Ok, I actually started this post last night but of course Emma wakes me up in the middle of it so now this is a day late. This is the story of our life now. I have to admit having a child definitely changes the dynamics of a relationship. We used to be able to do whatever we wanted… whenever. Not anymore! I am not complaining…I wouldn’t change anything for the world but I wanted to just point this out because it’s hard work keeping a marriage exciting and romantic with a kid! Which is why on this day…I appreciate boyrobot more than anything. We have been married for 3 years now and I can honestly say I love and appreciate boyrobot more than ever. Of course like any relationship we have our ups and downs but we always work through them and I feel stronger and more confident about our love each time. Now when I look at Emma…I think…we made this! Incredible! I love both of them sososo much.

Now a little bit more about boyrobot and why I love him.

As a friend…boyrobot loves his friends dearly and the times he gets to hang out with them are his happiest! He is honestly the most trustworthy friend you will ever meet. I know when he makes a promise he will keep it. If a friend needs him, he will totally be there for them. Boyrobot puts friendships very high on his list of important things in life. The amount of friends he has is a testament to that. And all of his friends are “quality” type friends…truly great people that I have also gotten to know.

As a father…boyrobot loves little Emma so much. He proclaims it all of the time! It’s so cute. He gives her her baths, loves to give her tummy time, and takes the cutest pictures of her. I love to over hear their little “conversations”. I know he is going to be such an amazing and fun father as Emma grows older. Right now she favors me more because all she does is eat and sleep and I breastfeed her but I know as soon as she starts walking and talking they are going to be the bestest of friends. I will be so jealous!

As a husband…boyrobot is seriously the best kind. When you are pregnant and even after you have given birth…your hormones go kinda crazy. Well mine did. And boyrobot stuck by me the whole time and was super patient and understanding and made me feel so much better. He just always knows the right things to say. He also is great at making you laugh when you need it. He was quick to help me when I asked for help and tries so hard to be the best husband and father he can be. I really couldn’t ask for more!

I was reading one of my favorite parenting blogs, hellobee, when I ran across this post called Reflections on Maternity Leave. Wow…I totally could have written this myself! This is exactly how I felt about maternity leave. For example:

Maternity leave, however, wasn’t anything I ever expected it to be. Before having the baby, I imagined leisurely strolls around the park while Baby H sat peacefully in her stroller and later looking on while she snoozed sweetly in her crib. I’d put her in a carrier and grab coffee or lunch with friends. I mean, I knew it would be a lot of work, but I was sure I could handle it

How naive. And like her…this is what it really ended up being:

No one tells you that “maternity leave” is actually code for “watch a whole lot of tv while baby snoozes on you.” In the early newborn days, she slept and slept and slept. On top of me. So many of my days were filled with laying in bed watching movies on my iPad, or laying on the couch watching tv. I learned to successfully eat meals while she was laying there, write blog posts, do some online shopping, etc. But, at the end of the day, it was a whole lot of laying around. Looking back on it, I probably could have taken those leisurely trips out and about with her, but I was always too scared to venture too far out.

I watched ALL 7 seasons of Grey’s Anatomy on Netflix. Do you know how much tv that is???? More than I’ve probably watched all year ha ha.

And this paragraph on breastfedding. SO. TRUE.

In addition to the massive amounts of sleeping, baby is eating. All. the. time. I think most days I could have not worn a shirt and it would have been totally appropriate because it was a non-stop breastfeeding party. For about the first 6 weeks, I found breastfeeding stressful. Now I love it because it’s so easy and there’s no bottle to warm up or wash! However, the first week I was so exhausted and stressed I prayed that we would need to start her on formula. Crazy, right? But at the time I couldn’t fathom nursing being something that I would actually enjoy. Now that I’m back at work, it’s definitely a sweet, special time that we share together.

