Ingenue Mom

About 2 weeks ago (I feel like a LOT started happening 2 weeks ago), we noticed a small white spot on Isis' gum right in the middle on the bottom. I didn't really think anything of it because she was only 10 weeks old. Well, about a week ago, she started sticking her hands in her mouth all the time - not just when she was tired or bored or hungry. She also started drooling a lot about this time - like a lot! She didn't used to drool much, if at all. But in the last week it's like someone turned on a faucet in there!! I also noticed within the last couple of days that it seemed more like she was biting her hands rather than sucking on them. Lewis put his finger in her mouth and she started biting it really hard. She used to suck on your finger if you put it in her mouth. So we looked at the spot on her gums again - and it was about 3 times as big as it was 2 weeks ago!! And it sure does look like a tooth is going to pop up pretty soon! It could be something else and we c...

Ah, the elusive dream of all new parents - a full nights sleep! I have posted a lot about our sleep training efforts. Some people have agreed with what we've done and some people haven't, but man oh man - it worked!! I've been waiting to post this to make sure things were consistent, but now I'm ready!! If I haven't already told you this, I have kept a log of how much I have slept at night since Isis was 2 weeks old. I've had to take several measures with my baby blues that most people probably wouldn't have had to take. For me, knowing exactly how much I was sleeping really helped me to calm down and not feel overwhelmed. So anyway...look at this... (keep in mind that Isis goes to bed between 7:30 and 8:00 every night and we get her up between 7:30 and 8:00 every morning) The night of March 25/26: Isis woke up once at 4:30am meaning... I slept 7 hours, 15 minutes with one long stretch of 5 hours, 15 min! The night of March 26/27: Isis woke up once at 5:30 m...

Lewis and I tend to find ourselves somewhere in the middle in most political arguments. We tend to see both sides and then come down on the side that we can most agree with - if not fully agree with. We are constantly having conversation about different ideas - political or otherwise. Our home has always been filled with conversation. We talked about marriage, money and kids when we were dating. By the time we made the decision to get married, we had worked through all kinds of complicated ideas. Our pre-marriage counselor was actually really surprised at the discussions we had already had and the ones we had with him. Before having Isis, we talked and talked about the pros and cons, the way we wanted to handle pregnancy, the method we wanted to use for labor & delivery, the way we wanted to parent, the methods we wanted to use for scheduling, etc. We had countless conversations. It went on and on. We continue to talk about the ways we want to conduct things in our home on all leve...

Image Source I am definitely going to be one of those annoying moms that won't let my kids eat fast food ( except Chick-fil-a, remember ). There are several reasons for this including non-organic meats, calories, processed foods and preservatives. I understand that lots of people can argue about the hormones in non-organic meat and things like that, but this post about a woman who kept a McDonald's happy meal for 12 months and it DIDN'T DECOMPOSE just proves that my argument about lots of preservatives is completely valid. I understand there could be arguments about this and I'm thinking about doing my own experiment of the sort. I just tend to believe that fresh foods for kids are going to be a lot better in the long run! I'm not trying to start an argument. Just sharing my opinion. Also - if you haven't heard about Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution on ABC , read my post on my Ingenue Perspective blog!! Click here!!

This is the playlist I play for Isis when she sleeps in the car or in her bedroom. The Call - Regina Spektor There You'll Be - Faith Hill I Can't Make You Love Me - Bonnie Raitt Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone) - Chris Tomlin Bella's Lullaby - Carter Burwell Clair de Lune - Debussy Let Me Sign - Robert Pattinson Never Think - Robert Pattinson Fur Elise - Beethoven In the Deep - Bird York God Bless the Child - Michelle Featherstone Falling Slowly - Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova So Close - Jon McLaughlin Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon & Garfunkel Cold Water - Damien Rice The Blower's Daughter - Damien Rice The Wind - Cat Stevens Angel - Sarah McLachlan Full of Grace - Sarah McLachlan Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley Yellow - Coldplay (String Quartet) Hold You In My Arms - Ray LaMontagne I Will Follow You - Death Cab for Cutie To Make You Feel My Love - Garth Brooks You've Got a Way - Shania Twain Untitled Hymn (Come to Jesus) - Chris Rice Welco...

Image Source A couple of my friends sent me the link to Dear Baby & I have been checking her blog & her life blog ( Stay Forever Sunday ) several times a day ever since then. I've posted about this before, but I've even gone back through her past posts now because I just love it! She links to great Etsy finds and posts awesome pictures of her life in San Francisco & Raleigh. I must say, I believe that reading her blogs could serve as a travel guide to either of those 2 cities. I know I've said it before, but I will say it again - if you haven't checked out either of her blogs, you definitely should! Oh! I did a Follow Friday on Twitter & recommended that people read her blogs & she tweeted me back!! She loved Isis' chubby cheeks!! How sweet! I love that she's actually interacting with her readers! Follow her on Twitter !

