So You Had a Baby... Now What

I'm linking up with the fabulous Kaitlyn over at Wifessionals for part of her baby series. 

Today they're discussing bringing a baby home and surviving the first few weeks. We got discharged from the hospital on a Friday, Brooklyn was two days old. 

Our first weekend home was actually really nice. My dad and Stephen's mom both brought food, and Stephen was home with me as we got acclimated to being a family of three. Then Monday came and S had to go back to work. I was terrified. I was also sick. I had ten long months to get accustomed to the idea that I was having a baby, but now I had no idea what in the hell I was supposed to do. Here are my tips for your first few weeks at home.

-Relax. It is scary knowing that you are in sole control over the precious life of your little one, but I promise that it will all be ok. Take a deep breath. Take it moment by moment. Your mama intuition will kick in and you will know what to do.
-Process. Having a baby is a massive life change, give yourself some time to take it all in. You might have some baby blues, you will d.e.f.i.n.i.t.e.l.y. be emotional. All of that is totally normal.
-Create a routine. Initially baby will sleep a LOT. Maybe you will nap some, maybe you won't {it's ok if you do though}. You can get yourself into a routine even if baby isn't. Blog during the first nap, prep dinner during the second. Set yourself up for some future normalcy.
-Enjoy. Babies grow so so so fast. Treasure every coo, every gassy smile, every tiny cry. You will blink and your baby will have changed tremendously. So it's ok if you sit on the couch and watch tv just holding your baby for hours. It's ok if some days you dont shower until your husband gets home. Time goes all too quickly, enjoy this while you can.

Most of all just know that whatever you're doing is okay. The first few days I was in shock, and I cried a.lot. I cried over how blessed I was, I cried over how beautiful my daughter was, I cried because I scared. I cried over everything. Eventually my shock went away, I felt more in control and I was able to venture out. Just know that every baby and every mama is different, so take things as they come for you. Your baby will just be happy having you there.

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I also want to introduce you to two of my fabulous sponsors Katie and Katy! They are chatting a little about their spring plans.

Check out my amazing sponsor:

Polka Dots

I'm joining the Super fabulous Kelly, Lindsay, and Megan for

This week's focus is polka dot skinny jeans. I have been searching high and low for a pair for myself, but damn if my child doesn't wear them way better than I could hope to. Hers are from Baby Gap and are just about the cutest thing you've ever seen. I can't wait for her to pair them with some cute little tanks once it warms up.

Easter Basket Essentials

This weekend we're going out of town to D.C. We were originally supposed to go and enjoy the Cherry Blossom Festival, but these frigid temperatures {and snow} have pushed the bloom dates back whomp whomp. On the plus side I'm getting a fresh 'do at DryBar on Friday night courtesy of my super fab husband, I get to see one of my best friends Brea on Saturday, and my brother in law + his beautiful fiancé + my inlaws will be joining us.

My love language is gifts, but more so that I love giving gifts. Every occasion is a good gift giving occasion I think, and Easter is definitely no exception. For Easter this year we will be at a hotel, so I've tried to find easy to pack gifts. I'm super excited about the goodies that BK & S are getting in there baskets this year. I also put together a basket for the inlaws and brother & sister, but I will share those along with S's basket next week. I wouldnt want to spoil the surprise.

Brooklyn is getting...

A super cute little stuffed chick. I got hers from Target but I couldnt find it online. 

Her 15th {yes I said 15} swimsuit for the summer. But this one was totally necessary for early beach days when it still might be a little chilly. 

Fancy Nancy is her favorite series so it's only fair that she get every holiday book. 

Her own little tervis tumbler for the summer. Perfect for trips to the park and beach days. 

She's also getting some plastic eggs in her basket filled with her favorite snacks: goldfish & puffs. And in full disclosure there may or may not be a small peanut butter cup in there. They're her favorite special treat, and she never eats a whole one, but also I blame her dad for getting her hooked on them while we were in Jamaica. She even prefers them frozen the little stinker.

Do y'all do Easter baskets? What do you put in them?

My basket has this bikini and I get to go to DryBar. I think I did pretty well this year.

Fashion That Lasts

Now that Brooklyn is one her clothes will last her a little longer since she wont be growing as rapidly. The first year of her life I was changing out her closet every three months {I wish I got a new wardrobe every three months}, and as a result we have a LOT of stored baby girl clothes. Most we will keep in case *future* baby #2 is a girl as well, some I will sell, there are a few special outfits that are reserved for Brooklyn's hope chest, and then there are all of her "firsts" outfits. You know "baby's first Christmas, baby's first Thanksgiving, etc". Those outfits I have a special plan for. I've saved all of the most precious ones, because if I'm being honest baby girl had wayyy more holiday outfits than this.

