A Healthy Dose of Inspiration for Moms

We were apprehensive, to say the least, about traveling to Spain from the U.S. with our one-year-old toddler, Luke. Buuut… we just couldn’t say no to the opportunity to see one of our dear friends get married in his family’s castle, Torres de Mens, in the hills of Northern Spain. So… off we went!

Although there were certainly challenges about traveling with a toddler abroad (particularly during transit), overall, it went much better than we had imagined.

Showing Luke different areas of the world and watching him grow surrounded by culture and soul makes the dinner-time walks outside of restaurants and constant singing of silly songs to ease fussing so totally worth it.

Outside of cathedral in A Coruna — Outside of the cathedral where our friend, Santiago, was married

Our Hotel Recommendations in Madrid and A Coruña

Experiencing the Meliá hotel brand was one of the trip’s highlights for me. We stayed with Meliá for both legs of our trip, both in Madrid and A Coruña. Now that I’ve seen the service they deliver, I am looking forward to visiting many more of their properties.

Gran Meliá Palacio de Los Duques

WOW! This hotel is stunning. It has a rooftop pool, complete with a Veuve champagne cart, a full bar, and a jacuzzi. The view overlooks central Madrid, with a spectacular perspective of the palace. There is exquisite art on the walls and lining the halls.

Even though the amenities were spectacular, the true luxury of our stay was felt in the service.

All of the employees we encountered went above and beyond to create a pleasurable experience for us. Many of them were very charming, nearly all of them spoke perfect English, and every single one of them was professional.

The concierge helped us get taxis that could accommodate the children with car seats, the bellhops went with my husband to find street parking when our rental van wouldn’t fit in the garage, and room service promptly brought up ice and champagne glasses when we requested them for a bottle we bought at the market.

the garden at gran melia in madrid spain — The Garden at Gran Meliá

The standard room was a little small if you’re traveling to Spain with a toddler ( or as any group of more than just 2 adults), but the family-sized room was extremely accommodating. Then again, between the rooftop pool and the dreamy garden, you won’t want to spend much of your time in the room anyway.

Meliá Maria Pita

The Meliá Maria Pita is a gorgeous hotel overlooking the coast of A Coruña. It was definitely designed with children in mind, and even brought a platter of candy and special juices for our niece and nephew one night (with the bonus of also bringing champagne for their mom and dad). A special kid’s section in the hotel restaurant has a play kitchen, toys, and a kid’s buffet with decorated pancakes, waffles and fruit skewers with chocolate.

Beach in the morning down by the Meliá Maria Pita

My sister-in-law and brother-in-law did have a fairly large complaint about the set-up of the family rooms at the Meliá Maria Pita—the kids were given bunk beds downstairs and the parents are meant to sleep upstairs in a loft that has a spiral staircase leading up to it. In their opinion, this set-up was too dangerous to comfortably enjoy with two kids under 10.

Hilton Madrid Airport

If you are looking for a comfortable bed, a good meal, and an indoor pool for the kids to let off some steam before the long flight—the Hilton Madrid Airport is an excellent choice to stay at the night before your departure home. They also run free shuttles to the airport every 30 minutes.

Activities in Madrid and A Coruña for Families

Flamenco Dinner Show at Tablao las Carboneras

If you visit Madrid, you must see this dinner show. For the first time during the trip, my husband and I could both enjoy a full meal because our son was absolutely enamored with the performance.

The dancers were all extremely talented in moving the music through their bodies with a vivid display of emotion. The most senior female dancer was truly captivating as she seemed to tell the many stories of her life through her movement.

Day Trip to Segovia

Segovia is a charming little city northwest of Madrid, in central Spain’s Castile and León region. The architecture was impressive, including medieval walls, Romanesque churches, a former royal palace, and a Gothic cathedral. Its iconic ancient Roman aqueduct has more than 160 arches and was constructed almost entirely from mortarless granite.

A small portion of the Aqueduct of Segovia

We absolutely loved the Alcázar palace in Segovia. It was not too crowded so we were able to let Luke set the pace. This castle will always hold a special place in my heart as it’s where we found the name for our future daughter (should we have one)⁠—Isabel.

Alcázar palace in segovia spain ‘Monarchs Room’ (Hall of Kings) — ‘Monarchs Room’ (Hall of Kings)

Playgrounds in Madrid: Essential for Traveling to Spain with a Toddler

Madrid is full of playgrounds! They are seriously everywhere. My friend local to the area, Leticia, was kind enough to bring me and Luke to the playground she takes her daughter to daily. Usually around the hours of 18:00-20:00 the playgrounds in Madrid are in full swing.

toddler friends playing at playground in madrid spain with moms

Madrid’s Royal Palace

The Royal Palace of Madrid is the official residence of the Spanish Royal Family, but the family no longer actually lives there so now it’s only used for state ceremonies. The palace contains 3,418 rooms, although only a small portion of them are available to the public. It is the biggest functioning Royal Palace and the largest by floor area in Europe.

We purchased a guided group tour and walked through with about 30 other people before the palace officially opened. If you have small children with you, I would definitely recommend doing the same or at least arriving as early to opening time as possible.

