Momfessions Part 2: Confessions From A Toddler Mom

Well, this post has been on my mind since I wrote Confessions Of A New Mom back when baby G was a newborn. Since I wrote that post I’ve had a note in my phone of an ongoing list of hilarious confessions about motherhood that I knew I’d share with you one day. Being a mom you collect tons of these stories. You know, the slightly gross, slightly embarrassing, super ridiculous mom stories (we’ve all got them). Only few share them, but trust me we ALL have them. I appreciate the Stepford type mother, keeping everything clean, super organized, zero laundry in the hamper at all times, hair always curled mom (they only exist on TV and Instagram) but trust me they are not a real creature. News flash, everyone’s baby poops… every toddler chucks their food across the room at one point or another. Every toddler has a temper tantrum (some just more than others). So if you’re trying to pretend that none of that happens and try super hard to play perfect in the land of motherhood, you’ll probably hate this post so just go ahead and click the little x in the top right corner of your screen (bye-bye). But, if you’re a mom who loves to laugh at the silly, messy, chaos that sometimes comes with motherhood, then welcome! You’re very much welcome here and you’re my kind of mama! We are the transparent ones, the ones who try their very best but still find the grace to know that even when you’re doing your best there will still be messes, accidents and you might even be disappointed with yourself at times. It’s time for us to laugh together mamas, and yes it’s okay, you’re laughing with me not at me while you read these momfessions (they’re pretty silly). Comment below if you’d like to join in with the fun and share some mommy confession of your own!

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10 Confessions From A Toddler Mom:

1. I put diaper cream on Giulian’s butt (a clean butt), then I got distracted ate lunch without washing my hands ... and yes I ate with my hands. GAG!

2. Getting the baby ready for a bath I flung poop across the room. How you ask? Well, I pulled his diaper off assuming that it was only pee, and trying to be quick to get him into the bathtub, so I didn't get peed on, I flung the diaper across the room to the trashcan and poop flung onto the floor. Lesson: never ever assume it’s only pee in the diaper.

3. Sometimes I used to put American Idol on while I was feeding the baby dinner- he liked it too.

4. I gave up on making my own baby food (purees) because I got offended that he didn't like my cooking.

5. One night Nick and I gave Giulian Tylenol, which we don’t like to do, because we thought he must be in serious pain. Come to find out he just had a poop in his pants and wanted changed. Oops

6. I feel guilty that I let my baby watch TV. This comparison game creeps in sometimes, because I have one friend who’s kid literally hasn’t watched any TV. 

7. I have mom guilt for not having more mom guilt. Lol okay I know this probably sounds crazy or doesn’t make sense, but sometimes I feel like “shouldn’t I feel more guilty for the way I parent?” Does feeling guilty mean you care? As if it means you don’t care if you don’t have guilt? That’s a bunch of crap, but there seems to be some obsession with mom guilt in our community...

8. We put the Snuza on Giulian until he was about 14 months old and it was hard for us to stop. What’s a Snuza? Basically a monitor that lets you know your baby is breathing. We knew he was too old when he could rip it right off. #WorriedParents

9. I’m scared to have another baby because I feel like Giulian will feel left out or unloved. I prefer the funny momfessions, but this is something I think about often. Especially since Nick is already ready for another baby.

10. I’m more of a toddler mom than a newborn/baby mom and I’m totally okay with it. Tons of moms love newborns more than toddlers, I’m probably the opposite, I think it’s way more fun when we can laugh, chase each other around the house, play and be goofy together. Once Giulian hit 10 months I’d say things started to get way more fun! I’m loving it.

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Baby G 15 Month Update

Abbeigh Blake Photography

Y’all, my baby is a toddler now (cry face), how did that happen?! When parents say “enjoy it, it goes by so fast”, they’re not kidding. This is by far my favorite age so far. Each age is super special in its own way, but I am obsessed with his fun, adventurous personality that has been coming out in the last few months. He’s always been so cute and silly, but now he will seriously make me belly laugh and he is such an enormous joy to Nick and I. Some moms say they love the infant stage more than the toddler stage, but I’m the opposite! I really am enjoying this stage in Giulian’s life, and honestly it makes me super sad to think I won’t have “toddler Giulian” forever. I love chasing him around the house, tickling him, watching him giggle, reading him books, teaching him, and of course snuggling him. Oh my goodness, not to mention he knows how to kiss now!!!! Seriously it’s the best. He makes a cute kissing noise, puckers up and leans in. I can’t tell you how long I’ve been trying to get him to give me kisses haha and trust me I take them every chance I get. He also knows how to blow kisses, is it a wonder why this is my fave age?! Too cute!

HEIGHT & WEIGHT?

I need to update his height after our appointment next week. Weight: 24+ LBS

HEAD CIRCUMFERENCE?

Waiting on dr. apt.

WHAT SIZE CLOTHING?

Most of Giulian’s clothes are either 12 or 18 months. The shirt in the photos below are 18 month and the pants are 12 month.

SPECIAL OUTINGS OR EVENTS?

We had our family vacation to Maryland! He loved the beach and we had such a blast, you can read more about that in this post. My mom and I also took him to the Denver Aquarium for the first time (he loved it), we bought a season pass so it’ll be old news soon, but he was amazed by it the first time! I’d say other than those events it’s been about the same around here for the last few months :).

MILESTONES?

Since his one year old update, he is now walking! Well, now he’s running haha so a lot has changed in the last few months. He took his first steps about 10 days after turning one! On 6-28-2018 Giulian took his first steps from my mother in law to a toy he wanted to play with! It was so exciting! A few weeks after that he was walking and crawling was old news. Fast forward a few months and Giulian is running! He's so fast and so dang cute when he runs around.

FAVORITE FOODS?

Our little guy is similar to Nick in the fact that if he could only eat meat and cheese he’d be pretty happy. He loves chicken, chicken/apple sausages, cheese, yogurt, all berries, avocado, peaches, mango, grapes, peas (puree), lentil pasta (with pesto or marinara), toast with either butter or pesto/avocado, cottage cheese, fig bars, sweet potato, bakes potato, eggs (sometimes), cauliflower crust pizza, apple sauce, etc. I’m sure I’m forgetting something. He’s not too picky of an eater but I will say he gets in moods where he’ll eat everything and is amazing and other times he will throw everything on the ground. It’s pretty hit or miss with G man.

Abbeigh Blake Photography

What Does He Love?

He loves being around family, when people come to see him he gets so excited! His cousins are the best thing on earth and he just squeels with excitement when he sees them. He still loves walks with mom and dad, especially if it includes stopping by the park to play on the playground. He loves outings, we have a Zoo membership and the Denver Aquarium membership. He loves going on little adventures with us. He loves when we run around the living room, screaming, tickling him and “getting him”. He loves kicking balls, okay and I’m sure every parent thinks their kid is going to be a star at something but we for real think our kid is gonna be a soccer star! He’s legit amazing at eye foot coordination, better than me! He loves sitting in our lap and reading a book, he gets to turn the pages of course though. He loves watching Moana, Trolls, Lion King, The Wiggles and his “teach baby to talk” program. And not gonna lie, I love watching Moana as much as he does! He loves music and when me, him and daddy dance to fun music around the house (especially disco).

What Does He Dislike?

Giulian gets so mad if we try and put him in his stroller when he just wants to run around. He is starting to throw little temper tantrums when we take something from him, tell him no, or try to do something he dislikes. He hates the boogie sucker (of course).

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I want to give a special thank you to Abbeigh from Abbeigh Blake Photography for taking these amazing family phtots! They came out so perfect and you were such a joy to shoot with, thank you so much!

If you are in the Denver area and are looking for a photographer, Abbeigh is your girl! Especially if you have kids because she was unbelievable at getting Giulian to give her genuine smiles. When we did our family photos, Giulian was teething and needed a nap, and she still managed to get him to be super happy and she got amazing photos. Basically, she’s super woman!

Abbeigh Blake Photography

Abbeigh Blake Photography

Abbeigh Blake Photography

Abbeigh Blake Photography

Abbeigh Blake Photography

Abbeigh Blake Photography

Abbeigh Blake Photography

The Perfect Gift For A New Mama: Incredibundles Diaper Subscription

Mamas, we all know diapers are such a big part of our life now. They are with us all the time, wherever we go, and God forbid we forget one and a “blowout” occurs (expecting mothers, get ready). I read a post that said the average baby will go through 2,500 - 3,000 diapers in the first year! Yes, that means you’ll be changing diapers about 8 times a day, and at the cost of diapers…oh my goodness try not to have a panic attack. In my opinion the best gifts you can give new parents is stuff that they’ll actually need, and of course diapers and wipes are always at the top of that list. You’ll never meet a baby who doesn’t poop right?!

I’m so excited to have partnered with IncrediBundles to bring you this post! I wish I had known about IncrediBundles and the amazing diaper and wipe subscription packages that they offer before I had Giulian. It is seriously brilliant and the best gift idea I’ve ever heard of for new parents. They offer diaper or wipe subscription packages. You can purchase a 3, 6, 9 or 12 month subscription for yourself or a friend. One of my best friends is pregnant and I cannot wait to get this subscription for her, it’ll be such a blessing to her and her family! When you have a newborn baby, there is nothing worse than realizing you’re out of diapers or wipes and having to frantically rush to the store with a new baby. IncrediBundles will help prevent that stress for new parents.. What a relief!

GIVEAWAY!!

Head over to my Instagram account for your chance to WIN a 3 month diaper subscription!! Mamas, 3 months of free diapers, don’t miss the chance to win!

How IncrediBundles Works:

What I love about IncrediBundles is that they’ve made it super simple for you or your friend (whoever you gifted it to) to register and order. It’s three simple steps.

Step 1: Choose the subscription that is a fit for you.

I love that they offer different length options, they have 3, 6, 9 or one year diaper subscriptions. It allows you to pick the gift that best fits your budget and what you think the mom or dad needs most. Honestly though, any subscription you choose is such a wonderful gift. Trust me, as a mommy, gifted diapers is always a pleasant surprise.

Step 2: They send an announcement package.

This is one of my favorite parts to the IncrediBundles service, they send an adorable package that announces your gift! You can see the package in the photos, baby G loved it clearly (look at that big smile). It comes with a plush teddy bear that is holding a certificate announcing your gift. The ABC box that it comes in is one that parents can keep and re use in their child’s room for storage or toys, it’s a high quality box. The announcement package is such a nice touch to make your gift that much greater. They could have simply sent out an email letting your friend know about what you’ve gifted them, but instead the welcome package makes it even more special and unforgettable. You are given the option to send this package directly to your friend, or you can get it shipped to you so that you can gift it to them in person.

Step 3: Your friend redeems their subscription.

This is the part that makes it truly unique and the perfect gift, your friend gets to choose everything. They get to pick which brand of diapers they’d prefer and what size they need, then it’s delivered right to their door. The online redemption process is super simple, all they do is create an account and then enter their code that was in the announcement package. They then get to choose what they need and it’ll be mailed right to them. The thing about parents is we all have our own opinions on what brands are the best, so it’s great that they’ll get to choose what is the best fit for their baby. Also, they don’t have to choose their entire subscription all at once, they can change the brand and size they need. I love this feature because each baby is different and might be a better fit with a different brand and this allows you to switch it up if needed.

Seriously y’all, I am obsessed with this service. Since I am a mom now, I understand how much of a blessing it is to be gifted diapers. When my family shows up at our house with a box of diapers just because, it’s a huge blessing and takes one less chore off of my list and saves us a ton of money. Overall, it’s one of the most helpful things a person could do. So when I found out about this service and that you can gift diapers to your friends in this adorable way, I just thought it was a wonderful idea that I was so excited to share!

Don’t forget to head over to my Instagram account @according.to.d.blog to enter to win a 3 month diaper subscription. If you aren’t in need of it, let your expecting mama friends know about it, what a blessing it would be!

Baby G Is 1 + A Dino Themed Birthday Party

I just can't wrap my head around what a big boy we have.  Baby G turned one last week and we celebrated with a Dino themed birthday party! It was a hit! We felt so overwhelmed with the love and support that our family and friends showed us and our sweet little boy. It's hard to believe that it has already been a full year, the craziest year of my entire life.  This last month it has felt like Giulian  has gone from our little baby, to a toddler (that word makes me want to cry and just might give me baby fever . This is how "2 under 2" happens).  He is now pulling up on everything, standing on his own, walking with one of those toy things that babies can push around, and I just know his first steps are around the corner. Every week that passes I see him get smarter, stronger and his little personality shines through more and more. 