I remember in the beginning waking up in the middle of the night in tears because breastfeeding was so frustrating (and painful) and I just wanted to use formula. I kept thinking…is formula that bad?? Thanks to boyrobot I forged on and now it’s so easy and enjoyable! It really is a special time that only mother and child can share. Sometimes I get stressed out that Emma is so dependent on ONLY me for her feedings but overall I love it. Note to all those future mothers out there make sure you give the bottle early enough along with bfing so dads can share in the responsibility of feeding too! Anyways, I do think it’s cool that my own body alone can provide enough nutrients for Emma to survive. Pretty crazy!

Anyways…I could keep pasting from her article but I won’t…but I totally felt the rest of it: resentment towards husband, not feeling like yourself, horrified with how my body may never be the same again, and experiencing the awe-inspiring love that develops towards your own child. Communication with boyrobot has helped so much with any problems I felt with being overwhelmed with the responsibility of being a new mom and his help to give me some of my own time has made me feel so much better and more my old self again. I’m a little under 10lbs away from my original weight and still unsure if my tummy pooch will ever go away but bfing seems to continue to help me lose weight while doing nothing so I hope that continues!

Lastly, I leave you with this quote by Cup of Jo which is so accurate as well:

new motherhood was like traveling abroad. You’re tired and jetlagged, and you haven’t showered and you have a cramp in your neck and you’re sort of inexplicably sticky, but then you look around and the world feels beautiful and otherworldly and you’re glad you came.

I can’t believe it but I have 1 more week before I go back to work. It did not hit me until tonight how very sad I am about this. In fact, I am tearing up just thinking about it.

It’s so weird too because honestly if you had asked me 3 months ago, I thought the total opposite. I remember in the beginning thinking “This is not what I thought it was going to be like” and wondering how I would get through maternity leave. I felt like I wasn’t cut out to be a mom and it felt like being a mom was so monotonous. I was counting down the days til I returned to work.

Every day I started getting more used to being a “mom” and every day I started falling more and more in love with Emma. Yes the days are still monotonous and sometimes even lonely. Imagine spending all day with a little baby that doesn’t really understand what you are saying and doesn’t do much of anything but sleep, eat, and poo. But every week she has started doing something new and it’s the most exciting thing ever. When you first bring a baby home, all they do is sleep and it’s like they don’t even see you. Emma would look everywhere but at me! Then one day…she looks at you! You can spend hours talking to them and it’s all silence on their end. Then one day they coo back to you and it’s the best conversation you’ll ever have! And the clincher is when they reward you with their first real smile. You will melt I promise. I can’t imagine when she starts laughing, says mama, or gives me her first hug. These are all things that brighten your day like you’ll never know!

Sometimes I still feel like I’m not cut out to be a mom. You wonder if you are doing things right. You wonder if you could be doing better. I’m definitely not a natural at this and it takes a lot of work on my end. But for the first time ever I do feel like a mom. And I totally love it. And I totally love Emma so so so much. I can’t even believe how much I love her!

So yes…I am totally sad now about going back to work. Especially with my long commute…I feel like I will barely see her on the weekdays. I am going to miss her so much! But a part of me feels like this is probably better for her. I kind of feel like I have to let her go so that she can grow. I know it’s young but I can already see if I stayed home with her she would be super attached to me and also I would spoil her way too much! I thought I would be the stern parent but honestly she has me wrapped around her finger. I also think it’s important for me to do something outside of taking care of her since when I am home with her I do not get to have any me time and it does take a toll on me.

Look at her! How am I going to leave my Emma Boo every day!!?? :(

So yes…motherhood was not what I expected it to be. And I know this is cheesy but it’s actually better than I could ever imagine!

Starting a new series on here…my current faves!

1. Sabatino Tartufi Truffle Oils – I got a set of black and white truffle oils through a Groupon deal. I’ve been putting this stuff on everything and it’s SO good. Just putting it on my eggs brings it to another level. I’ve also been drizzling it on a lot of my pastas. I need to buy some popcorn so I can have truffled popcorn next!

2. Hands-Free Breastpump Bra – Any breastfeeding mamas out there? Well if you pump…you NEED this. I used to hate pumping so much because I would just sit there for 15 minutes bored out of my mind as I pumped. This allows me to play on my iphone while I pump and totally makes the time fly by!