Sailing in A Coruña

If I had to pick my favorite part of the trip, aside from the wedding, I would most definitely choose the sailing trip. The boat was pristine, our captain was bilingual and extremely friendly, the scenery was beautiful, and I’ve never seen Granddad as happy as he was when he got behind the wheel.

Our friend Jesus helped us rent the boat through a boater’s club, Altavela. The women working in the shop were really helpful and I would definitely recommend their company. David used a 365-degree camera to take this video of our sailing trip. You can use your mouse to grab and drag to look all around while you watch!

365 Degree View of Our Sailing Trip (use your mouse to grab and drag to see full view)

Beach Day in A Coruña

The sand is soft, the people are relaxed, the social media scrolling is nearly NON-EXISTENT! It truly feels like a slice of heaven sitting on the edge of the world in such a peaceful place. The water was really cold, but none of the locals seemed to mind.

Santiago and Ale’s Wedding at Torres de Mens

The precious, fairy-tale love between our friend Santiago and his bride, Ale, is evident. They are truly a divine couple and deserve all the happiness in the world.

Their wedding was exquisite—dawning a lemon tree growing through the tent centered in the courtyard of the castle, massive flower arrangements lining the hallways, and finely aged architecture everywhere. The ceremony was held in the village’s gorgeous cathedral and then all of the wedding guests were led through the streets of the Galician town to the castle by a band of musicians in traditional dress.

Many of the female wedding guests were dressed in monochrome and there were so many fun hats—a European tradition that I petition we bring to the states! The music moved our hips and the energy lifted our spirits. I am so glad we decided to travel to Spain with a toddler. It was a wedding I will never forget.

Restaurant Recommendations in Madrid and A Coruña

If I’m being honest, I am not a big foodie, so I usually don’t pay too much attention to my meals. But, wow-ee, the food in Spain is good. My favorite dish to order was the scallops (they were delicious everywhere I tried them) and I loved how easy and readily available croquetas were for Luke.

A few restaurants I would highly recommend are:
Luzi Bombon (Madrid)
Dos Cielos Madrid (Located in Gran Meliá Hotel)
Alcume (A Coruña)
La Cabana del Pescador (A Coruña)

Flying Internationally With a Toddler

Our flight over to Spain was a little rough. We had economy-plus seats and bought a seat for Luke. They allowed us to use his car seat. He fell asleep in the car seat for about 30 minutes, but then crawled over to daddy and would only sleep there. They turned the lights back on for breakfast about 2 hours before we landed, and Luke was not about that.

Having a bottle for him during take-off and landing was really helpful and avoided him getting upset from the pressure change.

For our flight back, we found out during check-in that our airline did not have any seats assigned for us due to a last-minute plane switch. If we had not been at the airport early, we definitely would have missed the flight. Customs coming into Madrid is also extremely chaotic with a large waiting area filing into about 10 different lanes and very little direction.

I would recommend getting to the Madrid airport at least 3 hours ahead of your flight back to the US.

By the grace of God, the trouble we ran into with Iberia turned out to be a blessing in disguise. They upgraded us and we were able to experience how much easier it is to fly with a little one in first class. If you can afford the splurge, it was a huge value-gain for our sanity and comfort in traveling to Spain with a toddler.

First Class Iberia Flight — First class on Iberia

Economy plus seating iberia flight — First class on Iberia

Que tengáis un buen viaje!

Bigger Thoughts

Encourage Others—A Message That Deserves Repeating

April 3, 2019August 12, 2022

photo of house displaying encouraging signs in yard

The power of encouragement isn’t a new revelation, but having been personally affected by it recently, I am compelled to continue to spread its message—such is the nature of its spell.

The evidence of evil in our society is abundant. So much so that it can be hard not to get overwhelmed by the stream of tragedy. But, in all of the darkness, there is still light.

We all have the power to influence the behavior of others with our words. I truly believe that widespread encouragement can prevent tragedy—even death.

Thanks to the compound power of encouragement, even if only one person takes action after reading this, the positive impact of these words will continue on and on and on.

In the movie, *Pay it Forward*, they demonstrate the compound power of encouragement by showing how one act of kindness can multiply again and again to make the world a more compassionate place.

Encourage Someone Taking a Risk

Recently, I started sharing my poetry. This did not come easy for me. My poetry displays my vulnerabilities, as art tends to do, and that made me feel afraid of criticism, especially because I was releasing it to the internet—not known for being the kindest audience.

But, when I took the risk of publishing my poem on Reddit, the strangers on the other side of the screen chose to show me encouragement.

These random people, with nothing to gain from it, took a few seconds out of their day to say something nice to me. Their encouragement propelled me to keep sharing my art and also motivated me to write this article.

As a small business owner, I have felt the pressure of taking that type of risk too—a pressure that can feel unmanageable without encouragement.

Your friends and family who are taking risks need your encouragement. When you see someone you care about chasing a dream, acknowledge it. In the same way that you would jump to caution them if they were about to do something really dangerous, leap to encourage them —”hey, I see what you’re doing and I think you should keep doing it!” You might just change their world.

Encourage People in Your Daily Life

The only way you can see the beauty that lies around you is to help unleash it. So, to see more positivity in your day-to-day life, you should be encouraging the people in your day-to-day life.

