Wordless Wednesday: Fire Woman Liv

What A Difference...

So last night during the normal Brown house dinner time shenanigans where Liv sits on my lap, I try to eat over her, when she is digging her hands in our plates, taking her bits of food, trying to feed me, and yelling OFF CoCo (In my liv voice). I could help but think...What a difference a few months make in a toddlers life.  Over the last few months Liv has become her own little person and 20 months has definitely been where it’s at with my tiny tot.

Not only has she found her voice and a ton of words, I can totally carry on a conversation with her. Of course, there are the times that she babbles endlessly and get super hyped about the story she’s telling and NO ONE understands her but, guess what those times are rare. I no longer have to be afraid that if Dom and I leave her with others they won’t understand her because everyone who encounter Liv these days...Speak Liv lol. Oh and let me tell you she also eats much better than before. Y’all remember my Battle ofWheels post I wrote a few months back well the battle is over. She ask for the foods she wants, and has the nerve to grab your hand and walk you too them sometimes.

I just love it and had to come share how amazed by my little toddler I am with you all. 

Fellow HeartBEATS

Do you ever sit back in amazement f your children?

Looking Forward To Mondays

Over the last two weeks I’ve seen some really great mom post so I wanted to share them here with you all...

Running On Empty

Ok now let’s dissect these two mom voices.

When you watched the video or read the article what’s your first reaction as a mom? 

When in mommy mode do you take time for yourself? Would you put your own oxygen mask on first?

I can tell you now my first thought is my child so in my mind I always figured that I’d disregard the flight attendants advice and put my baby mask on first. Right, wrong, or indifferent I’d rather sacrifice myself first, and when I said this to myself I thought...if you are not whole how will you  take care of her Sheena. This thought then lead into many other thoughts and internal back and forth with me lol.  However, seeing/reading these mom perspectives let me know its ok to take care of me sometimes and made me think about the ways I choose to take of me. 

The biggest thought that came to mind for me was I take care of me by looking forward to Monday’s lol.  You can judge if you want to. However, believe me when I say this, there is no greater love for me than the one I have for my daughter, she gives me so much joy, she is the light of my life, and I just love her life. She’s by far my greatest accomplishment but after a weekend of busy little Liv, Monday’s are just what the doctor ordered. I get to recuperate and recharge my batteries for another week of toddler goodness with my External Heartbeat. 

Wordless Wednesday: External Heartbeat

Post-Partum Shedding

Hey Luvs!

I know some of you are probably wondering why in the world I am talking about this now. Truth is I received a couple friendly reminders of it over the past few months so I figured now is better than never. Over the last year of Liv's life I've been rocking protective styles in my hair because I honestly can't deal with how much my hair sheds otherwise. My hair sheds by the hand full and typically pulls my natural locks from the roots on down... It's horrible.

Just horrible and  until a few recent conversations with a couple of my favorite veteran moms who are also team natural I had no solution, other than living in denial by rocking a protective style lol. Any who my mommy boo's came to the rescue with their advice to "start back taking your prenatal Vitamins". I had stop taken mine for a while because I was having a few health concerns (nothing serious...just would get super nauseous when I took them, so I needed to find out why this was happening after having my little lovebug. Although, I haven't quite got to the bottom of the nausea, this week I reintroduced prenatal vitamins to my diet so you can be sure to look for an update on my shedding issues in the next few months.

On another note before heading out for vacation I received a Instagram request wanting to catch the tea on my latest protective style so hunty here it is :-). For my birthday I decided I wanted a bob sew-in but since my hair is natural I needed the full Monte Carlo. With my shedding issues I can't afford to let any and everybody play in my natural hair. Any who I brought some weave, and drove up to Maryland and got my hair laid.

Side Note: Please don't ask why I had to go all the way to Maryland, that's a post for another day. However, I will say these Northern VA stylist be acting up and they clients be letting 'em...Thank God I'm natural.

Well my birthday sew-in made me fall in love so I decided to try wearing sew-ins for a few more months. I just wasn't about that sit in a care for 3 hours life for a hair style that only took an hour. Since, I don’t have a permanent stylist I reached out to my boo Denise who always come through with my natural updo's and is very creative. Told her what I was trying to do and she suggested I just buy a lace wig. The plan was to buy the wig and she'd sew it on for me. That way I could keep it for a good amount of time, plus she could help maintain my natural hair in between tighten up my wig... SCORE.

