Messymom – Page 42 – Making the Best of What Looks Like a Mess

The Smallest Person. The Most Laundry.

In the past three weeks my mom, my husband, and I have all collaboratively worked toward keeping the piles of dirty laundry from taking over house. It’s like some kind of horror movie. I could just picture the clothes eventually coming to life and forming a mutiny. Instead of The Walking Dead it’s The Walking Threads.

I am grateful for the help I have had with these excess loads of laundry, but since when did washing clothes become such a massive effort? It feels like it is endless! All because of a sweet little baby? How could one tiny new family member triple our laundry?

Her socks could fit on my thumbs. An entire new born baby outfit is smaller than one of my three year old’s pant legs. It’s not like she is a fashionista. She’s three weeks old! WHERE IS ALL THIS LAUNDRY COMING FROM?

When I really stop and think about it, it does make sense though.

Sure she’s cute and small, but don’t let that fool you. She’s a mess.

Every time I change her diaper she pees. I try to be really fast and wipe her while the dirty diaper is underneath and then get a clean one on her bottom immediately, but somehow in that brief moment with no diaper she always pees and it’s often accompanied by poop. I have learned to put a changing pad under her, but then that means her outfit and the changing pad are now soiled and need to go into the hamper.

For her first Doctor’s appointment she peed on their exam table and then I picked her up so that they could change the paper out and she pooped ALL OVER ME. She wasn’t even 8 pounds at the time so it’s pretty amazing that she could even hold that much bright mustardy yellow poo and yet there it was, all over my shirt.

Ohhh and the spit up! Projectile spit up. Spit up everywhere.

Maybe you are familiar with the Moby Wrap? It’s cool. My sister in law is letting me borrow hers. How it works is that you wrap yourself and the baby with 5 yards of fabric. Then you get enough spit up or a blow out diaper on that thing and that’s a half a load of laundry right there.

Plus all the burp cloths, sheets and blankets that get pee, poop, or spit up on them.

I can’t really blame her for my leaky breasts, but I kind of can, so I will. I usually wear pajamas several times before washing them because I generally don’t have a reason to. Well, that used to be the case. Now I am lucky if I don’t have to change shirts in the middle of the night. YIKES!

Blankets + sheets + wraps + shirts + pants + changing pads + baby = a BUNCH of laundry.

It’s all good though. Before you know it I’ll be hauling her prom dress off to the dry cleaner. I look forward to those days too, but for now I’m cherishing all the burp cloths…

and teeny tiny jeggings.

By Natalie|2015-12-07T17:28:49+00:00December 7, 2015|Babies, Laughter|3 Comments

Dramatic Haircuts on the Way

Everyone has different priorities and it just so happens that in this family we don’t place a lot of value in haircuts. Some of you are probably thinking and it shows. I have a lot of respect for my friends who are stylist and someday when I have more money I’ll take care of my hair, but for now I’m just kind of meh about it. It’s dead to me (because hair is pretty much dead).

So the guys in the family get haircuts at home. Evie recently had a big change actually.

It was even longer than it was in this picture. It was really shaggy and in his face. I wanted to get it done before baby Elle came, but we all know she came before I was ready. So J cut it.

and here he is with his big brother do.

I’ve wanted to get SJ’s hair cut for a long time, and at one point she agreed. Except come to find out she wanted her hair cut to be “long and yellow”. In other words she wanted Rapunzel’s hair.

When I explained that hair cut means her hair would get shorter she protested. She was not interested UNTIL… I said I was going to get my haircut short. Now she’s on board. I always chop my locks after having a baby because I shed SOOOOO much. There are long hairs tangled up in the baby’s hands, in the shower, in the dryer (all wadded and knotted up) hair all over the back of my jacket, hair in my food.

HAIR. HAIR. HAIR everywhere. I can’t stand it.

So If I am going to loose that much hair I would rather it be a little shorter. My plan is to go from this

to this

SJ’s cut will be about the same. I tried to get her involved in picking what she wanted, but even though she understands about the length it seems she still thinks she gets to choose the color which is odd because I don’t color my hair. So as we are looking through potential hairstyles she says very matter of factly with a serious face that she wants this one.

