My Favorite Baby Gear

Hi all! Hope everyone is getting as excited as I am about Holiday Season! I couldn't wait to put up my Christmas tree so I did it the day after Halloween.

Gift season is almost here and I thought I'd share some of my fave baby supplies that I can't live without. They'd make amazing gifts and stocking-stuffers to some of the new mommas out there.

I'm a huge believer in baby-wearing. There are so many potential benefits with baby-wearing, like, increased cognitive and speech development and increased lactation. My fave benefit though is how calming it can be for a baby to be worn close to your chest. When Saji is fussy, I pop him into a sling and he falls asleep quickly. My favorite is a ring-sling made by Sakura Bloom.  It is so easy to get baby into it and is easy to move around with. You can also breastfeed in it and use the tail to cover up.  They come in so many different colors and fabrics that I think I want to invest in a few more! They just launched a jet-black version geared towards men.....it would be perfect for Viv.  I also have an Ergocarrier that I'm dying to try out but I want to wait until Saji gets a little bigger.

Snug in his Sakura Bloom sling while we put up Holiday decorations.

....and again at the pumpkin patch!

When I first came home after having Saji, I was exhausted and nursing like crazy.  I had a hard time remembering when last I nursed and from which side....until I discovered nursing bracelets.  They have beads that represent intervals of time like on a clock.  You use a charm to mark off when last you nursed.  Also, you can wear it on the wrist of the side you last nursed from. I tried using an app to log everything but it just wasn't practical.  It felt like a chore logging info into an app every hour.  The bracelet was a better option for me.  There are so many pretty ones out there. I opted for this one.

Sporting my nursing bracelet while scarfing down a tamale at the farmer's market. That tamale was so freaking gooood!

I'm a huge fan of all things Honest Co. We use their diapers, wipes, bath products, and more.  My favorite products are their Organic Nipple Balm and Soothing Bottom Wash.  The balm is so moisturizing and isn't overly greasy.  I even use it on Saji's lips when he has little blisters or dry skin from bad latches and it heals so quickly.  The Bottom Wash is great for when wipes aren't enough. When he has a huge blow out, I just spray some on and wipe off. It gets the job done. 

 Swaddle cloths are everything right now. Saji will not sleep long enough unless he is swaddled. I thought I could get away with using those fancy designer cloths but he just wiggles out of them. I found that Circo Receiving Blankets work great for tiny newborns. We use 2 blankets and do a double-swaddle to make sure he's extra secure. He's grown so much and is now too tall for those blankets so I opted for some hospital-grade cloths. These are the ones I'm currently using. They are thicker than the Circo ones but it's perfect for the cooler weather right now.

Throwback to the days when he was small enough to fit into the Circo blankies.

Saji still sleeps in our room at night, but will nap in his crib during the day. We needed a good baby monitor to keep an eye on him. This one by Infant Optics is great! You can zoom, tilt, and pan with the remote.  The display turns off if there's no noise in the baby's room. But once baby makes noises, it comes back on and there's a series of lights that light up on the side of the remote to tell you how loud the baby is crying. It saves me a lot of trips up and down the stairs to check on him.

There are so many cute decorative crib mobiles out there but we opted for a different type of mobile. This Wimmer-Ferguson mobile has different shapes and colors to stimulate baby's brain at different stages.  They have simple black and white shapes for younger babies and more complex designs with colors for older babies.  Saji really loves this mobile and tries to reach for the little cards. We ended up buying an extra one for his changing table to keep him occupied during diaper changes. Since it does stimulate the brain, we do have to remove it before naptime otherwise Saji would never sleep, but it's super easy to remove.

What are some of your fave baby gear?

Life Lately....

Hi all! I'm backkkk! I've really missed doing these posts but to be honest things have just been so crazy that I couldn't keep up.

Saji is growing so fast. I feel like we just brought him home from the hospital. He's already 2 months old and is "talking" (he is VERY vocal!), smiling, and trying to roll. He weighed in at 7lbs 12.5oz at his 2 month check-up and is right on-track with his growth.

