This is the face of someone who hasn’t been on Facebook or Instagram for over a week… ahhh!

Last week I declared that I was going to take a one week break from social media and watching the news. I had become a total news and social media junkie, and it was beginning to affect me in negative ways. My anxiety was rising steadily about the state of our world; finding myself fretting all. the. things. throughout the day. My screen time was embarrassing and I felt like I wasn’t as present with my family. With one week of summer left before my kids went to school, I knew this was the time to take a social media break and enjoy the real time moments. I also wanted to see if my anxiety would decrease by not watching the news.

So here we are, one week later… and I wanted to share the 4 benefits of giving up social media and TV news for 1 week…

1. Feeling less Anxious

If you watch the news regularly and also consume it via social media, you may be feeling pretty anxious these days. We’ve been on the most wild roller coaster ride in the last 5 months that won’t quit!

Since the Coronavirus emerged, we’ve been inundated with ever changing pandemic guidelines; quarantines, a struggling economy, school closures, and the politicization of drugs and vaccines — do they work, do they not work? Then add growing racial tensions brought on by the death of George Floyd; protests, riots, increasing crime in big cities; a contentious presidential election, left vs. right, pro this and anti that — GAH, MY HEAD IS SPINNING!!!

With around the clock news consumption, one may think…

A.) America is falling apart;

B.) We are on the verge of another Civil War; or…

C.) We need to shelter in place from this virus until there’s a cure.

It’s enough to make even the most level headed, calm person go a little mad. That was me, the calm person going a little mad.

Within two days of giving up social media and TV news, I felt my anxiety diminish. As I focused on living my day to day life and interacted with people in my community I realized a reassuring truth: we don’t all hate each other! That may sound silly to say; but the media has a way of sensationalizing and pitting people and groups against each other. If you’re too immersed in it, you can believe the narrative. For the most part, people are kind and good; polite and respectful. The divisive fringe voices that are being elevated in the media do not represent the majority of American people.

2. Increased Productivity

I have realized what a G I A N T W A S T E O F T I M E social media is! Literally, it’s stupid. lol! Without all the mindless scrolling, I was able to do so much more with my time! In the last week I have been so much more on top of my personal/family affairs. A task master, if you will! I’ve scheduled doctor appointments that have been on my to-do list forever; completed projects around the house that have been needing updating; organized my email inbox and unsubscribed to annoying junk mail. I receive 100+ emails a day from stores/companies that clog up my inbox and bury important emails. Unsubscribing is such a tedious task, but it’s a load off when you can reduce your daily emails to just the ones you care about.

Essentially, I’m much more organized with my daily schedule and weekly planning.

3. Enjoyed being “in the moment”

Without social notifications pinging me throughout the day, I picked up my phone so much less. When we went out to eat as a family I didn’t have a reason to take my phone out of my purse. We’d sit and talk to each other over a meal, vs. half listening while I scroll. I wasn’t focused on taking videos and pictures of the kids during the day so I could post it… I was just enjoying the moments. No “outfit of the day” selfies for my Facebook style group, or Instagram style page. If my son asked me to swing on the swing set with him I’d say sure and go do it. Often times I’d tell him “in a little bit” and make him wait, or just hope he’d forget his request! I know I’m not the only mom guilty of this!

It was also nice to sit on the couch with my husband and watch Netflix! I haven’t watched TV shows for entertainment in a while, it was only news when the TV was on. I watched two Netflix series last week and made headway on my new book! My screen time was down 54% from the previous week, whahoo!

4. Got More Sleep

I have a terrible habit of staying up late once the kids go to bed. I crave that kid-free ME TIME. Much of that time is spent sitting on the couch catching up on Instagram stories from my favorite influencers; posting pictures and videos from my day, and conversing with friends online. And when I finally go to bed, I lie there and scroll my phone for another hour before I fall asleep! It’s so dumb.

As last week progressed, I noticed I went to bed earlier and earlier each night. Without Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok videos to scroll through, I didn’t have much to keep me up. By Friday night I was in bed by 9:30 pm! I already see my fine lines fading with more sleep, haha!

Giving up social media and TV news for one week has been an extremely eye opening experience. I realize how stuff that doesn’t matter was taking away from the stuff that does. I’m not saying people shouldn’t follow the news and current events. We absolutely should be informed about what is going on in our world. But we should take it in at healthy doses so it doesn’t affect our mental health. I’m going to try and bring back social media in smaller doses. To keep it in check, I may relegate it to laptop check-ins at home and not have social media on my phone.

I hope this blog post encourages some of you who may be feeling similar to live social media free for one week. Or cut out watching news for one week and see if your anxiety decreases. I promise you’ll be glad you did!

The post The 4 Benefits of Giving Up Social Media & TV News For 1 Week appeared first on Courtney RICE.

Deleting social media has been something I’ve been wanting to do for a while now. I’ve noticed since quarantine began that my consumption of social media has shot way up. From March through May it was pretty much the only connection to the outside world. If I’m not on Instagram mindlessly scrolling and watching “stories” of people I don’t even know, I’m getting into Facebook debates in random topical groups I’m in. Or, worst of all: I’m going down the rabbit hole of TikTok videos. TikTok is like eating chips… you can’t just have one, you’ve gotta eat the whole damn bag. One video ends up being 100 videos.

And if I’m not on social media, I’m watching the news on TV about the Coronavirus, BLM protests, riots, racial unrest, politics, elections, etc. It’s enough to make a sane person go mad. When you feel your anxiety increasing every time you log in to social or watch the news it may be a sign that it’s time to take a mental health break. So that’s what I’m doing… I’m Breaking the Addiction to Social Media and 24 Hour News.

Blogging for accountability

In order to give myself accountability with this, I felt like I needed to blog about it. If I say it out loud and promise to share my experience giving up social media and news for one week, then I’m more likely to stick with it.

If we are being honest with ourselves, so many of us have an addiction to our smart phones. The amount of times I pick up my phone a day to check social media is embarrassing. You don’t even want to know what my screen time alerts tell me every Sunday. I’ll be taking that number to the grave!! Admitting I have a problem is the first step in breaking the addiction, right?!

Two reasons to give up social media

The reasons I want to take this 7 day challenge is twofold. First, I want to be more present with my kids. They go back to school in one week and although I’m thrilled about it, as are they, I’m a little melancholy about this 5 month quarantine/summer break coming to an end. I want to spend this last week totally engaged in what we are doing; not checking Facebook and barely listening to them when they are talking to me. The prickly feeling you have on your scalp when your kid says; “Mommy, get off your phone, you’re on your phone too much!” is not a good feeling. It makes me want to chuck my phone into a lake right then and there.

