A Balancing Act

Wine Tour in the Texas Hill Country

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Gougler) — Wed, 13 Feb 2019 13:27:00 +0000

When you think of Texas, do you think of wine? Probably not. Most people think of California, France or Italy first. Fun fact: Texas has a beautiful wine country that makes delicious wines. If you live in Texas or a neighboring state and haven't visited yet, I highly recommend it. I've been many times with wonderful experiences each time!

To celebrate my friend Meena's dwindling days as a "single" lady, we road tripped to New Braunfels, TX which is in the Texas Hill Country wine region! (Check out the map above for my non-Texan readers.) Meena's family friend owns a house not far from the river, and they let us stay for free. It was such a cute house and perfectly accommodated the 9 girls in our party.

For our Saturday festivities, we booked a wine tour with an awesome company that we found online and I HIGHLY recommend: Winding Road Hill Country Wine Tours. Billy Martin is the owner of this wine tour company and was our very own driver and guide for the day! The majority of Texas wine country tours operate out of Fredericksburg, TX which is where most would call the heart of Texas wine country. Luckily for us, Billy with Winding Road (that's what I'm going to shorten it to) operates out of the New Braunfels region. Perfect for our bachelorette adventure!

Billy picked us up at our house at 10:00am in an awesome limo bus full equipped with comfy seats, a table, cup holders and wine glasses! No plastic cups needed y'all. Billy comes prepared.

I cannot stress enough how convenient it is to be picked up and dropped off at your house. A day of wine tastings definitely goes to your head and not having to worry about anyone driving is the best.

You're free to bring your own wine along on bus, so naturally we had some mimosas to toast to the bride to be and kick off our day!

A little more about our tour. Included in the cost is pick up and drop off, tastings at 3 different wineries and a charcuterie board from a local restaurant for lunch. Billy handles all the arrangements, tasting fees once in the wineries and even serves you lunch! He's a very amiable man and so easy to talk to. He gave us tips, made wine recommendations and helped us with anything we needed including taking group pictures.

We started the day at our first winery as soon as it opened, Driftwood Vineyards. The vineyards at this winery are gorgeous! Even on a cold, rainy day, you just wanted to stay outside and take in the beauty. It was an unseasonably chilly 40 degree day, but we still snapped a few shots before heading into the warmth indoors.

Our first tasting allowed us to choose 6 samples from their list of wines. I loved that this winery provided a note card to check off the wines you selected. This allowed us to note the ones that we liked the best for future reference. Driftwood Vineyards also includes a complimentary wine glass for you to take home.

Pros and Cons of Driftwood Vineyard
Pros

Beautiful views
Note card with wines to note your favorites
Wine glass souvenir
First winery of the day and wines were delicious

Cons

First winery so I didn't know how it would compare to others as far as purchasing wine goes
No private area

Since we were there as soon as they opened, this wasn't a problem!

The next winery we visited was a short distance away called Fall Creek Vineyards. It's right by the famous Salt Lick Barbeque! When we arrived we were ushered into this cute little tasting room that we had all to ourselves. A list of the tastings offered was on the table for us to review and we had our own Fall Creek employee serving us and answering any questions we had.

This is also the stop where we were served lunch! Included in the tour, Billy provides you a delicious charcuterie board from Huishace Grill in New Braunfels. It goes perfectly with wine tasting if I do say so myself.

Pros and Cons of Fall Creek
Pros

Private room for tasting and dining
Delicious wine
Gorgeous grounds and entry to the winery

Cons

No choices for tasting
Not much opportunity to explore the winery since we were just brought to our room

Above is from the entry to the winery! It was so gorgeous. I wish the weather had been better so we could explore more outside.

Our third and final winery was Duchman Family Winery. Little did we know, but this winery was the place to be! Billy had mentioned that we may need to fight our way up to get a spot at the bar and he wasn't wrong. There was definitely a energetic atmosphere different from the others that was fun for our final stop.

Funny story: Emily and I had to pump between wineries and were finishing up as we arrived. #breastfeedingmomproblems We were the last ones off the bus and weren't quite sure where to go as there were a few different buildings on the property. We decided to go with the biggest because it made the most sense to us, but nope. We stumbled right into a restaurant where the hostess was sweet enough to direct us to the winery. My favorite part of the interaction is when she said, "You were so close!" Like she didn't want us to feel stupid and was pumping us up. So naturally, we decided to snap a quick selfie and be on our way.

Once we finally made it to Duchman, our friends had already scored a nice spot at the bar for all of us! We were allowed to have 6 different samples from any of their wines. The lady serving my end of the bar was incredibly helpful. I asked quite a few questions that she answered with ease. The wine here was delicious and I'm not just saying that because it was our third stop. It was different and I loved the reds which is interesting because I'm usually more of a white and rose kind of girl.

There were lots of bachelorette parties to come through Duchman. Like I said, it had more of a fun, party atmosphere. Some of the girls were definitely having a grand ole time and it's safe to say that we were the most tame of the groups that came through! I guess I say that because none of us fell on the floor at any point in time.

Pros and Cons of Duchman

Pros

Great wine
Fun atmosphere (especially for the final stop)
Helpful attendants

Cons

Really loud
Not much to explore or see
Final winery, we were sad to be done! (But it's probably a good thing)

All in all, each winery we visited was fantastic. They were beautiful with good wines and helpful people along the way. I loved every minute of our tour with Winding Road Hill Country Wine Tours. I highly recommend them if you're ever in the New Braunfels or Gruene area. Billy was incredibly helpful and knowledgeable. He even set up dinner reservations for us after the tour when we realized the place we wanted to go to dinner was a bit too far and we'd rather Uber!

This past weekend, was my first 48 hours away from both babies! (Yes, I've been away from Chloe many times, but this was my first time away from Brody and JP's first overnight with both kids solo.) Even though Brody is only 5 months old, it was a needed and rejuvenating weekend away for this momma of two. It was the perfect amount of time and distance away for JP to get the hang of handling both kiddos 24/7. Also a solid practice run for my upcoming Disney Princess girls trip where I'll be gone for 5 days!

Happy bachelorette weekend to my girl Meens! It was amazing. Now just 10 days until wedding day. The countdown is on!

Have you ever been to Texas Wine Country? What's your favorite winery?
If not, have you ever done a wine tour? I highly recommend it!

2019 Aramco Houston Half Marathon Recap

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Gougler) — Mon, 04 Feb 2019 13:00:00 +0000

Just over a week ago, I completed my 25th half marathon. 25 y'all! I knew I had run quite a few, but actually looking at my races page and counting them out was kind of shocking. 25 half marathons, 2 marathons, 2 30Ks and dozens of 5Ks, 10Ks and 15Ks since I started running in November 2009. It feels like quite an accomplishment, but this last race felt like a big deal to me. It was my first race after giving birth to Brody and I felt great. I remember my first couple of races after Chloe and they seemed harder. For whatever reason, my body was able to handle it very well this time around and I'm so grateful!

We woke up dark and early on race day when our alarms went off at 5:00am. We were able to stay at our aunt and uncle's home in Montrose, which saved us about 30 minutes of drive time race day morning. That meant, 30 extra minutes of sleep before the race! We were up, ready and out the door by 5:35am. I pumped in the car as we drove to George R. Brown Convention Center and finished up in the parking lot. I knew that I needed to empty my breasts as much as I could because the next time I would pump was after the race at least 4 hours later! #breastfeedingproblems

As soon as I finished, we pried ourselves out of the car because it was only 35 degrees outside. SO COLD for this southern girl. Plus there was a 10-12 mph wind bringing the feels like temperature down to 27 degrees. Nope. I had on my Fabletics running leggings with pockets, a tank top, my favorite Nike half zip pullover, gloves and an extra long sleeve shirt to throw away before starting the race. I knew the extra layer would be nice while waiting outside in the corral before the race started.

We walked quickly and took shelter in the warmth of the convention center for about 40 minutes before our corral closed. We checked our bag, stretched, took one final pre-race potty break and eventually ventured out to our corral just 5 minutes before it closed! We started in corral B which closed at 7:00am when the race officially started. We waited in our corral for about 20 minutes before getting to start. There was music playing and everyone was jumping and dancing along to the beat to stay warm! We were all shivering and anxiously awaiting our chance to cross the start line. Since we were in downtown, the wind whips like crazy down the streets through the buildings. It was kind of brutal! I kept my outer layer on for a while which definitely helped. I ended up tossing it a little earlier than I should have, but I'm glad I had it for a little while at least!

By about 7:15am, we crossed the start line and were off on our 13.1 mile adventure through Houston!

We first ran down Washington and got a little nostalgic running down the street that we drove down and passed so frequently when we lived in the Montrose area. The giant American flag was hanging over the street at the firehouse around mile 2 and I just got all the excited runner feels. We did a good job keeping it slow for the first couple of miles as we warmed up our bodies and got into a solid running rhythm.

course

Here's a look at the course. Since I am far from full marathon ready, we were running the shorter yellow half marathon course! As we turned the corner around mile 3.5, I was in an even more nostalgic place because we were running down West Gray and all the shops and restaurants that we saw and frequented on a daily basis! I was even more excited when I suddenly heard my friend Candace yell, "AMYYYYY!!!!" I couldn't believe that she spotted me in a sea of people. Something about seeing your friends out supporting you on the course is magical and an awesome moral booster!

One of the best things about running Houston are the spectators. The city comes out to support this race. Seeing your friends is obviously super exciting, but almost the entire half marathon course is full of spectators. It really gives you a runner's high and an extra dose of adrenaline. Our mile times can prove it because during our training runs, I averaged a 10-10:45 min/mile pace. For once I actually trained properly running about a minute slower than race pace on my long runs!

You can see at mile 8 when we had a potty break! Our paces were getting faster and faster until we needed a pit stop. I did have a baby just 5 months prior and I'm proud to report that I didn't pee myself the entire race! (TMI I know, but I'm just being real here.)

For a few miles, there wasn't anything too exciting to report. JP and I talked about memories of running this race and living in Montrose. We talked details about planning some trips and what we have coming up with next few months. It was another great running date! As we ran down Montrose Blvd, we saw the street where our old house was and we also saw some friends! (Hi Paula!) Again, we got super excited to hear people we know shouting our names on the course. It's so exciting!

From there we made the turn onto Allen Parkway right at 11 miles. This is where I started to get super emotional. Y'all we were at 11 miles and I felt amazing. The best I had felt running since having my second child and I was running my goal race! That is when I realized that we were going to crush our time goals. Deep down, I was hoping for a 2:15 race. I hadn't run a race where I pushed myself in quite a while plus I just had a baby, so I didn't know exactly how I'd feel or how hard to push. 2:15 felt like a reasonable goal if the weather was okay. Well the weather, despite the freezing start, ended up being better than okay! I also was feeling better than okay, so it made for excellent race day conditions.

Running down Allen Parkway, I got a little teary eyed for a few minutes. JP teased me, but I told him that I felt so great and so accomplished. There were hundreds of people lining the street cheering on the runnings. Tents of people passing out bananas, beer and other goodies to encourage the thousands of runners. It's such a beautiful thing seeing a city come together. Being on the receiving end of it and feeling like a champ made me feel all the feels. What can I say, I'm a total sap?! I had to take a picture to document the good feels. Meanwhile JP was like WTF? This picture may sum up our relationship beautifully and I love it.

At this point, you notice in my mileage splits that I picked up the pace. We started running a 9:10 mile. What? I haven't done that at the end of a half marathon in a couple of years. JP wasn't too keen on the idea, but he kept up with me. He's used to my crazy and is usually just along for the ride. We ran through downtown feeling awesome and happy! I got a little emotional again and thanked him for doing this with me. I'm not sure I would have made it through some of my long training runs without him by my side. I was proud of me. Proud of him. Proud of us. Thankful to have a husband that does things like run a half marathon with me!

Before we knew it, we were sprinting across the finish line, hands in the air, side by side. We did it with an official finish time of 2:06:23!

Those negative splits are a runner's dream!

After we got our medals, we headed into the convention center to get our shirts, all of our stuff from bag check and most importantly, our FOOD! I was a hungry hippo after that race. I was a bit disappointed because in past years they had biscuits and gravy, but this year it was sausage and egg English muffins. Oh well! They still had ice cream sandwiches and of course that was the best part anyways.

Unfortunately, we had to eat and run because I accidentally scheduled Brody's baptism on the same day as the race like a dummy. We had enough time to drive to my parents' house, snap a few pictures, shower, get ready and head straight to the church. It made for a very exciting, eventful, joyful day!

My 25th half marathon in the books. Far from my fastest, but one of my proudest finishes. It's possibly I say that every time I finish a race, but it doesn't matter how many I run, each race feels like an accomplishment to me.

I'm looking forward to my 26th half marathon in just a few weeks! That one won't be nearly as fast because at Disney, races are about running with your friends and getting awesome character pictures. Stay tuned to see who Julie and I decided to dress up as this year!

What is your greatest physical accomplishment in 2019?

James Brody 5 Months Old

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Gougler) — Tue, 29 Jan 2019 11:30:00 +0000

Happy five month birthday to this sweet, smiling baby boy! For the first time in a long time, I can say that this month didn't fly by too fast and it wasn't quite as crazy. Don't get me wrong, there were some crazy days, but overall more toned down. This momma definitely needed it.

Of course, that doesn't mean that Brody didn't have a lot going on. Being a baby is busy business you know. As always, he's had lots of firsts. Some big and some small, but all are worth documenting to me!

This month, Brody has gained roughly 1lb and weighs 16.5lbs according to our scale. At his 4 month check up he was 25 1/2 inches, so I'm sure he's taller now!

5 Month Firsts:

First New Year
New Year's Eve came and turned into 2019! Brody was up until about 10:15pm on NYE thanks to all the business going on around him, but he woke up to his first New Year! Nothing too exciting, but I got a super cute picture in his outfit that I have yet to share!

First time to really find (and love) his feet
He's noticed his feet before, but this last month, he fell in love with his feet. Anytime he sees them, he's constantly grabbing them. I'm pretty sure his love for his feet is what will eventually cause him to roll from back to belly. He could do it, but isn't interested. The closest he's come is in the bathtub when playing with his feet, but I had to stop him!

First Harry Potter outfit
Okay, maybe not your traditional first for a baby, but HP is a big deal in this house and I finally got him in Chloe's old Mischief Managed onesie! He also got another HP outfit from his Auntie Kate and Uncle Nathan for Christmas, but I haven't gotten a good picture of him in it yet. (The pants are from Target! A gift from my sweet friend Chelsea!)

First transition out of the swaddle into the Zipadee Zip
It seemed like it was about time to transition out of our Halo Sleepsack into the next step. I didn't know what that was since Chloe never liked to be swaddled! First we did the one arm swaddle switching the arm that was out every other night. After two weeks of this, I decided to give the Zipadee Zip a try. My bestie Julie let us borrow her daughters first Zipadee Zip to see if we liked it. Needless to say, it's a staple in our house and I highly recommend it! Brody loves it. Obviously every baby is different, but it's a great transition piece for those who love to be swaddled.

