Tag Archives: baby girl

Five Things

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Because it’s Friday and Jessica inspired me to blog.

I have not had major issues with what I call my stomach ulcer in years. Until now. (I don’t know if it is in fact a stomach ulcer because I don’t go to doctors, duh). It could be the excess coffee and booze. That tells you how things have been going around here. I cannot wait to not have so much going on. It feels like it has been years since I have felt settled. Le sigh. More on all this later.

Sloan has gotten ultra clingy. It is sometimes really sweet. Like when I got home from work the other day she wrapped her teeny arms tight around my neck and gave me a kiss!! I almost cried. It is also sometimes really annoying. I can’t get ANYTHING done other than play with her, hold her, stroll her, etc.

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I finally went blogger basic and got the Lisi Lerch turquoise tassel earrings. When am I ever going to wear these monsters? I mean, I love them but they will probably be for sale soon. Some PYT will get a lot more use out of them than this old hag.

Side note: I ordered mine from Design Darling and they came in a white box in an envelope. No pretty packaging, no receipt, no note, nothing. I guess I’ve gotten used to these smaller boutiques really having impressive packaging, because that matters right? I had this exact same experience from Mini Moxie baby moccasins. I waited 8 weeks for these little mocs. And got no email response when I asked, very politely, when they may show up since they were a Santa present for Sloany. I finally stalked her instagram and saw where she had replied to several order inquiries there. They finally showed up, after two months, smushed in an envelope. No thank you, sorry it took so long, nothing. I guess I understand you were probably swamped from Christmas orders, but still. Have something generic printed and thrown into the shipping envelope. Anyway, customer service is a pet peeve. And pretty packaging.

I cut my own hair this past weekend. I am constantly getting the itch to do something different with my hair and just can’t wait for appointments sometimes. I think I will cut bangs once it gets cooler (like Reese). This current stagnant humidity and bangs do not mix.

I straight up stole a pair of the Jack Rogers Lilliana sandals via Amazon for $38. I have no idea why they were that cheap, but one day I was just perusing and saw them and of course purchased immediately. Now I’m checking the site regularly just to see if I can snag another pair for cheap. I love them. They are so much more comfortable than the traditional Jacks.

Happy weekend!

Weekend

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I’ve never known the weekends to fly by as fast as they are doing so as of late. Sunday nights I lie in bed and open the ‘work folder’ in my brain. Ugh. Le sigh. Blegh. And Monday mornings I blog to put off said work.

We had a quintessential spring weekend at home. Yard work, cooking, cleaning, sudafed, and other miscellaneous chores.

Our laundry room was one of those rooms we didn’t touch during the big reno. It has been like a mosquito in my brain, so I decided to start the project this weekend. The prior owner of this matchbox must have really loved green. It was like 50 shades of seasick in this place. The outside is a pale puke green. The exterior doors are a tired hunter green. The laundry room is literally three shades of green; a shade on the walls, another shade for the trim, and yet another for the floor. It is ridic. I have started with the trim and even getting one coat of white has made such a big difference. No longer does it make me want to reach for my dramamine. Now if Sloan would just let me work for more than 15 minutes at a time I might be able to finish it this year.

Speaking of Sloan. She is 7 months old now! So insane. She is rolling over like a circus act. Sitting up really good. Loves to squeal, especially at the end of the day when she is getting crazy from no sleep. Yes, she still hates napping. She is still sleeping great at night so I’ll take the good with the bad. She has liked most foods she’s tried and insists on trying to feed herself which gets interesting.

IMG_7199It’s a mutual kind of love with these two…

Coming soon to the blog, I’m finally going to share some before and afters of Project Matchbox aka our house.

Sloan’s Nursery

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I am finally getting around to sharing Sloan’s nursery! It is by far my favorite room in the house. It has so much natural light, it is bright and cheerful, and who doesn’t love a big bold floral print? I certainly do.

We had already painted when we found out we were going to have a baby, so I just kept it. I liked the idea of the room being really white to really make the windows stand out. The paint on the walls is SW Westhighland White. It is what I call a warm white.

full roomcrib curtain detail flower frames gtf to sleep lamp and shoes pillows shelves sloan kelly embroidered changing table sideSources: Crib // Jenny Lind; Changing Table // Amazon; Crib Sheet & Skirt // Serena & Lily; Cornice Fabric // Waverly; Tassel Panels // Serena & Lily; Glider // Enchanted Cherish; Lamp // Nicole Miller via HomeGoods; Pillows // Furbish; Flower Prints // Snoogs & Wilde; Garden Stool // Sams Club; Diaper Pail // Ubbi

My thoughts…If you are looking a glider on a budget you cannot beat the Enchanted Glider which I ordered from Walmart. It is super cheap and so comfortable. I didn’t want an obnoxious color and this was perfect.

