itching to do a major closet clean out and to buy some much needed new Spring styles.
Archives for March 2019
Life Lately
lots of photos of our littlest who is ONE month old today!
My 5 Postpartum Must Haves
As promised here’s a post on a few things I seriously couldn’t live without right now. The postpartum phase isn’t easy – your body has been through SO much and when products/materials can help you through this phase it’s a really big deal. Hope one or more of these help other fellow mamas out!
Two fellow mom’s told me to get this before Palmer was born. It took me awhile to get used to it, but boy it is a MILK SAVER. I remember feeding Hudson and soaking my nursing pads and being so bummed to waste the breastmilk. This is perfect – while you nurse or pump, simply adhere this self pump to your other breast and let it do it’s magic. Plus, it’s under $15 and super portable.
I bought it originally for my face, but I’ve used it so much on my chest, too. With getting mastitis I needed to alternate hot/cold compresses and this ice roller was a big help in icing/massaging out my milk ducts. Also super affordable and you’ll find a million ways to use it.
3 // Blanqi High Waist Support Leggingsh
I actually reached out to the brand because I felt they were doing some really cool things in the postpartum space. Support wear for women before/during/after pregnancy. I gained a lot more weight with this pregnancy and after delivery a lot of clothes just either 1) don’t fit or 2) don’t sound appealing. Thankfully the lovely ladies at Blanqi sent me their new postpartum high waist support leggings and I LOVE THEM. Super comfortable, keeps everything in, no seams and they keep their shape. These are under $70 and is you do the cost per wear thing, you’ll get your money of them ten fold.
Our pediatrician recommended this early on. She saw how healthy and big he was when Palmer was born and was like “Get Mother’s Milk tea, stat!” So for the most part I’ve been drinking it everyday and even though I’m not pumping 10oz bottles I am keeping up for the most part. It tastes like a nice Chai Tea if you mix in some oat milk and natural sugar.
Every 2-3 hours either nursing/pumping can be exhausting. And while you’re still getting your body back you don’t really want your tummy to show or hang out while you pump. I like the Asos nursing tops – affordable, stylish and versatile. They keep you covered but give you the access you and your little needs.
Why I Turned to Minted for Palmer’s Nursery
this post is sponsored by Minted but the thoughts and opinions are all my own.
I was a Minted customer well before we ever worked together, but we did partner for Hudson’s playroom make-over and our living room re-fresh and during both projects I fell in love with the brand and their products even more.
You might think of Minted as a stationery shop, and it is, but it’s first and foremost a shop for art. It’s truly impressive the impact they have had on the art community. Everything is designed by an independent artist. I love that you can buy pieces of art – in various sizes FRAMED. They make it super simple to curate works of art to create the perfect gallery wall. With various frame styles, shapes and sizes it’s truly easy to customize any art print to match and work with any sort of decor. And the quality of the art prints are amazing – they are ready to hang with materials included.
Some of my favorite art pieces are the custom maps, personalized silhouettes and simple text prints. It’s really easy to search by style, color, shape and series. They also have curated gift guides like this one – all items under $50!
They also have a new section dedicated to littles called Little Mint where you can get cute nursery items like storage bins, pin boards, wall murals, art ledges and super cute canvas tents! They have styles broken out by color and print so it’s easy to curate coordinating pieces to compliment your nursery or kid’s room. Brilliant! They have done an excellent job at making it easy to be a one stop shop for all things art, decor, stationery and now for nurseries.
For Palmer’s nursery I wanted a pop of color so I went for the “All the Feels” print. I also thought the meaning was fitting because our journey to him has been a wild, unpredictable ride. Putting his nursery together was such a surreal moment because after two miscarriages we weren’t sure if/when we’d be doing this whole thing again. We waited til the third trimester before we really started putting the nursery together – it was something I didn’t want to rush and I wanted it all to be right. So que all the feels.
We feel super fortunate that Minted wanted to work with us again and gift us a credit to help decorate his nursery. Even if this collaboration didn’t work out, I would have scoured their site and purchased a few things on my own anyway. That’s what makes this partnership so great – I would have used Minted to help decorate his nursery no matter what.
I paired the Minted “All the Feels” print with a simple lines print, a fun garland (both from Minted) and a family portrait and I think it all really came together. The garland is actually part of their holiday decor, but I love them so much think they can be up year round. When it comes to decor, I’m kinda a minimalist but I also wanted his room to look different from Hudson’s original nursery so it was nice to mix it up. We added more on the walls, some greenery, updated the dresser knobs and got a new side table and accent lighting.