First time in the swing
Chloe insisted that Brody try out the swing one day, so we gave it a go! He wasn't really too sure about it. After a couple of minutes he cried so I took him out. He's been in since then and is really starting to like it! This picture is just before he started to cry. You can see the uncertainty on his face.

First time to figure out how to jump in his Exersaucer
I busted out Chloe's old Exersaucer back in December as a new place to set Brody down, but the past couple of weeks, he finally figured out how to jump in it! He bounces like crazy and makes us all laugh out loud. He loves jumping around in there and making his sister laugh while he does it!

First race expo
Not every baby has been to a race expo, but Brody went before he was 5 months old! He tagged along with his daddy, sister and me to the Chevron Houston Marathon and Aramco Houston Half Marathon Expo! He was the best baby and rode around in our Moby wrap the whole time. He even decided to take a little nap while we were at it. (Race recap coming Thursday!)

First baptism
I realize you only have one baptism, but since we're talking firsts here, this seemed appropriate. James Brody Gougler was baptized and accepted into the Catholic Church on Sunday, January 20th. We ran our half marathon in the morning and had our son baptized that afternoon along with his cousin Gabriel. It was the perfect afternoon and now that I have all the pictures, a full post will come soon.

Brody loves...

nursing as often as possible. I think he's looking forward to trying solids in a month.
chewing his tongue. When it isn't his tongue, his hands are in his mouth. Thanks teething!
being around, watching and laughing at/with his big sister.
jumping in his Exersaucer.
standing and being "straight". He loves flexing his quads when standing and laying down. My little muscle man.
sitting up. He can pretty much sit up by himself. He needs a little stability help, but he's almost got it!
smiling! This kid has the best smile.
bathtime. It's his jam. Especially since he knows his feet will be there.

Brody doesn't love...

getting dressed after bath time. It's the worst. Other times he doesn't mind so much.
not being picked up as soon as he's ready. Patience isn't a virtue he's learned yet.
when mommy walks out of sight.
being put down after 6pm. Daddy has to walk around with him all evening.
getting bumped in the head by his sister. Ooops!

Yet again, it's been another magical month with these sweet soul!

My sweet Brody Boy,

Every morning I greet you with a sweet, "Hello, good morning!" and if your sister is with me, she mimics with a silly, sweet voice that I'll never forget. I hope it's one you remember too. She absolutely adores you. I know this won't be the case forever, but I hope you always come back around to one another. Every morning, you always have a big smile on your face as soon as you hear my voice. It makes me feel like the best mom and most special person in the world. Again, I know I won't always be the center of your universe, but the fact that I am now bring me such joy.

For possibly the first month of your life, we had a somewhat less busy month! Lots of big and exciting things happened, but overall life has slowed down. This past month you had your first New Year's Eve and Day, first time in the swing per your sister's request, first race expo and you were baptized! Your baptism was beautiful but a bit chaotic. Your cousin Gabe was also baptized at the same time and he wasn't too pleased about it. When you heard him cry, it made you cry too! Also Gabe's parents' were your Godparents and your parents' were Gabe's Godparents. It made everything a little more interesting, but we managed!

Every day you find a way to bring light to our lives. You also find ways to drive us crazy, but that's expected. Not every day is perfect, but not every day is bad either. I'd rather have 1,000,000 bad days with you than a single one without. You're my boy and you know it. I always tell you that you're going to be mine and I'll keep you forever. Right now, you agree that you'll always be my boyfriend. I know it won't always be like this, but I'll soak up every day that it does. I love you my son.

I love you without wax,

Your Momma

Things I've Tried and Liked - Skincare Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Gougler) — Mon, 28 Jan 2019 11:30:00 +0000

Happy Monday y'all! I know that I promised a race recap and baptism photos last week, but I'm still waiting on some pictures and I loaned out my computer for a few days last week. What I really mean is I'm a bit behind and possibly procrastinated a little bit. And by procrastinated, I mean, I was busy being a mom of two and had other things to do when I actually had access to my computer. #truth Those posts will come this week and I know they will because I have them drafted and almost ready to go!

I've actually been wanting to share products that I've been loving and where to buy them with y'all for a while, but haven't been very good at doing it! I follow @things.i.bought.and.liked on Instagram and find her page helpful and often times hilarious. I won't pretend that I'm nearly as clever, but I do want to share things I've tried and liked. So here is a spin off where I plan to share with y'all different types of things I've tried and well...liked! Today is the skincare edition because I've tried lots of different products lately and have a lot to say about some of them. There's also a promo code that won't disappoint!

(Just a heads up, some of the links below are affiliate links which means I receive a small commission at no extra expense to you for buying through my link! I hope you like some of these products and are enticed to try them for yourself!)

Yeouth - Anti-aging Thirties System
All six products above actually come together to use as a daily skincare regimen and I'm in love! You start with the refreshing Vitamin C Facial Cleanser. Next, you give yourself a spritz or two of the balancing toner while your face is still slightly damp. Step 3 is different depending on day and night. In the mornings, use a pump of the Vitamin C&E Serum; before bed, a pump of the Hyaluronic Acid Plus. Next step is a pump of the Radiance Eye Gel, and finish it all off with a dab of the Day/Night Cream. Together these products work together great! I've loved using them and notice a HUGE difference in the brightness of my skin which is saying a lot for this momma of two.

If you check out yeouth.com they also have other anti-aging systems as well as the products sold individually if there is something specific you want to try! Of the 6 products above, my favorite is the Day/Night Cream. I love how light-weight and smooth it is. It doesn't leave my face feeling sticky or even like I have anything on it. I do think it works best with the system though! My skin absorbs more moisture and feels hydrated throughout the day when I do every step which has been important in these dry winter months! If you're interested, check out yeouth.com and use promo code SOCIAL20 to get 20% your first order!

Rose Mask Sheet
I received this beauty as a gift from my girlfriend and loved the light, floral scent of this rose mask.

Yes To Cucumbers - Mask Bundle
I really liked the Say Yes to Carrots mask and have tried the cucumber one as well. (Cucumber is linked above because I couldn't find the carrot masks online!) These masks are cut well to fit your face nicely without having to constantly fix while wearing. It's recommended to wear for 10 minutes, but I usually end up wearing them for closer to 15. After a few minutes, your skin will begin to tingle which is a good thing! That means the mask is working. I personally love the warm, tingly feeling, but if that bothers you, then this mask isn't for you!

BLAQ - Activated Charcoal Eye Mask with HydroGel
These came in the winter Fun Fit Fab box and do not disappoint. There are 5 sets of under eye masks, one for each eye. These masks are black and have a jello like texture. They stick right under your eyes and leave a nice cooling sensation as you wear them. Leave them on for 10-15 minutes to hydrate those bags under your eyes and voila! You're as good as new! Okay, not quite, but it does leaving my eyes feeling more hydrated, less puffy and possibly a little brighter.

C. Booth - Deep Cleansing Volcanic Mud Mask
Unfortunately, I can't seem to find this particular product in stock anywhere. I got it several years ago and didn't start using it regularly until early last year. I believe I received it in a box from either Influenster or Fun Fit Fab. The good news is that I did a little research and found a similar product on Amazon that I think y'all would like: Dr. Wellness Volcanic Ash Clay Mud Mask. The C. Booth brand that I like is thick when it comes out of the tube and easily smooths out evenly over my entire face. It recommended to leave it on for 15-20 minutes, so I put it on when I'm soaking in the tub. The mask dries over time and you can feel your skin tightening as it does. Take a look at this sweet picture of me below to see what I mean! After you wash the mask off, you skin is left feeling silky and smooth. I love it!

Mario Badescu Skin Care Facial Spray (Not pictured)
This is another product gifted to me by a girlfriend and I'm pretty much obsessed. It's so light and refreshing! It gives my skin a little extra moisture whenever I need it. You can use it as a toner before moisturizing or just throughout the day to give your skin a little pick me up. I love using it in the late afternoons when I feel like my skin could use a little extra hydration without having to reapply moisturizer or other skincare products. It's quick and easy which is one thing this momma needs!

I'm far from a skincare expert, but these products have been really good to me the past few months. I've been trying hard to take better care of my skin now so it will stay youthful looking longer!

I'm definitely on the lookout for new things to try, so drop a comment with your favorite skincare product for me to try!

Next round of Things I've Tried and Liked will be Hair Products! With all of this hair, I've got a few things I love to say the least. What other topics would you like to see? I'm thinking baby things, toddler girl things and workout things are a must since they're kind of in my wheelhouse!

Second Thoughts - Invisalign Series Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Gougler) — Mon, 21 Jan 2019 11:00:00 +0000

In case you missed it, I started Invisalign on November 30th! I wrote up a post about my initial feelings just one week in and I wanted to follow up on those thoughts and emotions now that I've been wearing them for 7 weeks. Check out that smile!

First Thought: My teeth hurt.
Second Thoughts: My teeth only hurt the first 48 hours after putting a new tray in and it's nothing compared to the initial pain I dealt with when I first started.

It took nearly a week for my teeth to feel better after my first set. The first days were very painful and eating anything remotely crunchy or hard was out of the question. The same thing happened after I got my brackets put on. I didn't get my brackets attached until I was 2 weeks into the treatment. (Some people get them attached at their first appointment I've heard. It varies patient to patient.) The brackets apply torque to certain teeth to help them move into the proper position, so it was rough again for a couple of days. Now each time I put a new tray in, which is every two weeks, the first day or two my teeth are a little sore and I get a bit of a headache. Nothing like the initial week though!

First Thought: The edges feel weird against my upper lip.

Second Thoughts: You get used to it pretty quick, but it's uncomfortable at first.

The edges of the retainer felt rough against the inside of my upper lip for the first couple of weeks. It hurt on one side the first week and then on the other side once my brackets were applied. In fact, there were small cuts in my mouth for a few days. It was sore and uncomfortable, but once my mouth got used to it, the sores went away and so did the pain. I think your mouth just has to get used to the foreign intruder and the new way everything feels.

First Thought: I feel like I have a lisp.

Second Thoughts: It's not so bad and only occasionally do I feel like I'm talking funny.

Again most people don't even notice that I have my Invisalign in until I mention it and they take a good look. That means they don't really notice a change in my speech. Occasionally I feel like I sound a little off, but it's probably just because I have too much saliva. (Heads up, you produce more saliva with Invisalign in!)

First Thought: How am I going to eat. I may wither away.

Second Thoughts: I have decided that I will indeed survive and not turn into a twig.

I'm still trying to figure out how much to eat at once! I need more calories during each meal because snacking is much harder especially when chasing 2 kids around each day. On top of that, I'm breastfeeding which means I'm ALWAYS hungry. Breastfeeding hunger is serious. I try not to take my trays out too many times a day. Some days I find this easy and some days I feel like I take them out a million times. But the moral of the story is that I'm not going to wither away. At first my teeth hurt so much more that eating hurt. That pain is definitely gone, so I'm able to eat more. I just have to think about when to do it. Right now I'm eating at breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner and most nights a little dessert!

First Thought: I have to brush my teeth a lot.
Second Thoughts: It's the truth.

I'm definitely brushing my teeth at least 3 times a day, but most days 4 times. I'm also flossing daily which I know you're technically supposed to do. All in all, this is not a bad thing. In fact, I feel like my dental heath is better than it's ever been. Not that I had poor dental health before. It's just awesome now!

So yeah, still different but I'm much more used to them now. Honestly, my teeth feel weird WITHOUT them on now! Don't get me wrong, they can still be a little bit annoying sometimes, but overall the 18-20 months I'll have them doesn't seem so daunting.

Balancing January

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Gougler) — Fri, 18 Jan 2019 11:00:00 +0000

You know, it's funny, I have a blog about balancing my life and lately I haven't written about what I'm balancing or how I'm balancing or really even written at all. In fact, that was kind of a poorly written sentence but I'm going with it because it feels right.

I haven't felt like I've had the time or energy to commit to this space, but I'm realizing now that I wasn't making time for it. I miss blogging. I miss sharing my thoughts, favorite products, how I get things done and just having an outlet for me. Making time for something you love it totally worth it. I make time for my workouts, so now I'm making time again for my blog! Since I kind of feel like I'm starting over for the new year, I thought today would be the perfect time to reintroduce myself, my blog, my life and my goals!

Balancing Me
If you're new around here or just happened to pop in, I'm Amy! Please stick around and stay a while. Leave a comment or hop over to my Instagram. I love new friends and like minded people in my life! I'm a 31 year old follower of Jesus, wife to JP, mom to Chloe (3.5), Brody (4 months), Maggie (8 yo lab/shephard mix) and Moose (5.5 yo lab/terrier mix), fitness professional, running enthusiast, travel nut, Disney and Harry Potter nerd and lover of wine. I think that about sums it up in a nutshell.

Balancing Motherhood
I've been a mother of two kids for 4.5 months now and balancing life with them is no joke. People said it was challenging going from one kid to two kids and I really get it. Some days are HARD and EXHAUSTING. But so many more days are HAPPY and EXCITING. I'm lucky to stay home with them as my full time job now. Chloe is a vibrant, strong-willed, shy 3.5 year old and Brody is a sweet, smiley, squishy 4 month old. Chloe absolutely adores Brody though it took her a few weeks to warm up to him and understand the idea of him. The good thing is that she always wants to have him around and she said that we don't have to send him back to the hospital. He can stay!

Balancing Work
I used to be a full time fitness professional working with others in personal training and group exercise. I stepped back a little when Chloe was born and worked 2.5 days a week and then eventually 1 day a week when we moved out to the suburbs. I sadly left my gym just two weeks before giving birth to Brody because driving into downtown was exhausting and it would be hard to have JP watch both kids while working from home. I still have my certifications and hope to get back into it one day, but for now I'm enjoying my break. My first step to get back into fitness is to start subbing classes at some local gyms. I'm not sure when I'll start, but I'll let y'all know when I do!

Balancing Health & Fitness
Speaking of being a fitness professional, I love health and fitness! I'm one of those weirdos that actually likes working out and running. I love sharing my workouts and what I'm doing to stay fit. (You can find lots of motivation on my Insta!) I'm far from a perfect body, but I feel good in my own skin. It's all about balancing working out and eating. Moderation is key y'all! I'm a firm believer in dessert, but I also love vegetables. See balance! But seriously, dessert is my favorite meal of the day. #sweettooth

I'm a runner and started running in 2009 just because I wanted to run a half marathon with some girl friends. It seemed like an awesome challenge. I ran my first one and I've been hooked ever since. I've run 24 half marathons (it'll be 25 after Sunday!), 2 30Ks, 2 full marathons and dozens of other distance races! Disney races are by far my favorite and I'm toying with the idea of running Dopey in 2020. I may be crazy! Aside from running, I love working out and setting a great example for my daughter. I finally decided to give BeachBody a try after having Brody and I've been loving it! I can workout from home and Chloe even does it with me. I'm hoping to start a new program after my races these next couple of months!

