What I Wish I Knew Before... Baby

There are so many things people don't tell you about parenting. Sure, you get a lot of unsolicited advice but you are either a. not listening or b. they are glossing over some things. Now, I am not saying that had I known these things, I would have thought twice about having a child. Absolutely not. However, I may have been a bit more prepared.

Top 10 Things I Wish I Knew Before Having a Baby

10.The days are long but the months are short 

Some days, by the end of the day I want to pull my hair out. Especially Mondays. I am not sure what it is, but Baby G can sense that its a Monday and she wants daddy. Nothing around the house gets done, and I just try to survive. But then I blink and she is almost 6 months old. How in the world did that even happen? She was a tiny little thing 2 seconds ago. On the days where I wonder if my house will ever be clean again or if I will ever get to (blank) again, I realize that time will go much faster than I realize and I can just live in the moment. She won't be little forever.

9. The exhaustion is like pulling an all nighter... every night 

All I am saying is I haven't slept well since I was 3 months pregnant. I don't think I will for a long time. And I don't drink caffeine.... the energy crisis is real folks. Oh, and if I hear "Sleep when the baby sleeps" one more time (angry fist-shake). Its not that simple.

8. Mom Guilt/Mom Shame/ Mom Anxiety 

So, I kind of knew about this.... but oh my goodness is it a whole lot bigger when you are actually a mother. When Baby G was born, I was crippled with anxiety. I have never really had that type of anxiety before. I'd been nervous, sure, but never this overwhelming fear. Luckily, John was there to help me through it, and I got over it.  But... the Mom Shame is real. Like my lovely Mother In Law said, create your own opinion, and you can find someone out there who will agree with you (I'm paraphrasing, but its the gist). To vax or not to vax, to breastfeed or formula feed, baby lead weaning or purees, sleep train or co sleep or somewhere in between?? We are faced with so many choices as mothers on a daily basis and there is no shortage of people that will tell you exactly what they think. Its hard to break through sometimes... which brings me to my next point.

7. Trust your mom gut 

 YOU are your baby's mother. Not your mom, not your friend who lives down the street. Not random ladies on the internet and not "doctors" or "experts" writing books. YOU. You know your baby, and you are its mother for a reason.  Now, I am all for doing research, but there comes a time when you have to get rid of the noise and trust that you know what you are doing and what is right for your child.

6. Netflix is your new best friend 

At least in the beginning... or if your baby is anything like mine! My baby girl will fall asleep eating and doesn't stop just because she is asleep! So, I get in a lot of Netflix while she's dream feeding. And in the early days... That's literally all babies do. Sleep, eat, repeat.

5. You will shower a lot less 

And probably smell more thanks to hormones! Showers are a magical place... when I  finally get one, sometimes I don't want to get out!

4. Breastfeeding is a whole new ballgame

To my pregnant friends... two pieces of advice with this one... 1. Look up breastfeeding troubleshooting and general tips NOW. I had really just kinda knew that I wanted to and knew the basic cradle hold. Luckily, I had an amazing lactation consultant (bonus tip: ask for your lactation consultant quickly after birth)  and 2. Join a supportive group. I found a wonderfully supportive group of women on Facebook and it has saved me a bunch of worry!

3. Its hard 

I won't lie. Is it worth it? Absolutely.  Is it an adjustment? Yes. Can anything prepare you? Absolutely not.

2. Babies spit up... A LOT

Okay, this totally freaked me out. Baby G does have some issues with dairy at the moment so, laying off the dairy did help some. However, new born babies just spit up. Generally, it's more of a laundry problem than proof of something wrong

1. Babies cry

This sounds dumb. But,  it's the number one thing I wish someone had told me. BABIES CRY. That is their way of communicating. It does not mean you are doing anything wrong or that you are not a good parent. It means your baby is trying to tell you something. You are learning each other. Take heart.

Monthly Mayhem 3.8 to 4.3 (August 2017)

So, it's been a year. I could apologize or have a long drawn out explanation but, I'm not going to. Suffice to say, I was busy and uninspired. But, now I am busting at the seams with inspiration. I figured I should begin with a bit of a life update.

August through October 2016

At some point, I found out I was pregnant! We had been trying for a little while so this was very exciting. I figured out how to video call my parents and told them after our first scan. (P.s. why does nobody tell you that first one is internal?! #notpreparedforthat)

In October we announced it to the rest of the world! Using our own parody of the Britney Spears song "...Baby One More Time".

I was exhausted the first trimester.

November 2016

We went to Europe!! Are we crazy? Absolutely. Was it worth it? Yes!  At 19 to 20 weeks pregnant John and I went to London, Barcelona, Rome and Venice. I'm thinking I'll make a seperate post all about that. So many stories to tell that I want to remember. John was incredibly patient with me, which I really appreciated. And I developed a taste for Italian/European Fanta and I will never be the same.

