#MomLife

farewell to three.

January 12, 2016 by Rachel Leave a Comment

I’ve been clinging to some Moosh time as of late. Big time. I know our time is coming to a close as a family of three. And it’s making me super emotional. Super emotional for my first baby. And for what bringing a second baby into the family means.

It means less one-on-one time with Moosh.

It means less undivided Moosh attention.

It means I can no longer drop everything and just stare at Moosh.

OK, you get it. It means less ‘just Moosh.’ And it’s heartbreaking for me. Absolutely heartbreaking.

YES, I’m excited for Baby Girl to make her arrival. But I’m also sad that I no longer have just my baby boy to wrap his arms around me. And even as I type this out, I keep having conflicting feelings, which consist mostly of “OK, I don’t want this one-on-one time to end,” to “GET this CHILD out of me NOW so I can meet her!”

The pregnancy struggle (and hormones) are super real, y’all. Real real.

So, for now, I’ll soak up the extra snuggles and all the extra kisses he’s willing to give me; I’ll soak up the nap times where he spoons me (yes, HE spoons ME); I’ll soak up the early bedtimes and the indulgences of sleeping in ‘mommies bed;’ and I’ll give him all the extra attention he so wants and deserves! ♥

‘Cause nothing lasts forever.

PS. My bags are packed. my house is clean. the nesting is complete. let’s do this, little lady. ♥

Postpartum Survival Guide // Baby 2.0

January 6, 2016 by Rachel 2 Comments

I’m not going to lie, even though I’ve been through labor and delivery once before, I’m still straight-up terrified of going through it again. My doctors have been really confident that I will be able to labor naturally. And I should know what to expect, right? Well, kind of. But I’m also panicky.

The one thing that I AM confident about is postpartum recovery. Even though I was prepped by family and friends, I really and truly had no idea what to expect the first time around. I was nervous and scared for how my body would feel after that kind of trauma. But our bodies are amazing!

Now that I’m no longer a “rookie” I’ve put together my Postpartum Survival Guide, Version 2.0!

one: a water tumbler with a straw. While the “with a straw” may seem silly and insignificant, I promise you, it is not. Not only do I find myself drinking more through a straw, but your hands are going to be busy holding a baby. And you need to stay hydrated! Don’t forget to stay hydrated! Labor is intense! And if you are planning on breastfeeding, you need all the fluids you can get!

two: ice packs. Lots and lots of ice packs. You will ache in places you never thought you could ache… and you will need to sit on them. Friends, if you don’t know this, you need to know it. Ice is your best friend.

three: pain reliever. While the pain management may actually be minimal, every little bit helps. I, for one, had aches and pains nonstop in my legs. First, from walking through labor for 24 hours; then because my husband and a nurse held my legs back when I couldn’t feel them after the epidural.

four: a postpartum girdle. You just pushed out nearly 20-inches of human… your belly is still bloated, but it’s no longer super hard from your placenta and a human. You just look pregnant (don’t worry – everyone does at this point); but you’ll need some support for a while.

five: netflix. I, for one, didn’t anticipate how much time of the time I would be awake, alone, in the middle of the night… with a screaming baby. So this time I’ve been hoarding my Netflix queue, refusing to watch new series until this child arrives.

six: a big pregnancy pillow. If you had one during pregnancy, don’t plan on putting it away after baby comes! Those aches and pains mean more snuggles with your giant bedmate.

seven: witch hazel wipes. Because, burning. I didn’t know that I would need these, but I was lucky enough to randomly have them on hand. This time I have them on hand on purpose!

eight: button down, oversized PJs. Buy them a size larger, button down top, so that you can nurse and not feel ‘trapped’ in real, postpartum clothes. Someone bought me a pair of PJs like this for Ari and I wore the crap out of them!

nine: depends. Postpartum with Ari was my first ever experience with depends. But someone suggested that in addition to those giant maxi pads they give you at the hospital, that you’ll want to wear depends with them. I totally totally agree. You won’t be able to/want to wear real underwear. And you can just throw them away!

So there you have it! My go-to list! Is there anything I’m missing that you would add??

Life Lately | January 2016

January 5, 2016 by Rachel 2 Comments

Life has been crazy busy lately. But we haven’t actually done anything lately. Seriously. Here’s the long + short of what we’ve been up to as of late:

Nesting. I’ve been mega-nesting as of late. Like, when I’m not nesting, and I’m trying to do something else productive (like sleep), I’m THINKING about nesting. It’s fantastic. But also, I’m not able to tackle the things I want to accomplish as quickly as I would like (because, belly). But I’ve successfully gotten a ton done.
Food, food, food. I’m not eating a lot (because, belly), but I’ve been eating well! And I’ve been keeping it down! Hooray! And, obviously, at this point I’m enjoying every second of it. And I’m not eating crappy like I did with Ari, either. I’m eating really delicious, mostly healthy foods!
My sister-in-law had an impromptu visit from Colorado last week and we ended up spending a really awesome 24-hours with her, including a trip out to our fave local Chinese spot for some dinner. It’s the little things in life, like food and family, that make life interesting! LOL!
My SIL visited! Well, I kinda let you know about that in the last bulletpoint, but leave me alone! LOL. But seriously, it was a great visit. She ended up getting stranded at Cleveland-Hopkins airport in an effort to get back to Denver from Florida, and she just decided to stay for a couple of days, sans kiddos! Moosh seriously loved every single second of having her here. He completely manipulated her time and attention – Ha! When he woke up and she wasn’t here, he said, “where’s my friend Ashy?” ♥

Fire trucks. Ari got to meet up with his friend Kayden (and my close friend Kristi) to see some fire trucks up-close and personal! In a “private showing,” of sorts, these kids climbed in and out of the fire trucks and even got to go on a quick ‘ride’ around the block! Moosh. was. ECSTATIC. Seriously. I’ve never seen this kid happier than riding in this fire truck.

Pregnancy. Guys, I’m over it. Like big time over it. I’m so over it that I can’t even put together a “pregnancy update” post. Cause here’s what’s new with this pregnancy:
- I’m about ready to pop. Nope, still not as big as I was with Ari; but more uncomfortable than I was with him pregnant at 41 weeks.
- My boobs leak everywhere, always. I think I’ve gone through an entire package of nursing pads before this child has even come. Having pumped nonstop for 12 months with Moosh, I feel awfully guilty that this colostrum cannot be ‘saved’ for Baby Girl.
- Heartburn. I had heartburn, like, twice when I was pregnant with Moosh. With this child I seem to have it all day every day. If you’ve never had heartburn it feels like your chest is on fire and you may vomit at any moment. Every burp you feel coming leaves you to wonder if it’s going to come back up. For me, it doesn’t seem to matter what I eat, when I eat, or how little I eat; I will have heartburn. Suuuuper.
- Lots of movement. I thought Moosh moved a lot in the womb; but that was nothing compared to what this girl is putting me through!
- Contractions. They are coming and going, infrequently. I’m nearly 38 weeks (Thursday), so it’s bound to happen eventually, right?? Only a couple of times have I actually thought “Oh, this might be it.” But nope.
Staying on the homefront. I’m too miserable and too uneasy to ‘go’ far from home. If it’s not Target, a trip to see Kristi, or the doctor, I’m not doing it. Sorry, friends! You can blame me for being antisocial, but to be honest, even if you were around me, you wouldn’t want to be. I’m just not fun. In fact, we skipped out on seeing my favorite comedian of all time, Tommy Johnagin, because I don’t really want to travel too far from home. I know. Lame.

Until this new baby comes, this will be our life. Nesting, resting, and staying close to home.

… and I wouldn’t have it any other way! ♥ ♥ ♥

farewell 2015

December 31, 2015 by Rachel Leave a Comment

Looking back on my photos from 2015 (because, let’s face it — that’s the easiest + quickest way to glance back), it’s clear that my year was comprised of the following:

Moosh playing. At parks, at Cafe O’Play, at home, etc. We definitely had no shortage of playing in 2015!
Cooking. Me cooking, specifically. Which had previously been unheard of! So no wonder I documented it. Oh, much, much more cooking to come in 2016!
Spending time with family. Moosh, Chad, my parents, my sister, Chad’s family, my aunts… It’s been a wild ride, surrounded by those I love! ♥

And so I’ll leave you with this:

[youtube=https://youtu.be/AcjpT80clYc]Happy New Year, friends. Let’s send 2015 out with a bang — or in our case, bed at 10PM and PJs before 5PM! Ha! xo

Christmas 2015 // that’s a wrap!

December 30, 2015 by Rachel Leave a Comment

Guys – my holiday hangover is still in full-force. … and I didn’t even partake in any ‘party’ festivities, so to speak! Ha! But seriously, something about celebrating Christmas leaves everyone in a post-Christmas lull. For me, it’s a mix between that and pregnancy exhaustion. But I’ll blame it on the holidays. 😉

Christmas Eve-Eve //

Well thanks to my ‘schedule clearing up,’ we were able to attend Chad’s families Christmas Eve-Eve party! Unfortunately, Chad was still working, so Ari and I went at it alone. And let me tell you… any shyness that Moosh use to have? it’s GONE. Big time. GONE. He was the life of the party… and he knew it. And he loved it! And for once, I didn’t have to chase him around, because he was a “big boy” enough to play semi-independently with the other kiddo!

Christmas Eve //

Chad worked Christmas Eve until about 3:30PM or so, so Ari and I met up with my friend Kristi and her kids at Chick-Fil-A for lunch.

It was amazing to see Ari ‘ooh‘ and ‘ahh‘ over Kristi’s baby girl. He’s been around her since she was born, but he has never ever taken interest in any babies. Well, perhaps it’s because he’s finally come to terms with the fact that Baby Girl will be here before he knows it!