I say That one? as I point to the colorful pixie cut on the screen and she looks at it and nods yes. I asked her if it was because of the color and she said yes. She was not laughing she just wants My Little Pony hair and it’s not that strange to her.

I made two separate appointments for Tuesday so it’s official. The hair is going to go. I will be sure to post the after pictures next week. I don’t plan for either of us to get rainbow colors, but we’ll see.

By Natalie|2015-12-04T17:30:20+00:00December 4, 2015|Frugal Living|4 Comments

Her First 3 Weeks (with photos)

I recently shared how difficult the first three weeks postpartum have been for me, but the good news is Elle would never know it. Her life has been comfy and sheltered.

I feel like being born two weeks early really did make a difference for her. My sister in law said she has friends who had preemies and noticed that on their original 40 week due date it was like they suddenly had an alert fully developed baby. Elle wasn’t a born premature (she was 8 pounds!) but she did practically sleep through her first two weeks of life and I wonder if that’s why.

I know my mom was slightly concerned, but the Doctors said as long as she’s eating, pooping, and gaining weight then she’s good. She definitely was doing all of those things so I’ll take it as a blessing that she was so easy going.

Sure enough on her due date she started acting like she was “out of the womb”

From then on she was so much more alert. Her eyes were really wide open and she would express herself a little more. She had several “firsts” at two weeks.

She went to church for the first time.

She visited SJ’s school. On a side note, I could be a millionaire and it wouldn’t matter. There is nothing in the world that I could buy or do for SJ that would amount to the kind happiness that she gets from her little sister and the joy of having a baby to help take care of.

She and all of her classmates have been anticipating the arrival of baby Elle for a LONG time and I told her she would be able to have her visit her school before Thanksgiving break, but then I got sick. I was so worried about canceling the plans I made with the teacher and with SJ because I knew it would devastate her.

So I took a Motrin and rode over to the school, but my mom was the one that actually went in and introduced the baby (I wasn’t contagious or anything, but I was just feeling too fatigued and achey thanks to my bladder infection). I was sad that I missed it, but I got to see pictures and it sounds like the introduction went really well.

The other two week milestone was that Elle had her first bath. She liked the water, but she didn’t like being cold afterwards!

She also had her first Thanksgiving, although that was pretty uneventful since she didn’t eat anything and slept the whole time.

She is three weeks old now. I don’t have the latest photos uploaded yet. She is getting control of that neck though and trying to lift her head up. She seems to like to sit upright more (with support of course) rather than being completely in the cradle position.

I have been blessed that all 4 of my children breastfed really easily. Elle has had no problems latching on and she loves to eat.

The biggest obstacle we’ve faced with her so far is thrush, but my friend gave me some Colloidal Silver and I just put a drop on my finger and rubbed it around in her mouth once a day and it cleared right up. Her diaper rash is gone too, but it was really inflamed so we used nystatin cream for that.

I’ll admit I am hormonal and emotional these days. It’s been bitter sweet to watch how quickly they change from being a tiny precious infant. I used to not care for the newborn stage so much. I wanted to skip to the part where they were walking and interacting. Now I LOVE this stage of innocence and simplicity. I absolutely adore it.

And her dad and siblings are just obsessed as I am.

Next up, baby’s first Christmas!

By Natalie|2015-12-03T11:40:50+00:00December 3, 2015|Babies|5 Comments

My Rollercoaster Recovery

As one of my friends said, in response to me rambling about all the drama that has unfolded since Elle was born, it has been The Perfect Storm.

I hate to sound whiny, but I do want to document all that has happened over the past 3 weeks. I want the good stuff to be what I focus on, but there is also struggle and challenges. So in order to be authentic I really want to be open about all of it. So here is the most condense version I could come up with for some of the rougher parts of my postpartum recovery.

The days following the delivery my red blood cell count, which was already really low, continued to drop and my blood pressure started to get lower as well. Eventually they ordered two units of blood to be put in me because my hemoglobin was at a 6 (when 12-14 is normal). Although it’s not what I wanted, it was all fine. I am currently at a 10.7. So that’s good news.

The next thing was that Elle failed her newborn hearing screening two days in a row. Everyone, including the professionals feel like it was a testing error. She passed on the right side and the type of hearing loss that we have is bilateral and there are many other reasons we feel like she has normal hearing. That’s not to say that it wasn’t upsetting or that we don’t take the test seriously. We will be doing a more thorough test in about 3 weeks. More on that later.