When deciding what kind of party to have  I threw out the idea of nautical and other Pinterest like party themes,  but Nick  did not seem too excited about it. Then when I said well what about a dinosaur themed birthday, his eyes lit up like a kid and he was sold.  Nick loved dinosaurs when he was little and so the thought of his son having a Dino themed birthday was perfect.  One of the first things that I saw when planning the birthday was the cheesy mommysaurous, daddysaurous and babysaurous tee shirts.  My inner dork  got way too excited and I knew we had to have that was overpriced Dino shirts. We got dino napkins, tablecloths and a RAWR banner, but the thing that took the Dino theme to the top was the cake. We worked with Renee with Astonishing Cakes and I honestly don't even know where to begin, I could rave about her work forever!! She designed a two tier cake, a smash cake and dino shaped cake pops! When you see the photos below you'll be so impressed, this woman is the true cake boss. And to top it off, the cake and cake pops were absolutely delicious. You could tell it was homemade filling and cake, it was so fluffy and moist. If you live in the Denver area, I would totally recommend Astonishing Cakes for any cake needs, she does wedding cakes, birthdays, graduations, and just about every other celebration. Her eye for detail really makes the event so special. Seeing those dino cakes just melted me, it added so much to our baby's first birthday party and I will never ever forget it.  Oh and I have to mention that she made his name out of fondant and that was such a wonderful surprise! 

If you're planning a dino party for your little one, I hope the photos below give you a bit of inspiration! Also, there is a ton of cute ideas on Pinterest (of course). 

Okay, time for a one year old update! I feel like between 9 months until now he has totally changed! It all happened at lightning speed and I can't seem to slow it down. Like I said before, he feels like a toddler now. When I was writing baby G's 9 month update he was JUST learning to crawl, now he has the fastest crawl I've ever seen (especially when he's chasing the kitties) and he is super close to taking his first steps. 

HEIGHT & WEIGHT?

21 lbs (45th percentile) and 30 1/4 inches (67th percentile)

HEAD CIRCUMFERENCE?

18 1/4 inches (59th percentile)

WHAT SIZE CLOTHING?

12-18 month 

SPECIAL OUTINGS OR EVENTS?

We went to Glenwood Springs for a little getaway and we took G to the Hot Springs pool. We had such a blast!

MILESTONES?

Like I said before, he is about to take his first steps. He can now stand on his own and walks around while pushing his Lightning McQueen car. He waves to people all the time, says Mama, Dada, hi Dada, and hi (but mostly hi Dada).

Favorite Foods?

He loves fruit, blackberries and blueberries are his favorite. He loves banana, meat (he's had red meat and chicken and loved both). Pasta, of course. Cottage cheese, avocado, eggs, sweet potatoes, potatoes... I'm sure I'm forgetting a ton of foods he likes, but at this point we feed him a lot of what we are eating and he is loving it. 

A special thank you to Astonishing Cakes for collaborating and making our baby's birthday party so special. 

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How Being A Mother Has Made Me A Better Person

Giulian is 11 months old and when they say having kids changes everything, they really aren't kidding. I often feel like people have a negative view on that statement though, like it changes your life in a bad way. Which I will admit, there are some things I do miss about my pre-baby life, but over-all (looking at the big picture), I think having Giulian has changed my life for the better. I truly feel like through being tested over the last 11 months, with it being the hardest time in my life thus-far, I have grown a ton from it and have become a better woman in return. When you become a parent, I believe you are gifted with this strong desire to be better, the best version of yourself. The thought of being a bad example for baby G stresses me out so bad. I want him to be proud of his parents, I want him to look at his mommy and say he's learned so much from me because of the woman that I am. I'm so driven to be better for that sweet little boy. 

 Being a stay at home mom means that while he is growing up he will spend more time with me than any other human on the planet.  And since you are who you hang around most, I realize that Giulian is going to pick up a lot of my traits, habits, characteristics, both the good and the bad.  This simple fact is what drives me to be better, because I know that he is like a little sponge, absorbing every little thing that I do and say. Being a mom is the hardest thing I've ever done in my life, but it's also already been the most rewarding thing. He brings Nick and I so much joy, he forces us to stay strong when life gets tough, he reminds us to laugh every single day, and he reminds us what is truly important in life- family. 

I have been making a list over the last few months of ways I think motherhood has made me a better woman and I thought it'd be fun to share it with y'all! I'm sure there are things that I have spaced and didn't put on the list, so if you can think of more ways motherhood makes you better please comment below, I'd love to hear. 

1. Stronger Morning Routine

When you have an "alarm clock" that you cannot turn off, you are forced to make waking up super early part of your life. Giulian is quite the early bird, as I'm sure most babies are. If I sleep in until 6:30am, I wake up excited because I "slept in". Oh how perspectives change... Before Baby G, 8:00 seemed like a great time to wake up and start my day, I thought that was waking up early. Oh gosh, I just have to laugh at my pre-baby self. Well, when life gives you lemons you make lemonade right? (the lemons are waking up at 5 something most days haha). I've decided that it's not so bad to get a head start on the day. If I listen to my Bible app bright and early and then listen to a podcast while Giulian is eating breakfast then it's actually a perfect and productive way to start the day. Lately (since he can crawl now and is 100 times more difficult to watch) it hasn't been as easy to listen to things since Giulian doesn't peacefully sit in a baby swing anymore, but I'm still figuring out how to make my early mornings with him positive and productive. Not to mention enjoying that time with him, he is usually pretty sweet in the mornings.

2. Zero Time For Being Lazy

Okay, when I say zero I'm being extreme, no person is perfectly productive... but gosh it's nearly zero time. Having a baby makes you busy on a level you never knew existed. I think if the only thing on my plate was being a mom and a homemaker then I bet I'd find myself being a lot more "lazy" or flippant with my time, but those are just two of the like seven things on my plate so time is very important. There is another layer of this too, I want Giulian to see his parents as hard workers, I want him to see us valuing the time we have on this planet and not wasting it. I want to be an example for him that it's important to do what you say you will do, even when you don't feel like it. It all starts when he is young. Even though he's just a baby, I still believe he is learning more than we know. If mommy says she is going to go on a run, well mommy sure as heck better get her booty outside and hit the pavement. If mommy says she has x,y and z to get done this week, well I want to show Giulian that I will get it done. I never want the word lazy to be a word our kids could use to describe us. I'm grateful for him for giving me this drive. Before Giulian was born I could have been so much more productive and way more intentional with the time I had each day. I look back and think, seriously what on earth was I doing with my time? It makes me sick. But you know what, Giulian will never meet that version of his mommy. 

3. Habits

Being a mother makes you self reflect a lot. I think about my habits more now, the good habits and the bad. I know that Giulian will pick up on everything that I do and it makes me more aware of my habits. I have a stronger drive to master my good habits. Even before being a mother, mastering healthy/positive habits was a goal I had for myself; I've valued the importance of growing as a person for over a decade now. Reading, eating healthy, working out, doing personal development, etc. were all things I did before baby G, but now it all carries more weight, I take it all a lot more seriously now that I am influencing a little's life. I want to be an amazing example for him, making sure I stay consistent over time with my healthy habits and making sure I always do what I say I will do (which is a whole habit in itself). 

4. Better Body Image

Are there things I like less now about my body than before having Giulian? YES. My stretch marks and the saggy skin around my belly button are real life and things I'm not particularly crazy about. But to be honest, since becoming a mother overall I think about my body image less. I am less concerned with how I look all the time, I guess you could say I have more important things to worry about these days (like keeping my baby happy and healthy). I have almost no time to stand in front of the mirror and nitpick my body, I now throw an outfit on (maybe glance at it in the mirror) and run out the door. I still have a ways to go with being 100% comfortable in my own skin, but being a mom has made me more comfortable, confident and overall less insecure. Giving birth makes you realize how strong and powerful your mind and body is. I think being a mom, going through pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding and raising a child makes you appreciate your body in a whole new way, you're proud of it on a level you didn't know before. 

5. Better At Time Management

I've been forced to figure this out and I still have a lot more figuring it out to do. I have a lot on my plate and I wear many hats. I am a full time mom, I do the house chores (Nick does the kitty litter and takes the trash out and does the dishes maybe 5 times a year), I am training for a half-marathon, I run a blog (obviously the one you are reading), I started a media company and manage the social media accounts for two clients currently and am planning on taking on a few more clients, and on top of that of course I am a wife. I love all of the roles I play and being busy is a great thing. I love being busy and putting my head on the pillow at night knowing I did my best that day. But I must admit, trying to fit it all in without stressing has taken some getting used to. Nick and I agree that I will run in the mornings (we are flexible but this is usually what we do) after he goes to the gym. I count on Giulian taking two naps during the day so I can do my media management work, and at night when Giulian goes to sleep is typically when I work on my blog, finish up extra work, pick up the house, have sex (hey that's important!) and anything else I haven't gotten to throughout the day. My amazing mom helps me with the baby two days a week so I can work on everything which is such a blessing! But what I'm getting to is that I've had to play around with finding what works. It's great to be busy, and I do think you can be a mom and build a business, as long as you manage your time well. Almost every single moment of my day is working on one of those things listed above, not to mention reading the Bible, listening to podcasts to learn more about social media management, blogging, leadership, etc., and reading. Okay, of course I'm not perfect- when I am eating lunch or dinner while the baby is asleep I watch YouTube videos or American Idol, which is a nice little relaxing moment to unwind, but then after I'm done eating BOOM I'm back at it. I have a lot still to learn about managing my time and making the most of it, but I'm forced to get better and better in this area of my life thanks to becoming a mommy. 

Overall I just love being a mom and I'm beyond grateful for what it has done in my life. The joy that Giulian brings to Nick and I is unmeasurable. It's taken so much getting used to, lots of "omg what did I do to my life" thoughts I must admit, but once you learn to adjust (which I'm still learning) you start to realize what a beautiful thing motherhood is. It's by far one of the most challenging things I've ever done, but in life the things that are most challenging are the things that force you to grow the most. Motherhood has forced me to change in a lot of ways, and I'm starting to realize and appreciate the woman I'm becoming because of it. 

6 Ways To Create A Strong Community With Your Mommy Friends This Summer

With summer just around the corner, I've been thinking of things that would be a blast to do with Giulian. This is practically his first summer, since last year he was a newborn baby and couldn't do too much outside of pooping, crying, sleeping and staring. I was listening to a podcast recently with Jen Hatmaker (or maybe I was listening to her audio-book For The Love, I can't remember which audio it was from) and she was talking about the importance of community and how it is so simple and extremely important to create stronger relationships with your friends who are also parents. Her example was hosting a BBQ, simple. I was inspired in that moment to create a list in my phone of things I could do this summer to create a stronger sense of community with my mommy friends. I was inspired to make this list so that the intention was set, that way I was more likely to actually act on these things instead of letting summer fly by without making an effort in this area of my life. I love community, I love friendship, and I absolutely love laughing with my best friends while we are sipping on a crisp glass of pinot grigio (wine is my love language). Bonding with my besties is an integral part of my life and now that most of us have babies we have to be even more intentional to make sure we still create those memories, otherwise the busyness of motherhood will cause you to look up two months down the road only to realize you haven't seen your friends once. Here are 6 simple ways you can connect with your mommy friends this summer. I'm sure this list will spark more ideas for you of fun things you can do with your mommy friends this summer. 

Host a BBQ

Who doesn't love a summer barbecue? The moment I smell one I'm jealous I'm not attending. It's a great way to get the families together in a fairly simple and stress free way. 

Sign up for a race and train together

I am currently doing this with a few of my best friends and I'm loving it. It gives you another thing to bond over. The day of the race will be a blast, the Dads will be on baby duty while the mamas run. 

Schedule a regular moms lunch, moms night out, etc

This is easy to do and easy not to do, but it's worth the extra effort. A consistent mommy date is important to put on the calendar otherwise like I said before, time will keep flying by and before you know it months will have gone by without seeing your best mommy friends.

Schedule a family play date

My girlfriends and I have been scheduling baby play dates often and it's such a great time. I think it's good for the moms and good for the babies. No matter how old or how young, having your kids learn to be social is extremely important and these play dates are a great step. *Coffee is a must here.

Have a s'mores night

During the summer I look for any way to fit a s'mores in. Even if your friends don't enjoy the chocolatey treat, they can at least enjoy conversation by the fire. 

Attend a community event with your mommy friends and the kids

I recently did a post on 7 activities to do in Denver during the summer months, so if you live in the area this is a wonderful resource to help you find events to attend. If you are not located in Denver, google activities in your city and invite your friends to attend the events with you. It's a great way to try new things, get out of the house and spend time with your  fellow mommy friends.

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9 Month Baby Update

HEIGHT & WEIGHT?

18lb 8 oz (29th percentile) and 28 3/4 inches (67th percentile)

HEAD CIRCUMFERENCE?

17 3/4 inches (52nd percentile)

WHAT SIZE CLOTHING?

It varies depending on the brand and type of clothing, but he is around 9-12 months clothing. I just bought him some 18 month clothes for summer. 

SPECIAL OUTINGS OR EVENTS?

We took him to the pool! This was his second time in a pool, first time was in Mexico, but this was his first time at a rec-center. He loved it and splashed his little heart out.  We also took him to Red Rocks for the first time and walked around the amphitheater. 

MILESTONES?

He can crawl!!!! As of last week (right before he turned 9 months old) he started crawling. He has been trying for the last few weeks and finally found his stride. He is getting quick and I am frantically trying to order baby gates. My day is filled with making sure he doesn't crawl into trouble, baby proofing is on my agenda for the next few days. As I am typing this, I keep looking up every three words to make sure he isn't into something dangerous. He is a speedy little guy and in three seconds he can be across the room. 