The concept was awesome, creative and works wonderfully.  However, the quality of wig I purchased was nowhere near what the sale associate promised so it didn’t last long. a

Fellow HeartBEATS

Have any of you experiences post-partum shedding? If so what tips can you share for coping with it?

On Sale Now!!!

Hey Luvs!

I am beyond EXCITED to announce that the “I’m That Mom” shirts are finally ready to be sold. Since, I know you all have been waiting for this day, and I honestly can’t wait to see pics on how you ROCK yours. I’m offering special pricing of just $19.95 plus tax and shipping... So go ahead, check out the information below and place your order J

Here’s how they look like on the shirts...

Available Colors & Sizes

I know there are a ton of colors listed below however; the shirts will only be available in the following colors; and are offered in both women and men sizes.

• White
• Black
• Charcoal
• Sport Grey

To place your orders send me an email with your size and shirt color to externalheartbeat@gmail.com and I’ll send you an invoice via paypal. 

Goodbye Sleepy Time Shoes

Hey luvs!

I know it’s been awhile and I don’t have time to explain my absence, but I wanted to stop and share some good news with you all. Last Friday I took Liv to her four month checkup for her Bowed Leg Problems. And after waiting in the doctor’s office for over an hour to be seen received the BEST news. Liv is officially done with Sleepy Time shoes and no longer has “internal tibial torsion” YAY.

This is awesome because about a month ago she stopped wearing the sleepy time shoes. Dom and I noticed that although we’d put them on each night, they would be removed by morning. She was so over them so I’m grateful that they are no longer a concern in our house hold.

However, the doctor did let me know that her legs are still slightly bowed but informed me there is no further corrective action. She will outgrow some of it but the rest is apart if who she is :-).

Wordless Wednesday: Weekend FUN

We Survived!!!

The first week of Montessori school and I couldn’t be happier. I know my previous post mentioned my tearful goodbyes and uncertainty about leaving my baby with new providers but, she is thriving in her new environment. I must admit that after note seeing her teacher when I picked her up on the first day I was still very nervous so the next day I emailed her and received the following message.

Then she took the time to call me twice to give me an update on my lovebug. Our phone conversation made my heart smile and let me know that my little Liv was right where she needed to be. Now I can relax and look forward to a wonderful school year with lots of independent learning and growth😊.

But before I end this post I have to share this with you all...

Do you see that?

That’s right my baby sat on the potty at school yesterday. At SCHOOL Y’all.

I know she didn’t actually use it but after all I’ve shared on our potty adventures I’m celebrating the fact they even tried and her willingness to sit...1 point for team potty training.

Fellow HeartBEATS

How did the first week of school of for your kiddies?

Breastfeeding Done Right (Michelle's Journey) Part II

With my second kid, things have been completely different.  My breastfeeding goal is one year this time around.  I feel a lot more confident too.  Since I had my oldest, I have a lot more support since we have so many more friends that have kids now.  (We were some of the first with kids in our group of friends).  I have been much calmer this time around too.  I knew that if it didn’t click right away that it would eventually.  

I had a similar hospital experience with my second.  He came out and breastfed right away.  It went ok in the hospital.  From the get-go this baby ate a lot faster than my oldest.  He would eat a lot for like 10 minutes as opposed to his brother’s 40 minutes.  It was awesome! 

When we got home from the hospital things were totally different.  I couldn’t disappear every time the baby needed to eat since I had a toddler running around that I also needed to watch.  I just fed the baby on the couch in the family room.  Depending on who was at the house at the time, I either used a cover or I didn’t.  I got the baby used to the cover immediately.  It was much easier the second time around as I was a lot more comfortable with breastfeeding as a whole. 