3. Tebo Tebo Tea Lounge – This is for all you socal people…this is our new go-to boba place in the OC. I wouldn’t say it’s the best boba or anything but they have a really impressive menu with one of the largest and unique selections I’ve seen. They even have a whole section of drinks using coconut water…which is so popular right now. If you get your boba to go they also serve it in a milk bottle hehe. They have a pretty big menu of food items for a boba place as well. We tried a few of the “street food” items and they were pretty tasty.

4. True Orange – I’ve been lazy about using my sodastream until I read about these crystallized orange packets. They also come in lemon, grapefruit, and lime. They contain no artifical sugars and is basically just straight up fruit crystals. I empty 2 packets into a bottle of sodastream water (carbonated water) and it tastes exactly like Trader Joe’s flavored sparkling water but a whole lot cheaper! (You can get a 100 pack for ~$12) They are zero calories and because of this I am drinking a lot more water. Yay! You can also cook with these which is great because I always buy lemons and they go bad because I don’t use all of them in time. I’ll try cooking with the lemon one and report back to you!

5. Old Navy Bermuda Shorts – Since I still haven’t lost all of my pregnancy weight, I had to go out and buy some new shorts. I think these were even cheaper in the store but they are less than $10 and super comfy! I practically wear these every day!

6. Slice app – This is my latest favorite iPhone app. I swear since I’ve been home on maternity leave all I do is online shop, especially for baby stuff. I have packages coming every week! (all mostly hot deals though I promise :)) Anyways, this app automatically scans your email and keeps track of what you ordered, when they are expected to arrive, and notifies you when they are out for delivery. I LOVE this app! You no longer have to go to the fedex or ups website to enter in a tracking number…this app does it all automatically for you. It’s great!

I should really be keeping track of Emma’s milestones more…she’s growing up so fast! I am both anxious to get the baby stage over but also sad. She is so fun to cuddle with right now and I know I will miss it but I really miss being able to go out too! So just a quick little update on Miss Emma:

– started smiling…and it’s seriously one of the coolest feelings ever when you can make your kid smile for the first time!
– recognizes me!! for the longest time I felt like she didn’t really know who I was but one day I was gone for 8+ hrs and when I came back she was super happy to see me. it was like she missed me! I literally melted that day.
– neck control is getting better. I notice when I hold her upright she can hold her head up longer and longer. I can’t wait for her to be able to sit.
– is able to move/slide on her back. one day i left her on the playmat on the floor and the next minute she had pushed herself off of the playmat using just her feet!!
– baby acne is gone…cradle cap is almost gone! for a few weeks there she had the WORST baby acne ever!! I felt so bad for her but it went away pretty quickly on it’s own. for the cradle cap we ended up buying some Mustela shampoo and so far it’s been helping a lot. Her hair has been growing like crazy…I think we need to figure out how we’re going to style her ‘do soon!
– chunking up! At her 2 month appointment she weighed 9 lbs and 13 oz and was 21 inches long. Even though she is considered small for her age, she has gained the normal amount for her birth weight (5 lbs 13 oz)…she almost doubled her weight! So to me she seems so big already hehe! My arms and wrists get sore from carrying her a lot.
– sleep. for the most part her sleeping is very good. we did have a few nights where she woke up constantly but usually she sleeps in 3-5 hour chunks. i finally learned the art of putting her down half awake/sleepy so it’s easier at bedtime.
– she is so much more awake, smiley, and just happy during the day. she is a total morning girl and i love playing with her when she first wakes up!
– right now she is not into any toys but we just got her a bouncer that she loves and she loves looking at mirrors
– she likes to chew on her hands a lot and I just introduced sophie the giraffe to her. she seems to like to chew the giraffe but because she can’t hold it herself we haven’t used it much
– after a few weeks of not giving her the bottle she totally forgot so we have been spending the last week retraining her. it was torturous!!!
– she had a few bad hours after getting her vaccinations. we had to give her tylenol but after that she pretty much just slept and was normal after that.

and now for some pictures!!!