Balancing Travel
I LOVE to travel. You'll definitely find lots of fun and hopefully helpful travel posts along the way if you stick around here. Every year I do an annual girls trip to Disney World which is actually coming up next month! (So be prepared to see lots of Disney love.) I also enjoy, yes I said enjoy, traveling with my husband AND kids. Chloe has been overseas 3 times for a total of 7 weeks abroad in her short life. She'll be adding another 2 weeks later this year and Brody will have his first international flight when we head to...you'll have to stick around to see!

As of right now, I have 5 trips planned with a couple of weekend getaways this year! First up is a weekend bachelorette getaway in a couple of weeks. My first trip away from Brody, so stay tuned to see the shenanigans and how it goes!

Balancing Blogging
Lately blogging hasn't been a priority. I was kind of frustrated with trying to switch platforms and editing pictures and coming up with new content that people actually cared about. I took a step back. Then I realized I missed it. What I miss is having a place to share my thoughts and what's on my brain. This space will be far from perfect and I'm not trying to become the next huge blogger that makes a full time income. I just want a place to be me. Hopefully people like reading about me being me, and get something out of it!

Balancing Life
So I'm here to stay. I'm here to try and balance all of the craziness of being a wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend, blogger, runner and all the other hats I wear. I hope you'll stick around and follow with me on this journey of life. I can't promise much, but I hope to inspire and make friends along the way!

Leave a comment telling me a little something about yourself and let's be friends!

James Brody 4 Months Old

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Gougler) — Mon, 07 Jan 2019 15:25:00 +0000

Well it's clear that I'm a second time mom because I'm just now getting around to Brody's four month update and he turned 4 months on December 27th. Yes, 11 days ago. Such is life. It was smack dab in the middle of the holidays and I don't blog a lot from mid-December to mid-January. Sorry little brother! We still love you so big!

Month 4 Firsts:
(Beware there are a lot and mostly Christmas related!)

First Christmas Season
This includes lots of Christmas outfits and pictures in front of trees, lights and other decor!

First Visit with Santa

Brody got to meet Santa when he came to visit our neighborhood for Donuts with Santa! Brody was a bit more fascinated with the light coming through the blinds than Santa himself. But he didn't cry, so that's a win in my book! Meanwhile, big sister was NOT a fan of Santa, but loved the donuts!

First Christmas Party
Brody got to go to his first Christmas party and didn't sleep a wink! This little boy has some serious FOMO and isn't into napping or going to bed when fun things are happening. I can't say I blame him. Here is the only picture of Brody from the party with his sister and Aunt Emmy!

First Flight

Brody killed it on his first flight and barely made a peep! (Brag moment: His big sister was really awesome too. I felt like a rockstar mom!) People around us said they forgot there was a baby in our row because they never heard him. Tip for breastfeeding moms flying with little babies: Wear a shirt with easy boob access and just give it to them whenever they want throughout the flight. I pretty much let Brody sleep on the boob and he was a happy camper. Same goes for bottles mommas! That sucking motion really helps their ears and full babies are happier babies!

First Trip to Chicago
That first flight brought us to Chicago! This will be his first of many trips to the windy city because his mommy, daddy and sister's best friends moved up their in April. Whenever we go to visit as a family, our plan is to spend a night in the city exploring different parts before heading to the burbs to see our people. I also have family in Northern Illinois, so we may be venturing up there next visit!

First Hayride to see Christmas Lights
Right after returning from our Chicago trip, we went on a hayride around our neighborhood and the one right by us to see some AMAZING lights! Brody slept through most of it and Chloe slept through half of it, but Mom and Dad really loved it! Also this is the best picture we got.

First Christmas in College Station
We celebrated Christmas a little early in College Station with JP's family! This way we could see his parents, sister and our soon to be brother-in-law. Plus JP's uncle and family we visiting from North Carolina, so it was extra special. We saw lights in Central Park, had a lovely dinner out, opened lots of presents (way too many for these lucky little kids) and just spent time together!

First Christmas
To finish off this awesome 4th month of life, Brody celebrated his first Christmas! From decorating cookies on Christmas Eve at the Timmers to waking up WAY too early to make it dressed and ready for 6:30 am mass to a huge Christmas dinner for ALL of our family (both sides) at our home. Brody did Christmas like a champ! He was passed all around and was barely put down all day. Lots of love for this sweet boy.

Brody loves...

eating whenever he gets the chance.
watching his big sister. (He adores her!)
chewing his tongue. (All the time y'all. It's hilarious.)
chewing his hands when he's not chewing his tongue.
standing in his Exersaucer. (He LOVES to be in the standing position.)
swinging in his swing. (He'll be too big for it before long it seems!)
trying to sit up. (He's getting close)
talking and smiling all the time!

Brody doesn't love...

getting dressed after bath time.
when we don't get him out of his carseat fast enough once we're home! (Assuming he's awake of course. But when he's awake, it hurts his feelings if we leave him in there at all.)
having to wait.

Our sweet boy is still such a happy baby, but when he's mad, you know it!

My sweet Brody Boy,

This holiday season with you was the absolute BEST! We went to Illinois and actually experience a cold holiday like weekend, played at Winter Wonderfest at Navy Pier, met Santa, saw lights on a hayride, had an early Christmas in College Station, spent Christmas Eve at Nonna and Poppa's and hosted our first BIG Christmas dinner. Through it all you were such a trooper. You loved watching everything that was going on and being held by everyone. You're always happy when someone is paying attention to you!

We were so busy this past month and your firsts were BIG ones. You first plane ride and vacation to Chicago and to see The Crowsons went great. You were a rockstar on both plane rides and loved being worn in the carrier all over Chicago. Being near your momma is the best! I'm soaking up all of your sweet snuggles as often as I can because I know you'll be busy and moving before I know it! You didn't have any physical firsts this last month, but a few more are on the horizon. You roll belly to back, but I think you'll roll back to belly and even sit up on your own very soon.

You continue to bring me and our whole family so much joy! As far as babies go, you're pretty darn easy. You let your momma sleep, you love to snuggle, you're happy most of the time and you smile more than you cry. Your giggle is mesmerizing and it makes us want to do anything to make you laugh. I'm going to keep on holding you close as long as you'll let me baby boy!

I love you without wax,

Your Momma

James Brody Gougler

4 Months Old

15lbs 6oz

25 1/2 inches long

2018 A Year in Review

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Gougler) — Mon, 31 Dec 2018 11:30:00 +0000

Oh my this year was a fast one. Looking back on it, I think I say this every year. The days are long, but the years are short. This statement may be cliche and overused, but it couldn't be more true. There are days I have wondered how we'll make it to the next, and yet we always do. Then here we are another year later with so many more memories. More fits of laughter, more tears of sorrow, more magical moments, more countries visited, more memories made.

One of my favorite things to do at the end of the year is look back on the year and remember all we've done. This year was a busy one for us! We spent two weeks in The Netherlands and France, traveled to Chicago twice, JP started a new role at his work, I grew a human and gave birth to our baby boy and we became a family of four! But let's take it month by month to see all of the adventures.

January

We rang in the New Year with my family and wound down from the holidays. We celebrated my father-in-law's 60th birthday with a surprise party in College Station. Chloe started her second "semester" of school. We made it through a hard freeze in Houston. We heard the baby's heartbeat and saw him for the first time. JP went to Singapore and the Philippines for work. I ran the Hot Chocolate 15K with my friend Rachael!

February

Chloe and I road tripped to North Dallas to see Julie and Baby Alexandria. We had a mommy and me Valentine's Day. We did a family photo shoot and found out we were having a baby BOY! I rescued my sister from a flat tire on the side of the highway and we almost managed to change the tire ourselves. (Yes, this is noteworthy for me. It was a hilarious and unforgettable experience.) I went on my annual girl's Disney trip and completed the 5K, 10K and Princess Half Marathon.

March

We remembered and celebrated the life of JP's Mimi who I had the privilege of knowing longer than both of my own grandmothers. We went to a lot of parks enjoying the Spring weather in Texas. We showered and celebrated our friend's Corley and Elissa wedding. We moved into my parents' house for 2 weeks while we had our entire house painted. JP went to London for work. We found out that my sister was expecting and due just 9.5 weeks after me!

April

We celebrated Easter in Houston and did lots of Easter egg hunts. Chloe and I tagged along on JP's work trip to Amsterdam. 9 days in The Netherlands and 4 days at Disneyland Paris. We saw the famous Keukenhof tulips, the windmills in Leiden, walked all over Amsterdam, took a train to Paris and dined with the Disney Princesses in one amazing family trip!

May

We bought a new car for my Mother's Day present! We started swimming every weekend at my parents' house. JP turned 32, so we did one of his favorite things, GOLF. (My pregnant self drove the golf cart all around.( We took our final plane trip as a family of 3 to visit our best friends at their new home in Chicago. Chloe finished her first year of preschool. We celebrated Memorial Day with all of our neighbors.

June

We found out that my sister was also having a baby BOY. We spent a day at Schlitterbahn and floated the river in New Braunfels with both of our families. We took a family day trip to the beach in Galveston. We spent a lot of time at splash pads and pools. We went to an Astros game where I got to consume my favorite pregnancy craving...chili cheese fries. We celebrated our friends' (Meena and Greg) engagement! My family and friends showered me and Brody with so much love!

July

We celebrated the 4th at our neighbors. Chloe saw her first movie at the theater. We went to a Sugar Land Skeeters baseball game for my sister's birthday. We spent a lot of time in the pool. I was a core team member for VBS at our church for the second year. Chloe was a part of VBS for the first time. We got Brody's nursery put together. We celebrated Chloe's 3rd birthday at one of her favorite places...gymnastics!

August

I helped my mom with her Annual Community Baby Shower at her hospital during World Breastfeeding Week. (This was my 4th year to help her! Prep work starts in January.) I did an impromptu maternity shoot in my parents' backyard. My dad and JP built Chloe a swing set. My sister in law got engaged! I walked and walked and walked and walked trying to get that baby out! I went past my due date. I had prodromal labor for 12 hours and went to the hospital just to be sent home. I FINALLY gave birth to my wonderful, precious baby boy.

September

I got very little sleep. Chloe started her second year of preschool. We found a rhythm and our new normal as a family of four. We enjoyed having JP at home on paternity leave. We celebrated Emily and baby Gabe at her shower. Brody had his newborn photoshoot. We went on our first family trip to College Station to see my in laws and watch Aggie Football. JP took me on a shopping trip and we had Mexican food and margs to celebrate my 31st birthday.

October

We spent another weekend in College Station. Brody had his first pool day. We continued to enjoy JP being home on paternity leave. We went to pumpkin patches, farms and fall festivals. I slowly started to run and workout again. We celebrated baby Alex's first birthday up in The Woodlands. We went to a Houston Texans football game. We went trick-or-treating as two Elsas and two jack-o-lanterns.

November

We welcomed Baby Gabe into the world and I became an Auntie! I picked up my running game and officially started training for my first post-baby half marathon. I started to figure out how to be a mom to two kids after JP went back to work. JP started a new role at the same company. We decorated for Christmas. We took cousin pictures during Gabe's newborn photoshoot. We spent Thanksgiving in College Station and saw in person the epic game where Texas A&M beat LSU!

December

I started Invisalign. We took countless cousin pictures. Chloe leveled up again at swim lessons. We took our first flight as a family of four. We explored Chicago and visited with our best friends. We went on hay rides, looked at lights, drank hot chocolate, decorated cookies and met Santa. Chloe actually sang at her Christmas performance. We enjoyed holiday parties and hosted Christmas dinner at our house for the first time. We enjoyed a lazy week at home with just the four of us between Christmas and New Years Day!

2018 was so good to us and we're looking forward to everything that 2019 has to bring. I know that this year wasn't easy for everyone. I pray that 2019 is better than the year before for all of you. I know that a new year can't take away loss, sorrow, depression or longing, but it can bring a new outlook and hopefully joy along with it. Here's to new year and another chance to get it right!

What was your favorite month this year and why?!

Something New - Invisalign Series Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Gougler) — Thu, 06 Dec 2018 11:00:00 +0000

Well I did a thing. As you can see from the title of this post, I started something new, Invisalign! It’s new and weird and a little bit painful (sometimes a lot a bit painful). I'm only 6 days in and I'm not entirely sure what I think about it, but I thought I'd share my initial thoughts. Then I can continue to share my thoughts and tips as I go along in case anyone out there is thinking about starting Invisalign!

Why I started Invisalign
I didn't actually start Invisalign because I didn't like my smile. In fact, I felt completely happy and confident in my smile and how my teeth looked. Yes I had a couple of rotated teeth on the bottom and my front teeth were a little crooked after shifting over the past couple of years, but it didn't bother me. It was my dentist that actually recommended that I go to an orthodontist because my bite was off and my gums started receding on a few teeth because of it. Not only that, but my shifted front top teeth were now rubbing against my lower front teeth causing me to grind them in my sleep. This could result in short, stubby bottom teeth later in life. Not exactly something you want to hear. After talking to my dentist, I decided to go to the orthodontist to see what they had to say. The dentist's fears were confirmed and I decided to go ahead with it. The Invisalign would fix my bite to keep my gums from receding and my teeth from grinding, plus I'd get a beautiful straight smile in the process. An 18-20 month process I might add.

Left picture without Invisalign and Right picture with it in. I can already see a little difference. I hope I remember to keep taking these pictures to see the progression over time! So my story begins here at the beginning of December 2018. It'll likely continue until at least June 2020, and since I'm paying for it, you better believe I'm sticking to it!

*Side note: I have never had braces or a retainer before, so this is completely new to me!

I wanted to share some of my initial thoughts, feelings and agitations about the Invisalign after just having them in for a few days.

My teeth hurt.
When I first put them in, I noticed that they felt tight but after just an hour or so, my teeth felt achy and painful. It's not just in one place, but all over. Not only that, the ache is truly painful at times! They say that the first couple of days with a new tray will hurt, but as your teeth shift and get used to that tray, the pain and ache lessens. At this point, I'm hoping that's the case! This time around, day 5 is when the pain started to subside. They're still tender when I take them out to eat, but hopefully that will get better too.

The edges feel weird against my upper lip.
Another thing that I'll likely just have to get used to, but the edges of the tray feel weird against my upper lip. It's actually rubbing a little sore on one side which I plan to bring up with the orthodontist if it doesn't go away.

I feel like I have a lisp.
When I first put them in, I felt like I was talking so funny. My entire mouth felt out of whack. My sister and husband both said that I sounded fine, but every sound I made just felt off. Luckily I don't actually have a lisp and talking is easier as I have them in longer. But seriously, I feel like I have a lisp.

How am I going to eat. I may wither away.
You're expected to wear your trays for 22 hours a day. They're only supposed to come out when you're eating. That's it! That only leaves 2 hours a day for me to eat and drink my morning coffee! Anyone that knows me, knows how important food and especially snacks are to me. I'm interested to see how Invisalign will change my eating habits. I may need to learn to snack a little less. Maybe 4 meals a day instead of 6? I'm not sure how that will go for this grazer. I'll be sure to keep y'all updated.

