Products I Love:New Balance Shockingly Unshocking Sports Bra

I have never done a product review before. That sort of thing just usually does not cross my mind, but I love this product so much that I just had to tell the world!

I just recently started running again. I am going on 8 weeks post partum and I made the leap from going on walks to going on runs, and my sports bra wardrobe was not prepared for it and my breast feeding chest suffered the consequences.  Let's just say your body is not the same when you're breast feeding and so your workout attire should not be the same either!

After my first run with little support I asked my older sister, who has a little more experience in the needing more support while exercising department, what kind of sports bras she buys.  She gave me two brand recommendations- moving comfort and new balance.  

I first ordered the moving comfort brand from amazon because I was able to find it and try it on at our local Dick's Sporting Goods before ordering, but then my sister said if I liked it I should try the new balance kind.  And since you really need more than one sports bra if you are going to run more than a couple times a week, I decided to give the new balance version a go.

I had been pleased with the moving comfort bra for the following reasons:

-very supportive

-adjustable straps

-the straps also come completely out in the front making it easy to breastfeed

-hook and eye adjustable back (although you still have to pull this particular version over your head; other styles are not like that)

-runs true to size in my opinion

- and did I mention, very supportive

The reasons I am loving the New Balance Shockingly Unshocking sports bra even more:

- just like moving comfort, very supportive

-adjustable straps

- even better for breast feeding because the design of the straps makes it easier to get them in and out

-hook and eye adjustable back (does not have to be put on overhead which is a huge perk to me)

-runs true to size

-overall seems to run cheaper than moving comfort although I got my moving comfort bra for about the same price (~$35 from amazon)

As far as I know this bra is designed for bustier women who need more support but not specifically for nursing moms; however, I give this sports bra 5 stars and 2 thumbs up in both the support and ease of nursing departments! 

So to all of you nursing moms who want to exercise comfortably, or even just ladies who are searching for a supportive sports bra, search no further! Go get yourself an awesome bra right here!

Brave is Saying No

As a new mother on maternity leave, and an introverted homebody, I'm really enjoying this season of being home and being 100% present for my little family and the slow pace of life on maternity leave.  After you've had a baby, social pressures seem to go away. I'm not entirely sure if that pressure is real or self imposed or a mixture of both, but I certainly feel it most of the time.

I'm not good at saying no. I'm a recovering people pleaser and saying no is hard! But this season of life after baby has been so life giving and refreshing for me and for us! I love people, but for me being around people is tiring. I need time to myself and time with just my little family at home because that is where I feel re energized and refreshed.

As I've been pondering what it looks like as my maternity leave comes to an end to re enter into life with regular social interactions (work, and small group, and social outings that are more than people asking to come see me in my home and help take care of me and my baby), I came across this post from a blog I follow about how saying no is brave, which is actually a book review for this book that I have not read and thus cannot recommend.  So yes, I am basically writing a blog review of a book review- a review of a review! I feel like I get a fresh start with this. I get to re enter to social realm choosing what I'll say yes to and what I'll say no to, and I plan to be much more intentional about protecting our family time-for my sake, and for my husbands sake, and for the sake of our new little guy, because that time is so important and life giving to us. It's not going to be easy, and I'm not quite sure what it looks like yet, but I'm ready for the challenge!

What does brave look like to you? Are you a people pleaser afraid to say no?

Levi is 1 Month Old!

This is a week late because apparently my attempt at posting failed:

We have a one month old! I can't believe how fast it's gone and how much he's changed already! Growth and change are bittersweet ya know.  Part of me is sad at how fast it's going and wants time to slow down for just a moment! The other part of me is so excited to watch him change and learn and hit milestones and grow!  I feel like he is huge, but we will have to wait until next month to see how much he's grown, either that or sneak him into a produce scale at the grocery store!😉

Here are some points to note about my one month old boy:

-Had his first camping trip at just shy of 4 weeks (and went through wolf cave with daddy in the carrier)

-Made it clear he was done being swaddled at just shy of 4 weeks (boy likes his freedom)

-Rolled over from back to stomach at 4 weeks

-Has some sweet male pattern baldness going on (hair was brown up until this point)

-Can take a bottle like a champ

-Is learning to self soothe

-Might be a thumb sucker?

