The Leash

Has anyone every leashed your child? I feel like this is a pretty hot topic. I'm not going to lie, before I became a mom I was so against leashing children. I would always say typical things like "a child is not a dog", or "I guess they can't control or discipline their child if they have him or her on a leash". I so judged others who leashed their child. I know, it's wrong. But I'm pretty sure many others have done the same thing.

However, now that I am a mom to a very active toddler, I am actually considering leashing my him. Let me explain why...

So Hunter is actually really good about walking and holding hands. He actually prefers to hold hands. We were walking through the mall, and I tried to explain to him that if he wanted to let go of my hand he could, but he would have to stay next to me. But he said "no". So we kept holding his hands. But we went to a free concert at a local outdoor mall a couple weeks ago and that is where all hell broke loose. So this concert is very family friendly and there is a big field for people to sit and kids to play. We got there, set up our chairs and blankets and he took off! He must have seen other young children walking and running around and that was it. Of course my husband and I started laughing (because really who can't) and that was probably our biggest mistake. He ended up thinking that running away was a game. The entire night hubs and I and my nieces were chasing him everywhere. It was HOT as hell and humid and he's sweating, and now we all are too. But he's still running around. We still ended up having a nice time...but it definitely wasn't what I had imagined.

Maybe I had expectations that I'd get to sit there...drink a beer and watch my child play with his cousins right in front of me? Okay I did have those expectations. It honestly never crossed my mind that he would book it and run away. Hey...I'm a first time mom after all.

Anyway, we'd love to go back, but now i'm considering a leash...at least so I can keep him in a general area. I'm not talking about those leash backpacks. I still think those are ridiculous. I'm thinking something like this...

ok so maybe that is ridiculous too? I feel like others are going to judge me...the same way I used to judge. Maybe it's karma for me? Or maybe I shouldn't care at all, and just do what is best for my family.

What are your thoughts of leashing children? Do you have any advice for me?

Back to blogging

Alright...so I'm really going to try to keep up with this blog. I love to write, but always seem to forget about blogging. I'd really like to work on writing more, sharing more, getting more readers, reading others blogs and meeting more moms like me!

School is winding down for the year, so I'll definitely have more time to write. My last day is June 13th! Can't wait!!

Hunter's last day in school will be June 16th! We haven't told the director yet, but we have already signed up him and paid our deposit for him to start the new daycare (where my husband works) in September. We weren't sure if we were going to start him in early August or when I go back to work. But ultimately we decided it would be best to start in when the new school year starts, in September. Plus we will save a TON of money! Can't beat that!

So it will be me and him all summer long! I'm excited! I've already pinned many things that we are going to do at home during the day! I'm definitely interested in experiencing what it's like to be a SAHM. Be on the look out of a post about it! If anyone has ideas of things to do, please share!

Here's to 30 something days left of work and a mommy, toddler filled summer!

He stole my milkshake...and i never got it back! LOL

Chop...

I have never been one of those girls who gets upset when cutting my hair. In fact, I've always gone from having long hair and then just chopping it off! I usually decide to chop when it is getting annoying...which is usually around summer! It's hot and I can't stand to have my hair long. 

About 2 weeks ago I decided to chop it! We were just about to go on vacation and the thought of having my hair so long during our time at the beach was horrible. Plus my hair was just sort of laying flat and boring. I needed layers and it shorter.

Here is a before...

And here is after...

I absolutely love it! Super easy to manage...lots of layers and it feels so much lighter! 

Snowed in

I'm sure you have seen that there was a blizzard last weekend and a bunch of states were affected. Well we live in one of those states...and we got a ton a snow! Over 2 feet to be exact!

That was our backyard! We couldn't even open the side or back door! Last time I was in a blizzard was when I was growing up.

Needless to say school has been cancelled since last Friday, but it's allowed us to have some quality family time. Hunter got to experience the snow for the 1st time!

