6 Months of Baby J

How does one truly recap the first six months of becoming a parent? I have not a clue how to put it all into words but I will give it a go.

For starters, before giving birth, one of my biggest fears was that I wouldn't love my baby. Feel free to have a chuckle at that. My husband reassured me that would not be the case and he was definitely right. I knew I loved her before I met her but there is something truly miraculous that first time you hold your baby in your arms.

I can honestly say these past six months have been the most joyful wonderful months of my life. I know a lot of people struggle after postpartum with depression and anxiety and I am so thankful God spared me that. Yes, I did indeed have my crazy moments but overall I think I did well, which I count a really big blessing. 

Juliette is one happy and laid back baby. She loves people. She loves to smile at people and she is overall a really chill baby. 

Here are a few little lessons I learned along the way:

1. Becoming a parent is more special than anyone will ever be able to tell you. I heard a lot of negative talk about becoming a parent and it slightly terrified me. But I'm happy to say I just don't think that is true. When Juliette was born a new part of my heart was born too.

2. I've learned that I can live without sleep. Sure I feel coo coo and laugh at the dumbest things and cry at the oddest things but I can truly say God gives you the grace. Psalm 23:2 says he makes us lie down in green pastures, also known as God gives us rest. I've learned that if I get four hours that is the rest God knew I needed and if I get eight hours that is the rest I needed to.

3. Speaking of rest, Taking Cara Babies has saved my sleep and sanity. I bought all her classes that cover how to calm a newborn and prepare them to be good sleepers, and then when they are old enough, how to teach a baby to fall asleep and stay asleep independently. When Juliette hit the 3-4 month sleep regression I thought that there was no way my baby could be taught how to sleep but I followed these methods and they work. Juliette is a great sleeper and I'm so thankful for the blessing of sleep.

4. Juliette hasn't always been a great sleeper. During month 3 and 4 I learned that worship doesn't always happen in church when I'm singing a hymn but that it happens at 3am when I am bouncing my daughter on a bouncy ball in hopes that she will fall asleep just one more time. Worship happens when we are at the end and don't think we can keep going. That's when the true test of worship comes in. I can't say I passed that test with flying colors every time I was woken but I can tell you it changed me for the better.

5. I've learned that when little babies have their needs met I'm not just meeting their physical needs but their spiritual ones. When they learned that they can cry and you will hear and respond they will someday learn that they can cry to their Heavenly Father and He will hear and respond.

6. I've seen Dave become a Dad and it has been wonderful. Dave is so caring and compassionate towards Juliette. He helps out more than I could ever write on paper and keeps us all going. He folds laundry, vacuums a lot, and does whatever else around here that needs done. He loves to take Juliette for adventures and sometimes I think that is awesome and other times I'm slightly terrified. Juliette will grow up with a great Dad that loves Christ, and for that I'm so thankful.

7. I've been told by people, who mean very well, that I shouldn't lose myself. I'm not sure what that entails or really means but if anything, I feel like I have found myself. Becoming a Mom is everything my heart never knew it needed but I'm so glad God did. 

I'm so thankful for these past six months I just wish they would have gone a lot slower.


Products I Loved During Pregnancy

While I sit and twiddle my thumbs waiting on Baby J to arrive I thought I'd do a roundup of some of my most favorite things I have used during pregnancy. All of these things I have found to be very helpful so if you are expecting perhaps you will find some of them helpful as well. Also, please do comment and share the things that helped you the most. I'm curious to see what other people found helpful during their pregnancy journey. 

Waiting in Wonder Devotional  |  My friend Elicia recommended this devotional to me and shortly after I found out I was pregnant I bought one. It has a weekly update on what is going on with your baby and then five devotionals each week. The content is so good! The author does a fantastic job of using pregnancy to help guide your heart and mind into a relationship with God. I highly recommend it! 

Senita Athletic Leggings | These leggings were my most favorite during pregnancy. A lot of people recommended Blanqi, and I did buy a pair, but Senita is way way better and also way more affordable. The leggings are supportive and also criss cross in the back offering extra support. I wore these all through the winter, to workout in and to travel in. I highly recommend them. 

Pharmedoc Pregnancy Pillow  |  I will admit before my bump got big I thought these pillows were ridiculous. Then for Christmas my sister gifted me one and as soon as I laid down in that thing I gladly ate my words and have slept in that big pillow 98% of my pregnancy. I call it "The Big C Pillow". It offers support everywhere a pregnant person needs it. It does take a up a huge portion of our bed but Dave is nice and accommodating.

