anyhow. Here is how it looks below: 

Melissa xo

22 Months

It's safe to say we might be in the thick of "terrible two's" oh dear... This has been a challenging time for us all. Big emotions for such a little girl. So many highs & lows but we are doing are best to work through them. 

With a second birthday fast approaching we decided (well actually Avery decided) it was time to sleep in her "big girl bed". She returned home from a trip at grandmas & told us she wanted to sleep in it. With the bed being set up in her room for months we thought it was a great idea! Little did we know the challenges that came along with it after we took down the crib. Avery wouldn't stay in there, wanted us to lay with her for hours & would wake up frequently during the night. Knock on wood things might start to be getting better. 

We spend each day doing at least one activity whether it be a walk, a trip to the library, an ocean adventure or even a play date we make sure we always have something to look forward to. Little miss chatty is now saying sentences & comes up with her own phrases! Too cute. Still loves to eat (we are so thankful) we call her the seaweed monster... She can't get enough of it! I would never imagine kids to enjoy seaweed, hmm. 

Although we have had our hands full we still have so much fun! 

Melissa xo

11 Months

I My eyes well up with tears when I write this post.... How have 11 months gone by? Where did my baby go? I thought you were supposed to stay small. You always hear everyone say "it goes by so fast! Enjoy it while you can". I don't think you truly understand that until you have experienced it. Here we are, 11 months later & couldn't be more proud of my sweet girl. 

She thinks life is hilarious! Always imitating our laughs & joining in on the giggles. Climbing onto high up things is the newest. Loves to be chased around the house while she crawls or holds onto her wagon. Still shakes the dog gate while making loud noises. Inhales food! We can cut up her food fast enough to feed her. No complaining there! (Coming from picky eaters) Very very outgoing! She can't wait to stare & get attention from somebody while out. Sleeping better now, most likely because she is exerting herself during the day. Always saying "Dada" sometimes "Mama" but Dad is her number one choice. Memorized a few words in a book & johns in when we read. Life just keeps getting better & better with you Avery Monica Mae! 

 

Melissa xx

9 Months

Yep, we are so so late on this one! Each month seems to progressively get more late. At least we are documenting ;) Too many amazing milestones! 

Currently weighing in at 20.5 lbs, still in the 85the percentile for everything. You are still our happy baby! From the moment you wake up to the moment you go to bed. You now have 2 teeth! Eating like a little machine... Always amazes me how much you take in during your meals. Army crawling all over the house, chasing the dog & racing me to the fireplace or coffee table (yes, we need to seriously baby proof. Hard to do while selling your home & trying to make it look "staged") We had to lower your crib as you are fully capable of standing up post naps. Transitioned you to a new car seat & it's a whole new world as you can see out the window now. Still quite interested in tags, zippers but also toys in your toy baskets. We love to bring you in our bed in the morning & have chats with you while you roll around, smile & give us kisses. Non stop babbling all day long. You are one happy girl & we couldn't adore you more!! 

Melissa xo