Have you ever met someone who is always complimenting, supporting, and motivating everyone around them? It’s so unusual to see this behavior in our {self-absorbed} western culture that you assume these acts must come naturally to them. While the romantic in me would like to believe people like this are born with something special in their hearts, my observations tell me otherwise. Many of these natural motivators make a concerted effort to build other people up.

A Full Year of Daily Encouragement

One of my college sorority sisters, Takara, demonstrated the beauty of practicing daily encouragement in a social media challenge she called “tkssunshinethru29”. Every day, for a year, she challenged herself to publically highlight someone who added positivity to her day.

Some days she posted about a stranger from a brief encounter, other days she expressed her gratititude towards a lifelong friend during a milestone event.

For 365 days, she did something to encourage the people around her—that there are still good people out there, there is still sunshine. When she could, she recognized people by name, and shone a little positive attention their way.

“Some of the good that people do goes unnoticed. I wanted to make a conscious effort to notice the good,” said Takara, “It filled my life with positivity and made me be intentional to find it each and every day.”
Takara Speagle on her #tksunshinethru29 challenge

Encourage Those Who Go Unnoticed

In an attention-starved society, your attention is your strongest personal offering. When you choose to place your attention on someone or something they are doing, you are giving them the most valuable gift you can give.

The people who are lashing out in society are seeking your attention—they want to be recognized. Most likely, they have gone unnoticed. Or maybe, it is their behavior that has not been noticed.

If you choose to seek out those who are lonely, depressed, or isolated, and encourage them—think of the void you may be filling for them—think of the damaging attention-seeking behavior you may be preventing.

And Would You Like to Donate a Few Words Today to Change the World?

I’m sure you are used to occasionally being asked for a small donation, often at the checkout counter, of a dollar or so, to benefit a non-profit. Similarly, I’d like to ask you for a small donation of a word or two to benefit the world we are living in.

Tell the people you love why you love them. Encourage someone who is taking a big risk. Seek out lonely people and let them know you notice them just as they are—their life means something.

Not only does building up other people have a positive impact on their mental health, but it also enriches the community you are a part of. Simply putting more purpose of love and encouragement behind your words can have an enormous impact on the people you love—and the world we live in.

Infant Advice

Losing the Baby Weight: “Mommy and Me” Workout Classes

March 28, 2019October 30, 2023

I gained 40 pounds during my pregnancy—a lot more than I “planned” on gaining. But then, I gave birth to a perfectly healthy baby boy and found a kickass workout group that helped me lose the remaining baby weight. I honestly don’t know where I would be today without the support of this group of women, but I can say for sure where I wouldn’t be—in anything other than stretchy pants and oversized t-shirts.

3 weeks postpartum and 30 lbs heavier than I am today

During my pregnancy, I felt a lot of pressure to try and maintain my figure. Retrospectively, I wish I wouldn’t have worried so much about how my weight was affecting my appearance, and instead, appreciated the extra pounds as necessary spokes in the miracle wheel my body was spinning.

Being “all belly” isn’t #goals—it’s just a genetic body type. The time to buckle down on your weight is once your precious little one is here and no longer relying on your body to, quite literally, create their cells.

Gain the pounds for your baby, lose the pounds for yourself!

I’m not suggesting that pregnancy should mean forgetting self-care, self-love, or self-restraint. I’m just saying that if you’re eating pretty good and getting decent exercise but your gaining more weight than you’d like to see in Instagram photos, cut yourself some slack!

Finding Moxie Mamas Fitness Group

Doing bridge workout exercises with baby Luke — Christmas workout bridges with Santa

When David and I moved to Lake Nona at the beginning of my pregnancy, we were moving “far” away from a lot of the life we had established in central Orlando. But, we believed in the potential of the area and knew it would be a great place for Luke to grow up.

My mom kept telling me how important it would be for me to have other moms close by once the baby was born. I just wasn’t sure how to meet these women. Everything I read about making mom friends basically compared it to dating again.

Thankfully, one of my neighbors came over to introduce herself during an annual community garage sale and was nice enough to share insider info with me about all the “mom groups” in the area. She told me that Moxie Mamas had helped her lose baby weight after having her second.

What is it like to work out with your kids in tow?

Initially, I was pretty nervous about bringing my 6-week-old to a group exercise class, so my father-in-law stepped in to help watch Luke for my first trial class. But as soon as I arrived, my anxieties of having a crying baby in a group exercise environment diminished.

It felt extremely inviting—the combination of moms and kids together making the class feel like both a workout and a play date.

No one locks you out if you’re running late or glares at you if your kid is being fussy. It is a safe place to breastfeed, cry it out, vent, and just socialize with other women who get it. There is a tribe mentality that you feel immediately and never a shortage of helping hands. The owner, Kayla, is frequently strapping on a baby to settle them down, pushing a stroller, or entertaining a hyper toddler running by—all so her members can have a few minutes to work on improving themselves.

Luke soaking up the Florida sun during an outside class

Each class starts with introductions— your name, your kid(s) age(s), and an ice breaker question like “which kids show do you find yourself still watching even after your kids have tuned out?”. Even though it’s just a few minutes of the class, it has helped me learn the names of the other mamas and given me conversation starters to help me connect.

What kind of exercises do you do in class?

One unique thing that I LOVE about Moxie Mamas Fitness is that classes are always new and fresh. With four instructors rotating in the schedule, you are constantly being exposed to a different teaching style, and even when the same instructor teaches, you almost never get the same type of workout.

