Father’s Day Gift Guide

Father’s Day is right around the corner and I am so excited to shower my baby daddy with gifts! Last year we knew we were pregnant so we did a little celebrating but this year is the real deal so I want to make sure his day is extra special. Below I’ve put together a list of some of my favorite gift items for all those baby daddies out there!

Matching Hats: I mean how cute are these?? Jake and Winn have the most adorable hats for your little dude/dudette and they make matching ones for adults. You alwaysssss see cute matching things for mother-daughters out there but it’s rare to find anything for the boys so when I came across these I knew I had to snag a set.
Matching Sweaters: Now this Beau Hudson sweater can work for sons, daughters, mothers, or fathers… like you can literally have an entire family of matching adorableness ha. But really, I love these sweaters so much that I may have snuck in one for myself when ordering for Waylen and Chappy. Can you say awkward family photo???!
Star Wars Coffee Mug: We used to refer to our dog Ramone as Yoda when he was a puppy so these silly Star Wars mugs from Etsy seemed like the perfect corny Father’s Day gift.
Facial: Who says girls are the only ones who want a little pampering on their special day? Charlotte’s Mud Facial Bar offers a facial specifically geared towards men which I figured would be the perfect gift for my baby daddy since he HATES massages but loves getting his hair shampooed. I figured a facial is kind of the happy median, right?? ha.
The Beer Geek Handbook: Now you guys know Chappy is really into craft cocktails but if you didn’t know, he’s actually also really into craft beers. When I came across this book I knew it would be the perfect gift for Chappy and the perfect addition to our coffee table stack.
Funny Card: So normally I think cards are a complete waste of money; that was until I discovered all the hilarious cards on Etsy! So Chappy has this thing where anytime Waylen spits up he panics. “I NEED HELP! I NEED HELP! I NEED HELP!” After seriously RUNNING to help him while imagining all the horrible things that could have just happened to my adorable little baby, I usually only have to wipe a quarter size amount of spit-up off his sleeve. So that is why is card is seriously PERFECT for him!

Overall I think I did pretty good with picking out some great gifts for his first real Father’s Day. No socks or ties for him this year ha. Now that I’ve set the bar though I’ll need to keep up my awesome gift giving skills so I might need help in the future! What are your favorite things to get/give for Father’s Day??!

Waylen: 4 months

Waylen is growing up faster than ever! He is now 15lbs. 15 oz. and 24 1/4 in. long and is giving me some serious arm muscle.

He has started to actually enjoy tummy time more and is basically a pro at rolling over from tummy to back. He will go through phases of either constantly rolling over on tummy time or constantly trying to crawl. He has the leg motion down pat but still is working out the arms which essentially leads him to either inch worming along or doing somewhat of an army crawl. He babbles, smiles, laughs, grabs at everything, and unfortunately is also losing his hair! Ha my baby is balding so clearly he doesn’t take after me.

Drooling may also be his new favorite pastime. I’m pretty convinced he is starting to teeth because he also loves to chew on anything he manages to get in his mouth (typically his left fist ha.)

He had been sleeping longer, even going 7+ hours between feedings, but now the lovely 4 month regression has got us back to only 3-5 hrs. Of course those long hours were usually 7pm- 2am anyways so if I wanted a good chunk of sleep I also had to have a bedtime of a baby. But hey, I’d take any sleep I can get! At about 14 weeks Waylen started to have an extra watery and goopy eye. Yum. He would blink out tears and would wake up with mega sleepers crusted into this perfect little lashes. (Yuck) Turns out it was just a clogged tear duct and nothing to worry about! All we had to do was wipe his eye with warm water and the tear duct eventually open on its own. Besides that little hiccup everything else this month has gone great!

We took Waylen to his first sporting event and he slept through the entire night ha. We also went to the beach for the first time and he loved it plus what is cuter than a beach baby?!? He pretty much just slept the entire time we were on the beach. He’d wake up to nurse and then go right back to bed. We even sat him in the water and he stayed asleep ha. I guess the wind, waves, and heat were just the perfect combo for sleep.

We are all still in baby heaven over here and loving every minute of parenthood! I can’t wait to see what new milestones we reach next month!

Waylen: 3 Months

My little bean is rapidly becoming not so little anymore. I mean people always say they grow up so fast but geez, I never realized how fast it really goes!

No check up for Waylen this month so I’m not sure of his exact weight. I would estimate it is around 15 lbs. though. He is still my chunky monkey ha.

