Baby Boy Prep

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Ah! Less than 2 weeks out until baby boy's due date! I mean, I'm hoping he arrives a little early like his awesome big sister. But then I'm thinking, "No not yet! I need more time. More sleep!" We are officially ready for him. Everything is washes, set up and in line for his arrival!

I've been slowly rounding up all of our favorite tried and true baby gear we used for Kess & lining up some new things I've been anxious to try for his newborn/infant stage! There is tons of new baby gear - every year. Some stuff seems ingenious. Some stuff seems like it could make your life easier & some stuff is downright a waste of money. I try to steer clear of the "new, trendy baby gear" mostly because I think we can do without it, but some stuff has caught my eye & I'm dying to try it.

Here's a quick round up of some of our baby favorites...

Carter's Little Layette Swaddle Blankets - These are our absolute favorite swaddle blankets. I got these as a gift. I didn't think much of them because I had some 'trendier' swaddles that I was far more interested in using. Well they didn't hold Kess very tight in a swaddle. And she loved to be swaddled. The tighter the better.These are a stretchy cotton that doesn't slip. I have found a few at Ross & Burlington for a screaming deal ($8) JCPenny also carries them. You can get them for about $12/pair if you run across a good deal! I always stock up for baby showers or myself! ;)

Halo Sleep Sack - Because Kess was a swaddle addict we kept her swaddled for a long time. Even after she started rolling over - she never did while she slept so we kept her little arms swaddled. At about 3-4 months she outgrew her newborn blankets. I heard really good things about the Halo Sleep Sack & snagged one from Target. She used this until she was about 6 months. Seriously. She never rolled over or anything & loved it. We were running out of options. Yikes...

Enter in the ZipadeeZip - You guys, this thing is life saver! Matt even mentioned how great this purchase was. Several times. I have every intention of buying another one for baby boy. The best sleep invention ever! Kess slept in this until she upgraded to the Flying Squirrel pajamas later. She used the Flying Squirrel until after she turned 1. Sleepingbaby.com has more size & print options. 

Seriously praying this baby boy loves to be swaddled because I am a swaddle expert. Self proclaimed, of course! ;)

A few other things we really loved for the newborn/infant stage is a white noise machine, the MamaRoo (I have the older version from about 3 years ago) & doTerra oils. We started using a White Noise machine for Kess when she was 3 months old. We are starting from day 1 this time! Kess still sleeps with hers...not sure if she actually needs it or not, but we like not having to tip-toe and whisper after her bed time ;) I set up our MamaRoo this week for baby boy! I caught Kess trying to sneak into it. I let her have a go at it... she wasn't as impressed with it as she was when she was tiny. Let's hope "brudder" likes it. We are big time essential oils users. I love how easily they mix with modern medicine. We don't like to bombard our newborns system with oils, but diffusing is a great way to start. Plus, I stocked up for those baby blue/PPD symptoms.

*If you're interested in trying doTerra oils, comment below with your email address*

The new gear that I'm dying to try...

DockATot - I heard about this little infant bed & just knew I wanted to try it for our next baby. Fast forward a ways and we got ours in the mail! It's ready to go! I've already washed mine - thanks to Kess' little snack covered fingers. ;) Probably shouldn't have gotten it in the 'Pristine White' color (duh, mom.) But... it was easy to wash and reassemble. It's all breathable fabric, great for co-sleeping, and easy to travel with. 

Ollie Swaddle - my sister tried this with her youngest & loved it. Being "swaddle obsessed" I added it to the baby list. I'm sure in will eliminate my Halo Sleep Sack, but it is more expensive - so I think the Halo is a great alternative if it's not budget-friendly for some. Although - I have noticed that I will pay big $ to get my kids to sleep! ;) I love the moisture-wicking fabric of the Ollie. Kess was/is a sweaty little sleeper, so maybe this baby will be, too. Sweaty sleeps mean good sleeps, right?