After a few weeks I started to get the feeling that there was something a little different with how my son was eating compared to my oldest.  He was gaining weight, but he was making this weird clicking noise when he ate.  I also noticed that he didn’t stick his tongue out very far.  It’s not something that a “first-time mom” would have picked up on as even being an issue.  I started googling things and eventually I self-diagnosed that he had a slight tongue-tie.  A tongue-tie means that the lingual frenum is short (I suggest googling a picture as there are various degrees of this) and it was making it hard for him to keep his latch when eating.  I figured it was a minor case, but I was concerned that it was making him take in a lot of air when he ate.  I wasn’t sure what to do so after some advice from some family members I called a lactation consultant.  My sister tried to get me to call one with my oldest before I gave up breastfeeding, but I refused.   I’m not one to ask for help, but I really didn’t want to stop breastfeeding at only 5 weeks postpartum, so I called my insurance company to see if it was covered.  My insurance told me 5 visits were covered at 100%, but I could pay $100 out of pocket to have the consultant come to my house.  I decided to call and they were able to come to my house two days later.  This was by far the BEST $100 I have ever spent.  I now regret not calling with my oldest.  The woman who came to the door turned out to be the same woman who taught my breastfeeding class a few years earlier.  It made me a little more comfortable knowing that it wasn’t a complete stranger that I was about to whip my boob out in front of.  She stayed for 2 hours and we went around the house and I fed the baby in front of her in all the rooms/chairs I typically fed him in.  She did this to see if she could assist with things I was complaining about, my back hurting, my milk coming out too fast and the baby being unable to handle it, etc.  She gave me great tips that no book or website had told me about.  She explained how things like the breastfeeding pillows I had been using were a big cause of my back aches, something I never would have thought since I had the best items on the market and everyone I know used them.  The whole experience was seriously life-changing in regards to my breastfeeding journey.  She weighed him before and after he ate to make sure he was getting milk.  At the end of the appointment she did confirm a slight tongue-tie, but didn’t think it was a big deal as he was getting a lot of milk, but to check with the pediatrician at his next appointment.   (Dr. also confirmed slight tongue-tie, but didn’t think a small surgical procedure was necessary and sure enough within a few weeks the baby stopped making the noise).

My baby is now 8 ½ months old and up until this week was still not sleeping through the night.  This is where I drastically changed the way I did things from my oldest.  With my oldest I sort of sleep trained him and had him sleeping 12 hours a night by 4 months.  With my youngest I didn’t sleep train him, because I could tell he was still hungry during the night.  Through seven months he would wake up numerous times a night to eat.  I would continue to feed him and not let him cry-it-out until he had 2-3 nights in a row when he would wake at a specific time and only snack for a minute and then pass out again.  Once he did that I would drop whatever feeding that was.  It’s been tough and I’ve been exhausted for almost 9 months, but it’s been worth it. 

All-in-all Breastfeeding is going well.  I’m pumping a few times a day at work and sometimes I add an extra session at home if I need to trigger my body to make more.  I’ve been much more relaxed this time around.  I don’t feel as anxious and stressed.  I don’t rush the baby to hurry up and eat so I can go do something around the house.  I try to sit calmly and figure that whatever needs to be done can wait until he’s done eating.  My house isn’t always clean and sometimes dinner is bought instead of cooked, but I’m okay with that.  I’ve had to miss some weekends away for things like bachelorette parties and my husband and I have put off a vacation without the kids, because I’ve decided that I’m breastfeeding for a year and I don’t have enough milk in storage to leave the baby overnight.  I’ve noticed many people don’t understand this.   It’s typically female friends and relatives that don’t have kids that say anything at all to me about still breastfeeding at almost 9 months postpartum.  Their logic is that formula is always there and so much easier, but I don’t want to supplement since breastfeeding is going so well. 

This brings me to my little rant about support for breastfeeding…It’s weird how in the news it is almost always another woman who makes a breastfeeding mother move when in a store or somewhere else in public feeding her baby.  It’s really sad.  Woman should be supportive, but many aren’t.  I actually don’t get it.  I mean I can see how someone nursing without a cover could be a little uncomfortable, but think how the mom feels.  Nobody wants to whip out their boobs in public, but some kids refuse to eat under a cover.  The world Health Organization recommends breastfeeding for 2 years.    What are you supposed to do, never leave your house the whole time you are breastfeeding?  Luckily, I’ve never been made to feel bad when feeding my child in public, which by the way with my second child I’ve done a lot (with a cover due to my own modesty).  I’ve done it at friends’ houses, birthday parties, baseball games, the pool and many other places. My mentality nowadays is if anyone has a problem with my breastfeeding my child in public, well that’s just it, their problem. 

Breastfeeding Done Right (Michelle's Journey)

Hey luvs!

I know National Breastfeeding Awareness Month is over but it ended before I wanted it too lol. No in all seriousness I’ve received several emails and texts, about the struggle to breastfeed from other first time moms in my circle.  That I felt inclined to reach out to some of my co-peeps that have success to see if they could share their journey with us. My boo Michelle’s responded with her triumphant journey which I’ll be sharing over the next two days :-).

Michelle’s Journey...

