My Top 5 Must Have Items for a Newborn

When you're a new mom, you receive tons of items that sometimes don't necessarily work for you. I'm glad that my little blueberry isn't entirely picky and she didn't have a problem being comfy or sleeping anywhere, but I decided to list a few of the baby items that made a huge difference for us.

5 Baby Products that worked for me by hurrayimamommy on Polyvore

1. The Summer Infants Swaddle Me Swaddle- These  have helped me immensely. Not only do I not have to worry about swaddling my baby the right way but I don't have to worry about her getting loose from the blankets and the blankets covering her face at night. It's simple and keeps my baby calm.
2. Boppy Designer Nursing Pillow & Slip Cover Owl Forest- This was a great help when I was struggling with breastfeeding my baby, then it was still great support when giving my baby her bottle. Additionally we have been able to use it to prop her up a little bit, for tummy time and even as neck support for my husband.
3. Lansinoh mOmma feeding bottle- Since my baby didn't breastfeed, we were able to pump and feed it to her in a bottle. We struggled with finding the perfect bottle that would help her stay latched on, reduce colic and reduce any milk spilling out while she was drinking it. Funny enough, I had received one of these bottles as a gift from Target for signing up for my gift registry there. We ended it buying way more because these really worked best for us, by a long-shot.
4. Bright Starts Portable Swing- This was a gift from my mom and has really been a blessing. We had other swings but strangely enough, I felt like they went way too fast to the point where I felt like my baby was going to blast into orbit! This has 7 speed settings and is super light weight, which makes it easy to transport. The only thing I would have loved would be for it to have a reset button to re-inciate the swinging motion without turning it off and on again.
5. Taggies Soothe and Snuggle Me Sleeper- This sleeper has been a perfect place for my baby to nap during the day. Although it doesn't rock, it still is super comfortable and snug for her. It also has the availability of vibration but my baby for some reason doesn't really care for any of that. This is also super lightweight and easy to store which is great for someone (like me), who has a smaller space.

Of course there are many items that have worked for us but these are the ones that have made a huge difference and well they made these first time parents a tiny bit more comfortable when it came to bringing home a newborn.

Having a baby vs owning a puppy

Recently my husband mentioned to me how a mutual friend of ours tried to compare and relate owning a puppy to having a baby. Keep in mind this friend is married but does not yet have children. I still remember the face I made when my husband began to tell me about the conversation, (I'm sure I have pretty prominent frown lines now).

His friend owns a puppy
We have (parent) a baby

The conversation came about when my husband mentioned that many new fatherly duties have made him extremely tired yet incredibly happy, to which his friend responded that he could relate (you know, with his puppy and all). My husband tried to explain how the two didn't compare, but his friend insisted that the two are quite alike...

*Full Disclosure*

I own a very very spoiled Yorkie whom I had since she was 6 weeks old, so I am definitely not hating on puppies here.

How can the comparison exist?

• You CAN leave to work and leave your puppy at home with a bowl of food and pee pad.
• You CAN'T leave a baby unattended...ever! Not to mention that babies need to eat every 2 hours, more or less. 

• You CAN leave a pee pad for your dog to pee on periodically throughout the day.
• You CAN'T leave a baby sitting in their own pee or poo. Not to mention that the cost of diapers is it's own conversation considering that on occasions our baby will go through a little less than 100 diapers in one week.

• You CAN indulge in at least 5 hours of interrupted sleep while your puppy sleeps comfortably on their own bed. If you are unlucky, you might have the OCCASIONAL puppy crier who just want to come on the bed, but once they're up on the bed...all is well.
• You CAN'T always have 4 hours of straight sleep. Babies wake up because they're hungry and well I'm the pumping food supply. My husband warms and prepares a bottle and I get to pump...at any given hour of the night. Baby's diaper also needs to be changed at this time and calming songs may come in handy while she waits (cries hysterically) for her milk to come. 

I could really go on and on, but instead, I'll highlight a few of the perks of being a parent (even with bags under my eyes)

• Our daughter is the result of the love between my husband and I.
• It is incredible to realize that this being grew within me and now as she is before our eyes, we can see little characteristics that completely resemble both my husband and I.
• I went through a rough pregnancy, labor and delivery just to be able to hold this miracle and that's only the beginning of things I would do for her. 
• I praise God for the gift of being a Mommy and accept the huge responsibility of shaping this tiny human into a warrior, teaching her to take on life and fulfill her dreams.

All in all, there is just no comparison and I know that when this friend decides to start a family...He too will realize why I would take offense to his comment.

For Mom and Dad

Today marks your 31st wedding anniversary!

