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.