He is starting solids, like real solids, not purees. He has been eating pureed baby food for the last few months, but now it is time for him to start learning how to eat "big boy" food. So far he has had sliced up blueberries, avocado, cottage cheese (small curd), and baby biscuits (the ones that dissolve quick). 

No more breast feeding. At about 8 months, I stopped breastfeeding. I woke up one day and said today is the day, and boom never looked back. The transition was super smooth, I think my supply was low so Giulian was ready to be done. 

WHAT DOES BABY LOVE?

His all time favorite is still walks. He loves walks in the stroller, walks in the baby carrier, walks in the hot or in the cold, he doesn't care as long as we are outside enjoying the day and wandering the neighborhood. It is also mommy's favorite too. He also loves going out and about, whether it be to visit friends or simply to run to costco, he loves going out on new adventures and seeing new people. He is such a good baby, when we take him to restaurants or out to coffee, he will typically just sit in his stroller and people watch. He's extremely chill and content. We even took him to happy hour the other night when it was slightly pushing bed time, and he was an angel. I feel so blessed that he is a social, fun baby. He's such a joy to spend time with. He also loves to laugh, which I'm sure most babies do, but when Nick and I chase him around the house (one of us holding him of course) he thinks it's hilarious. For a long while he loved watching his Italian Nursery Rhymes, but now that he can crawl he is less interested and wants to be on the floor wandering the house instead (which is a major change in mommy world). 

WHAT IS BABY'S ROUTINE?

Two naps typically, one around 9 or 10 and the second around 2 or 3 pm. His bedtime just got pushed back to 7pm. It was 6:30 but I want it to be later during the summer months, 7:30 is the goal for this summer so we can enjoy the warm summer evenings. I am going to get more strict about him eating 3 meals per day, the pediatrician recommended this at our 9 month check up. 

NICKNAMES?

Same as before... Bubby, Bubbs, Mr. Man, Triple G, Peanut. 

THOUGHTS ON THE PAST 2 MONTHS?

It's starting to hit me how quick the years with our sweet boy are going to fly by. It's hitting me that in only three short months I will have a one year old. I can't seem to fully wrap my head around that. I am trying to cherish each moment more, the cuddles, the sweet baby moments, and trying to remember that he won't be a baby forever. It makes me want to break all of the rules, like letting him sleep in my arms (even though it'd give a baby wise mama a panic attack), but you know what when he is old and won't cuddle me anymore, I think I'll wish I allowed myself a few more cuddle naps. He is getting more fun everyday. He's becoming so insanely smart and aware, I love watching his discover new things. My favorite is when he notices something new and he can't take his eyes off of it. It's so amazing to view the world through a baby's eyes. It's okay if time wanted to slow down just a little bit. 

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7 Month Baby Update

This is long overdue, I have not done a baby G update on the blog since he was 4 months old. Now he is 7 months old and so much has happened in the last 3 months! There are a few reasons I write these baby update posts, but the main reason is so that in the coming years I can look back at our little man and remember each stage. Sometimes motherhood is a blur and having these posts is somewhat like having a baby book, but a bit more in depth. It's so much fun for me already to look back at the baby updates I've done: newborn, 2 months and 4 months. It amazes me how quick babies grow and how everything changes in what feels like over night. My plan was to do a baby update every 2 months, but this last month flew by with Christmas and everything that comes with the holidays. The past 3 months have been our favorite so far with Giulian, so I'm excited to sit down and reflect on all that's happened. 

Height & Weight?

I only have his height and weight from his 6 month appointment: 16 lbs (20th percentile) and 27.5  inches long (84th percentile).

What Size Clothing?

Our big guy is in 9-12 month clothes! One year old clothes you guys, like how on earth?! He is growing so quick! He is mainly in such large sizes because of his length, he is a long baby. 

Special Outings or Events?

Baby's first Christmas! And Thanksgiving, but let's be honest baby's first Christmas is far more exciting. The holidays this year were so much more special with Giulian. On Christmas he got so spoiled, our friends and family blessed us and him with the sweetest baby gifts. Giulian absolutely loved the excitement of Christmas time. He loved being around family and friends more than usual, he loved looking at the Christmas tree and decor around our house, and he even got excited to open presents (the wrapping paper was the most exciting part of course). Seeing Giulian get excited over it all brought a new child like excitement to me over Christmas. Everyone keeps saying, "just wait it will keep getting better and better each year" which is making me so eager for next Christmas. 

Milestones?

The last 3 months have been filled with growth and milestones for Giulian. In my last baby update around month 4, he had rolled from his  tummy to his back a few times. Now Giulian is a rolling machine! On November 20th he rolled from his back to his tummy for the first time. On December 4th he started sitting up on his own (with a few falls and face-plants). December 27th he said MaMa for the first time and just a week or so later he started saying DaDa! I'm not sure he knows what it means, but he can repeat after us when we tell him to say it. He sleeps in his crib now, on him tummy mostly. Before, we had him in a rock and play at night and he seemed to like it, but of course we eventually had to transfer him into his crib (or as I call it his big boy bed) because he was getting too big for the rock and play. 

He has started eating solids (purees). His first food was rice cereal which he had around 4 months old. The second food he tried was avocado, which he liked a lot until he recently has decided it isn't his favorite. He has also tried banana, butternut squash, frozen blueberries, pear, carrots, sweet potato and this week he will be trying apples and green beans for the first time. I'm anticipating some gagging when he tries the green beans, but who knows maybe he will love it. 

What Does Baby Love?

He is such a happy little guy! He loves so much of life, it'll be hard to list it all. His absolute favorite things are: going on walks with mom (even if we have to bundle up to brave the cold), going on adventures and outings (even if it's just the mall), seeing new people, when Mom and Dad tickle him or blow on his tummy, when we chase each other around the house saying "don't get the baby" (he laughs a ton at this and gets so excited), playing in his saucer, he loves when the kitties come in the room, he adores his cousins and loves when Grandma picks him up on Mondays and Wednesdays to go play, he loves when people come to visit (especially all of his Grandparents), he loves bath time in the sink and playing with his rubber duck during bath time, he loves reading a book before bed (although he mainly just wants to eat the book), he still loves to eat his toes (but he is definitely munching on them less than before). He has tried some different foods and so far he loves sweet potato, carrots, banana, butternut squash, frozen blueberries (he chews on in this mesh baby thing), and pear. He is still loving to blow food in mom's face while I try to feed him, he thinks it is hilarious (it is pretty funny). He enjoys rolling around on the floor and playing with all of his new toys from Christmas. 

What Is Baby's Routine?

Giulian's daily routine is wake up (usually somewhere around 6:30 unless I am lucky and he sleeps later or if I am unlucky and he wakes up earlier) drink a bottle, play for a while and then eat some baby food (I offer him 4oz but he doesn't always eat it all). After that it's nap time. His naps are usually only 45 minutes but sometimes he randomly will sleep for an hour and a half (we call it a double nap haha). Then a bottle, we play for a while, if it's warm enough we will go on a walk. Then he will have another meal of baby food. This past week is the first week that he has had baby food 2 to 3 times a day and I'd say it's going well. He will take 2 to 3 naps a day. We try to have him in the routine of wake,eat,play,sleep but of course, as everything in parenthood, it doesn't always go exactly as planned, but that is our goal. Giulian goes to bed around 6 or 6:30 unless he was at Grandma's house, then he goes down around 7. When I get him ready for bed I will nurse him, bathe him (not every night), read him a book and then it's bedtime. 

He is still waking up 2 (on an amazing night) to 3 times a night to eat. I'm not totally ready to night ween him but in the next few months we might decide to do that. We are introducing new foods, so there has been a lot of sleepless nights for us because sometimes new foods don't always agree with his tummy, that's just part of it I guess. I am really hoping that when I write my next baby update I can say that he sleeps through the night, but at the same time I am just trying to embrace and enjoy this season of my life with baby Giulian. 

Nicknames?

Mr. Man and Bubbs are our top nicknames at the moment. We also call him Triple G (Giuliano Georgio Greco ... GGG). 

Thoughts On The Past 3 Months?

My mother-in-law kept telling us that 6 months to 18 months is the best, and I really think she is right! The past few months with Giulian have been such a blast. I love watching his little personality start to show more, I love his sense of humor  and his giggles. He is such a sweet baby boy and every day that goes by I am enjoying motherhood more and more (not saying there aren't rough days lol). 

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Baby's First Year: The Top Three Tips For Infant Oral Health

When I was asked a few weeks ago what I knew about infant oral care, the answer was almost nothing. As a new mom that answer was extremely concerning to me. With how important oral care is, I was shocked that I knew almost nothing on how to take care of Giulian's oral health in his first year of life. You would think that'd be Mommy 101 right?! So, when I was approached with the opportunity to work with Delta Dental of Colorado Foundation's Cavities Get Around Campaign to help spread awareness on infant oral care and to help eradicate childhood tooth decay, I saw that as the perfect opportunity for myself to learn all that I need to know to make sure Giulian has a good start to his oral health. 

Giulian is currently teething, so I am learning all of this just in time. He is just under five months old and already in the process of getting his first pearly white. The Cavities Get Around Campaign has come up with the "Big Three", three simple steps we can take as parents to make sure that our little ones are set up for the future when it comes to their oral health. I'm so grateful I am learning all of this now so that I can apply it all. They're such simple things, but it can make a huge difference. Making that little extra effort on our part will save us a ton of stress and a ton of dentist bills in the future. 

The Big Three Of Infant Oral Care

1. DRINK LESS JUICE

This is something I was aware of, juice is sugar and sugar rots teeth. But what I didn't realize was that this can affect your teeth later in life. The sugar in juice or any other sugary beverage just sits on teeth and eats through the enamel, which then causes cavities. Last time I went to the dentist I had a few cavities, and the first thing they asked me was if I was drinking sugary drinks like soda or lattes throughout the day and not brushing right after. In fact I was, I would brush my teeth in the morning and at night before bed, but during the day when I would be sipping on my vanilla latte, that was playing part in creating those cavities. So, this tip is a great one for any person from infant to old age.

Drinking only water at bedtime can help a ton with this. Many parents will let their little ones fall asleep with a juice, milk or formula bottle, not realizing that it can cause baby bottle tooth decay. Instead, offer water as a nighttime drink. As a parent, you create the child's routine, so you can help them get used to having water at bed instead of a sugary drink. I'm so glad I am thinking about this now, especially because I currently put Giulian to bed right after nursing him or after a formula bottle. Now I can switch up his routine a bit, make sure to wipe down his gums or brush his sweet little baby teeth and then put him to bed. 

2. DRINK MORE WATER

Of course there is sugar in things we eat too, not just what we drink, so drinking a lot of water is helpful because it will wash the sugar off of the teeth. Choosing water over other beverages is not only great for our little one's oral health, but it's great for their overall health. The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that infants do not drink juice at all in their first year of life. I'm on board with that suggestion and I think it's a wise choice. I am going to do my best with Giulian to not give him juice within his first year of life, limiting it throughout his life, and encouraging him to drink a lot of water. These are such simple steps, but like most things in life, what is easy to do is also easy not to do. I'm going to make that extra effort and put this on high priority since it's such a simple task that can make a huge difference in his life. 

3. Know why BABY TEETH MATTER

Baby teeth matter! I'm sure I am not the only mommy in the world who wasn't aware of this, right?! This fact is one of the main reasons I was excited to partner with the Delta Dental of Colorado Foundation, because I figured if I did not know this then many other parents probably don't either. Since it is so important for our children's oral health, spreading awareness of this fact is so crucial. My perception was that because baby teeth fall out, the care of them doesn't matter. Like I said, I was wrong and baby teeth do actually matter and cavities can pass from baby teeth to adult teeth. Something else the foundation taught me is that oral health has an impact on the overall health of the whole body. It can even impact learning; the leading cause of kids missing school in Colorado is from dental decay diseases.  

It's such a shocker to me that how I take care of Giulian's gums and baby teeth now can impact his entire life. I'm so grateful I am finding all of this out now instead of when he is a few years old and already in a bad oral health routine. Giulian is four + months old and I am already starting to take action to insure his oral health is heading in the right direction. I am wiping down his gums multiple times a day, and when his baby teeth come in I will make sure to keep them clean by brushing them with an infant toothbrush and infant toothpaste, and I will veto the juice for his first year of life. As a parent, we want to do everything we can to create a strong future for our little ones, so I hope you found this information as helpful and valuable as I did.

This post is sponsored by  Delta Dental of Colorado Foundation.

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Colorado Pumpkin Patch + 4 Month Baby Update

As a mom, there is nothing I love more than going on little adventures together as a family. Before Giulian, I still wanted to do fun little outings and adventures with Nick, but he could do without things of that nature (not exactly his cup of tea). So I must admit that I love having our son, he's my little excuse for why we need to do things like go to the pumpkin patch, go to the zoo, take hikes, etc. It's bringing the inner child out in Nick and myself and we are loving every bit of it. Although Giulian wasn't able to pick his pumpkin out, he still loved staring at all the vibrant colors of the pumpkin patch and feeling like he was on an adventure with Mom and Dad. 