Sheena asked me to write something since I breastfed my oldest and am currently breastfeeding my youngest.  We have two boys; a VERY energetic 3 year old and an adorable 8 ½ month old. 

My breastfeeding Journey began a little over three years ago.  We took a parenting class before we had our oldest and I got a free two hour breastfeeding class with that.  I debated not going to the class and almost canceled.  My husband was busy that day with school (he was working on finishing his Master’s before the baby came) so I made my mom come with me.  The class was interesting and pretty uncomfortable.  I mean you’re sitting there watching a video and looking at pictures of boobs with a bunch of strangers.  I did learn a lot though.  It was pretty amazing to learn that babies instinctively move towards your boobs.  Like, if you put a newborn on your chest they naturally make their way down to your boobs from day one.  It’s pretty amazing.  My mom got all into it and kept raising her hand and asking questions.  It was embarrassing, but in the long run it was really helpful, because my mom was really supportive of my choice to breastfeed.  Support is key to being successful at this.  Breastfeeding is really hard and won’t work if you don’t have support from your family, especially your husband. 

Fast forward a month and after 16 hours of not-so-fun labor I had my son.  After you have a baby they want you to breastfeed right away if you are planning on doing it.  It’s weird and uncomfortable when you first try breastfeeding.   The nurse was great and guided me through it.  The hospital we chose had a daily group breastfeeding class.  I was in too much pain to attend the class (since I ended up with a spinal headache from the epidural) and I had the hospital lactation consultant come to my room for a one-on-one lesson.  I don’t know if they always do this, but I pretty much demanded that she come to me.   I refused to leave the hospital until I felt comfortable breastfeeding.  I heard from so many of my friends “I never got the hang of breastfeeding in the hospital, so I just quit.”  I didn’t want that to be my story.  I learned enough from the breastfeeding class that I knew it took more than two days to “get” the whole breastfeeding thing. 

When we finally left the hospital, the whole world wanted to come and meet the baby.  I was very uncomfortable breastfeeding in front of people so I would always go up to my room and feed him.  In the beginning you are supposed to feed your baby every two hours.  It’s not every two hours from when the baby finishes eating; it’s two hours from when the baby starts eating.  My oldest was a SLOW eater.  He would take 40 minutes to eat.  So basically, I was feeding him for almost an hour and then an hour after that I had to do it again.  I was spending a lot of time by myself in my room, because I didn’t want to have my boobs out in front of anyone.  I wasn’t really comfortable with a cover either.  It’s really hard to get the hang of it in the beginning and if you’ve never breastfed before, the cover almost gets in the way at first.  It was frustrating, as well as, physically and emotionally draining.  Friends and family would come over and I’d see them for like 20 minutes and then have to go feed the baby. 

Eventually the baby ate less frequently and I was able to go out.  I tried to plan it so that I wouldn’t have to feed the baby while I was out, but babies wanna eat when they want to eat.  I knew before I had kids that I probably wasn’t going to be someone that could just feed the baby whenever and wherever.  I’ve always had a large chest, but add breastfeeding into the equation, and well, nobody wants to see that.  If I was out and the baby got fussy I would either go to my car, turn on the A/C, put on a cover and feed him in the parking lot or I would go into a dressing room and take a few minutes to feed him.   I am not someone that can just sit out in the open and feed the baby with my boobs hanging out.  I can see how someone with a much smaller chest can do it discreetly, but there were times when my boobs were literally bigger than my baby’s  head and you could see way more than I was comfortable showing.  I know there has been a lot in the news about public places not letting women breastfeed, but I’ve never had an issue with it.  I’ve never been told to leave a fitting room; then again I never told the store that was what I was doing in the dressing room either. 

Anyways, long story short, I went back to work, pumped/breastfed in total for about 4 ½ months.  My original goal for breastfeeding was 6 months, but it just wasn’t in the cards.  Once I went back to work I wasn’t pumping as much milk as he needed each day.  I didn’t really understand the whole process with pumping.  I didn’t realize that I could do things like add a pumping session in for a few days in a row to trigger my body to make more milk.  The idea of supplementing with formula didn’t really even occur to me.  For some reason I had it in my head that it was an all or nothing kind of thing.  So before he hit 5 months, I stopped breastfeeding completely.  In a way I was happy to have my life back.  I was able to go out for a few hours without my boobs hurting and I could get some alone time.  My son was also able to learn the new skill of self-soothing.  He wasn’t just given a boob whenever he cried.  I did miss the bond, but to be honest I just never really got comfortable with breastfeeding back then.  My back constantly hurt and I became resentful at times of my husband.  He could make plans like going golfing and do other fun things whenever he felt like it and I couldn’t do anything without planning around the babies eating schedule.  I just don’t think I was mentally prepared for how much time and effort it took to breastfeed.