Binxy Shopping Cart Hammock - Apparently you're not supposed to put your baby carrier in the seat of the cart anymore & it sure is difficult to put it in the bucket - where do all your groceries go? This little genius hammock was screaming my name. I'm excited to try it out. It fits your typical cart, meets all safety standards & rolls up, making it easy to store in your diaper bag. I think this will make grocery shopping with 2 kids much easier!

What are your go-to baby gear items? Anything you just couldn't live without? 

Easter Weekend

Easter was the first holiday we've have since we moved & all of our family was going to be in town for it, so we decided to make the quick drive and spend the weekend with our families. It was so fun, so exhausting and so hard to leave. I've never really spent a holiday away from our family so it was weird to run down for the weekend and then leave the festivities a little early to get home in time to start the week. But, we truly had such a fun time.

We drove down on Friday night and met my parents for dinner. We stayed up way too late chatting & finally got to bed. The next morning we took Kess to the Boise Mall so she could turn in her pacifier for a new stuffed animal. I'll do a full post on that later, but it was so fun! She did really great! Most of the rest of the day was full of running errands, checking on the house, getting some Easter shopping in. Anybody else's Easter bunny slackin' this year? ;) Also, remind me to never go to 

Wal-Mart on a Saturday. Barf. It wasn't fun. Kess wasn't amused, which made tired, pregnant mom waayyy less amused. 

After Matt mowed the lawn at our house we got ready and went to Matt's parent's house for our 2nd annual Easter Egg Hunt! Let me tell you, it was a hoot last year & this year was even better! With only 3 grandkids on Matt's side - it isn't too chaotic and it was so cute to watch them all run after eggs! Kess loves watching the YouTube videos with the "prize eggs" so this was just amazing to her. We ended the night with our first BBQ of the season & chatting with Matt's parents and grandparents. The weather is much nicer down in Nampa than it is in McCall so we soaked it up and went for a walk. I love me some Spring weather.

Easter Sunday was busy. Kess was so excited to see that the Easter bunny came & dropped her off some prizes. I spent part of the morning doing hair ;) Both Matt & my dad needed a hair cut. And my momma needed quick color touch up. Everyone was looking fresh for church, if I do say so myself. My sister & her family met us at my parent's church for sacrament meeting. It was a little crazy on our pew with 3 kiddos that kept walking back and forth between their parent's and grandparent's but what do ya do? Kess decided she needed "a bow NOT!" for our family Easter picture. Picking my battles.

While the kiddos did nap time, the adults relaxed & did Easter dinner prep. I, for one didn't really do a dang thing. My mom, dad and sister took care of Easter dinner and I sat on my booty. Dinner was delicious. My grandma & my older brother and his family joined us - bringing the grandkid total to 6. Matt and I packed up our stuff & loaded the truck while dinner was being wrapped up. My parent's bought a cute Easter piñata & all the kids got a few turns at busting it open. It was so cute to watch them jab at it. Thank goodness for older/stronger cousins who helped get the candy dropping. We said good-byes to everyone & promised that the next time they saw us we were hoping to have a baby boy in our arms! ;) I got teary saying good-bye to my parent's - partially because Kess didn't want to leave & it felt weird leaving mid- family party. But a short 2 hours later and we were back in our mountains and ready to get the next week started.

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter. This year felt crazy, hectic and full of our typical Easter fun. I felt like I didn't take the time to reflect on Christ's atoning sacrifice. I am truly grateful for his love & our Heavenly Father's love. I can't imagine where we would be without this gift. 

Kess Update

As we get closer to baby boy's arrival I keep thinking about how ready I am to just have him here. I'm pretty much done with being pregnant. Totally over it. I don't remember being this uncomfortable or this ready to have Kess here. I was so excited to see her, but I never felt miserable or cranky about my big ol' belly. That is so not the case with baby boy. I feel bad for wishing the pregnancy part away, especially knowing that I'm down to my last few weeks alone with my best girl.

