Pregnancy, the 2nd Time Around

The first time I was pregnant, with my daughter Lexi, I have to admit I was a miserable mess. We were only 19, we had been married 7 months when we found out, and neither of us had a clue. My emotional ups and downs were severe, due partially to money stress and just the vast void of unknown, and my poor young husband had no idea how to handle it, or me.
Between the two of us, it was one long, miserable time.

But this is round 2. And it was SO much better.
For starters, we both have an idea of what we're doing. We're 23/24 now, which while still young, has given us several years parenting experience. Time to mellow out, get organized, and develop a plan based on our built up parenting skills.

A big part of what has made this pregnancy so much smoother is that I didn't gain nearly as much weight as I did my first time. At 19 I had never weighed over 112 lbs. Sick I know. I was rail thin by nature and I was in no way prepared for the changes that were about to consume my previously taut body, and transform it into a scarred, flabby mess. I had never had to work hard to stay thin, I just was. And I couldn't mentally process the changes it was going through. So I cried, a lot. I gave birth to my daughter weighing 166 lbs. Quite the jump there.
This time I started out at a toned 135 lbs (I had been going to the gym regularly, and a lot of that was muscle; husband makes a good gym partner!) and am finishing off at 160, which is only a 25 lb weight gain, perfectly with the range set by the doctors. And while it's only 6 lbs less than my end weight last time, I'm far thinner than I was then. Last time it was 54 pounds of fat, that I carried just about everywhere, including my face. This time it's 25 lbs, that I'm carrying mostly around my mid-section. So momma's feeling good about herself. And when momma feels good about herself, all is well!

Another huge part of this pregnancy going so much better has been my husband.
Last time he was a scared 19 year old boy with no experience with babies, or children, or pregnant women. Or really, women at all. Because I was a scared 19 year old girl, turning into a mother, not a woman yet. He didn't know how to deal with me, my feelings, his own feelings, the idea of having a baby, being a father...and because he didn't know how, he just didn't. I felt completely alone most days.
(You may have picked it up at this point, but our first was an un-planned pregnancy. I can attest that birth control is only 97% effective)
This time? So different. He has been a father for over 4 years, and that changes a man. Last time, he didn't know he could love a small, crying, pooping, "potato". And this time, well he can't imagine life without her, and I think that helps him. He knows that this little one will become just as big a part of our lives as Alexis has been.
He is excited, he is helpful, he is on my team, and we are on the same page. It has made such world of difference, never feeling alone in this. And seeing him get excited about things, even small things, is the best feeling. That's really key to an easy pregnancy, great support!

As stated before, we were very young. And an enormous part of what has made this pregnancy easier, is just being older. My hormone levels are much more balanced (zero mood-swings this pregnancy!), my body is more built to handle the physical stress, and we are at a more comfortable and settled place in our lives financially and otherwise. Those are all huge factors in pregnancy. The less stress you have going on in your life, the smoother this period of time is going to go. And being older has helped with that so much.
In fact, even though I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes this time, this pregnancy has been SO much easier, I know that if it had been this way last time we would already have more little ones.

The biggest factor though? Experience! We've already done this. And in worse circumstances than we're in now. We know we can handle it. We know how to prepare. And we have a tiny adorable 4-year-old distraction to help the time pass.

So good luck fellow mommies. I hope your pregnancies are smooth, and you have plenty of support. My next post will be after Talon is here, because tomorrow is the induction! ♥

Home-made Baby Book

So I realized the other day that we didn't have a baby book for talon like we'd had for Alexis. Like to put info and pictures and mementos in, like the hospital bracelet, family info, etc.
So I went online to find one.
And Oh.Em.Gee.
Why are they so darn expensive? The cheapest one was $25 (at Target) only available online, with no pictures of the inside, and the cover was bland and generic. The average price anywhere else online seemed to be around $35, and on Etsy they averaged at around $60!

