Little Jungsters

This is probably the most talked about during the highs and lows of raising Sebastian.  Do we want a second baby, or are we complete?  From my perspective I am really perplexed.  I bounce back in forth all the time; usually in those highs and lows of parenting I find myself switching sides of the argument. I've imagined myself with two children for a large part of my life, and I'm not sure if that really carries a lot of weight in this decision or if it just adds more {self} pressure.   As far as Sebastian is concerned, I'd absolutely love for him to have siblings.  I think it's a different way of life, a different childhood when you can share it with another sibling.  Of course they will argue like cats and dogs at times, but in the end they will always have each other in their own personal highs and lows of life.  I want that for Sebastian.  Without a doubt, I want Sebastian to have a brother or sister.   Then, I t...

Our hospital did not have a photographer that took fresh baby photos, so Micha and I researched Pinterest (where else?) for some ideas to try on our own. Here’s what we came up with... Once we were home I knew I wanted newborn photos, but the professional price tag was a bit more than Micha could be convinced to fork over. He made a deal- he would take the photos and if I didn’t like them we could hire someone else- needless to say, I liked his. More so because he took them.            What Mama doesn’t need a Christmas pajama photo? Sebastian was one month old here and still super scrunchie and snugly.   Sebastian has really grown in the last two weeks, and looking back at these photos already make me a bit sad he's not so tiny.  This isn't looking promising for him as he only continues to grow.  Basically he's a grown man already. {sobbing}

I wasn't going to go into this, but since someone asked for me to share about our pregnancy journey I feel like maybe it's helpful to hear each other's stories.  I know I sure would have liked to have a personal connection with someone else going through the same thing I was while I was in the thick of the thing.  Unfortunately, when we are in the middle of a struggle society tells us to save face.  Micha and I got married in October of 2017.  We thought we would play God and plan out our pregnancy.  (haha!) Of course, at the time there were at least a dozen women at my workplace that were pregnant, had just returned from maternity leave, or had just given birth.  You'd think all I would need to do was drink the water, but it wasn't as easy as I felt I deserved . I recognize how entitled that sounds, but this is how I truly felt.  I deserved a pregnancy.  I was ready for my baby.  I had played my cards right. I obtained my college degree. ...

Immediately upon returning home from Australia I was ready to prepare the nursery for Sebastian.  Our builder-grade wall color is a terrible off-white cream color, so a fresh coat of paint was step one.  We decided to do a shiplap feature wall and paint the remainder of the room white.  (Sherman Williams Pure White)  We found that the ready-made shiplap wood slats were cheaper at Home Depot when compared to (our fave) Lowes.  We rented a truck to drive the materials home, and I am certain I was a wreck the entire drive.  What we neglected to buy was the trim, which necessitated a second trip to the home improvement store (can't remember which one).  This resulted in an equally nerve wracking drive home- this time with my car trunk ajar.  However, as with all home DIY projects, the marriage is tested a bit, you swear you'll never collaborate on another project, and the finished result is stunning.  (Thus encouraging you to do the DIY cyc...

Throughout high school and college I was a nanny. I took care of other people’s children in their homes. I was a sudo-stay-at-home “mom.”  Often times I would pretend the baby was mine and it was magical, until 5pm. Reality hit like a ton of bricks and I witnessed a baby being reunited with its mother and the beauty that was witnessed is something I only hoped I’d get one day. When we got pregnant I knew that I wanted to spend some time at home before returning to work. I knew first and foremost that I am not cut out to be a full time stay at home mom, but I wanted a piece of the pie. Of course I was so niave when I thought I could leave and return to work on my terms. I was wrong. So wrong. You see, I’d spent the last three years saving my sick days and allowed them to accumulate for this very season. I set up my insurance benefits to include short term disability. I approached my administrator with a verity or strategies to satisfy my needs and wants. I had a long term su...

As we approached our due date comments like, "oh your delivery never goes as planned," were near daily.  I knew this, but in the back of my mind I thought if I just considered worst case scenario, then I would have a blissful delivery.  Ha!  I was so wrong it's almost comical. We kept quiet about our pregnancy until we returned from our {belated} honeymoon to Australia.  While the prospect of spending weeks RV'ing around the outback foreign country already didn't sit well with my parents, the idea of a pregnancy didn't seem like a smart detail to reveal, just yet.  This was relatively easy, to be quite honest.  I never really had the typical pregnancy symptoms beyond the point of disguise.  Of course I was occasionally nauseous, and I turned into a champion sleeper... this wasn't anything that my colleagues or friends were easily able to pick up on.  Thankfully, I was kissed by some pregnancy god in that I didn't experience morning sickness lik...