The second reason is anxiety. I am a very laid back, low stress person, so for me to feel my anxiety rising when I’m online or watching too much news is saying a lot. I hate to think how truly anxious personalities are dealing with the state of the world in the last 5 months. It’s no surprise that there has been a rise in alcohol and drug abuse, an exponential increase in calls to suicide hotlines, and a surge in domestic violence. Sometimes it’s all too much.

When being “in the know” can be toxic

I used to say I wasn’t very political and I really didn’t watch the news. As a mom of three little kids I subscribed to the notion that “ignorance is bliss.” I let animated movies dominate my TV for years, subsequently not really being “in the know”. But ever since the news of the Coronavirus broke, I’ve been glued to the news. I watch the Today Show every morning, then local news in the early evening, followed by NBC Nightly News, then into various 24 hour news stations with talking heads lamenting on the the topics of the day. The more I heard, the more anxious I’d feel. Compound the depressing current events in the news with divisive political content on social media and you’ve got yourself a nice little toxic cocktail called being a little TOO in the know.

When people tell me now that they don’t watch the news and they prefer blissful ignorance I want to tell them to WAKE THE HELL UP!! Now isn’t a time to be blissfully unaware. There’s simply too much going on in this upside down world we are living in. That being said; I kinda wish I could go back to that blissful state. That’s back when I actually watched entertainment TV shows and Netflix. It’s been months since I dove into a fun series on TV and even longer since I read a good ole book.

So that’s what I plan to do in the next week. I want to spend quality time with my kids. I’m curious how much more I can get done in a day without my phone distracting me. I’d love to read the book I bought 3 weeks ago–I haven’t made it passed page 16! And I hope to get more sleep. I have a terrible habit of going to bed late as it is; then I lay in bed and scroll my phone for another hour! My husband gave up Facebook a few weeks ago and he said he’s so much happier without it. Who knows, maybe I’ll just keep it all deleted if it goes well. Ha, I don’t actually believe that, but one can fantasize… I’ll check back in next week and let you know how it goes!

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Right now I’m supposed to be in New York City. I should be sitting at a table at the famous Comedy Cellar, a New York staple, listening to popular comedians perform and laughing my butt off with my sorority sisters. A girls trip that has been LONG overdue–10 years to be exact! The last time we got together was for our 30th b-day trip to Cabo! I blogged about that trip here in A Rainy Girl’s Trip To Cabo… Now here we are celebrating another BIG ONE–our 40th birthdays! We were going to get up early tomorrow morning and go to the Today Show and try to get on TV with posters declaring our 40th birthdays! It was all mapped out. Instead, I’m sitting here drinking wine in my sweatpants and reflecting on how things went downhill so fast… Wanted to share my Thoughts On Turning 40 In Quarantine…

The rate at which news is changing and getting outdated so quickly is mind boggling. Things we were able to do last week would seem pretty sketchy to do this week. Going to dinner, strolling the mall, working out 3 feet away from someone at the gym! I cringe thinking just 5 days ago I was working out in a packed Orangetheory class. Today, that would give me GERMOPHOBE anxiety!

Rewind three weeks ago to a simpler time. I was booking restaurants and shopping for outfits to wear in NYC. I had my beautification appointments all lined up; hair, spray tan, nails — I wanted to look my BEST turning 40! The idea of being FREE of children and household responsibilities for a long weekend was giving me LIFE and a much needed recharge. Hell, I was just excited to get on an airplane and drink a mimosa at 8:30 a.m.!

Today looked a lot different than it was supposed to. I got up, ate breakfast, home schooled two kids, took care of a baby, and ignored three baskets of laundry. Then I got Chili’s takeout and bought my own birthday cake at the grocery store while trying not to touch ANYTHING. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

Is there a silver lining?

I’m trying to find the silver lining in all of this… is there a message to glean from this unprecedented time we are living in? I feel like this is God… or the universe’s way of saying to slow down. Reconnect. We have become such a fast paced society, constantly on the go. We don’t talk to each other like we used to, we rush rush rush, on to the next activity. Kids don’t get to just play because they are constantly shuffling from one sporting event to the next. Parents have become like ships passing in the night. And here we are; forced to quarantine in our homes. Can’t really go anywhere because nothing is open.

It’s easy to get a little depressed about it. We are used to the freedom of doing whatever we want. I’m trying to stay positive, though. I think to myself; I woke up in a warm house with a roof over my head. For breakfast, I had waffles and sausage; watched a little TV, went for a jog outside, and was able to have my favorite Chili’s chips and ranch (to go!) for dinner, haha! I didn’t get to walk through Target for 2 hours throwing random things in my cart, or go to the movies today. But I have everything I need.

As soon as this whole thing passes (praying it passes and we get back to normal soon) I will celebrate my 40th properly! I WILL take that NYC trip and see my girlfriends that I haven’t seen in forever! Until then, I’m 39…!

This is us in Cabo at 30… we’ll redo 40 soon girlfriends!!!

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Hi Friends! I have been on a very long blogging hiatus thanks to being a little busier these days… A bonus baby can really throw a monkey wrench in your blogging game. Who am I kidding, I was a lazy blogger even before Colton, lol! I wanted to share a little ten months in, ten months out perspective on life with baby. Because you are technically preggy for 10 months… and also because I never got my ‘ish together to write this post when he was 9 months! So here’s “4 Things I’ve Learned From Having A ‘Bonus Baby’. Plus, A 10 Month Update!

Lesson one: More present

One thing that comes to mind when I think of my experience having Colton at this point in my life, is that I have been more present with him than I was with my first two babies. Being older and seeing how fast my first two kids have grown up to 8 and 6, I know how fleeting it all truly is. So I appreciate this in a way I simply couldn’t with my first. I look at Colton in wonderment of what a blessing he is. I rock him a little longer at night, I kiss and hug him nonstop. I’m not rushing any part of this!

Lesson two: Having a bonus baby has brought me closer to my oldest child

My daughter, Annabelle, has been a pretty independent child since her baby brother came along when she was two. She had to learn to play on her own while mommy tended to Leo. I don’t feel like I had the time to “baby” her once I had two kids. Since having Colton, Annabelle has become so much more affectionate with me and showed me she needs me more than ever. She wants me to tuck her in at night and sing her songs and she holds my hand so tight to her cheek. It warms my heart! She has been SO helpful with Colty and I truly need her help. So for that, we’ve grown so much closer, and I have an even greater appreciation for my Annie B.

Lesson three: A chance to improve parenting skills

I’m sure we can all think of times we have made mistakes as parents. Maybe we didn’t feed our kid enough vegetables as a toddler and now they refuse to eat them as a big kid. My son Leo is CEO & President of the Picky Eaters Club. Colton will NOT be a picky eater, I will make sure of it!