The day we were released from the hospital our land lord decided that would be the perfect time to have siding put on our rental home. We got the text message as we were being discharged. The entire time I have been home trying to rest with my newborn the outside of our home has been a construction zone. Imagine what it would sound like if a band of vikings were trying to break into your house. That’s what it’s like.

The next day was a Saturday and we were surprised to find a bunch of police cars right outside our window that morning. J went to see what was going on and we found out that our new college age neighbor had died in the night. His land lord came over a few minutes later and said not to let the kids out because the young man had died from a drug overdose.

A few days later my husband’s uncle passed away. It came as a shock to all of us. He had a really bad stroke and although we can’t make it to the funeral which is far from our home, J’s parents will be there and therefore they have had to postpone their visit. Although I am sad that they can’t come I am more sad that my father in law lost his only brother.

The first week at home was mostly spent in bed resting and I felt like my condition had improved a lot. Unfortunately it then took a sudden turn for the worse. After two weeks I felt like my blood loss increased and I had some minor abdominal pain and cramping. So I called my Doctor, but the only appointment time they had available was impossible for me to get to. I wasn’t too worried about any of this because my symptoms pretty weren’t terrible, but then I got a fever and chills and we decided it was safest to go to the Emergency Room.

That was a long night with lots of tests. They ended up sending me home at 2:00 am without any answers. I cried because I knew something was wrong, but they were telling me everything was normal.

A couple of days later (last Wednesday) I got in to to see my OB and was diagnosed with a bladder/kidney infection. I am now on amoxicillin and feeling so much better.

Then last Thursday I was able to make it to the family Thanksgiving and it was a wonderful day.

At that time I had only been on the meds for less than a day though so I wasn’t quite ready for an extended (no school) weekend with the kids by myself so my parents took all three of the older ones with them so that I could rest up.

Everything was going great until I got a call that SJ had thrown up. Then the next morning I learned that Ezie had too. My parents had to go back to work this week after taking so much time off to help so we picked up the kids. We are praying protection for myself and little Elle. It seems to be a mild stomach bug that has already passed. I still kept SJ home today just to be on the safe side.

That’s about it. I left a lot out, but I guess the point is these first 3 weeks postpartum have been rough. I am still optimistic that things are going to take a turn for the best and we can start thinking about Christmas! That will be nice.

By Natalie|2015-11-30T11:05:45+00:00November 30, 2015|Uncategorized|14 Comments

Why You Should Renovate Your Bathroom

It’s most likely the first room you head towards when you wake up and potentially the last room you leave before going to bed at night. It’s the bathroom.

With the Holidays upon us and New Year’s resolutions right around the corner it’s the perfect time to think about sprucing up your home with some remodeling projects and what better place to start than your bathroom?

Why should you renovate your bathroom?

Several reasons.

It should be a sanctuary. Whether it’s a steamy shower on a cold winter day or a relaxing bath, everyone deserves to have a bathroom they can consider a spa or a retreat. That’s hard to do if it’s outdated and not functional.
It’s a fairly small space to tackle. The average bathroom is typically one of the smaller rooms in the home. This makes a major remodel a little more realistic.
It increases the resale value of your home. When it comes to getting the most bang for your buck bathrooms and kitchens are going to be your best bet as a renovation investment. Updating these two rooms will help increase equity. What’s not to love about that?

Once you’ve decided you’re ready to take on the bathroom renovation then you need to come up with a bathroom design plan.

Think about your bathroom lighting, fixtures, and furnishings.

Dream big. There is nothing stopping you at this point from having fun with your design. Once you’ve got an idea of all the things you want for your bathroom design then you can narrow it down to a more concrete plan. This is the part where you can decide what really works for you and the specific space that you have to work with.

You’ll need to figure out how much you want to change, how much you can spend, and what you can realistically do on your own according to your skill set.

As someone who has ~~remodeled multiple bathrooms~~ watched my husband do multiple bathroom remodels I wish we would have known about PlumbTile.com sooner. This is the place to get all of those must have dream items on your bathroom wish list.

Not only do they have a huge selection, but shipping is FREE, there is no sales tax (outside of California), and they have guaranteed price matching.