He is exclusively breastfed now and still nurses every 2 hours.  He still has days where he's terrible at latching on, but then he'll get the hang of it again. I've introduced bottles to him now but only give him one like once or twice a week. I am not a fan of the mechanics of bottle-feeding and I hate pumping. I always feel so fatigued and have weird mood swings after pumping. (Anyone else experience the baby-blues post-pumping?) Nursing is just so much easier and more convenient for me and I like the bonding time. However, I do fight to stay awake during a few of our late night feeds... Instagram has been my savior on those occasions. For the most part, I don't see myself using bottles more frequently in the future except on the days that I work.

Speaking of work, I head back this week. I'm lucky that I'm able to work Saturdays for now and the husband can watch Saji, but it's still heartbreaking to think I will be leaving my sweet child for a long period of time. The only time I've spent apart from him has been a quick grocery trip about 2 weeks after he was born. Even then I was so worried he'd give my husband a hard time while I was away and kept calling home every few minutes. Emotionally, I don't feel ready to go back to work but I know that it'll just get harder as time goes on and if I stay home longer with him. I know there will be tears during my first shift back and I am one ugly crier! LOL!

Saji doesn't sleep through the night yet but he does start of with a good 4-5 hour stretch in the night and then wakes up for a feeding and goes back down for another 2 hours. He is still small for his age so his doctor doesn't expect him to sleep through the night anytime soon.  When he wakes up to nurse, the session usually lasts for about 45minutes which can be a little tiring but he rarely ever gives us a hard time to fall back asleep. We really lucked out with that!

I am a big fan of making sure baby gets in good naps throughout the day. It makes a huge difference in Saji's temperament.  He likes to play for long sessions (probably too long for a baby his age) so he gets tired quickly after playtime. I am very strict about how he naps because I want to make sure he gets quality sleep and has a healthy attitude about sleep.

I am loosely following the Baby Wise schedule for naps and feedings (nap, wake, feed, play, repeat). I'm not overly strict with it, because I believe you have to stay super flexible with babies. You just never know when a meltdown will happen! If Saji is hungry after our play session I will feed him because I feel like playing at that age really sucks energy out of babies and you have to replenish it especially if you plan to have intense playtime. He takes 2 really big naps during the day...one is shortly after we wake up in the morning and get through feedings and playtime and the other nap happens a few hours later. After his papa comes home everything gets a little messy. He has a hard time settling down for a nap after that...probably because the house is more lively when Viv comes home (humans are talking, dogs are barking, baby gets to play more). He tends to get fussy on evenings....that dreaded "witching hour"...and likes to cluster feed before bed.  I indulge his cluster feedings most of the time. I'll just park up on the couch and nurse off and on with mini breaks to stretch and rehydrate. I'll also wear him in my ring sling (the Sakura Bloom sling is my favorite)  when he's fussy and he usually falls right asleep. Despite his fussy moments in the evening, he still usually goes down for bedtime without fussing.

This sweet smile! <3

As for me, I think I'm managing well.  You get a lot of talks when you have a kid from everyone. "Wait 'til the baby comes, you'll never get sleep again...."  Going into this, Viv and I expected sleepless nights and hardwork, so I wouldn't say any of it was a shock. As much as I love Saji, he's not a perfectly calm and quiet baby. He has his meltdowns and tantrums, but that's what babies do.  It actually reminds me of the days when I got my dogs as puppies.

So in love with these two!

We are truly enjoying being parents. We spend a lot of time reflecting on my pregnancy and the delivery and can't help but smile when we see the result of all of our efforts. He is growing and changing so quickly that I just want to savor every minute of it!

Labor Day.....(It's a longggggg one!)

 Hi all! I'm backkkk! I've been away spending time with our new baby, Sahaj. We are doing well and bonding with our son.  I couldn't be happier with my little man and he is more than anything I could have wished for! After being M.I.A for weeks, I wanted to share my Labor Day story and a bit from my last few months of pregnancy...not the holiday, but my labor & delivery day.

He was born on Sept 1st at 12:59am! ( A week before my birthday!)

During our 3rd trimester, we were being monitored twice weekly for various things.  To begin with, our peanut was measuring small.  Small babies run in both our families, but our doctors weren't sure if there was another reason why he was small. We came to find out after my delivery that the umbilical cord was inserted off to the side of the placenta so not a ton of nutrients were making their way to the baby.