Welcome to Montessori...

Today was my little heartbeat first day of Montessori school and I was a ball a nerves.

My love on the other hand had no clue what was going on and was just EXCITED that mommy was home when she woke up this morning.

So excited that it threw dada’ s morning routine OFF and had him rolling his eyes at me even after we dropped her off lol.

Who knew mama being there to see her off would result in no Spanish lesson, no morning pictures, and lots of tears?  Whelp! Maybe I should have expected that but I just couldn’t miss her first day in her new environment.  I just couldn’t so, I was there snapping iphone pics, fixing hair, holding, hugging, and kissing my baby.

And after sneaking a few photos in at the house, we headed off to school where I watched these two walk in the school like they owned the place.

Everything was going great until she realized I was there.  Then she LOST it. It was HORRIBLE. Like the teacher had to pry her out of my arms horrible. Y’all already know I cried like a baby when I got back to the car and can’t stop thinking about how she’s doing :-(

My Breatfeeding Journey

Good Morning Luvs!

Yesterday I posted a picture that had the internet on buzz a few months back and requested your honest feedback on the story (thank you to those that commented). My reason behind posting the yesterday was I wanted to share my honest opinion today.

And my first reaction to this photo was... GOOD for her.

Here’s why, I never thought I’d cry over spilled milk until I tried to become a breastfeeding mom. 

Yup! That happened to me and for real for real I cried lol.

Breastfeeding was hard as hell and the struggle to produce enough milk was REAL for me. I totally felt inadequate trying to breastfeed my child. Partly because I hadn’t considered the fact that I wouldn’t be able to do it prior to having Liv, and partly because society screams that breast milk is the best milk for your baby. And with it being free why would I consider anything else for my child, whom I want the best for?   So, I gave it 200% but those 3 months of living my life on an every 2 hours schedule, to barely get half the milk my baby needed each day, and sore nipples were no joke.

Those 3 months also gave me a great deal of appreciating and respect for moms who not only have success with breastfeeding, but choose to do so for long periods of time. Don’t get me wrong I still can’t find the appreciation for moms who have GROWN kids on their boob lol. However, I get it and think that if a child is hungry the mom should have the right to feed them immediately. Of course when in public cover ups, pumping, and going in a private corner would all be appreciated, but as a parent I now know and will never forget that in times like this you HAVE to do what’s best for your child. If a kid isn’t used to the methods above they won’t be comfortable and eat like they should, thus resulting is a miserable time for everyone around. After all there’s nothing worse than a hungry baby cry lol.

Wordless Wednesdays:What were your thoughts on this story? (comment below please)

National Breastfeeding Awareness Month

Hey Luvs!

I’m back from vacation and as much as I’d love to talk about my time in Mexico I’m not. Today I’m here to discuss a topic near and dear to the hearts moms across the country... Breastfeeding. This month is National Breastfeeding Awareness Month so I want to use this last week to talk about it.  To start I want to share a pro breastfeeding article that I found in my email this morning because, I wished some had shared this with me when I was nursing.

So here it is... "Why Breastfeeding Doesn’t Have to Be All or Nothing"

If I could describe my feelings about the upcoming birth of my fourth baby in, oh, four days (I’m being induced due to some medical complications) in one word, it would be this:

Fear. 

It may sound crazy because I’ve had three other children already, and one would think I would be totally prepared for another little baby, but in a way, having done this three other times, I’m even more scared of what it is to come. The sleepless nights! The weight that won’t come off magically when I give birth! The challenges with older children’s attention!

But the thing that is causing me the most anxiety?

Breastfeeding. 

I am dreading the thought of breastfeeding again. (Sorry, future baby, if you’re reading this, but hopefully you’ll understand some day.) I tried to explain my fears to my husband and it came out in a jumbled mess of mommy guilt and tears and me muttering something like, “You can’t understand what’s it like!”

Like it or not, he can’t understand my breastfeeding fears and, in part, that’s the biggest issue for me:

Honestly, it’s hard  to describe with others what’s it like to breastfeed and the fears associated with it but, this mom makes it a little better with here suggestions.  To read the full article and get some additional tips for success with nursing visit click here.

Vacation Nerves

Happy Friday Luvs!