I can't believe our little man is already 4+ months old. Time is flying by and before I know it he will be 1/2 a year old and trying to talk! The last baby update I did was when he was 2 months, so I figured it was time for another one. 

Height?

26 inches - 85th percentile

Weight?

14lbs 5 oz. - 25th percentile

What Size Clothing?

This answer makes me want to cry, he's getting so big!! A lot of his clothes are 6-9 months! Almost all of his sleepers are 9 month, because he is so long the 3-6 month ones don't fit him anymore. It is amazing how much can change in such a short amount of time, when I did his 2 month update he was just getting out of newborn clothes and into 0-3 month or 3 month clothing. 

Special Outings?

Very special outing, he went on his first family vacation to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico! I will probably do an entire post on our experience and our first time traveling as a family. He did so great on the planes and in the airports, we were so proud of him. 

He has also been to the zoo three times now, and of course the pumpkin patch. 

Milestones? 

He has slept for 8 hours straight!! Okay, that only happened once lol but that is a start and we are praying it happens more often. He has been giggling up a storm recently, his laugh is the best. He grew a comb-over (I figure that should count as a milestone since I said him losing his hair in his 2 month update was a milestone). He has rolled from his tummy to his back (only four times). He tried his first "solid" food, he ate some rice cereal and absolutely loved it. 

What Does Baby Love?

When we get him (make loud munching noises while "eating" his belly), he thinks it's hilarious. He loves being naked, and especially being naked while eating his toes. He loves watching Veggie Tales, going on walks and looking up at the trees or at the sky during our walks, he loves being in our baby carrier facing out so he can see what is going on around him, or doing chores with mom while in the baby carrier (and he usually falls asleep while I vacuum). He loves playing on his play mats, or in his saucers. He is loving his baby oatmeal or rice cereal at night and thinks it is so funny when he blows bubbles while "eating" it and gets the food all over mom. He also loves people, he gets so excited when people come talk to him or pay attention to him. He adores his cousins (my sister's kids) and he loves spending time with the family (Grandparents, Aunt, Uncles). It melts my heart to type out all the things he loves, he truly is such a happy baby and I just adore him. But above all, this baby loves eating his toes. 

What Is Baby's Routine?

I wish I could say this has changed a ton in the last two months, but when I read this section in his Two Month Update, I unfortunately realized that not much has changed. In fact, I could some nights say it's gotten worse. We are taking action to try and change his sleep routine though, we have started "sleep training". In brief, we are doing 2-5-5 (2 minutes of crying, then we go in and sooth him, 5 min of the same and then another 5), this is teaching him to sooth himself to sleep instead of needing to nurse to sleep. If he can sooth himself back to sleep then hopefully he won't wake me up every two hours at night needing me to nurse him back to sleep. We also are trying to get him on a nap schedule of napping two hours after he wakes up, and then three hours after that nap is another nap, and then four hours after that is bedtime. I am praying when I post my next update that I can solidly say he is sleeping better and in a more consistent routine. 

Nicknames?

It's hilarious how these have changed since the last update I did. Our current nicknames for Giulian are Little Man, Mr. Man, Bubby, and Bubbs. When talking about him with other people we sometimes call him Triple G or Baby G. Bubby is the most used nickname at this time. 

Thoughts on the past two months?

Although the sleeping is still extremely tough (we are just starting to sleep train him), overall I'd say in the last two months we have become far more comfortable as parents and are in a much better routine than the months prior. It is becoming more and more fun with our little man, his personality is really shining through and we are loving it. There is nothing better than when he giggles and is having fun with us. I can't wait until he's sleeping better, allowing me to enjoy my days with him more instead of feeling like a zombie, but regardless being his mommy is a ton of fun and we love him to pieces! 

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15 Confessions From A New Mommy #RealTalk

At MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) the other day, my group of ladies and I were discussing the comparison game in the mom world. In a world full of half truths on social media (and on most blogs), it's easy to think other moms have it perfect and aren't a mess sometimes. It's so easy to look at someone else's life and compare and put pressure on yourself to do motherhood a certain way. And on top of picture perfect lives on social media, we also live in a world where opinions are floating around far too aggressively. When it comes to parenting and motherhood there are opinions on everythinggg. Oh ya, from the time you become pregnant it's like you become a target for questions on what type of mom you'll be and what parenting "style" you'll adopt. With all of that it's easy to beat yourself up as a mother and attach guilt to almost everything you do. I was starting to wonder if I was the only one feeling this way until the women in my MOPS group and I were having that conversation, then it became clear as day that no matter what parenting "style" you go with... parenting is HARD. It's filled with ups and downs and lots of chaos. And that seems to be normal, I now understand that it's "part of the deal".  There are no parents that experience zero mess, zero chaos and everything is perfect all of the time, it simply doesn't exist. Our jobs as parents is to find all of the beauty in the chaotic mess.

Lets chat more on the topic of Mommy Guilt. Wow it's real. Mommy Guilt is such a thing, and even with a three month old baby, I've already experienced it a ton. I truly believe if we shared more of our #reallife mommy moments with each other than we wouldn't feel so much guilt and shame as we go through motherhood. Being a mom is filled with the most amazing moments, moments that bring so much joy and moments that make your heart feel like it'll explode with love. But with that comes some truly difficult and trying times too, times that'll make you question if you are cut out for this mommy thing. Or is that just me?...

Well I'm gonna go ahead and be super transparent here and share some of my most embarrassing, silly, messy mommy moments with you all, just for the purpose of the slight chance that you can relate, it might make you feel a bit less guilt and a bit more understood. 

*Don't worry, as you read this you are laughing with me not at me. 

1. I didn't start driving alone with my baby in the car until he was over 11 weeks. 

Worry much?... Yep that's me, a total nut job of a mommy. The truth is I wasn't comfortable driving with him in the back all by himself for fear of too many things (things that probably don't happen very often). Fear that he'd permanently damage his neck since it seemed so hunched forward when he fell asleep. Fear that he'd somehow choke and die. Fear that he'd randomly stop breathing (when he was a newborn). Fear that he'd have a total meltdown and I wouldn't be there to make him feel better. I know I'm cray! And I also know that with my second kid I probably won't be this way, because Giulian is just fine lol. 

“Mombie (n.) Môm-bē: A sleep deprived supermom who feeds on caffeine and survives on sticky kisses and messy smiles. Mombies are master multitasker’s and suck it uppers. ”

2. Tonight I drank wine out of a ninja turtle coffee mug.

I'm pretty sure that's what inspired this post. I looked down at my coffee mug filled with chardonnay (surprisingly not out of a box), my crazy hair, my makeup-less face, and my messy house and thought to myself... wow, I hope I'm not the only new mom that is a total mess. So, I grabbed my phone and started writing out some mom-fessions in the notes section. It didn't take long to get to 15. 

3. I've cried in the shower multiple times since my son has been born.

Okay, pathetic I know, but sometimes you've just gotta let it out. Being a mom is hard, and I mean really hard. It's non stop 24/7 (especially when your baby hates naps and doesn't like to sleep tons at night either), so to be fair the shower seems like the only alone time I get. It doesn't always go uninterrupted by baby, but I have a better shot at some quiet time in there than anywhere else. 

4. I like washing my hair a whole lot more now than I did before baby.

We don't realize how spoiled we are pre-kids. Before, my attitude on washing my hair was ugh it takes so long, I hate blow drying my hair, and I'd rather just use dry shampoo. Now my perspective on washing my hair is OMG yay I feel so clean and fresh, when was the last time I got to wash my hair? Now I don't smell like baby spit up!

5. We celebrate when our son poops.

For a while there Giulian was having some tummy issues (it's a bit better now), he is overall so much happier when he poops a few times a day. I mean who isn't happier when they are regular? So in our house we celebrate when he is pooping, and oh my goodness Giulian gets excited too! 

6. I've dropped my phone on our baby's head.

Horrible I know! I was FaceTiming Nick while he was away on business and trying to show him our little guy. Well, my phone slipped and fell on his head. It was seriously so sad! Now I hold my phone extra tight haha. 

7. His bassinet is currently acting as a laundry basket. 

When Giulian isn't napping I literally feel like he is glued to me and I can't get much of anything done. So yes, sometimes all the laundry isn't folded. And yes I throw the clean unfolded laundry in Giulian's (super expensive) bassinet. 

8. On the laundry theme: I'm typically "on top" of the laundry only because my baby has blowouts all the time and I'm forced to start another load of laundry. 

Haha omg when I type these things out I just laugh out loud, mom life is hilarious. But heck it's totally the truth. Even if I wanted to skip laundry day, I am forced to start that washing machine because no way am I leaving a poopy outfit out.

9.  I have breastfed and drank wine simultaneously. 

Okay if you are judging, please don't lol. We were at a wedding, I was having ONE glass of wine but then Giulian was crying so I went out to the car to feed him. Nick brought me my glass of wine and I was like well heck what's the difference if I drink it 15 min before he eats or during. Nick and I found it hilarious so he snapped a pic of it. And now I'm praying this post doesn't go viral from judgmental mommies that have too much to say. But my job is to be transparent with y'all so here ya go...

*Don't worry I would NEVER drink and drive. We were just nursing in the car because the there wasn't many private places to nurse at the wedding venue. 

10. We frantically took Giulian to the ER at 4am his first week of life. 

We've settled into parenthood a bit, but the first while we were such worriers. We thought he wasn't breathing good enough while he slept so we rushed to the ER. He was breathing fine and the doctors there were so sweet and could tell we were worried first time parents. I'm so grateful that he's healthy and we can now laugh at this story. 

11. I've said, I'm done having kids and I want four kids in the same day. #BipolarMuch

Motherhood is so up and down, and when things are super tough I claim to not want more kids. I'm like okay Giulian is perfect, let's stop now. But then I think about the fact that he needs to be a big brother one day and I want a big family and I'm right back to "I want four kids". 

12. My baby is 3 1/2 months old and currently has one level of cry... The Meltdown. 

Giulian goes from 0 to 100 real quick. He'll be smiling and giggling one moment and then hysterical the next. We just went to Mexico and I'm pretty sure he had on average about 4 meltdowns per day. I'm hoping this will pass, because a little whimper would work just fine. 

13. Sometimes I vacuum just to get my baby to fall asleep. 

He loves the vacuum, which is nice because it's a chore that isn't difficult to get done with him. I just put him in the baby carrier and vacuum. By the time I get to the last room of the house he's usually always asleep, it's so precious! 

14. I cried in the bathroom stall my first time at MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers). 

I know at this point you think I'm a cry baby, which I am starting to think that too, but I'm telling you the sleep deprivation and hormones are getting the best of me. So the best thing to do is just laugh at myself and make light of everything in this season of life. It was a rough morning and when I got to MOPS I just lost it. So instead of crying in front of all these women I had just met, I ran to the bathroom with my crying baby and just cried it out for a bit. 

15. I am currently losing my hair + I already have grey hair.

Sexy I know. When I got pregnant I started getting grey hair, and a decent amount of it. Good thing my mom is a hairdresser and can cover that problem, I'm only 28 years old so I'm not ready to embrace that part of aging yet. And recently (about 3 months postpartum) I started losing my hair. My best friend warned me of this. Her baby girl is one year old now and she's just starting to grow her hair back, she literally lost chunks. When she told me about that side effect of motherhood, I really didn't think it'd happen to me, I have extremely thick hair and couldn't fathom losing lots of it. Well, silly me for thinking I was exempt from that because it's started. My hair is coming out at a rapid rate. Not the normal "I'm shedding" type of hair loss but much faster. Oh well, it'll grow back, but in the meantime- Thank You Hormones. 

To be honest, I could come up with far more Mom-fessions, but we will end at 15 for now. Maybe this will be a quarterly post, because Lord knows I'll do at least 60 silly mom things per year. I hope that reading this post gave you a good laugh and allowed you to take a deep breath and remember that no mother is perfect, and we all are just trying to do our best as parents. Perfection does not exist anywhere in life, especially motherhood. So let's (telling myself) all give ourselves some grace and remember that God chose us to be parents and he will give us the strength and the knowledge we need to be the best parents we can be. I'm so grateful for my blog and the ability to connect with women, mommies, all around the world who are going through similar things and I hope and pray that I can (through my realness) provide some comfort as you all are embarking on this journey. 

Comment below with your best #RealTalk mommy story, I'd love to hear your Mom-fessions. 

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What's In My Diaper Bag? Outings With Baby & Products We Don't Leave The House Without

Disclosure: This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #ChoosePlaytexBaby #CollectiveBias

As a first time mom, I have to admit I might leave the house with more than technically needed, but honestly my current mommy motto is I'd rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it. I love being prepared when we go on outings with the baby, that way we have a smoother and more enjoyable experience. There are a few products that I won't leave the house without and I am obsessed with, from the basics, to anti-colic products to entertainment... I like to make sure I have it all. So here we go, I'm gonna break down what's in my diaper bag when we take baby out and about. 