We would show up to the doc twice weekly to have ultrasounds and non-stress tests done. Luckily, Saji was always performing so well despite his small size.  Also, my docs were worried about preterm labor.  My cervix was measuring really short and the baby seemed really low. On top of that, I was getting crazyyyy Braxton Hicks contractions...like more than 6 per an hour and they were kind of painful for "pretend contractions"! My doctor put me on a course of nifedipine to stop the contractions. I think it did too well of a job that it completely stopped any signs of preterm labor and I didn't deliver until 38 weeks!

During the weeks before my delivery, the docs were mentioning induction at every visit. They had no specific plans to induce, but expressed that they felt uncomfortable with me carrying longer than 38 weeks due to the baby's size. The husband and I were not enthusiastic about a medical induction at all. It was pretty difficult being poked and prodded at for weeks and given recommendations that were not based on solid findings at that point.

At one of our appointments, the doctor said that Saji had stopped growing and that she recommended medical induction within 5 days. I was so upset. I didn't want that, but I didn't want to to put my baby in harm's way. I called my primary OB and pled with her to do anything "natural" to speed up the process. At that time, I had been dilated 2cm for 2 weeks and 80% effaced.  My doc said I'd be a great candidate for membrane stripping. She signed me up for one on Monday, August 31st but warned me that if it failed, I would need to have a medical induction by Wednesday.  Meanwhile, over the weekend I did everything I could to help speed up labor short of eating spicy food and drinking castor oil. (Heartburn and diarrhea just seemed like BAD ideas!) None of my efforts worked.... I just ended up tiring myself out! I even tried that yoga dance that women swear by to induce labor...FAIL!


Monday came around and I asked my husband to take me to my doc appointment because I was nervous! I had a heart-to-heart with the nurse practitioner there. I told her I absolutely didn't want to do the medical induction. She felt my pain and agreed to "effectively strip my membranes" and that I would hate her after the process. I did. OMG...that was the craziest procedure....EVER! She said that if this failed, she would be totally find repeating it again the next day. I was thankful she understood how I felt and helped us to be able to have a more "natural birth" (without Pitocin!).  I left the office feeling hopeful.

Two hours later...CONTRACTIONS hit! They escalated soooo fast! I tried to time them and they were jumping from every 5 minutes to every 3 minutes within an hour. I knew that night would be THE NIGHT, so I rushed and got everything ready.  I told my husband to go get some food for us so we can eat a good meal before leaving. That was a HUGE mistake! It ended up taking him over an hour to get anything because all the restaurants were oddly busy that night! By the time he came home, my contractions were enough to stop me in my tracks and I couldn't talk through them.  I ended up calling the hospital and they told me I could either come in immediately and get checked or wait another hour and then come on in. I think I had too many contractions that I could barely feel the baby move, so for that reason I decided to go in to get checked. Plus, I couldn't imagine waiting another hour and riding in a car when my contractions were a minute apart and having to walk into the hospital...I'd never make it inside if I had to keep stopping to breathe through my contractions.

Before going into labor, I had been learning Hypnobirthing techniques to deliver effectively. I did draw a lot from that practice. It taught me to breathe through those active labor contractions (applying techniques during the transition phase was a lot harder to do for me). It also taught me to breathe the baby down effectively during the pushing phase (I'll get into that more in a bit). And I truly believe it helped me to learn to breathe in an effective way in general to make my contractions more productive.

When I showed up at the hospital, I took forever to walk to the triage area. The nurse, Holly (aka...my angel), checked me and said that I was only 4cm dilated.  I felt frustrated because my contractions were intense and coming so frequently. I thought for sure I was further along. She said we could either go home and come back when my contractions were closer together or walk around the hospital for another hour and then come back for a check. I was also Group B Strep positive and was worried about getting my course of antibiotics on time. (It's a really common condition but can cause serious problems for babies born to moms with too much of the bacteria....a course of penicillin is usually all that is needed to protect baby but it needs to be started 4 hours before delivery.)  I opted to stay at the hospital. I really didn't want to go home and come back because I couldn't bare to sit in the car during my contractions...standing and bending over felt really good during them...not sitting.  I tried to walk down the hallway and that was a definite fail. I think I was just so tired that I just wanted to stay in one place!

