from Baby to BABIES!

I think its pretty obvious at this point that we are about to have two BABIES.  No longer will we be a little family of three, we will be a family of FOUR!  We are less than 4 months from our due date and things are getting REAL, REALLY fast!! :) Oh, and just for the record we are going to have TWO babies who are exactly 19 months apart (if baby number dos comes on its due date, that is.)

This is a shout out to all you mamma's out there who already have BABIES or who are about to have more than one child.  There are tons of things running through my head as to how to properly prepare for this sweet child to come into the world... I thought I would throw a few questions out there and if anyone wants to throw some advice my way I would be more than willing to hear it.  

-Strollers: I already know that I do NOT want a side by side stroller... we have some friends who have one and I can hardly maneuver the single one we have- much less the double wide one they have.  I also tend to always bump into things in stores in our single stroller... how could I ever manage a double-wide. ha! {just being honest, nothing against those who have them!}  So... here comes the question- what do you have? Do you like it? What do you plan on getting? What do you wish you would have gotten -- if you don't love yours? 

This is what we have and used for Raleigh Grace as an infant.  We absolutely love it and will be using for baby#2 most likely...

This is the stroller we have for RG now... we do not have the Chicco infant seat- anyone have this one they want to gift us? ;) kidding.. but we like the stroller fine but it only works for one child (obviously!)

-Diapers: ick, I hate to even bring this one up. TWO children in diapers?!  Hopefully not for long though.  I would have never imagined writing this in a post but my friend Stephanie posed a question: should she start cloth diapering now that she is going to have two children in diapers.  Actually she titled the post: "Convnice me I should go cloth" ... I really have little to no interest in cloth diapering (for my kiddos) because I feel like I can't even stay on top of the laundry and house work that I currently have much less adding more to the mix-- but is it worth the money to add a few more loads of laundry? If significant enough I might would consider.  I can't wait to read the comments on her post but if you have any feel free to leave them for me as well! 

our faves since day 1!

-Sleeping/Cribs/Beds: First off, we will not be moving Raleigh Grace to a "big girl bed" anytime soon. She is an amazing sleeper (sleeping 10-13 hours a night) and I refuse to mess with a good thing!  She slept in our room for the first 5ish months in the bouncer, in the pack n play-- and if baby number two likes the bouncer like RG we will be doing the same- otherwise we plan on just putting the baby in the pack n play in our room. I also feel it is important to be transparent about our living situation.  We are going to be in somewhat of a "grid-lock" situation when baby number two comes. We are currently living in a really nice condo that is two bedrooms.  We are in one room and RG is in the other.  Like I said earlier, we plan on keeping #2 in our room for a little while so consider the following questions to be applied several months down the road... The crib that RG is in right now is a regular crib that will not transition into a toddler bed.  We also have a day bed with a trundle in her room (see pics of her nursery here).  What do you think about having both kids in the same room (obviously when #2 is around 6+ months old)?  I don't see much of an option otherwise.  So, how should they sleep? Do you think RG will be ready for a "big girl" bed by that time? She will be 2 years old plus or minus a few months.  Or... should we bite the bullet and purchase a second crib? If we were to go that route we would purchase a convertible crib that will eventually be a toddler bed, and a twin headboard later.  (or is that totally unnecessary considering we have the day bed?...). Should we just move the pack n play to RG's room when #2 is older, and pray, pray, pray that they both sleep well? I'm really at a loss on this issue and most of me is just planning to play it by ear and take it a day at the time.  Obviously, K and I would love to purchase a larger home but with us still owning the house in TX that's not totally an option right now.  The lease on that house is up in the end of April so pray for wisdom for us in that situation-- I'm not sure if its a feasible idea to sell it or to continue to try and rent it and build up more equity in it...? (Not trying to open that can of worms in this post -- just letting you know we could use some prayers in that department of our life.)

see day bed and crib... as you can see there isn't a lot of extra room for a second crib but we could make do if need be (or take the day bed out)

-Diaper Bag: This issue isn't really a huge priority to me but I just thought I would include it to get some input if you have it.  I love my current Coach diaper bag (seen in crib above). I really do!  But... I feel like its almost already maxed out.  Do I need to get something larger? What did you do? I have looked at the Petunia Pickle Bottom boxy backpacks and I'm obsessed. If I had $180 dollars and had no clue what to do with it I probably would have already purchased one.  They also make the PPB boxy backpack (Abundance) in an extra large size-- is all that really necessary? Should I hang tight with what I have and make do- or indulge in a new bag? 