He really didn't care for it...I recorded a video of him with the snow inside and he cried :( I'm sure next year he will like it more!

I don't have work today, but Hunter's school was open so I decided to send him. Honestly I was so looking forward to today but now that it's here and I'm home without him I feel weird. I know he's having fun at daycare but I miss him. 3 pm can't come soon enough :)

Favorite baby items for 1st 6 months

Now that Hunter is 6 months I figured I would write a post of my favorite baby items that I have used so far! I'm listing 6 because Hunter is 6 months!

1. Nose Frida

So the Nose Frida has literally been my absolute favorite baby item so far. The picture above gives a great idea of how you use it. But basically it's similar to a nasal aspirator...but those always suck and I can't figure out how to use it. To use it you put one end one the baby's nostril and the other end in your mouth and you suck up the snot! I know it sounds nasty, but it actually works and works amazingly! I remember my husband said he wouldn't use it when we bought it...but once Hunter got his first cold and was miserable, sure enough my husband used it! There are filters in the middle so the snot doesn't make it to you mouth. and actually the snot has never made it to the filter when I've used it. I highly recommend this and your try it because it really works!

2. Munchkin Diaper Duty Organizer 

This diaper organizer has been a lifesaver! We did not purchase a changing table. Instead we just put a changing pad on top of Hunter's dresser and we needed something to place diapers and lotions everything else. I registered for it without even seeing it in person and I will say it's wonderful! There is plenty of space for diapers, on the top I keep wipes and in the openings on the side I keep lotions, creams, powder and medicines! Super helpful and doesn't even take up a huge amount of space!

3. Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature Night Pacifier

Hunter loves these pacifiers. We did get a selection of pacifiers but Hunter preferred the tommee tippee. We have pretty much every boy color and more because I am always losing pacifiers. However what I like about these is that they glow is the dark! When we put Hunter to bed sometimes he will spit his pacifier out and wouldn't be able to put it back in his mouth. I never wanted to turn the light on to wake him up more...so luckily I could easily find these because they would glow in his crib! 

4. Nuby Hot Safe Feeding Spoons

I just found these but they have quickly become a favorite! Now that Hunter is eating baby food and baby cereals we had to break out our spoons and bowls! We have a ton of different spoons, but I wasn't really liking them until about 5 days ago when I was getting out some wipeable bibs from his closet and I found these spoons! We gave them a try that night and OMG they are the best! I love the fact that they change colors when food is too hot. The spoon part will turn white if hot. This is super helpful because I always worry that the food is too hot and I don't want to burn his little baby mouth. I also love that the part that goes into his mouth is curved. The other spoons we were using weren't curved...they were more flat and I often found that Hunter wouldn't keep the food in his mouth. Now that we have used these spoons there is more food staying in his mouth. I am so glad I found these because they are awesome!

5. Baby Einstein Activity Jumper Special Edition, Neighborhood Friends

I posted about this one before when I was thinking of Christmas gifts for Hunter. This was a possible gift and I can say I am sooo glad we bought this for him. He absolutely loves it! Hunter likes to move and in this he is able to jump and turn his body around in the seat. There are so many different toys for him to play with such as a small piano that plays classical music, numbers and colors in english, spanish and french and musical notes. There is a spinner that has a mirror in it! This is his favorite because he loves to look at himself. He likes to spin the frog and musical notes and the red bird too! Overall it is a great activity center for baby! My husband calls this the baby command center! lol I also love that it folds down when you are ready to store it so it won't take up too much space!

5. Skip Hop PlaySpot Floor Mat, Blue/Gold, 20 Count

My cousin gave this to us...she had used it with her boys and didn't need it anymore. I am so glad she gave it to us because it has become one of my favorites! We have hardwood floors so having this floor mat has saved Hunter's head and our bodies hundreds of times! Sitting on hardwood floor hurts after a while! I loved the colors...very neutral. Sometimes mats are such bright colors and I didn't want that in my living room. I loved how super easy it was to put together...just put the circles in the squares and connect with the beige connectors. My favorite thing about it is you can make it as big or small as you want it. You don't have to put the entire mat out. We only put about half at first because Hunter wasn't moving as much. But once he started rolling everywhere we added to it to make the mat bigger! It's super easy to clean...we just wipe it and go! Overall it's a great product!