Singing octopus - 

Sometimes Giulian has meltdowns in the car... that's not just our baby right?? He loves car rides at first, but after about 20 minutes he is over it. That's when mommy ( if I'm sitting in the backseat with him) whips out the toy! He goes from crying to all sorts of cute smiles instantly! Praise God for this octopus! It's strange how some toys are just a hit with babies, and with our little guy this one has been a favorite from the beginning! It might be bulky, but you know what I'd rather carry around a bulky toy than hear my baby cry during a car ride. 

Gas drops- 

Giulian's gas has gotten better, but when it hits, it hits hard... Our little man gets so upset ( it's very sad). Having the gas drops on hand is always nice. We don't always need it but when we do it's a life saver. And you just never know when you'll need it. 

Hand sanitizer- 

Okay , call me a crazy mom, but I don't want you holding my baby when you've just touched all sorts of doorknobs and other things around town... a little hand sanitizer never hurt anybody right?...

Bottle - 

I breast feed and bottle feed and for me I personally enjoy having a bottle on hand when we are out and about. It's more comfortable for me and more convenient to mix Giulian a quick bottle when he gets hungry ( or even a bit hangry) when we are out. Since we have had to supplement since day one (read about my breastfeeding journey HERE) , we've been testing out different bottles for a while now. About a month in we found our all time favorite bottle for Giulian, the bottle I don't leave the house without, the Playtex Baby™ VentAire® Baby Bottle. We have found that the Naturalatch Nipple has the perfect flow for Giulian, not too fast and not too slow, and it also does a great job at mimicking the breast which helps Giulian switch from breast to bottle without getting confused. Like I said before Giulian gets super gassy sometimes and it's so sad when he does, I hate watching his little tummy hurt. We do anything we can to prevent the gas from hurting him, that's another reason why I love these bottles. It has an anti-colic vent at the bottom of the bottle that is designed to keep the air at the back of the bottle instead of going into the baby's tummy. This helps to prevent gas, spit-up and fussiness. The Playtex baby bottles are BPA free, which in my opinion is a must! It's by far Giulian's favorite bottle so we made sure to run to Target and purchase a few more so that we always have them on hand. We keep a few of them at home but also keep one in the diaper bag at all times so we are prepared for our hungry little man. There is a sale going on at Target this month from 9/10-9/15, the Playtex Baby™ VentAire®, 9oz and the Playtex Baby™ Nurser with Drop-Ins® Liners, 4oz 3-pack are $10.49 and all other Playtex Baby™ bottles are 20% off! Make sure to head over to Target to grab some while the sale is on!

Outfit change- 

Like all babies, our little man shoots his poo out of his diaper sometimes , fun visual huh... If you're new to babies, its called a blowout and you better believe they need a new outfit ( and maybe a bath) after them.  I like to have a backup for the backup sometime too ( just in case).

Diapers and wipes-

Well duh ... it is called a diaper bag.  But its important to stay stocked up on the diapers because it would be a big problem to run out. And we all know the day you don't have diapers in your bag is the day baby will have a blowout for the ages.

Diaper baggies- 

You can buy these neat little plastic diaper baggies that are amazing for wrapping up a poopy diaper after you change your baby. They are also nice to have if your baby gets poop on his outfit, you can wrap it in a bag so that it doesn't make more of a mess and it can stay in there until you get home. Giulian had a poopy accident the other day at Target and goodness I was so grateful I had these bags in my diaper bag. It really helped with the clean up. For all my baby-less readers... when you have your little one you will understand all this poop talk and poop preparation.

Muslin blanket- 

These things are so amazing! They are super light weight and I use them for so many different things. They can be a blanket of course, a swaddle, burp rag, nursing cover (tie two ends together and wrap it around your head), you can use them to block the sun while they are in their car seat, and I'm sure other ways I haven't discovered yet. I would have added burp rag to this list, but honestly between muslin blankets and wet wipes, I don't mind if I forgot to pack a burp rag. These are good for hot weather as well because they aren't too thick, making them a worthwhile addition to any day out.

 Snack for Mom or Dad- 

With a new baby sometimes you are so on the go that you forget to eat. I always have a bag of raw almonds or a granola bar in the diaper bag just in case mom or dad hit a wall and need food asap. The focus so often is on when the baby ate last, how much did the baby eat... and sometimes it's easy to forget about feeding yourself and trust me, we need fuel to get us through parenthood. They only have a few ingredients and taste great. Parents, don't forget to feed yourself too (especially breastfeeding mamas- you need it). 

Those are my current diaper bag must haves! Since I am a new mommy, I'm sure there are amazing products that I don't know about that I should, if you have recommendations let me know in the comments! Thanks for reading, make sure to subscribe and stay connected. 

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Two Month Baby Update

How has it already been two months since sweet Giulian entered the world?! It's gone by so fast! If you read my first baby update in my Navigating A Newborn post, than you know how the first few weeks went for us and our new son. In a nutshell, we have a healthy happy baby and we were super stressed out parents who couldn't sleep and maybe made a silly trip to the ER... to read and get caught up click HERE. Well, now Giulian is 9 weeks old and we as a a family are really getting in the swing of things! I couldn't be more happy and in love with our son, he is such a sweetheart, so incredibly smiley and brings so much joy to our whole family. It really doesn't get more precious than him ( insert heart eye emoji ). I thought it'd be fun for this update to answer a list of questions about baby! Here we go... 

Height?

23.5 inches - 74th percentile

Weight?

11 lbs 2 ounces - 26th percentile

What size clothes? 

It seems like he's growing out of new outfits everyday. Most of his newborn outfits don't fit anymore, mainly because he's too long. There are quite a few outfits he didn't even get a chance to wear (so sad). Most of the things that fit him are 3 month clothes. 

Any Milestones?

He lost his hair... does that count as a milestone lol? Not all of it though, he still has an old man hairdo with some long hair in the back but nothing up front. It's starting to grow back now and is softer than ever!

He also had his first "blow out". Parents you know what that means. And if you don't know what that means... lucky you!

Special Outings?

His first big outing was the Italian Festival in LoHi that Nick's family has been going to for years. My mom told us that we were "under stimulating" him and that's why he got so fussy in the evenings, well it turns out that she was right. Our little guy loves to be out and about, which makes total sense that he's our son. So the night after my mom told us that we took him to that festival and he loved it! He was such a ham, loving all the attention from everyone in the family. Other special outings this month were our cousin Lauren's wedding and the same weekend we took him to a local training event for our business in Denver. He better get ready for next month because that's when his traveling days begin (stay tuned).

Thoughts On The Past Month?

He is getting more and more fun every single day. He already has such a cute little personality! He's so smiley, those big gummy smiles just melt me and daddy. Motherhood is getting "easier" everyday. I put easier in quotes because it's anything but easy, but I will say you do get into more of a rhythm and I am starting to know what he wants and doesn't want which helps so much. I'm also starting to learn his cries, what each one means. Nick and I are also so much more comfortable with him these days. We worry and stress about him so much less than we did the first few weeks of his life, which allows us to relax and have more fun with our little guy. 

What Is Baby's Routine?

He usually goes to sleep around 9:30 - 10:30 and wakes up 2 or 3 times every night. Some nights are better than others and each night is different, but I'd say a typical night is him going down around 10, waking up at 1 then going back down at 2, waking up at 5 and then going back down at 6. Lately he has been waking up like 40 minutes after I put him down around 6am, so I grab him and nurse him in bed for a few hours. If I do it that way, I get a few more hours of sleep in the morning. His napping during the day is all over the place. I'm starting to read a book on sleep training, so I'll let you know if it helps or when he gets on a better napping schedule. As of now he wants to be held during naps, which isn't ideal for a mommy who'd like to get stuff done during the day. 

Baby's Favorite Toys?

Hands down his musical octopus. He just loves this thing, it has 8 legs and each them play music with a different instrument. It's precious to watch him interact with it. He smiles at it! Nick and I almost always have the songs from the toy stuck in our head. I'll insert a video of the octopus saving the day as little guy got fussy in the car.

Too much cuteness 😍

A post shared by Danielle Greco (@danielle_m_greco) on Aug 13, 2017 at 9:58am PDT

What Does Baby Love?

Well obviously his octopus toy. He also loves when people talk to him, he's so smiley and is trying really hard to coo and giggle. He loves food, he's one hungry guy. He loves going on walks in his stroller. He loves being outside and looking up at the sky. He enjoys car rides (as long as they aren't too long), especially during the daytime so he can look at the sky out the window. He loves taking naps in the Baby K'Tan wrap carrier on mommy. He loves when daddy sings to him (it's so precious). Morning cuddles with mommy seem to be a new favorite. He also really likes white noise, I downloaded an app that helps a ton. 

What Makes Baby Mad?

When you take his food away and he's still hungry, he gets pretty hangry. He gets so mad/sad when he hasn't pooped or if he has gas, and let me say this is the saddest thing ever. I hate when his tummy is upset. We have bought baby probiotics, baby gas drops, and gripe water to help the situation, but sometimes his tummy just doesn't wanna cooperate and hurts him. He also gets upset when mommy talks while I'm nursing him. This one cracks me up that a baby so young can already be so particular with things he doesn't like. When i'm nursing him and I try to talk he makes this winey little cry that is just the cutest thing ever. 

Nicknames?

Triple G. Baby G. Little guy. Peanut. Bubbie. Bubba. Who knows where some of these names come from, but those are most of the things we call him lol. 

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Giulian's Birth Story

I figured I might as well write this post sooner rather than later since every mom tells me we get amnesia when it comes to giving birth. I'm sure that's probably at least partially true because if we had a vivid memory of the pain, none of us would have more than one child. Kidding...sorta. 

Well before I dive into sharing my whole birth story, I want to preface by saying that I think ALL women are amazing and powerful, no matter how you chose to deliver and give birth. Whether you chose drugs or went with a natural birth, whether you gave birth at home or in a hospital, and whether your birth was vaginal or not... You are amazing! Giving birth (any which way) is no joke, nor is it easy, and you deserve a big pat on the back for being one tough cookie! I have ZERO judgments on women and how they gave birth, so when I talk about what I personally chose, please remember that. 

Okay, where do I begin? I went into labor on Saturday morning at 1:00 am. I woke up out of a dead sleep in massive pain, which to be honest got me quite excited. At this point I was dying for this baby to come, I was 11 days past my due date and "over" being pregnant. I was supposed to have an appointment on Saturday morning at 7:00 am to chat about my options as far as getting induced (which I absolutely did not want), and Monday would have been the date where they highly suggest getting induced because of increased risk for the baby. The night before, I woke up at 1:00 am too (weird, huh?) and was in a ton of pain, having contractions but they were inconsistent and not easy to time. Those eventually stopped, I fell back asleep and didn't end up going into labor. So when I woke up Saturday with the same feelings, (at the same time) I was hoping that it was the real deal and not another false alarm. These contractions were different from the night before though, they were much easier to time. From 1-2 I labored by myself, letting Nick sleep. I took a shower and just tried to stay calm and get things ready in case it was real labor and we needed to head to the hospital. I am so grateful I showered right when I woke up because soon after (around 2:00 am) the contractions started getting really close together and the pain was becoming far worse. That's when I realized okay, this is it, I am actually in labor. I was so relieved that I went into labor naturally and didn't have to be induced. I was in labor at home for a few hours and the pain intensified pretty quickly. Soon I was unable to move or talk during the contractions. Around 4:00 am Nick called our midwife and they suggested coming in since my contractions were about 4 to 5 minutes apart and at my last checkup I was already 4 cm dilated. We packed up our stuff and headed to the hospital around 4:30. 

When we got to the hospital they checked my platelet levels, those have been an issue for me. My blood platelet levels had been dropping throughout my whole pregnancy and eventually dropped below the level (100,000) where they say it's safe to have an epidural. That was fine with me since I wanted to do a natural delivery anyways, but it just had me worried about bleeding after delivery. They then let me know that my platelets were 104,000. The week prior my platelets were in the 80,000's! I cried, it was such a relief to know that I didn't need to stress about that part of delivery, God is so good and definitely answered that prayer. 

“Birth is not only about making babies. Birth is about making mothers— strong, competent, capable mothers who trust themselves and know their inner strength.”

— Barbara Katz Rothman

When we first got to the hospital they also checked to see how dilated I was, per request (I was so curious). When they told me I was already at a 7 I was so dang excited! So in my head I'm like wow okay I'll be to a 10 in no time. Well,...from a 7 to a 10 was a bit of a different story, it took much longer than I thought it would. Still, my total labor time was only 9 hours so I'm not complaining, but let me just say that dilating from a 7 to a 10 was a whole new kind of pain than the pain I was having prior. Going through labor, especially that transitional labor, took more mental focus and toughness than I ever thought possible. I didn't want anyone to touch me, talk to me, or distract me while I was going through each contraction. I just felt like I had to keep 100% focus on pushing through the pain, keeping my mindset on "I can do this" "You were made to deliver this baby" "This pain will pass soon". If I let any negative thoughts enter my mind like "I can't do this, it's too painful", then I would just feel like I lost control and feel extremely scared and freaked out. I truly felt like it was such a mental game of keeping calm and staying in control mentally. 