You can tell the instructors are passionate about mixing things up and keeping the experience entertaining.

A few of my favorite workouts from the last 7 months include:

Sports Drills

Growing up, I think I only stayed in shape because I was always playing sports. Even as an adult, I love playing sports. So, I was really stoked when I arrived at class recently and Kayla had worked in basketball drills to our workout.

Partner Exercises

Often in class, we partner up and complete drills as twosomes. Sometimes, we answer ice breaker questions while squat jumping. Other times, we work together to complete a relay. At the class this photo was taken in, we had to hold plank position until our partner completed 10 lateral jumps over us.

80s Style Dancer-cize

During the week of Halloween, all of the daily classes were themed. My favorite was a Jane Fonda-esque rock out 80s dance class. Complete with unitards and neon, it was a ton of fun and gave me a reason to open up my costume closet!

The Social Activities

Moxie Mamas isn’t just a fitness group, like what you might join at the YMCA or even Orange Theory—it is a community. It is a support group. It is a way to fill up your social calendar as a new mom. There are organized play dates, mom/parents nights out, and run meetups. The holidays are full of hosted celebrations and potlucks.

Seeing Results

I understood my body was going to change once I had a kid, but I didn’t expect any of the changes to feel positive. Better yet, I didn’t believe in myself enough to feel I had control over my postpartum body. I didn’t think I could put in the work required to lose weight the healthy way, but the motivation from this group of women has changed that. I would definitely encourage all new mamas to seek out a mommy and me fitness group in your area!

Live in Lake Nona?

Hey neighbor! If you’re interested in trying out a Moxie Mamas class, they are held Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday at 9:30 a.m. There is also one class held on Wednesday evenings. You can schedule a trial class for free at fitwithmoxie.com!

Infant Advice

The 4th Trimester- Life with a Newborn

February 4, 2019January 7, 2024

Turns out, taking care of a new baby makes finding time to write about taking care of a new baby pretty hard. But, if you’re reading this, I’ve successfully kept the tiny human alive for seven months and finally gotten this blog post published!

First, I feel compelled to share how amazing motherhood is. It is truly one of the biggest blessings life has to offer.

There are a lot of things about it that I knew I would love—his giggle fits, watching him learn, baby bow-ties. But there are endless instances of joy and appreciation my son brings that I did not anticipate—witnessing the effects of his smile when directed at grandparents in grocery stores, seeing him bring out the soft side in tough guys, the power of his innocence against all darkness.

A piece of recurring parenting advice I received when I was pregnant was that every child is different, and most of parenting is just figuring it out as you go. While, overall, I agree, I still think there is significant power in moms sharing solutions with each other. So, here are a few notes I have on the first few months after birth—appropriately referred to by some as “the fourth trimester”.

Keeping Your “Me”

Thanks to my husband, I was reminded early on to take time for me.

I found that joining a moms group was essential. For me, a fitness group killed two birds with one stone—getting back in shape and finding my tribe.

Bridges with Luke at Moxie Mamas Fitness

Staying active in a group that knew me “pre-mom” was helpful too. It felt very natural and easy to slip into my new identity as Luke’s mom, but it was imperative for my happiness to also keep my identity as David’s wife, Mary’s daughter, a writer, an entrepreneur, a friend.

Keeping my sense of self strong helped me feel closer to the balance I think we are all trying to achieve as mothers in 2019.

Set the mom hat aside shortly for a bachelorette party with college family

Thank god for best friends like these who love Luke like their own while also reminding me I’m more than JUST a mom.

Breastfeeding

Wowza. This is not an easy job. Hands down the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. First of all, mama, whatever you decide you want to do is the right decision for you. Do not let any waves rock your boat on this. There are so many women, myself included, who agonized over the stigmas surrounding feeding your baby. Ultimately, it is your decision and just like a lot of things in motherhood, your intuition will lead you.

With that being said, I was excited to try it with Luke. A lot of the advice I had been given prior to birth was related to getting past the first few weeks. Across the board, I was warned that this time period is rough. And it was. I relied on my husband a lot for emotional support and some unexpected physical support. It was beautiful to grow and nurture my boy from the 7 lb infant he was to a growing, strong baby. And it was so beautiful to see the pounds going on him.

With THAT being said, there were a lot of complications. Most a little too graphic for me to share on the inter-webs, so I’ll just leave you ladies with a few products that helped me while I was breastfeeding:

Nipple cream
Hands free bra
Easier flow flanges
Nipple cooling pads

Feeding, Swaddling, and Jaundice

I am unbelievably grateful for the healthy birth experience that Luke and I had. My heart aches for parents and babies that spend their first days together in the NICU. The strength it must take to overcome those challenging moments attests to the power of the fierce love parents have for their children.

With that in mind, it is hard to complain about the small problems we did face after birth. Nonetheless, I hope by sharing them I may help other mamas get through those days a little easier. Less time googling means more time snuggling baby!

How much food does a new baby need?

The hospital we delivered in had a big sign posted in our room, reading “feed on demand”. We had a baby that rarely cried. It seemed all Luke wanted to do during his first hours in the world was sleep. As brand-new parents, we weren’t sure how much babies of that age normally eat. It seemed like he was never “demanding” food. The first night we all slept 6 hours without waking for a feed—and no one said anything about it.