*****I was in no way compensated for these reviews...these are just some of the products I loved using and wanted to share with you!****

To Induce or not to induce...Part II

So I left off with the big decision to induce or not. My Dr. told me she would induce me a week past my due date but I got the feeling that she would rather I wait until I was 2 weeks past to induce. I wanted the baby out...but I also didn't want to cause a c-section. I didn't know what to do.

Ultimately I decided to try the induction. I say try because my Dr. told me that I would go in on a friday morning and start the induction, but if it didn't work she was going to send me home until I was more ready. This scared the crap out of me...but my gut was telling me to try.

So on July 10th at 6:30 am Hubs and I went in to the hospital and I got induced. They started the medicine and within 4-5 hours I was really feeling contractions. I fought through them because they wouldn't give me an epidural until my Dr. came and checked me. At one point in the afternoon I caved in and asked for medicine for the pain...they gave me stadol (not sure how you spell it), but I hated it! It made me feel so drowsy and sick. I remember telling my husband to watch me because I was afraid I'd stop breathing (i know I'm dramatic). That wore off in 2 hours and I just sucked up the pain. Finally around 6:30 my Dr. came in and checked me. I was 5 cm dilated!! She said she was going to break my water and I could get my epidural! Yay!!! I was having a baby!!!

I won't go into great detail about the rest of the birth...unless anyone wants me to. But it was a good birth overall. The transition was difficult...as it is for everyone. I needed the anesthesiologist to come back twice to give me more medicine during that point. I ended up being able to push around 1 am and Hunter was born at 3:06 am.

So doing the induction worked for me. I have heard horror stories of women in labor for days after being induced. I feel very lucky that I was in labor for about 21 hours. I do feel like my labor may have been harder because I was induced...but I have nothing to compare it to. I think next time I would listen to my Dr. and go to 42 weeks if baby didn't come before getting induced. Maybe my labor wouldn't have been so difficult...specifically the transition period. But overall I'm glad it worked out and we had a happy and healthy baby boy.
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Were you induced? Or did you go into labor naturally?

To Induce or not to induce...

I had a wonderful pregnancy with Hunter. It was textbook. No complications, normal and stress free. Until the very end of my pregnancy.

My due date with Hunter was July 2nd. I was soooo excited for this day to come. I couldn't wait to meet the baby inside of me. But I did understand that due dates are not always accurate and don't mean baby will be here on that date. In fact I always had this gut feeling that I wouldn't have the baby then..I always felt that I would be pregnant past my due date.

Thanks to my mother's intuition I was right! July 2nd came and went and no baby. I hadn't had contractions or anything! I remember going to my weekly dr appts and praying that there was progress in the dilation area. Each time...nothing. My Dr finally told me that she would induce me if I wanted, but it wouldn't be until I was at least a week late. When talking with her I got the impression that she really didn't want me to induce. She wanted me to wait until 42 weeks to induce. But I did not want to wait until I was 2 weeks late! I was ready for this baby! We scheduled an appt for the following week and she said I would make the induction decision then. I'm not going to lie...I was disappointed. I remember getting to my car, calling my husband and crying. I was a hot mess.

See the thing was my husband and I decided early on to put all our trust into my dr and whatever she said we would do. I needed it to be this way. I don't trust people in general, but my Dr. I do completely trust. She has been doing this for over 30 years and delivered my husband and brother in law. My mother-in-law had difficulty having children and it was until she saw Dr. R that she had her 2 children. She always says she has her sons because of Dr. R.

So I was torn. My gut was telling me to be induced but my head was telling me to not go against my doctor. I had no idea what to do...