Top 10 for moms

Top 10 things every new mother should know- but that nobody wants to tell you:

10. There's no such thing as routine anymore. Just when you think you've got it all figured out -BAM- a growth spurt hits, or you go out of town for the weekend. And then you spend the next week getting it all figured out again.

9. Never EVER put on your clothes prior to having the baby dressed and in the car seat...unless you want  spit-up all over your freshly washed shirt. (Which took you 2 days to actually get washed, dried, AND put away.)

8. Let go of those expectations that your house will remain clean as it did pre-baby. Trust me on this one- I used to CLEAN every single week...now my teeny-tiny apartment hasn't been cleaned in the past 3 months!

7. You can read all the books out there on how to make your baby happy, how to have the perfect sleep routine, and everything else you need to do as a new mommy. NONE of them will fit your baby 100%. You do what works for you, and if somebody doesn't like it, then they can just....well maybe I should just stop there. 

6. After eagerly waiting the 6 weeks after birth to get the "all clear" from your doctor...sex sucks. I'm serious...it's painful!  I guess I had in my head that since I wasn't in pain anymore, then I was 100% healed. WRONG! And when I called the nurse about this around 10 weeks postpartum, and explained that my baby was 8 lb 12 oz, she almost screamed at me and told me that of course it would still hurt...I had a big baby and lots of "trauma" went on down there. It does get better with time...and a little something else. lol

5.  The "linea nigra" AKA, that huge dark line stretching from your hoo-ha up to your ta-tas does NOT go away any time soon. I guess I had it in my mind that it would magically disappear once the little man was out of my belly....little did I know that most online forums that I've read say it takes up to a year!!!! 

4. Pre-baby-weight does NOT equal pre-baby-body!! Seriously, those skinny jeans may barely snap around your belly, but when you look in the mirror you completely grasp the meaning of "muffin-top". And you also have no time to work out to eliminate that extra layer of flab, so it's baggy clothes, and lots of layers! 

3. Babies spit up vomit. Apparently this is normal, unless it's done "excessively"...and what 1st time parent doesn't think 1 time is excessive?!?! The biggest factor that contributed to EJ's vomiting was eating too much. It's hard to tell when breast feeding exactly how much is being taken in...and a LOT of things appear to be hunger cues when they're tiny. You just learn as you go here...

2. Remember when your mom said she could never go to the bathroom in private because the kids interrupted. Well, this is SO true even from the beginning! I swear, every time I take a shower or have to pee, TheHubs insists that EJ needs me immediately.

1. Hemorrhoids are a real pain in the butt. I thought that I would magically be the one who didn't have to suffer through this part of labor and delivery, but boy was I wrong! And they don't go away any time soon....TWO months for me to be exact. And every minute sucks!

Praying head to toe

This was in my daily devotion that I get from Bible Gateway.com. Just thought I'd share. 

Lord, I pray for my husband, from head to toe:

• His Head –That he will look to You as Lord of his life. (1 Corinthians 11:13)
• His Mind - That he will have the mind of Christ and think as the Holy Spirit would lead him and not the flesh. (1 Corinthians 2:16)
• His Eyes –That You will keep his eyes from temptation and that he will turnhis eyes from sin. (Matthew 6:13, Mark 9:47)
• His Ears - That he will hear Your still small voice instructing him. (1 Kings 19:12, Psalm 32:8)
• His Mouth – That his words will be pleasing to You. (Psalm 19:14)
• His Neck –That he will humble himself before You and be strong, courageous, and careful to do everything written in Your Word so that he will be prosperous and successful. (James 4:10, Joshua 1:8-9)
• His Heart-That he will love and trust You with his whole heart. (Deuteronomy 6:5, Proverbs 3:5)
• His Arms-That You will be his strength. (Psalm 73:26)
• His Hands-That he will enjoy the work of his hands and see it as a gift from You. (Ecclesiastes 3:13, 5:19)
• His feet – That You will order his steps and that he will walk in Your truth. (Proverbs 4:25, Psalm 26:3)

Love Story

Why not continue with the spirit of Valentine's day by sharing your love story?!? I must say, that TheHubs' and my story is one of my favorites! :)

1. How long have you and your significant other been together?

June will be 5 years since we started dating..

2. How did you meet? {What's your "love" story?}

Ohhh goodness, where do I begin?

You see, his sister and brother-in-law were the youth ministers at my church from the time I was 14 until my senior year of high school. TheHubs would often come visit his sister, and so I knew of him through her. 

She told me from the get-go that I was going to marry her brother. I seriously never believed her because he's 7 years a few years older. Thehubs also had a crush on me after seeing a picture of me in a beauty pageant...little did he know my age as well. lol My dad of course would never let me date him due to the age difference, so nothing happened until I was in college. 

April 2006, I had just ended a crazy insane relationship, and Thehubs found out and made a move. He got my number while I was driving him back to his car one night after an Easter program at church, and we began dating round 1 at that point.

I broke things off after a month or too....honestly because I thought he was too good for me.

Over the next year, I devoted my life to just being single and focusing on my relationship with The Lord. Thehubs said he devoted his life to praying for just one more date with me!

So Spring 2007, he convinced me to go with him to a Celtic Woman Concert in Atlanta "just as friends." I honestly think the both of us were going in to it thinking it would just be a fun day as friends hanging out. But UH OH....from the moment I saw him that morning, I was falling head over heals. Something was different...

The rest is history...

3. If married, how long have you been married? If not, is this the guy you hope to marry? {do tell}

June 6th will be 3 years of marital bliss....lol

4. If you are married, where did you get married at? Big or small wedding?  If not, where would you like to get married? And will it be big or small?