We've done a lot to "prep" her for baby brother to arrive. She understands that "brudder" is in my belly & that he is going to come out. His room is almost finished so she understands that everything in there is his. She talks about him every day & always asks if any of the new stuff we are getting is "brudder's." She loves to play with his blankets, his baby toys and everything else. I hope she handles it well when he actually arrives. I think the fact that they will be about 2 years & 10 months apart helps a lot. She's out of the baby phase in a lot of ways. She still loves "snuggles" in her rocking chair... which I love.

I've been worried about her psychologically as we teach her that she's a "big girl" and brother is a "baby." I don't want being a "big girl" to be this scenario where she gives up all the things she loves so brother can use them and she can't. She's transitioned into lots of "big girl" phases of life during this pregnancy. She is now potty trained. She sleeps in a big girl bed. And she recently let go of her beloved pacifier (I'll share our journey on that process here soon.) I worry that we are pushing her too much to be a big girl sometimes, but then I realized that she's well on her way to being 3 years old & she's been flawless through all of these transitions. Including 3 big moves over the last year. Seriously so proud of our girl. I know that it might be a rough few days/weeks as we welcome baby boy into our world, but I think she's going to handle it like a champ. She will be the best big sister.

Kess loves her "mountain." We have a beautiful view of West Mountain here in Donnelly. We can see it right out our kitchen windows. It's "our" mountain - in case the rest of you didn't know that. ;) We go on walks almost daily & she loves every minute. She loves her Kane dog. She asks "Kane wead stowies wif us?!" every night. She always walks by him, pats his head and says, "Kane, you a good boy."

Kess loves anything crafty. She loves to paint with water colors. She plays with play dough daily. She likes to color. She is a master su chef & taste tester. She still loves popsicles and never fails to ask for 2 "popsies" after nap time. She seems to be on her way to giving up naps, but we still push for nap time or quiet time every afternoon. I need nap time & will definitely need it in the next few months. I'm hoping this little stint is caused by dropping her pacifier & will resume as she figures out how to soothe herself to sleep differently.

Kess loves puzzles. Actually, that's a total understatement. I bought some dollar store puzzles on a whim one night when Matt was working in McCall & we were still at home. I was desperate for something else for her to do besides TV & play dough. At first she struggled with them & needed a lot of help - which was totally fine except when she wanted to "do puzzos" every waking minute of every day! ;) Now she puts her dollar store ones together like a champ & recently got a few more puzzles from Matt's mom. She actually just busted out a big puzzle all on her own while I typed up this post. Isn't it the coolest thing to watch your kids think something out & execute it! I'm a gushy, proud mom. I don't even feel bad about it.

Kess loves to sing. She sings along with Moana, Trolls, Mickey Mouse, and pretty much everything else. We recently saw the live action Beauty and the Beast and bought a few songs from the soundtrack. She sings along with those, too. The first time I heard her little voice singing "Evermore" I cried. Literal tears, my friends. She also walks around singing "Tale as old as time, tune as old as sooong." Again, with the tears. 

Kess loves the outdoors, just like her daddy. She loves to go on walks, look at birds and wildlife with dad & throw rocks into water. She is Matt through and through when it comes to the outdoors. She is determined to climb the mountains when it's warmer outside. We have a few hikes planned when the weather warms up & I have no doubt that she will love it. She is determined to catch a pink fish with daddy... I'm excited to see how Matt pulls that one off. ;)

Kess doesn't love to share. It's a little unnerving considering we are having a baby in 3ish weeks, but I hear they grow out of it. Fingers crossed. She's pretty possessive of all of her things, but she is also possessive over other people's things as well... meaning, yesterday when Matt was using my phone she snapped at him and said, "Daddy, that's mommy's phone. You give that back to her RIGHT now!" She even pointed her finger at him. Yikes. She means business. I'm hoping she relaxes on the sharing front once brother gets here. 

