Ice Cream, Holiday Shopping & A Fussy Baby (Storytime) (Blogmas Day 5!)

Hey y'all!

Welcome to Blogmas Day 5! I thought it would be cool to talk about the fun outing we had yesterday that includes ice cream, shopping and a fussy baby. Grab yourself a warm cup of something yummy and snuggle up on the couch for this fun storytime!

Yesterday my husband Shawn and I went out to the store to pick up a few things for Christmas. I'm not going to lie, we don't have much this year to go all out but with what we do have, we wanted to spend it getting something small for each other and our son. We packed up the car and headed to our local HEB Plus (a grocery store for all y'all non Texas folk out there) that not only has food but clothes, electronics, shoes and all things Christmas. To us it was the perfect place to get a few things without going crazy on our budget. My mom was ever so kind to watch Isaiah for us while we went out.  It's not that I didn't want him to come... I just didn't feel like packing a huge diaper bag and lugging it around with me. Shout out to my momma, she's the real MVP! So we get to the store and pick out our stocking stuffers for the family, grabbed wrapping paper and tape, got gifts for Isaiah and then for each other! Though we came to the store together, my husband and I split up to find each other a gift. I found his gift pretty early and bolted to the checkout line before I had the opportunity to run into Shawn. I quadrupled bagged my items so it was peek proof too! After I paid, I was waiting around for a while- Shawn was done his shopping a few minutes later and he called so I could meet him by his checkout line. I noticed what really took so long... he made a detour in the ice cream aisle! Needless to say we got a gallon of ice cream for him to eat. He still managed to pick out a gift though. After arriving back home my mom told me that Isaiah had been fuzzy the entire hour. Lately, he's been a bit more whiny and very clingy. I wasn't sure what was going on since it's not really lie him to be a bother. I later found out today he's going through his first developmental leap- if you have the wonder weeks app y'all know what I'm talking about! We're loving him through it with lots of cuddles - I actually don't mind the extra snuggles hehe. I posted on my instagram a photo of the gorgeous wrapping paper we got for our gifts. I am OBSESSED with anything plaid or buffalo check this holiday season- I absolutely love it. Anywho, when we got home I grabbed Isaiah and put him in the moby wrap and we got to working on wrapping our gifts (of course not in front of one another). I gotta say we had a really fun time and the gifts never looked better sitting under our tree. We have a bit more shopping to do next week and that actually reminds me that we need to get more of this wrapping paper because we ran out (haha!) Is there a holiday trend or color you are absolutely loving this season? Share with me what you're liking in the comments below! 

We ended our night with trying to get mr. fussy down to bed and my husband eating his ice cream with a fork- don't ask me why... I still have no idea why a spoon isn't good enough for him 🤣. Our Christmas movie of choice was Elf and it was a perfect day. Who else is doing there holiday shopping now- I don't know why but i feel like I'm getting things SO LATE in the game, we only have 20 more days to go!

Until next time,

-XO Naj

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A COZY FAMILY NIGHT INDOORS- OUR FAMILY NIGHT ROUTINE (BLOGMAS DAY 2!)

Hey y'all!
Welcome to blogmas day 2! I wanted to bring something a little bit different today than you're traditional Christmas topics that you see; I thought it would explain our family night routine for the perfect cozy night indoors. Since we have a newborn, getting out isn't as easy as it sounds. Honestly, my husband and I spend most of our free time entertaining ourselves at home. Depending on the day our nights could go a bit differently but usually here is what we got going on!

6PM- Isaiah goes down for a nap (or we attempt to have him sleep) If he's nice this day, I use the spare time I have to get dinner started and the house tidied up a bit. Sometimes I have Isaiah in the moby wrap which he LOVES- I totally recommend it if you mamas have a baby that likes to be next to you like mines. Lately, I've been really liking soups, stews and casseroles for dinner. Basically anything I can make in crock pot or throw in the oven is a win win for me. Ain't nobody got time to be slaving over a hot stove! If you guys would like to see more recipe blogs let me know and I'll be happy to share some of my families favorite dishes with you.