Lesson four: Losing the baby weight isn’t my top priority

I was determined to lose ALL the baby weight before reaching the nine month postpartum mark after my first two, which I documented here and here. I tracked every point/bite in the Weight Watchers app until I got back to “myself” again.

But this time around my focus has been a little different. I started working out at Orangetheory Fitness at the six week postpartum mark, and set out to lose the 38 pounds I’d gained with Colton. The thing is; I’ve realized that being myself again isn’t a number on the scale. At 10 months postpartum I still have 12 stubborn pounds to go, but I haven’t been obsessed with it. I love to eat, so I work out hard 3-4 days a week to balance that out. A 2020 goal of mine is to lose the last of the weight by my 40th birthday. Hey, I want to look my best when I turn 40! But I’ve enjoyed this time just being with family, eating comfort foods when I want, and giving myself grace on the whole weight loss thing.

A 10 month baby update

I cannot believe Colton is 10 months old. I’m probably going to have a slight meltdown when he turns one. I want freeze him as a baby forever, he’s truly the sweetest, easiest baby ever. I didn’t think I could handle a challenging third baby/toddler. Thankfully, Colton is so chill. His brother and sister are constantly entertaining him. He’s had to learn to wait his turn when he needs something, too. Mama busy with three kids! I can’t be everywhere at once. But this has been a great lesson for him. Patience is a virtue!

Introducing food

Our pediatrician said to hold off on feeding him table food until about nine months. So we did purees from about 6-9 months. He now has 6 teeth and is loving eating real food. He’s clearly a meat man, because he loves chicken, sausage, pork, turkey meat… he even likes shrimp!! I never offered seafood to my big kids as a baby! I have the best non-slip silicone place mat/plate that adheres to table surfaces. So he can’t get mad and throw his plate on the floor like babies tend to do! This Why You Peanut Butter & Jealous silicone bib is not only funny, but the best bib! It catches all the food.

Colton has refused a bottle from day, ugh! That has made date nights and girl’s nights fewer and far between because I’ve feared leaving him with someone knowing he’s not good with a bottle. I decided to skip the bottle and go right to a sippy cup last month and found this straw sippy that he loves. He can hold the sippy upside down while being rocked and the liquid still comes out, unlike traditional straw sippies. Still can’t believe he’s able to drink from a straw, because these rubber straw sippys can take work to get the liquid out. I didn’t introduce a straw sippy to my big kids until they were well into their toddler days.

Skip crawling, straight to walking!

I haven’t been quick to rush baby milestones, so Colton didn’t really roll over on his own until about 6 months. And little man still isn’t crawling in the true sense. If he wants to move around he sort of body surfs and shimmies about. But it’s still easy to sit him down and leave the room and come back to him in generally the same place.

Just like how he skipped over the bottle and went straight to a sippy, he’s probably going to walk soon and just skip over crawling. He loves walking along the couch edges and he’s moving from furniture to end tables and his activity center if it’s within reach. So my glass of wine, water, or Diet Pepsi is never safe on the end table with Colton around. He’s coming for it for sure! My guess is he’ll be taking his first steps by the time he’s 11 months.

I could go on and on, but I recognize I’m probably way more excited to share every detail than you are to read about it, lol, so I’ll stop there. To sum it all up, I’m incredibly grateful for this surprise third round of motherhood. I love it more than I thought possible and can’t wait to see how our family grows together with our new edition in the future. Having a bonus baby when you’re older and wiser is actually pretty cool, despite my initial fears. If you’re wondering if you’ve got one more left in ya (ha) and your family doesn’t quite feel complete, I say go for it! You will never regret your decision!

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I have been so behind on blogging baby Colton’s newborn life and I feel so bad about it! I love looking back on old baby blogs of Annabelle and Leo and remembering those harrowing days! In case you missed it, I did blog about life with a one month old here; Newborn Life + Postpartum Realness: The Things You Forget. Fast forward a few months and I now have a nearly 4 month old and things have definitely settled down and gotten easier. THANK THE LORD! I’ve been getting requests to do a baby must haves post, so I’m finally getting around to sharing Colton’s 3-4 Month Update + Must Have Baby Essentials!

Baby Schedule, 3-4 Months

I’ll start by sharing Colton’s general schedule as I know this can be helpful for new mamas or moms-to-be who are anxious to figure out a routine. It’s flexible as nap times and bed/wake times can change from day to day, but this is generally how it goes…

6:00/6:30 am – Wake/Nurse. If he’s still sleepy after a 30 minute nursing session I may lie him back down in his crib.

8:30-9:30 am – I will sit on the couch and settle in for a nice long nurse/nap session! I take the BEST naps while snuggled up with Colton.

9:30/10:00 – 12:30 pm – Morning nap in his swing in his room. This is Colton’s longest nap of the day. He typically sleeps 2-3 hours!! During this time I usually go to an Orangetheory Fitness class at 10:30 (husband works from home). Nurse when he wakes. After his morning nap is when I’ll try to run errands with him.

2:30/3:00 – 4:30 pm – Nurse and afternoon nap in his swing. If we are out running errands he cat naps in his baby carrier.

The early evening time frame is flexible. Depending on when he woke from his last nap will dictate if he needs an early evening cat nap or not.

8:00/8:30 pm – Nurse and bedtime. He usually sleeps through the night and will wake anytime between 6:00 am up to 7:30 am. We do occasionally get a 3:45 am wake up call, it happens!

REPEAT!

Sleep Must Haves

It’s so crazy how so much has changed in five years since having my last baby. It’s actually made doing it all over again a little more fun, so many new and exciting things to buy!

Favorite transitional beds

After a day or two at home we were reeling from no sleep because Colton did not like to sleep flat on his back in his bassinet. We used the Fisher-Price Rock ‘N Play Sleeper for a month and it was the best, but then there was a massive recall on the sleepers due to reported infant deaths!! OMG, so that was gone immediately!

Next, we used this Pack ‘n Play that comes with a portable newborn napper that flips to a changing bed. It’s slightly inclined which Colton liked. At two months we moved Colton from the Pack ‘n Play in our room to his crib. We simply moved the portable napper bed into his crib. This was a great transitional bed for us. And we can still use the Pack ‘n Play for travel or as a playard with toys in it when he’s sitting up.

By three months Colton was starting to get too long for the napper bed. I made the switch to his Dock A Tot in his crib, which looks like a little doggy bed! It’s supposed to create a “snug and soothing environment for babies that mimics the mother’s womb.” It was easily the #1 baby gear item all the bloggers were talking about so I wanted to see what the fuss was about! Once again, Colton did just fine with the new sleeping arrangement and he slept until 6:30 a.m. two mornings in a row those first two nights, which he hadn’t done yet! Score!