During two contractions I tried Nitrous Oxide, this was the only form of pain relief I was open to having. You might know Nitrous Oxide better by the name of "laughing gas" and possibly used it at the dentist. It doesn't take the pain away, but it takes your care of the pain away. After trying it, I quickly decided that I was not a fan of it. The first contraction that I used it on I sort of thought I liked it, but then after the second I started to feel very very loopy and I felt like I lost control a bit. I guess I am glad I tried it because I was freaking out a bit before having the Nitrous, I was starting to feel like I couldn't handle the pain anymore and that's why I called in the Nitrous. I was hoping to love it, but honestly it just made me feel too out of it. I suppose it did calm me down a bit though. In all honesty, I don't know, I have mixed opinions about it. After I decided I didn't like the Nitrous, the thought of an epidural crossed my mind. I am so glad that I didn't ask for one, although it crossed my mind I just tried to remind myself that it wasn't what I wanted and to stay strong. I totally understand how women ask for one though, it sounded very tempting. But I am so glad I did it natural and am just so grateful for the opportunity to have given birth naturally and without complications.

In many ways, giving birth naturally is a privilege. I have a few friends that would have loved to have a natural delivery but because of complications they were unable to, and the safer route for them and baby was to have some sort of medical intervention. So for me, I just thank God that I had a birth that went just as I hoped and prayed for, because that definitely isn't always the way it works out. You realize as you're going through it that birth is something you don't have much control over. Your body will do what it's gonna do to an extent and sometimes it's not what you would prefer. So, I feel very blessed by my birth experience and that I was able to go natural. 

I was stuck at 8.5 cm dilated for quite some time. At this point I was sitting in the "throne" position in the hospital bed. Which by the way, those are some fancy high tech things these days, those beds can move into so many positions, I was quite impressed. The midwife suggested that I switch positions to help get things moving along. She suggested getting on my knees and facing the back of the bed in sort of an upright position. It did not sound comfortable but I thought "what the heck, if it will help this process speed up then I am willing to try it."  I kept having the urge to push, but since I wasn't dilated enough they were discouraging me from doing so. Once I switched to that position she was suggesting it was go time. I could not help it and I had to push. She said I pushed him past the 8.5 and it opened me up to 10 cm dilated (which sounded weird and I didn't know that was a thing). I continued to push and finally delivered in this position. I NEVER would have thought that was how I was gonna deliver my baby, the position sounds so strange, but it felt so natural and felt way more comfortable than sitting. Total I pushed for 38 minutes, which felt like an eternity, but apparently the midwives said is pretty quick for your first baby. At 10:02am on Saturday June 17th, our sweet baby boy was born. 

I didn't get to see Giulian come out since I was facing the other direction, but I saw something that I will never forget. I got to watch my husband's face as our son was born, and let me tell you that was one of my favorite experiences of my life. He was crying and just had so much love and joy in his eyes. You could tell he was instantly in awe of our son. It just absolutely melted my heart and I'll never forget it. When the midwife passed Giulian to me through my legs, the first thing I said was "Ahhhh he's so cute!". And those truly were my first thoughts. I was so excited to see what he looked like, I'd been wondering for 10 months. So to finally see him was amazing and I just couldn't help but think he was the cutest thing I'd ever seen. 

Some random details about the birth- one, I tore. Yay lol every woman's dream (sarcasm). It was a second degree tear, whatever that means... but ouch that was a bummer. Another detail is that we did delayed cord clamping, which just means you wait to cut the umbilical cord until the blood has finished transferring from the placenta to the baby. There are some great health benefits for baby by doing this. In fact, our hospital does this with every birth because they find it so important. The last random fact I thought I'd share is that they gave me a bit of Pitocin after delivery to help stop the bleeding (which it did and was fine). 

I couldn't rave enough about the midwives at West Side Women's Care and Lutheran Hospital. I felt so supported and encouraged by them the entire delivery process. They were so helpful and respectful, I feel so blessed to have had them by my side during the most difficult thing I've ever done in my entire life. Giving birth is no joke and I think it made a huge difference having women there who were so nurturing and like I already said, so supportive. They were amazing coaches through the whole process which was nice because it took that pressure off of Nick and he was just able to be loving and supportive in the exact way I needed him to be. I know some people have bad things to say about hospital births, but I truly think if that person knew truly what my experience was, they would feel differently. I wish every hospital was this amazing, I know that's probably not the case, but hopefully one day they will all be as amazing as Lutheran. Those women there are such angels. 

I'm currently cuddling my big 6 week old baby! He's growing so fast and our love for him gets stronger and stronger every day. Thank you Lord for this healthy happy baby! 

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Navigating A Newborn & Motherhood

Giulian is down for a nap and that means mommy has a tiny bit of time to work on her blog. Let me start this post off by saying I feel crazy blessed. Our baby is healthy, happy and has totally stolen my heart! Today is July 7th 2017 and as of tomorrow our baby boy will be three weeks old. Since he is our first kid, I must say the first three weeks have been a bit of a whirlwind. A mix of pure joy, sleep deprivation, breastfeeding frustrations and lots of stress about keeping this baby safe, healthy and alive. I would have never anticipated that Nick and I would be such worrisome parents. All of which stems from our insane amount of love we have for our son. Lets start with week one, because lets be honest that one is the largest adjustment. Giulian was born on a Saturday and we brought him home from the hospital Monday evening. Nick and I were both so grateful for the time we got to have in the hospital with those AMAZING nurses and midwives, which pretty much baby savants. Those women gave us so much knowledge and we felt like we had our parenting "training wheels" on after hearing all of their tips. You should have seen these ladies swaddle a baby, it was quite impressive. Our first night at home we were incredibly nervous about sleeping, the thought of us both sleeping while he slept was just not an option for these overprotective parents. Soooo for the first week or so Nick and I switched off sleeping in shifts. Nick would take the night shift until like 2:00 am and then I would get up and watch Giulian sleep the rest of the night. Crazy? Yes probably. But that was the only thing that allowed Nick and I to get any sleep at the time since we were both so paranoid that he would stop breathing or something. Well that sleep shift schedule is not sustainable, we both felt like zombies and are not doing that anymore (I'll share more about that in a minute). So to put the final touches on our "how to be a worrisome new parent" recipe, we made a trip to the ER at 3:00 am while we both had zero sleep. Talk about a mess. We had this monitor that is supposed to track baby's oxygen levels and give parents "peace of mind" while baby sleeps. Well that damn monitor went off THREE times in one night and gave us both heart attacks. We weren't sure if the monitor was acting up or if there was actually something wrong with our baby so we called the pediatrician and ended up rushing him to the Emergency Room. Long story short, Giulian is fine and is a healthy baby and I'm sure we aren't the first stressed out new parents that the ER docs have seen in the middle of the night. Maybe I'll put a copy of the ER bill in his baby book for a good laugh down the road. 

When they say it takes a village they really are not kidding. We are so beyond grateful for our family and close friends. Especially the Grandmas, Nick's mom and my mom are just unbelievable. That next day after our silly ER trip they both came over, watched Giulian the whole day while Nick and I slept and thankfully regained some of our sanity. I truly don't know what we would have done without them. Our village is one of the best. 

Week two and three have been so much more smooth. A friend lent us the Snuza Hero baby monitor and it's been working amazing! It is a monitor that sits on the baby's belly while they sleep, tracking the movements and alerting you if they stop breathing. It is much more simple than the other monitor we tried using and sometimes simple is way better. That monitor has given us so much peace of mind that now we have a strong routine down during the night. Nick sleeps the whole night while I get up just to feed him and pump and then I sleep while he sleeps. I'm still sleep deprived, but I am functioning and way more rested than I was while we were switching off during the night. We have Giulian sleeping in the Halo Bassinest Premiere Swivel Sleeper bed right beside our bed. I absolutely love this bed and would recommend it to any new parent. As of now he is waking up two to three times between midnight and 9:00 am and I am up for about an hour to two hours with him each time he wakes up. Not too bad for week three. 

Something that has been a real struggle for me is breastfeeding. I had so many moms warn me that it might be difficult, but wow I would have never anticipated this emotional roller coaster. Breastfeeding for every woman is different and everyone has a different story with it, but for me it hasn't been a walk in the park. I want to share my story because some women might relate and feel less "alone" through it. When Giulian was born he weighed 7lb 13 oz. , but within the next 24-48 hours he dropped 11% of his weight and was under 7lb. It's totally normal for babies to drop weight after birth, but anything over 10% is worrisome and 11% that quick was concerning. He pooped like 12 times in the first 24 hours since he had swallowed some amniotic fluid, which didn't help with the weight situation. Since he dropped weight so quick they had us start supplementing with donor breast milk right away. They had me doing what is called a triple feed. I feed him on me for about 15 minutes, then we feed him donor milk from a bottle, then I pump for 15-20 minutes. It's quite the tedious process and it feels like once I am done, there is a tiny gap and then it's time to start the process again. The frustration with this process is that baby now links the bottle to easy milk and doesn't want to "work" for the milk that I am making him. Which then makes it so I produce less because he is not aggressively stimulating my boobs to create more milk. It's quite the cycle. I must say it is improving though and I am starting to supplement less and produce more. As of yesterday (two days shy of three weeks), Giulian is above birth weight! Whoo-hoo!! He is currently 7lb 14oz and working on his double chin and wrist rolls (too cute). I'm hoping that soon he will be all mommy and we won't need donor milk, but whatever happens I just need to remember that a fed baby is best (no matter how he is fed). I need to remember that because at times I feel super sad that I wasn't producing enough or provide enough for my son. It's a real emotional roller coaster to feel like you can't do one of your main job as a mother. So for all you mothers out there feeling the same way, let's remember that our #1 job as mothers is to love our babies, and we are in full control of the quantity of that. 

I am so in love with our little guy. He brings us so much joy. He's been incredibly smiley since day one, which is not very common for a newborn to have such strong facial expressions. We lucked out with this guy, he is such a sweet baby. I love watching him sleep, watching him dream, I even love watching his hilarious facial expressions as he poops (that is some real work for a newborn baby). My favorite though is watching Nick interact with him, it's so precious. There are no words to describe the love I have for Nick and our son, my heart just explodes when I look at Nick holding him. The other night Nick was singing the Israel "IZ" Kamakawiwoʻole version of Somewhere Over The Rainbow to Giulian. I'll never forget moments like that (especially since I was sneaky and got a video), it was a perfect moment. 

Soon I will do a birth story blog post, I can't wait to share our story with y'all. And eventually I would love to get back in the swing of writing about travel, style and other things again. But truthfully, if you are a subscriber, you should get used to seeing posts about motherhood and our son because he's stolen my heart and a portion of my blog too. Thanks for following along our wild amazing journey called life! Make sure to comment below with any new mom tips you have for me!

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Giulian Georgio Greco, Welcome To The World

Giulian Georgio Greco

Born 6/17/17 at 10:02 am

7 lb 13 oz

20 3/4 in. long

Head 14 1/2 in. around

Natural delivery at Lutheran Hospital in Wheat Ridge, CO

Welcome to the world sweet boy! Mom and Dad couldn't be more in love with you. You bring us so much joy. God is so good for blessing us with a healthy and happy baby boy. Praise Jesus! 

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41 Week Bumpdate | Yes I'm STILL Pregnant

"I think I'm gonna have a May baby, there's no way I'll still be pregnant in June"... Yep that's what I kept saying about a month ago in early to mid May. That's the funny thing about pregnancy, you cannot predict, control or plan anything. You are completely forced to give it all up to God and try to be as "still" as you can be. If you didn't see the post title, I am currently 41 weeks pregnant. One week past the baby's due date. To the mommies out there who have been overdue in a pregnancy, wow I have a whole new respect for you because I now know what it's like. I remember a few weeks before June 6th, the anticipated due date, I was so miserable, uncomfortable and over being pregnant that I couldn't fathom my pregnancy lasting until his due date. I was totally fine with baby G coming a bit early, and since we always get what we want in life (sarcastic voice), I was SURE he was going to come early.

Little did I know that June 12th would roll around and labor would be no where in sight. I feel like everyday is groundhog day- each night I go to bed hopeful that in the middle of the night I'll wake up in massive pain and pure joy in my heart knowing our baby boy was on his way. Then each morning I wake up, in no pain, and not in labor. For over a week now I'm like "okay! Today is the day!" and then... well... the days passes and still no baby. Patience is quite a difficult thing, it takes a massive amount of discipline to keep a positive attitude in the midst of feeling frustrated and impatient. I'm so grateful because I received some advice that was super helpful to my husband and I, someone told us to plan something fun to do everyday that way you have things to look forward to and be excited about other than baby coming. That way if I wake up feeling bummed that I'm not in labor yet, I am thinking at least I get to do blank today. My husband and I have been trying to have a blast with that, we've gone on more fun dates together in the last week and a half than we have in the last few months prior. I have also received more pedicures in the last two months than I have in the last two years, now that has been a real treat! We are trying to focus on enjoying our time together and embracing these last moments we have together before our little guy takes us from two to three.