And I am going to have a seamstress put them together into a beautiful quilt. It'll be one of my most prized possessions, and I know that every time I wrap up in it I will think back on when BK was wearing each outfit for the first time. 

Here's an inspiration quilt that I found online. Though it's for an older child, but I LOVE it so I'm sure I'll have a few of these made. 

Need to be a little bit stronger

Last night I was super lame. I passed up a chance to go out and celebrate St. Patrick's Day with some of my favorite people in favor of pajamas and reruns on tv. I realized I was being lame the second I made the decision, but I'm one of those people that makes a decision and is super stubborn and sticks to it {even if they realize it was the wrong decision}. The horrible part was that I knew instantly that S was super bummed, even though he did get to enjoy a night out he had to do it sans me. See, every since we had BK I have had a really hard time leaving her. I have found myself bailing on plans last minute, or coming up with excuses, or just not making plans at all. And the time has come for change.

See I realized that not only am I preventing myself from having fun, but I'm also preventing BK from learning independence from me. I'm not allowing BK the opportunity to gain independence in forming relationships with others. Don't get me wrong, she interacts with others , just not without me standing by.  Brooklyn Grace is a very independent little girl, but I want her to be confident in herself in forming relationships as well. I want her to realize that other people see just how funny + smart + sweet she is, it's not just mama's rose colored glasses.

I'm also putting a damper on my marriage. While my love with S is stronger now than ever before I am definitely not as fun as before. I used to be the life of the party, or at least a piece of it. I used to keep my husband on his toes. I used to be adventurous. I want to get all of that back. Most of all I never want my husband to feel as if the baby is my only priority. Our blissful marriage and fun nights are what got us BK in the first place.

So I need to work on balance. I need to be better at being mama, friend, wife, daughter, and sister. I know that it won't come extremely quickly, and probably not extremely easily, but I need to make more of a conscious effort. So here's to hoping that I get better. Here's to hoping that a little bit of the old me will make a come back. Wish me luck.

Celebrating you

Happy Birthday Brooklyn Grace! You are officially one year old, you're a toddler. I'm not quite sure who decided that one was no longer a baby, because even though you have grown so much you are still very much my baby. It is crazy to think that this time one year ago you were about to make your debut into the world. All five pounds and thirteen glorious ounces of you. Technically you came a week early, though the 26 hours of labor totally made up for that. I remember when they first laid you on my chest I was in shock. You were so tiny. I just kept thinking, so tiny yet so mighty. This was what made those big kicks? This baby caused all that morning sickness? This teeny tiny baby created SO much joy? Your dad and I just looked at each other over you and smiled. He gave me the sweetest kiss and then he looked at you and really took you in. The love in his eyes was the most beautiful thing, it was so pure and so deep. He still looks at you that way, and it still brings the happiest tears to my eyes. It's funny that I didn't cry right away. Most moms said they cried as soon as their baby was placed on their chest. I had to take in your perfection first. But don't worry, those tears they came. They still come. I will cry over you for the rest of your life. Tears of joy, tears of thankfulness, sometimes tears of frustration, but always always tears of love.

All parents know that the first year is a blur and it just flies right by. I am so very thankful that I have been able to stay home with you and embrace every little moment. I couldn't imagine having to miss a single second. This might seem silly to you, but I thought I would recap a normal day for us. I don't want to forget anything about this year. I love the way you're so sleepy and sweet in the morning. You always have the brightest smile on your face. We laugh at how it takes you a while to get your balance, so you usually tip over the first time you sit up. Then you crawl over to me and nuzzle your head on my chest. The first word out of your mouth is always Daisy. You are crazy about your puppy. I love sitting on the kitchen counter and eating our breakfast together. The way your eyes light up and you shake your booty when Doc McStuffins comes on. Your morning nap is always a battle of the wills, somedays you win and somedays I do. We get dressed after our nap but before lunch. You hate the process of getting dressed, you would much rather be naked, but you are quite the fashionista. Lunch is usually eaten in my lap or on the couch, sometimes both. In the afternoon we play blocks and read books, sometimes we run errands or go shopping. You're still taking a second nap during the day, usually its around 4pm. After the second nap you help me cook dinner. You go into your drawer in the kitchen and get out spoons and bowls while I'm at the stove. Sometimes your venture off independently, whether it's to chase Daisy or just play with your toys. Your daddy gets home before dinner and you just love to see him come through that door. Your usually go racing off to meet him, crawling along with a block in each hand, saying "dada dada dada". After we eat dinner we head up to bath. You are such a water baby, you have always loved bath time. You usually spend 30 minutes in there. Then we do lotion and books, and crawl into bed. Some days you go down easily, some days I think you'll never go to sleep. Each day ends with me thankful that I got to spend it with you though.