The key to all these successful moves from beds is that I use the same super soft sherpa blanket to line whatever bed he’s been in. This way, the familiarity of that blanket has always been under his head, helping him to acclimate.

Favorite sleepwear

Little babies need to be swaddled at night so they don’t wake themselves up with those flailing arms, but not all swaddles are created equal. During one late night feeding I saw an ad on Instagram for Nested Bean’s weighted swaddles and sleep sacks. I read a bunch of reviews and I felt like the moms were talking right to me! The swaddles are lightly weighted on the chest and sides (like a bean bag weight) to give the feeling of being held. That light pressure makes the baby feel secure so he thinks mama is still right there! I ordered two and it worked like a freaking charm! Colton went from 2 hour sleep stretches per night to 4! I highly recommend you try a weighted swaddle, I was a new woman with the added sleep!

We recently switched to the Nested Bean sleep sack and he’s done so well not being swaddled. At 3.5 months he was waking himself up because he was beginning to outgrow the swaddle; finding himself half in and half out in the middle of the night. With any change, there may be a night or two of growing pains, but he loves having his arms free and often sleeps with his hands raised up over his head.

Most used baby gear

Nap seats/swings

From the newborn stage to even now, Colton loves his bouncy seat. We have this one, which has a muted, stylish pattern. I can’t handle loud colors on baby gear and furniture around the house. For nap time we use our baby swing from when Annabelle was a baby. It has ugly loud colors like red, brown, and green and I hate it but it works. It’s so 2011, haha! We keep it hidden away in his room, not in the family room! He gets better swing naps in a quite place anyway.

I have the BEST baby stroller ever that will take us from the newborn to toddler stages. The Nuna Stroller travel system comes with the infant car seat + toddler seat add on for later. It also includes the car seat base to put in your car. I’ll give it to you straight, it’s not cheap. It was pretty expensive. But it’s super lightweight, has a very generous storage basket underneath, and collapses like a dream! Plus the wheels look like BMW rims, LOL! It’s pretty stylish! I told Jeff, if I am going to be pushing 40 AND pushing a baby stroller again, we’re doing it up right for our last hurrah! Haha!

Pro tip: Nordstrom price matches, so if you find the stroller on sale online, simply show the sales rep at Nordstrom and they’ll match the price. We got ours for 20% off because it was on sale at Pottery Barn Kids!

Baby carrier

I use the Baby Bjorn carrier when we are out and about and Colton decides he’s over the stroller and wants to be held. This is perfect for 2-7 months when he’s still lightweight. As he gets heavier, I have the Baby Bjorn ONE that has a back support belt at the waist. That’s good up to 3 years.

From newborn stage until about two months I used the Baby K’tan wrap that is perfect for baby wearing around the house.

Playtime

We just got this Skip Hop 3 Stage Activity Center which is perfect at about 4 months when baby has good head control. Colton is a little young to appreciate all it’s toy features, but it’s a good place to put him for short periods of time when we need to get things done. He likes to watch TV in it! What’s nice is that it can be a play center for older babies to walk around and an art/snack table for toddlers!

My son Leo had an activity seat like this 3 stage super seat and he LOVED it! We put it on the kitchen island and table when we ate and he could sit in it and feel like he was included. He liked sitting upright to see everything. It’s a great place to start feeding baby solids, and it transitions to a booster seat when the toy tray is removed.

Diaper bag

I have been using my Crush It backpack from Stella & Dot since day 1 because it’s super cute, lightweight, and easy to wipe clean. I originally purchased an expensive leather Freshly Picked diaper bag, but it was so heavy and bulky compared to my Stella backpack, so I returned it. See my backpack looking so cute sitting next to us below!

I’ve been eyeing this Twelve Little diaper clutch to throw into my backpack for a little extra organization, and something I can take to the restroom for a quick diaper change when I don’t want to take the whole bag. Love the leopard print!

I think that’s a decent list for now. These are all the top things we currently use to make the baby’s (and our) world go round. In a few months I’ll update you on new baby must haves for the next phase of babyness — crawling and walking, EEKS!! Hope you found this helpful, let me know if you have any questions on items I’ve shared in the comments!

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The post Colton’s 3-4 Month Update + Must Have Baby Essentials appeared first on Courtney RICE.

I thought blogging when I was tired and pregnant was hard, but blogging with a newborn is way harder! (See: The Birth Story of Colton James!) Sleep deprivation really does something to you. You forget how exhausting the newborn stage is when you’ve been removed from it for some time. I’m pretty much living in survival mode these days. The combination of after birth unpleasantries, postpartum hormones, no sleep, AND breastfeeding woes is a real shit show. I wanted to take a moment to talk Newborn Life + Postpartum Realness: The Stuff You Forget… Because it’s important to share the good, the bad, and the fugly when documenting pregnancy, childbirth, and beyond!

My goal in sticking with my Orangetheory Fitness work outs throughout pregnancy was so that I’d have a faster recovery time and an easy bounce back to pre-pregnancy weight. I had convinced myself I’d be back to normal in no time.

That mindset had me trying to be some kind of postpartum warrior in the hospital. When the nurse asked what my pain level was I said a two out of ten. And when she asked if I needed a prescription for pain meds when I left the hospital I said no. Why was I so dumb? I should’ve taken the dang Vicodin because I hadn’t gotten into the weeds with breastfeeding yet. Pain was a’comin!

Breastfeeding is hard

I nursed both Annabelle and Leo for a year and it was a wonderful experience — after a very bumpy start. In the beginning I always experience horrible breast pain while nursing. After visiting a Lactation consultant with Annabelle I was diagnosed with something called Vasospasm. This is the sudden constricting/narrowing of blood vessels in the nipple that can be very painful. It feels like shooting pain in the nips basically. It’s mind numbing at the point of baby latching and I get an instant headache. I’ve dreaded this ever since I found out I was pregnant. The thing that keeps me going is knowing that with my first two kids the pain subsided by about 10 weeks postpartum. From there breastfeeding was all good. So if I can just. get. there. quickly — I’ll feel much better!

Dreading breast pain and having a newborn that wants to nurse every TWO hours is hard. What happened to babies eating every three hours?! This baby is ravenous after two! And I know he’s eating enough because we go through a ton of diapers. By week two when the newness high had worn off I definitely had my mommy melt down moment. I was sitting up in bed nursing in pain, tired to my bones, and just feeling sorry for myself sitting there in adult diapers. If I didn’t know what I know now about the pain subsiding soon I’d be like EFF THIS! Breastfeeding is hard… at first. It does get better, but you just have to give it time.