I got really excited about this website and so did J once I showed it to him. Seriously, you need to go check it out!

I am really looking forward to our next bathroom remodel now and I think you’ll feel the same way after you see all that PlumbTile has to offer. They are an authorized retailer, with exceptional costumer service available online or on the phone, and I already mentioned the low price guarantee. You can’t go wrong.

Go to PlumbTile.com and start designing your dream bathroom today.

By Natalie|2015-11-24T22:46:41+00:00November 23, 2015|Creativity, Frugal Living, Projects|4 Comments

Guest Post on Airman to Mom

It’s been about a year since I connected with Amanda from Airman to Mom.

I was so excited last spring when I learned that we were pregnant at the same time and due shortly after me. We both have a lot of interest in natural parenting styles including cloth diapers and giving birth with a midwife. So when she asked me to be a part of a series on natural birth I didn’t even have to think about it. Here is the opening to my feature titled “Why I Would Choose Pain for Childbirth”

It happened again . I was at the Doctor’s office for a prenatal visit and a conversation started between myself and another pregnant woman nearby. The topic came up about where I was giving birth and she quickly exclaimed how she could never give birth without the drugs and thinks it’s a bit crazy. Her final statement was “The end result is the same so why suffer?”

I think this is a pretty common philosophy among women and my canned response is always “Well, it’s definitely something you have to be passionate about”…

Check out Airman to Mom read the rest.

By Natalie|2015-11-20T17:19:51+00:00November 20, 2015|Uncategorized|3 Comments

The Birth Timeline According to Technology

I know there are some disadvantages to being so reliant on smart phones, computers, and the internet, but there are plenty of benefits too. When I was in the hospital after giving birth the whole experience was a blur (as you can imagine). So I thought it would be fun to see how much of a labor timeline I could piece together a according to my personal digital paper trail.

Just call me detective Messy Mom!

Here is November 9th, 2015 (the day I went into labor… but didn’t know it until the very end). This is not everything I did, just the stuff I retrieved from my phone and computer.

The first thing on my call log that day is to Once Upon a Child consignment store at 9:50 am. I called them before I dropped a bunch of stuff. Of course I had no idea I was going to have a baby that night. Then I had to worry about about when we would be able to pick it up and get my money (don’t worry it’s been taken care of).

Then I can see that I wrote a blog post where I revealed her name. This is funny to me. The first two sentences of that blog entry are

“Let me just start by saying the baby is not here, but we have a name. Yes, I did say I was going to wait until she was born to reveal the name, but apparently I am not good at waiting. ” Little did I know I would have only had to wait a few more hours. HA!

This is the last line of that blog post

“We should be meeting her soon.” I should have said VERY SOON!

Also, ironically I did a GOOGLE SEARCH about the lack of pre labor activity. I had been having braxton hicks, but that weekend there was almost nothing. I went through my search history and got a screen shot. That’s how little of a warning I had that day that I would be going into labor. This is proof!

Okay, next up I took some photos 6:03 pm like this one of Z’s homework assignment that which was to count the fingers and toes in your family. The cute part is he put two answers, one including the baby (in my belly) and one without. By the time he turned in the assignment we would officially have 120 fingers and toes.

It should say “If baby counted” not conuted

8:30 pm was the last text before going to bed it was to my sister in law and I was making plans for Saturday. I was going to Women’s Brunch at my church and then all the ladies in my family were going to make decorative Bible verses to have all around the room in the birthing center. So that ended up not happening, but it was a nice idea.

Then I went to sleep and woke up with one contraction which I documented in my notes app.

10:41 is when it happened. The rest were recorded on J’s phone.

At 10:49 pm I texted my best friend saying that I couldn’t talk as we had planned because I didn’t feel well. At this point even though yes I did have one contraction I didn’t know that I was in labor. Not at all or I would have definitely told her. It’s funny to look back on now though.

So then we called my parents at 10:58 because I knew at that point something was happening even if it was a false alarm I couldn’t risk waiting any longer.

Then there is this text message to my neighbor at 11:43 because I was panicking about not having to bring the kids with us. It was my last effort to hopefully have her come over and wait for my parents to get there, but she didn’t get the message until the next day so we just left and brought the kids with us.