I have to brush my teeth a lot.
Pretty much after I eat anything, I have to brush my teeth. Now I'm not saying this is a bad thing. It's actually a good thing and I know it will improve my dental health, but it's time consuming and just one more thing I have to do. It's not easy when I'm trying to finish eating so I can get my trays back in before nursing the baby. He's not to keen on waiting. Again, something I'll get used to and in 6 months, I won't even realize the extra time it takes me to brush my teeth after each time I eat.

I can tell they're going to change my habits more than I initially expected. Eating in public and drinking anything that isn't water are already more complicated than they used to be. Taking the trays out and putting them in isn't a hard process, but it is a nuisance and is kind of gross. It's not something you want to do over and over again, especially when your teeth are sore. I have to think about when I want to eat a meal and snacking is likely a thing of the past. That's going to be hard for this breastfeeding momma. It looks like I'll just be brushing my teeth a lot!

Right now I'm just trying to figure things out with my new mouth. I know it will take time and eventually it will just be normal. For now, I'll quietly complain to myself and remember that it's all for a good cause! I'm hoping that in a week or so my initial thoughts and fears will be a thing of the past. Stay tuned to see how the process goes!

Have you have Invisalign or adult braces?
How did it change your lifestyle or habits?

James Brody: Three Months Old

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Gougler) — Mon, 03 Dec 2018 11:00:00 +0000

I think I blinked and another month passed by. More than a month in fact because my baby turned 3 months old last Tuesday! I may have forgotten because I thought he would be 3 months on the 29th. Nope. He was born on the 27th and Chloe on the 29th. He's clearly a second child. At least I have a bit of an excuse! But I haven't been blogging nearly as regularly as I would like, so here I am finally posting about my sweet 3 month old boy!

Month 3 Firsts:

First Halloween
Originally Chloe was supposed to be a unicorn and Brody a dragon. Last minute, Chloe changed everyone's costumes, and for some reason, I decided to go with it. She wanted to be Elsa with me and have JP and Brody be pumpkins. And the cutest pumpkins they were!

First time to be a cousin
On November 1st, my sister had her baby boy, Gabriel. Chloe and Brody became instant cousins and I finally became and Auntie! Chloe is smitten with both of them. Brody and Gabe are pretty much built in best friends and we can't stop taking pictures of them!

First giggle
Pretty much the sweetest sound in the world. Baby giggles never get old! I got a video that I'll post on Instagram of him giggling while we were at Chloe's gymnastics. He doesn't do it every day, but I can tell he's on the verge of being a little giggle monster!

First Bridal Shower
Brody came with me to my dear friend Meena's bridal shower! Now he's been to a baby shower and a bridal shower. Next up, Meena's wedding in February!

First trip to the zoo
We finally made it out to the zoo the week of Thanksgiving! Brody loved it so much that he slept right through the almost 3 hours we were there. He woke up now and again so that we knew he was there, but he mostly enjoyed snuggling in the stroller. On the plus side, it was the perfect day, all the animals were out and his sister had the best time!

First Thanksgiving
Two holiday firsts in one month! Brody's first Thanksgiving was spent in College Station at his Jojo and Pops' house. He enjoyed his first Thanksgiving buffet of his favorite food...breastmilk! We had a blast with JP's family for the long weekend. It involved way too much food, Aggie football and lots of fun family time.

Brody loves...

chewing on his tongue.
playing with his big sister.
napping in his car seat whenever we go places.
sitting up and standing.
sleeping through the night in his Dock-a-Tot.
eating. Always wants the boobie!
talking and smiling at anyone who will pay attention.

Brody doesn't like...

changing clothes.
getting out of the bathtub.
having to wait too long when he's already been patient.

Honestly, he's the happiest baby. He's so calm and easy going that there isn't much that he truly doesn't like! He's made being a mom to two kids so much easier than it could have been. I'm so obsessed with him and his sweet, calm demeanor.

My sweet Brody boy,

Another month has come and gone and you have made our hearts grow more than we could ever imagine. You make your mommy and daddy so happy. Your smile lights up a room and your coos melt our hearts. You continue to be the easiest, sweetest baby we could ever imagine. How did we get so lucky?

This month has been a big one! You experienced two holidays and became a cousin in just 31 days. You rocked the pumpkin costume your little sister picked out for you, and you loved laying in the wagon as we went trick-or-treating around the street. You did opt out of treats on Halloween and turkey on Thanksgiving since you prefer the boobie. Who needs anything else when you have that?You and Gabe are already little besties, and we can't wait to watch you grow up and get into trouble together. We started imagining what we'll be dealing with in 3 years, and we're glad that you both can't move around quite yet.

Everything about you brings me so much joy! You smile when you hear my voice and look around for me. If that doesn't melt a momma's heart, then I don't know what does. You're my little boyfriend and I hope you'll let me kiss you forever. For now, I'll just soak up all the snuggles and the smile you give me because for now, I'm the center of your world and I wouldn't have it any other way.

I love you without wax,
Momma

What's in a Name: James Brody

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Gougler) — Fri, 16 Nov 2018 11:00:00 +0000

Years ago I wrote a post about the reason I chose the name for this blog and that spiraled into the meaning of Chloe's name and how we chose it. I thought it would be fun to do the same thing for our Brody boy! {Take a look at Chloe's name post if you're interested!}

First let's look at the origin of his name.

James
From Baby Name Wizard: From the Ecclesiastic Late Latin Iacomus, an evolution of Iacobus, a cognate of the Hebrew Yaakov. The name has its root in ya`aqob (supplanting, seizing by the heel). Some say Iacomus arises from an error in the transcription of manuscripts from the Greek to the Latin by an early monk. Short: Jim. Pet: Jamie, Jimmy.

Meaning: Of Hebrew origin, meaning "He who Supplants".

Brody

From Baby Name Wizard: Transferred use of the surname meaning “from Brodie.” Brodie is a place-name believed to be derived from the Gaelic broth (a ditch). Var: Brody.

Meaning: Of Scottish origin, meaning "Second son; Ditch".

Second son seems quite fitting because he is our second child and a son. Of course he's technically our first son, but we'll just look right over that. Now for the fun part. The story behind how we chose James Brody Gougler to be our son's name.

I have loved the name Brody for a very long time. In fact, I told JP when we were in college that I was going to name our son Brody. {Yes, I was that obnoxious girl who assumed JP and I were going to get married even though we started dating when I was 19. But hey, it happened!} For some reason the name spoke to me. In fact, I wanted to name my future son Brody James, but that changed for several reasons.

My mom reminded me that my Aunt Ginny {one of my mom's childhood best friends} named her dog Brody James. Yes, that exact name. What are the odds? Did I really want to name my son after a dog?
A good friend of mine mentioned that his initials would be BJ. Need I say more?

There are other more positive reasons that we decided to switch the order of the names to James Brody.

My husband, Dad and JP's grandfather are all named James and none of them go by James. Husband: JP; Dad: Jim; Grandfather: JB
JB are the initials for JP's deceased maternal grandfather and the only grandparent of JP's that I never met because he passed when we had been dating for less than a year. By switching the order of his names to James Brody they have the same first name and same initials.

James is obviously an important name in our families. Not only is my dad's name James, but my brother's middle name is James. JP has a grandfather, uncle and cousin named James. Again, none of them go by James.

It only seemed fitting to stick with the trend. James would be our son's first name after many men that we love and admire, and Brody would be his middle name but the name he goes by. Of course he's always welcome to choose the name James in the future if that's what he prefers, but this momma will always call him Brody!

There you have it! Our sweet boy James Brody Gougler.

Again, if you're interested in finding out the meaning behind Chloe's name, take a peek here!

What are your kids names?

Is there a special meaning behind it? Or did you just like it? {Spoiler: I just loved Chloe's name. No special meaning!}

Life Lately + #Last90Days Update

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Gougler) — Fri, 09 Nov 2018 14:31:00 +0000

Man, it's been hard for me to get a blog up lately. I've been starting and stopping posts and then never getting back to finish them until I feel like it's too late to post. Life as a mom of two is wonderful, but it's way busier than one! I finally sat down with some time to blog this week and thought I'd give a life lately update!

Lately I've been...

...reading my book club books! Here are some of my favorites:

The Outsider by Stephen King (highly recommend!)
The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (aka JK Rowling!)
What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty (great easy read)
This month we're reading The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah, but I haven't started it yet! I'm planning on reading some while we drive to and from College Station this weekend.
I also started reading Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis here and there when I have a few minutes or when I'm in the bathtub. I definitely recommend all of these books I've read!

If you're into series, The Cuckoo's Calling is a private investigator series with the same characters. I started reading the second one, but stopped when the next month's book club book came up. I try to read my book club book first so I can contribute to the discussion each month!

...listening to Up and Vanished Season 2, Someone Knows Something Season 5, Dr. Death, Escaping NXIUM, The Birth Hour and My Dad Wrote a Porno Season 4! Podcasts are my jam y'all. I'm actually looking for some new ones. I'm always up for a good true crime podcast, but I'm also interested in some parenting or just uplifting, better yourself type podcasts. Any suggestions?

...watching

Unexpected and 90 Day Fiance on TLC {I love a good TLC show that I can run in the background while I do things around the house!}
Sherlock {We just finished the show and I'm so sad. It was amazing!}
Call the Midwife {I just started season 6!}
Outlander {Season 4 just started. I loved the books and the TV series does a really good job of sticking to the story for the most part!}

...thinking about how my babies are growing up so fast. Once Gabe, my nephew, was born last week, my tiny baby seems so big already! He's only two months old, so he's supposed to be my itty, bitty infant. Also, since Brody was born, Chloe has seemed so big to me. Physically for her age, she's actually quite petite, but mentally and emotionally, she's grown leaps and bounds over the past two months alone. She's maturing right before my eyes!

...looking forward to going to College Station this weekend! We're in College Station for most home games to spend time with JP's parents and their friends that come in for the game. We honestly look forward to these weekends so much, but there hasn't been a home game in a month! Instead we have three back to back to back weekends starting now. This weekend my sister-in-love and her fiance will be there too, so I know we'll have the best time!

...working out I finally decided to give BeachBody a try! Since I'm not going back to work teaching classes for a while, I wanted something I could do at home that I would stick to. I joined a team with a girl that I actually met through Instagram! And by joined, I don't mean that I'm a BeachBody coach, just a client going along for the ride! We're doing the SHIFT SHOP: Proving Grounds challenge and I really like it. Since I'm only two months postpartum, I'm listening to my body and modifying when I need to. I feel like it's really helping me with strengthening my core and pelvic floor which is also helping my running. We're at the end of week 3 of a 4 week program. I've still been running but only 2 times a week and 1 longer walk. I plan to stick with BeachBody when this group does their next challenge, but I may be choosing to skip some workouts for runs instead since I need to get into training with my first half marathon coming up in January!

...wishing JP was still on paternity leave! It was magical having him here for 8 weeks. The past two weeks without him have been just fine, but it feels like something is missing. He was the greatest partner during his time off and really took charge and let me rest and heal. Literally the first month I didn't cook or take Chloe anywhere. He did it all! The second month we took the time to do things as a family. We would all go to Chloe's gymnastics followed by lunch somewhere. It was nice being able to do special things like that. I'm excited for him to be off the whole week of Thanksgiving!

...ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas! This is my absolute favorite time of year and I can't wait to decorate my home for Christmas! I know some people are vehemently against decorating before Thanksgiving, but I usually do it the week/weekend before. I can't help it! We're always gone and busy with family over Thanksgiving, so I do mine a bit before. It doesn't mean that I don't love Thanksgiving because I have a great appreciation for food and this girl loves carbs. Also, I am obsessed with family events and traditions! I just don't mind a Thanksgiving with Christmas decorations :)

I mean how could you not love this mantle full of stockings at my parents' house? My sister and I always help my mom decorate the weekend after Thanksgiving. This year we'll be adding two more stockings to this collection!

...happy that I've been sticking to my #Last90Days challenge. I wrote about the challenge early last month to get some more awesome people on board and to note how I was going to modify the challenge to fit my current life situation! Here's my update. I've been doing so awesome!

Get up an hour earlier than normal. Only a couple of days when I just needed to sleep in and rest! I'm really enjoying this because I'm getting some time to myself in the mornings before Chloe gets up. Sometimes Brody even sleeps after his 5-6am feed, so my time is really just me and the pups!
Workout for at least 30 minutes a day. I'm proud to say that only ONE DAY did I not workout since October 1. Even when I was sick, I still got outside and walked. Now those days my walks were slower, but I still did something and that counts in my book. My BeachBody challenge is definitely helping me on this because the program has 6 workouts a week!
Drink 80oz of water a day. I upped my number from half your body weight to 80oz and I do this every day. Most days I drink even more! It helps that I'm breastfeeding and super thirsty most of the time.
Eat dessert only once a day. Another one I modified. I've had a few bad food days where I ate more sweets than my one dessert allotment for the day, but I can count those days on one hand. I'm definitely more aware of what I'm eating and I've been choosing healthier snacks, so it's a win in my book.
Write down ten things you're grateful for every single day. This one has been easy for me. I love writing down my gratitude for the day. I usually do it in the morning during my quiet time reflecting on the day before. I have a special notebook where I write everything down, and I plan to continue this after the challenge is over come the New Year.

Lately things have been pretty good around here. We're starting to get the hang of being a family of four and just molding Brody to fit into our busy lives. Good thing he's so flexible! But seriously, he's such a great baby.

Happy Friday y'all!

James Brody: Two Months Old

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Gougler) — Tue, 30 Oct 2018 13:07:00 +0000

Another month has flown by with this sweet boy! I did monthly updates with Chloe and I want to make sure I do them for Brody as well for a couple of reasons. First of all, I want to look back and have a way to remember everything about his first year of life! It's such a blur some days, so this is a way for me to look back and remember the joy that he brings to our lives. I also don't want to shift into second child syndrome and not document and take the time to remember the little things. {Totally not a jab at moms who don't do everything for the second baby! I'm guilty too. I just don't want to for this aspect!}

That being said, let's look back on Brody's second month of life!

First real smile
First you get the gas or sleepy grins, then you get the full on smiles that completely melt your heart. I live for these y'all! Seeing him smile makes me so happy. I also love to hear Chloe ask, "Why is he smiling at me?" Then I tell her it's because he loves her, and she tells me how much she loves him too.

First snuggle in the ring sling
Those that know me know how much I love wearing my babies. I didn't have a ring sling with Chloe and I'm now a big believer in them! It's so easy to get baby in and out once you figure out how to work the contraption. It's also very easy to breastfeed in!
Fun fact: Moby will video chat with you to help you figure out how to configure and wear your baby safely. After posting on Instagram that I figured it out, Moby sent me a message to let me know about the video chat feature. I thought that was really neat and awesome customer service!

First birthday celebration
I'm a lucky momma because the first birthday he got to celebrate was mine! What are the odds since there are so many people in our family? It was pretty low key with our family, but it involved fajitas and ice cream cake. Winning.

First time to meet Uncle Ben
My brother lives in Dallas and hadn't had the opportunity to make it down to meet Brody. We actually didn't think he'd be here until Thanksgiving, but a Houston interview brought him down here and he decided to stay for the weekend! I'm so thankful that he was able to come and bond with his first nephew. We love you Benny!

