Maternity Leave

I've given it a lot of thought and ultimately decided that I don't want to share much of my daughter online. I mean, I'm blowing up Instagram, but I have a private account and feel slightly more secure about that. I don't plan on blogging about her a lot.

As soon as she was born, I became very protective of her, and was immediately aware of how curious people become once you start a family. I want to be more mindful about what I choose to share online, especially regarding my family - Maylin, specifically. I feel like once you become a parent, you see the world differently. It's such an awesome place, with so many great things to offer, but at the same time, it's is terrible. And I want to protect her from that for as long as I can.

That being said, I've been on maternity leave for the past five and a half weeks and Maylin has literally been my life, so I haven't had much else going on to blog about! She is such a great baby - we really lucked out. She is almost six weeks old, has been sleeping through the night (with very few exceptions) since day one, and we are all completely obsessed with her. She is the sweetest, most calm baby, and she has been smiling for about three weeks. There is seriously nothing better in the entire world than that little girl's smile. I've become the biggest mom cliche out there! But seriously, parenthood is the best. I'll be going back to work soon, but Devin and I have worked out a great schedule, so it's easy for me to be excited about working again! I have missed my job and co-workers, so I am really looking forward to getting back.

Maternity leave is the best and the weirdest. I really struggled with it at first. It felt so wrong to just stay at home and hang out with my baby all day. I felt guilty, like I should be doing more. I definitely had some bad Postpartum Anxiety, but it steadily got better and better as time went on, and I've been feeling so good! I feel like everyone told us that having a baby would turn our world upside down and nothing would ever be the same, and it would be tireless work, and I would be exhausted and I wouldn't ever have another minute to myself for the rest of my life. And I'll admit, there are moments where it does feel that way! But maybe we just got lucky, because Maylin is so great. I remember when Devin and I got married, I expected it to be this giant, life-altering change. And I waited for it to happen, and it never did. We just very subtly and naturally slipped into our roles as husband and wife and it became the norm without us even noticing. And the exact same thing has happened with parenthood.

So, once I am out of the maternity leave bubble/alternate universe, and I get into a real life routine, I will resume blogging. Kind of. But until then, I'm going to soak up all of the smiles and day-long-snug-sessions and wearing-the-same-clothes-for-three-days-and-getting-away-with-it that I can!

Maylin's Nursery

I made this video of May's nursery before she was born, so a few things have changed, but it was so fun to decorate, and it's everybody's favorite room in the house. Ignore my totally amateur video making skills.

What's in my Diaper Bag

Alright moms. Maylin is only two weeks old, so I'm obviously a newbie, but packing her diaper bag every day (well, every day we leave the house) is a little routine I have loved! So tell me: what in here are you totally rolling your eyes at? What am I missing? Help me out! And maybe I've got some beginner's luck and I'll have a few good ideas for you!

DIAPER BAG | First off, my diaper bag is the Rotunda from Little Unicorn. I am in love! I really wanted a diaper bag that didn't look like a diaper bag, but I knew I needed the functionality of one! I also didn't want to spend over $100 - little unicorn was the answer! I have loved this bag. I am a firm believer that it's okay to have more than one diaper bag (just like it's okay to have more than one purse, right?!) and I've talked myself into needing either the black, or brand new grey (!!!) bag from Fawn Design next!

WALLET | since this is now my purse, I've gotta make sure I have enough room for my stuff, too! 

BURP CLOTHES | at least 2. Maylin doesn't really spit up or drool a lot yet, but they still come in handy all the time!

BLANKETS | We have SO MANY BLANKETS. So many. And I love it. And we use them all, I swear! It's always going to make sense to carry a few in my diaper bag, especially since they can roll up so small!

NURSING COVER | This Covered Goods nursing cover doubles as a car seat cover and its such a lifesaver! Its soft and lightweight and Maylin doesn't mind nursing under it, though i think we need a little more practice before we try it out in public! 

CHANGING PAD | I have the Gathre (formerly known as Let's Playground) micro bonded leather mat and it's so great! The leather wipes clean super easy, it folds up small, and the creases smooth out in the sunlight! It's perfect to lay down on basically any surface so I can change her diaper without feeling gross about what she's laying on!

SPARE CLOTHES FOR BABY | Because I may be new at this, but I'm not dumb! 

DIAPERS | ahem. obviously... ;) haha

NURSING PADS | these are medela samples I got from the breastfeeding class I took which is why they are packaged so weird, but nursing pads are such a life saver! I've always got a few with me.

DIAPER RASH CREAM | I've heard Boudreaux's Butt Paste is the way to go! I got this as part of a gift, and it's the perfect size for the diaper bag. Maylin hasn't had a diaper rash yet, but we put cream on her once a day just to keep everything at bay!