7PM- Baby is still asleep (sometimes) and by this time I'm usually getting myself ready for bed with a shower and sliding into some fresh pajamas. I love hot chocolate in the evening too so I sometimes make myself a cup of that and spend some time reading my bible and journaling- My husband and I also take this time to eat dinner and clean up!

8PM- Isaiah is usually up by now- he's fed, and afterwards my husband and I give him a bath together. Isaiah HATES baths and literally screams at the sight of water so it takes two pairs of hands to give him a good scrubbing. Afterwards we put his pj's on and settle in for the night. I'm really trying to work on getting off of my cell and turning off my devices at 8pm so I can focus on the two people that mean the absolute most to me.

9PM- MY FAVORITE TIME OF THE NIGHT we get Isaiah his last bottle to "top off", we all snuggle in bed together and watch a Christmas movie. We just started this tradition and I love piling into bed and cuddling up together as a family. Afterwards we swaddle little man up, set him in his crib and crash for the night!

Our routine is pretty simple but it couldn't be more perfect. What is something you and your family do together during the holiday season? Any tips for fun holiday activities to do with a baby? Let me know in the comments below!

-XO Naj

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Our Baby Shower: Welcoming Baby Isaiah Island Style!

Hey Y'all!

Or should I say, aloha!
I'm finally getting around to sharing all about my baby shower that happened last Sunday in sunny Austin, TX. The day started out pretty chilly but it ended up warming up and the weather was beautiful; it was a great day to have some fun. My husband and I are big fans of the island life and wanted to bring a little bit of that to Texas in October. Below I'm sharing a few snapshots from our day - we really had a great time! Our event was filled with our closest family members at Blenders & Bowls which is an Acai Cafe that makes healthy fruit flavored bowls topped with things like granola, coconut shreds and honey.

A sun fact about my husband and I is that we're vegetarians, so we wanted a place that shared our love for healthy eating with others and if I do say so myself we totally found it. The wonderful staff set up a buffet for us for everyone to grab a bowl and fill it with as many toppings as they wanted. We also had fruit and veggies, sandwiches, chips and the super sweet "IZZE" drinks that I LOVE. Everyone loved the bowls, not to mention they are super cute (picture of the yumminess below!)

        

We mostly ate, but we did get into some fun games that everyone had some great laughs over. One of my favorites was the "Make A Baby" game where each guest had two minute to construct a baby from play dough and give it a name. My sister ended up winning (ha!) her baby was so cute! Everyone did a great job and I had fun seeing everyone get into playing. We also had a good time creating Isaiah's first ABC book where we drew pictures to match letter cards for little man to look back on when he's older. This was not only a lot of fun but really helpful since we plan on homeschooling our son- he'll know his ABC's in no time!

We got some really great gifts and are so grateful to everyone who poured into our family that afternoon.  I couldn't have asked for a better turn out - a big thank you to everyone who attended, we are so blessed to have you in our lives!

Until Next Time,

- XO Naj

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Fall Maternity Photo Shoot- Celebrating "Our Little Pumpkin"

Sharing some of the beautiful maternity photos we had the pleasure of taking Sunday, October 8th!
Special thanks to my friend Leah for capturing such a special moment for us (😄) It was a super hot day last Sunday here in Texas, shout out to my husband who was such a champ with standing out in the sun- two locations and a lot of mosquito bites later we gained some really gorgeous pictures. Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

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Third Trimester, Early Maternity Leave and Switching Doctors?! (Life Update)

Hey There!