An hour went by, and I was checked again. 4.5cm! WHAT?! I was so frustrated! My contractions were so intense and coming every other minute...how could I only be 4.5cm?! I pled with the nurse to keep me! She was so sweet and convinced the on-call doc to admit me. By the time we reached my private room, I was nearly 6cm dilated!  My birthplan had originally asked for no pain meds and as natural of a birth as possible. Because everything was happening so fast, I felt like my body didn't have a chance to catch up to all the changes.  I asked for drugs. It made me sad that I felt like I needed them. The nurse ended up ordering some fentanyl for me and an epidural was on its way. She was about to administer my fentanyl, when I felt like it was show-time! I told Holly and I don't think she believed me. Then my water broke! It was go-time without drugs!  I didn't even have time to get my course of penicillin. It was all so dramatic and played out like a Lifetime movie.

With my husband holding my left hand and Holly holding my right hand, I had to push! Boy...did that feel great! The breaks between pushing felt amazing....I swear I could have taken a nap between them! LOL! Because it was all happening so fast, the doc barely made it up on time! Within about 30 min of pushing (which felt so fast), Saji was born! I heard him crying while they measured him and evaluated him. Viv and I kept calling over to him and talking. When he heard our voices, he stopped crying! They placed him on me and he hugged my chest and stared at me. It was so perfect! It was like he knew who I was!  I was so happy...I remember telling everyone in the room how much I love them...and how I'm sorry for everything I put them through! The nurses got a big kick out of that.  LOL!

My love!

Saji weighed in at 4lb 14oz and was healthy. His temperature was a little low but skin-to-skin helped with that. Like withg most babies, nursing was off to a slow start. He nursed perfectly soon after birth, but then fell off the wagon.  The nurses were so great and really helped us to get him back on track. His pediatrician also recommended supplementing his diet with some donor breast milk. The hospital we were at has an amazing program where doctors can prescribe breast milk from a bank to babies who really need the extra boost. I really didn't want to start him on formula if I could avoid it because I felt since he was such a tiny peanut, he would benefit more from the immunity boost that breast milk gives.

Saji ended up doing so well that he was discharged early and was able to go home with me! We were worried they would keep him for a few days for observation, but his pediatrician thought he was better off at home with us than alone at the hospital.

One-week weigh-in at the pediatrician...also Mommy's birthday!

Although I originally wanted a natural birth and ended up mentally caving into drugs, it all worked out in the best possible way. My delivery went almost according to my original birth plan...no drugs, no episiotomies, and no manual interventions to hurry along my labor in the delivery room. It's funny how things eventually work themselves out! I read in one of my birthing books that there's no medal for natural birthing, but instead it allows you a deeper understanding of what your body is capable of. I loved that way of thinking.  The experience is no less special if you opt for pain medication and natural birthing doesn't make you a hero.  What I did want to learn was how far I could push my body before it was "too much". Even though there were times when I felt like I couldn't try harder, I did. I made it through the end!

We love our mini outings as a familly!

I ended up trying out a few things to help me out before labor and thought I'd share my efforts.  I'll probably do another post with things that helped me post-labor, but I'm still testing those out right now.  If anyone has any natural tips on recovering post-labor, I'd love to hear them!

Pre-labor Prep:
-Red Raspberry Leaf Tea: It's thought to cause more intense and productive contractions during labor.  It absolutely does not induce labor itself...trust me...I tried to drink as much as I could the weekend before I was scheduled to be medically induced....no luck! I'm not sure if it was due to the tea but my contractions were very intense and escalated very quickly which caused my labor to only last for a few hours. The contractions are thought to be stronger than felt during labor without supplementing with Red Raspberry Leaf.

-Perineal Massage: I feel like this really helps loosen the tissues and it is thought to help prevent the need for episiotomies. I was lucky to avoid one and had minimal tearing.  I like to think it was due to massage therapy.

-Hypnobirthing:  I wanted to deliver in a natural and calm way. Of all the pain management options available out there for labor, I gravitated towards hypnobirthing. It teaches you self-hypnotism to zone out during delivery and to breath in ways that make your contractions more productive.  Also, it does not promote "pushing" your baby out. You are meant to "breathe the baby down". I found that when they told me to "push" in the delivery room and I would "breathe down" with a little extra force, my "pushing" was more effective. This way of "pushing" is also thought to prevent the need for episiotomies, too. I have to admit that towards the end of my active labor and transition phase, I kept forgetting to breathe effectively. However, hypnobirthing breathing early during my labor was really, really helpful.