After getting out of the hospital and visiting the pediatrician, we learned he needed to be eating way more. Like every 2 hours more. Our pediatrician helped us get on a feeding plan that gave us direction on how much he should be eating during a feeding session and how often. Looking back, I wish I’d been proactive and had that plan from the get-go. When you’re checking out pediatricians in the third trimester, I would definitely ask about this.

We found this Baby Tracker – Newborn Feeding, Diaper, Sleep Log app really useful for tracking feedings in those first very sleepy weeks.

How do you swaddle a baby?

We actually had practiced swaddling on a teddy bear before Luke was born, but I wish I had watched like 25 more YouTube videos. You will be doing a lot of swaddling in the beginning, and wrapping up that little baby burrito is harder than it looks!

Why does baby’s skin look yellow?

Let out a deep breath if baby shows signs of jaundice, mama, because this is very normal.

This article by KidsHealth from Nemours does a great job explaining jaundice, “a common condition in newborns, referring to the yellow color of the skin and whites of the eyes that happens when there is too much bilirubin in the blood.”

The worst part of Luke’s jaundice was when he had to have blood drawn from his foot to test his bilirubin count. But, thankfully, like most cases of jaundice, the levels were never high enough to require medical intervention.

David’s mom recommended we lay Luke in the window by the sun for 15 minutes every day to help him break down the bilirubin, which the pediatrician confirmed would help. I think baby Luke enjoyed soaking up the sun, and it was nice to feel like we were doing something to help—mostly, they just tell you to wait it out.

Getting through the “fourth trimester” is no joke, but you got this mama. Night times may be testing, but mornings will always have a little extra sunshine now—that’s for sure.

Recipes

Edamommy Salad Recipe

January 20, 2019February 15, 2019

Serves 4-6
Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 5 Minutes
Serve chilled.

Now that I’ve been indoctrinated into the busy, balancing act of mom life, I’ve been relying on my “safe” dish for a lot of parties and events. This salad is always my go-to because I know it’s yummy, it’s super easy, and it’s relatively healthy.

I usually boil the edamame and stick it in the fridge the night before to let it chill. Sometimes, I’ll make a big batch and eat it for lunches during the week. The salad keeps well for about 3-5 days, sealed, in the refrigerator.

Ingredients

1 package of edamame out of the pod

⅔ cup chopped red onions

½ bag less sugar craisins

½ rounded cup Feta cheese

Greek dressing (to taste)

2 hard boiled eggs

Directions

Boil the edamame according to package. Drain. Rinse. Set in refrigerator to chill.
Mix red onions, craisins , feta cheese, eggs and Greek dressing in a large mixing bowl until dressing is semi-creamy.
Chill for at least 2-3 hours before serving.

craisins, edamame, greek dressing, feta cheese, red onions, and boiled eggs are the ingredients for edamommy salad — Luke helping to collect the ingredients

Hope you enjoy! Drop a note in the comments if you try it out 🙂

Infant Advice

Creating a Daily Routine With a Newborn

July 31, 2018October 30, 2023

Now that my son is 7 weeks old, I am finally emerging out of survival mode and starting to get organized. Forming a daily routine as a new mom can feel like a whirlwind. I have found it easiest to develop our routine by starting with just a few daily commitments.

Daddy Update Board

report of baby milestones for daddy on chalk board

I started by creating a daddy update board. Our daddy update board helps me to remember to tell my husband about milestones or special events that happened during the day. It also lets me set a goal for the next day.

Baby update board showing a day with grandmom

As Luke grows older, he will participate in filling this out himself.

Goals Board for Mama

Because most of your time as a new mom is spent on your child’s progression, you can easily forget to focus on your own. Filling out this goals board every day with short, attainable goals helps me continue to move forward with my own development, without getting overwhelmed.

goal setting board for daily goals monthly goals annual goals

Simple Schedule for Baby

Blocking off specific time for Luke’s daily activities helped us both start to get into a more consistent day-to-day rhythm. At this point, the schedule acts mostly as a guide, and we still mainly follow his eating cues for feedings. But, we hope to continue to get closer and closer to following it exactly.

baby schedule infant sleeping eating schedule

I am looking forward to expanding our daily routine as Luke continues to grow. Do you have any methods that help you and your little one stay organized?

My Experience Giving Birth

July 20, 2018January 7, 2024

I'm going to be a mommy socks for child birth

Just when I thought my pregnancy may actually last forever, the beginning of the end arrived.

We had spent the day floating in the pool (which is unexplainably amazing when you are 39 weeks pregnant). At that point in pregnancy, each day was feeling even longer than the one before it. All I wanted was to hold my baby boy in my arms and have my mobility back.

39 weeks pregnant floating in pool — The bliss of someone 39 weeks pregnant floating in a pool during summer in Florida

When you are waiting for your delivery day, and especially as your due date approaches, everything feels like a sign that labor is about to happen.

Cramps stronger than usual? Better get the car ready. Feeling a little dizzy/tired/hungry/happy? Grab the hospital bag. So, on Saturday night, when I was peeing every 15 minutes, instead of the usual every hour, I did have a sneaking suspicion that labor might be around the corner.