Vitamin E Oil  |  I know people swear by lotions and oils but I bought a bottle of Vitamin E oil from Target and it has worked great for my skin. It is also very affordable. 

Leuchtturm Notebook  |  I love Leuchtturm notebooks! I looked and looked for a maternity journal that I loved and could not find one so I opted to just make my own. Leuchtturm has dotted journals and it has been fun to just do my own thing. I do occasional bumpdate photos and I print them wallet size to put in there. 

There is my little roundup friends! I hope it can be a help to some of you. And I hope baby J arrives soon. =)


Italy Recap

Hi friends!

I wanted to hop on here and do a quick recap of our Italy trip. We went for a total of 9 days and that included flying.

Dave and I had been wanting to go to Europe for a while now but it just never worked out until now. I asked my OB doctor what the max cutoff date for me flying was and she said 34 weeks. So, I figured that at 28/29 weeks I could do it.

For this trip, we wanted to go to a lot of places and see a lot of things so I made sure we booked everything in advance. That included flights over there, lodging, train tickets and skip the line tickets for major sights.

For flights we booked through Expedia. For trains we booked through ItaliaRail and it was really upfront and forward on how to book. Our flights over there were around $750 a person and then trains were around $150 a person for all the traveling we did. We also bought a 3 day metro pass which was very easy to purchase at the metro station. We did take a taxi a couple of times and that was around $10 - $15 a ride. However, at the end of the day my pregnant legs and belly just couldn't take it anymore and we had to taxi back. =)

Everywhere online recommended to purchase 'skip the line' tickets to get into major sights. We bought walking tours to the Colosseum and to the Vatican and I believe we booked through Enjoy Rome.  We also booked tickets to climb the Duomo in Florence and to climb Pisa tower. You didn't need a tour for those two places but you definitely needed tickets or you weren't climbing.

Now, somehow Dave and I went during cultural week and all the museums were free! Had I known that we would not have booked tours but would have just purchased tickets to climb the Duomo and Pisa. I honestly have no idea how someone would find that out but if you can, plan it around that time as it will save you loads of money. I also e-mailed the Colosseum tour and they reimbursed us for our ticket portion. We actually went to the Colosseum twice because of the free tickets. Also, if you follow me on IG you know this, but if you are pregnant you get marched to the front of every line of all the major sights. I am not exaggerating when I say we passed about 2,000+ people. At first I felt bad but the more I walked and stood around the more I was grateful that they were so nice to pregnant ladies.

If you are on a budget and don't want to pay for tours you should download the Steve Ricks free app. He has tours on there that will guide you through the Colosseum, the Forum and lots of other major sights in Italy. His tours are as good as the paid local ones and you don't have to wait on your group to diddle daddle around. =) We listened to a lot of his audio guides on Italy and it was really interesting.

For our trip we stayed in Rome, in Florence and in Venice. Pisa is close to Florence and it only takes about half a day to see the leaning tower so we just made a day trip out of that.

Here are a few things I noticed/loved about Italy:

1. Their coffee scene is amazing! They have walkup coffee bars. You pay in advance, show your receipt to the barista and they make your drink and you just stand at the counter and drink it. It is very affordable and so incredibly delicious!

2. Bathrooms are a pain in the rear. You have to pay for most bathrooms or buy food from the restaurants. And being pregnant I had to go 1,290,099 times ;).

3. So many people smoke in Italy. It was nasty and I could hardly believe the amount of smoking that went on.

4. Commuting and getting around is incredibly easy. The people are nice and will help you too.

5. The food! Oh my word! I'm so glad we walked 20,000+/- steps a day so I could justify eating load and loads of pasta, pastries and pizza.

6. I loved seeing people's reactions to our baby! Even when we didn't speak the same language so many people asked if it were a boy or a girl. Literally, every time a man asked he would like at Dave and shake his head and laugh but when a women asked she would smile and get really excited that it was a girl. It was fun!

7. The leather shops all over Italy are so spectacular! I went to so many in search of the perfect handbag and I found one! But even the smells of those leather shops are sublime.

All in all we had a really good time! I'm so thankful we could take this trip and see a new culture and lots of history. I will try and do a few more posts with some of the highlights and if you have any specific questions just ask me and I will do my best to get you an answer.