So, my brilliant husband asked me why I didn't just make one myself? And I thought, hey, that's an awesome idea!
I spent an hour and a half that night coming up with pages for the book (birth stats, all about mom, all about dad, the day you were born, etc) some of which I found inspiration for online, and some that was just information I wanted to put in.
I also went online and had coupons texted to my phone for Michaels, our local craft store, because I knew that that was where I would get most of what I needed.

The next day we headed out to run our errands, Michaels being one of them, and we were surprised at how few actual baby albums they had. Well for boys anyway. They seem to have plenty of everything for girls everywhere we go, but for boys? Well, that's a different post in and of itself...
So we decided to really do it ourselves.
I found a beautiful turquoise blue photo album with no embellishments or pattern, just a pocket for a photo on the cover.
The I found stick-on letters in burlap, a small pack of multi-colored jute twine, matching mod-style flowers (not feminine looking at all), and the best part, a stick-on fabric banner that matches the banners we made by hand for the baby shower! One of those banners is going into the kids room, so this album is going to match, and look great displayed on a shelf or dresser top.
I also found a 180 sheet card stock paper pack that was perfect. I searched forever and finally found one that was just colors and modern patterns.

The album and paper were both Recollections brand and were 40% off! The little embellishments for the cover were about $4 each so those added up quickly. I used a 40% off coupon for one of them. I'm wishing I had waited until today because I happen to have a coupon (starting today) for 20% off your entire order including sale items! So that would have actually saved me a bundle. But I was anxious. :)

I started by laying out all my finds on the table. Then I arranged and rearranged until I had the cover looking how I wanted.
I love how it turned out! You'll have to excuse the poor photo quality. I take all my pictures on my iphone, no fancy camera's in this house!

In order to get the jute twine to look how I wanted it too I had tied it around the cover, just to see how it would look. Then I liked it so much I didn't want to disturb it, so I just hot-glued it right down as it was. The knot in the middle was a little ugly, so I used one of the owl clothespins I bought in the Michaels sales bin (for $1.50) pulled the felt owl off carefully, and hot-glued it right over the knot.

Then I took my "pages" I'd printed out and my giant paper pack and did it the easy way. Slide in a pattern, then a page on top. Only one is glued down and that is because it has two small captions for spots for the hospital bracelet and footprints. The last few pages are still blank but I have captions all ready and they will be filled with pictures. The fonts I used for the basic pages can be downloaded for free, they are Duality (the font in gray), and Ribbon (in colors).

I plan on putting a picture of Talon in the cover but for now I decided to slip an ultrasound photo in.

I also created a subway-art style print that I am going to put in the kids room, but I thought it would also make a good first page of the book! The fonts are all downloaded free, they are Sketch Rockwell, Boston Traffic, and again Duality. I just used my Microsoft Works program and took my time fitting them all to take up about the same amount of space. The dots separating the sections are periods done in the Boston Traffic font, but on paint so that I could get them to do what I wanted them too. Then I inserted them like clip-art.

I really love how it turned out and how personalized it is! What do you think?

Baby shower!

 Yesterday marked my 32nd week of pregnancy, only eight more to go! And last weekend was my baby shower. It was small, just family and close friends, but it was so fun and relaxed! The colors were the same as my kids room is going to be, so a lot of the shower decor will find new life there. I have to say, my mom's sunroom is the perfect room for parties! We rearrange the furniture and add different decor for almost every shower and party we have. The snacks were made by my mother and I, the punch was a recipe I found on Pinterest and edited which I will share in another post, most food was made by my mother, one dish was made by my sister's mother-in-law, and as far as decor I will include credits at the bottom. Without further ado, pictures!

These are the prize bags! We found the bags on clearance at Target, and I hot-glued twine and little mini-flags on them to match the larger banners we'd made.

The invitations were SO cute. We found them on Etsy (credit below), printed them at Walmart, and we found this frame again on clearance at Target!

These large poms we found on Etsy (credit below) and we used twine to hang them from the ceiling fan. They came with clear fishing line for hanging, but the garlands we bought from the same shop we ordered on twine so we wanted them to match.

These garlands were the best decoration! They are different shades of orange on twine, and we hung them from the curtains using safety pins.