The never mind was sent 12:06 am so I was texting about 15 minutes before I had my hands on my baby and was delivering her! CRAZY!!!

Here is a screen shot of the contraction timer app

These are not completely accurate because we were calling the hospital and coordinating with my parents and such, but as you can see by my 9th contraction they were coming less than a minute apart (the left side is how long they lasted). It was intense!

The next significant call was at 12:27 when we called the hospital and told them we had had the baby in the car.

Anyway I just got kick out of piecing all of these things together. It confirms that I did not ignore any signs of labor. I just didn’t have them!

As I’ve said before I don’t know when or if the reality of this will really sink in!

By Natalie|2015-11-18T15:55:08+00:00November 18, 2015|Uncategorized|5 Comments

Elle’s Birth Story

When I planned to have my baby at a birthing center that was an hour from our house I got a lot of different reactions from concerned people thinking that would be too far of a drive. However, this was my 4th baby and all three of my other pregnancies and deliveries were pretty consistent. So I felt like I knew my body well enough to get there with time to spare.

Monday (November 9th) gave me NO indication that I was anywhere close to being in labor. It was nothing like my other births where I had mild contractions that built all day long. Nothing was happening. Not even braxton hicks. Plus I was only 37 weeks along.

That night I fell asleep earlier than usually, but I woke up at 10:30 pm and that’s when things got weird.

I was confused by the signs. I had lower back pain and some pressure, but I hadn’t had any contractions. I told J (my husband) that I didn’t feel good and then I felt the first contraction at 10:41 pm.

I called my parents to come stay with the kids who were asleep in bed. I had only had one measly contraction at this point, but my parents live an hour and a half away and I just knew something was up! I tried to relax in a bath which is supposed to slow things down if it’s false labor, but instead I just started freaking out. Not because of contractions, but because I felt pressure. I felt nauseous. I was trembling and it looked an awful lot like transition!

I told J that I was scared and I wanted to go to a closer hospital. I had no idea where or what that would be. I felt so confused and panic set in. J said we just needed to get in the car and go, but I was insistent that we couldn’t go because I didn’t want to bring the kids.

At about 11:40 pm we loaded up the van with our partially packed bags and three groggy kids who were all in footie pajamas. My parents would have to meet us at the birth center. The contractions were strong, but they were still only 10 minutes apart and I was relieved because I assumed that meant we would have plenty of time.

About 11:50 things started getting intense. I was praying out loud. I would sing worship songs through contractions and really tried to stay focused.

Moments later the contractions were coming one on top of the other. As soon as one would stop another would begin and I vocalized this to J. Then we began to pray. I started praying with authority

“Lord, you are in control. I trust in you! I will not have this baby in the car. We are going to make it to the hospital in JESUS NAME. Labor has to stop until we get to safety!”

I was declaring very specific things and I can look back and laugh at it now, but I was serious about it. I have never wanted an unassisted birth. I was not comfortable with the idea of having the baby in the car.

Then when we were about 15 miles away I knew God wasn’t answering my prayer in the way I was hoping. The baby was coming. There is no fighting it. I had done this before and when the baby is ready to be born you can not stop it. So I gave in, and let me tell you the grace and peace of God was all over that van. My mindset changed to being very assertive. It’s weird. I became my own midwife and I narrated everything that was happening out loud. I can’t tell you why I did this, but hey, it worked out.

Here is the dialogue that transpired. J and I were both completely calm. It had to have been the Holy Spirit because even the kids were calm (one was asleep).

Me: Okay. I feel the urge to push. I am taking off my seat belt. I am going to have to take off my pants now.

I had on a long T-shirt and a sweatshirt, and I quickly removed my cotton sweat pants. I was in the front passenger seat with my body slightly tilted and right leg lifted up and apart from my left. Luckily I had brought a towel and had it under me.

J: Do you want me to pull over?

Me: No, by the time the paramedics get here we would have already been to the hospital. Just keep driving.

Plus it was a dangerous freeway and dark and rainy. We both felt this was a safer option given our proximity to the hospital.

J: Do you need any light?

Me: No.

Then I reach down to see if I am imagining it, but I do feel the top of the baby’s head crowning.

Me: Okay I feel the head.

After another contraction her head was out and I had my hands gently cupping her head.