Warning: This may be graphic for some. Read at your own risk.

Affiliate Disclaimer: I may earn a small commission if you choose to purchase any products or services from this website using my link. However, all of these opinions are my own and this article was written prior to me becoming an affiliate.

Water Breaking

At 3 a.m., I was suddenly jolted awake by a warm sensation in the bed. My water had broken. Unlike the movies, it wasn’t an opening of the floodgates, so I wasn’t even completely sure it happened. I woke up my husband up to which he sleepily replied, “What do you mean?” and “Are you sure?” before it really hit him that now was the time and he sprung out of bed.

As I got out of bed, more fluid began to flow out. No shame ladies, if you are pregnant and have not purchased adult diapers yet… treat yo self. In the event that your water breaks before labor, you will be so happy you bought them. Since I wasn’t in any pain yet (contractions hadn’t started), I was able to strap one of those bad boys on and move freely around the house without leaking everywhere.

Your water doesn’t usually just break and then stop, it can keep flowing until delivery.

We called our doctor and waited for instruction.

When the doctor had confirmed my water was broken, she instructed us to come straight to the hospital because the baby was no longer protected by the amniotic sac, and is susceptible to infection.

Hospital Bag

We grabbed our hospital bags, loaded up the car, and prepared for a long day ahead. After months of hospital bag preparation, “labor day” lists, and methodical planning, we still ran around like chickens with our heads cut off, trying to get everything we needed. Our adrenaline was through the roof.

infographic on what to bring to the hospital for child birth — Infographic for Hospital Bag Essentials

Trip to Hospital

Thankfully, the traffic at 3:30 in the morning is pretty light.

When I had imagined this trip to the hospital for the birth, I had always thought I would have the perfect soundtrack playing, carefully selected for this very moment. As it turned out, U2 was the only thing loaded on my iTunes (thanks to the Apple mass U2 upload of 2014) so “Bar-Bar-Barbara, Santa Barbara Bar-Bar-Barbara, Santa Barbara” played in the background as we anxiously sped to Winnie Palmer.

Arriving at the Hospital

After being admitted to the hospital, I found out that I was only 2 cms dilated. The nurses asked how my contractions were feeling.

I had always been pretty confused about what a contraction actually felt like, but the best way I could describe my pain level was as menstrual cramps that were more on the aggressively painful side. Sidenote, if you’re lucky enough to have never experienced painful cramps during that time of the month and are wondering what they feel like, the next best comparison I can give is the ache in your side that running can sometimes bring on.

Anyway, they also wanted to know how often my contractions were happening. This was really hard for me to answer because I still wasn’t sure how to identify the feeling. Luckily, they hook you up to a Toco monitor that measures your contractions.

Later in the labor process, David and I found it very helpful to know how to read the Toco monitor , so that we could self-monitor when the nurses were not in the room. If you are preparing for child birth, I would recommend checking out the article I linked above.

Once the nurses had confirmed with a physical exam that my water had broken, I was told to change into a hospital gown and prepare to move to a birthing room. We would officially be staying until the baby was delivered.

Bringing your own labor gown

From prior research, I knew that I could bring my own gown to wear as long as it was just as accessible for the staff as the regular hospital gowns. Getting to change into something I felt good in, and was comfortable in, was huge for my mood. I would definitely suggest future mommies to find a hospital delivery gown you love.

Just make sure the gown you bring:

Has an open-back of some kind (mine had buttons all down the back).
Has an opening in the front or arms. My gown buttoned at the top of the tank top strap.
Either opens in the front or is loose enough to place your baby, skin-to-skin, under your dress. My gown had enough space for Luke to lay on my chest under the gown.

My recommendation is the Baby Be Mine 2 in 1 Maternity Nursing Nightgown.

Once a labor room was ready for us, we headed to the elevator.

Birthing Room

We met our nurse, Brooke, who was wonderful. She helped me understand that I might be here for quite a while, especially since this was my first time giving birth.

Since I wasn’t very dilated, they would basically need to induce me. Shortly, they would begin administering Pitocin, a drug that helps your uterus contract during labor. In the meantime, she recommended bouncing on a birthing ball and taking walks down the hallway to help my cervix dilate.

birthing ball for labor — Birthing ball used to help move labor along

She said the doctor would be there in a few hours to check and see how far into labor I was. A disadvantage to your water breaking before you are in active labor (more than 3 cm dilated) is that the manual check of your cervix cannot be performed quite as often because the amniotic sac has torn, and the baby risks being exposed to bacteria.

Epidural

The biggest decision we were faced with, and not prepared for, was WHEN to get the epidural. We had already educated ourselves on the risks and benefits of getting an epidural altogether, but we were not ready to give guidance on exactly when we would like them to administer it.

Things I did not know about an epidural:

It is a catheter, meaning the anesthesia you receive can be controlled (and stopped, if needed). It also means the epidural cannot “wear off”, because you can continue receiving medication through the IV until the epidural is removed.
Your legs do not, and really should not, go completely numb. Although I was unable to leave the bed once I had the epidural, I was still able to move both of my legs and lift my pelvis. Epidurals are obviously very different for everyone, but my nurse said they generally achieve pain alleviation without complete debilitation of your bottom half.

Ultimately, I decided to get my epidural early. Meaning I was not very dilated when I asked them to begin the process.

