Push Present For Papa?

Mr. R got a belated "push present". I just wanted to share with you this awesome wallet I got from TheWalletShoppe. 

Please do not think I forgot who pushed this baby out, but new daddy's have if pretty rough at the beginning too. Sleeping on a glorified chair in the hospital, running back and forth to let the dog out. I mean, installing multiple car seats and putting together strollers, swings, and playmates is enough to deserve a small gift. Here is what were working with folks...

First off, I am a packaging nerd. Sometimes I like what the gift comes in more than the gift. So when the Bellroy wallet arrived in this trendy packaging I was super pumped...and I didn't have to wrap anything. Double bonus!

I chose the Bellroy Note Sleeve in tan leather because the picture online looked like it had an orange undertone and orange is Mr. Rs favorite color. I am super loving orange these days too! I liked the simplicity, functionality, but I didn't want anything too bulky. And, anything is better than the worn out wallet he has been hauling around. 

With new baby in tow I chose a wallet that was simple and couldn't be filled with a bunch of stuff. What do guys needs? A few cards and a place for some cash. Maybe a receipt. Done. 

To make it special and a meaningful "push present" I hid a pic of baby R in there. Love this kid! 

Yeah, I might have printed a wallet picture for myself. Can't get enough of that boy! The best part was Mr. R didn't see it right away so a few days later when he found the picture it was like a second surprise. I know it's sounds cheesy but we are crazy in love with this baby.

Pretty cool right? Didn't break the bank either and its really nice quality. Originally $89.99 but I got it on sale with free shipping...score! You know I don't pay full price for anything!! Mr. R loved it and I look like a new mom that has her stuff together....look at me being all nice to my husband;) Check out the website, they have a ton of things to choose from.

Best. Wife. Ever.

A "leetle" Advice

Well hello there. I wrote these words when baby R was about 4 weeks old via my Blogger app on my cell phone in the middle of the night. What do you know, I totally forgot about it. Weird! Just a little advice for new mommies-to-be because I am such an expert now...all of my 8 weeks of mothering;)

Totally kidding. I have no clue what I'm doing and it's a miracle we are eating and wearing semi clean clothes. 

Just say No!
People who have never entered your home will be coming out of the woodwork to see your baby. Let them for sure but schedule it out. Don't be afraid to tell people NO. If you are tired, sore, emotionally unavailable for the afternoon, tell people to come another day. But do not feel guilty for saying no. You are the one waking up all hours a night. You are the one covered in spit up. You are the mama, this is your right. Mornings at our house are not pretty so I scheduled all my visitors to come around 4pm. That way I have time to actually shower and wipe down the kitchen counters. It is late enough that if I had to feed baby boy at say 3:30 I could text and say come a little later. 4pm seems to work for us. In the beginning give yourself a day of no visitors. Really, an entire full day of no one!! Everyone needs a rest day, again don't be afraid to tell people to come another day.

Have your house cleaned by a professional!
When we came back from the hospital I was hyper aware of the dust bunnies floating around this place. Probably more because there were so many people in and out and I am weird about having a clean house when I have visitors. My in-laws so kindly sent their cleaning lady and we napped while they did the dirty work. If I had planned anything it would have been to have them come while we were still in the hospital. Lesson learned!

Say what?!?!

Be prepared to over react!
Your hormones are all over the place. Anything and everything will bring you to tears. Happy or sad. Reasonable or completely insane. It happens. Embrace it. The second day at the house I just sat and cried all day. I knew how crazy I was acting but I literally could not stop. Don't try to. Again, laugh it off when you can and stock up on tissue.

The crap you don't need

- A lot of newborn clothes. The first week baby R was rocking a diaper 99% of the time. Put your baby in easy simple onesies. They will poop, pee, and barf on everything so dress for ease not cuteness. The less snaps the better! We have been in a steady rotation of 3 "outfits" (for company) and about 8 plain onesies, short and long sleeved. They grow so fast too!!

- One of those baby bathtubs. Dear lord throw a towel in the sink or bathtub and be done with it. If you have room to store something that large go for it. Otherwise a towel works just fine. AND it is one more thing you will have to clean and store! FYI you don't bathe your baby everyday.

- Baby towels don't dry as well as your regular bath towels either, don't say I didn't tell ya. I dry baby R off with a regular towel and then wrap him in his baby towel...just to be cute:)

The crap you need...
* besides the obvious stuff

-Pads, all shapes and sizes. Get more than you think you need. This will save your husband a midnight trip to CVS;)

-Lanolin!! Holy moly you need a lot!! This has saved me and has made breastfeeding a little more comfortable... A little! Around week 4 I switch to A&D ointment and that has eased some discomfort. At 7 weeks I am finally not passing out when baby R latches on!

- 1 pack of plain white "un cute" white cloth diapers. Target sells them in a pack of 12. These will act as burp cloths, changing table covers (for when all of yours are in the wash), poop catchers, dish towel, breast milk wiper, Kleenex, maybe an impromptu tube top, whatever you need to wipe or clean. And not the cute monogrammed ones. You need some boring, won't be sad to throw away cloth diapers. Because you will want to throw some away.

-Breast pads: for comfort and leakage and so your lanolin doesn't stain every piece of clothing you own.
- Full butted underwear. We call these big girl panties! You will not be rockin' a thong anytime soon. Sorry! Don't buy nice ones either...you will probably throw a few out!
- Tank tops you can take the straps down easily. I found my Target maternity tanks work awesome. This is if your nursing of course. If not wear whatever you want. 