I thought I would have time to update this blog more while on maternity leave but nope…I don’t know how stay at home mothers do it…! If I’m not playing with Emma, I’m changing her diaper. Or nursing her. Or trying to get her to sleep (which can sometimes take awhile!) And then I’m lucky if she doesn’t wake right back up when I put her down. Sometimes I get so paranoid about her waking up from a nap that I lay with her and then I’m stuck because if I get up she might wake up. Let’s just say I’ve been watching a lot of Netflix…I’m almost done with Grey’s Anatomy!

Anyways, I thought I would post a tip roundup since I haven’t done that in awhile and I thought readers might enjoy a non-baby post ;)

Summer is here and that means watermelons! If you’re like me, you never really understood how to pick a watermelon by knocking on it. What am I listening for??? Lifehacker has an easier way by looking for a creamy yellow spot at the bottom of the watermelon.

Ask Anna has an easy way to clean BBQ grills. I can’t wait to try this since we usually throw bbqs during the summer and the worst part is cleaning the grill. Just stick it in the oven and turn on the self cleaning!

Do you have problems remembering to take your pills? I am supposed to keep taking my prenatal pills since I’m nursing but I kept forgetting because life is just crazy with a baby. Well if you have an iPhone there is an app called “Pill Prompter” (and I’m sure other phones have a similar app) but it’s great! It lets you set a reminder each day to take your pill(s) and will keep notifying you until you check the box that you did take your pills. It’s been so helpful!

Martha Stewart always has great tips on linens. This latest one is how to keep matching sheets together in the closet: Store them in their matching pillowcase.

Another linen tip: Put on a duvet cover by rolling it like a burrito.

If you don’t have a home alarm system, try keeping your car keys next to your bedside and if you hear someone breaking in hit the panic button.

Lastly it’s not a real tip but if you are looking for a unique greeting card…I love the website treat.com. They have all different kinds including ones you can customize yourself with your own photo or words. I got 2 for father’s day for boyrobot and my own father and I loved the quality and choices! They usually have coupons and it ends up being cheaper than those generic cards you get at Target etc.

This might be my 2nd favorite proposal video ever (after this one)

I just love how he got everyone involved! Def brought tears to my eyes :)

I figured I better write this down before I forget all of the details. To be honest, my birth story is actually quite boring and run of the mill (which is a good thing!). I will try to touch on some of the details that were surprising to me that noone really talks about…so sorry in advance if it’s TMI. And sorry if my story is long and drawn out and all over the place. I want to remember as much of the details as I can! And for all you girls out there who are scared of labor..know that I felt the exact same way…but I want you all to know it’s not all that scary. In fact pregnancy was worse (at least mine was), the recovery was worse, and honestly taking care of a real live baby is scarier than labor!

So the story starts at 4:30AM. I wake up in the middle of the night thinking I had to go to the bathroom which is weird (I’m one of the rare pregnant women that was able to sleep through the night without needing to empty her bladder at least in this trimester…I think it was because the baby was so high and not pressing on my bladder). So I get up to go when I felt myself leaking a little. This sometimes happens when I sneeze or cough so I didn’t think too much of it. I went to the bathroom and after I was done…I kept going. I was like..that’s WEIRD. I went back to bed and when I laid down I felt a lot of movement in my stomach! And then I leaked again. Oh no. I wake up boyrobot and told him “I think my water broke”. He called the Dr while I went back to the bathroom to continue my slow trickling. No…there was no huge gush like in the movies…it was more like a small trickle now and then.

The whole time in the bathroom I was like “no no no….this cannot be happening….it is way too early!!!”. I was only on my 2nd day of my maternity leave and had a huge long list of things I wanted to do before the baby came. The Dr tells us to go to the hospital and the whole time I was still in denial about what was happening. We started to pack the hospital bag and got in the car. I wanted to eat something before we went to the hospital since I knew once I was checked in they would not let me eat anything so I ended up getting some McDonald’s…one of the few places open at that time!