I’ve hinted that I’m going on vacation but the fact of the matter is the hubby and I are headed on vacation...just the two of us without our sweet Liv. Like headed to an adult only resort where she isn't even invited if I wanted her to come :-(

We're heading out of the country for the first time since we found out we were expecting and my nervous are shot.  Although, I’m leaving my external heartbeat in the care of my trusted cousin Meka and huge local and extended support system it hasn’t stopped my mom-xiety (sure did just make up my own wordJ). Since my Motther’s guilt post we haven’t spent more than a night away from one another and that night she was still with her dad. So, leaving her for the first time has had made me nervous about so many things like...

• How are we going to cope without each other (I’m sure she’ll do much better than me?)
• Will Meka be able to handle all of Liv’s energy for the two days she doesn’t have daycare?
• Did I brief Meka on everything she needs to know about caring for my external heartbeat?
• Did I leave enough cash for incidentals?
• Does daycare have enough milk and diaper to get through the week?
• How will I communicate with my baby each day?

I know these things seem small and she’s in good hands, but the short of it is I’m going to miss my baby like crazy.

I’ve been planning for this much needed vacation for some time now (so I thought anyway). Then this week came storming in and there wasn’t quite enough hours in the day to get everything done at work, for my house, for my Liv, and lastly for myself.  And to top it all off my veteran mom Mrs. Tabby hit me with the unthinkable by letting me know now that I’m a parent there’s are few documents may want to have in place in the event of an emergency.  To which my response was...

• Emergency?
• Huh?
• What’s that because in my world those just don’t happen?
• I can’t see it. Don’t want to hear it. And you better believe I am not thinking about it. But, go ahead and send me a copy of the documents and I’ll take a look at them.

Just the thought of a hypothetical emergency left me on the other end of the phone hyperventilating but, the truth is she’s exactly right. And you better believe that I’ll be at my bank getting everything notorized this afternoon. However, it’s another friendly reminder that the day my external heartbeat came into my world it changed forever.  The care free do whatever, whenever mentality I used to have no longer exist, and my world revolves around her...I wouldn’t have it any other way though.

On another note these little unthinkable documents Tabby mentioned are the last item on my to do list so I hope that once it’s complete I can relinquish myself from my mom-xiety and enjoy a little fun in the sun. See you all in about a week J

Baby Hair – Olivia’s Journey

Hey Luvs!

Last week I started a segment called “Baby Hair” and shared a little bit about Liv’s hair and my struggles with learning to care for it, so today I wanted to follow up with a closer look into her hair journey thus far.  

Liv was born with a head full of gorgeous black, long, and silky straight hair. That Tabs and I affectionately refer to as her pixie cut lol. Seriously, it framed her little infant face perfectly but you can see for yourself below...

However over time and a few shampoos her silky straight locks became cute little curls. Giving her this look...

Both were super adorable and I just loved accessorizing them with any and every cute headband I could find. Now I can’t pay her to keep a headband on but that a story for a different day...smh. 

Anyway things with her hair were going exceptionally well until about the 3^rd or 4th month. Although, I had defeated cradle cap (get my tips here) my little diva loved her sleep. And, Being the first time that I am I followed doctors and the internet orders so I’d always lay her down on her back. This resulted in the back of her hair falling out and her having the smiley face look below.

I was devastated. Knowing this happens to a lot of babies I thought I had done the right things to ensure my lovebug hair would fall out. Clearly I hadn’t so, once again I found myself reaching out to my mom community of friends to see what I could do to fix this. The few answers I received were simply...

1. Give it time
2. Stop laying her on her back since by this point she was strong enough to rollover
3. Try to find some satin sheets for her crib

Since number 3 was virtually impossible to find, I focused my efforts on 1 and 2, and the back of her hair has slowly been growing backJ. See progress pics below and come back next week to read our current regimen.

Finding A New School

No wordless Wednesday for me today.  Instead I want to take a moment to properly address the thought provoking comment/question I received in response to yesterday’s post which you can read here.

The short of it is I was venting about my potty training frustrations as it pertains to Liv’s current school, and someone anonymously commented with the following...

“If you are so unhappy why don't you just leave now. No hate here, but it seems like you have been unhappy for awhile...”

This made me realize that I haven’t done what I set out to do with this blog. Which is to be 100% open and honest about matters of my external heartbeat. As anonymous stated I’ve been very open about my discontent with Liv’s existing school for some time. And, though I’ve insinuated that a change in schools is coming I haven’t quite shared the details. The crazy part about it is I feel like I did since all our family and friends have the inside scoop, and are looking forward to September 2^nd when she starts her new school.