DIAPER BAGS | As a dog mom, this makes me laugh a little - but I love it! This is a little diaper bag dispenser! So if you have clothes that suffered a nasty blow out or a diaper with no trash can in sight, you can use these little bags! They remind me of the bags they sell for dogs - and I've used these for Cooper at the park before, haha! They really are handy! Plus, for $4 why not?

WIPE CLUTCH | Huggies is brilliant for creating these little wipe clutches! I found these when I was looking for a small wipe dispenser to keep in the diaper bag, and I love this alternative! There are tons of cute designs, and they are easy to refill and don't take up too much space.

LANOLIN | I'm still in the process of trying to figure out which nipple cream I like best (so far the front runner is Earth Mama Angel Baby), so I've got a few different brands I'm trying out. This Lansinoh Lanolin made it into the diaper bag! It's super thick and sticky, but I think I'll appreciate the heavy duty formula! 

LOTION | I got this travel size version of the Honest Face & Body Lotion when I ordered their sampler kit, and I am such a freak about dry skin, so it's only natural I've got lotion for my baby in her diaper bag!

HAND SANITIZER | I feel like this is another obvious one...

CHAPSTICK | for me. I never go anywhere without this stuff.

SOCKS | I love these little old navy socks but any and all socks fall off her feet constantly! So I've always got a pair in the diaper bag in case we lose a sock while we're out, or she ends up with cold feet when we didn't bring socks in the first place!

MITTENS | same goes for mittens. May loves her hands up by her face, but she has yet to really scratch herself, and I was encouraged to avoid mittens, but I think they're nice to have on hand! I love this little pack from carters because they are plain and neutral so they go with almost everything!

PACIFICERS | Maylin isn't taking a pacifier yet. Partly because she's only two weeks old and we've been hyper-focused on breastfeeding, and partly because when we've tried, she doesn't take it. I think she will totally be a binky baby once she gets the hang of it though! We've bought a few different brands to try with her, which is why I have an Avent and a soothie from the hospital in the diaper bag! Also - the soothie is attached to the cutest pacifier clip my sister in law made me!

THINGS I'VE ADDED SINCE THIS PICTURE WAS TAKEN:

BABY AQUAPHOR | For everything. Really. Both my sisters swear by it!

SOLLY BABY WRAP | I knew I wanted to try baby wearing, and Devin got pretty psyched on it, too, so we recently got a solly wrap and we've been trying it out! It's taking some getting used to, but Maylin loves it - she's a huge cuddler and laying on someone's chest like she does in the wrap is her favorite position anyway!

She's Here!

Our sweet girl is finally here!

Maylin [MAY-lyn] Cozette Ashby

Born Thursday, October 8th, 2015

at 11:25pm

Weighing 7 pounds, 2 ounces

20 inches long

39/40 Weeks

due date bump - 40 weeks on October 1st!

+ Today I am 40 weeks, 3 days pregnant

+ Baby girl is as big as she needs to be, and at this point, probably bigger! I'm sure she's 8 pounds by now!

+ Hospital bags are packed, and everything is in place and ready for this girl to come!

+ I have zero signs of labor. For the last 4 weeks, at my doctor's appointments, I have been dilated to a "tight one" and 70% effaced. So basically, nothing, ha! I haven't had any contractions, and even had my membranes stripped on Tuesday - nothing happened! She's showing absolutely no signs of coming on her own any time soon!

+ I am scheduled to be induced at 41 weeks, on Thursday, if she doesn't come before then! 

+ At this point, we are literally completely ready. The house has been deep cleaned, the groceries have been stocked, the nursery is completely done, the hospital bags are packed, and the car is full of gas. We are ready to go to the hospital at any second! I've even put myself on a hair washing schedule that will ensure I've got decent hair no matter when labor comes, haha!

+ I won't lie, this pregnancy thing has been rough. And I didn't have a difficult pregnancy! I've had a very textbook pregnancy. Even being 3 days overdue - completely textbook! It's just that pregnancy really is hard - even when you get an easy/normal one! But it got about 10,000x worse at about 38 weeks, when I started to get really impatient and uncomfortable. And about 10,000x harder every time somebody due after me has delivered a healthy baby. It's hard to be patient, and it's hard to answer the same questions over and over again and reassure friends, family, acquaintances, and even strangers that yes, she should be here any day now, and yes, I am excited and feeling good. And I am. I'm not scared, I'm not nervous, and I'm not worried. I am so excited to experience labor and delivery and sleepless newborn nights and breastfeeding. I can't wait! I wished for this. I dreamt of this and I waited for this for SO long. I am READY. And so many times I've been told that I have no idea what I'm getting myself into and so many times I've been replied to with "you say that now..." but you know what? I really am excited. And I really am ready. I am. I want this. I am ready for this! 

+ Honestly, I'm hoping she comes before my induction, because I would love to be able to go into labor on my own, but at the same time, a scheduled baby sounds wonderful! An induction takes out the guessing completely, and that's so nice! It would be great to set an alarm, wake up and get ready and head to the hospital after a big breakfast. But at this point, I really don't think I care either way! I just want her here! Healthy and safe. That's all I care about. 

