a few of our favorite things

  

 

One of the reasons I started this blog was so that I could look back on these first months of motherhood and remember what life looked like. I want to remember all of the little details and firsts. I want to remember his moods and the things he liked and didn't like and how Will and I felt about taking on this new adventure.

Furniture: When we brought J-man home from the hospital I was super nervous about where he would sleep. I knew I wanted him near by but was too anxious to have him in our bed (or even let Will nap with him on the couch). Because of his little bit of reflux, being flat on his back wasn't an option either. Enter the nuna leaf. This thing was seriously a life saver our first few weeks at home. We would swaddle Jack really tight and just kind of set him in the straps like a lock and key (see picture above). The leaf sat right beside the bed and when he would start stirring, I would just give him a couple of pushes--it isn't battery powered, so no loud noises, and uses the weight of the baby to keep it in motion--and he would usually go back to sleep. We seriously love this thing. Now that he's bigger he uses it to watch his light show, a.k.a the TV, while I make my coffee in the mornings.

Once he got a little older and we realized he would sleep 5+ hours on his stomach, we moved him to his baby bjorn bassinet beside our bed. I picked this one out because, unlike a lot of bassinets, it wasn't bulky and ugly and the mesh siding and organic mattress made me feel a lot more comfortable about letting him sleep on his belly.

Now he sleeps in our bed. Yep, we break all the rules around here.

Clothes: I've always thought that babies should look like babies until they're not babies anymore. There is nothing that makes me more uncomfortable than seeing an infant in jeans. Seriously, who wants to sleep in jeans? With J-man we're all about the comfort. And the fewer snaps, the better cause this little dude hates being naked and will let you know quick. Our favorites are kissy kissy and kickee pants. They're super soft and come in solid colors and a few cute patterns. Now that he's sleeping with us, he just sleeps in a plain gerber onesie because he gets super hot from all the body heat. And that's basically his wardrobe! If we're going to church or a wedding or something then I'm a like the little bubbles because you can see his chunky thighs. But that doesn't happen much with a two month old.

Diapers: Seventh Generation are my favorite. They're all natural, non-bleached, etc, etc. We've tried the Honest Co. diapers and I like them alright. Some of the designs are a lot cuter than the light brown color of the SG diapers, but I have commitment issues and don't want to subscribe to a diaper service.

Feeding: We use Dr. Browns glass bottles. I like that we can just but them directly in his bottle warmer, or if we're out somewhere a pot of hot water, and they heat up really quickly. Plus you don't have to worry about any of the plastic stuff leaking into the milk or whatever it is that you're supposed to worry about giving your baby cancer.

Kiinde milk storage bags and bottle warmer. I like these because they have a twist top and they stand up by themselves in the refrigerator. You can also put the bag directly in the warmer or put the milk in a bottle first and then warm it. We bought the Kiinde bottles too but J wasn't a fan.

Etc: We love his pottery barn sherpa stroller blanket. It's really cozy for him and if you use the side that isn't fuzzy, it's not too hot.

Aiden and Anais bibs. Wasn't crazy about the blankets but the bibs are super soft and really big which I like.

Nuna pipa car seat. Seriously the best thing ever. It's very lightweight, easy to install in the car, made out of a really cool almost memory foam material and it looks awesome ;)

The only toy he's really been into yet is his play gym thing from ikea. He also likes a little musical inchworm stuffed thing? But for the most part he just likes to look at his mom and dad.

our wedding (part II)

all photos by Cathrine Taylor

THE DETAILS

Location: Pleasant Ridge Presbyterian Church; Everhope Plantation (Greene County, AL)

Photographer: Cathrine Taylor Photography (Birmingham, AL)

My Dress: The Sentamentalist (Atlanta, GA)

Bridesmaids Dresses: J Crew

Catering: Savory Solutions (Aliceville, AL)

Band: Seabass and the Fellas (Tuscaloosa, AL)

Moon: built by a friend (similar here)

our wedding

photos by Cathrine Taylor

(except this one)

Will and I got married last July in Pleasant Ridge, Ala., the community in Greene County where he grew up. When we first started talking about our wedding I was absolutely sure I wanted it to be in the little white chapel at the end of the dirt road that he grew up on. He, however, took some convincing. His memories of the church were hot summer mornings that turned to afternoons and stole his last few hours of daylight before school started back on Monday. My feelings were a bit more romanticized. Growing up, my idea of a castle was a white plantation house with columns and tall ceilings and mismatched door knobs (not kidding, ask my dad). So a few weeks after we met and Will showed me the house he grew up in and the little white church at the end of the road, I started planning our wedding (just kidding... kind of).