To be honest though, it's much more difficult than you'd think. Nick and I are both so crazy excited to meet our son and spend time with him, that being patient is quite a task. And for me, there are so many other factors that make me feel impatient, pregnancy at 41 weeks is not too easy. The last two weeks have been difficult emotionally because I got stretch marks. Up until now I was so proud of how beautiful the skin on my pregnant belly looked, and now I have some "battle wounds". Obviously I know it's all worth it... duhh, I get that and I don't need you to remind me. But if I'm being totally honest, transparent and not trying to fake my attitude just in hopes of sounding inspiring, then I'll admit to you that getting stretch marks from pregnancy can be quite emotional. I feel like I'll never look the way I did before I was pregnant, which bums be out because I should have appreciated my body more. It might sound shallow but now I'm wondering if I'll ever get to wear a bikini again. All these things cross my mind and of course I know the result is my beautiful son, but it doesn't mean that body changes aren't hard. I'm sure one day I won't care at all about my stretch marks, but for today it's been very emotional for me to know my tummy will never quite look the same. Something that has helped remind me of what's important is to remind myself that some women can't have babies and would kill to have those stretch marks if it meant having a sweet baby.

It really helps to accept my body changes when I remind myself of the bigger picture. But like I said before, on my blog you'll only find honesty and transparency from me and heck if I'm being honest I've cried quite a few times over these darn stretch marks. Hormones maybe? 

Source

I must prep you, if you haven't gone overdue in a pregnancy but do in the future, there are a few things that you'll 100% experience. One is that you will receive a trillion messages a day. "Baby here". "Hey how are you..." (which actually means are you in labor yet?). "I have a feeling today is the day!" And although everyone sending those messages is SO sweet and supportive and of course they only mean well, when you get over 10 a day minimum... it can get frustrating. I've started replying, nope no baby. Ha ha! And the best is every time you call someone, they get crazy excited to pick up the phone and hear you say "I'm in labor!" only to disappoint them by actually calling to ask a stupid question or have some small talk. 

The other thing you must know is that you're gonna get bombarded with "TRY THIS" if you go overdue. Everyone has their secret method to how they got their baby out, and trust me a week ago I wanted to know them all! I was googling "how to naturally induce labor" or asking my already mommy friends how they did it multiple times a day. Well, then I tried every single thing on the list and well, still no baby. I have walked, done squats, bounced on the ball for hours, eaten spicy food, eaten dates and pineapple to thing my cervix, had sex, had an induction massage, gotten a pedicure in hopes that the foot rub would do it, and oh ya we have even tried a ton of nipple stimulation (sorry TMI). Well I can honestly say I'm over trying to induce labor. I'm beginning to think that we create all these old wives tales that induce labor because it helps us feel like we have control over the situation. Well, I think the reality is those things might work a bit, but at the end of the day God's timing trumps everything and there is nothing we can do about that. 

With all of the frustration, tears, body changes, annoying old wives tales, etc. surprisingly there are a few positives to going overdue. One, like I mentioned before, is the extra alone time with your spouse. I've loved spending so much time with Nick during this overdue stage of pregnancy. I feel so grateful and blessed, I've seen a whole new level of support from him that has just been amazing. He is frustrated and having a hard time being patient too, and it's nice to have each other to lean on during this time. We have gotten to the point where we just try to laugh a lot to take our minds off of baby G not being here yet. I really feel this we are in it together vibe that gives me such a sense of peace and security. I am a truly blessed wife. 

Another perk to going overdue is it gives you more time to prepare. We recently moved and although the house was ready enough by his due date, there was still more work that needed done. We still aren't totally done with everything on our list, but during the last week we've made a ton of progress with getting settled in the house, ordering things we need and doing a bit more deep cleaning. I guess you can say we've taken the time to do a bit of nesting and it sure does feel nice. 

The last thing I think might be a perk to being overdue is my perspective on labor. There's been a bit of a shift the last few weeks from slight fear of labor to omg get thing baby out of me! I seriously cannot wait to be in pain because it means I'll soon not be pregnant and I will have our baby in my arms. I truly think because I've been pushed to my limits with pregnancy it will mentally prepare me for embracing labor and delivery better. I think I will welcome it with open arms and be more mentally in the zone once it's here. Every time I feel a cramp or a pain I get excited and start hoping that it's the start of labor. Who knows if when I do go into labor I'll still feel the same way, but I sure do think the mental shift will help me embrace labor that much more. 

I pray the next post I write is welcoming baby Greco into the world. I am so ready and eager to meet him and to shift from my pregnancy journey to my mommy journey. Thanks for following along throughout this whole pregnancy. 

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Pregnancy Must Haves

Well, I'm just days away from our little guy's due date and I find myself reflecting on my pregnancy. Overall I've loved the experience, the good the bad and the ugly, all result in our son so I am learning to love it all. As I reflect I find myself feeling like it went so slow but it also flew by at the same time... how is that possible? I am so eager, nervous, excited and crazy curious about meeting our little guy. I cannot wait. 

Throughout the pregnancy there have been things that I personally think are pregnancy must haves. Every pregnancy is different, but for mine there were a few products that I just couldn't live without and made the whole pregnancy process way more pleasurable. If you are preggers, I think this list might help you. I have added in Amazon links to make it easy for y'all to find the products, you might have to turn off Ad Blocker to view them. Okay, let's get into it...

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TUMS

If there is any product that I COULD NOT live without during my entire pregnancy, especially second and third trimester, it's TUMS. Holy heart burn, this baby must be super hairy because I have heart burn all the time. I had never really experienced bad heart burn prior to pregnancy, so this really took me by surprise. It makes you feel super acidic and for me it was hard to have an appetite when the heart burn would strike. The only things I want when I have heart burn are a glass of milk and a couple of TUMS. It is quite amazing though, with my experience the TUMS took the heart burn away within a few minutes of eating them. I carried a container of TUMS in my purse the entire pregnancy. Praise God for those little tropical treats!

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Preggie Pops

I have to admit, I didn't have the worst first trimester. I got super lucky with only a little bit of nausea, but I did still have some. I especially had nausea towards the end of my first trimester. I had never heard of Preggie Pops before, but my sister in law gave me some right after she heard I was pregnant. I was skeptical, they just look like little candies, but honestly they helped me a ton! I'm not even sure what's in Preggie Pops that helps fight nausea, but they work. Luckily the nausea stopped for me after the first trimester, but these were a life saver at times when I needed them. 

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Maternity Clothes & Belly Bands

If you read my 26 Week Bumpdate, then you know how I feel about purchasing maternity clothes. Your body goes through so many crazy changes throughout pregnancy and the last thing you need is to be trying to squeeze your body into your "normal" clothes, and then feeling like a big whale of a pregnant woman... no thank you! When I was in my first trimester I kept refusing to spend money on maternity clothes, saying that all of our money needed to go towards baby stuff and not mom. Luckily my mom was in my ear telling me if I wanted to enjoy my pregnancy then I needed to feel good about myself and my new body, and getting clothes that actually fit me right would allow me to feel comfortable and confident. Well, per usual, my mom was so right. I'm so grateful I got a good amount of maternity wear during my pregnancy. There are still a few tops and dresses that I owned prior to pregnancy that I am able to wear while pregnant, but not a full wardrobe worth. Maternity clothes used to be really frumpy and not cute at all, so ladies I say take advantage of the new and improved style that maternity wear has, buy some and feel confident (and comfortable)!

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Prenatal Massages

This is SO worth the money! Throughout pregnancy you'll get aches and pains that you would have never even though about, unless you are crazy lucky. Before I got pregnant, I had heard of pregnant women experiencing back pain, but who knew there would be massive leg pain too. Especially in my third trimester, I've lost so much sleep because of the aches and pain the sides of my legs have. Throughout my pregnancy I got two prenatal massages, which is not enough! I mean it's better than none, but gosh the more the better. It relieved so much of my leg and back pain. On top of relieving physical pain, the prenatal massages released a lot of mental stress. Pregnancy is emotional, your body is releasing all sorts of hormones that you aren't used to and it can be quite draining. The prenatal massages allowed me to de-stress, unplug mentally and relax. It's so important to take care of yourself physically and mentally throughout pregnancy and I personally think this is one of the best ways. 

If you are in the Denver area, go see Katie Dempter with Elevated Bodywork. Like I said before, I received two prenatal massages throughout my pregnancy, they were both nice but one was way better than the other. The first massage I had was decent, the girl was super nice, but the atmosphere was not peaceful at all. The lights were on, there was no peaceful music, and I could hear people talking in the office right outside the door the entire massage. When I went to see Katie for my second prenatal massage, it was a totally different experience. Her massage room is so peaceful, the lighting and music set the tone to really relax. She uses essential oils to reduce stress, and she knows what she's talking about when it comes to prenatal massages. It was so reassuring to hear her knowledge on what you can and can't do during a prenatal massage in each trimester. I absolutely loved her massage, I can't rave about it enough and I'd recommend it to any of my Denver area readers! 

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Coconut Oil, Bio-Oil & Coco Butter Lotion

I've heard mixed opinions on stretch marks, many say it's genetics and that you can't control if you'll get them or not. I don't know all of the facts, but my personal opinion on it was that I was going to keep my belly as moisturized as possible just in case it helps prevent stretch marks. I am currently 38 weeks pregnant and up until this week I has zero stretch marks from this pregnancy. As of now I only have a tiny one near my belly button, around the skin where I used to have my belly button pierced. I am really really praying that I don't get anymore, if I do I know it'll of course be worth it, but I still hope I don't. Throughout my pregnancy I've used multiple containers of organic coconut oil, it's been my number one form of belly moisturizer. I even have a few t-shirts that I have ruined because they have so much coconut oil on them. I also use Bio-Oil on my tummy, I have a few friends that swear by this stuff. It's supposed to help reduce the appearance of stretch marks, so at this point I am obsessively putting it around my belly button in hopes it helps. I've also been using Palmer's coco butter stretch mark cream and their regular coco butter lotion. I love all of these products and hopefully I won't get anymore stretch marks. 

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Ginger Tea & RASPBERRY Leaf Tea

During my first trimester I eliminated coffee and caffeine. I'm a total coffee addict so that was quite difficult. Also, it was during the winter months so all I wanted was a cup of something warm to drink. For those months, instead of coffee I drank tea. They don't recommend all teas during pregnancy so I stuck to ones that were safe and actually beneficial to my pregnancy. Ginger tea was awesome to fight nausea during the first trimester. I personally love the taste of ginger tea with honey and it did help settle my tummy at times. Raspberry leaf tea is also super tasty. Midwives suggest it during pregnancy because it is known to support the uterus and the female system. 

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YETI Cup

Sometime in January a friend gave me a Yeti cup, and omg it's become a pregnancy must have for me. I'm not the best at drinking water, I only enjoy drinking lemon water or water that is ice cold. If I am carrying a water bottle around with me all day, I am less likely to stay hydrated and drink it if the water gets room temperature or warm. Having a mug that keeps my water cold all day has helped me so much, it makes it so I actually enjoy drinking water and I stay hydrated during my pregnancy, which is so important for you and baby. I carry a 30oz one with me all day, and even though it's a bit of a pain in the butt to lug around, it's so worth it. 

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Well there you have it, those are my top pregnancy must haves! Those are the things I used most and felt like I couldn't live without during pregnancy. I hope this list helps you throughout your pregnancy. If you have any pregnancy must have suggestions, comment below, I'd love to hear!

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Travel & "Oh The Places You'll Go!" Themed Baby Shower

If you know me or have been a reader of my blog for a while now, then you aren't at all shocked with the theme we chose for our baby shower. My husband and I are total travel lovers, so naturally our baby's room theme and the baby shower theme had to be travel related. I loved the idea of a travel themed baby shower that had hints and touches of the "Oh The Places You'll Go!" , the children's book by Dr. Seuss. If you haven't already read that book, do. It's adorable and has so many huge life lessons crammed into a "children's book". I personally think anyone at any age would just adore that book. To me, this baby shower theme was a perfect fit for our family. Nick and I love travel, and we also love the idea and live by the idea that anyone can do anything that they want to in life, which is one of the themes throughout the book. So, like I said, the theme was a perfect fit for us. I also think it's such a precious theme for a baby boy! If I was having a little girl I probably would have been sucked into doing a theme based on color, glitter and tutus lol. 

I want to give a special thank you to everyone who helped plan the baby shower. I picked the theme and helped with the ideas, but my amazing family and close family friends helped put it all together. We feel so blessed to have them in our lives and couldn't feel more grateful for the perfect baby shower they threw for us and baby Giulian. Thank you! 

