CO SLEEPING!

First off let me start by sharing our experience with co sleeping. We were very blessed to have a baby who was perfectly fine with sleeping on her own. Notice I said 'WAS' fine with sleeping on her own. 'WAS' as in past tense. As long as I rocked her for about 15 minutes into a deep sleep she was totally fine with being layed down in her crib and would sleep there peacefully all night (minus waking up for feedings) until almost 4 months old when she got her first cold. She was so congested poor thing. Every time I layed her flat she would choke on her drainage and it would FREAK ME OUT!!! This lasted about 2 weeks and after the first few sleepless nights I gave in and put her to bed with us. 

Oops. 

So now...at 8 months old she continues to sleep with us. I have mixed emotions about it. I know ultimately it's probably best for her and myself to sleep separately- but I've kind of grown fond of having her in bed with me. 

Those of you who co sleep will understand me. 

Those of you who don't co sleep; don't judge us. 

YES- co sleeping is dangerous. You could smother the child. 

YES- co sleeping is an awful habit to start. When it's time for them to sleep on their own it's a pain in the rear. In their little minds your bed is THEIR bed. Because that's all they've ever known. 

YES- co sleeping is known to increase the risk of depression later on in life. 

YES- co sleeping means that when it's time for baby to go to bed...it's also time for you to go to bed because they can't fall asleep on their own. 

YES- co sleeping decreases baby's ability to self soothe. 

YES- I can't sneeze, roll over, stretch out, talk in my sleep, or do basically anything involving even the quietest of noises for fear of waking her up. 

BELIEVE ME I am fully aware of all the negative things that come with co sleeping. And I would be lying if I said I'm 100% okay with our current sleeping situation with Presley. Buuuuuuut I'm not NOT okay with it because........

1-As a mom you can't tell me you haven't woken up in the middle of the night in a frantic panic wondering "is the baby still breathing?" Well, I enjoy the convenience of having her in bed with us so that when I wake up in those frantic panics I am immediately reassured by feeling her sweet breath on my face. 

2- I'm a sucker for cuddles. And Presley really isn't much of a cuddler but when it comes to bed time she's ready to lay with us :) sometimes she will put her little hand on my face and it melts my heart every time. 

3- In my OPINION (yes this is my opinion and you most certainly do not have to agree with it) I think co sleeping is  a great way to bond! I feel so close to Presley when we lay down for bed and I know she feels comfortable and safe with us. Which is an awesome feeling. 

4- Most people believe co sleeping causes clingy children but there have been a few studies (yes I have actually researched this) that show children who sleep with their parents are actually more independent and thrive better socially because they don't experience any form of separation anxiety...they know no different than constantly having their parents there for them which allows them to trust easily. 

5- Co sleeping has also been known to reduce the risk of SIDS. Carbon dioxide exhaled by a parent actually stimulates the baby's breathing. 

6- And, obviously, it's e a s y. Especially for mothers who are nursing. On fussy sleepless nights there is no getting up and down, rocking her and laying her back down, making sure she has her binki, listening to them cry...no fuss no muss. Just you and your little laying down for bed at night! 

Of course I don't want her to sleep with us forever but for now...I'm okay with it. If there is one thing that becoming a parent has taught me it's this: not being so judgmental. At the end of the day it's not about whether or not a baby is breastfeed or bottle fed. Has organic food or Gerber food. Sleeps with their parent or sleeps on their own. It's about what works best for the FAMILY. Us Mommas are not each others competition. We are comrades. So for those of you out there who are in the same sleeping situation as us: cool. For those of you who are not: cool. Whatever works!  

s u m m e r☀️

My mom is a teacher, my little sister is finished with her junior year of high school (omg just now realizing she will be a senior) and my fiancé has weekends off so that leaves our summer nice and open for some fun! We are so blessed we are able to spend it together and this will be our first summer with Presley. Wahoo! It's crazy-when you have a baby suddenly the word "first" feels proper to place in front of...well...pretty much everything. EX: first time at a restaurant, first time at a movie, first summer, first pair of pink pants, first EVERYTHING. 