I wouldn't have changed a single thing about our wedding day or where we got married. Even though it was one of the hottest days of the year and only one side of the church had air conditioning, every bit of the day was so special to us. It was fun and relaxed, simple and familiar. I was so happy to be able to show my friends and family one of the places where Will and I really got to know each other and where we spend our free afternoons in the fall every year. I can't wait for Jack to be able to explore Pleasant Ridge and find his own magic out there.  

P.S. This is my husband on our wedding day sitting on the front porch of the house where I was getting ready. The house he grew up in. The white plantation house with columns and tall ceilings and mismatched doorknobs. Life really is the sweetest thing.

why i chose an unmedicated birth

"We have a secret in our culture and it's not that birth is painful. It's that women are strong. "

Laura Stavoe Harm

When I first found out I was pregnant with Jack, there were very few things in life that I was sure about. I knew how much I loved his dad and I knew I would do everything I could to keep him safe and bring him into this world happy and healthy. When Will and I started discussing exactly how we would get the little guy here and I told him I wanted an unmedicated birth, I'm pretty sure he thought I was crazy. And in hindsight I really didn't have any idea what I was saying. As women, we hear all the time how painful and scary childbirth is. We hear the horror stories of the epidurals that didn't quite work or the hours and hours of pushing only to be rushed into the operating room at the last moment. So we do our best to get things under control. We set our induction dates, we schedule our c-sections, we know what medicines we can get and how fast they will work and how soon we can get them. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. The best way to bring a child into this world is any way you possibly can. I think by becoming educated on the medicines available and the induction process and the ways c-sections are performed we feel like we have a little bit more control over something we've learned to fear. It makes sense and it gives us peace and, if everything goes according to planned, we get to bring our babies into the world feeling strong and confident and peaceful. That is a beautiful thing that I respect and understand and have absolutely no argument against.

I chose to have an unmedicated birth for some of those very same reasons. I wanted to feel a little bit more control over something I'd been taught to fear. For me, that meant taking away the variables. Stripping the whole thing down to the basic mechanics and leaving the rest out. Instead of becoming educated on the variables, I wanted to know more about the constant. Because at the end of the day, my baby was going to be born somehow. So I read books, I asked questions, I watched YouTube videos (don't do that) and I found people who understood and supported my desires. After a few conversations and a documentary or two, Will was that person. Our doula, Natalie, was that person. The doctor we chose was that person. And eventually, our families were those people. I chose an unmedicated birth because I wanted to give my body a chance to show me what it could do on its own before I decided that it needed help. I wanted to trust that I was made for this moment and I wanted to witness a true miracle of God knowing that I could not have done it alone. I wanted to be a part of a bond with the women of history, to truly understand the labor it took to perpetuate the human race. I wanted a clear head when my baby was placed on my chest and an easier recovery when we got home. I wanted to begin my journey as a mother knowing that I had just done one of the most difficult things that I would ever do and that I had survived it.

Going into it, I could've never known how the experience would bring Will and I closer than I ever thought it was possible to be with another person. I couldn't have known that it would give me the confidence I needed to get through those first anxiety filled weeks. Going into it, I had absolutely no idea how much something could hurt and how dutifully my body could handle it. Birth, especially of the unmedicated variety, is not glamorous, it's not quick and it's not clean. But it is certainly the most beautiful thing I have ever been a part of.

stay tuned for our birth story...

nursery

It's been almost three months since we brought our little man home from the hospital and it's already hard to remember what life was like without him. He is absolutely perfect. He is every single thing I never knew I needed and I wouldn't trade a second of it or how we got here.

One of our favorite things to do (besides cuddling on the couch watching E! News) is to hang out in his nursery. It's by far my favorite room in our house. When I started working on it I knew I wanted a space that he could grow into and define for himself as he gets older. His furniture is mostly things I already had before Will and I got married. I didn't want to spend too much on anything until I knew if we were really going to use it (I'm pretty sure he's slept in his crib a total of one whole hour and most of his diapers are changed on our bed or in the floor). His crib is just a plain ole Jenny Lind we got at a consignment shop for less than $100. Even though we hardly ever use it, I do really love the concept of his little changing pad. It's made of a kind of foamy material so when he has accidents--and he does-- we don't have to worry about washing and replacing sheets, we just wipe it down with some soap and hot water and it's good as new! Jack man's favorite thing in his nursery is his flag. When he was really little and going through his almost-colicky phase, it was one of the only things that would keep him calm for more than a few minutes. We would just hold him and he would stare at it like it was the most amazing thing he'd ever seen. Apparently the little ones like things with lots of contrast when their eye sight is developing. Either that or he's just a super patriot already which is fine with me :)

Our friend Cathrine Taylor took these photos for us a few weeks after we got home and, like everything she does, I am totally in love with them.