December 2016 through March 2017

Mba school madness. Last Veterans United Christmas party.  Pregnancy brain. Cankles.  Swollen everywhere. Getting ready for our baby. Tired, emotional, and more tired.

Our sweet baby girl arrived March 30th 2017 after 11 hours of labor. We were instantly in love.

April 2017

Baby G was officially on the scene. It was a crazy first month. She was (and is) healthy but I was (and am) new to this whole mom business. Let me tell you... it changes everything. I was incredibly anxious those first few weeks but luckily my mother and mother in law took turns staying with us and that helped immensely. I can never thank them enough!

May through August 2017

I'm pretty sure we won the jackpot when it comes to cute babies. I officially quit my job and became a stay at home mom.

But wait, there's more! John officially quit his job and enrolled full time for his MBA at Vanderbilt ... and we moved to Nashville!

We now have a squirmy, rolling (!!!), teething baby and a small but perfect for us apartment. John has officially started classes; and we have officially eaten the best pizza ever. (In Nashville of all places! Five Points Pizza)

Also, we had our second no baby date night and went to the Straight No Chaser/Post Modern Jukebox concert. #worthit

I am truly excited to see where this year will take us.

Monthly Mayhem: 3.7 (July 2016)

I've been so absent. Work has been super busy. I get home exhausted.

So, besides work being insane, not much else has happened.

I baked bread for my second time ever! It turned out delicious. I think I may get the hang of this!

I knit an adorable pumpkin hat for a co-worker at work's baby. I hope I'll get to see a picture of the baby in it as some point!

I am still loving knitmoregirls podcast!

John and I are still playing Pokemon Go... he is a much higher level than I am but, guess who has the Pikachu?

I am learning to crochet! That has been an adventure!

I've also been re-watching Gilmore Girls.... apparently, I missed most of season 3. Who knew?

Level Up Fitness

I'll say it once and I'll say it again. I love the concept they have over at Nerd Fitness. Whats the concept? Leveling up your life. Basically, it calls you to make your exercise program into a video game. How can you "level up" your character (you) to make them stronger, more healthy, more able to take on the enemy (the day/world).  I've always loved this but I've never quite put it into action. Its been in the back of my mind, sure, but what is leveling up without written out achievements to unlock? Since playing Pokemon Go, (yes, don't be a hater) I've realized that I need to feel like I've accomplished something in order to be motivated level up. Maybe a reward, maybe a sticker or just progress tracker. (p.s. I haven't set up any rewards yet other than stickers, feel free to leave suggestions).

So, I've finally taken the plunge. The things I have listed for my "levels" may not seem like much, but they will challenge me. Once I've reached all these I will make harder goals.


And yes, I bought a hula hoop.

Single Sided Strength is my favorite strength training video from Jessica Smith TV

Why yes, I do have a schedule:

Monday: Strength Training
Tuesday: Active Rest (like hula hooping or catching pokemon... something fun)
Wednesday: Cardio
Thursday: Cardio
Friday: Active Rest
Saturday: Strength Training (this may change depending on how well John and I do at getting out to the tennis courts)

I am sticking the progress charts in my planner and I am going to use my planner to schedule what work outs to do for the week. Wish me luck!!

For the Love of Knitting

Hello!

Welcome to my knitting update. Care to think of a catchy name for me? Thanks, doll!

Bound Off 


I finally finished this super yummy scarf! Yes its summer and I am wearing a scarf in 90 degree weather! It actually is quite breathable though, if I were outside all day it may be a little much. It's the Ribbed Lace Scarf by Pearl Avenue, which you can grab here (its free!)

This was actually really fun and super easy to knit! Also, I love the yarn that I used. Not the most practical color, sure, but it is so beautiful and soft (especially for acrylic). Its Uptown DK in colorway Desert Rose.


Cast On 

Since the next few projects I want to work on are all longer projects, I decided I needed to knit something short so I don't get burned out. Enter the Vintage Knit Tie Headband from Mama in a Stitch which you can find here.  It is so freaking adorable! I am knitting mine with some leftover black yarn. Not the most exciting color but my entire wardrobe consist of black and grey so I think its a good start. Depending on how this goes I may knit up a few in every color! Good stash buster.

In the Pipe 

My next three knitting projects are all cowls.

One for John/Me for when we get colds from Purl Soho (see here)

one for me because it's awesome... and really more like a scarf than a cowl (color your own? yes please! mine is grey, white and yellow)   from verypink.com (see here)

& one for my mom just because it looks so freaking cool  and I want to try it but it's not my style. (see here)

I would add the pictures here but I don't want to violate copyright or something. Just clicky the links!

Reading/Listening To... 

I just found out that knitting podcast exist. I know, I know, I am way behind. I have lots of catching up to do! Currently, I am loving the Knitmore Girls Podcast.  (BTW, they followed me back on instagram as did Staci from Very Pink Knits and I fangirled so hard!!Please tell me I'm not the only one that finds this exciting!)