Based on my own experience, I would recommend considering an early epidural. Since the pain was still very manageable, I was able to remain very still during the procedure, which is essential for a successful epidural. The strongest argument I could find online for not receiving the epidural early was that it may slow down your labor progress, but I did not personally experience that.

“The Peanut”

Once the epidural was in, I couldn’t use the birthing ball or take walks to help progress labor along, so they placed a ridiculously large, oval-shaped birthing ball, used for labor while laying down, between my legs.

It was rightfully named “the peanut”.

I was still able to sleep with the peanut and it actually wasn’t too uncomfortable.

Personally, I think using the peanut was a big part of moving the cervix along, but who really knows.

Waiting Game

After the epidural was in, they also turned my Pitocin dose up. From that point on, it was just a lot of waiting. We tried watching my favorite movie, Elf, but our adrenaline was so high that concentrating on a movie was difficult.

Ultimately, good music was the best form of entertainment during the “waiting phase” of labor. It was calming for me and provided some distraction for hubby. The nurses and delivery doctor even told us how much they enjoyed the smooth melody of our Jack Johnson playlist filling the room as baby Luke was born.

Delivery

After about 13 hours of waiting, the delivering doctor checked my cervix for the third time. I was 9.5 cm dilated.

Reaching the end of the labor process and preparing for delivery was full of emotion. I felt excited. Scared. Anxious. But to my surprise, most of all, I felt ready.

We started with some “test pushing” because I was still not feeling an urge to push. With an epidural, you cannot always feel your contractions, so the doctor had to guide me along by letting me know when I was at the peak of a contraction. She was very encouraging when it came time to push, as was my husband, which was a huge help for my nerves.

After a few test pushes, his head arrived. She told me to feel down and touch it. But when I looked down, I was actually able to see it, which was a wild sight.

All in all, we pushed through about 5 to 6 contractions, and then he was here.

Seeing my baby boy for the first time was just as everyone says it is: so uniquely wonderful that words alone cannot begin to describe the awe.

seeing baby for first time — Gamma and Auntie see baby Luke for first time

daddy with newborn — Daddy with newborn Luke

Why You Should Only Spend $20 on Your Baby Monitor

June 3, 2018January 7, 2024

There were a few baby items, such as the baby monitor, that I spent entirely too long researching. We are talking hours on the internet scouring comparison charts, reading baby monitor reviews, making pros/cons lists, etc. I found it surprisingly hard to find advice from a real mom that was straight to the point. Hopefully, I can save you from this torturous process by providing you with the solutions I eventually found and the logic that got me there.

If you don’t have time to read on, my baby monitor choice is the Wyze Cam 1080p HD Indoor Wireless Smart Home Camera with Night Vision, 2-Way Audio, White.

The Endless Search for a Baby Monitor

After your baby literally lives inside of you for 9 months, there is a bit of anxiety associated with keeping an eye on him or her once they are out of the womb. Thanks to technology, parents are able to monitor their baby better than ever before. However, with all of the advances in technology, there are roughly one million baby monitor options to choose from.

Unlike choosing the best cup of coffee (Starbucks, obviously) or the winning shopping experience (Target, clearly), there just didn’t seem to be an indisputable front-runner for baby monitors. Since hubs is the tech in the family, he dove in deep to technical baby monitor reviews that broke down the range, camera specs, etc. But in the end, we realized we needed advice from real parents.

What Should We Really Be Looking For?

Surveying a few of our friends who were already parents, we arrived at the most important features to look for:

Can you sit outside and still see your baby in the nursery?
Is the picture clear or does it look more like a blurry image circa 1980 bunny ears cable?
Are you alerted when little one makes noise/moves?
Will you need to take out a second mortgage to afford it?

Oops, We Fell for the Big Name Brand

Finally, we decided on the Philips AVENT SCD630/37 Video Baby Monitor with FHSS. This baby monitor lived on the dresser beside his crib for approximately 6 days before we stopped feeding off hopeful thinking and false positivity and returned it. Sure, it was “ok” but you would not believe how terrible the image quality and sound was for such an expensive purchase.

Wyze Didn’t We Know About This Camera Sooner?

Thankfully, our camera-in-shining-armor arrived when my sister called me with an exciting recommendation. The dad of Claire Crosby, adorable YouTube sensation who went viral for her cover songs with daddy, had invented a wireless camera to compete with more expensive products like the Arlo security camera and Nest indoor camera. My sister was gifted one of these $20 cameras and she could not believe how well it worked. For such a low price, I figured there was no harm in ordering one to try it out.

The Wyze camera ended up being one of the best purchases I’ve made during my pregnancy. Instead of spending money on expensive advertising campaigns (which is why you may not have heard of it), they have created an affordable product that honestly sells itself. When we compared the quality of the Wyze security camera side-by-side with the Philips baby monitor, it was painstakingly obvious that we had made the wrong call initially.

Features I Love About the Wyze Camera

The picture quality is amazing!

It’s crystal clear and you can zoom in for even more detail. Even the night vision is impressive.

There is two-way communication that actually works.

The first monitor we bought made our voices sound muffled and echoey, like dark overlords booming down. With the Wyze camera, not only can you perfectly hear sound on the app coming from the camera’s surroundings, but when you speak into your phone your voice is projected beautifully through the camera.