The super cheap changing table I ordered from Amazon is kind of a piece of junk, but I knew I wouldn’t be using it forever.

The Ubbi diaper pail is worth every penny.

Randoms

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It can’t get warm fast enough around here. Except for the fact that my legs may see the light of day…not pleasant. We have a couple weddings coming up and I just ordered this dress from Asos. Hopefully it won’t be a disaster. It is a little bit weird. We finally got a couch. We sold our blue sofa & chair months ago and have been sitting on…basically we haven’t been sitting. Due to crazy animals and a baby, I decided to go the cheap route and got the Ikea Ektorp with the chaise. I am pretty much in love with it and it cleans like a dream, Rolo hairs vacuum right up (even though he is technically not allowed on it). Now for some fun pillows, a garden stool, new end table, new lamp, new drapes. New house? It never ends.

IMG_6846When I get the motivation to take the pictures I’m going to finally share Sloan’s nursery! Speaking of Sloan…she is 6 months old already. I was playing with my dusty old real camera the other day and took some pics of her (but not the nursery…smart). Love her baby blues.

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Baby favorites

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Sloan is a few days shy of being a 5 month old! I figured before she was doing crazy stuff like sitting up and eating real food, I would reflect on her teeny baby phase and share the items I found most useful. I’m totes an expert now.

Baby FavoritesHonest Diapers | I must say these have the best absorption and least leaks. I have twice now found coupon codes for bundles (250+ diapers) making the price just as good as Pampers/Huggies, plus they are shipping right to my door.

Gerber Newborn Knit Burp Cloths | These are super cheap and extremely soft and absorbent. I wish they made them as blankets and sleepers and sleep sacks…etc. I always reach for these first.

Boba baby wrap | I have the Boba but really any wrap will do. Baby wearing is a great way to quiet a fussy baby and allows you to get something done, like pour a glass of wine. I am contemplating the Ergo baby carrier…anyone have thoughts on this they would like to share? Better than the Baby Bjorn?

Sound machine | Sloan is an excellent night time sleeper and I think part of that is because we have instilled a pretty strict bedtime routine since day one. It is the only real routine we have established so far, but it seems to be working. I only play the sound machine at night and I think she associates it with bedtime. Plus since we have a teeny tiny house it helps drown out some of the noise we make until we go to bed. We start bath time around 7, then jammies, then food, then bed. Snoozefest. She usually wakes up somewhere around 630-7am.

Dr. Brown’s Bottles & Bottle Warmer | Sloan had some mild reflux and after trying a couple other bottles, I really found these to result in less gas. Since I had to exclusively pump, the bottle warmer was a life saver.

Fisher Price Rock N Play | When every single other one of these lists features a Rock N Play…just buy it.

Stroller | Strollers vary widely and I ended up with the Baby Jogger City Mini GT for several reasons. I call it an all-terrain stroller as it can be used on most any surface. It is not a true jogging stroller in my opinion, but guess what? I ain’t jogging. It is insanely portable. With one pull it collapses and I can transport it between home and the grandmothers’ houses with ease. Most any car seat pops in with an adapter. It is relatively small which is a huge factor for us since we keep it in the house (and often stroll her around inside when she is fussy). It was a reasonable price…not the cheapest but definitely not the most expensive. Plus it came highly recommended by mom friends and friends of mom friends. My best advice is to think about what you really need it for and go from there, and also to try it out in the store.  The Wise Baby blog is great for when you are trying to figure out what to register for/buy. There are tons of real moms with a lot of these type lists plus product reviews.

A pretty basic list but Sloan is a good and easy baby. One thing I will add is an iPad…and from there a Netflix, Amazon Prime, and/or HBOGo subscription. Feeding/pumping can get pretty boring especially in the beginning because you are doing it so often and having something to watch helps pass the time. Something else I will add is have some professional pictures taken. I know it is another expense, but this time when they are tiny just FLIES by and while our phones capture a lot of everyday life, it is nice to have real photos. This is one thing I didn’t do for newborn Sloany but luckily my amazing friend Meredith, who did my maternity photos, came to visit when Sloan was about 4 months old and took some pics. Hooray! Ok, lastly I recommend subscribing to Lucie’s List and have some friends/family you can ask for advice. It has definitely helped me figure things out along the way, and sometimes it is just good to be able to discuss the hardships of baby rearing!