As of now Waylen is pretty much a little man. He currently can hold a plank longer than me (during tummy time) and really uses his forearms to lift himself up. Plus he officially rolled over at 10 weeks and now also does this weird inch worm scooting while on tummy time. He has started grabbing at his toys and currently loves to shake Chappy’s musical egg and his giraffe rattle. He smiles and laughs and I SWEAR has already said his first word. Ha okay so I’m kind of kidding, kind of serious. They always say when babies speak their first word (usually Dada) they aren’t actually talking yet, just still putting sounds together that happen to come out as dada. Well Waylen did that a few weeks back, but instead of dada he said wow. And when I said he said wow, I mean he sounded like an adult saying wow. It was weird. So yeah basically my baby is a genius who started talking at 9 weeks. (Kidding)

Now let me just say, sleep regression is reallll. My easy going baby became not quite as easy betweeen 9-10 weeks and my interval sleeping quickly turned into not sleeping at all. As the expert mommy I am (ha yeah right) I’ve concluded that our sleepless nights were caused by a combo of reflux, gas, and good old fashion cluster feeding due to a growth spurt. There were nights he’d eat for 20, I’d sit him up for 20 (to help with reflux,) he’d sleep for 20, and then we’d start all over. I can’t just blame the baby though for my zero sleep, it takes me WAY to long to actually fall asleep. Chappy will seriously hit the pillow and be out, unfortunately for me it takes closer to 30 or so minutes sooo if it wasn’t for that I would’ve at least slept a little. Some nights though he would wake up around 4-5 and only want to sleep someone’s arms. Is anyone else’s baby like that?! He would be fast asleep in my arms but as soon as I set him down he’d be wide awake screaming… and of course as soon as I picked him up he’d be out again. Sometimes being a mom is just like really awesome right?! ha. That’s when I’d wake Chappy up and make him take the bean. He was waking up at 5 to work anyways so I didn’t feel too bad.

Luckily that little phase didn’t last too long and before we even hit 11 weeks he was back to sleeping 4+ hours at night and now will go up to 7 on a good night! Apparently “wonder weeks” are to blame and right after his irritable phase he did roll over so I guess they’re really a thing.

Some of Waylen’s favorite things these days are bath time, tummy time with Ramone, air druming with daddy, looking in mirrors and out windows, kisses from mom, being carried in his Ergo or Boba, and when anyone sings (mom) or raps (dad) to him. He doesn’t have too many dislikes, basically just riding in his car seat in Chappy’s car. That is literally the only time he will scream with no end ha. My car though, he loves! Yay me!

In the end being a mom is still awesome even though I have become a little too dependent on coffee and donuts. Here are some adorable pictures of my tiny human from the last month. Enjoy!

Tips for the Stay at Home Mom

Whether it’s permanent or just for Maternity Leave, being able to stay at home with your baby is seriously the best gift a mother can ask for but let’s be real, it is not a walk in the park. Did you know that stay at home moms have higher incidences of depression? It’s true! And after weeks staying at home on maternity leave I can see why. Being home with a child is hard work. It’s hard to be solely responsible for a tiny human. You spend the majority of your day trying to mold their little brains while also being devoid of any real adult interaction. It is imperative to make sure you make time to take care of yourself both physically and mentally. Here are a few tips I have for any Stay at Home Momma

Get Dressed. I cannot emphasize this one enough! You need to get up and get ready for the day even if you have zero plans, actually, especially if you have zero plans! When your babes are little you can easily get away with that sweat pant life but it will take a tole on you mentally. Even if it’s just some cute athletic wear, I’m telling you, take the extra time to get ready for the day!
Exercise. Whether it’s a hard core fitness routine or simply a stroll in the park. Get up and get active! Getting those endorphins flowing will really make a difference!
Take time for yourself. Get your hair done, get a manicure, take a bubble bath while you guzzle down a large glass of wine. Just make sure you take time out for yourself. If you want a happy baby you need to make sure you’re keeping yourself happy and healthy as well!
Get out with your friends. Whether you bring the baby or not, make sure you get some quality adult interaction. I am still not ready to leave Waylen for longer than a quick trip to Target but I still make sure to get out with my friends, just with baby in tow. Go to a brewery, dinner, walk in the park, or simply just hangout at someones house; do anything that keeps you from only baby talking for the rest of your life ha.
Embrace nap time. Everyone always says to nap when the baby naps. If that helps you, great! For me that doesn’t actually help me. (If needed, I like to nap after Chappy gets home from work.) I used nap time to get my chores done and it literally makes me feel so much more accomplished. Even if I don’t have any plans, have been in the same sweats for days, and haven’t showered in who knows how long, getting my chores list done makes me feel like a rock star ha.