The app is really well designed.

It’s very easy to use and you can add as many individual camera units as you want. You can share the camera feed to an unlimited number of people so me and my husband both have the feeds on our phones. Best of all, installation is so ridiculously easy your baby could probably do it (just kidding, but really- it only took us 2 minutes).

It has reliable motion detection and sound detection with adjustable sensitivity levels.

Since our baby boy hasn’t arrived yet, I’ve been doing a lot of preliminary tests setting the camera on our cat’s favorite spots when we leave the house (RIP to Chappie’s privacy). The motion detection works flawlessly! I can even limit the motion detection to just one section of the picture, instead of the entire camera view, which will be so useful when we want to focus on just the crib in his nursery.

There is free recording!

Most similar baby monitors or security cameras charge for you to record and playback. Wyze continues to save you money by recording motion detection segments to the cloud for free. You also have the option of buying an SD card and recording all of the time.

The cameras are super portable.

Since the cameras are small, light-weight boxes you can easily unplug them and move them to a new location. We don’t need to worry about not having a plan for grandma’s house or even a hotel stay.

Trust me, I do not usually get this excited about technology. But the Wyze camera has impressed me so much that I’ve already purchased another one and have sung its praises to anyone who will listen. Save yourself the headache and hundreds of dollars and pick Wyze for your baby monitor.

Shop Wyze Indoor HD Camera Models and Accessories

Creative and Easy Ideas for Decorating Your Nursery

May 30, 2018June 4, 2020

Update 5/31/20: I just had my second baby (this time a little girl) and posted pictures and info about designing her nursery. I am especially in love with the circular crib I found.

Let me begin by confessing that decorating is not my strongest suit. Between being incredibly indecisive and not being blessed with the natural “eye for design,” decorating any room is usually an agonizing task for me.

However, due to the magic of pregnancy hormones, my newfound desire to nest, and the unfathomable love I already have for our little one, I was surprised to find that nursery design was one of my favorite parts of pregnancy.

If you’re starting to think about planning your nursery and you are anything like me, you may be feeling a little overwhelmed. But, rest assured, mama, you can make this fun! Getting started on nursery ideas early in your pregnancy will help. That way, you can space out the projects and give yourself time to enjoy each little win.

Love is Homemade

One of my favorite things hubby and I did for our little boy’s nursery was each commit to making something by hand. This was a big money saver and added a special, personal touch.

From Mommy: DIY Dream Catcher

To add to the fun of making my nursery addition, I had a few of my partners in pregnancy (girlfriends who conveniently got pregnant around the same time as me and wouldn’t judge me for only serving donuts) over for a crafting party.

Inspired by the Crate and Barrel Tassel Dreamcatcher ($39 cost), we used metal circles, thin rope, tassels, and colored cross stitch embroidery thread to create our own nursery dream catchers. With a total supplies cost of $15 each, we saved about $25 and achieved the same look!

From Daddy: Hand Crafted Bookshelves

My husband wanted to make something a little more rugged for our son, so he chose to do a woodworking project. Using a pallet (free ninety-nine thanks to a home improvement project his parents recently completed), he made two bookshelves. Once they were sanded, he sealed them using a clear sealant and we added a vinyl wall quote from Amazon to jazz it up. Total cost was around $15.

Honor Your Village

We’ve all heard the cliche’ “It takes a village to raise a child.” And, it most certainly does. I’ve found a whole new gratitude during my pregnancy for the support system we have. It’s crazy good to feel the love others already have your child.

I knew that I wanted something in the nursery to remind us of this love and support, so I was very happy to stumble upon this idea on Pinterest from Veronika’s Blushing.

This commemorative wall deco was a great use for those cute baby shower cards that often get thrown away or stored in a box.

Splurge on Something Fun

We wanted to save most of our budget for the “necessary” items. Therefore, I was very conscious about being thrifty when I made the registry and chose nursery decor. However, there was one item (some would say a little overpriced) that I just needed to have. A giant stuffed giraffe. And was he worth the hefty price tag? You betcha!

large stuffed giraffe nursery decoration — Photo Credit: @enmerz

The Little Details

Over the Crib

Like most first time parents, we are worried about make sure everything in the house is safe for our baby. So, naturally, the idea of hanging something over his crib was a little unsettling. However, after a lot of research, I was convinced that as long as you pull the crib out a bit from the wall, use lightweight objects, and properly secure the decoration you can carry on worry-free.

Thank goodness, because I am in love with these animal prints. They helped add a little flair to our mid-century modern crib, which I thought looked best without much bedding decor.

animal prints for nursery — Photo Credit: @enmerz

Animal prints above crib — Photo Credit: @enmerz

Gallery Wall

Adding a gallery wall was a great catch-all for small deco gifts we received for the baby.

A Piece of Your Own Childhood

My final addition to Luke’s nursery was a decoration circa 1990 from my own baby nursery. Since it looked odd on the gallery wall next to the modern decor, we gave it a spot of its own above the door. Having a piece of my own nursery in my son’s nursery definitely makes me (and grandma) smile big.

I hope you were able to find some inspiration from this post for your own baby haven. Enjoy the process and soon you’ll be making memories in the space you’ve created for your little bundle of joy.