 The left one is the Abundance Backpack, the right is the regular Petunia Pickle Bottom Boxy Backpack

-Baby Showers: How do you feel about having a baby shower for the second baby? Especially when they are this close in age? Go for it? Or hold off? 

Although those are most of the questions I am throwing around right now, I am sure that many more will come up over the next few months.  Those of you who are moms of multiples, I really applaud you. I need you to impart ALL of your wisdom to me... seriously.  :) Thanks for all of your feedback in advance, I can't wait to bounce ideas off of everyone-- if there is something I left off feel free to advise me in that department too!  

OH! And if you aren't a mom or a mom with multiple kids I would still love to hear what you think!!! :) 

Here are just a few friends who are going to be going from one to two (or two to three etc. ;) )  in the next several months... let me know if I didn't include you... I thought it would be fun to see who else will be going through this at the same time to know that we aren't alone.  I love knowing that I will have a support group when the baby gets here! 

Stephanie at Blawnde's Blog

Natalie at Extraordinary Love

Beth Ann at My Life More Abundant

Stephanie at Houghtons Happenings
Jen at A Girl in Pearls & A Boy with Toys

Must Have Items: Birth - 3 months

I just thought I would do a really quick post for you soon to be new MOM's who are trying to figure out what you might need/want these first few months of your babies life! 


I'm linking up {here}!

Here goes... some of these are rather obvious but I just tried to list anything/everything that I could think of that we used :) 

General:

• Car seat (We love ours- snugride 35 by graco, rittenhouse pattern.  Make sure you get a pattern you love bc we definitely take 999 pictures a day of her in it :-P
• Diapers (we prefer pampers swaddlers sensitive)
• Wipes (we prefer pampers sensitive, thick)
• Butt paste (literally)
• Bouncy seat (get the one at target that actually BOUNCES itself... we didn't do that this go round but wish we did! Believe me, your legs or arms will get tired of bouncing ha)
• Swing (ours goes side to side and front to back, plays 4 different tunes, 4 or 5 different speeds, has a birdie mobile and mirror, and can be used on battery or plugged in-- might sound a little too fancy for a swing but its so worth it!)
• Wubbanub (this has made finding RG's passy so much easier and it doesn't fall out of her mouth onto the floor)
• Stroller (we used snap n go... Love it!)
• Prince lionheart wipe warmer
• Burp cloths aka cloth diapers
• Baby/infant tub
• J&J bedtime bath soap/lotion- it smells delish! (although we don't use the lotion anymore bc little miss has sensitive skin so our pedi suggested eucerine cream not lotion)
• Glow worm (Its fisher price-Soothe and Glow Seahorse... its comes in pink and blue)
• Recieving blankets (the hospital ones are still my fave!)
• Wash cloths
• Towels
• Bottles (We have Dr. Brown and Playtex... RG could care less which ones we use)
• Variety of passies (the "soothies" from the hospital were RG's fav)
• Play mat
• Sound machine (plays white noise, ocean, stream, etc)
• Sleep sheep
• Books
• Batteries. lots of them ha!

Diaper bag:

• Bottles (clean ones ha!)
• Bottled water (one for mixing with formula and one for me)
• Snacks for mommy
• Formula container
• Passy wipes (the First Steps brand smell soo good!)
• Extra passies (you wouldn't believe how often we forgot or lost her passy in transit somewhere... that is until the wubbanub-- then it was just if we forgot it)
• Nursing cover (LOOVE mine Bebe au Lait... worth every penny!)
• Diapers
• Wipes
• Changing pad
• Change of clothes

Mom:

• Breast pads (omg... you think you don't need them until you leak in public... AWKARD! ha)
• Pads
• Peri bottle
• Nursing cover
• Breastmilk Storage containers
• Breast pump (again, you might think not a necessity but wait till you are so full you are in paaain ha! I waited until after I had RG to purchase. We purchased the single Medela pump - originally I wanted the double pump but 300 dollars. um no. and I haven't looked back)
• Nursing tanks!! (got a couple from wally world- paired with a cardigan and wha-lah! perfect outfit :) )
• Large(r) underwear (didn't want to reuin my "good" ones and I wanted something just a little looser- I loved just cheap black ones from wally world or target) (& I loved the mesh ones the hospital gave you!)
• comfie pants!! (gauchos, sweats, and my fav- the crushed velvet type running suits from old navy or somewhere like that... they were a little more dressy than just sweats)

all of the italic items were things that were LIFE SAVERS :) 

hope this helped some?? :) if you have questions on items I listed or have any other questions feel free to ask and I'll be happy to answer as best I can.  

and because no post is a good post without a picture :)

I really don't know what we could do without RG's bouncy seat... she sleeps there every night and for every nap! 

*these are my own personal opinions and I was in no way compensated for any of the items listed above*

Hospital Bag Help...in a hurry!

well the time has come... you know, we are now TWO WEEKS AWAY from our due date and I have still yet to pack my hospital bag (you're probably not surprised at this point ha!)!  I will not be this last minute with my next child (or at least I say that now ha).  Anyways, here is where I need your help! I know that a lot of you have probably already done a post on this or know someone who has but I NEED HELP ya'll!! haha I have a list with the necessities but what else should I pack?  If you or someone you know has already done this post will you leave me a comment with the link? If not-- what did you bring?
Any and all advice is welcome (just please don't judge me for being so last minute ha!)

love my weekender bag I got for christmas... cant wait to pack it up!!

Hope you all have a great weekend! This weekend is hub's 10 year High School Reunion so we have been busy busy and having fun.
Thanks again with your help with this post!!

last minute chaos!

Thank you all for bearing with me as I am not able to blog everyday and life is crazy! (not to mention we don't have internet at our place as of yet)...Just to warn you this is a wordy post about my ups and downs as of lately...


My mom has been in town for about the last week and we have had a BLAST!! We did lots of eating, shopping, working on the nursery/house, and she was even able to come to a doc apt with me on Monday for my 37 week check up (which I have yet to blog... oh my! so sorry! I'll get to work on that!).  I thank her and applaud her (and my hubby too) for putting up with my more-than-normal emotional/cranky self. The smallest thing/comment/ or advice can set me completely off... I seem to be a lot moodier as the time draws near and I TOTALLY blame the hormones this time and the stress of all things to come.  Lets not forget that I am absolutely, completely, head-over-heels excited to meet our baby girl and no matter what I am so so happy that she is nearly here!! :) (no rush, Raleigh Grace!)


Last week I FINALLY decided to order RG's bedding and stroller.  When I went to order the stroller that goes with her car seat I found that literally EVERY site I looked at it was out of stock! I was getting really frustrated and then when I went to one site (I don't remember which one) it listed that my stroller was cancelled by the manufacturer! Whaaa?! It matches the car seat that I already have! I still figured I would contact Graco and try to see if maybe, just maybe, they were redesigning and I would be able to grab a "new" one sometime soon. Moving on for the time being, putting the stroller on the semi-back burner...

the stroller I wanted... RIP :( ha

Bedding-- Considering I am now 37 weeks I guess NOW would be a good time to order the bedding... I have been stalking it online for weeks months debating whether or not I wanted this one or that and if it was really what I wanted for the price (it was a little more than I wanted to spend realistically...).
So ultimately I bite the bullet and say, lets go! I click on the crib bedding I want only to find that the one I finally decided on was on BACK ORDER!!!!!!!!!!! {insert pregnant lady screaming with anger almost forcing herself into labor- okay maybe not that intense but I was mad mad mad to say the least!-- even though this was my fault and could have been avoided if I wasn't so indecisive... blah blah blah.) I immediately pick up the phone to find out when this item on back order would in fact be available and if I need to again try to pick a different bedding.  Grr.  The people at Restoration Hardware were soo nice and told me that really the set was not on back order, only the crib skirt- and that it should arrive early October (um, I'm due Oct. 8th...).  I hang up with her frustrated that unfortunately I think that is pushing it a LITTLE too close.  I start thinking... and then I call them back just to see if I get a different answer and if maybe they can work a miracle for me there are any other options.  When I get them on the phone I have a bright idea and ask them if I can get all of the items except for the skirt now and just have them send the skirt when it is available... luckily, the lady I spoke with was super helpful and agreed! Wahoo- she also told me that I should expect the skirt late September (which if you ask me is now but definitely better than October ha!)  I also had created a baby registry there so I was able to get 10% off of  my order :) yay! That sort of made it worth the hassle. Bedding Ordered- CHECK! :) (pics from Restoration Hardware)