After that little playdate we honestly did nada! We had zero plans, so PJs at 5pm was absolutely in order. In fact, Ari and I may have actually been in PJs before Chad got home! Ha!

And we finally had our first experience with the “Santa is coming!” jitters! I know this is the first of many years to come, but it was so funny trying to get him to relax and go to bed knowing Santa was ‘looming’ around the corner! Eventually, we all fell asleep. [thank goodness!]

Christmas Day //

We woke up at about 7:30-8ish. I was exhausted, but totally excited to see the look on Ari’s face! He came downstairs slowly and exclaimed “Santa came!”

It took a while to open presents because he would rip the paper off the present and then he would beg us to open it and to start playing with it right away! Ha! So it was a process of “open this,” “no, we’ll play with that when we get through all the presents,” to “OK Ari next present.” Tear it open and repeat!

After assessing the Santa/presents situation, we tried to take a nap — Ha! That was a short-lived dream. 🙂 We ‘awoke’ to my father-in-laws visit with us to celebrate Christmas! We relaxed until it was time to go to dinner. See? We were doing a mega-ultra-relaxed Christmas celebration.

And a sorry to my Jewish friends, but we totally had plans to steal your Christmas and go to our favorite local Chinese restaurant. In our defense, though, I’m fairly certain that NONE of the people that were eating at this restaurant were Jewish; but the restaurant was very busy. We ate and ate and ate. Went home and played some more. A pretty perfect Christmas day!

December 26th //

We. slept. in! Thank goodness. We all needed it. And after breakfast, we took Moosh to Cafe O’Play for their 1-Year Anniversary celebration!

Chad, my father-in-law, Moosh, and I met up with Ari’s girlfriend, Veronique, and her mommy for a fun playdate! And they totally soaked up every second together!

And before we knew it, it was time to go home and all take a big family nap! We seriously did SO much of this over the holiday break. Naps, naps, naps. You would think we would all be extremely well-rested, but that’s definitely not the case!

unintended lessons for my toddler // AKA thanks, random stranger

December 22, 2015 by Rachel 2 Comments

Dear Old Cranky Woman at the Cable Store:

I wanted to say thank you for reminding me that while everyone else I ran into yesterday was sweet and kind, there are still people who will be bitchy to strangers for absolutely no reason.

While Ari and I were minding our business, waiting our turn, you decided to ask my shy toddler a series of questions. Easy questions, yes. Like, “How old are you?” to which, he responded, “free.” Which is shy toddler speak for “three.” After he politely said hello to you and answered your serious of questions, I repeated what he said, for clarity purposes (I recognize that young parents are generally the only people who can properly translate toddler speak… plus he was being shy so it was a near whisper).

After you asked a series of other questions, you said “Maybe you can answer instead of MOMMY doing everything for you.” I ignored you. ‘Cause ain’t nobody got time for that. And? See above.

But when my very well-behaved toddler asked to watch a movie on Mommies phone (after waiting patiently in his stroller for 15 minutes without so much as a peep), I decided to abide. I pulled up the sweetest and most educational show on Netflix, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood. Another patron noted that her niece loves Daniel Tiger! I told her that we’re watching the episode about Daniel getting a new baby sister, in hopes to prep him for ‘the big change.’

Dear, dear, old lady… this is where you piped in, “I don’t think he’s going to care about his sister when he has all the TV to watch!”

Dare I say it, but oh-so-typical, old lady judgy talk… just days before Christmas, at that! YOU, dear lady, are the exact opposite of the person I try to be everyday.

And although I owe you ZERO explanation, here is what you DID NOT see:

My 3-year old has a cough from his Reactive Airway Disease (aka toddler asthma). He’s not been sleeping well; thus, his parents have not been sleeping well.
Despite his cough (and his Mommy getting only 2 hours of sleep), we both awoke at 7am to tackle the day.
The very well-behaved toddler you saw had already endured a trip to the grocery store and a doctors appointment without so much as a peep! That was two hours before our encounter.
This was the single errand I was dreading, since it was to my former employer (albeit, not the location I worked) and I had just been “let go” several days prior, at 35 weeks pregnant.

So thank you, mean old lady. You served as an example for my child; an example of how rude and condescending a person can be; an example of how NOT to behave to strangers.

Lucky for you, I just brushed our encounter off without a word. Because, let’s face it, you would have thought my behavior to be “typical” if I had said anything rude to YOU. Right? “Typical young person being rude to the elderly.” But no. No, that’s not the case. Let’s just call it the Christmas spirit. Or lack of fight. Regardless, I hope whatever miserable existence you have for this week is nothing like our encounter. If it is, I feel very sorry that that’s the kind of life you lead.

Sincerely,

A stranger with a lot to be sad about, but the one you see with a smile. Also known as The Mom who is doing a damn good job.