I'm loving this stage that Kess is in. OK, I'll be honest - I don't love every aspect of this stage, but for the most part it's awesome. She's super inquisitive, smart, funny, quirky & down right hilarious. She's also sassy, too smart for her own good & has some serious attitude. We do our best to keep it in check, but sometimes I'm like, "Ok you be sassy - I'll be over here, let me know when you're done." ;) All in all, she really is beyond sweet. She loves her daddy so much, she apologizes so sweetly, loves her whole family including "brudder." I truly can't wait to see her sweet spirit as a big sister. 

Pregnancy Helpers

This post covers my entire first and second trimesters & a little bit of my third trimester. I need all the help I can get while I'm pregnant. I'm not one of those people who feel awesome pregnant. I can't bust out babies back to back. If you're one of those unicorn women - more power to ya girlfriend, you're amazing!!

My first trimester is rough, probably like most women's first trimester. Fatigue, nausea, vomiting, more fatigue and vomiting. My first trimester feels like a fog. I spend a lot of time on the couch, While that wasn't super easy with a toddler, I still made it work ;) Usually by the end of the day I had given all I could give so Matt would help me clean up dinner & put Kess down for bed. I would try, but would end up throwing up my dinner or something else glamorous. 

A few things I found that really helped me were...

Preggie Pop Drops I like the drops more than the lollies, because I can just pop them in my mouth quick. The flavor that I loved the most was ginger. I know that sounds super gross, but it works! The Meridian Babies R Us sells a big pack of ginger ones and I used them constantly. I was certain that people could smell them across a room, but I didn't even care. The flavor is more spicy, like a ginger snap rather than chinese-y ginger (does that even make sense haha)

NoMo Nausea Bands I contacted NoMo Nausea as soon as we considered trying for a second baby. I was so horribly sick with Kess that I knew I wanted anything and everything in my arsenal. These bands are life saving. I left them in a jacket pocket and couldn't find them for a few weeks. I wanted to cry (actually, I probably did.) I found them, did a little happy dance & wore them until I was far enough along that the all day every day nausea wore off. These are also really great for migraines, motion sickness & traveling. I'm really bummed that I didn't think to use them while I had bad migraines. I have recently had what I'm assuming are Braxton Hicks and have felt some nausea coming back so I slipped these on and they helped big time! They come in kid sizes, adult sizes and even dog sizes. ;)

doTERRA Balance Oil This one was a life saver. This oil is not only for emotion balance (much needed over here) & physical balance... most morning sickness is a form of motion sickness so this really helped me with nausea. Plus it's even better for postpartum emotions. I get flooded with those so I basically bathe in this oil. I use it on my newborns (on their little feet) to help ground them to their new home here on Earth. Sounds a little granola, but the spiritual nature of it brings tears to my eyes. 

LaCroix Sparkling Water My family and husband still think this is so gross. But I couldn't stand the sugar or sweeteners in soda, but needed the carbonation to help keep my nausea at bay, so I would guzzle the coconut flavor and the orange! The Orange is amazing! So good! Once you get used to the lack of "soda goodness" these taste pretty good ;) Now, soda doesn't phase me and it's basically my lifeline, but I did sip on some coconut LaCroix tonight and it was delicious! I'm so healthy. 

Did anyone else have weird first trimester cravings that you couldn't function without? Mine was orange juice. We went through it crazy fast because I drank a few big glasses every morning. Oddly enough, the acidic juice calmed my nausea a ton. I also crave anything vinegar. Salt & Vinegar chips, Blimpie sandwiches with extra oil and vinegar & the real kicker... Cucumbers in vinegar and water. I would literally sip on the vinegar/water mixture throughout the day. Matt couldn't wrap his head around that one ;) into my second trimester I craved pickles (Dill for the win) & Halo oranges. Did not leave the store without them. Matt and I would sit on the couch late at night watching a show chowing down on pickles and oranges - doesn't get more romantic than that. ;) I eventually liked sweets and sugar again, which only added to my weight gain, but whatevs.