Long story short-- the bedding came TODAY and I LOVE it!! It is sooo beautiful and I am so happy I went with it rather than the others! :) (more on that in another post :) )
& I got an email today that the skirt should ship on the 23rd which means maybe I will have it next week! yes, yes, yes!! 


And back to the stroller dilemma... my mom and I made a trip to Buy Buy Baby to look at all things baby and decided to ask the girl working there about my issue.  She told me that she wasn't sure but she would find out for me (if the stroller was discontinued for good or if it had been recalled and was coming back or what?).  She came back a few minutes later with some not so good news-- Graco had discontinued the stroller in the pattern I wanted and it was gone for good.  Basically speaking, if I still wanted it I would have to find a used on on ebay or craigslist or somewhere like that. UGH!  So now, what to do? Do I take my car seat back and start completely over with a new product so  I can have the matching stroller? Or keep the car seat I have and just buy a plain stroller frame (that is much cheaper than the other stroller) that will work with the infant carrier (basically until RG is a year old) and then buy whatever stroller I feel like since I will also be buying a toddler car seat at that point. Wheph- lots to think about and no, I did not make a decision that night ha!  I ended up coming home, thinking about it for a few days, realizing how much I loved my car seat, not wanting to change things up completely.  I emailed Graco asking about my stroller and they told me that they would be coming out with a new stroller in my pattern next year (um does that mean January or a year from now? I still don't know).  So I figure if in a year I still want that pattern I can get it then but for now we will just be using the light weight infant frame and I'm sure it will be perfect. 

Raleigh Grace's car seat :)

frame

frame in use (not the infant carrier we have or want)

I have now been trying to decide on a sleeping place for our sweet girl in our room until she moves to the crib in her room... I had planned on using a beautiful wood cradle that my uncle made me when I was a tot but with the move it is in storage and I figured it might just be easier to use a "pack-n-play" that has a changing table, place to keep diapers and wipes, and a bassinet.  I have narrowed my search down to about 3 different ones.  Originally, I had picked out the one that matches my car seat but I have come to realize there might be some out there that have more of the functions that I am looking for (ex: an actual infant sleeper seat instead of just the "bassinet" which in the pack-n-plays tends to mean the mattress is just moved higher up in the bed so  you don't have to reach down as far.)
Check out some of the options:

this one has a rocking infant seat where baby can sleep and is also removable (on left), a changing table (right) and a diaper/wipe compartment (far right) I'm "eh" about the pattern but the colors are gender neutral and it would match our brown/blue master bedroom where it would be most in the beginining.

very similar to the above.  the infant sleeper does not rock on this one and isn't removed and placed somewhere else as easily (if  at all...  I can't remember off the top of my head right now)

the pattern I LOVE and that matches my car seat-- it has the changing table but no infant seat.  It has the "bassinet" feature I was explaining which basically means the mattress is raised from the original position for easier access.

So there you have it... I still do not know what to do and I need to make up my mind pretty soon considering Little Miss could make her debut any. day. now. gasp! :) I'm 37 weeks 5 days... that's almost  38 ya'll!!! :)

What I'm LOVIN Wednesday!!

Its time to link up with Jamie from This Kind of Love for What I'm loving Wednesday!

• Patsy Brown! She took our Maternity Pics last week and I could NOT be any more thrilled with the way they turned out! Not only is she super talented she is the sweetest, nicest and most fun person to work with!! We are now lifelong friends :) (oh and she travels if you are looking for a photographer!)