By the time I get to the hospital, I have completely soaked through my pants, despite having put on a pad. It was so gross and uncomfortable. We get put in a room where a nurse checked me and verified that my water indeed had broken. She declared that I was 2cm dilated. By the way, getting checked to see how much you’ve dilated is one of the most uncomfortable things ever. It was more painful to me than most of the contractions I felt that day! After this, they checked me into my own labor and delivery room with a nice ocean view. We delivered at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach. I had heard about how nice the staff was here and how nice the hospital itself was and it did not disappoint. I absolutely loved giving birth here and was made to feel as comfortable as I could given the circumstances. I also loved how the hospital is “baby-friendly” (this just means they meet some standards like letting the baby room with you after birth, guaranteeing skin to skin time after birth, helping with bfing, etc). Every nurse we worked with was SO nice which is amazing considering what they do. Honestly, I think after mothers…nurses may have the hardest job!!

(Unfortunately labor lasted so long, she ended up being born the day after…on the 9th!)

Anyways, after they put me in my new room, they hooked me up to a baby heart beat monitor and another monitor to track my contractions. I also had an IV hooked up to me where I was getting pumped with pitocin to help speed along labor. I had always heard horrible things about pitocin but it didn’t seem to make a difference to me because I literally spent the rest of the day with barely any progress…imagine if I had not had the pitocin!

Most of the day was spent playing on our iphones and sucking on popsicles (the only thing I was allowed to eat). I joked about how I had scored my highest Bejeweled score ever during a contraction. For most of the day, the contractions did not bother me…they started feeling like cramps and as the day progressed they slowly got worse. But the pain would just last for 30 seconds to a minute and go away and you would feel completely fine so it was easy to deal with.

The parts I did not like the whole day was that I kept leaking and being hooked up to everything. They had me change into a hospital gown and gave me these mesh panties with 2 super huge pads. I had to keep going to the bathroom to change them because they kept getting soaked through. At one point I asked the nurse when I was going to be done with the leaking and she told me not until I give birth because my body keeps producing more fluid. Oh…I had no idea. Anyways, going to the bathroom was such an ordeal because I had to unhook myself from all of the monitors and drag the whole IV contraption with me to the bathroom. And imagine sitting in basically a wet diaper all day. SO UNCOMFORTABLE! This was one of the worst parts of labor to me.

I don’t remember when they checked me next but it was probably around the afternoon. The nurse tells me I’m only 3cm. O M G. You can’t deliver a baby until 10 so I was like wow…this is going to take forever. But she tells me that I’m now 90% effaced (vs barely effaced when I first came in) so she said it should speed up at this point. So we trudged along as the contractions got stronger. At around 8 they asked me if I wanted to try some drugs to take the edge off of the pain so I said yes. Let me tell you, the drugs do nothing for the pain. They do make you feel loopy though. I just remember I kept saying how I felt soooo weird. ha ha.

After that wore off, the nurse came back and asked if I wanted the epidural. At this point I had been in labor for over 16 hrs with no end in sight and I could see that the contractions were getting worse so I decided yes, I would get the epidural. Unfortunately, the epidural man was in a c-section so I had to wait another hour for him to come. When he finally arrived, the contractions were pretty bad. My fear of the epidural was trumped by the pain and I couldn’t wait for the sweet relief I was promised. Honestly, the epidural wasn’t scary at all. I didn’t look so I had no idea what he was doing but he talked me through the whole process so I felt very comfortable. It was over pretty quickly and before I knew it I felt no pain! The rest of the labor was seriously a breeze until the pushing part which I will get to later. A great part about getting the epidural was getting hooked up to a catheter so I didn’t have to keep going to the bathroom anymore! Also, when they checked how dilated I was I didn’t feel a thing! Before I dreaded every time they checked me. I could still feel the contractions but they were definitely at a more manageable level. I was actually very comfortable at this point!