First cold
Yes you read that right. At only 5 weeks old, my precious baby caught his first cold. I felt like a horrible mom since my newborn got sick! Our doctor was wonderful and let me know that it is normal with second + children because the older kids are bringing more germs into the house. After Brody had it, Chloe caught it and finally it made it's way to me. I'm happy to report that we're all healthy now.

First pool day
Up until recently it was too hot, too rainy or too buggy for us to be outside for long periods of time. After the first cool front that rolled in early October, we were able to spend more time outside. We even managed to get a sunny, warm day that wasn't too hot or too humid, so the whole family was outside for a fun pool day and BBQ. Brody dipped his feet in the water and he wasn't too sure about it. I think he'll love it by next summer!

First time to roll over {belly to back}
Our little guy loves to roll over. Tummy time is a joke these days since he only does it when he wants to. At just 5 weeks old, he rolled over for the first time! I was shocked since he kept doing it over and over again. I wasn't sure if it was a fluke at first. Then he started doing it every time I put him down on his play mat for tummy time! Silly boy.

Brody loves...

his big sister. She makes him smile every day!
morning coffee convos with mom. After his morning milk, he loves to lay on the couch so he can kick and smile and try to talk to me. It's quite possibly my favorite time of the day.
bath time. He loves it! It's very soothing for him...until he has to get out!
breastfeeding. Another boobie baby, what can I say? I'm glad that my children have breastfed so well!
pacing around the house with dad. This usually happens in the evenings when nothing else soothes him. It doesn't happen every night, but on fussy nights, it's his daddy that makes him feel the best.
staring at mobiles, fans and blinds. Still a fan fave.
sleeping through the night. Thank you Jesus! We've gone a full week and a half with him sleeping from about 10pm to 5 or 6am. It's life changing.
going to girls' nights with mom. He has been in regular attendance to my dinners out with lady friends. I think he likes being the only guy there. Everyone gives him all the love and attention!

Brody dislikes...

diaper changes.
getting dressed or changing cloths.
drying off after bath time.
waiting to eat when he's decided that he's hungry right now.

Pretty much the same as last month. He's such an easy going baby. He rarely cries or screams.

At his 2 month pediatrician appointment we found out that he is 12lbs 13oz and 24 inches long. Much bigger than Chloe at this age!

My sweet Brody Boy,

Another month with you in the books and it feels like you were meant for us more and more. God truly knows what he's doing when he creates life and adds to a family! You are exactly what we needed and felt like we were missing.

You are the best baby I could have asked for. You love to cuddle your momma during the day and sleep at night! For the most part, you are incredibly chill and laid back like your daddy. This is pretty great since you're the second child, so you're constantly being toted around to big sisters activities. We spend quite a bit of time in the car and you don't care 95% of the time. It makes me feel a lot better about all of the business of our lives! Thank goodness for carriers and babywearing or you would spend a lot of time in your car seat. We love to be close, so wearing you is the best when we're out and about.

Having a son is a dream come true. A dream I didn't even know that I was dreaming until you were born. The bond we share is so deep and beautiful that I can't explain it. I love you and your sister equally, but differently. As I watch you grow, learn and become more aware, my love for you grows greater. It's cheesy, but I really do love you more every day. I thank God every day for giving you to your daddy and me. You belong here sweet boy. I can't wait to see what adventures and first this next month gives us. No matter what, I know it will be great!

I love you without wax,
Momma

Just for fun, look at the difference a month makes!

2 Months Postpartum + Breastfeeding Journey

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Gougler) — Fri, 26 Oct 2018 10:00:00 +0000

Oh hey! It's been a minute since I've blogged. (Remember you can keep up with us on Instagram or Facebook.) I did the same thing after having Chloe. I told myself that I'd have more time to blog, but let's be honest, that's not the case. Now I have two little crazies running around! And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Today I wanted to touch based on how I'm doing about 2 months into the 4th trimester mentally, physically and emotionally as well as how my breastfeeding journey is going.

Mental Health
Mentally I feel like I've got this! Up until this week, I've had JP at home with me during his paternity leave. Having him home helped me mentally because I had him here helping with everything. He is the true definition of a partner. He obviously can't breastfeed Brody, but he made up for that in diaper changes and getting up with him in the early hours so I could sleep. It also helped me mentally because I always had an adult to have conversation with! It sounds silly, but being around small children without regular adult conversation throughout the day can really get to you. Now that he's gone, I have plans to keep this up. My sister is due any day now and will have the next couple of months off. I plan to help her as much as possible plus I always have my mom and aunt close by whenever I need them!

Physical Health
Nutrition and Weight Loss
I feel great! I'm slowly losing the baby weight, but I've hit a plateau. I'm still down 20-22 lbs with a little less than 15 lbs until I'm back at my pre-pregnancy weight. I'm perfectly okay with this since I'm breastfeeding and keeping this little boy fed and happy is one of the most important things in my life right now. I was indulging my sweet tooth quite a bit in the early weeks, but I've been making better choices since the beginning of the month. Don't get me wrong, I believe in balance! I love dessert and still have a little something every day, but I'm not snacking on cookies or having cake for breakfast anymore. Participating in Rachel Hollis' Last 90 Days challenge has helped me to curb my sweet tooth, drink more water and focus on myself.

Fitness
As far as fitness goes, I'm back at it. I've started running and I've gotten up to 4 miles without stopping. That being said, I'm officially in half marathon training mode! I plan to ramp up my mileage every weekend by 1 mile, so that means I'm tackling 5 miles on Saturday! The cooler weather definitely helps with motivation. Aside from my weekend runs, I'm also trying to fit in 2 weekday runs or run/walks. I'm still aware that I'm not quite what I once was and giving myself grace. Some days will not be all out runs and I'm okay with that!

I'm also participating in a BeachBody boot camp to work on strength and agility while I train for my races. Since I'm not going back to work, I wanted something to help me with strength and cross training. I'll miss teaching my classes, but I know I'll get back to it one day. I'm definitely making sure not to overdo it and to keep my calories up for breastfeeding purposes. I've learned to listen to my body over the last couple of years and it's paying off!

Emotional Health
While I struggled a little bit the first few weeks after Brody was born, it wasn't severe. More than anything it was postpartum hormones taking over my body and mind. I was very emotional about mine and Chloe's relationship and the thought of being a good enough mom for both of my babies. It had been Chloe and I against the world for so long, and just before Brody arrived we were struggling. She was incredibly emotional and always clinging to her daddy, telling me that she didn't love me anymore and just didn't want to have much to do with me. This continued until a few weeks after Brody was born. Now she's back to being my girl with a little deeper bond with her daddy. I'm okay with that! She's still a little fussy, but she is 3 after all. She's become the best helper and just loves her little brother. As for being a good enough mom for both of them, I like to think I'm doing good on that front. I love and adore these children more than I could ever imagine, and I'm starting to get the hang of dividing my time and focusing on the most important things.

These days I'm less emotional. I'm crying less and laughing more. My hormones have definitely leveled out and I'm feeling like myself again! I'm still trying to get the hang of getting places with two kids and shopping with two kids and getting two kids ready for the day, but the more I do it, the less stressful it will seem.

Breastfeeding
My breastfeeding journey with Brody has been a breeze! He is a very laid back baby and makes me look good at this whole mom-ing thing. From hour one he had an amazing latch and he loved the boob. That very first feed felt a little awkward for me. It was like I barely knew what I was doing even though I nursed Chloe for 18 months. I think the rush of adrenaline and all the post birth feel good hormones had me a little shaky and out of sorts. Thank goodness for my mom though! She pretty much got him latched and ready to go before we had thought to take our first family picture.

Look at that little guy going to town! Yay for colostrum! I mention that the first feed felt off and awkward just to let all the moms out there know that it's okay if it feels weird at first. Whether its your first baby or fifth, each baby is different and there is usually a gap in breastfeeding time. Don't feel bad if it feels off at first because you'll get the hang of it. In fact, by the time his next feeding rolled around, it was as if we had been doing it forever. I knew how to hold him, how to get comfortable and what to do! I'm glad for that because by then everyone had left the hospital since it was nearing midnight!

Our postpartum time in the hospital was a breeze and I didn't need any help for the lactation consultants on staff. Once we got home, we kept on going strong. My milk came in around day 3-4 and was painful, but manageable. One thing I did notice is that his upper lip was a little tight and didn't always flip out the way it should. It occasionally caused some tenderness on my nipple while he was nursing. It turns out he has a slight lip tie, but it isn't that bad and he still has some flexibility and movement. That being said, he doesn't need to have it reversed, but about every other feed, I have to flip his upper lip manually. Since we've been going at it for almost two months now, I can feel when his lip is tucked in.

We introduced the pacifier around 3 weeks to see if he liked it and to give my nipples a break. Good news, he loves it unlike his sister who used me for a paci! I also started pumping in the morning around 3 weeks. It's recommended to wait a few weeks before pumping so you don't mess with your supply regulation. Usually 6 weeks is what people are told, but since I have an over supply, my mom suggested I do it in the morning after his feed to relieve the pressure and to avoid clogged ducts. It's definitely helped immensely.

Speaking of pumping, let's talk pumps. I'm usually a really big fan of my Medela Hand Pump and the Haaka, but I was recently introduced to a pump that has been a game changer for me. Take a look at the Motif Duo Double Electric Pump.

source

I received this pump from Aeroflow Breast Pumps. {Which I highly recommend you use to get your free or discounted pump through insurance! It's so easy and they do all of the middle man work for you. It was so much easier to get my pump this time around!} Since I'm not going back to work this time, I didn't really need a big electric pump. This time around I needed something small and battery operated to take on the go! Now that I'm a mom of two, I'm constantly going places. Pretty much I'm Chloe's chauffeur. Since this pump has a rechargeable battery, I can take it around with me to pump if needed. For example, if I know that we'll be constantly going all day, I can pump in the car. With a good pumping bra, I can do it while driving! Just set it up before you leave and turn it off when you get where you're going. Long car trip? Pump on the go and feed at the next pit stop! And that's just one way you can use it on the go!

Since it's football season, this is where I've used it the most! My mother-in-love is a saint and offers to watch my kiddos so that JP and I can go to the Aggie football games while we're in town. This pump allows me to pump easily while I'm at the game! It gets better. Since it's battery operated, I don't need a plug so I can pump in my seat. IN MY SEAT! I don't have to leave the game and hole up in the bathroom to pump when I'm away from my baby.

For this game, I just doubled up my shirts with a nursing cami underneath my tank top. It allowed full coverage without the need for a cover! Seriously a life saver since it was in the mid-90's even at 6:30pm. This pump has been a game changer for me and I highly recommend it for busy moms that probably don't have to pump that often! It would also be great for working moms to have as a second pump. Keep the bigger one at work and this one in the car. Just a thought!

Now that we're two months into this two kid thing, I'm starting to get the hang of it. That probably means that some big change is going to come and shake things up right? As for now, I'm just going to soak up these little ones as we enter the holiday season!

What were your biggest postpartum struggles?
Do you have a good breastpump or breastfeeding must have?

How to Get Back Into Running

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Gougler) — Thu, 18 Oct 2018 10:00:00 +0000

Over the past 9 years, I have found a true love and passion for running. I ran my first half marathon while in my last semester of college in November 2009. Something about the way I felt during the race and the high I felt as I crossed the finish line had me completely hooked. I continued running and by the end of 2011, I completed 6 half marathons. In 2014, I finished my first full marathon. Today I have countless 5Ks and 10Ks, 24 half marathons, 2 30Ks and 2 full marathons under my belt. Since having children, I've definitely reeled in the number of races I do each year, and I stick to shorter distances mostly with a half marathon or two a year. Having children means taking running breaks and getting back into running shape again after having a baby. I've done it once and I'm in the process of getting back on my running game now! I thought I would share what works for me and let you in on my secrets. (Okay they aren't really secrets, but I'll let you in anyway.)

one. Start slow

I've said this before and I'll say it again and again, listen to your body and start slow. Jumping back into things and expecting too much of yourself before you're ready is a recipe for disaster. You're bound to be slower and will need to take more walk breaks, but that's okay! Give yourself grace and know that with dedication and determination, you'll be back at it in time.

two. Begin with run walk intervals

Assuming you already have some walking mile under your belt, when you're ready to introduce running again, start with intervals. I started with more walking than running and worked up to the opposite. For example, walk 0.25 miles then run 0.1 miles and continue that pattern for the duration of your run/walk. Or if you prefer time walk for 3 minutes, run for 1 minute. This is where I started once I was able to do more than just walking after having my baby.

three. Gradually increase your running interval

Check out the charts below to see different ways that you can gradually increase your running distance or time. These are just two simple examples on how to start easy and work your way back into running. You can edit these so many different ways. If you have any questions on how to modify these to fit your needs, don't hesitate to reach out!

Intervals by Distance

Intervals by Time

The idea is that with each run, you increase your run time. After a few runs, you decrease your walk time. Eventually this will get you to non-stop running. If you prefer interval running, I highly recommend looking into the Galloway Method. You can learn more here to start figuring out what walk/run ratio is ideal for you!

four. Find your ideal training plan
Speaking of Galloway, finding a training plan that fits your needs will help you get back to running. Or maybe you're just starting? There are plans for every type of runner. Here are just a few that I'm familiar with:

4 weeks to 1 mile (for beginners)
Couch to 5K (for beginners)
Hal Higdon Training (all race distances for all ability levels)
Galloway Run Walk Run Method (all race distances for all ability levels)

If you're interested in a customized training plan, I'd be happy to work with you! I've trained several runners for all distances from 5K to full marathons. {Just shoot me an e-mail: acgougler@gmail.com}

five. Keep up the habit
Creating healthy habits is super important! Keep a schedule for your runs and don't break it. It will take a little while for running to seem natural and a part of your schedule again, so be sure to stick to it. If you need a little motivation, find a race to sign up for! Even a 5K on the calendar will give you a reason to hit the pavement.

six. Forget the past
Don't compare where you are now to where your were before. You will be slower and your form may be off, but that's okay. You'll get to your goal by finding a plan and keeping the habit! It's easy to get down on yourself for not being good enough or not being your best. Just remember that if you want to get back to your running best then you will. It just will take a little hard work and determination.

The biggest thing to remember is that it takes time to get back into running. Hal Higdon says, "Expect to spend at least two days getting back in shape for every day lost." If you've been gone for a few months, it's going to take twice as long to get back in the game. If you didn't run throughout your entire pregnancy, it could take a year and a half to get to where you want to be, especially since you're also dealing with healing time postpartum. No matter what just know that you CAN do it. Set your mind to it and you'll find your new happy pace.

Friday Five as a Family of Four

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Gougler) — Fri, 12 Oct 2018 14:23:00 +0000

Oh man what a week! Since today is Friday, it marks the end of 7 weeks with my amazing husband at home with us. Next week is his final week of paternity leave and that's when the real fun begins. My life is about to get a lot crazier and busier, but that's what this mom life is all about!