- Diapers and wipes!! They burn through them quick!! Stock up!
- Dog treats...keep reading.
- Costco size bottle of pain reliever. Once you have healed from your delivery, oh the memories, you will still need a little help getting through the day. My neck hurt from staring down at the boy while nursing. And, for me, being sleep deprived always gives me a headache.
- Noise machine app on your phone. We use this during naps, in the car, anytime little man needs soothing. There are tons of free ones. It really works!!! Mr. R likes to put his head phones on and listen to the white noise when little man is screaming. This doesn't happen very much but he told me to put it on the list.
- Batteries. For the swing, playmate, noise machine, pump, monitor....you don't really need a huge stash but enough for everything to work when baby arrives.

Your dog is pissed!
Poor George. He knows his world has changed. I won't say he is thrilled about it but he is adjusting. He really misses the attention and shows us by stealing pacies and burp clothes. All he really wants to do is sniff baby R's butt. George thinks this is a new puppy. Sorry Georgie boy! You have moved down the bench for now.


How your heart will grow.
Of course your heart will grow and be filled by new baby. But I have found I am loving everyone just a little bit more. My parents, my siblings, my husband, my friends, I just feel so much more now.

Be nice to your husband.
He will be on your last sleep deprived nerve but you gotta play nice. He is the one filling up your water glass at 3am, holding the baby when you haven't washed your hair in a week, and running out to Costco for emergency diapers. He's like a butler that isn't getting paid. Your man doesn't get to have a snuggle sesh with the baby every three hours so it's only natural that they don't bond with the baby right away. You think your dog moved down the bench, well your baby daddy is right there with him. Be nice! Say thank you often and praise him for being an awesome dad....because most likely he is doing an awesome job. I will confidently say that keeping our sense of humor has kept our household positive during this new baby transition. And it's easy to laugh around my husband:)

Now at week 8 I have figured out why I get so upset with Mr. R. I'm so jealous of him! He gets to go to the gym whenever he wants. Take long showers. Leave for work in an actual outfit that doesn't smell like pee. Anyone else feel my pain??? Now that I know why I am jealous of him I have no problem letting him go....and I have apologized for the death stares I was giving him for so long! AND I got to go to the gym all by my self while he watched little man...it was awesome!

It's ok to put your baby down.
You need to shower and eat, both of which are hard to do holding a baby. And as cute a cuddly as they are...you stink! Put them down to nap. Anywhere! Baby R sleeps in his crib or in his Boppy on the couch. Today he woke up early and was squirming in his bed half crying. My first instinct was to run in there and pick him up. But I was half naked, hadn't brushed my teeth, and was rockin' a pretty ugly side ponytail. It was hard but I took 5 minutes with a crying baby to get my life together. And I was ok with that. Baby R likes to sit on his little play yard, where the things are dangling overhead, that can usually buy me a few minutes to change shirts and put on some deodorant.

Yes, that is my undressed baby sleeping on a towel on the sofa...don't judge me!

It's ok to lay on the couch and snuggle your baby all day. 

I know, didn't I just say its ok to put your baby down? Well it's also ok to take a good long nap with your baby on your chest and garbage television on in the background. Why not? Your clothes are in the dryer and the counters don't really need to be wiped down. So enjoy those snuggles. Rock your jammies too. You deserve it!

Enjoy it!

Everyday is something different good and bad. Enjoy those little toes and gummy smiles! Laugh when you are covered with poop/pee/spit up... Maybe all three:) Stressing out about a clean house or healthy dinner is just wasted energy. If the girls on Teen Mom can do it, shoot girl, you can to!!

I'm sure there is more I'm forgetting but that's all I got for now. This baby has changed my life so much!

8 weeks!

  I am one happy mama!!

Very Pinteresting

I was late to the Pinterest game, but once I joined I have been a loyal "pinner" since 2011. How did anyone plan a birthday party or bridal shower before this site? How did anyone decorate their house or find 987 things to do with pallets? How did we feed our families from the crock pot and then wipe out the sink with organic cleaner? Well we did it, it just wasn't as fun right;)

The one and only problem I see with this amazing Internet playground is I spend so much time searching looking thinking pinning I don't do a lot of doing. 

It's sad that I almost feel productive after a Pinterest sesh. I'm tricking myself that organizing my boards is somewhere in the same family as organizing an actual functioning closet. So I made a little Pinterest vow. Before I pin again I will use an idea off one of my boards...

Of course, I use the word vow very loosely because I can't sit down to feed the baby without opening the app on my phone.

So far I had cooked the bell pepper Philly cheese steak. It was Ok. Really quick to make. Needed a little more in the filling though. If I do it again I will add a can of cream of mushroom soup. It was actually better as left over...funny how that happens sometimes. I also updated my chalk board door, whipped up some organic cleaner, played around with some camera settings, and did a quick baby's sleeping work out. 

Pinterest victory!! On my list list week is to really get some closets organized and maybe bake something with a pumpkin theme. Although it is still so freaking hot the thought of Fall seems so far away. I am also whipping up some floor pillows out of an old rug. Stay tuned for that one!

I only have three weeks left with little man before we head back to school. I would probably be in an all out panic if he wasn't coming with me everyday. He is growing so fast, smiling, and trying to laugh! He is the best baby. We are smitten with our little buddy. 

Happy Pinning!