Of course every momma is different so find what works for you! These are just a few of the things I found that have really helped me keep it together, especially since Chappy has been working every day. It is SO important to take time for yourself but even more important not to feel guilty about it, so don’t! Just always remember that a happier momma leads to a happier baby in the end!

Now here’s a cute picture of my “boss” just because

And yes that is a roll in the middle of his forearm ha. He is clearly well fed!

Waylen: 2 Months

How is it possible that my little bean is already 2 months old (and that I’m already over half way through my maternity leave?!?!!)

Waylen is weighing in at a whopping 13 lbs. 3.5 oz and is 22.5 inches long. He’s really starting to smile for real now (not just when he farts ha) and is starting to babble more often! His favorite sound to say is “Arr” so I tease Chappy that his first word is going to be Arby’s since he always imitates that commercial to settle him at night ha. He’s currently still going anywhere from 1-5 hours between feedings at night though I must say 5 hours is unfortunately not the norm. He’s started to get a little reflux-y due to my overactive let down (aka me essentially “milk boarding” my son ha) so that will sometimes wake him up in between feedings. To help I’ve been nursing him up right and waiting 20-30 minutes before laying him down to sleep but I swear there’s no correlation between doing that and him sleeping longer ha. Sometimes reflux wakes him up, sometimes it doesn’t; I have yet to discover a pattern. So now we’ll just wait it out and hope it passes! I think it actually bothers me more than him since typically he’ll sleep right through it.

Waylen’s definitely more awake now during the day and his favorite things are playing with the moon in his activity gym, playing peak-a-boo, cuddling with Ramone, and listening to me sing. He pretty much only cries when he’s hungry or when Pickles tries to get him to rub her by scratching his arm ha. Oh and when he’s in the car. He is most definitely NOT one of those babies who loves car rides. He is still exclusively breast feeding (which means I’m still interval sleeping — yay… ha) and we just introduced a pacifier this week. We had been waiting to make sure breastfeeding was established but honestly he doesn’t really seem to need one (or even seem that interested in it) so we’re still debating whether to give it to him or not. So far he’s only used it for a few minutes one night. Now a little confession here… I was SO anxious when we gave it to him for the first time! I was slightly panicked it was going to ruin breastfeeding and was a little sad when he didn’t immediately spit it out. Chappy just thinks I was jealous ha but either way nothing has changed nursing wise so everything’s all good now!

Besides all that junk, everything is going great! I will admit the interval sleeping has started to catch up to me so now I take “naps” when Chappy gets home from work. I say “naps” because more often than not I pass out around 7-8 and then only wake up when it’s time to feed Waylen the rest of the night ha. So clearly I’ve reached grandma status. Oh well!

The biggest thing though is how excited I am that Waylen has finally started to get some of his vaccines! (He totally took them like a champ today!) Thus far we have only taken him out a handful of times and I’m starting to go a little stir crazy. It’ll be nice being able to go out more often and not feel as paranoid! Wahoo!

Most importantly though, here are some pictures of the little bean from the last month:

Worth it or Not: Baby Gear

Now that I’ve been a mom for a full month I am pretty much an expert … (kidding ha!). But in reality though there are somethings I’ve found I really don’t need/use.

First off let me talk about a few of my Favorite Baby Items:

Rocker

Since Chappy went back to work within a week of Waylen’s birth (thank you tax season) there’s been times where I need to set him down so I can actually make lunch/ shower/ get dressed/ etc. This bouncer has been a lifesaver! It’s lightweight, collapsible, and not a giant eye sore. I keep this upstairs and easily can move it from room to room depending on what I’m doing

Ergobaby Carrier

I basically use this every day when I go on walks. I love having Waylen snuggled up close to me and as an added plus he adds a little weight to my work out.

Swaddle Blankets

Maybe it’s because I had been squishing an over 8lb baby in my stomach but Waylen loves to sleep all swaddled up at night so these have really been really helpful. Also if you have a baby who resists the swaddle or you just struggle to get the swaddle tight, try these Love to Dream swaddles! Waylen has a few and they are great and easy to use.

Keekaroo Changer

I seriously love this changer, especially since we have a boy who loves to pee on his dad ha. It is so easy to just wipe down when messes occur and I really can’t imagine having to change a cover every time that happens!