I'm quite behind on getting my posts up and scheduled, so today I'm just Friday Fiving it...and a little late I might add. Just five fun moments from this past week. No products, no amazing photography, nothing special. Just us.

one. Aggie football weekends

It's football season, so of course we're in College Station whenever the Aggies are playing at home! Since my in laws live there, we get to spend the weekend with them and go to the game. My mother-in-love is pretty much the greatest and watches the kids so that I can go to the game, thus making game night, date night! I love all of the time that I've been able to spend with this man while he's been on leave!

two. Benny came home!

My brother Ben lives up in Dallas and we don't get to see him as often as we'd like, so it was quite the surprise when he showed up in Sugar Land this weekend! He had an interview in Houston on Thursday, so he ended up working from my parents home on Friday and spending the weekend here. We were in College Station, so we made sure to head to my parents' on Sunday morning to spend a few hours with Ben. He got to meet Brody for the first time and it was wonderful spending time with him and catching up. When we see him next at Thanksgiving, Brody will be so much bigger and he'll have another nephew to meet!

three. Sweet baby faces

Since Chloe won't let me take pictures of her, I feel like I'm only taking pictures of Brody! I promise I love both of my kiddos equally, but this guy is workin' it for the camera. I'm also obsessed with sweet baby faces. This 'ooooohhhhh' face is one of my personal favorites that I try to capture every chance I get. They only do it for the first couple of months!

four. I'm running again!

I've been working back into running over the last couple of weeks and on Tuesday, I managed to run 3 miles without stopping or peeing on myself. Any woman that has had a baby (especially if it was a vaginal delivery), understands that this is an awesome feat! I'm working on putting together a postpartum running plan for women looking to get back into running post baby! And let's be real, it can be anytime post baby, not necessarily right away.

five. Sibling snuggles

I mentioned on Monday in my update post that Chloe has really warmed up to Brody and is always wanting to hold and snuggle him. Well, little miss "I don't want my picture" asked me to take this picture yesterday!!! I couldn't get her to look at the camera, but I did capture this sweet moment that I can't stop looking at. Watching them grow up together is going to be the absolute best!

I hope y'all have a wonderful weekend! We have quite the busy schedule with lots of people to see and places to be.

What is one of your favorite moments from this week? I love that not every week has to have a monumental moment that becomes your favorite. Sometimes it's just the way your baby looks at you or the way your children interact. It's the little things y'all!

Brody's Newborn Photos

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Gougler) — Mon, 08 Oct 2018 10:00:00 +0000

I don't have a lot of words for y'all today. Just a little update and a lot of pictures!

Today my baby boy is 6 weeks old! It's hard to believe that time is going so fast. I knew that it would, but it's still shocking nonetheless. Life with this little boy has been amazing. He is the perfect addition to our family; he fits in like the piece we knew was missing.

His sister is absolutely smitten with him! She is constantly trying to help out with her little brother. Her favorite ways to help are covering him up with all the blankets, giving him his paci then promptly pulling it out of his mouth, laying on the floor with him for tummy time and always trying to make him smile. The way they interact already makes my heart explode. I can't wait to watch their relationship grow as they age and become closer!

Daddy is doing wonderful! JP has 2 more weeks left of his 8 week paternity leave. His help around the house and driving Chloe to all of her activities has been the greatest blessing. It'll definitely be an adjustment once he goes back to the real world! He's loved having this time to bond with Brody and just adjust to our new family dynamic. We've taken advantage of this time to spend lots of time together as a family going on weekend trips to College Station, family lunch dates and getting lots of projects done around the house.

I'm really feeling like myself again. I think this postpartum experience has been fairly easy for me. Emotionally, I'm in a great place and physically, I'm already back at it! I've slowly started back into my postpartum fitness routine with easy workouts, lots of walks and easing back into running. Breastfeeding is just as wonderful for us as it was with Chloe, and I'll be sure to share more about my breastfeeding journey when the time is right. Bonding with this little boy has been as easy as breathing because he has stolen my heart! Having a son is the most beautiful blessing. I love both of my children equally, but I love them differently! I'm the luckiest mommy because God chose me to be theirs.

Now, let's just look at these gorgeous pictures taken by Kellianne Barron Photography when Brody was just 13 days old! I promise I narrowed them down to my favorites. Kellianne was so wonderful to work with and then she sent me so many pictures, it was hard to choose!

4 Steps to Getting Back to Fitness Postpartum

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Gougler) — Thu, 04 Oct 2018 13:39:00 +0000

Getting back into a workout routine after having a baby is no joke. You alter {or for some, cut out} your fitness program while pregnant, then you're told not to do anything for 4-6 weeks. Once you get in the habit of not doing anything, it's easy to stay in that rut. It takes a lot of motivation and a plan to get back into a workout routine once you're cleared by your doctor. Since I just had a baby and I'm starting to get back into my postpartum fitness groove, I thought I'd share with y'all my postpartum fitness plan!

This post is just one of a few to come on getting back to working out after having a baby. If you're about to be cleared or have just been cleared to workout again, here are 4 basic steps to slowly getting into the swing of things. This applies to all new mommas whether you were working out before pregnancy or not. Just because you didn't before doesn't mean you can't start now. New moms need to find a little bit of time to do something themselves!

Okay, I realize this may seem incredibly basic. Like I said earlier, this is just a guideline for slowly getting back into things.

one. Choose your cardio
Try to do some form of cardio for 30 minutes 3 times a week. Once that gets comfortable, you can up it to 4, 5, 6, 7, whatever fits your lifestyle, goals and busy life. Start with something easy and low impact like walking. You can even do this before the 6 week clearance and baby can come along in the stroller. When you're ready to ramp it up, choose something that you'll keep up with: running, swimming, cycling, dance cardio. Just something that will keep you moving and your heart rate up!

two. Add strength
The workout above is just one of many that you can add in once you're cleared for strength workouts. You can find postpartum friendly workouts on Pinterest and I'll have some more here in the following weeks. Focus on exercises that target the legs, glutes and core. Remember that your core doesn't just consist of your abs! Abs, obliques, back, legs and chest all fall into this category. You need to strengthen them all to regain the strength you had before your pregnant belly.

Also remember to start slow and with lower sets and reps. See how your body feels as you work into it. As it feels more normal and natural, you can increase the number of sets and later up the reps if you want!

three. Don't forget to stretch
Stretching is key and easily forgotten when getting into a workout routine. Stretching helps your body get back to optimal alignment post birth! Think of just how much things were moved around while growing a tiny human. Your pelvis can easily be out of alignment and stretching helps to rebalance your posture. It also helps to relieve stress, allows you to relax your body and helps with pain relief.

Areas to focus on when stretching include: your core, quads, hamstrings, hip flexors and glutes.

four. Listen to your body
I mentioned this above in the strength section, but listening to your body, starting slow and working up is key! You know your body best. {Don't forget to follow your doctor's instructions. Don't start your fitness program until cleared!} Something else to remember is don't compare your postpartum journey to another mom's journey! Everyone heals different. Whatever feels right for you, is right for you!

Remember that getting back into exercise postpartum has so many benefits! It can help with postpartum depression, helps you feel like yourself again, replenishes your body and enhances your stamina levels which are all needed on this journey of motherhood.

This is just a guide for new moms and honestly, anyone new to working out and starting a fitness routine. Stay tuned each week for a new workout to add to your collection. This week's was fairly simple in Step Two but each week will be a little different, target other body parts and help you slowly reach your fitness goals!

#Last90Days

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Gougler) — Tue, 02 Oct 2018 11:00:00 +0000

Can y'all believe that there are only 90 days left in 2018? {Okay technically there are 91 as of today.} Just like every year, it seems like each year goes by faster and faster. With 90 days left in the year, I decided to hop on the bandwagon and join in Rachel Hollis' 90 Day Challenge! The whole idea is to finish the year off with the same intention as we start off a new year. At the end of the year, it's easy to get into a holiday rut of eating too much, having a few more drinks than normal per week, ordering more pumpkin spice lattes, working out less and just planning to do better at the start of the new year.

Well what if instead, we choose to focus on finishing the year strong? What if we intentionally focus on our health: mental, physical and emotional, now? Having just given birth 5 weeks ago, this is just the kind of challenge that I need! My kids and husband are my world, but I know that I also need to strive to be a better me.

Let's take a look at the five categories to focus on for this challenge.

one. Get up an hour earlier than normal.

I'm going to alter this one a little bit for myself. Now don't get me wrong, I think that waking up an hour earlier to have some me time whether it be meditation, a workout or coffee alone on the couch, is amazing and beneficial. I just don't think that I'm in a phase of life where I can make this happen. With a crazy toddler and a brand new baby, every morning is different. Instead I'm going set a goal to get out of bed by7:00am. Some days I'm out of bed with Brody by 5am and other days JP takes him and I lay in bed until 8:00am. I'd like to try and utilize my morning alone time once JP heads back to work later this month!

two. Workout for at least thirty minutes.

This I can manage. In fact, I need this. On days that I don't run or do an actual workout, I want to walk for at least 30 minutes. I know I can do this because I did it when I was pregnant. Logistics are a little bit harder these days, but I know how great I felt being active every day. I've started getting back into it, but this will give me the power to keep at it!

three. Drink half your body weight in ounces of water each day.

I'm proud to say I do this easily! I'm going to shoot for 80oz every day. As a breastfeeding momma, I need at least 80oz anyway.

four. Give up one food category you know you shouldn't be eating.

Speaking of breastfeeding, I'm constantly hungry and always craving sweet and carby foods. Instead of giving up a category, I'm going to limit myself to one sweet treat a day. I'm also going to try to limit my processed food intake. I'm still going to have some, but I'd like to eat more fruits and veggies at snack time and less crackers, chex mix and pretzels.

five. Write down ten things you're grateful for every single day.

This is something I haven't been doing and I know I'll benefit from. It can be easy to forget everything you have to be grateful for!

So! What do you think? Will you join the 90 Day Challenge and see how it can effect the end of your year? Chose to do something for you!

Follow along with my journey here and on Instagram. I plan to do a monthly check in to see how I'm sticking to my goals here, and more day to day check ins on Instagram!

James Brody: One Month Old

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Gougler) — Thu, 27 Sep 2018 11:00:00 +0000

They say time flies by and that they grow up so fast. They're so right. And this is something I already know! I have another baby after all. It doesn't matter how many times people tell you or how many times you've experienced it already, it's still shocking how fast they grow. Today my little man is already one month old. A month ago, I walked into my doctor's office and told her that I concede and was ready to meet my son. A month ago, I was feeling miserable and like my baby would never be born! I knew I would look back and laugh at myself for wanting so desperately to get him out then and there. I'm at that point now as I look at my perfect son who is already a month old. How did that happen?

Since Brody was only born a month ago and this is his first monthly update, he has quite a few firsts. I'm just going to highlight the fun stuff because let's be real, no one wants to know about his first blow out, spit up or time he peed all over dad. {Okay you may want to know about those. Let's just leave it at the peeing all over dad was hilarious and has happened on more than one occasion!}

First baby shower

Brody attended his first baby shower before he was even two weeks old! If you haven't gotten the chance to read about my sister's baby shower, be sure to take a look! Brody can't wait to meet his cousin and built in best friend.

First bath

His umbilical cord stump fell off mostly when he was 12 days old. By 13 days, it was completely gone and Brody was ready for his first real bath in a tub! Nonna was also itching to give him one. She actually was the first one to clean up both of my babies post delivery and give them their first real baths at home. It's so special having a mom that is a nurse!

First road trip

Just like his sister, Brody's first road trip was to College Station, TX! Since Jojo and Pops live there, it's the perfect place to go during Aggie home games. We get lots of extra love and time with JP's family, and we get to go to the Aggie football games. I don't go to all of them, but occasionally it's nice to get away. I'm so fortunately to have a rockstar mother-in-love that is always willing to watch my babies and give me a little break.

First visit to Jojo & Pops house

This kind of coincides with his first road trip, but I do believe that his first visit to his Jojo and Pops house is worth documenting! We're already looking for trip number two in just a couple of weeks!

First thumb suck

The picture above not only documented his first visit to Jojo and Pops', but it also captured this little guy's first thumb suck! He is completely obsessed with his hands, so it makes sense that he's found his thumb. He hasn't really quick figured it all out, but he's found it a few times since then.

First out of state visitor

Brody's Auntie Ali and one of my very best friends flew in from Chicago last weekend just to meet this little guy...and to see me I like to think! She was actually in the delivery room with me when Chloe was born, so it was hard to have her far away when Brody came into the world. Luckily she was able to come down and snuggle him before he hit the one month mark. We can still tell him one day that she's known him his whole life. It was a wonderful visit that included lots of love, friends and Aggie football. Of course we lost to Bama, but one day we'll beat them again! I was hoping Brody would be the Aggies good luck charm.

Brody loves...

nursing! I have another boobie baby that just loves to eat!
his big sister Chloe. I love watching them interact and she is just smitten with him.
being worn in a carrier. We've tried all four and he loves all of them.
snuggling whoever will hold him. He's the snuggliest, most loving little guy.
being in motion. Walks and car rides are him jam. Just don't stop. Red lights are not fun.
staring at fans, blinds and mobiles.
swinging in his swing. It combines his love of being in motion and mobiles!

Brody dislikes...

diaper changes.
getting dressed or changing cloths.
drying off after bath time.

My sweet Brody Boy,

This last month with you in the world has been the best. I was worried before you arrived about how you would fit into our family, about how Chloe would react to you, about how I could love you as much as I do her. It's silly to think about it now because loving you is like breathing and I couldn't imagine our family without you. In just 31 days, you have changed our lives as we know it! In the best way of course.

You are the sweetest, cuddliest boy and I could hold you for hours. I love having visitors, but when they leave, I'm thankful to have you to myself again. I love to wear you around the house just to hold you close to me for as long as possible. You rarely cry, but when you do, boy are you mad! You turn beet red like Baby Jack Jack from The Incredibles and you forehead turns purple. It's actually quite comical minus the fact that you're incredibly loud. But for the most part, you're easy going and put up with all of our family antics.

I can't wait to see where each month takes us, but I'm okay for everything to come slowly. I need to soak you up as much as possible because before I know it, you'll be a wild 3 year old like your sister. Until then, I'm going to memorize your facial expressions, hold you as much as possible and see where life takes us. I love you to the moon and back James Brody and I can't believe that God chose me to be your momma.

I love you without wax,

Momma

4 Week Unbumpdate

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Gougler) — Tue, 25 Sep 2018 13:17:00 +0000

It's time for another Unbumpdate! These are my postpartum diaries following along the lines of my pregnancy bumpdates. It's a way for me to be real and honest about what's happening during the 4th trimester or the first 3 months of Brody's life.

Over the last 4 weeks, I've been fortunate enough to have my husband at home with me to help with the kids and to give me time to myself. I know that this is definitely helping my mood and my healing process. I still have him for another 4 weeks! I am one lucky momma!

How Old is Brody?

He is 4 weeks old yesterday

Size of Brody:

He's definitely a hearty boy. Check back Thursday for this one month post to see where he's at!