Sleep deprivation sucks the life out of you.

Because my little man wants to eat every two hours, it makes for a very broken night of sleep. I always fall asleep nursing in the middle of the night so I usually wake up two hours later and I’m still sitting up holding my sleeping baby chest to chest. Thankfully we did get a Sleep Number 360 Smart bed just before having Colton and the mattress is split down the middle. That way I can be inclined in bed while feeding the baby and my husband can be lying flat on his back on his side. It’s been so helpful!

Once I get my two older kids off to school by 8 am (big thanks to my husband for getting them up, making breakfast and packing lunches so I can sleep in a little more), I basically fall asleep feeding baby on the couch watching The Today Show. I sleep through the 9 o’clock hour and wake up towards the end of Hoda & Jenna! I basically NEED that morning nap to get me to a functional state so that I can do SOMETHING with the rest of my day. Too bad I’m not dressed and ready to go anywhere until like 1 pm. By this point my big kids only have two hours left of school so not a lot of time to run errands or whatever I need to do. It’s a viscous cycle every day and I wish I could get myself going sooner. Sleep deprivation truly sucks the life out of you.

Relishing the newborn stage

Now that I have the perspective of a mama with older kids, I know what it’s like to miss my kids when they were babies. I remember all the times I’d see the Facebook memories pop up and I’d reminisce about Annabelle or Leo being so little. It always gave me baby fever. So now that I have a new baby I don’t want to rush any of his baby-ness away. Not even the newborn stage, despite how tough it is. I’m trying to take all kinds of mental notes on how soft his skin is, how tiny his wittle body is, how cute his jerky newborn movements are… the baby cooes — all of it!

Just when your baby is going to drive you up a wall because he won’t let you put him down, he flashes you his first baby smile and coo’s at you. It’s like he knows he needs to give you a little something cute to keep you off the ledge, haha! Anyway, I know all this hard stuff shall pass soon. Hanging in there as every passing day gets us closer to more sleep, less pain, and lots of baby smiles and milestones ahead!

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The post Newborn Life + Postpartum Realness: The Stuff You Forget… appeared first on Courtney RICE.

I have been itching to share here on the blog that my husband and I welcomed our new baby boy, Colton James Rice, on March 6th at 3:14pm! Baby Colton was my largest baby, weighing in at 8 lbs. and 13 oz and 21″ long. On the larger side for a newborn, but still incredibly tiny to me considering my other babies currently weigh 53 lbs and 68 lbs respectively. This was definitely my easiest labor and delivery out of the three, so I’m excited to share The Birth Story of Colton James with you!

My doctor told me that women having their third child and over the age of 35 typically deliver their babies earlier than 40 weeks. In fact, she said she’d be happy if I made it to 37 weeks pregnant before delivering early. That kind of freaked me out because I’ve never experienced an early child birth.

Annabelle was born at 41 weeks via an induction-ish. Meaning I went in for an induction but went into labor at the hospital on my own, so I never received Pitocin. Read Annabelle’s birth story here. And I went into labor on my actual due date with Leo, which is funny because I was only 1 centimeter dilated at my check up that morning. Read Leo’s birth story here. This time around I didn’t really believe I would go into labor early, but I did live in anxious anticipation of labor striking early.

Made It To 40 Weeks – Induction Time!

I was scheduled for an induction at 6am on my due date of March 6th. As I got closer to the date I became at peace with being induced and knowing there was an end in sight and I wouldn’t go a day over my due date. I’d choose getting induced over going into labor any day. It’s a lot more peaceful to load up your car calmly, walk into the hospital on your own and settle into your room. Doing all of that while in the throes of labor sucks.

The night before my induction we went out for a big dinner to mark our last meal as a family of four. I had a really hard time falling asleep that night knowing what was to come. Plus my alarm was set painfully early so that was giving me anxiety as well!

The nurse that welcomed us was great and made us feel very comfortable right away. I got put on Pitocin after settling in and was told that I could get an epidural at any point that I began feeling pain. I was there for a 3-4 hours just getting the Pitocin levels increased every 30-45 minutes or so and nothing new was really happening. No real progression beyond 3-4 centimeters dilated and 70% effaced. I was at a Pitocin level of 14 and I wasn’t feeling pain, just tightening during contractions. My doctor decided it was time to break my water, which she said would speed up labor. I was warned that once my water broke the contractions would become a lot more uncomfortable and that would be a good time to get an epidural. Eeks! Sure enough, they came on strong and quickly got very painful.

Drugs, please!

Time to call the Anesthesiologist and give me the drugs! My nurse said this was her favorite Anesthesiologist in the hospital network. I immediately understood why she liked him, he had a fantastic bed side manor. He kept the conversation going with us the whole time, explaining what he was doing so I wasn’t surprised by any thing. It actually took longer than I thought it would to numb me enough to not feel the very strong contractions I was now having. It dulled the pain, but it was still very uncomfortable. So I gave myself a couple extra doses using the pain button so it would fully numb me. My nurse had me lie on each side with a “peanut ball” between my knees to help speed things up. It didn’t take long for me to reach 10 centimeters dilated after those side positions.

My doctor told the nurses to call as soon as I hit 10 because she knew I’d deliver quickly with my history of pushing babies out in 25 minutes or less. The nurse called my doctor and she literally ran to my room from her office across the hospital. She arrived huffing and puffing and said; “It’s time to have a baby!” and instructed me to hold the backs of my legs and get ready to push.

At this moment — literally moments from pushing a baby out, I remember saying “This is so surreal, I can’t believe I’m having a baby!”

You’d think after 9 long months of pregnancy and being in the hospital for hours that it would’ve sunk in that I was definitely having a baby at the end of this, lol! But it’s just the awareness of a life changing moment unfolding that was giving me all the anxious feels!

It’s nice to meet you, little man

Things haven’t changed since my last deliveries, I’m still a pretty darn good pusher, ha! The nurses and doctor were already saying he was crowning! They had me push through three contractions and he was out!!! It was literally 13 minutes from my nurse saying I was at a 10 to him being delivered!! Crazy fast!

When they pulled him out and he started crying right away I began to cry. I think all these months I was worried that I was focused too much on experiencing the pregnancy vicariously through my older children’s eyes, and not focusing enough on the actual baby. So when they handed him to me and my immediate reaction was wondrous, happy tears — I was overwhelmed with emotion. As I caressed his soft little cheek I remember saying how nice it was to finally meet him. The miracle of it all just gets me right here!