I've put together a to do list: summer edition :) best to do list EVER! 

1-SPLISH SPLASH! Buy a baby pool for Presley and watch her splash around in the water. 

2-GARDEN TIME! I would love to start a garden. Nothing fancy. I will start small because I can't keep any plants alive. When I say garden it will probably be more like a single flower or something...but it's something I think I will enjoy and Presley will too! It will help teach her the value of hard work and caring for something. 

3-VACAY! Summer just wouldn't be summer without a little vacation right? We are traveling 8-9 hours to a small town in New Mexico to visit some family! And in July we are going to San Antonio to sea world! I'm 22 and excited about seaworld...judge me. (Although I am a little conflicted about seaworld because I've seen blackfish and I kind of want to boycott them. However, if places like that did not exist we would not be able to experience God's beautiful creatures. Kind of a selfish concept.) There is a zoo about an hour and a half away from us and we'd also love to visit that! So if any of you have advice about traveling with an infant...lay it on me!

4-COOK! The ratio of recipes I have pinned on Pinterest and the amount I've actually attempted to cook is ridiculous. It's like 600 to 0. Now that I've got the time I would love to pick one meal weekly and try it :) and I'll also start small with this one too because I'm no chef that's for sure. 

5-ARTSY FARTSY! I have a baby girl and I have never made a single bow for her....isn't that CRAZY? This summer I want to make all kinds of bows to match her cute outfits! The girl has more clothes than I do! Maybe paint some mason jars...melt crayons on a canvas...get crafty! 

6-CELEBRATE! I have a friends bachelorette party and a few weeks after that I have ANOTHER friends bachelorette party/bridal shower/lingerie shower. And both their weddings are this summer which I am a part of :) YAY! Father's Day is in June and Garrett made my first Mother's Day a very special one so I will make sure his first Father's Day is just as good! My brothers birthday and Garrett's birthday is in July. My sisters birthday is in August. And every day I am alive is a reason to celebrate! Praise God.

7-GARAGE SALE! I recently went through my closet and Presley's closet and found we both have a whole bunch of stuff we don't ever wear! I'm not a very organized person (I'm a little better since becoming a mom) but it felt nice to have our closets nice and clean. We've also got some cool knick knacks we just don't have a use for anymore so I'm ready to get those out of here and earn a little bit of money for it!

8-VBS! One of my friends and I are teaching the 3 year old class at vacation bible school this July and we are both so excited to fill kids minds and hearts with the knowledge of God's love! The theme is "Agency D3. Discover, Decide, Defend" it's like the kids are spy's on a mission to discover decide and defend the word of God so it's going to be pretty fun!  

9-GET FIT! My friends and family always joke about how I'm going to be the skinniest person with the worst clogged arteries because my eating habits are so unhealthy. I want to change my diet and get myself some muscles ;) 

10-BOOM! I don't know about y'all but my favorite part of summers as a kid was getting to watch and play with FIREWORKS! I still enjoy them I think they're so pretty! I'm excited to spend 4th of July with Presley and see if she loves them as much as her momma :) or if they will just scare her...

•hope you guys have the best summer yet• 

 

Just a lil bragging

Have you ever ran into someone you haven't seen in a while and felt obligated to have an awkward conversation filled with small talk and long pauses?? If you said no you're lying. 

During my pregnancy and since I've had Presley I am back in my small hometown and most of my friends from highschool are away at college and I haven't seen them in a while. One of my closest friends had her bridal shower today, actually she had her lingerie shower and bridal shower today, so I had the privilege of seeing so many of my old friends TWICE in one day. I haven't seen some of them in so long! And it was nothing like your typical "Oh hey! How's school? And life? Oh that's cool okay bye!" type conversations.....it was G E N U I N E conversation. With genuine people at that. 