Now! Before I proceed I’d like to apologize for taking you all for granted. By not sharing the details of the new school search. Anonymous made me realize that as much as I complain about Liv’s existing school, sharing the details of her new school is a post that’s long overdue.  So anonymous whoever you are thanks so much for the comment.

Now, without further ado here’s the long answer to the comment above.

It was sometime around April when I truly came to my breaking point with Liv’s current school. I can’t remember the exact straw that broke the camel’s back (it honestly may have been the whole potty or fundraiser thing) but, I knew it was time to leave. And if both my husband and I didn’t work full time or had family in our area willing to care for her, I would have snatched her out immediately. No ifs, ands, or butts about it, as mad as I was I would have made what I’d now consider to be a selfish decision and left the school without notice. Yes! I said selfish because in my opinion acting solely on my discontent (which in the moment I would have been), and not thinking about the best quality of care for her would have been selfish. In any case, I didn’t take her out immediately because our family dynamics didn’t support such a decision.

Instead after a year of her being in her current school, and receiving what I’d consider to be excellent care as an infant. I found myself back at the drawing board and in search of a new school once she became a toddler. Honestly, although I was starting to have my share of issues with the administration, my husband and I were also noticing how she had simply out grown their level of care. What worked for her as an infant just wasn’t going to work for her as a toddler. So, in early April I begin diligently looking for new schools in my area. By now you all know enough of my personality to know I don’t make decisions like this lightly, and I’m not about uprooting my child to leave her in the care of just anyone. I attended multiple open houses, randomly popped up at several schools, spent countless hours reading reviews, talking to administrators, and other parents of my top choice schools. Before we decided that this time around we’d give Montessori a try. Outside of the very docile environment that I’m hoping my little rambunctious diva will fit into we just loved the school philosophy. I loved the responsiveness and communication with the director and teachers. I also lved how even their so called “play” activities have a purpose behind them.

However, our decision to try Montessori came with a pretty steep contractual obligation. That further delayed us moving her out of the current school. The Montessori school we choose only accepts 10 or 12 month contracts which can only start in June or September and on top of that they are only accredited to take students as young as 18 months old. This is why our start date is September and wasn’t sooner. Through my search I found that even if I moved her somewhere else temporarily the quality of care would be equal or less than the care she is receiving today. So the hubs and I decided we’ll let her finish out the summer around her tiny friends and continue to deal with the environment that we know until her first day at the new school. Exactly, two weeks ago I gave her current school a little over 30 days’ notice that she will not be returning in the fall. And, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that the last few months of dealing with their shenanigans have been a serious struggle but, I’ve learned to keep calm and look forward to brighter days.

I’m pretty sure the new school won’t solve all my problems but, this mom is totally looking forward to a new set of experiences J

Somebody Is Obsessed With The Potty

And this mom can't do ISH about it...:-(

Yes! I'm over here pouting and my face is bright red.

If you read this blog on a regular basis you can probably tell that this is a very sensitive subject for me as mom. Since, I've known my child has been ready to be potty trained for awhile but, her daycare doesn't support it until she is 2 (part of the reason she's out of there in September). You can read all about that here

Any who, as of late Liv (peep the new nickname) has been obsessed with the potty.

• Like anytime she see's one she wants to stop sit, sit, and sit lol. 
• She loves coming into the restroom with me.
• She clearly responds to questions like did you just poo poo, or do you have to pee pee.
• She recognizes the potty

Just by those few examples you get the point but here's the kicker...

Over the weekend I took off her diaper in preparation to put her in the tub and got distracted with picking out her clothes for the week so she got to enjoy a little naked time (as my co-peep likes to call it).  Everything was going fine until she came running in  her closet and started grabbing my leg. When I looked down at her she points and says "pee pee mommy". At first I didn't see the pee so she grabbed as if she was going to lead me to a spot. But soon as I turned my body I instantly found it sitting just a foot or two behind where I was standing.  Can you say shocked? Because, I sure can. I couldn't believe it however, I calmly gathered myself and proceeded to take her to the potty and let her know that is where her pee pee belongs. If that's not a sure sign her tale needs to be using someone potty I'm not sure what is and I honestly can't wait until she starts her new school on September 2nd because even  if it doesn't solve all the problems I had with her previous daycare I know potty training won't be an issue. From day one kids are placed on the potty and is encouraged to be independent in that area.