Me: The head is out. Alright. We need the body to come out now. Come on baby girl with the next contraction I am going to push the body out.

Another contraction and a slight push from me. I felt the shoulders and the body being pushed out. I kept my right hand under her head and my left hand scooped her up under her armpit and behind her back.

Me: I am going to wrap her in my pants and put her on my chest now.

And I did

J: She is crying. Good. Does it look like she’s okay?

Me: Yes, she’s fine.

I looked over at my husband as I held my now calm daughter who was so peaceful and perfect. Everything was quiet as we rode along in the dark .

Me: Is this real? Did that really happen… or am I in a dream?

J: Yes. It’s real.

After that we called the birth center (which is inside of a hospital by the way). This was at 12:27 am. There was a team of nurses with a wheel chair waiting for us at the entrance. I felt like a million bucks as we rolled up and they congratulated me and helped me get my shoes back on. I was fully prepared to hop out of the car when it hit me. The adrenaline drained from my body. I was light headed. I felt pain. My “super powers” were gone and I was bleeding. I know that sounds so dramatic, but it really did happen like that.

Since I couldn’t get out of the car they had to put me on a stretcher and roll me into the hospital where a Doctor would check on me and the baby. That’s when I delivered the placenta.

They reminded me to breath and as I did I felt relief. It was over and we were both doing fine, but I knew it would be a while before it all really sunk in.

My parents showed up shortly after that. We all chatted in the hospital room and watched in awe as they washed, weighed, and measured the miraculous little package that had turned our world upside down.

I didn’t expect her to be 2 weeks early. I didn’t expect the labor to be so fast. I wasn’t prepared for any of it. Still, God is Faithful and in the end I am really glad our entire family was together in the brand new mini van that no one is allowed to even eat or drink in! It was really special.

So that’s my fourth birth story.

There’s the one at the birth center, the one in the bathtub at home, the one at the hospital, and now the one in a moving vehicle. Yes there are more options for birth locations, but I think that’s enough adventures for me, at least of this nature.

The End.

Or in Ellis’s case the beginning.

By Natalie|2016-03-22T19:44:41+00:00November 15, 2015|My Life, Natural Living, Pregnancy & Birth|47 Comments

She’s Here

The review I posted Wednesday was already written and scheduled, other than that I haven’t blogged at all since Monday November 9th when I announced baby Elle’s name. The reason for this is because I had baby Elle on Monday night. Technically it was Tuesday morning because it was about 12:25 am when she arrived. There is so much more to the story. SOOOOO MUCH. But for now I just wanted to a quick blog announcement and I will be back next week with lots of photos and updates. Love you all. Have a great weekend!

By Natalie|2015-11-13T22:16:02+00:00November 13, 2015|Babies, My Life, Pregnancy & Birth|6 Comments

Have Stylish Maternity Clothes All Season Long

I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for Bella Gravida. I received a complimentary subscription and a promotional item to thank me for my participation.

The holidays are here and finding the right maternity clothes for this season can be tricky. For me it’s not only about the Christmas parties, and family gatherings, but our Anniversary is in November too. Most of you have already heard me rave about Bella Gravida which is Italian for “Beautifully Pregnant”. It’s a maternity clothes rental service. You pay a flat rate per month and the clothes are sent to your address. There are no return deadlines, unlimited exchanges, and my favorite NO NEED TO DO LAUNDRY because dry cleaning is included.

So if you’ve been been dreading shopping for a Holiday maternity dress that you are only going to wear once I have a solution. Bella Gravida can get a shipment out to you within 48 hours after filling your virtual closet.

When I wore this black lace Everly Gray dress for my 15 year anniversary last week husband’s jaw dropped.

It’s amazing how the right outfit can change the way you feel entirely and there are thousands of designer maternity and nursing outfits to provide you with a rotating closet of style.

Now is the perfect time to do it because for a limited time the first month is FREE!

Maybe you are not pregnant, but know someone who is. In the coming weeks Bella Gravida will be launching their ‘Give The Gift of Style” feature which will allow you to give a subsciription to an expectant friend or family member! Any mother-to-be is sure to love this gift. Plus it truly is the gift that keeps on giving because eveytime they find another beautiful dress or outfit at their doorstep with a handwritten note from a stylist it’s like Christmas all over again.