Some things I Could Live Without are:

Breast Feeding Pillow: surprisingly I have actually never even used this. I typically just hold him, rest him on my stomach, or just use a throw pillow from our couch for added support.
Sleepers: I received so many cute sleepers -and don’t get me wrong I still dress him in them- but at 3am it is MUCH easier to change him if he is just wearing a onesie or a sleep sac so I typically stick to those at night
Wipes: I honestly never even thought that wipes could be bad for your baby’s tush. At our first pediatricians appointment though we were told to just stick to water and towels or to at least purchase WaterWipes instead
Sound Machine: I think we received 5 different sound machines between our two showers. Most of them were adorable stuffed lambs that you could hang off of their crib. In reality though they haven’t helped Waylen sleep. He either wants to sleep or he doesn’t ha.
Peepee Teepee: We got these as gift and as cute as they are, (they have little wiener dogs on them,) they were completely useless. Chappy tried using them a few times and they either fell off from him moving or shot off from him peeing ha.
Newborn Bath: so we actually never really got one of these. We ordered one, they sent us the wrong color so we sent it back to exchange it. Long story short we ended up never getting the correct color and decided to try and go without it. So far Waylen basically just gets sponge baths with some hair washing so I haven’t felt any need for an infant bath and am glad we didn’t end up getting one!

Now there are a few other things that I don’t necessarily neeeed but still love having. Here are a few of my Favorite Splurge Items:

4moms Swing

This is by far Chappy’s favorite baby item. He seriously thinks it’s the coolest thing ever and loves to show it to anyone who comes over to visit ha. It has an app., plays music through Bluetooth, and has a bunch of different speed and rhythm settings. We also purchased this infant insert for it so Waylen could use it right away.

Activity Mat

Obviously you don’t need a mat to do tummy time with your baby but this one is just so cute. It has different textures and sounds in the sea animal shapes to keep your baby interested and alert during tummy time.

Babble Band Baby Monitor

So basically my house isn’t large enough to not hear when Waylen is crying, (and quite honestly at this point he mostly just sleeps in my arms,) but this monitor is still great for when I need to take the dogs out or do something in the garage. I am not a huge fan of the video monitors (because I’m paranoid someone is going to hack in and watch us ha) so this monitor was perfect for me and the band lets you carry it around hands free!

Activity Gym

You never need to have an activity gym and Waylen is still a little young for this BUT the contrasting colors, rattlers, and mirrors make this a great playtime accessory!

Now I know every baby is different but these are the things that have/haven’t worked for me! When I was pregnant I would read a million posts trying to find what I did and didn’t need so hopefully this helps some of you first time moms to be! In general I would just say less is more. I’d much rather run to get something I need that I didn’t purchase then have a bunch of items laying around that I don’t need.

Hope this helps!

Waylen: 1 Month

It still barely feels real that I actually gave birth already but Waylen is one month old today!

He is officially huge ha aka 10 lbs. 12 oz. and clearly is still nursing great. Our days pretty much revolve around eating, sleeping, and pooping. So far we’ve been lucky since he’s not a very fussy baby but apparently that can change around 6 weeks so we’ll see! He goes about 4 hours between feedings at night (from start to start) but then can eat every 1-3 hours during the day. We are still exclusively breastfeeding so I pretty much just get to sleep in short intervals while Chappy sleeps all night haha. It’s okay though because Chappy will change all the diapers while he’s home during the day to make up for it.

Some of Waylen’s favorite things thus far are his Ergobaby Carrier, cuddling with Ramone, skin to skin with mom, and when dad mimics the Arby’s “we have the meats” commercial. (Yes, I’m serious about that last one ha.) He had a little bit of baby ache at around 2 weeks old but it cleared quickly, he lifts his head from side to side while on tummy time, he makes eye contact, smiles, and loves to get his hair washed.

As for me I am officially down 24.4 lbs. of the 19.2 I gained during pregnancy. I have essentially lost all my muscle and my ass and arms are nonexistent these days so I figure that’s why I’ve lost more than I gained. I seriously cannot wait until I can get back to exercising and lifting some weights! So far all I do is walk 2-3 miles around the neighborhood every few days. My stomach is pretty much back to its normal shape but it’s about 4 shades darker then the rest of my skin and my linea nigra is still shining strong ha. I see lots of one piece bathing suits in my near future until it fades.

Besides that I feel back to my normal self though which is another reason why it seems so crazy I gave birth! It kind of all seems like a dream.

Here are progress comparison pictures for each week postpartum so far:

And here is a comparison of 8 weeks pregnant, 37 weeks pregnant, and 1 month postpartum:

My diet really hasn’t been the best postpartum. These days I have had a serious sweet tooth and could eat donuts or Bojangles boberry biscuits everyday (and when I say “could” I really mean “do” ha.) I really should control myself but so far I haven’t been! Thank goodness for breastfeeding!

Overall this last month has been amazing! We are quickly settling into a rhythm and getting used to this whole parenting thing. Don’t worry though, we won’t get too comfortable. We know babies can be unpredictable!