Colton was born at 3:14pm. My parents brought Annabelle and Leo as soon as I texted that he was born. They arrived about 5pm. It was SO cute seeing them meet their new brother for the first time. Their smiles gave me heart explosions! My mom ran out and picked up Portillo’s for dinner and brought it to us and I inhaled that hot dog, fries, and Diet Coke so fast!! The last thing I had eaten was a granola bar at 5:30am so I was starving!

A post-birth win!

Once the epidural began to wear off I decided to try and go pee. I remember with Annabelle this took a nurse holding me up and walking me to the bathroom. She stood there while I peed and helped me back up. A woman’s dignity takes a beating during child birth and the postpartum aftermath.

Thankfully I did not tear during birth so I didn’t need stitches. I got stitches with my first two births and that has a huge impact on a mama’s recovery. The fact that I was able to get up on my own accord and pee and take care of myself in these moments was an amazing feeling. I felt like I was already winning at this postpartum phase! I was mentally thanking myself for all those Orangetheory work outs that helped me maintain strength throughout pregnancy, labor, and now postpartum!

Family of five

We were released from the hospital 24 hours after birth. Thank goodness because I couldn’t take another night lying on that hard as a rock hospital bed! Before we left my friend and photographer Natalie McIntire Photography stopped by to take some “Fresh 48” photos of Colton. I loved the idea of having professional photos taken when the baby is brand new like this in the hospital. Capturing this moment in time when he’s so tiny is just precious! I also included a few of my own candid iPhone pictures in this blog that were taken within a few hours after birth with just my family.

Taking Colton home was so exciting. I couldn’t wait for the kids to see him and hold him. It’s been nearly two weeks since we welcomed baby Colton and although I’m sleep deprived and I have sore nips from breastfeeding, I couldn’t be more in love and happy with our new family of five!

I’m extremely grateful God listened to my questioning prayers about whether I was meant to have another child. He answered those prayers on July 1st when we discovered we were pregnant, much to our surprise. Read about that discovery here. I’m blown away that at 38 this was the most incredible pregnancy I’ve ever had. Sharing the experience with Annabelle and Leo has been so wonderful and bonded us even more, I hope they never forget this. And to top it off with a peaceful and easy labor and delivery, I simply couldn’t ask for anything more to close out my child bearing chapters!

Thank you for following along on this third pregnancy journey with me. I always cherish my pregnant blogs, they are fun to look back on over the years. I plan to share more about life with 3 kiddos, postpartum health and weight loss, best baby gear items by request, and lots more! Stay tuned, friends!

If you’re local to Indianapolis and are in need of a Fresh 48 photographer for hospital birth photos, or any other important moments you’d like to capture, check out Natalie’s website here, or her Facebook page, or follow on Instagram. She’s done blog outfit photos for me, our pregnancy announcement photos, and family Christmas pics. You’ll love her!

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I have been going through a very strong nesting phase in my third trimester of pregnancy. I’ve been super productive in getting stuff around the house done and prepared for baby. I’m loving this newfound burst of energy and motivation and I will miss it when it goes away after baby! Decorating a new baby nursery is always one of the most fun things to do in pregnancy. So now that our nursery is complete I wanted to share it with you! I hope you enjoy our Baby Boy Nursery Reveal!

This sweet little room has quickly become my favorite room in the house. I often rock in the glider and imagine my baby in this space. Our glider and ottoman just so happen to be the most comfortable glider ever. I often take naps in there on a lazy day when my kids are watching TV or playing.

Making room for three kids

Before we could start working on the nursery we had to do some room swapping with the kids. We have a ranch style home with three bedrooms on top and two in the basement. So we ended up moving my 7 year old daughter downstairs and giving the baby her room. At first this made me sad and I didn’t think she would want to be in the basement. But it’s an open staircase off the living room, it’s not closed off to the main floor. Her room is bigger, she has a walk in closet, and a larger window, so she definitely upgraded! She’s been downstairs for a month now and she loves her new room. It helps that we painted it blush pink and she got new furniture!

A more grown up nursery

My vision for the nursery was a little more stylish this time around, less baby-ish. I didn’t want to do any kind of baby-ish theme, like where you purchase a bed in a bag with matching lamps and wall decor. I wanted something a little more masculine and mature, where it flowed with the rest of the house, decor-wise.

After looking up baby boy nurseries on Pinterest (see my nursery inspiration board here) I knew that black and white would by my primary colors. I played around with various textures like wood accent pieces, baskets, and mixing in gold and black hardware. My heart was set on a black and white wallpaper accent wall with three walls white. But after being quoted about $650-700 for hanging ONE wallpaper wall we were like: NO THANKS! We ended up going with Benjamin Moore Classic Gray 1548, almost like a whitish grey. I was a little worried that it was too bland when it was first painted it. However, it really came to life once I started decorating the space. It’s a great neutral color, I love it!

I did a TON of research on cribs and dressers because I’ve had a couple bad experiences buying inexpensive kid furniture. I couldn’t handle another dresser with sticky drawers that don’t open/close easily! I’m in love with the modern look of Babyletto cribs and the price was right at under $400. Thankfully I could order it from Amazon for fast and free Prime shipping, which was great. It was a huge bonus knowing that higher end retailers like Pottery Barn and Crate & Barrel carried the brand as well. It reassured me that I was getting a solid product.

I really wanted this IKEA Hemnes 8-drawer dresser that seemed to be in EVERY baby nursery on Pinterest. But of course it was sold out! So back to researching I went. I ended up going with this Darlene 6 drawer dresser from Birch Lane, which is the same company as Wayfair.com. The reviews were stellar and it had free and fast 2-3 day shipping! To make it resemble the IKEA dresser I changed out the white knobs for black. It now has that masculine white/black look I wanted.

Adding accents with character & meaning

Now for the decorative accent pieces! Also seen all over Pinterest was this brass round mirror from Target. I knew I wanted to mix gold and black metals, so the mirror was perfect. There was this adventure style look I was seeing a lot in Pinterest nurseries that I was drawn to. The nurseries had these over-sized animal prints or canvases on walls that were so cute. I felt like they would grow with little man as he ages. Or I could reuse them in another room, like an office or basement down the road. I had looked on Minted.com for framed animal art but prices were super expensive. Even instant download images from Etsy were a little pricey when you wanted a larger size. Plus you need to go buy frames. It adds up! I felt like I hit the jack pot when I found these over sized matching Alpaca and elephant framed canvases for $40 each. Another Home Goods score!

The room had a lot of black and white and mixed metals so I needed to infuse a bit of color. I thought a really cute way to add pops of color was to display children’s books on book ledges. To break up the black and white colors I really wanted natural wood colored book ledges. I was adamant about them being ledges and not floating shelves. Ledges have a lip on the front to hold the books propped up and facing outward. Floating shelves wouldn’t be as ideal for displaying lots of books. I wanted them to be functional, not just decorative.

