He's Here!

Nolan Michael arrived on August 12th at 7:14am in the morning, weighing seven pounds and fourteen ounces.  I had been having contractions off and on for a full week before this perfect little angel made his debut, but the delivery was fast and furious. He was born shortly after we arrived to the hospital and we were even lucky enough to have my amazing OB there for the delivery before his on-call shift ended.  Since Nolan's arrival the love in our hearts has literally multiplied. He brings so much joy to our family and every time I think back to the day he arrived I am filled with so much happiness. Our family is complete. 

We have been adjusting to life as a family of four and Chris and I have been working together to get into the groove of having two kids under two. There are so many things that I want to write about - like what it is like giving birth the second time around, how it feels to take care of two little munchkins, thoughts on having a boy, what our plans are for the next year, all the cute things Nolan does, how Maya is doing being a big sister, and so on. I get all these thoughts in my head and want to write it down but when you have two kids you really do not sleep at all (I know you don't with the first babe - but for reals you do not get ANY sleep the second time around when your toddler decides to start her day at 5am because she heard her baby brother waking up for a feed). So for now, I will just settle for posting random thoughts here and there until life becomes normal again. 

Speaking of which, my random thought right now is how grateful I am to have my husband around. We are such a team right now.  He is totally stepping up to the plate, and has always been an amazing father from day one. And the cool thing is we are able to stick together when things get stressful and still laugh with one another on a daily basis.  For example, as I write this I am laughing my head off  because I just watched him accidentally walk into the screen door to our back porch and now he is making fun of himself.  The other day we had a hilarious moment when we were changing Nolan's diaper on the go and we experienced our first "poop-nami"....but more on the later. 

In the mean time Chris and I are sitting in the living room playing scrabble with each other on our phones, making funny comments to each other about who is going to score more points.  Nolan is snoozing away all cuddled up nice and warm on my chest, and I am listening to Maya on the monitor sighing in content as she sleeps in her bed. It's no crazy night on the town, but what more could a girl ask for?

Getting Ready

So here I am again at 4am wide awake with no chance of getting back to sleep anytime soon. The same thing happened when I was pregnant with Maya towards the end. To pass the time this post will keep me busy from laying in bed analyzing the zillion things that I tend to analyze about life on a daily basis. 

We are at 38 weeks ladies and gentlemen! Well by my calculations I am 38 weeks - by my last ultrasound dates I am 37 and a bit (but really what's the difference, we are talking a range of a mere days, people!).  My OB appointment on Wednesday confirmed that things are moving along nicely. The doc doesn't think I will make it to 40 weeks. He guessed that I could go anywhere as early as tomorrow or next week. Lots of signs are happening, but it's one of those things that you just never know how long you have to wait - only baby gets to decide!

My plan was to take ten days of vacation from work before my due date to have a chance to nest and get organized, as well as spend some time with Miss Maya before the big arrival. But after my doc appointment I started panicking, thinking that I might not get the time at home I was planning, and so instead of starting my vacation on Monday I decided to get a head start a few days early (thanks to flexible bosses that I am lucky to have!).  Chris and I have also gotten the nasty head cold that Maya had last week (my throat is on fire, y'all). So I am hoping I will have a few days to recuperate a bit before I go into labour!

So on my first morning off, the need to get my house in order struck me fast. We spent the day organizing, making phone calls / arrangements for various things, and doing research on some last minute baby stuff. 

Maya must have known what was going on because as soon as she got out of bed she started practicing for when baby brother comes. 

She has been so freaking cute and adorable and so "grown up" lately it's disgusting - but we'll save that for another day. 

Another thing that I have been doing here and there is purchasing a few new things for baby Nolan's arrival. We pretty much have all the baby essentials that we need, but after having Maya there were a few things I came across that I wished I had, that I know I will use with the new itty bitty.

The real problem though.  There are these daily deal web sites that you can sign up to get steals on baby products. You never pay more than half price. This is dangerous for me because I literally get e-mails every day with a new deal that I am just so tempted to take advantage of, even though I don't always need the stuff, know what I mean? So I have been trying to be real good and only purchase things that I know are things that I will use a lot. 

I just love getting packages of baby stuff in the mail! Here are some things I have gotten lately online (FYI - I have not been paid to advertise for any of the said baby products - this is not that kind of blog). 

Hotslings

With Maya I used a Moby Wrap, which I absolutely love for around the house,  but it's a pain to use in public because it is so long and drags on the dirty ground when you put it on. I can't wait to try this new one out!

PB Green Bags

I was getting tired of always using up plastic sandwich bags so when I saw these I scooped them up.  They are great for keeping snacks in the diaper bag when we are on the go and easy for Maya to eat out of when she is hanging out in her stroller!

Macy Grace Cloth Diapers

I have been thinking about making the switch to cloth diapers for a while now and am slowly starting to build up a stash. Every time I see these diapers, or other ones half off I order a few at a time. Last order I also got a wet bag for when I am changing diapers on the go. 

Bambino Muslin Blankets 

I saw so many people with these multi-purpose swaddling blankets when I had Maya, (and thought they were the greatest). So this time around I snagged them as soon as I saw a deal. They are so light and airy for summer months. You can use them to swaddle without overheating or as a really breathable nursing cover when you are out and about. I so can't wait to use these!

I got all of these products half price, yo!

I also keep seeing deals on amber teething necklaces that I would like to eventually buy (but I promised hubby I would restrain myself and not go overboard with any more online purchases for a while). 

A few other things I snagged in store:

First Years On-The-Go Booster Seat

Planet Wise Wet / Dry Bag 

(you can hang on the back of your bathroom door to store dirty diapers)

Summer Infant Swaddle Me Blanket

Chris' parents were recently generous enough to purchase a double electric breast pump for us. With Maya I borrowed the Avent one from a friend and used it often. This time around we are going with the Hygeia, thanks to good reviews from my sis-in-law.  

The biggest purchase we still have to get is a double stroller. We love our BOB Revolution Stroller that we receivedas a gift for Maya,  but with two kids under two we need to expand! 

So we are looking at the Baby Jogger City Select double stroller. This thing you can use as a single or a double and it has so many different configurations. We plan to sell our BOB and use the money towards this new purchase because, whoa, the City Select is darn expensive. We have been looking to buy it used but no such luck yet. 

Today I have an appointment to get a much needed hair cut so that I don't look completely gross in my first pictures with my new itty bitty.  My next post will probably be a birth announcement so stay tuned. I'm getting excited!