Here's another question for ya-have you ever sat and thought about how different your life would be if your path wouldn't have crossed with a particular person? If you said no AGAIN, you're lying. As I was sitting there enjoying myself and the company I was surrounded with I really just felt so blessed!!!! Even though I had not seen some of those people in so long it didn't matter. Because at one point our paths crossed. God brought me to them and them to me. Friendships were built, memories were made, and they've lasted. And I just feel.........blessed. 

So yeah I basically just wanted to brag about how awesome my day was and friends are. :)

This is the bridal party which is such a GREAT group of girls. Love em all! 

 

Baby activities

Before I had Presley I was a "I like babies I just don't want one of my own...." type of person. I just always thought to myself "What do I do with it?" Haha. Obviously, my opinion has changed quite drastically! I love being a mommy :) but for those of you out there who are freaked out by babies and wonder what the heck you're supposed to do with them I thought I would put together a list of activities you can do with a 4-6 month old! It's around this time that holding them feeding them and nap time just doesn't quite entertain them anymore. 

1- peek a boo! Babies have an "out of sight out of mind" way of thinking so when you play peek a boo it's like magic to them! You're disappearing and re appearing. They love it! 

2-read to them! I know you might feel silly reading to them when you know they don't even know what you're saying but they love to hear your voice and see all the pictures.  And all the different voices you make while reading help them learn conversation.

3-socialization! Letting your little one be around people, animals, other babies and toddlers may be a scary thought for some of you! It was for me. Mostly because I'm super paranoid that anytime someone touches Presley she will get sick. (That has not happened) she loves to be around other babies and animals! 

4-spilsh splash! Presley loves all things water. She's loved baths since day one. One of her other favortie things to do is sit on the bathroom counter and watch me turn the water on and off! 

 

5-cuddle! Our family doctor has not let me live this down....throughout my pregnancy I always said "Presley will never start sleeping with us." I'm eating my words now. (sorry I'm a cuddler.) They're only little once! That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. 

6-playtime! Believe it or not...your baby does like to be put down every now and then. This concept took me a while to understand. Haha. Presley loves her bouncer, play mat, vibrating chair, chewing on her toys, playing with her piano, and tummy time! She also likes when I stack objects and knock them down. Playtime is the best way to keep a baby entertained! 

Of course there are many other things you can do such as go for a walk-babies love the outdoors. Or nap. Everyone loves a nap no matter what age ;) take a drive in the car, listen to music...Presley loves to be sang to. Gonna be a music junkie like her momma! Let them look in the mirror! All sorts of things. Just remember that everything is so new to babies so it honestly doesn't take much to keep them entertained. It just takes a little thinking outside the box! 

Hard work paid off

-Not watching Grey's anatomy because your baby prefers to watch despicable me instead.
-Cuddles on cuddles in an attempt to stop fussing.
-Wiping booties and picking noses.
-Giving your baby a better wardrobe than your own or any other adult you know.
-Annoying all of your social media followers/friends by bombarding their news feed with pictures or videos of your little one. (let's face it every little thing they do is amazing and worthy of sharing with others!)
-Eating only after your baby is fed.
-Sleeping only when your baby is asleep.
-Bathing yourself only after your baby has had their bath.
-Walking around with a sore shoulder and back because your chubby little infant just doesn't want to be put down.
-Turning your purse into a back-up diaper bag.


--I could list a few more but you get the picture.
Putting your needs aside in order to care for your baby is something you WILLINGLY do. Because you love them. Duh. People always told me about those "motherly instincts" I would get after I had Presley or how I would "just know" what to do and I remember thinking they were crazy. Now that I am a mom I realize it's true. You just do what you have to do and you do it because you love your babies-you have since before they were even born; you just didn't know it then. You are biologically programmed to love them.