 -Natural Hospital Birth: This book was really helpful in educating me about ways to have a natural birth in a hospital and also gave me confidence to put my foot down when doctors and nurses were being a little pushy.  It's written by an experienced doula and really goes over all of the interventions that may be presented during a hospital birth. I went over this book in detail with my husband so he would be able to speak on my behalf if I was not able to make decisions. A woman shouldn't be expected to make big decisions during labor, especially towards the end of active labor, so making sure your partner is aware of your wishes and educated enough to act for you without you having to ask for help during contractions is really a big help! My husband did wonderfully and I really owe that to him reviewing this book with me before the big day!

-Exercise: Not just any exercise..labor-specific exercise like pelvic tilts, kegel exercises, abdominal pulses, yoga stretching, and walking! It sounds like a lot but I don't think you need to overdo it with all of this stuff...but just trying to do some daily helps a lot.

Loving our Maxi-Cosi

"An International Love Affair" Photoshoot

Hi all! I've been so bad at keeping up with posts lately. Life has been NUTS! We're in the home stretch of pregnancy and it has been quite the adventure. Little man has kept us on our toes but is doing great.

In addition to baking my little one, the husband and I were busy with a little project lately (as if prepping for baby wasn't enough).  Two of our close friends recently got engaged and we offered to take some engagement pics for them. My husband shot the photos and I helped with styling.  It was such a fun project because it was so themed-out! They wanted a shoot to symbolize their "International Love Affair".  The bride is American, the groom is Trinidadian, and they got engaged in the South of France. We decided to go vintage...circa 1930's....with train tracks, vintage suitcases, and post-cards.

The bride and groom were such a great couple to work with and were completely natural in front of the camera.  They were super involved in every aspect of the shoot and enthusiastic about staying true-to-theme. I kept saying "WOW!" for every scene we shot because they looked so amazing! We were honored that they trusted us with their pics and let us be a part of this special event in their new life together!

Here are a few of my fave pics from the shoot! Hope you all enjoy!

We found this awesome railroad track nearby and snuck in for some quick photos!

I'm dying over her shoes! LOVE!

They are the cutest couple ever!

Love this one!

Then we ventured off to Discovery Park for the rest of the photos.

In addition to being adorably cute, these two are amazing dancers!

How gorgeous is she?!

Baby Shower

Hi all! I've been so terrible lately with keeping up with updates! We're at 32 weeks now and are on overdrive to get everything ready for our little man. We think he may be coming a little early so we just want to make sure we're all set!

A few weeks ago our dear friends hosted a baby shower for us.  I really wanted it to be co-ed because I think it's really nice for husbands to join in on the fun.  The daddies-to-be have it hard too over these 9 months and they deserve to party! It was such a perfect day and exactly the type of shower I wanted....good food and spending time with friends.

Went through 3 outfit changes before I settled on an all-black outfit. May not look bright and airy like baby shower attire but it was oh-so-comfy!

It was a rainbow-themed day to honor our "rainbow baby"! The veggie and fruit platters were all arranged like rainbows.  Instead of having a regular guestbook, we had everyone sign a copy of "The Rainbow Fish".

The Rainbow Fish!

We only played one game..."Guess that Poop!" Guests had to guess what melted candy bar was in each diaper. They couldn't taste "the poop" either! It was hilarious having the guys at the shower play this game.  I'm not a huge fan of baby shower games especially the ones where everyone guesses how big your belly is.  (I don't think any mommy-to-be enjoys that much attention over their growing body parts!) However, this game was too funny to NOT play!

Another favorite part of the day were the arrangements done for the shower by the same florist who did our wedding! Gina, owner of "From The Ground Up Floral", did 3 arrangements with various local buds including blue nigella, blue bachelor buttons, and global thistle. I loved how natural the arrangements looked with pops of blue!

Amazing flowers!

As with any baby shower, we had to have awesome desserts! One of my good friends made a huge bath of yummy Rainbow chocolate chip cupcakes. We also had TONS of donuts from Mighty-O Donuts in Seattle. Another friend got us yummy almond cupcakes from a local vegan bakery! I purposefully ate light before the shower so I could go crazy with sweets!