But wait I'm not done. Let me add a little insult to injury by sharing a story from yesterday. 

In preparation for my upcoming vacation I'm working late hours so I got to Liv's daycare later than normal so when I got there her she was down visiting the little ones in the 2 year old class.  When I walked into this much larger classroom I couldn't see my baby but I heard her teachers voice so I followed the voices.  Only to find the two teachers standing near in the restroom. One teacher was changing another little girl and Liv's teacher was watching her sit on the potty (fully clothed). When they spotted me her teacher looks directly in my face and says "She's Obsessed With The Potty". To which the other teacher proceeds chimes in with "Have you considered potty training her? She ready and fits in this classroom really well." We had a brief discussion about the challenges I've faced as a parent with regards to potty training and having my child moved up and needless to say I left the staff speechless. DON'T PLAY WITH ME lol

However, as a parent I can't help but pray that because this school isn't supportive of potty training at Liv's age we aren't missing our window of opportunity. At her 18 month appointment last month her pediatrician informed me that if a child shows interest in the potty between 15 and 18 months its best to capitalize on their interest. As the peek ages for potty training otherwise, she may not be trained until two and half  or three. As we all know a month can make a drastic difference in a growing child's life so I let's hope my baby doesn't miss out because they'll be the ones I blame and send my diaper bills too lol.

Fit Friday: Mission Accomplished

Happy Fit Friday Luvs!

It’s been a couple of months since my last Fit Friday post so, I wanted to come share the progress I’ve made. 

If you remember my goals were;

1. Workout at least 5 days a week
2. Eat clean at least 6 days a week
3. Focus on Inches and not Weight 

• Waist – 26 I’m currently a 26 and started at 31 
• Hips – 40 I’m currently a 38 and started at 36

With my much needed vacation being a week away. Over the last 3 weeks I actually managed to stick to all goals (even with a heavy travel schedule over the last month) so I’m proud of myself. Especially, since this is what I’m looking like...

When I tell you that after having Baby O, and realizing what my C-section did to my body. I never thought in a million years I’d see abs again, I mean it. So pardon me as a gloat lol. My waist is now a 26 which was my goal J.

However, my hips are still the same which I’m totally fine with. I knew going into this that building muscles are something that takes time and this is a lifestyle change so I’m in no rush.

That’s all for me but I truly hope you are sticking to your plans.

A Moment in Baby Hair

Since its Wednesday and normally I post a wordless post I’ll make this brief.

I came across the photo below and had to share it with you guys because it truly depicts the struggle I have when trying to keep Baby O’s hair looking semi decent.

The worst part about this photo is I spend an hour putting up with these shenanigans only for her to wake up the next morning with her hair looking a week old 😊

Baby Hair

So I’ve been wanting to do a baby hair post since before I even started this blog. Mostly because every darn article or book I read barely even touch the topic of caring for your babies’ hair. No one openly discuss cradle cap, methods for not having a child with a permanent smiley face in the back of their head, or even share their tips for washing and styling kids hair.  It’s one of those “every mom for themselves” type of things, which baffles the heck out of me. Especially, when I see a little girl with her hair did up all pretty or little curls popping.  

As a mom to a beautiful little tiny tot I can openly admit that I had no clue how to maintain my lovebug hair.  Yes! I keep my hair up to par but baby hair is different and, I was lost. I had I no clue about caring for her hair, and once “Cradle Cap” set in I reached out to every mom I knew for help. 

Before I move on let's discuss this Cradle Cap mess. According to the dictionary Cradle Cap is... 

a skin condition sometimes seen in babies caused by excessive production of sebum, characterized by areas of yellowish or brownish scales on the top of the head.

For more details on Cradle cap you can viist http://www.babycenter.com/0_cradle-cap_80.bc

My friends we’re totally amazing at giving me tips to battle this beast however, the best solution for handling Baby O’s came in the form of an old school remedy...A&D Ointment. Yup! A little A&D on your baby scalp each night goes along way when trying to get rid of that mess. I found it to be a life saver in curing her cradle cap. Once my aunt shared this little secret with me it was gone in a matter of weeks if not days.

Any who! I’ll be sharing more on Baby O’s hair journey this week so please be sure to subscribe so you don’t mess out. For those of you with little divas of your own, if you’d like to share their hair journey feel free to email me @ sdavids6@gmail.com