I know it has literally been forever and a day since I have sat down and make a decent blog post for you all but I thought: "What better way to come back than to share all of the updates that has been going on?!" So... that's what I'm doing today ;)  So what's been going on? I am so glad to say that I have reached one of the most amazing milestones of pregnancy and that is finally reaching the third trimester with my baby boy! I am currently 35 weeks and a few days pregnant with hospital bags packed and in the car so that we're ready to go whenever he's ready! You'll probably notice a trend of how much I mention that time is just flying by for me in this pregnancy and specifically how much I can't believe how soon everything is happening in this post because seriously y'all...  I. CAN'T. BELIEVE. IT. We have officially four weeks to go and I'm just blown away but so excited and grateful to God for keeping me and my son healthy.

Alright, let's talk about this early maternity leave shall we? Honestly, it happened so unexpectedly, but ultimately was the best decision for the well being of myself and my baby.  Here's the backlog on what happened, which all started on the 2nd of October. I went in for my 34 week doctor appointment and two weeks prior I had been dealing with blood pressure that was escalating from it's normal place. While in the process of doing all of the usual workup, my nurse mentioned that my pulse was high
(at about 116) and my blood pressure had went up again from the 120's to being 135/88. I was surprised since other than being a little out of breath- I felt fine. The nurse sent me to the waiting room to check on the urine sample I gave for any other signs of potential complications- thankfully there we're none! I had to be completely honest in that moment while I was waiting to hear the results, I was terrified and anxious which probably didn't do me or my baby any good;  but I thought about how I had four solid weeks of work left and that my blood pressure could potentially become even more of an issue due to me feeling the weight (no pun intended!) of being eight months pregnant and working throughout the week. I felt torn on wanting to stick to the plan but knowing deep down I couldn't risk something that could hurt my son. After speaking with my doctor (who wasn't much help, but I'll get to that it a few moments) about it, my husband and I decided it was best for me to leave work early and start my maternity leave to hopefully reduce my blood pressure and keep this baby as healthy as possible. I'm about a week into my maternity leave so far and I'm completely grateful for the love and support I've been getting from my husband and my family- I don't know what I would do without them! While working I could feel my pulse spike randomly several times throughout the day at a moments notice where I would feel my heart literally pounding inside of my chest. I'm happy to report that these symptoms have reduced greatly since being on a self ordered bedrest. Less swollen feet and lots of youtube vlogs to watch has been a win in my book!

Let me back track a bit and talk about my doctor and why I made the decision to switch from being under his care so late into my pregnancy. Let me fist say that I totally respect him as a medical professional and I am in no way, shape or form knocking his expertise in the field of medicine but when two people don't mesh, you just don't mesh and I think what happened at my last appointment confirmed that for me.  Since the beginning of my pregnancy, I'm talking like eight weeks pregnant my husband and I have been on the fence about him. He wanted to switch right away, but being the kind of person that I am I really wanted to give the guy a chance, TOTALLY A BAD IDEA. Sitting there with him during my last appointment really showed me how incompatible we were and I've never felt so much regret in a decision that I've made before than in that moment. As I had mentioned before, I ran into the issue with my blood pressure rising to levels it shouldn't be, I was concerned and had already felt in my heart to end work early and take a step back from living such a busy life. I was really looking forward to having that reassurance and peace of mind from my doctor and that confirmation that he was  truly looking  out for my best interest as well. But no, it didn't go like that... He completely dismissed the issue saying that a rising blood pressure was "not a big concern of his" even though previously he mentioned he would keep an eye on it because it was looking a bit high. He didn't want to talk about the option of me leaving work and brushed off my worries as if I was just another patient on his list. Needless to say I was highly annoyed. I hate that I waited so long and ignored what I was feeling since the beginning- all for the sake of being nice! Finding another doctor so last minute is going to be a mission all on it's own but I truly feel that I deserve a better caring doctor  and set a standard for myself. 

All in all these last few weeks have been absolutely crazy and I know this is just part of the journey God has placed me on and I accept it with open arms. we're getting into the final countdown guys and I'm so excited and blessed to live this amazing and humbling experience.

Until Next Time!
-XO Naj

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