It was such a perfect shower! The best thing ever was being able to catch up with our friends and just spending time with everyone.  And also thanks to my girl Naosheen who took all these pics of our special day!

Me with the amazing hosts!

Can't wait to be parents!

29 Weeks

Hi all! I know I've been MIA lately. I've been super busy with work, prepping for baby, and trying to stay cool and hydrated during this crazy heatwave in the PNW!  It has been so hot here that I just try to relax during the day and do all my chores at night when it's cooler. But I am so happy to be in the homestretch and am so looking forward to bringing home my little boy!

29 weeks and growing!

Cravings: Lately, I'm going crazy over Mighty-O Cinnamon-Sugar Donuts and vegan chocolate chip cookies!

Total Weight Gain: 15 pounds. I did pretty good this past week and gained about 2-3 lbs instead of just 1lb. My weight is still a work-in-progress but it's definitely increasing which is great news!

Sleep:  I'm still able to sleep well and still love my naps.  It has been less enjoyable with this heat, though.  I always seem to wake up overheated.

Maternity Clothes: Yes, please! Pretty much all of my clothes are maternity clothes now. I invested in some jeans from H&M that have the over-the-bump support and I really love them. I find them to be more comfy than under-the-bump pants.

Belly Button (In/Out): Still "in" but looks like it's about to turn inside out! lol!

Workouts: I'm still able to workout pretty well. We recently bought an elliptical machine and I really love using it for small bursts of cardio. However, since it's been really hot out and we are AC-less like much of the PNW, I have to wait until the sun sets (around 9pm!) to fit in workouts otherwise I'm just too overheated so I've had to put them on hold for a bit.

Aches & Pains: Getting a few Braxton Hicks and had a bout of ankle swelling after working (again, prob from the heat and being dehydrated).  Water just isn't cutting it anymore to stay hydrated. I've been alternating Gatorade and Propel to help restore electrolytes and that seems to be helping a lot. I wish I could drink something a little more "healthy" like coconut water but for some reason it upsets my tummy now.  I did try Recovery Water the other day and it was amazing! It has no sugar at all and has calcium and magnesium which is great for muscle recovery. Calcium and magnesium are super important minerals for labor and recovery. I'm thinking of stocking up for the delivery room to stay hydrated before and after labor.

Baby Blues:  Definitely not as bad as during the 1st and early 2nd trimesters.  I am planning to have my placenta encapsulated to help with mood regulation, lactation, and restoring iron after delivery. Labor and delivery can be especially difficult for vegetarians since you lose a lot of iron from blood loss.  Encapsulation seems to be a great way to restore iron and is completely vegetarian. (Sounds like it's not but I won't be harming another animal to get the placenta and my preparer uses veggie capsules too!)  I'm interested to try it out and see if it does help!  I'm also investing in a couple of other herbal tinctures and teas to see if they help speed up recovery after birth. I'll blog about those later after I try them out!

What do I miss?: Unlimited coffee & feeling comfy despite the heat. Oooh and also, being able to find an outfit that fits, quickly.  I usually have to make a few outfit changes before I find something that works.

Best Moments: Meditating and connecting with my little guy at the end of the day. I usually lay in bed and practice my labor breathing and visualizations and focus on baby's movements.  I have to wait to do this after everyone falls asleep for the night (no interruptions), but it's so worth it.  It's nice to zone out and just connect with my little one. I love when I place a hand on my belly and he kicks under that spot. I feel like we're bonding already.

These Cobian flip-flops are a staple for me right now.

Chinoiserie Prints

I've always been a huge fan of chinoiserie inspired decor and style. The fusion of Chinese and European elements creates such a distinct combination of femininity and fluidity, especially when displayed on flowy fabrics!

When I saw this wrap dress on Zara, I knew I had to have it! And thankfully I nabbed it before they SOLD OUT!

I just love how this dress moves!

28 week bump!

I'm always a sucker for black wardrobe pieces and I love such a feminine print on a black fabric.  It's girly, yet edgy. 

And I can't leave out my old-school Kate Spade bag and Chinese Laundry shoes that have been in my wardrobe forever!