Monthly Mayhem 3.0

Wow.
It has been a hot minute since I have done a Monthly Mayhem. But, as my recent post suggests, this is really what it is all about. Just a quick note, you may notice some changes around the blog... mostly because I can't remember where I stored anything...like color codes and watermark pictures (oops!). Also, since we have been together 3 years (that's insane, by the way!) I figured it is time to stop counting months. So, 3.0 for our anniversary month and next May will be 4.0 and so on... alright, now on to the good stuff.



May was actually a pretty crazy month. We are both crazy busy at work as we head into the "busy season" of the mortgage industry.  As an Account Manager 2 that equals a lot of overtime for me! He is still capped at 2 hours of overtime a week as a Credit Consultant... lucky ducky.

The biggest news this month is that John graduated! Wooohoo!!! The current plan does involve more school for him in the future, but for now, we will enjoy the break that this provides. Oh yeah, and he graduated with a 4.0 GPA!




But... before graduation commenced we of course had to go see Captain America: Civil War the opening day. Made for a bit of a busy weekend but it was so worth it. I can't get over how much I loved this movie. Captain America is my all time favorite super hero.



Which would explain why even though I got the Captain America shirt you see in the collage for my birthday in April, I have already worn it at least 5 times. I literally have to force myself not to wear it every day. Thanks Kohls!

John and I have also really gotten into puzzles recently. Actually, what happened is that I was cleaning our extra bedroom and I found a puzzle that I had bought for him while we were dating. I was tired of it just sitting in the closet so I said, hey lets put this together.... and now it is hanging up in our bedroom! We decided if we were going to spend a lot of time and effort on a puzzle we weren't just going to put it back in the box!

Which also lead to our next puzzle... we were looking up puzzles on Amazon that we could frame when completed and we came across this gorgeous Thomas Kinkade puzzle. We finally finished it but can I just say going from a 750 piece puzzle to a 1500 piece puzzle is not the best idea in the world?



Despite the fact that it took ages to complete and it was pretty difficult (John has sworn of Thomas Kinkade puzzles indefinitely) I am so happy with how it turned out. It is now hanging up in our kitchen and I love it.

Is it weird to have your house decorated in puzzles? I hope not because.... that's the plan.


Personal Accomplishments this month:

I finished Personal Progress as a leader.
I also made this Batman Cup Cozy for a friend. I actually (sort of?) came up with the pattern myself by using a perler bead pattern for the bat signal and modifying a cup cozy pattern.




As it is our anniversary month... and I haven't done one of these since 2014 (seriously??) I'd like to take a look back at the 3rd year. A lot has changed. I feel that John and I have both grown immensely and I am really proud of the people we have become. I am extremely lucky to have John for a husband, I am not a mother but he had chocolate covered strawberries delivered to me at work since I will be a future mother someday. How sweet??I want to continue to grow... I know I for one  have a lot to work on but, I am excited to be able to do it with my best friend at my side.

One Decision Changed My Life Forever

There is a quote by Thomas S Monson that I think of often. He said, "Decisions determine destiny." I think about that a lot... usually because I find it hard to make decisions. Well, the big ones anyway... and some of the small ones, let's be real.  I don't care to count how many times I have had this conversation: Oh, I don't care where we go... just not there or there or.... So yeah, making decisions and taking ownership of them is something I definitely need to work on. But recently, I was thinking about how I have already seen it in my life. What decisions did I make that got me to where I am now? What would my life be like if I had not made those decisions?

Source: Simple As That

 One of the biggest decisions I feel we can make in this life is deciding who to choose as a friend. In high school, a whole bunch of kids are thrown together and you tend to make friends with those who you are stuck with.  There doesn't always seem to be much choice in the matter. I'll admit it... I did not make the best friend choices in high school. Not that my friends were particularly "bad" or anything... but they weren't lasting friendships. Plus some of them didn't share my values. This can be okay, and work sometimes, obviously not everyone is going to share your views and beliefs on everything,  but it does put a bit of a strain on the relationship if it's a big enough chasm. If I would have made different choices in high school, I think I would be a different person. Perhaps more sheltered. Perhaps more trusting... but who knows? I could have ended up with friends who pressured me into doing things I didn't want to do, and luckily, that didn't happen. 

I do know one thing for sure. If I had not chosen to follow the little voice in my head, the little whisper to my heart that told me to pick up the phone and talk to John after months of not speaking, and John had not chosen to go on a date with me... I would be a completely different person. And I don't know that the current me would like that alternate version of who I would have become. That single decision changed my life for the better. It changed my eternal destiny. 

Not every choice you make will be a good one, but "decisions determine destiny" so be cautious... and whatever you do, please listen to the still small voice of the Holy ghost. I can guarantee you that those are the choices that will have the greatest reward in determining your destiny.