Around midnight the nurse came back and said I was ready to push. She told me this could take 15 minutes or 2 hours. The nurse and boyrobot would help hold my legs up and the nurse instructed me to push for 10 seconds, 3 times during every contraction. This is kind of hard when you’re sort of numb from the waist below. But I kept pushing…for 2 hours! Surprisingly I wasn’t that tired especially considering I hadn’t eaten all day. It was discouraging having the nurse keep telling me I wasn’t pushing correctly but I tried the best I could. At around 2am, the nurse says she’s going to call the DR and that I have to have the baby out when she gets here. Talk about pressure! Suddenly I started feeling super nauseous….it was so weird. Minh got a pan to hold my vomit and I started vomiting uncontrollably. As I am vomiting I see the DR walk in and suddenly I feel a weird sensation down there and next thing you know, they are placing a baby on my chest!! Everyone laughed that I puked my baby out. The nurse tells me that was the push I needed! We were all happy the DR had made it just in time to catch the baby.

Next I delivered my placenta which I don’t remember much of and the DR starts sewing me up. I’m not sure how many stitches I got down there but she told me the tears weren’t that bad. Another good thing about getting the epidural was that I didn’t feel any of the stitching!

After getting cleaned up, the baby gets placed back on me for skin to skin time. Emma was super calm and still on my chest. It was surreal to finally meet this little baby that has been growing inside of me. We notice that she has my nose but can’t really decide who she looks more like other than that. She has tons of hair!!

The nurses bring me a snack pack and a juice spritzer that I downed so fast. It was the best tasting drink I had ever had…the nurses were like it’s so good right?? YES YES IT WAS. I forgot what was in it now.

After an hour of skin to skin and attempting to breastfeed, they move us to our own room where we would spend the next 3 days. This is where reality hits you and you realize you’re in charge of a baby now and also where you realize how painful it is to give birth! This part was much more dreadful and surprising to me than labor actually was…so girls if you have anything to fear it’s this! The hospital has a rule that the first 2 times you go to the bathroom you are accompanied by a nurse. I was like whaaaat? That’s so weird and awkward! So I dreaded going to the bathroom but eventually they were like it’s time to go to the bathroom ha ha. So I went to the bathroom with a nurse who helped me with pretty much everything except for wiping myself. She showed me how to address all of my wounds (there’s a water bottle involved, tums pads, and even a numbing spray!) and suddenly I was super grateful she was there to help. I never thought I would want someone to go to the bathroom with me but they made it seem so natural! I guess at this point you have no more shame. About a million people have looked at you down there and they act like it’s NBD so you get over it.

But yeah….going to the bathroom is painful. Even walking to and from the bathroom was painful! Also you are bleeding. a LOT. They give you more of those mesh panties and those super pads. You may or may not also have hemorrhoids. When they offer you drugs, take them. In the beginning I didn’t because I don’t swallow pills but I found out after they will crush them for you and it made such a difference! With how tired and painful you are, it’s hard to take care of the baby. Luckily boyrobot was there the whole time to help me. We were so clueless the whole time and had to learn everything together. I remember in the beginning the nurse changed Emma’s diaper and we were like…are we supposed to be doing this? And they were like yeah….haha. OH. We changed our first ever diaper together.

The 3 days in the hospital were kind of a blur now but by the time I got to go home I was feeling much better. Still a little painful but every day was getting better. Next, it was time to tackle taking care of a baby on our own! It was so nice having the nurses there to help with everything and answer all of our questions. Another hard part was the whole breastfeeding thing. Lots of people told me it would be the hardest part and it was! They put so much pressure on you to breastfeed but in the beginning it takes awhile for the milk to come in so your baby starts losing weight. Since Emma was a little jaundiced we decided to supplement her with formula in the meantime. I am doing a combo of bfing and formula right now.

Anyways, that’s pretty much my birth story. Pretty boring right? I’m thankful that it went as smoothly as it did. I’m so thankful to have Emma here safe and sound. Creating another human being is quite an adventure and we’ve only just begun! I can’t wait to watch Emma grow up. I know I am supposed to enjoy this time with her but I honestly can’t wait for the day she reacts to the things we do and say. Her first true smile is going to kill me! Sometimes it’s so stressful having her but she already makes us laugh and smile every day!