Weight Loss:

22lbs

I'm about 12lbs from my prepregnancy weight. I'll admit, other than walking, I haven't started try to lose the weight! I've been doing a little indulging in sweets and carbs lately. Going forward, I'm going to keep myself to eating dessert only once a day as opposed to once a meal! Haha. Breastfeeding cravings are no joke y'all!

Postpartum Aches and Pains:

Postpartum pains went away much quicker this time around! I cramped pretty bad for the first two weeks or so, but after that it was gone. Since I didn't tear the perineum pain was gone by the time I had my 2 week postpartum check up! That has been the biggest blessing since I remember being so sore for weeks after a second degree tear with Chloe. As far as my postpartum bleeding goes, it has subsided over the last week which was nice. {I stopped bleeding around week 4 with Chloe as well.}

My biggest complaint is back and neck pains. This momma needs to make an appointment with the chiropractor and get a massage!

Emotions:

I've been in a pretty good headspace for the most part! The baby blues we definitely present in the early days which is incredibly common. Some days I'm still weepier than necessary over some things; mostly just mom guilt and silly things that I don't need to worry about. I think my weepier days coincide with my lack of sleep. After a few bad nights, I'm a bit more emotional.

I'm still trying to be very aware of my emotions and whether any signs of postpartum depression or anxiety develop. I did deal with some postpartum anxiety that was diagnosed late with Chloe. If for some reason these feelings develop, I want to be on top of them this time around! But overall I'm loving this new season of life I'm in!

Sleep:

Some nights are better than others! Brody pretty consistently wakes up every 3 hours to feed. About every other night or every 2 nights, we get a solid 5 hour stretch which is amazing! I'm a bit foggy brained these days, but it's nothing I can't handle. Thank goodness for JP who takes night time diaper duty, so I can just lay in bed and feed Brody. When I get out of bed, it's so much harder for me to fall back asleep. I'd say I'm averaging about 5-6 hours a night which isn't too bad for a 4 week old.

Breastfeeding:

I am one of the fortunate ones that has a pretty easy time breastfeeding. Chloe and Brody were both great eaters that just seemed to know what they were doing. Brody is continuing to do a great job eating and gaining weight. He's a little champ! Since we're entering his first mental leap, he's a bit fussier than normal and is wanting to cluster feed again. I don't mind doing it, but it does give one tender nipples. Take a look at my postpartum favorites post to see what I use to help that!

Cravings:

Breastfeeding cravings are just as intense as pregnancy cravings if you ask me! Also, I find that I need to eat more when breastfeeding versus being pregnant. The average breastfeeding mom actually burns about 500 extra calories a day to product milk. Lately my cravings are all the carbs I can get my hands on. I'm more of a grazer, so lots of snacks to get me through to dinner time. I indulged quite a bit the first few weeks, and I'm trying to make healthier choices now that life is getting back to the swing of things.

Workouts:

After my 2 week postpartum appointment, my OB cleared me to start walking again and to begin easing into slow postpartum workouts. She was so impressed with my ability to walk and workout up until the day that I delivered that she gave me the okay a little earlier than normal.

I've been very aware of my body and how I'm feeling, so I'm easing into everything. The past two weeks I've walked 3 days a week and seemed to pick up my pace a bit each time.

Best Moments The Past 2 Weeks:

Watching Chloe love on and interact with her baby brother! She's constantly asking "where's brother?" or "where did you put the baby?" when she knows exactly where he is. It's kind of weird and adorable all at the same time.

Another best moment was when Auntie Ali came to visit from Chicago and meet Brody! It was so wonderful watching them interact, plus Ashley, Ali and I were reunited for a girls weekend. Football, sleepover and brunch included.

If you haven't seen it already, be sure to check out Brody's Birth Story. There is a part 2 in progress, but I'll admit that I'm a bit slow and behind!

A Nautical Baby Shower

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Gougler) — Mon, 17 Sep 2018 11:00:00 +0000

After all of the pregnancy and baby posts for my sweet boy James Brody the last few months, you may think that this is another post celebrating him. Nope! There's another bundle of joy coming into our lives in a matter of weeks; my very first nephew Gabriel Francis Lewis! That's right, I'm going to be an auntie and I couldn't be more excited. Don't get me wrong, I feel like an auntie to my very best friends babies because I love and care for them so much, but this time it's my sister that's pregnant and it feels so special.

My sister is 9.5 weeks behind me in pregnancy, so yesterday she hit the 34 week mark. We're looking at just about a month and a half until we're back in labor and delivery again to meet Baby Gabe! It was so much fun being pregnant together, and it's going to be even more fun raising our sons together! The fact that she lives only 5 minutes from me is the absolute best. Chloe's going to love having two little boys to boss around in a few years.

My mom, our friends Meena and Kelsey, and I hosted Gabe's nautical themed baby shower. His nursery is going to be ocean/whale themed, so we were able to incorporate lots of decorations that could be used in his nursery as well.

Of course we had to do a whale themed clothes line to help her get his wardrobe started! Most of these items can be found at Carters or Target! The Nautical bandana bibs are from Amazon. {4 for only $14.99!} They have other patterns if you're interested too. I received the dinosaur set at my shower and had to get some for Gabe. The burp cloths and breast pads are handmade by family friends, and the personalized onesies and bibs are made by our friend Amy Jo who has an Etsy shop called Milk Belly Designs!

Speaking of Amy Jo, she also created this gorgeous diaper cake for Gabe! Even though she couldn't be at the shower, her personalized touches were all over the place!

The diaper cake sat in the middle of our under the sea candy bar! We had everything from sour seaweed to the catch of the day, gummy sharks to fish bait, and salt water taffy to a school of fish! We bought some white treat bags from Amazon and some sweet thank you whale stickers to add on for guests to fill up and take home with them. It was definitely a hit.

Here is what our Under the Sea candy bar consisted of:

Fish Food: M&M's
Salt Water Taffy
Whale Kisses: Dark and milk chocolate kisses
Seaweed: Sour noodles (blue and green separated)
Fishing Bait: Sour noodles (red separated)
Gummy Octopus
Whale Poop: Peanut M&M's
Gummy Sharks
School of Fish: Swedish Fish
Catch of the Day: Tropical Fish Lollipops
Chocolate dipped pretzels

As far as baby shower games go, we didn't really go the traditional route. Since the shower was co-ed, it was really more of an opportunity to just hang out, mingle, eat good food and open lots of presents. But you can't have a baby shower without a little something! This time we put a spin on the traditional "Don't Say Baby" game. Instead of using clothes pins, we used lifesaver necklaces made with mint Life Savers and bakers twine. Whenever someone said "Baby" if you caught them, you could steal their necklace. Whoever had the most necklaces at the end of the night, won a gift card!

We also had a diaper raffle for everyone who brought a pack of diapers for the parents-to-be! You can never have too many diapers when welcoming a little one into the world. Everyone that brought some was able to enter their name for each package they brought and at the end of the night we drew a winner for another gift card! Speaking of diapers, we also set up a "Midnight Changing Station." The idea is to write a silly note of the back of a diaper to lighten the mood when changing diapers in the wee hours. I love doing this for new parents because they get lots diapers and a few laughs too.

As far as food goes, we had quite the assortment! Since it was an evening shower, we provided dinner. My dad smoked some pork and brisket on the pit, so we had sliders with all the fixin's and sides! We also had buffalo chicken dip, raspberry chipotle meatballs, baked beans, coleslaw, veggies, chips and dips. On top of that, we had tons of desserts to choose from aside from the candy bar. Brownies, a truffle pudding, sopapilla cheesecake, an actual cheesecake and two cakes! I completely forgot to get pictures of all the food before everyone started digging in, but I did snap a picture of the vanilla cake with it's sweet whale topper that we found at Hobby Lobby.

I think that covers all the details of the shower! Now it's all about the mom and dad-to-be and the ones who love them most. It's not a party without a moment to take ALL the pictures.

Just before pictures, we had to snap a picture of Matt and Emily, but of course Chloe had to be in it. Emily is quite possibly Chloe's favorite person in the world.

Then we had to get the traditional hostess, parents, best friends and family pictures at the end of the night.

Hostesses with Emily and Matt

Kelsey-Amy-Donna (Mom)-Emily-Matt-Meena

Emily & Matt with all the parents...and Chloe (at least she's smiling this time!)

It was an absolutely wonderful shower! The new parents received so many amazing gifts and were showered with love the whole night. It's always wonderful to see people come together and celebrate especially when it's for two very deserving people.

Emily and Matt,
We love you both so much and can't wait to meet your baby boy. He is going to be the most perfect addition to our crazy family. I'm already excited to see him and Brody grow up together as best friends and cousins! Prayers for an easy rest of the pregnancy and labor and delivery. I can't think of two more amazing parents than y'all. Gabe is a lucky little boy.
xoxo,

Brody's Birth Story Part 1: The Birth

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Gougler) — Mon, 10 Sep 2018 14:08:00 +0000

At 40 weeks and 4 days pregnant, I was so done. I was emotional, exhausted, hurting and just ready to meet my baby boy. My body has shown signs of progression for several weeks, yet it wasn't kicking into active labor. I had done everything possible to prepare my body and get things going. I even dealt with a day of prodromal labor and was sent home after going to the hospital at 40+1. Luckily the following Monday was my doctor's appointment where we planned to discuss what the next steps were, and this is where our story begins...

10:45am: I had my final OB appointment where I planned to waltz in and beg her to induce me! And that is exactly what I did. My doctor came in and asked me how I was holding up. I told her that I concede and would love to just be induced as early as possible! {For those of you new around here, I really wanted to go into labor naturally and not have to deal with the evil pitocin. I was induced with my daughter and knew the pain of pitocin contractions. Since I wanted to have a medicine free delivery, an induction free delivery was ideal.} She said she'd call the hospital as soon as she checked me. She checked and I was still sitting at about 3.5cm dilated, but she could stretch me to a 4. I had been walking around at 3cm for over 2 weeks! She also did another membrane sweep to hopefully help jump start things before she went straight to her phone to call the hospital. Meanwhile we waited for the ultrasound tech to call us back to check my fluid levels. My doctor had said if they couldn't get me in today that she would schedule my induction for the following night which pretty much was my worst case scenario. I needed that baby out! Only a few minutes later, she called me back and asked if I could go to the hospital straight away. Ummm...OF COURSE!

11:10am: We went straight to the hospital which was only about 10 minutes away. First, we called my dad who was working from home to see if he could come grab Chloe. He had a call to jump on, but luckily my sister-in-law Corbette was there and able to come grab her for us from the hospital before driving back to San Antonio for work! Then we called or texted the rest of the family to let them know what was going on and where to meet us once they got to the hospital. I was also texting all of my friends like crazy letting them know this was the real deal. I was going to have a baby soon!

11:30am: While JP waited for Corbette, I checked into hospital! My mom was working that day, so she walked from postpartum to labor and delivery to meet up with me. {My mom is a lactation consultant and former NICU nurse at the hospital where I delivered!} I waited for just a few minutes in the lobby before they called me back to my room. Luckily the VIP Princess Suite was available and ready for me! It's not really called that, but that's my name for the room because it's the largest L&D room and it even has it's own waiting room area attached.

I got all dolled up in my super sweet hospital gown and was ready and excited to get things going!

12:30pm: After answering all the questions and getting situated in my room my Pitocin and Penicillin were administered. I'm GBS positive, so I needed two doses of Penicillin in my system before baby was born to ensure that I don't pass it onto him! While it's harmless to adults, it can be deadly to babies. My pitocin levels were started at a 2 and could go as high as 36, but they gradually increase it in increments of 2 to slowly ramp up your labor.

My awesome nurse, Stephanie, was very supportive of my desire to have a med free delivery and presented me with several options to help aid my cause. First she brought in wireless monitors! That's right, I didn't have to stay in the bed with two monitors strapped to my belly reading baby's heart rate and my contractions. Instead, I had them taped to my belly and they were waterproof in case I wanted to get in the bath tub. Then she brought out the yoga ball for me to sit on if it felt right. In my case, it definitely did!

1:00-5:00pm: These 4 hours are kind of a blur as far as exact times go. There wasn't really anything too exciting about them other than the fact that I was indeed in labor and my people started arriving. Contractions over those hours gradually get more intense, but are manageable. They started as mild cramp about 5 minutes apart and picked up to a more moderate pain in the first couple of hours. My mom came and went as she had patients, and my sister arrived around 1:00pm. You know what else came at 1:00pm? That awesome tray of goodness you see in the picture above! When I was induced with Chloe it was ice chips only. This time my doctor allowed me to have clear fluids! I was all about the jello, sorbet and apple juice. Thank you Jesus. I know those sugars helped me to keep my energy up over the next several hours.

Around 3:00pm, my in laws arrived at the hospital from College Station. It was nice to have another mother in the room with me!

During this time, I labored standing up or on the medicine ball. Laying in bed was easily the most uncomfortable position I could possible be in! As the pitocin and my contractions picked up, I had to focus more on my breathing through the contractions, but they weren't the incredibly painful contractions that I knew would be coming. I was just wondering why they weren't here yet! At 4:00pm my sister left for her OB appointment. Funny story, we have the same doctor! I had a feeling that once my doctor was finished with my sister's appointment, she would be headed my way to break my water.

5:15pm: Emily returned from her appointment and only a few minutes later, my doctor comes in to check me and I'm only 3.5cm still! It was incredibly discouraging, but I knew that after they broke my water that things would pick up since that's what happened with Chloe. Brody had plenty of water in my tummy, so he wasn't able to descend and put pressure on my cervix, until some of that fluid was gone.

Luckily after both my doctor and nurse checked me, my doctor did indeed brake my water. This is where things picked up. Immediately my contractions were much worse. Literally the very first one after my water broke was painful. Instead of breathing through my contractions, I was moaning through them. I knew I couldn't stay on the bed, and my doctor again was awesome and encouraged me to get on the ball or stand whatever I needed to do except get in the tub. I was thankful because some doctors would prefer you to stay in bed after your water is broken. She was so respectful and encouraging of my wishes!

The ball became my happy place and I found a nice rhythm with my support team. With each contraction, JP would press his thumbs {and eventually decided his fists would be better} into my lower back while I push back with counter pressure. I kept my hands on my mom's legs and she helped me to breathe or moan through each contraction. It was incredibly empowering. My sister was also in the room taking pictures as well as my mother in law who was encouraging me the whole time.

7:00pm: It was shift change, so my lovely nurse was leaving me and I was introduced to my new nurse who turned out to be equally as awesome. She checked my cervix and I had progressed to 5cm, I was completely effaced and my cervix finally moved to an anterior position. I was bummed that I was only 5cm though because I started to feel like I was going through transition. You can see in the picture above that I'm in quite a bit of pain and transferring into the bed was the last thing I wanted to do!

At this point, JP turned on the Astros game for some distraction for me and entertainment for everyone else. {Yes, this turns out to be an important tid bit of information!} Then quite rapidly things began to change in the room. I was in an immense amount of pain and began shaking.