But sometimes there is a glitch in our programming....our thoughts wander. I don't know about y'all but there are two times in specific when it's just me and my thoughts. 1: the shower. 2: when I lay down for bed at the end of the day. It is during these two times that I do the most thinking. Some things good, some things bad, some things just plain weird-or are they??

I don't think I am the only parent to have had this thought before. I feel like it's actually pretty normal. After tending to my sweet baby all day it's hard not to think that all my hard work is basically for nothing. Yes you read that correctly. No I am not saying that I wish I didn't have to do it. I guess I just wish there was a way she could just be like "hey momma you're doing an alright job of raising me!" I mean she's not going to remember those late nights I rocked her to sleep or played peek-a-boo for an hour straight just because she loved it so much. Think about it- do you remember anything your parents did for you as infants? Nope. You don't. So while I stand under the warm water or lay in bed with just my thoughts I ponder on that exact thought. The other day I was thinking to myself "man, I hope I turn out to be as good of a mom as my mom is" And that's when I realized.....

I don't remember the things my mom did for me but everyday of my life I have felt them. I may not remember every night my mom spent rocking me or playing peek-a-boo but ya know what I DO remember? ALWAYS feeling loved. And that is what makes being a mom so f u n. Just like as moms we are programmed to love our babies they are programmed to love us!

So when it's just you and your thoughts-think about that. Of all the things you are going to teach your baby guess what you have taught him/her within the first few days of their brand new lives without even realizing it? LOVE. And that right there is hard work paid off.

Memories & Milestones

OH MY GOODNESS!!!! 

My sweet little six month old is taking steps. Not on her own. But still. This momma is pretty excited! A week ago I was so concerned with why she wasn't rolling over and now she's ROLLING and TAKING STEPS!!!! This isn't the best photo but there she goes! She was holding onto my moms hands but the steps were all her! 

I mean, as her mom I think every little thing she does is pretty amazing...sneezes, rolls, giggles, grabs, hiccups, even toots sometimes. ;) and for those of you who find that weird-you'll understand when you have babies I promise. But her tee tiny steps today got me a tad emotional. Happy; but emotional. (ever since I had Presley all things make me cry) with every milestone she makes---from her first tiny steps to her walking across the stage at her graduation someday---I will ALWAYS be there. This little blessing of mine is stuck with me for life & I can't wait for the memories ahead. 

Rookie

Hello all! I'm a rookie when it comes to this blogging thing but I enjoy reading some of my other friends blogs so I thought I'd try it out. :)

There are a few other things I'm new at as well.....

1-MOTHERHOOD My boyfriend Garrett and I found out we were pregnant with a baby girl after only a year of dating. I was 21 and he was 20 when she was born on October 1st of 2013. The good Lord just knew what he was doing and although I couldn't see it at the time, Garrett and I were meant to be Presley's mommy and daddy. And she was meant to be our little girl. Everyday we learn something new. It is a constant journey and we love every second of it.

2-BEING A DEDICATED STUDENT There aren't many things in life I would change (firm believer in everything happens for a reason) but my freshman year of college....geez I wish I could go back, slap myself into shape and take my education seriously. Now that I have a child I see now more than ever how important a degree is. I want to be able to give Presley everything she wants. Ultimately, i think that is what every parent wants. During my pregnancy I took one class and passed with an A-praise God! This semester I am only taking two-slowly getting back into the routine of schoolwork. This time around I'm actually attending school, taking notes, going home and studying those notes, then repeating the process all over again. So far so good!

3-ENGAGED LIFE Getting engaged is FUN!!!! Especially when it is to your best friend. Things are always fun with your best friend. Who knew so much work came after the proposal though? After all the planning and stress that has come with the planning I'm tempted to just go to Vegas and tie the knot there. It's all about the love between the two of you. Not the wedding. No not really...planning is stressful but in my opinion it's a fun kind of stressful. If there is such a thing. 

Anyways, i am excited to start blogging and share these exciting times with all of you! Here's my life typed up-welcome to it :)