You are so funny and so kind. You make friends everywhere we go. Everyone comments on what a sweet and happy girl you are, and they're right you are always smiling and laughing. You are brave and independent. You are tiny yet so mighty.

Last night we sat in your room and nursed in your rocker. I couldnt help but think about when we first brought you home. I remember sitting in that very same rocker with you all curled up barely bigger than my hands,  and thinking about how very tiny you looked in that room. Now your arms and legs hang over the sides of the rocker, and the room feels so small compared to you. It's crazy how much changes in a year.

In one year you have grown by leaps and bounds. In one year you have taught me true life lessons. I cannot wait to see what you can do with the many more years ahead of you.

Brooklyn Grace thank you so very much for giving me the best year of my life. Happy Birthday beautiful girl.

Whine-os vs. Wine-os

In light of the birthday bonanza week I figured I would still keep with the motherhood(ish) theme. Today I was watching the Katie show, yes that is what happens when youre a stay at home mom, or better yet when youre on vacation. The topic of today's show was "Mom's who drink while supervising their kids". I think for the most part they were refering to moms who drink socially on play dates, or possibly the mom that "needs" a glass of wine at the end of the day in order to keep it together.

*I suppose I should put a disclaimer, this post might be highly controversial. Honestly I just want to know how you mamas REALLY feel, all judgements aside. I promise to delete any negativity, that is not what we're here for. We're here to support eachother, to help, to life eachother up. Nothing else shall be tolerated.*

Here is my honest to God stance, and I truly hope I'm not flamed for this, but I'd rather have the truth be put out there. Yes I drink. Yes I drink {on occassion} when I am in primary control of my daughter.

Lets start with the easy stuff. Parenting can be taxing, I wont say it's hard because I love it, every.single.minute. #honesttoGod But some days are rough. Some days your baby is teething, or experiencing growing pains, or has gotten shots and is fussy. And all you want to do is give that baby some tylenol. But guess what? now there are studies saying you should not give them tylenol, so I try my hardest not to. And on those days, yes I have a glass of wine or a beer. Either way some sort of cocktail enters my body. And I beleive it makes me much more calm, more more ready to takle parenting tasks, and find wasy to appease my baby. I dont drink the point where I am inhibited, I drink where I might take a little edge off, or give my self a little courage to go into a very long & tiring night.

Do I drink a lot? Hell no. But truly what is the definition of a lot? I'm still 100% able to drive should an accident arrive, I'm still up after my children go to sleep (usually cleaning), I'm still thinking with a clear head. But yes, I did have a cocktail or two.

Do you think those cocktails render my parenting skills useless? Do you believe that mothers should not drink at all while on the job? Where do you believe the good line is?

Did your parents drink while in supervision of you? Do you believe this should be treated the same way any other profession should, as in we cannot drink on the job at all?

What's your stance?

Birthday Beauty

I'm guest hosting Trendy Tots today and I am so excited!

• Trendy Tot Tuesday is a chance to talk about kid's style, and pretty much anything goes. Pictures of your cutie, talking about their style (that you buy and dress them in, ahem!), a Polyvore board, linking to the new kid's line at the Gap - anything! All ages welcome, from you sweet pregnant mamas stocking up a closet to the teenagers that probably pick all their own stuff out now ;)

• This is a hop-style link up - please follow your hosts (Kelly, Lindsay and Megan), and this week's guest host (me) - we are in spots 1-4. Also, jump around to meet other bloggers! We hope everyone gains some new followers from this link up and finds some fabulous new blogs!

• Please link back to (at least!) one of us, and feel free to steal our badge if you'd like. If you're a tweeter or instagram-er, use #trendytot

• Interested in guest hosting? Please email Megan to get added to the list!

This week my theme is birthday fashion! My whole life my family has always celebrated a birthday week, and this is a tradition that we're very excited to carry on with BK. In honor of the first birthday extravaganza that is to ensue it's only appropriate that the girl have multiple birthday frocks.

Thursday is her actual birthday. We plan on going to either the children's museum or the aquarium during the day, and then we'll go to a special dinner once daddy gets home. And you can't forget the special cupcake and some presents. She'll be wearing a super cute birthday tutu and cupcake onesie.

On Friday we have her one year check up and her Mimi and Gigi come into town! I picked up a cute little tshirt for her a Baby Gap and then she can rock her skinny jeans and pink chucks.

Saturday is the big Birthday bash! I'm not going to lie, she has two dresses. The first one is from Gap and I picked it up like three months ago. It perfectly matches her theme with the pink and gold.