I had a hard time finding the look I was going for online, not even on Amazon! But I did find a perfect DIY natural wood book ledge tutorial on Pinterest that I loved. I sent it to my dad and asked if he’d be able to make these for me. Thankfully he was able to whip these up for me in a few days. I LOVE how they turned out! They add nice texture to the room, color from books, and there’s sentimental value knowing my dad made them.

I wanted a cute word art to frame on a smaller wall. While searching on Etsy, I came across the lullaby lyrics from my son Leo’s favorite book “I’ll Love You Forever”. It was perfect! I did a $4 instant downloaded, grabbed a $20 wood frame from Target, and have a wall piece with meaning!

The last thing I added are these scrabble letters of his name hanging vertically on a small wall. I wanted a cute way to display his name vs. just hanging three big initial letters. I hung initials in my other kid’s nurseries so I wanted a change. When the letter blocks arrived they didn’t have hangers on the back so my husband had to add them. It was quick and easy since he already had hangers in his toolbox. This post will be updated with an image of my little man’s name in scrabble letters once he’s born!

I hope you like the new nursery! I’ve linked to the products I used below in case you’re interested in looking at anything more closely. Some are affiliate links, meaning I may get a small commission should you purchase anything, at no additional cost to you. All opinions and decor ideas are my own.

I can’t wait to see my new baby boy in this room any day now!!

Sources

Crib // Dresser // Round Mirror // Alpaca Canvas // Elephant Canvas // Rug // Faux Fiddle Leaf Tree // Faux plant basket // Scrabble letters // Book ledge tutorial // Curtains // Similar side table (TJ Maxx) // Sleep Tight blanket // Crib sheet // Crib bed skirt // Dream Catcher // Glider & Ottoman (older)

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In my last blog post I promised I’d be more consistent with blogging the last couple months of pregnancy. But for some reason that promise has been hard to keep. I have plenty of time to blog, but I find ways to busy myself most days. And then I’m just too tired at night to start a post. Please forgive me, I know you all have been DYING for a bumpdate, LOL! There’s a lot I want to update you on, but right now I just need a little vent session. I received a very rude comment from a stranger about my size recently, so I felt like it was time for another Public Service Announcement… So here you go; Things You Should NEVER Say To A Pregnant Woman…

I haven’t experienced too many unfortunate comments about my size this pregnancy. But I’ve certainly had my share of insensitive comments in the past that stuck in my brain. I’m amazed people still think it’s OK to comment on a pregnant woman’s size. In particular, if it’s to point out a preggo’s huge belly, weight gain, and the like.

Avoid saying these things…

When I was pregnant with my daughter I had this old bus driver on my work commute that loved to make jokes about my size. I gave him grace because he was old and he thought he was just being funny. But there were times I wanted to yell STFU Ya Old FART!!! I chronicled things he said to me in my pregnant blogs back then because, let’s be honest, there was some entertainment value there. A couple one liners that come to mind was when he asked me if they call me BIG MAMA in my neighborhood?! Or, “is your last name Anyminute? Coz you look like you’re due ANY MINUTE AHAHAHA!” I’d be like…. ha ha ha (fake laugh, slow clap), I’m only 7 months pregnant.

Or how about when you’re 8-9 months pregnant and people ask you how much weight you’ve gained this pregnancy? Would you DARE ask an overweight girl how much weight she’s gained in the last several months? NO!!! Just because a girl is pregnant doesn’t mean she’s still not A GIRL! Most girls are sensitive about their weight, no matter what. So it’s generally a good rule of thumb to avoid this question. And honestly, what purpose does it serve other than to judge her or compare her to your own pregnancy?

There are exceptions to this rule which may seem unfair, but again, you should really just avoid this question all together. If someone asks me how much I’ve gained and I know they gained about the same or more than me when they were pregnant, then I’m OK sharing that information. Because we are commiserating about the growing pains – literally – of pregnancy. But if I know you were skinny pregnant; hardly gained any weight, and snapped back to pre-pregnancy weight 5 days after birth, don’t ask! I don’t know why you’re asking other than to judge my gluttonous pregnant ways!!

Fast forward to present day and I have had a few awkward moments where people mindlessly made comments. Let me first say that I do not believe people mean any harm with their comments. I think they probably just feel like they’re talking about the size of the baby in my belly, not ME. As if I have no control over it. But we do have some control over it, let’s be honest. All those McDonald’s drive thru trips and countless cookies and desserts over the last 9 months could mean the difference between a 7 lb baby and a 9 lb baby!!

Back when I was about 26 weeks pregnant a gal asked how far along I was and when I told her she said; “Oh really, are you sure there’s not two in there?!” I’m like; “Ya, pretty sure there’s just one.” The crazy thing is that I was still on the skinny pregnant side back then!!! Hmph!

Last week I walked up to the counter at the UPS Store to drop off a package. To my shock, the lady working says to me…

UPS worker: “Were you due like 3 months ago or what?”

Me: <Stunned face> “Well that wasn’t very nice!”

I looked over to the surprised customer at the other register and she says to me; “I didn’t even know you were pregnant since you’re holding your coat!”

UPS Worker: (back peddling) “Well ya I mean, you’re all baby…”

Me: “I’m all baby, except that I look like I was due 3 months ago…”

UPS Worker: “I was just kidding….”

I wanted to ask her if she’s ever been pregnant, but then she added that she knew what it was like because she had twins! I’m thinking to myself; well then she probably was on the larger side so she likely endured lots of annoying comments about her size from people. She should know better!!

She ended up offering me a 15% discount for her “rude comment” as she put it. I couldn’t get out of there fast enough because I knew what was about to happen. STUPID, IDIOTIC, UNWELCOMED TEARS! Ugh, I so didn’t want to cry over her comment, but I couldn’t help myself — I’m hormonal and super sensitive during pregnancy. I called my mom to tell her what happened and tears were streaming down my face. The more I tried not to cry the more tears came. I was so mad at myself! I’ve put a major focus on having a fit pregnancy and looking and feeling my best, so her comment didn’t make me question my appearance. In a way I felt like I was crying for all the insensitive comments that every pregnant girl has had to endure during pregnancy. Plus maybe I was feeling a tad sorry for myself!

So ya, it’s best to not say anything about a woman’s weight – pregnant or not! If you must comment, I’ve supplied you with a list of acceptable size references you can make that will never offend…

What to say to a pregnant woman:

“You look fabulous!”

“Wow, you’re so cute and tiny — all baby!”