As you can see…I never got around to my blogging extravaganza during maternity leave because…little Emma decided to come early!

It’s weird. When I envisioned my labor I imagined crying (because I’m a super weepy person) but when they put this little person on me after she came out I didn’t really feel anything. It was just all arms and legs and I don’t remember feeling a single emotion. Not scared, not intense love, not happiness or anything. Actually I was just very calm which is weird considering I just birthed a small human being!

But now…11 days later. I get what everyone says when they say they fall more and more in love with their babies every day. Boyrobot and I probably exclaim how cute she is like 10 times a day (and yes we know we are biased and there are way more cuter babies out there!) and also how much we just love and adore her. Even though she does not do much yet besides eat, sleep, and poop and doesn’t even have much of a personality we can’t help but just love her. It is kind of scary to me how much we care about her already!

But I have to be honest the past 11 days has been pretty crazy. I am not motherly at all and I’m pretty awkward around babies. I don’t really like holding them and before my own I had never changed a diaper. I still feel awkward doing certain things but when you have your own kid you just do it. Because you have no choice. The hardest part about parenting is how stressful it is. You are in charge of keeping this little person alive. And suddenly it seems like any and everything could go wrong. I am not usually a worrier but having a baby is so stressful as you constantly worry about their health and all of the million things that could go wrong. I really hate that feeling. I know…these are new parent jitters. I wonder how people parented before Google? We are finding out that many things that seem off are quite normal thanks to the internet :)

It’s also crazy how much more I’ve fallen in love with boyrobot after the baby arrived. He has been the most helpful and supportive husband and new dad. It has been so nice to go through this learning process with a partner like him. I’m seriously dreading the day he goes back to work…which is later this week. UGH! I’m so lucky that Emma has been a really good and easy baby…but it has been so nice to take care of her with someone else helping. I don’t know how people with multiple kids/babies do it! Sometimes I feel so inadequate and incapable as a mother but every day has gotten a little easier. Hopefully in a few weeks or months I’ll look back and think how easy everything ended up being!

Anyways, just checking in to explain why I haven’t been updating like I said I would. Once I get our routine down, perhaps I will be blogging some more in the future. :)
For any of your home inspection needs in from Crestwood Ky to Rineyville Ky give SmartlyHeated a call.

I’m obsessed with reading birth stories. Here is a collection of them written from famous bloggers around the web.

My favorite ones were Dooce’s and Finslippy’s. These were laughing out loud funny to me. I also noticed that most birth stories contain a moment of wishing for death at some point. ugh!

This one from the blog Enjoying the Small Things is probably one of the most famous birth stories on the web. I remember reading it awhile ago and never has a blog post made me cry so much!

And I like this simple birth story by Design Mom just for the sheer fact that she says labor is not her favorite thing. And she has done it both with and without an epidural. I kind of feel like a lot of unmedicated births are made out to be this crazy life changing experience that every woman should have but actually it just sounds like a lot of pain. I think epidural or not, pushing a baby out of yourself is quite an accomplishment! Most women have told me that it’s more relaxing and enjoyable to have an epidural. I honestly don’t think I have the endurance to go for a long labor without an epidural so I’m pretty sure I will be getting one. I hope at least to labor at home for as long as possible before going in though but this is my first baby so I may get freaked at the first sign of a contraction!

I used to be so scared of labor to the point where I thought maybe I won’t have babies. I mean I’m the girl who still has all of her wisdom teeth because she’s scared of getting them removed. Hello! Removing a baby from my nether regions sounds about a million times worse! But here I am and there’s no turning back now. I have been trying to look on the bright side and remember that I can’t stop being pregnant until this day comes (I hate being pregnant!) and it’s been the light at the end of the tunnel for me. Oh and of course getting to meet little Emma ha ha. :) It’s so weird to want and dread something so much!!!!! Especially as the end keeps getting closer…

PS. I promise all of my posts won’t be about babies ;)