• Family & Motherhood

    Welcome to the world

    There is something to be said about being able to plan your baby’s birth, even if you only get 24 hours. Dylan was welcomed into this world as an early arrival on a Sunday morning, making today a week since we completed our family with a beautiful baby boy! It’s a known thing that I am not great at being pregnant, my body doesn’t like to play host, (which come to think about it, neither do I, a sign maybe?) and my placenta likes to give out after about 35 weeks. So when I started to feel sick again and went to my doctor for the normal checkup, I was…

  • Family & Motherhood

    pregnant with a toddler- the struggle is real

    I know pregnancy makes you tired, especially in the last month, but I was not prepared for how tired I’d feel this time around. My daughter had issues with me as her nutrition host and was a tiny, pre-term 3 lb. baby who just made me sick all the way up to delivery. But I could take a nap on demand (when I wasn’t nauseous), and plan her arrival calmly. This time is so different. While in hindsight I appreciate the fact that my daughter kept me just distracted enough to not have the luxury of feeling sick all day (the DayQuil commercials come to mind when the mom goes…

  • Family & Motherhood

    it’s really happening (baby #2): 3rd trimester

    Home stretch! Jesus I can’t believe I’m starting my 3rd trimester. At the latest, in 11 weeks we’ll be welcoming a new baby into the world. A little brother for Liv, a son for Justin and another baby to keep this crazy family of ours interesting and full of love. It’s all incredibly overwhelming, but keeping a list of shit that needs to get done before that time comes has actually helped. Lord help us. Oh, and this is an accurate picture of what my bladder feels like 24/7. Even if I JUST pee’d 5 seconds ago. Here’s how I’m doing this time around: 1. How big is the baby?…

  • Family & Motherhood

    baby thoughts: fear of the unknown

    I’m halfway through this pregnancy, which means that in 4.5 months we’ll be welcoming a little boy into our family. At first, the fear of the unknown set in hard. Not knowing what I was going to do with a boy, how my relationship with my little one will develop, and how I was going to handle the moving parts of a family of four were overwhelming. I think about those moments when days flow so gracefully when it’s just her and I. Then I think about how that same day would be while also having a newborn. And fear sets in. As the predicted due date approaches faster and…

  • Family & Motherhood

    it’s really happening (baby #2)

    Alright, at 21 weeks and halfway through this thing. In a couple of months we’ll be knee deep in diaper changes, late night feedings and being parents of a newborn again. I’m wrapping my head around the logistics of bringing another baby into the world, and as I hang out with my little one and rock her to sleep while my obvious pregnant belly is getting bigger and bigger, I’m reminded to savor those precious moments of us as a twosome. Here’s how I’m doing this time around: 1. How big is the baby? Baby is the size of baseball hat or a baby bok choy. He’s super active and…

  • Family & Motherhood

    It’s really happening (baby #2)

    Alright, at 16 weeks I’m officially in my second trimester. While I’m grateful to all the gods that be that I’m not puking 2-3 times a day anymore, I have to say that the thing I notice the most is that I’m SO. TIRED. Like all day. I don’t remember this from when I was pregnant for Olivia, but then I think back at that time and I was able to take a nap on demand and get up as late as I wanted to. Ahhh the experience of being pregnant with a toddler 🙂 Here’s how I’m doing this time around: 1. How big is the baby? Baby is…

  • Family & Motherhood

    Boy, Oh Boy!

    We always knew we wanted to give Olivia a sibling. My sisters and I are best friends, so how could we not give our little one that opportunity? Justin has a sister, my dad has a sister and my mom has 2 other siblings. So when Justin and I talked about bringing another little one into this world to be a partner in this one-of-a-kind family of ours, it wasn’t even a question. Enter procrastination. We didn’t know the age difference we wanted them to be, and when people would ask us when we’re going to have another one, our response was always “eventually, but not now”. Enter the now.…

  • Family & Motherhood

    Our Little One

    Everything happens for a reason. Timing is everything. There was a short 5 weeks left to plan everything. Just having signed a lease to a new place that had an extra bedroom to build a nursery in, we were just starting to get everything together. A short 5 weeks, I would tell myself. 5 weeks can go by so fast. I wasn’t prepared to deliver 5 weeks early due to severe preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome that developed what seemed like overnight. My baby wanted out and my body was tired of playing host. The doctors kept saying that if I was induced it would give my family time to get…

  • Family & Motherhood

    baby thoughts: lessons for our little girl

    “What are some of the most important lessons you want to focus on teaching the baby?” I was watching Ellen DeGeneres the other day (as I religiously do) and Ashton Kutcher was on talking about his new baby girl. He said something that really struck a chord with me and made me tear up a bit. He said “people are focused on making the world a better place for our children, but I want to make better children for our world. Having a baby is the greatest opportunity to do just that.” A couple of weeks ago Justin and I casually brought up the subject of what we thought was…

  • Family & Motherhood

    baby thoughts: halfway through

    I can’t believe I’m halfway through this pregnancy thing. Although not the smoothest pregnancy and isn’t showing signs of getting better (although it’s also not showing signs of getting worse which I am immensely grateful for), it has been cool to listen to her heart beat whenever we want, which was made possible by a family friend who let us borrow her fetal doppler 🙂 I have been a little dissapointed with these supposed “pregnancy cravings”, which I really haven’t had yet. I think my love for cesar salad and kettle chips were because my body didn’t go into complete freak-out mode when I had them. I’m also finding that…