Young, young love

Married and just as much as in love

On my wedding day

WOW

I wanted to dedicate this post to you.

• Thanks to you, I am the woman that I am today. 

• Thank you for always believing in me and supporting the creative decisions I've made. 

• Thank you for being the best example of what a marriage should be.
• Thank you for setting the bar high when it comes to being a parent.
• Thank you for always putting your children first in every aspect of life.
• Thank you for showing unconditional love.
• Thank you for always being here/there.

I hope to make it to as many years in marriage as you have. And like you, I hope to be an example to my children of what true love is. 

I'm lucky that my daughter has you as her grandparents :)

I love you two!

I pray you have many many many more years of happy marriage! 

Why I Chose NOT to Read Pregnancy Books

I did a quick search on an online retailer and found roughly 49,000 pregnancy books and I read 0.

It's been 2 months now since I delivered my precious bundle of joy and as I look back, I do not regret the decision I made early on to not read any pregnancy books. The reason I chose to do this is really quite simple.

Early on in my pregnancy it was determined that my pregnancy would be considered "High Risk" due to the fact that I have a history of high blood pressure and after running some early blood tests, this was further confirmed. The results of the blood test showed that I was at a risk of pre-eclampsia.

time 18830944 of being admitted into Labor & Delivery

Being that this was my first pregnancy, everything was completely new to me. I must admit, it was also pretty terrifying to be told that you we're already at risks and would need to come to twice as many check-ups as other pregnant women.

I've heard that many pregnancy books touch base on things that "might" occur to you while you are pregnant and things that might not. You know, how to prepare for this and that.

I had a fear of literally not only having an even worse pregnancy because of the fears of thinking "what if this happens to me next " - but also fear of fearing my child. I mean, really, besides the first night home from the hospital, she hasn't been bad at all (do all parents say that?). Some books literally scare the life out of you with things your baby might do, or additionally side effects of the pregnancy and I wanted to hear none of it.

Unless my doctor told me it was something to worry about, I tried to just go with the flow.

I am an incredible over thinker. Is it a woman thing? You can sit there with one idea and literally overthink it in every way possible. I mean, when it comes to DIY projects and things such as that, it isn't that bad. But when it comes to overthinking something like an itch in my throat or the hiccups while pregnant, you can get weird and crazy ideas in your mind.

I mean, when it came to delivering my daughter, I felt mentally prepared and ready. Even with the almost emergency C-section scare, I remained calm. I really have to give all the credit to the fact that I was sure that God was taking care of me and his will was what was to happen. I knew he sent angels to watch over me and I had no need for a book (besides the Bible) to keep my A-game strong.

For my next pregnancy, I doubt that I'll read these books either. But for now, it's too early to tell...you know since you have all these intricate plans and well, babies just kind of show up and do what they want lol

Til next time :)

The Most Important Audition of My Life

My audition began the day my daughter was born.

I am auditioning for the role of my daughters’ best friend. Now that seems a little odd and some might throw the “You need to be the mom not the friend” stone at me. But truth is you can be both. 

My mother is my best friend. She has been an incredible example of an amazing and strong woman and I am incredibly grateful for her life. I have such an incredible relationship with my mom. As years have passed and as I changed from child to young adult to a wife and mommy, I have grown closer and closer to my mother and have realized how all along, she has been my one true friend. My mother always listened without judgment, but the Mexican mother that she is; she always had some good and strong advice to give me. Maybe during my teenage years, I might have been bothered by her opinion or advice but still I came to her whenever I needed guidance. I have such great memories of hanging out with my mom and to this day, I enjoy going out to a mall day with her or just hanging out at her house.

My amazing mommy and I on my wedding day.

 I pray and hope that my daughter considers me for the role of best friend. It would mean the world to me. And though I might not seem like the coolest person at the time, I will always make her my #1 priority. I will wipe every tear and cherish every smile. I will always have her best interest at heart. 

So to my daughter:

I promise to always be there
I promise to take you to swim, piano, voice, ballet and dance class and sit there through the whole class cheering you on.
I promise to drop you off at school and help you with your homework
I promise to kiss your boo boos when you fall and hold you tight when your heart is sad
I promise to teach you everything I know
I PROMISE TO ENCOURAGE YOUR CREATIVITY AND SUPPORT YOU IN YOUR DREAMS
I promise to love you more and more each day
I promise to be here to listen even when you don’t want to talk
I promise to strive to be the best mother possible and above all else, In a time when it has become harder and harder for parents, I PROMISE TO BE PRESENT.

 Te amo mi princesa.