What other go-to things have saved your sanity? Do tell.

Getting by

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All I really want to talk about is how hard it is being a mom. How hard it is to feed your child. How hard it is to feel “normal” when you haven’t had a decent amount of sleep in a month. How hard it is to not scream at your husband when he hasn’t fed the dogs. How hard it is not to cry every morning when you realize your pre-preg jeans still don’t fit. How hard it is to drink enough water! How hard it is to look at the clock and realize you need to pump. Again. How hard it is to “sleep when she sleeps.” How hard it is not to go bat shit when someone tells you to sleep when she sleeps. How hard it is when your kid won’t keep the damn pacifier in her mouth. Just do it! How hard it is to wake up with a crying baby and realize your dog is chewing your Tory Burch flats. Granted that gives me a reason to need new black flats. Now no one can say I’m negative nancy.

Things helping us get by…

Coffee | Grandmas | Baby bath time | Netflix | the Rock N Play | …Coffee

Nursery Board

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So my plans for the nursery have wandered here and there, but then I found these Serena & Lily panels from TJMaxx for $15, and with that one purchase it all sort of came together in my mind. I haven’t actually bought any of this yet (except my in-laws have bought the crib for us), but at least I have a plan. With warm white walls (Westhighland White by Sherwin Williams) and carpet, and all white trim…I am working with a blank canvas in every way.

nursery board_edited-1Floral cornices will be the super star of the room for sure, along with the emerald tassel panels. The bottom half of the windows will have white shutters.

A vintage-y crib and coastal vibe of the changing table definitely work with our home aesthetic.

I’m still searching for the perfect glider (that isn’t 4 million dollars) and would like a fun pouf or ottoman to bring in color.

While chevron is off my radar for the most part, I still like the graphic print for a kids room. Especially as a nice contrast with the traditional floral print of the cornices. A trellis or stripe would also work just as nicely.

Some bright and happy art tie all the colors together and make this room anything but boring white.

Hopefully this will all actually happen by the time this little human arrives!

24 weeks+

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How far along? 24 weeks! Baby is an ear of corn this week?

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Yes, that is my real life bathroom situation. No peonies here.

Total weight gain: Um, 13 lbs! When did that happen!? Oh, I know, when i ate pancakes 4x in one week, and lots of ice cream, and french onion dip and chips. Thanks vacation.

Sleep: I was so tired yesterday that I could hardly hold my head up. I ended up going to bed before 9pm and slept almost 12 hours. Getting comfortable is starting to become a challenge and the AC pretty much can’t work hard enough. Can’t wait for the next 3 months of blazing heat and humidity!

Best moment this week: Our first major baby gift arrived yesterday and it was so exciting! We ended up going with the Baby Jogger City Mini GT stroller after test driving it and getting lots of good reviews from friends and friends of friends. Thanks Mom & Dad!

Worst moment of the week: Having to think about work again after being at the beach for over a week. Bleh.

Miss Anything? Sushi. And multiple cups of coffee.

Food cravings: Not really. I was craving pancakes there for about a week but thankfully for my ass circumference that seems to have passed.

Food aversions: Not really. Still not craving Mexican which is my favorite food in the world.

Have you started to show yet: Definitely.

Gender: Girl!

Symptoms: The past few weeks have been a breeze although I have started getting really tired again.

Workouts: A youtube workout here and there.

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy.

Looking forward to: Finishing my registry so I can stop thinking about it.

It’s a GIRL!

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In case you don’t follow on instagram, we found out on Monday that we will be welcoming a baby girl into our little fam! I am finally ready to buy some cute little outfits and plan the nursery!

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Nothing much else to report on. I am feeling good and getting bigger everyday it seems. I can’t believe I’m already half way there. Time can certainly slow down right now. I’m enjoying not feeling queasy or crazy or dead tired. I almost feel like a normal person! I have gained 5lbs from my pre-preg weight as of Monday. I think it is all in my boobs. holy moly.

I am working on a plan for the nursery and will be sharing that very soon!