•  That I finally ordered my Erin Condren Life Planner (with a personalized picture on the cover), and two matching notepads, with my plumdistrict coupon yesterday... now, just to wait until it gets here! :) I also ordered these cute cards... total cost for the cards, notepads AND the Life Planner was under $55 dollars which is GREAT considering the planner itself was originally $50!

• That I won a couple of great items from Izzy B Designs auction on facebook Monday night... Raleigh Grace is going to be looking so cute in her new items :) 

from Three Monkey's Unique -- it is a coming home set and all 3 pieces with be monogrammed with Raleigh Grace's initials :)

from Frills, Fluff and Stuff

also from Frills, Fluff and Stuff

 cant wait to get all of these new things!!

• That today is Wednesday! That means only 3 or 4 more days until my hubby is home for good!! :)

can't wait to have this goofball back in my life!

• That our house back in Texas "might" be getting rented this month ... please say a little prayer that it will all work out!!! I miss our house but having someone else to pay the mortgage sure would be nice!

wouldn't this be nice  right about now!?!

• That my little sister is starting HIGH SCHOOL tomorrow!! ... in a brand new school, brand new state-- they just moved to Mississippi from TX... please say a prayer for her too! I can NOT believe that she is so old:'( {tear}

at our wedding when she gave us our gift and did her toast :)

• This adorable little necklace that doubles as a teether for babies! 

only $20 and 20% goes to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation!

also only $20!

• That we have 10 weeks or less until we get to meet our little doll! Wahoo for being in my 31st week!

• That God ALWAYS provides!! {Amen!?}

Source: be-the-change.tumblr.com via Flaming on Pinterest

stormy, cool, productive day/ weekend wrap-up!

so this morning K & I woke up to some nice soft rain and distant thunder... it was great!  It is so nice to actually enjoy a storm without the fear of being blown away in a terrible tornado!  We enjoyed it awhile and slept in some more.  When we finally got up we decided it was a great day to go to ihop.  well apparently so did everyone else! ha there was a long line so we made a change of pace and took it to Palio's pizza.  Check out this awesome soda machine they had!  and these are just the "coke" products... they had at least 20 other drinks to chose from as well. pure genius!

After lunch, I had wanted to go try and find the car seat that we have picked out (i think) for sweet baby.  {side note- k worked last night and i spent my ennnntire night online buliding and researching things for our registry... needless to say I'm still not finished but we have a great start.  i hope its "ok" to have a registry at 3 locations?} so anyways, we go to wal-mart **bc K said he thought he had seen it there before** do what? has he been looking at car seats? oh yes, he confirmed that he had "browsed the isles" of the baby things before-- melts my heart. gasp.  (sometimes I never hear about such things if they don't randomly come up-- he doesn't offer up small details of his day from time to time. ) So we head over and they didn't have it. in fact they only had 2 infant car seats. major fail on their part.  so we do some grocery shopping and head home.  

At this point it had been raining on and off all morning but nothing major.  well we get home unload groceries and i attempt to pick up/clean up our house.  big success in our bathroom- I wish I would have taken a before and after pic! Before- you couldn't see in the mirror, or get to the counter, clothes on floor, and if you dared to touch anything under the sink an avalanche would have occurred.  all problems solved and even hung the BEAUTIFUL embroidered towels that my sweet freshman year roommate sent us for our wedding present! It looks great now!  I also washed about 3 loads of laundry and did our sheets! YAY! I just love the smell of fresh sheets and I am really bad about washing them every week.  The bedroom has been picked up, the clothes put away and most of the house vacuumed.  The kitchen is clean, dishes loaded in the dish washer and the living room is also picked up.  WHEPH! SOOO... do you think I am getting my energy back? Well, I was still exhausted but I must say yes! At least some of it! :) K, being the amazing hubby he always is, made us a yummy dinner and as we were eating we started to hear the thunder louder and some loud noises on the windows... look at what we found on the front porch. Oh! and did I mention it is 50 degrees and that I woke up with my ear stopped up? hopefully this too will pass sooooon! It seems like its a nice stormy fall day!

hail, no!

 ANNNND let me tell you... I am PUMPED that we only have 4 weeks left of school!!!!!!!!!!!!! YEEES!! I am so so so so so happy about that! Love those kids, but I am ready for my vacation! :)