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The Invitations

I had the privilege of collaborating with Basic Invite for my baby shower invitations. I couldn't be more pleased with the company and how the invitations turned out! This was my first time ordering through Basic Invite, but it won't be my last. I was very impressed with the quality of the product, and the amount of choices and options they allow when creating the invitations. They had this adorable airplane template that was a perfect fit for the travel themed shower. My favorite part was that I had the option to change and play around with the colors of  almost everything on the invitation. They are one of few websites that offer almost unlimited color options with instant preview. This was so helpful when designing the invitations because I was able to use the colors of the baby shower. They also offer over 40 different colors of envelopes. I'm a girl who LOVES choices, so this was a big bonus in my opinion! I chose the color "Pewter Shimmer", it is a shimmery grey/metallic silver. Our main baby shower colors were silver and baby blue, so the invitations matched perfectly. You could also choose details like the trim of the actual invitation. I chose the "ticket" trim since it made it resemble an old travel ticket. Once you are finished designing your invitation, you can order a sample of it to make sure it's exactly what you wanted. I love that feature, that way you aren't disappointed with your product and running into any issues. Once of my absolute favorite features that Basic Invite offers is their free address collection service. This made my life so much easier and saved my hand from some carpal tunnel! This service basically allows you to gather all of the addresses you need for the invitations all through a link. I was able to send the link to everyone invited to my baby shower, then once they put their address in the system I was then able to get the addresses printed onto the envelopes for free. So simple and stress free. I wish I used them for our wedding invitations a few years ago. The address collection service has also been helpful while I am filling out thank you cards. When I am looking for someones mailing address I just log back into Basic Invite's website and scroll through my address book on there. Overall I love this company's invitations and I will absolutely be using them in the future. I'd also recommend them to anyone reading this post, I had a great experience and was very pleased with their products and services. 

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The Decor & Details

The welcome table was just adorable. There was a sign that said "Please help the busy mom to be by making yourself the addressee" along side a stack of blue envelopes that match the thank you cards. That was it saves me some time on filling out the addresses when sending out the thank you cards. We had a little globe that said "follow that dream" placed on the welcome table. I purchased that globe for Baby G's room and it tied in perfectly with the shower. Also on the welcome table there were little blue pieces of paper for each guest to write "motherly advice" on. Then they could put it in the precious travel suitcase box that was on the table. 

Photo by Zoey Grace Photography

Photo by Zoey Grace Photography

Photo by Zoey Grace Photography

I made the "Oh The Places We'll Go" banner. I'm a sucker for cute banners, I think they add so much to baby showers, bridal showers, etc. I also made another banner that was different hot air balloons, but we didn't get a photo of them (bummer), that banner was used to hang on the food table. I also made the card basket that was made to look like a hot air balloon. Then we added little decorations here and there like the actual Dr. Seuss book and a G for our little guy's name, Giulian Georgio Greco. 

Photo by Zoey Grace Photography

Photo by Zoey Grace Photography

My mom made the most adorable treats for people to take home and they were in shabby chic wood boxes on each table as the centerpieces. There were two different treats, one was a white chocolate covered pretzel with blue sprinkles and the other treat was chocolate covered Oreo cookies that were made to look like baby rattles. Each treat had a label on it that said "Bundle of Boy", my mom handmade each of the labels too. The treats were absolutely precious and of course delicious. She also filled blue mason jars nuts for people to snack on at their tables. 

Photo by Zoey Grace Photography

Photo by Zoey Grace Photography

Photo by Zoey Grace Photography

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The Cake

The cake turned out to be precious! Thank you to one of my best friends Jenny for making the cake, girl you are so talented. I had sent her a few cakes that I liked on Pinterest and we chatted about what it'd look like. Her and her mom did the cake and I was so impressed, I loved the airplanes, clouds, the different colored layers, and of course the sweet baby in a hot air balloon on top. It truly was the best travel themed cake for a little boy baby shower. There are so many hot air balloons in the book "Oh The Places You'll Go!" so the cake topper couldn't have been more perfect. I love that each tier of the cake has something different. The planes and the clouds are simple and exactly what I was looking for. 

We also had some decor items on the cake/ dessert table. The picture frame on the table has an illustration from the book in it. Then next to it is a big globe that we put the words Oh The Places You'll Go on. 

Photo by Zoey Grace Photography

Photo by Zoey Grace Photography

Photo by Zoey Grace Photography

Photo by Zoey Grace Photography

Photo by Zoey Grace Photography

Photo by Zoey Grace Photography

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The Food & Drinks

Alongside the cake there were a bunch of other dessert options. My family and friends sure know how to throw a party, they always provide way more food and treats than probably necessary. But heck, it's nice to have the options. 

The blue crates you see that are holding the plates I found in Delaware at a cute beach store. Nobody at the shower would have known they fit with the travel theme, but they do since we got them on our personal travels. They were handmade by a local and my Aunt Pam was sweet enough to get them for baby G's room and ship them to us here in Colorado. In his room they'll hold all of his books, but they were perfect at the shower too to hold the plates.

Photo by Zoey Grace Photography

Photo by Zoey Grace Photography

Photo by Zoey Grace Photography

Photo by Zoey Grace Photography

There was tons of food to choose from, and it was all so tasty! There was chicken salad, rolls, fruit, chips, salsa, several dips, crackers, gluten free crackers, gluten free scones and muffins, little quiches, egg/green chili casserole, mini muffins, mini cinnamon rolls, and the most adorable veggie train. The vegetable train was made by a close family friend and it couldn't have turned out more adorable! Trains of course go with the travel theme so it was a great way to add some character to the food table. 

Photo by Zoey Grace Photography

Photo by Zoey Grace Photography

Photo by Zoey Grace Photography

Photo by Zoey Grace Photography

Photo by Zoey Grace Photography

Photo by Zoey Grace Photography

Photo by Zoey Grace Photography

Photo by Zoey Grace Photography

Photo by Zoey Grace Photography

Photo by Zoey Grace Photography

Photo by Zoey Grace Photography

Photo by Zoey Grace Photography

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Shower Highlights

This day truly brought tears to my eyes. Our friends and family are so amazing and spoiled us and little baby G. We are so blessed to have such sweet and loving people in our lives who are so generous and kind. It feels great to have a strong support system during this important time in our life. They say it takes a village to raise a child, and I wouldn't choose any other village over ours. My heart is filled with so much gratitude. 

Oh and btw look how dang adorable my niece's dress is!! It's an "Oh The Places You'll Go!" dress. She is part of the decor for the day and wow did that little princess love the attention. 

Photo by Zoey Grace Photography

Photo by Zoey Grace Photography

Photo by Zoey Grace Photography

Photo by Zoey Grace Photography

Photo by Zoey Grace Photography

Photo by Zoey Grace Photography

Photo by Zoey Grace Photography

Photo by Zoey Grace Photography

Photo by Zoey Grace Photography

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Thank you so much to Sam from Zoey Grace Photography for shooting the shower. I love the photos and will cherish them forever! If you are reading this and are in the Denver area, I would totally recommend her. She was super professional and I loved her photos. Thanks Sam!

*The photos of the invitations were taken by me, not the photographer. 

I hope you enjoyed this post and hopefully it helped you with some baby shower inspiration. Make sure to subscribe below for blog updates and to get notified when new posts go live. 

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Three Things My Mother Has Taught Me

With Mother's Day just a few days away,  I wanted to do a post to honor my mom, Michelle Cook Wheeler. I truly am blessed when it comes to the mom category, my mom is the best. She is the most loving person I know, by far. She is generous, kind, selfless and as sweet as can be. And to top it off, she's incredibly fun to be around. It's so easy to take her for granted because she's just always been the best and I sometimes forget that having a mom like her isn't a guarantee in life, I just got extremely lucky. My parents got a divorce when I was about 12 years old, after that point it was basically just my mom raising me. In middle school friends would tell me that my mom and I were like Rory and Lorelai from Gilmore Girls. Much like Rory, I didn't really have a big gap in my life since my dad wasn't there much because my mom was great enough to fill both positions. She was always there for me, always did the best she could and was always extremely loving through thick and thin. She's the kind of mom that will drop everything she had planned and come pick you up when your tire pops an hour + outside of town (yes that recently happened), and she never gripes or groans when I ask for her help with stuff like that. She's the kind of mom that will do anything and everything for you just to make your life easier, without asking for anything in return. When I say I'm blessed with a great mom, it really is true and honestly writing this post is somewhat frustrating because there aren't enough words I could use, things I could say or stories I could share to really get you to understand how amazing she is. 

Of course my mom has taught me more than three things, but for this post I wanted to share three things that she has taught me that have really shaped who I am today and who I strive to be. These three things that my mom taught me are principles that some people never understand or apply to their lives. I'm so grateful that my mom taught me these things because it has made me a better person and now that I'm about to be a mom, I can teach these lessons to my son. 

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Reciprocity Is Not Part Of Love

I already touched a bit on my mom's selflessness, but through her being that way she has taught me a greater lesson than she probably consciously meant to. She does random acts of kindness for people all the time. From small things to really big things and everywhere in between. She's got a heart to serve and I see it everyday. The list of selfless things she does for people is crazy long. The most current thing she's doing is helping out with one of her clients while the woman battles cancer. My mom does hair for a living and has a ton of clients that she's seen for many years. One of her clients is currently battling with cancer but unfortunately this woman's family hasn't been the greatest in supporting her through this. She told my mom that and so my mom decided it was her duty to drive this woman all around town multiple times a month to go to doctor appointments, and even help run this lady's errands. My mom has no agenda, expects absolutely nothing in return, and is just out to make this woman's life easier. I'm not exaggerating when I say my mom does stuff like this all the time. She does selfless things to help out my sister and I, our family, her best friends, and she even extends her help to people she isn't super close. This has set such a great example in my life to do things without expecting anything in return. Do kind things for people just for the love of helping others, not for what you might gain in return. What a huge life lesson. I'm by no means perfect at this, I've got a lot of growing and I know I can be selfish at times, but it sure is nice to have that example set for me to match and model. It's such a great feeling knowing that every time my mom helps me out or does something for me that she isn't making a list of "things I did for Danielle" or "Danielle owes me". She doesn't keep score and she simply tells me "that's what family does for one another". She is spot on with that mindset and I strive to be more and more selfless everyday. 

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Be Kind To People, No Matter Their Status

From dirt poor or homeless, to middle class, to rich... my mom is kind to everyone. She's not blind and of course she acknowledges that status and social class are a real thing in society, but she doesn't like or dislike someone based on that. If someone is dirt broke but is kind, my mom will be kind back, treating them with respect and dignity. If someone is extremely rich, and is a kind person, my mom will treat them just the same. She's more about checking out someone's character than their economic status when she's deciding how to treat someone. But it goes further than status. If someone is ugly, she won't be caught making fun of them. If someone is disabled, she'll help them and not treat them like they are less than. The list goes on, but you get the idea. She is kind to people. She doesn't bully, judge, shame, etc. When I was growing up, she taught me to be nice to everyone at school (unless of course someone was a jerk then she would want me to stand my ground), but if she found out I was making fun of someone for a petty reason, she would be disgusted with me and rip me a new one. I was homecoming queen freshman year and prom queen senior year in high-school and I joke that it's because I had so many different "groups" who would vote for me. I wan't mean to someone because they were "nerdy". I didn't think I was better than someone for being in a certain group. I think that's because my mom taught me well. She set the standard that it was unacceptable to be rude to someone if they didn't deserve it. Now, I'm not saying I was perfect, I have a few memories where I acted like a typical high-school brat, but for the most part I tried to be kind to everyone and those bad memories make me sick when I think about them. Everyone deserves to be treated like an equal. I'm so grateful that my mom set a solid example when it comes to how to treat others because in life this is such a big deal. It's about loving like Jesus loves. I hope to be that example for my son. 

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Embrace Your Inner Dork

Life is more fun when you act like a goofball, embrace your inner dork and laugh a lot. My mom and I have acted like TOTAL dorks together. I mean, if I had video of this you'd just die! I act like a dork (goofball, whatever you want to call it), a lot and I get that from my mom. I know to some of you that might not sound like a compliment, but to me and my mom that's not a bad thing. Sometimes in life you just need to not take yourself too seriously, loosen up and have a little fun. It's okay to dance like an idiot, laugh 'till your cheeks are sore and play around like a child. My mom and I aren't always like this, but when we get in these goofy moods, there's no stopping us. Sometimes my nephews just look at us like "omg you are so embarrassing" and I am totally okay with that, I find it hilarious. My mom and I went on a road trip to the east coast (a 24 + hour drive) and let me tell you that was some of the most fun I've had with my mom ever. We'd have to laugh a little to make the drive go by faster and trust me if we didn't act like crazy women, that drive would have felt a lot longer. I'm so grateful that my mom isn't "too cool" or has an attitude that she needs to act like a snob and be serious all the time. Our life would have been more bland growing up if that was the case. I love that I can be myself and act so silly around her without fear of any judgement. She's a blast and I cherish all of our goofy memories together. No matter how old we get we will continue to create those memories. 

Mom,

Thank you for being the woman that you are. Thank you for all that you've taught me through the years and for always being there for me. There are so many things you've taught me on purpose, but these things I've listed above are some of my favorite lessons I've learned from simply observing how you live your life. These are lessons I will apply in my life and it'll make me a better woman. You've consistently lived your life this way year after year and I've been able to watch and learn, trying to adapt these things into my own life. I am proud to have you as my mom and am so grateful that my son will have you as a grandma. You are the best and I know I don't tell you enough how much I love you and how much you mean to me. Happy Mother's Day Mom!

Love you,

Danielle

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