“From behind you don’t even look pregnant!”

“You’re glowing!”

“Pregnancy suits you!”

“What’s your secret to looking so good in pregnancy?!”

As a reminder of what NOT to say…

“Hey BIG MAMA, do they call you BIG MAMA in your neighborhood?”

“Wow, you look like you’re about to burst!”

“Oh dear, you look miserable!”

“You still have 10 weeks to go?!?!” <stunned face>

“Hey Anyminute, you look like you’re due any minute!”

“So…how much weight have you gained?!”

“Are you sure you’re not having twins?!”

So there you have it, my PSA of what to say and not to say is out there. I wrote a PSA back in 2011 (5 Things you NEVER say to a pregnant girl) but apparently not everyone read it or remembers the important sticking points, so I felt like an updated reminder was needed! I’m hoping I can get one more pregnancy blog up before baby, but we are at T minus 8 days until my due date, so we shall see!

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I feel SO bad that I have not been blogging this pregnancy like I did for my first two pregnancies. I love looking back at my weekly blog posts with bump watch images and pregnant musings with Annabelle and Leo. Sadly, this time around I have so much less blog bump-dates to look back on. Thankfully, I have documented my weekly pregnancy style and life updates on my Instagram account. If you’re on Instagram click here to follow along! I will say my maternity style is a lot better this time around and I’m glad I’ve captured that, ha! OK, I’m WAY overdue for a pregnancy blog update. I can’t believe my last blog was at 21 weeks pregnant and I’m now 31 WEEKS!!! (Well, technically 31 weeks and 5 days!!) Geez, that went fast! So, without further ado, here is “The Home Stretch, A 31 Week Bump-Date!”

All about that fit pregnancy.

I’ve learned that maintaining a fit pregnancy is the key to a comfortable pregnancy. It’s not going to be as easy to lose the baby weight in my late thirties, so I have been more focused on my fitness this time around. Staying limber and flexible can help fend off unwanted aches and pains associated with pregnancy, I know this first hand! I worked out until my due date with Leo and had a much easier pregnancy than I did with Annabelle. At 30 weeks pregnant with Annabelle I quit working out, and I definitely paid for it with bad sciatic nerve pain at the end.

At 31 weeks pregnant in my third pregnancy, I’m pretty proud of myself for maintaining my thrice weekly work outs at Orangetheory Fitness. I’ve continued to lightly jog during treadmill intervals, row on the rowing machine, and do resistance training/free weights during the strength portion of class. It’s definitely a more challenging work out, but I feel amazing when it’s over!

Honestly, I’ve needed those challenging work outs to counteract my sucky diet during this pregnancy! I have zero desire to go for the healthier option and order a salad at a restaurant, I crave all the bad things!!

Hello, Sweet Tooth!

I have developed a very ravenous sweet tooth in this pregnancy. I literally can’t say no to anything sweet and bad for me! In my second trimester, I was craving juicy sugary things so I would eat a lot of my kid’s Juicy Burst gummy packs. I also ate ALL the Starbursts and Skittles in my kid’s Halloween candy bags. In fact, I think I ate most of their Halloween candy — eeks!

Lately, I have been obsessed with those Lindor Chocolates that you see everywhere over the holidays. You know those little milk chocolate balls that have assorted fillings inside? OMG THEY ARE LIFE! I’d buy a bag, eat them over a few days, and then ask my husband to help finish them off. Then I’d get mad at him if he ate the last one and I’d end up buying another freaking bag. I don’t even want to know how many calories are in one single chocolate salted caramel ball. Ignorance truly is bliss! Now that the holidays are over I’ve told myself NO MORE. I’m blaming at least 5 pounds of my preggo weight gain on those little effers when this is over!

Third trimester, I’m over it!

I always say this, but by 30 weeks pregnant I’m over it! Gone are the cute little belly preggo days. I’m trying SO hard not to waddle, but with the lack of support at my center thanks to loosened joints and ligaments, waddling is the only way to walk comfortably!

Pure exhaustion has taken over thanks to terrible nights of sleep. You’re not supposed to lay on your back but I get sore from sleeping on my sides all night. So I have to turn several times a night which is like trying to turn over a beached whale. It would be so much easier if I had a crane hovering over my bed ready to lift and roll me when needed, ha ha!

The pregnancy symptom that has truly effected my quality of life is how often I have to use the bathroom. I’m afraid to count how many bathroom breaks I have a day. I’ve wasted so much of my life in the bathroom over these last 7-8 months, it’s depressing! I pretty much pee and take five steps and have to pee again. It’s that bad. I have been known to pee 3 times in 5 minutes. It’s all about how little man is positioned on my bladder. He LIVES on top of it and he kicks the hell out of it when it’s full!!!!!

What I’ve loved…

OK it’s not all bad, there’s a lot of good stuff to share, too! By far the best thing about this pregnancy is sharing it with my two kids, Annabelle (7) and Leo (5). They are over the freaking moon about this baby, especially Leo. He is obsessed with my belly and his baby brother! He hugs me about 300 times a day, it’s the sweetest thing in the world. He’s only 5, but he really dotes on me these days, I love it! And I can’t wait to see Annabelle be a little mommy to her baby brother. I’m going to get her a cute little backpack with diapers, wipes, and baby toys so she feels needed and can help me on the go! She will LOVE that! I will miss this incredible bonding time I’ve had with my big kids during this pregnancy. I will always remember it and I believe they will always remember this time as well. It’s been the biggest blessing.

I’ve really tried to step up my maternity style game this time around. Feeling good in your clothes definitely helps counteract some of the body image issues women experience while pregnant. Initially, I told myself I’m not going to wear maternity clothes if I can help it. Why buy a whole new wardrobe when today’s flowy styles definitely compliment a pregnant figure? I eventually caved and purchased some cute maternity clothes at the start of my third trimester for a better fit, though. It’s been so fun dressing the bump! I want to share a fun maternity style blog post soon, so I’ll share more preggo looks with you later!

It’s getting REAL now!

Don’t laugh when I say this; but hitting 30 weeks has been a real eye opener that this is really happening!! I’ve been mainly focused on taking the pregnancy week by week to keep my anxiety over starting over with a baby at bay. When I think about how much our life is going to change in just a couple months it overwhelms me. Plus, there’s a lot that has to get done in these next two months to prepare for baby, which only adds to that overwhelmed feeling. Once room swaps, painting, and decorating is behind us I can fully concentrate on mentally preparing for baby! Despite those anxious feelings, I am truly looking forward to falling in love with my new baby boy. Brand new love is such a euphoric feeling!

OK I will try my best to get back on a regular blogging schedule after this! I have a lot more to share, so stay tuned!!

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