 

Then I found another dress while shopping in Nordstrom two weeks ago. It's just so darling that I had to get it. I mean the pleats and the flowers at the collar? I die. Which dress do you like?

Sunday we're going to finish out the birthday week with brunch just the three of us. Her Gigi bought her this dress from Smocked Auctions literally six months ago and I have been saving it for her birthday! I know she is going to be so precious in it.

Do you celebrate a birthday week in your family?

 

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Weekend Wrap Up

Hey y'all! I hope you all had a fantastic weekend, I know ours was simply fabulous. I'm actually joining the Weekend Wrap Up for the first time! Woo hoo

Friday we got a new back door installed, woo hoo for home improvement. Then the baby and i ran some errands and did some shopping. Friday night we met back up with daddy and had a super delicious dinner out. It was a wonderful end to our day! Especially the creme brûlée lol.

Saturday morning I woke up early and had to run one billion errands. Then we headed to BK's bestie's first birthday party. We had so much fun celebrating Miss L turning one! Bk just laughed the whole time!

After the party BK and I got in the car and hit the road. We came up to the mountain for a little bonding and r&r before the big birthday. She did great on the 3.25 trip, and we grabbed some dinner to go. We got settled in the cabin, ate our pasta, and then hopped in the jacuzzi tub. It was devine and we both slept hard. Today we woke up to beautiful views and took our time getting our day started. We went to the little mountain market and made lunch, we took two naps, and we built lots of blocks. Then the Gigi got in town! We went to dinner & checked out the waterpark for tomorrow. Bk squealed when she saw it, I cannot wait to get her in there. Then we came home to the cabin for another jacuzzi bath and some play time before bed.

It was the perfect weekend, And I plan on making the rest of the week perfect as well!

A few things:
-Daisymae is home! We are so happy to have our sweet puppy back. She was taken care of by the sweetest family too. God was watching out for her. Thank you all so, so very much for your words of love and encouragement! You have no idea how much they meant to me.

-I am five people away from 500 readers! I could not be more excited and humbled. I am so thankful for y'all and the relationships I've come to form through the blogging world. As soon as I reach 500 I'm going to be doing a huge giveaway. Would y'all be interested in participating? Its going to be good, I promise. Please email me {brooklynstateofmindblog at gmail dot com} if you want to talk details

-In honor of BK's birthday all ad spots are 25% off using code Brooklyn. Snatch them up while you can. I plan on changing my sponsor spots around a bit this spring.

-BK turns one in three days! How is that possible? I brought lots of crafts with me to work on. There will be nothing but fun and focus on BK on Thursday so I'm trying to get my duties out of the way.

How was your weekend? Do you have any big plans this week? What would you like to see in the giveaway? {people who host can enter too}

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One week

One week. Seven days. 168 hours. It's truly not very long when you think about it. Usually I find myself wishing weeks away, looking forward to a big event or the next season. However for the past year I've wished all my time would slow down. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that there would be a time that I would benefit from time slowing down, or even pausing. Not pausing forever, but pausing for a moment. The special ones, the ones that deserve to be relived. Motherhood changes everything though. Now I stall all my time, instead of wish it away. This week in particular I wish would pause. Just be one long week of perfection. Where my baby is still a tiny baby, because really and truly that is all that I want. For my baby to remain my baby.

How has a year even passed. How am I one week out from my baby girl turning one years old? I honestly dont even have the words yet.

Today was a beautiful day. We laughed and sang, we danced, we snuggled, and were goofy. It was a perfect day for me. It ended with my tiny girl in footie pajamas snuggling me in bed. I wouldnt change anything about today. I loved it, I embraced it.

The problem, is that at the end of this week I will have a toddler. My baby girl will turn o.n.e. And honestly I don't know how thats possible. I know I just need to enjoy these last few days, and trust me, I will. Theres no doubt there.

In the end, I just want to do right by her. She won't remember this time. She'll remember what I said about this time, how I documented this time, what we did with this time. So I make a vow, that the next week will be nothing short of fabulous. Your last week as a baby will be wonderful, even with mommy's tears.

I love you so much Brooklyn Grace. I can't wait to see what next year has in store for you.

 

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Shoes Are A Girl's Best Friend

I just love Trendy Tot Tuesday and Kelly, Megan, and Lindsay for hosting it.

Now that Bk is on the verge of walking I am in serious need of investing in some shoes for the girl. I wont lie, up until recently she mostly just wears socks.
A) She usually has her shoes off in less than two seconds
B) She didnt really need them
C) It wasnt really worth the fight with her every day
But now she truly needs them.

We have two pairs that she wears right now, but usually it's just her chucks.

 

Right now I have my eye on these for summer.

one / two / three / four

 

How do you keep shoes on your babies feet? Any secret tricks?