I really wanted to mix up colors and textures – so black, tan, white, natural wood tones, grays and other soft neutrals was my go-to. I don’t like things to be too matchy matchy and since this room came to together piece meal I was okay with it being versatile.
Overall, I am super happy with how it all turned out. This little guy is loved beyond measure and I know he’ll be up in his nursery before we know it. He’s going on 3 weeks old now and by the time Hudson was 8 weeks he was in his room sleeping through the night. We can only hope!
I’m already thinking about what else I’d like to add to his room and playroom – like “Where The Heart Is” print, pastel pin board and super soft herringbone pillows.
And since I’m big on stationery, Palmer could use his own set and maybe even a baby announcement. We didn’t do a baby shower since we were having another boy – we honestly didn’t need much.
Again, the nursery just wouldn’t have turned out the same if it wasn’t for the art and the little extra details on the wall – So a huge thanks to Minted for making this nursery so perfect.
Meet Palmer James
he’s here! Born 8lbs 11oz // 21 inches on Feb 21, 2019 at 12:11pm.
I’ve been pretty quiet on the blog and social front the past couple weeks but being able to disconnect has been very important to me. The first two weeks at home are demanding, exhausting and so fulfilling all at the same time and I know the only way to get through it was to do it presently.
We’ve had a lot of activity since we’ve been home juggling two kids – family time and birthdays, mastitis, a kid with a flu, allergies and follow up doctor appointments.
BUT with all the craziness it has been absolutely wonderful. Palmer is a dream and Hudson has taken to him like a proud big brother. Nick is amazing with every meal cooked, bottle prepped, bedtime routine down and middle of the night feedings. Just reiterates how parenting does take two and I chose the greatest man to do this adventure with.
I won’t go too far into Palmer’s birth story, but I will do a brief overview for those interested…
Wednesday at 10:30AM I started tracking contractions – at that time 30 mins apart. I got dressed did some site visits, went to work and asked Nick out on a lunch date. I had a hunch that things were going to change here soon, so we went to Hillstone and sat at the bar and enjoyed a nice little lunch. During lunch my contractions were now down to 17 mins apart so I decided to come home. My sister came over that night and stayed the night just incase.
Well by 1am, we were off to the hospital. Contractions were 7-9 mins apart and I wasn’t sure how dilated I was but the week before I was close to 3. Turns out I was 4cm and they had us admitted. 4am I got an epidural that ended up being way too intense and I lost all feelings in my legs/feet and got super nauseas and faint. They had to stabilize my heart rate and lower my epidural dose. Once we sorted that out and he was in position it only took 45 mins of pushing and our BIG almost 9 pounder (to all of our surprise) came out with the umbilical cord around his neck and ankle. He was a little purple but a total champ!
We were released from the hospital around 3pm the next day and it was great to be able to come home. It broke my heart when Nick and Hudson left us at the hospital overnight only because I could tell both of them didn’t really want to leave. But we’ve been home now and it’s slowly getting easier and our family of four is finding our rhythm.
Needless to say, I’m beyond grateful for this beautiful boy – it took us over 2 years for this sweet little man and I have a new perspective just how precious life is.
5 Ways to Focus on Self Care with Burt’s Bees
this post is sponsored by Burt’s Bees but the words and opinions are my own.
Self-care by definition means to…. the practice of taking action to preserve or improve one’s own health.
It’s not a fad or a fleeting moment, it’s a process and routine that is 1) all encompassing and 2) forever evolving. What we need mentally, physically and emotionally varies and it’s important to pick up on those things. The past few months have been extremely busy prepping for baby, wrapping up work, taking care of my self physically and mentally for this big life change. Now that we’re in the swing of things as a family of four I can go back to a yoga routine, editing my diet (which didn’t include raw fish, certain meats and cheeses) and being able to active again.
I’ve always been one to write out my to-do lists, goals and wishes. I think it’s so important to set these goals and to work on yourself as it is a process.
Here are five ways to focus on self-care:
1. Drink enough water
2. Sleep 8 hours a night
3. Take time for things that make you happy – for me that’s reading, blogging, being with my family.
4. Nourish from the outside in (Burt’s Bees Sensitive Skin) Can you make sure to add something about the products you use?
5. Eat skin boosting, antioxidant rich foods
“You can’t be your best self if you’re not taking care of yourself. You’re likely to do better in other parts of your life if you take the time for you.” –Patricia Normand, psychologist