7:15pm: In between contractions, I talked with my mom and sister and decided that 3-4 more hours of contractions like that would be excruciating for me. I didn't think I could continue on if I was only 5cm dilated! I called my nurse and let her know that I decided that I wanted an epidural.

7:30pm: The anesthesiologist was actually nearby and finishing up with another patient, so he was in my room in 15 minutes. Getting from the ball to the bed was intense. I was shaking uncontrollably as I was sitting on the bed, but my nurse was amazing. She got me situated in the place I needed to be and just help me and helped me breathe through everything. She held my head to her chest and just encouraged me and made me feel safe, Poor JP didn't know what to do, so he just sat on the couch while everyone sat in the waiting room.

Then all of a sudden sh*t hit the fan. The anesthesiologist stuck me twice with the shots of Novocaine when I said, "I need to push right now. I'm pushing!" Just 30 minutes prior I was only 5cm! The anesthesiologist quickly stuck me with the epidural needle and I honestly didn't feel a thing. I was slowly doing little pushes to relieve the pain and pressure I was feeling.

They laid me back down and the room got frantic. All of my people in the waiting room didn't know it was showtime. My mom helped my nurse get everything ready by calling the nursery while my nurse got my doctor and everyone else necessary. During this time, the anesthesiologist was able to push the smallest dose of medicine through my epidural to take off the edge. Essentially it allowed me to feel calmed down and it numbed my butt. I still had full control of my entire body and I felt every single push.

7:45pm: Speaking of pushing, it was less than 15 minutes after the anesthesiologist arrived that I began my real pushes! I was able to hold my legs and give it my all with each contraction. Some people say they don't like it when the nurse or doctor counts to 10, but honestly it really helped me to concentrate on what I was doing. Pushing felt so amazing. Don't get me wrong, there was pain, but it was the greatest relief after going through transition. After the first few pushes, my doctor asked if I wanted to feel his head! Ummm...ABSOLUTELY! It was the greatest feeling knowing he was there and feeling his head of hair. I gave another couple of pushes after that and delivered his head. Just one push later my baby boy was here! Despite his quick delivery, I didn't even tear.

7:56pm: James Brody Gougler was born! He was immediately place on my chest and my legs finally got a chance to rest on the stirrups. I was so completely in love and flooded with emotions. I went from ugly tears and joyous laughter!

During this time, the Astros game was playing in the background. We were down 0-4 against the A's before I started pushing. By the time I finished pushing and Baby Brody was here, the Astros were up 5-4! JP was so proud and told everyone that I was the Astros good luck.

Now times get really fuzzy, so I'll just share the details. After a few moments on my chest, the nursery nurse had to take him from me because of fluid in his lungs. He came so fast that he didn't have time to descend and push the fluid out of his lungs. They suctioned 18 cc's of fluid from him, monitored his breathing, wiped him down, weighed and measured him!

Brody's grandpa arrived as I was pushing, so he was stuck out in the waiting room with the other gentlemen until I was decent. As you can see, he was itching to come in!

They only had Brody away from me for a few minutes. It didn't bother me too much because he was in the room and my mom was helping. Knowing she was there with him gave me a sense of ease. It's kind of funny because in all of these pictures, she looks like she's one of the nurses working since she had been working earlier that day!

While Brody was on the warmer, I easily delivered my placenta with a little push and no problems at all. I asked my doctor if I could see it, and not only did she show it to me, but she explained the different parts to me and my sister. It was so neat and fascinating. She also gave me one stitch because there was a loose piece of skin that she wanted to encourage to tighten up, so although I didn't tear, I had one stitch down there. The difference in the healing process tearing vs not tearing is incredibly different. I feel like I'm healing so much faster this time!

The only issue I had with Brody being away from me was the uncontrollable postpartum shakes! I was shaking like crazy when he wasn't on me. I needed him to help regulate my hormones!

James Brody Gougler was born at 7:56pm in Sugar Land, TX. He weight a whopping 8lbs 7oz and was 20 1/2 inches long.

My mom was able to hand him to me after his examination. If my mom hadn't been there, Brody would have gone to the NICU. It's standard procedure to take them if they have a certain amount of fluid on their lungs, so thank goodness for my mom and her expertise. I would have been devastated if he had to leave me!

After some skin to skin bonding, it was time for Brody's first breastfeeding session! How convenient to have a lactation consultant in the room with me. I was so overwhelmed with emotions that I kind of forgot what to do! It was nice to have my mom there to help with the first feed. After that, everything came naturally to me again.

Needless to say, Brody is a natural and a pro at this breastfeeding thing just like his sister!

Once we were situated, the whole gang was let in to meet the newest grandson and nephew! But I'm going to stop here for now. I promise to come back with Brody's Birth Story Part 2: The Recovery soon! I still have so many pictures and stories to share, but this is the perfect stopping point. My baby is here and we are so in love!

10 Day Unbumpdate

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Gougler) — Fri, 07 Sep 2018 11:00:00 +0000

In the blink of an eye, my baby is now 10 days old and we've spent over a week at home as a family of four. It's been a wild 10 days with lots of emotions and doctor appointments, and we know there is even more to come.

I thought it would be fun to do a postpartum update or an Unbumpdate as I've decided to call it! I no longer have a bump, but a baby! I also think it's incredibly important to be real here about how my postpartum recovery is going. I was real with y'all about pregnancy, so I'd like to continue on through my 4th trimester. I'm going to take the categories I used during my weekly Bumpdates and tweak them to make them more postpartum friendly. I hope that this will help someone out there realize that you aren't along in your postpartum journey. It's hard for everyone. Even though we have these amazing precious lives that we would do anything for, not every moment or every day is pretty!

How Old is Baby?

10 days old as of 7:56pm last night.

Size of Baby:

8lb 14oz

He was born at 8lb 7oz and dropped to 8lbs even when we left the hospital. We have a hungry boy on our hands!

Weight Loss:

20lbs

This is based on my home scale. I have my first postpartum follow up at the doctor on Monday which will be my official weigh it. I'd also like to note that I did end up gaining 34lbs in total during my pregnancy with Brody. 1lb more than I did with Chloe and I know that with hard work, breastfeeding, and time, I'll be back to my old self once again.

Stretch marks:

Just the ones under my boobies from their first great expansion when I was pregnant with Chloe. Going from a barely B to a DD will do that to a girl.

Postpartum Aches and Pains:

The postpartum cramping has been so much worse this time around. Apparently it's common for your cramping after birth to be much worse after the first. Who knew? I definitely had to stay on top of taking my medicine the first week. It's gradually getting lighter, but seems to be the worst at night. I've only been taking my medicine right before bed to help with that. Otherwise my perineum pain has decreased exponentially. I didn't end up tearing this time, which has made the healing process much easier and faster.

Emotions:

For the most part, I'm feeling really great emotionally. There are definitely weepy moments here and there that mostly revolve around Chloe and the fact that she doesn't want to have anything to do with me and is changing so much right before my eyes. It's been a very busy and emotional couple of weeks for all of us. I'm definitely on high alert for postpartum depression/anxiety symptoms because I know it can happen to anyone. I've told my husband and my mom to keep an eye on me and let me know if they sense something off. I may be mad at them in the moment, but I know I'll get over it. I dealt with some postpartum anxiety with Chloe and went undiagnosed until about 9-10 months postpartum. After taking some medicine for a few months, I was back to normal and able to wean off without a problem.

Sleep:

Well I'm not waking up to go potty 4-5 times a night, but I am waking up to feed Brody about 2 times every night. We were told yesterday that we no longer have to wake him every 3-4 hours to eat, so I'm hoping we can start to get a solid 5 hour stretch each night. Luckily Brody is a really efficient eater and seems to love his sleep, so we are getting some sleep! Definitely more than we did with Chloe. We have a solid night time routine going on: We both wake up when Brody does, JP changes his diaper while I go potty and get situated, I feed Brody and get him back in his SleepSack, if Brody decides to be fussy, JP will help soothe him to sleep so I can get some rest. It just works!

Our first family photo and Brody's first nursing session!

Breastfeeding:

I am one of the fortunate ones that has a pretty easy time breastfeeding. Chloe and Brody were both great eaters that just seemed to know what they were doing. Neither had tongue or lip ties either, which I know is a blessing. It's also a blessing to have a lactation consultant mom! Any questions I have can be answered instantly and trust me, even though this is my second time, I still have questions! I love breastfeeding and the bond that it gives mother and baby. It's such a special time and I hope to be able to nurse Brody for at least a year, but ideally up to two years!

Now just because it's easy for me and I love it doesn't mean I don't feel the aches and pains! I definitely have tender nipples especially when he's cluster feeding. Take a look at my postpartum favorites post to see what I use to help that!

Cravings:

Taco salads, Honey Nut Chex Mix, cookies, cake, spaghetti squash (random I know), lots of water, watermelon, coffee. Breastfeeding cravings pretty much involve a lot of carbs and more sweets than I care to admit!

Workouts:

I'm still not cleared to workout and likely won't be until 6 weeks postpartum. I've been trying very hard to take it easy and rest while I allow my body to heal these first two weeks. I think I've actually done a really great job at that! I haven't gone on an outdoor walk because of lots of rain and crazy humidity. I'm hoping to get out there soon for a slow and steady walk. Otherwise, I've made an effort to get out to the grocery store, Target and Hobby Lobby just to walk around a bit more this week.

Best Moments The Past 2 Weeks:

Bringing Brody home and starting life as a family of four.

Watching Chloe grow closer to her brother each day. I love seeing her interact with him and show him her love!

Be sure to check back Monday for Brody's Birth Story! I can't wait to share one of the most amazing and painful experiences of my life!

My Favorite Postpartum Must Haves

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Gougler) — Wed, 05 Sep 2018 11:00:00 +0000

Hey y'all! I'm back! I hope everyone had a wonderful Labor Day weekend and that it wasn't too hard to get back to the daily grind this week. My Labor Day was quite laborless which is a good thing since I was only 1 week postpartum! That's right, if for some reason you didn't know, I gave birth to my baby boy, James Brody Gougler, on August 27, 2018 at 7:56pm. I promise to give you all the dirty details as soon as I am able to get all of my thoughts and emotions written down and pictures edited. Until then I thought I'd share a post for all of my postpartum mommas and mommas-to-be!

Today I bring to you, my first week postpartum must haves. These are the things that I probably couldn't have done without over the last few days since having Brody.

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links with Amazon. This means that at no cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase!

one. Lansinoh Soothie Gel Pads

Every breastfeeding momma needs these to help soothe those tender nipples! The cooling gel truly soothes you tender or cracked nipples after each feeding. They are reusable for several months and work their magic every time. You can store them in your diaper bag or in the fridge. I recommend the fridge for added cooling and soothing. I also recommend packing them in your hospital bag to use right after giving birth if you're still pregnant!

Lansinoh Soothies Gel Pads for Breastfeeding, 2 Count

two. Silicone Breast Pump

There are several brands out there, but I purchased this silicone breast pump from NatureBond for only $14.99. I bought it after several mommas from my August Baby Group recommended it, and I can't rave about it enough! While nursing your baby, you attached the pump to your other breast using a bit of suction. Then as you nurse, your milk will let down and the suction will help the milk continue to drain into the pump. The best part is that it doesn't hurt or make your nipples swell like pumping will! It will help to increase your supply as well as your freezer storage. You can still offer the pumped side to baby if they're still hungry after draining your first breast. There will still be milk in there for them since they are the most efficient at draining your breastmilk.

NatureBond Silicone Breastfeeding Manual Breast Pump

Edit: It looks like the pump I posted isn't currently available on Amazon {though it should come back}, so I'm going to link to the original silicone breast pump called Haaka. It's the same concept as the one above and costs $13.99. It just doesn't include the pump stopper.

Haakaa Silicone Breastfeeding Manual Breast Pump

three. My Brest Friend
I know most everyone knows about the Boppy, but and even better, lesser know breastfeeding pillow option is My Brest Friend! I personally prefer this pillow because you bring it around your body and clip it as loose or tight as you would like. This means you don't have to deal will it slipping away from you as you nurse. You can also stand up and walk around with it on. When I do this, my dad refers to it as my baby shelf because I can rest the baby's bum on it while I carry him around. Some other reasons I love this pillow are the lumbar support and front pocket! The lumbar support helps my lower back so I can lean back and not hunch my shoulders forward, and in the pocket I keep chapstick and nipple butter so I always have it on hand.

My Brest Friend Original Nursing Posture Pillow

four. Bravado! Nursing Tank
You can find nursing tanks from tons of different stores. I have a few from Target that I like, but my favorite are these Bravado! nursing tanks. I feel like they provide a little more support and I don't have to wear a nursing bra underneath it. Some of my others require the tank and bra for me to feel like everything is being held in place. In those early days, extra support is so necessary! It's also comfortable enough to sleep in!

Bravado! Designs Women's Maternity Body Silk Seamless Nursing Cami

five. Earth Mama Organics Nipple Butter
This stuff is where it's at. It costs about the same amount as other nipple creams, but is so much better! Earth Mama has the formula just right because it's so soothing on your nipples. It's smooth and creamy instead of thick and sticky like other nipple creams. It 100% okay for baby to digest, so you don't have to wipe it off before feeds. You can also use in when pumping! Just put a little nipple butter inside the flanges and it makes the whole experience much better. And as an added bonus, it smells delicious, kind of like cocoa butter.

Earth Mama Organic Nipple Butter

six. Earth Mama Organics Perineum Spray
Earth Mama Organics does it again with this perineal spray! This is a cooling spray that helps to relieve postpartum soreness. The natural ingredients help to reduce swelling and speed up your recovery. It also comes with an awesome spray bottle that you can use while tipped upside down so you can get to all the hard to reach places. You can start using this while you're still at the hospital so be sure to add this and the nipple cream to your hospital bag!

Earth Mama Herbal Perineal Spray

seven. DockATot

I cannot rave enough about the DockATot! This is by far my favorite baby item that I received! I loved the Boppy Lounger for Chloe {and still do!}, but I can use the DockATot in more locations and I don't have to worry about baby falling out. This allows me to co-sleep without worry and he's always an arms reach away. We also have it laid out on the couch for when we're lounging around watching tv to allow him to nap more soundly at least once during the day. Because let's be real, some nap times, I just want to hold him!

DockATot Deluxe+

eight. Desserts

Okay this isn't necessarily a product, but let's talk about how great postpartum treats are! We've gotten cake, cookies, brownies, peanut butter bars and more from our loved ones who know all about my sweet tooth. It's not my fault that breastfeeding cravings are so much more intense than pregnancy cravings! I wish I had taken a picture of my pile of desserts at it's finest, but let's just say we still have some and I haven't inhaled them all...yet.

There you have it! I'm sure there are tons of other products that I could share with y'all, but these are the ones that I can't stop raving about in our house. I even asked my husband which ones seem to be my favorites and he agrees. If y'all are interested in other baby items that I've loved over the years, let me know and I can do more of these posts going forward!

I'll leave y'all with a pic for cuteness and to show off his awesome DockATot! I wasn't joking when I said it was my favorite baby shower gift! Until next time y'all. And hopefully next time is soon and I can get his birth story down in writing!