-Read his first book yesterday- I Thank God For This Day

-Has blue eyes

-Has been too long for newborn sleepers for awhile and I think today will be his last day in newborn onesies

-Seems to enjoy daddy's whistling (good thing, better just get used to that)

-Likes car rides, stroller rides and being carried in the Boba

-Hates baths!

I did not put him down on his tummy^^

And a few more pictures from our one month shoot:

Bug Off!

We are going camping this weekend. Yes, we are taking our not quite 4 week old camping. If you never see a post from me again, assume we didn't survive!

As I was making my packing list this morning, I got a little new-mom-paranoid about having an infant around Mosquitos. And then I remembered that a long time ago I had purchased citronella and lemongrass essential oils in order to make some outdoor candles. And I remembered seeing a pin for "natural baby-safe bug spray" on Pinterest. So I looked up the recipe.

Most recipes call for a variety of essential oils but they pretty much all agree on 3 things: witch hazel, citronella, and lemon grass. 

My thought process went a little something like this: Bummer! The only witch hazel I had was in the form of tucks pads; guess I won't make my bug spray for Levi! I don't have an empty squirt bottle anyway! But wait! What about bug repellent wipes? That's a thing right?

And so the invention of baby safe bug repellent wipes was created! I'm sure someone else has already thought of doing this, but I'm still pretty proud of my ingenuity.

So here is what I did:

Baby Safe Natural Bug Repellent Wipes

Tucks Pads (however many you'd like)

Citronella oil

Lemongrass oil

Now this is all you need, but you can add other oils if you'd like.  I happened to have lavendar (which is supposed to repel flies) and tea tree oil (which is super stinky but supposed to repel ticks), so I added them in as well! 

The recipe I read said 10-25 drops essential oil to 2 tbsp witch hazel. Since I was using witch hazel pads I really just eyeballed it and kept adding until the pads looked saturated. Since I only had a few pads left I just mixed them in their container and stored them there, but you can always pull out a more controlled amount and store them in a separate container.

So now I just have to test them out this weekend! 

The Camera Debacle and Newborn Photos

So for about two days I really wanted a nice camera. I asked around and did some research on dslr's. It felt like the mom thing to do.

And then we had our baby, and my mother-in-law was so sweet as To let us take her canon rebel with us to the hospital, and guess what. I think I took one photo the entire time. And in pretty sure I only took it because I felt bad that we'd borrowed it and not taken any photos.

So I changed my mind. I've always been horrible about taking pictures. The only reason I'm any good at it now is because it's on my phone and it's convenient!  My mother in law is great at capturing family moments and loves doing it.  My little sister has a nice Nikon and is an impressively self-taught amateur of photography (although graphics is her main thing; you can check her out here).  She has generously taken maternity and newborn/family pictures for us and she does an awesome job, and it's a lot of fun and low stress because she's my sister. 

So getting a nice camera may be a new parent rite of passage, but it's one I'm passing on at least for now.

Here are some pictures taken by my talented little sister:

A Delivery Story-Presenting Levi Ryan

As I eluded in my last posted, we had a baby!  Levi Ryan entered the world on Monday, June 23, 2014 at 10:59am via cesarean. And he was 8 lbs 20 inches of perfection. 

Surgery was scary the way any surgery is- a bright, cold, sterile room full of nurses and doctors and tables and equipment, looking much like a science lab.  I was nervous and excited and anxious and overwhelmed. It's quite strange walking into a room knowing that in about 30 minutes or less you'll have a baby. It's strange and wonderful! No matter how a baby is delivered, what a miracle!  What a gift from God! Not to be sappy, but seriously!

After about 20 minutes of pushing and pulling and pressure on my abdomen they pulled our baby boy out if my stomach where he'd been residing for the past 9 months. I could feel the pressure of his weight on my ribs and stomach immediately go away as they worked him down toward the incision. And then I heard, "we have a boy! Big boy!" And all I could do was cry! It was the most surreal experience of my life!