We got married outside at my parent's house. Sounds like a small wedding, but we had 150-175 guests. It was the most beautiful wedding ever, if you ask me! A Dessert reception was in the back yard as the sun was setting, with dancing and music to top it off. 

5. Do you have any nick-names that you call one another? Do share!

Not any serious nick-names. We do call each other "baby" and "babe" a lot, but who doesn't'??

6. Name 3 things you love most about your honey.

How about FIFTY-TWO things!?!?! 

7. Tell us how he proposed? Or your ideal proposal?

He had arranged for me to come to his apartment to help his sister put together a computer desk for his birthday. Or at least that's what I thought. When I got there, our song was playing in the background, and there was a note on the oven written on a paper towel telling me how much he loves me and can't wait to spend the rest of his life with me. It then instructed me to go to the bedroom for a surprise. 

I walked into the bedroom to see him on his knee, with the ring waiting for me. I believe his actual words were "Heather, you are the love of my life..will you take it one step further and become my wife?" 

I know....precious!! =)

8. Is he a flowers and teddy bear kind of guy for v-day, or strawberries, champagne, and rose petals?

Um, I guess a flowers and teddy bear if I had to choose, but really neither one. He's more of a dinner some place nice kind of guy...

9. Are you a sunset dinner on the beach kind of girl, or pop a movie in and relax on the couch?

These days I've become more of a pop a movie in and relax kind of girl...and I'd probably fall asleep..

10. Tell us one thing you'd like to do with your significant one day. If you could do anything? Go anywhere?

I'd love to either go on a cruise some place amazing, or go to St. Lucia island like we had originally planned for our honeymoon...

11. Tell us what you plan on doing on this Valentine's Day.

I plan on working all day. I believe Thehubs also has to work. We actually plan on celebrating Wednesday night when his mom comes to watch the baby and we're gonna go out somewhere nice to eat.

12. Are you asking for anything this Valentine's day?

Nope, just some alone time with my man....and for him to be all sweet to me.

13. Give us one piece of advice of keeping a relationship strong and full of love.

I have so much advice that I love to give to newly weds. I believe the biggest though is to never EVER let "divorce" be a part of your vocabulary. It's not even an option. E.V.E.R.

Also, live by 1 Peter 3:1-6. Read it often, and actually do what it says. Submit....I should get better at that...Respect him always. Have a gentle and quiet spirit...

14.  Show us a picture of what love means to you.

Can you tell he had NO sleep?? This was day 3 of baby boy's life....and my hubby was so sacrificially taking care of him while I waddled very carefully around the hospital room getting some of or our stuff together to go home. 

Ok, go on over to From Mrs to Mamma and share your story too! 

DIY gift

I'm really not the crafty type, nor do I ever really make gifts myself. But I hot a little creative this year for Valentines Day and decided to make TheHubs' gift myself. :)
"52 Things I love about You"
My cousin, Danielle, said she did it for her hubby a few years ago and so I thought I could pull it off this year. Plus, with a little one around, I must admit I haven't been as affectionate and verbal about my love for him. So here's the big reveal... I know I'm safe posting this bc he NEVER reads my. blog. At least that I know of. :)

12 weeks!

I'll start by saying one thing I've learned over the past month since being back at work full time.
THIS IS THE HARDEST JOB EVER!

Being a working mom... Heck, being a mom in general means you don't get time to sleep as long as you want or go and do as you please. Both if those were regularly done prior to having a baby. But please don't get me wrong... I absolutely love every single minute of it. I never knew you could possibly function on such little sleep...

So what's happened over the past month? Well we went for our 2 month check up and Mr EJ is certainly a big boy!

At 2 months he was 25" long and 14 lb 15 oz!!
He was off the charts on height, and over the 95th percentile in his weight! DrB was very proud of both mommy and baby for the good growth. I'm still breast feeding exclusively and I'm so thankful that I've been able to do so. I've thought several times about giving up bc it's so stressful at times, but just when I think that I realize how much more stress it would be to constantly be washing bottles and mixing formula.

I hate washing the 1-2 bottles along with my pumping stuff everyday as if us so i can only imagine how much I'd hate it if we formula fed.

Today marks 12 weeks since the little fellow was born and time just keeps flying by.

*EJ is now trying to hold up his head on own. He no longer just flops it forward when you sit him up to burp. He thinks he has to see the world.

*He has just started squirming around more in his bed throughout the night. Still not rolling over or anything, but when I go to get him up he has maneuvered himself to be turned sideways and over on the right side if the crib. This made the angel monitor go off the other night and scared the mess out if me!

* EJ loves play time. Ever since he was born he has loved to just lay on the floor and kick his legs and play. That is still true today. Sometimes he'll even get fussy when being held and cuddled bc he just wants to be put down so he can play. He loves to play with his rattle, and has started reaching for things a little. For example, he now hold on to my arm during diaper changes, and he'll sometimes reach for the rattle too.

* We are in size 6 month clothes and some of his 6 month sleepers are getting too small. His little feet are shoved all the way to the edge and I know it can't be comfortable when he wants to stretch out. Looks like we'll be making the move to 6-9 and 9 month clothes very soon.

* Nap times are a chore. Since my work schedule us kinda random, he stays at home with either me, Thehuns, his mom or my cousin. With all that in the mix it's hard to have consistency.

*He wants to laugh so bad! I love tickling him and he'll give me ons giggle, but that's about it for now.

I guess I'll wrap this up instead of putting you all to sleep, but of course not before I leave you with lots of adorable pictures!