Josie Jo : Birth Story

I already posted about my newest niece, Josie, but I never shared any of the pictures I took, other than the ones on my phone! My sister asked me to photograph the birth, and it was an amazing experience, especially being just a few months before I would experience it for myself! I absolutely love these pictures, and love that I was able to capture some sweet moments between my sister and her husband, and also Josie's first moments in the world! Josie is nearly 4 months old now, but I have found myself looking back on these photos a lot lately, as I get ready to welcome my own little girl! Babies are the very best.

I said this about my younger sister, when she had her baby girl, but watching my sister(s) become mothers has been so amazing and so fun. I love that we get to go through life together! These pictures get me a little emotional, because this was such a happy day! Kelli was the happiest I have ever seen her, and watching her and Sean meet their little girl and get to know her was the sweetest thing. 

Kelli & I were originally due one day apart. Me on the 31st of May, and her on the 1st of June. Shortly after Devin and I told our families we were expecting, we miscarried. So when Josie Jo was born on May 31st, I couldn't help but take that as a sign. It was the perfect way to get passed that day. 

Josie girl, you are the smiliest, sweetest little girl I have ever known, and you are already growing like a weed! I am so excited my baby girl gets you as a cousin - you're going to teach her everything she needs to know, I'm sure! 

 

Kelli's reaction to seeing Josie for the first time was truly priceless. She was SO excited and happy! 

 

I'll never forget the way Josie seemed to immediately recognize Kelli's voice. She was trying to lift her head and turn toward Kelli's face right away. She knew exactly who her mama was! (and that's proven to be an important thing to know about Jos - she is a mama's girl!)

 

proudest aunt mckayla

 

look at all that hair!!! we all knew it would happen - just look at her dad! haha

 

completely candid, i swear. he was so smitten from the very beginning, it was adorable.

 

i clearly have a thing for those tiny baby feet and little frog legs!

 

can we just talk for a second about my parents? i think they've been waiting their whole lives to be grandparents, they LOVE IT. it's the sweetest thing to watch. they are high school sweethearts. i can't imagine how cool it must be to go from high school crushes to proud grandparents together. they couldn't be happier and they are obsessed with spoiling their granddaughters!

and we can't forget uncle kyle! my baby brother is the sweetest uncle. he loves his nieces SO much! i'm so excited my little girl will have him as an uncle. he is also a baby whisperer! i'll be taking full advantage of that skill, i'm sure ;) haha

GLACIER | Part 8

This is the last post about our trip to Glacier! I know it's annoying that there are eight parts, but it was the only way to include so many pictures! I really wish the pictures did this trip more justice. Glacier is just one of those places that everyone needs to see and experience for themselves. This was seriously the trip of a lifetime, and we have plans to go back many more times, and take our kids and finish the ever-growing list of things we want to do in the park!

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

After our hike to Hidden Lake Overlook, as we headed back down the Going to the Sun Road toward West Glacier, we stopped along most of the pull outs along McDonald Creek. It was so beautiful - I had never seen a river with that glacial blue water! I wish the pictures showed the color of the water better, it was crazy!

For dinner, we went back to Whitefish and were tempted to eat at Craggy's again, but decided to try somewhere else. We went to Casey's & ate at the skybar, which was just open air dining on the roof of the building! The views were incredible! Montana is seriously underrated! After dinner, Devin had seen signs about Whitefish Lake, and we decided to go check it out. We got there just before the most gorgeous sunset I have ever seen IN MY LIFE! We just soaked it all in, it was seriously the best way to end our trip. While we were at the lake, Ryan struck up conversation with a guy who was there taking photos. The guy told him that he was there at the lake because the Northern Lights were supposed to be there THAT NIGHT! What luck!!! As soon as we heard this, we couldn't believe it! We didn't know anything about the northern lights, but we all started pulling up the aurora borealis forecast. We eventually found out that it wouldn't be visible until later that night, and when we told the guy where we were staying in Hungry Horse, he said we should be able to see them from there! It was getting really later and we were tired and didn't want to camp out at the lake for the next several hours, so we were glad to know we could just set an alarm and wake up to go outside and look! I set an alarm for every two hours throughout the night and we never saw them! It was such a bummer, but I think we were just too low in the treeline of the hills to see anything. It was still pretty amazing that we even had the opportunity!

The next morning, we ate at one last Yelp reviewed restaurant, Carolyn's and then headed home. The drive home was long and a little sad, because we didn't want to leave! Even if we had just one more day in the park, I feel like I would have been satisfied. There is just SO MUCH to do and see! The trip couldn't have gone better. It was so much fun. I can't believe it's been three months since we were in GNP!

 

 

cute little boardwalks along the creek

 

the view from the skybar at Casey's in Whitefish, MT!

 

By the way - we're moving to Montana the second we get the chance!