We made several of these banners and hung them across the doorways and also above the present table. We bought all the paper at Michaels (most on clearance for 20 cents a sheet) and were able to get 3 good sized flags out of each sheet. Then we punched holes in the corners and threaded them onto twine in a specific pattern similar to the one on the invites.

These are the sweets made by my mother and I, and the cupcakes were iced by my sister and I. The marshmallows are dipped in white chocolate and sprinkles, and they're skewered on gray chevron paper straws. The pretzel rods are also dipped in white chocolate and sprinkles. The cupcakes were a special recipe created by my mom (almond vanilla, with sour cream in them which keeps them moist!), and the frosting was a special recipe also.

Me, my momma, and the little munchkin before the party started.

The flowers sent by my husband that arrived in the middle of the shower. :) He's so sweet! They were even prettier when they were all alive. In this picture only the carnations are still kicking.

Some party preview shots!

Credits:

Poms and pom garlands purchased from:                                       Pom+Love on Etsy

Invitations purchased from:                                                            katiedidesigns on Etsy

Gray striped paper straws purchased from:                                     BakeMeAParty on Etsy

Cute matching tin owl purchased from:                                           Ross

Yellow pillows (originally for the kids room) purchased from:             Target

Paper and twine for banners and assorted decor purchased from:     Michaels

The original Punch recipe can be found:                                          here (but we did tweak it a bit for ourselves, more on that later!)

B is for Baby, Blue, and Boy!

That's right! Baby Smith number 2 is a BOY! And not only that, but he has a name. Mr. Talon Cameron Smith is due May 4th. I can't wait!

A lot is changing with us (as always). My job at Target is supposed to be coming to an end at the end of February, mostly because Cameron is back to work at UNFI now (as of last week) and I'm ready to be done! Cameron really doesn't want me lifting heavy things much longer, so that's really the driving force behind it.
Cameron is on his last quarter of school, with only one class. He was trying to finish up last quarter but they canceled a class at the last minute, so now it's the only thing keeping him from being done. At the end of this quarter he will have his AA and be on track to becoming a certified Air Traffic Controller.
In the meantime the poor guy gets up at 5am 3 days a week to drive the two hours up to Auburn for school, then after class drives 2 hours back down to Ridgefield to start work, and doesn't get home until after 10:30 each night. Not. Pleasant. He sacrifices a lot for us, and I couldn't be more proud to have him!

We are in mom's house, again, but are just waiting for our apartment to be finished so we can move in sometime in March! My in-laws own the apartment building, and decided that it was time their 91-year-old resident moved to a retirement home. He's been living there alone for 41 years (and is a hoarder), and they are concerned that if anything were to happen to him no one would know. It's fortunate for us though, and hopefully he'll be happier surrounded by people his own age, with help a ring away. The apartment is currently gutted and not at all pretty, but they are completely remodeling it, so I can't wait to see the end result!

Also in March is my baby shower! It's planned for March 2nd. My mom and sister are throwing it, but we are all 3 planning it, which I love because I love to plan parties! Etsy has been our best friend thus far. :)

Alexis is loving preschool, being 4, and sleeping in her new twin bed! The crib is going to Talon, and she's growing like crazy, so it was time. Cameron and I got my mom's old bed, my younger sister Jewell got our old bed, and Alexis now has Jewell's. It worked out wonderfully!

Also! I am an auntie! :) My first sister to have a baby! Little sis Jenessa gave birth to Kashton Richard Kell on December 7th, and he couldn't be MORE beautiful! A quick pic of Lexi holding him right after he was born:

So that's it! You're caught up for now.

Baby Names!

Talon, Everley, Brynnley, Luna....the list goes on! We can't decide. Help us out!

Boys



Girls



These are for first names only. Once we decide on 1-3 names for boys or girls, we will look at middle names also. Help us choose, which ones do you like?

Baby No. 2

Can you believe it? I can't believe it! Baby No. 2 is moving along. :) Little baby Talon, Blake, Liam, or Evelyn, Luna, Evangeline? Not too long til we know!