I hate to say it, but there is a short window in my pregnancies that I actually love being pregnant. It has come and gone. It's now harder to grab things on the floor for Kess. She loves to read her bedtime books on the ground, picnic style & that makes me feel like I'm breaking my back. I do it anyways, but getting up isn't pretty. Last week I grabbed something off the floor & grunted the whole time. Matt just stared. I said, "It's getting hard to pick things up." "I can see that." Rude... ;)

We are nearing the last weeks of the pregnancy. I'm now 35 weeks & I can't believe how close we are to having him here! Somedays I have a small panic attack thinking about how little time we have left. Somedays I pray he comes early and healthy because I'm kinda over this baby growing thing. ;) 

Pink Blush Maternity

My bump has been harder to dress this pregnancy. I remember feeling pretty cute in most outfits when I was pregnant with Kess. Now I have an closet full of clothes that don't even remotely fit me & I am counting down the days until they do. 

Enter Pink Blush Maternity. I have a few items from their Pink Blush line, but I hadn't purchased anything from their maternity line, yet! Well let me tell you... I can't get enough of this 

pink maxi. 

It's so pretty & super comfortable, too. Basically a winning duo for a pregnant momma. I can get away with a plain tee & maternity jeans throughout the week, so I wanted something that made me feel great on date night or at church. Winner!

The fit is very flattering. Trust me, I could use all the help I can get as I sit here at 34 weeks. What I love most about it is that I can wear it after this little boy arrives. It's nursing friendly! I repeat - nursing friendly!! I didn't pay much attention to things that were "nursing friendly" after I had Kess & soon realized how important that really is, especially in a dress. 

If you're in the market for some cute, high quality maternity clothes - head on over to PinkBlushMaternity.com

For sizing reference - I am 5'5" 34 weeks pregnant & weigh 160lbs. I purchased a size Medium. It fits great & I'm really excited to wear if after my sweet boy arrives, too!

Kaisermans in McCall

Phew!! Friends, we made our transitioning into McCall nicely. We've been here for 2 weeks now! Sorry I'm a little behind on the update. We just barely got internet in our home. Yes, I most definitely had to upgrade my data usage this month. Ugh. I even tried my best to check social media very limitedly. Something I severely need to work on anyways.

The first day we arrived in McCall was tiring. We were up early to meet the moving van & I instantly felt very overwhelmed. We had done our best to separate what we really needed & what could go into storage. We have less space to work with than we did in our Caldwell house, so we are trying to keep unnecessary stuff to a minimum. Harder than it looks, kids. I'm pretty sure I've cleaned out Kess' toy bin a few times with little success. I'm going to recruit Matt's help. He's much less sentimental (about that stuff) than I am. And I probably need help in the bathroom department, too. I tend to hoard beauty products. I'm pretty sure Matt loves me in spite of that. ;)

The second day in McCall... I cried my fair share of tears. Matt went back to work for a half day, then spent the rest of the day helping me settle in. He totally gets me & understands that I am a super slow to adjust to new things, so he took extra time off to help Kess and I adjust. This has made things much easier for me. He even took a long weekend after that to help me unpack and to spend some time with Kess & I since we've been apart for a while. It was exactly what we needed.

Now that we are all moved in I do feel much better. It's starting to feel like home. I am becoming familiar with where my things are in the kitchen, the light switches aren't a total challenge for me & we have slowly started putting the baby's room together.

Kess has adjusted very well to McCall. She loves our "A'Call house" or "A'Call mountains" & our "A'Call lake." We really are liking the slower paced life here. I have enough to keep me busy at home. We like our ward & have even made a few new friends. The library has story time every week which will be so fun to go to every week or so. I'm down to baby doc appointments every 2 weeks & soon every week. We usually see Matt after my appointments which Kess loves (so do I!)

We had our first visitors this last weekend & it was so fun to show off our little corner of the world. My sister & her two boys came to see us for 1 night & then Matt's mom came up for 2 nights. It's been really fun to see them & Kess has loved showing them "our mountain"... she's a little possessive so if she mentions it... West Mountain is ours! ;)

It's beyond beautiful up here. Matt snagged a great rental for us & having all of our own furniture up here with us helps. We lived in a house provided by the hospital last time. It was fully furnished (which was greatly appreciated since we were still living in Nampa part time) but it was hard to make the house feel like home without all of our own stuff.