It seemed like forever before I could even see him, let alone hold him. They finally brought him around the sheet so we could see him and I watched and cried as they cleaned him and handed him to Ryan for the first time and then Ryan held him above my chest and I just watched and cried! It's so indescribable the emotions you feel when you meet your baby for the first time. You kind of feel like you know them after having them camped out in your tummy for so long but finally you get to see them. It's so unreal! I think I was mostly crying years of joy and relief but some of them were tears for the fact that I was still waiting, still waiting to hold my baby for the first time. That, to me, was the hardest thing about having a c section!

They sewed me up and carted me to the recovery room where Ryan and Levi were already waiting for me and I got to hold him skin to skin on my chest for the first time and then I got to nurse him! 

And now, long story short, he's here, our little 10 day old boy, sleeping in the other room, and we couldn't love him any more. 

A pre-delivery surgery story

Well here is a post I never posted! Life got a little crazy: here is a preview of our delivery story as written a couple days before my c section. I will update about the actual surgery and life as a new mom in between snuggles and feedings and naps:)

Yesterday I had my 39 week check up. It was seemingly normal- I waited in the office for forever, peed on a stick, had my weight taken, stuck out my arm to have my blood pressure checked, told them I'd been having light contractions that were waking me up at night and lots of cramping, heard the heart beat, had my stomach measured, and settled in to be checked. For anyone whose had a baby before, you know being checked is not a most pleasant thing. This was the second time I was being checked.  The first time at 38 weeks, was uncomfortable but fast; the doctor felt and said I was 1cm dilated and 60% effaced and that he felt the head.  This week the doctor took a little more time- "still 1cm, about 50% effaced, hmmm...that feels awfully soft", keeps feeling "awfully squishy".  I laid back gritting my teeth and squeezing my eyes shut hoping she was almost done and wondering what soft and squishy meant- was my cervix soft? Is that a good thing?  Then she told me she was pretty sure what she felt was not a head but a butt and that she wanted to grab the hand held ultrasound monitor to be sure. 

What? They've been telling me for weeks he is head down. I've been pushing on his "butt" as it juts painfully out of my upper right abdomen. Last week they even said they felt the head! What do you mean breech?

But the ultrasound confirmed it; our little guy has successfully dropped his booty way down in my pelvis instead of his head! I guess he doesn't like the thought of hanging upside down for weeks on end any more than any of the rest of us. 

When she told me we would need to schedule a c section for 39 weeks (this was my 39 week appointment mind you) I felt a bit lost. Where is my husband? I just need him to be here to help take this all in. I've been operating under the assumption that I could go into labor anytime, prepping mentally for contractions and labor and pushing. A c section? On Monday? 

I left in a fog, called Ryan and told him the facts before I started crying. The drive home felt like an eternity. I can't really explain how I felt. I know there is a lot to be thankful for here- modern medicine gives us safe ways to deliver breech babies, I found this out in time to schedule my c section instead of laboring and discovering last minute that I would be going in for an emergency c section, I won't be going past my due date or have to worry about induction, we know that we get to meet our little guy Monday, and I don't have to go through labor.

And yet that's the part I felt kind of sad about too. When she told me I felt overwhelmed and completely caught of guard, and scared because it is surgery, and sad.  Sad like I would be missing out or something. As much anxiety as I've felt about labor, I had started having false labor at night this past week, and it was exciting to think this could be it, exciting to think that when I do go into labor my body has to work hard but what a reward to hold my baby boy. I know to every mom who has ever labored for hours on end that probably sounds crazy, but I had imagined it one way and it was not going to be that way, not even close.  In my head it felt much less dramatic and exciting to go in for surgery and be handed my baby than to push and push and be handed my baby.

But it's not less exciting! On Monday morning I will go in for surgery and be handed my baby boy for the first time, and our lives will be forever changed!

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Isaiah 26:3