I'll be sharing a little house tour in the next few weeks. I am slowly working on making this place our very own without breaking the budget. Any tips would be appreciated! Thanks for following along, it helps that I'm not just typing all this up and sending it out into a void. ;)

Baby Boy Update

Oh man. I feel super guilty for not tracking the progress of my pregnancy with baby boy. I tracked Kess' weekly & it was so dang fun. It just wasn't in the cards for this little guy. I swear we have busy and on the go his entire pregnancy.

I felt pretty strongly that this baby was a boy from the beginning. My Chinese gender chart even told me so. ;) I had a few weeks of thinking I was probably totally wrong & began panicking because I had zero idea what I would name a baby girl. And now I know it's a boy & I still have no idea what I'm going to name him. We've narrowed it down, but will probably decided when we see him.

We found out at our anatomy ultrasound that baby's placenta was up front, which brought some relief as to why I hadn't felt him much. Matt & I both felt Kess move at 17 weeks. He didn't feel baby boy move until after 25 weeks. Crazy right? We are getting some big waves, kicks and punches now though. I love it!

My pregnancy with this little boy has been easier than Kess' in most ways & much harder in some. I wasn't as sick, I didn't throw up as much & I haven't had to stop contractions. I have, however had several migraines & some pain that I attributed to contractions. After 3 urine tests over the course of a few weeks they thought I was having bladder infections. Turns out, it's not a bladder infection but a irritable uterus. I didn't know that was a thing. I have found if I'm careful to not work too much, or be on my feet too much then I can stay relatively pain free. I have also started taking over-the-counter magnesium which helps with lots of things like uterine pain, leg cramps & insomnia. I'm at 29 weeks now & am starting to have swollen ankles. I only got swollen ankles twice with Kess. Once when I "helped" Matt organized the garage & again after my baby shower at 34 weeks. I'm not so sure what's happening now, but I like an excuse to put my feet up and rest.

I can't tell if I'm more fatigued and sore with him, or if the fact that I have a 2.5 year old to chase after is playing into that. Moving twice during one pregnancy isn't ideal, but I'll be super happy to finally be settled in McCall. Hopefully in time to finish baby's nursery before he arrives.

I used to do theses questionnaires every week when I was pregnant with Kess. I thought they might get annoying, but everyone loves to read them & chime in, so I'll do a quick one for you!

How far along? 29 weeks to the day.

Total weight gain/loss: Freak, I'm not sure I should answer this... probably 25ish lbs. Probably going to go over my max weight with Kess. That's what I get for not working out.

Maternity Clothes? THESE jeans are my favorite. THESE leggings are perfect. THIS shirt fits my belly so cute like!

Stretch Marks? Oh yes. I got some on my belly with Kess. They haven't seemed to change yet, but I'm counting on it. I have more on my inner thighs this pregnancy.

Sleep? Not the best. I have to pee 5-7 times a night right now. I'm not sure if little boy hugs my bladder or what... it's killer.

Miss Anything? Running & the motivation do to things.

Movement? Lots this last week. With his placenta being up front I haven't got to feel him a ton. I do now though. It's so fun!

Food Cravings? Does "All the food" count?

Sick or Queasy? Not any more :)

Showing? Yes!

Gender? Little man

Belly button In or Out? In

Wedding Ring On or Off? On

Looking Forward to? Getting settled in McCall before he arrives!

I hope you enjoyed catching up. I feel so bad that I haven't kept up with my progress this go around. Life is too dang crazy with both of these big moves. I was worried about how he would feel not seeing any progress shots in his baby book, but if he's anything like his daddy, he will understand. ;)

I'll be doing a post here soon sharing all the things that helped me get through the first trimester.