I can't post a brand logo of Chick-fil-A due to my agreement with BlogHer ads, but here's a picture of Isis all chill & content after our visit to Chick-fil-A yesterday! 1. Real Chicken, Fruits & Veggies What mom doesn't love the fact that the chicken looks like real chicken? And it's actually good! You don't feel like you're eating some gross processed chicken. This is one of the only fast food restaurants where Isis will be allowed to eat for a while. Plus you can get fruit or carrot & raisin salad as a side rather than french fries! (But the fries are delicious, too!) 2. Closed on Sundays They stick to their principles! According to their website, Chick-fil-A restaurants are closed on Sundays because the founder, Truett Cathy, believed that all restaurant employees should have the opportunity to rest on Sundays and spend time with their families or worship if they choose to do so. I really like this. I think it definitely sets them apart from othe...

How cute is this little girl from Gainer Grandiose ?!? I think she's like a week or so younger than Isis. I've decided I want a Bumbo . But they're $40!! So I'm trying to find one I can borrow. Anybody have one? I'm not 100% sure that Isis will like it, so I wanted to try one out before I bought it. Also, how long can they use them?

Now, don't get your Pampers in a bunch, the title of this is a joke. But I have noticed that so many people tend to say to me, "Oh you're so lucky that you have such an easy/good/happy baby!" And I want to go, "Um, thanks, but we've worked our butts off to help her get to this point. There's nothing lucky about it except maybe that she wasn't colicky." Granted, she was a healthy, full-term baby which is definitely a blessing, but she wasn't easy at all from the beginning. The important thing is that we started from the beginning to set up for the future. I believe in patterns and schedules and helping encourage a routine for the baby so that they know what to expect. I've seen her thrive in this system and have talked to so many other mothers who have experienced the same thing with their babies who are very different than Isis. In the end, though, every baby is different. I personally think that means altering the specifics of your routi...

I found some Etsy shops that have baby legwarmers!! Crawler Covers & More Knotty Baby Wear M.J. Schrom Creations Candy Apple Cutie Posh Pipsqueak Itzy Bitzy Baby Three Yellow Starfish

I want Isis to have like 50 pairs of leg warmers!! I'm going to start collecting places on Etsy that you can buy these!! Of course, you can also always buy the Babylegs ones, too!! If anyone wants to buy Isis a pair, I'd be delighted!! They're usually only $8.00! They're one size fits all!!! She can wear them until she's way older!! Leg warmers: Babylegs in Lime Drop $12.00

For any other new moms out there, what kind of schedule are you following?? I have several friends who just had babies and I'm interested to see how feeding & sleeping is working for you! We've worked really hard to be consistent for Isis - not necessarily consistent times before this past week, but definitely a consistent pattern. Isis seems to thrive on this pattern and I definitely love knowing what to expect!! The only thing I don't like about this right now is that she's napping in her swing. I would like her to be napping in her crib ASAP, but I'm going to have to transition it. I think this week I'm going to see what happens when I put her swing in her bedroom. I might do that for a week or so, then I'll transition her to sleeping in the crib in her bedroom. 7:30am - Wake up & nurse 8:30/8:45am - Put in swing when she starts yawning 9:00am - Nap #1 11:00am - Wake up & nurse 12:00/12:15pm - Put in swing when she starts yawning 12:30pm ...

Isis got her first vaccinations last Friday. She hated it, but overall took it like a champ! She screamed when they did it and then cried for about 5 minutes after, but then she was good! Later that day, she woke up from her nap and started crying a lot. I think her legs were sore because I was trying to nurse her and with her leg laying against my belly, she started crying. I ended up having to nurse her laying down. The next morning, she was kicking her legs a lot and then started crying, too. But after Saturday I haven't noticed her doing that, so I think the soreness has gone away. So yay! We survived our first shots!! Honestly I was more worried about me than her. We have a wonderful doctor and he has really taken the time to be patient with me and all my questions about vaccinations. With all the conversation about it, I definitely had some concerns, but I now feel really confident that he will not make me give her any shots until I'm ready for it. We gave her all the fir...

I have wonderful friends. Have I ever told you that? I used to always pride myself on my friends, but it's been even more since having Isis. I have several friends who don't have kids who have just proven to be so consistent and understanding of my new priorities and schedule. As a mom, I feel like I really need these lovely ladies in my life right now because they keep me grounded and real and they're so flexible and fun! And they allow me to still be me because they've been there all along. I so look forward to being there for them when they are ready to have their own kids, too! What has been really surprising to me, though, is the camaraderie that I feel with other moms. I posted before about a " Mommy Club " and it really is like that. While I don't really feel the need to send in for a club card or anything - I'm happy just being me & adding "mom" to the list of things that make up who I am - but I do feel very blessed to suddenly h...

The other day, we helped Isis dance for the first time!!!

I posted the other day about how Isis has discovered that if she pushes against things with her legs, she will move. She does this most often in the bathtub! Here's a video...

I thought I'd post a little update on Isis. I haven't talked a lot specifically about her lately!! She's basically settled into a much more predictable routine. It's really wonderful!! People keep saying that we are really "lucky" which maybe is true to a certain extent, but we have worked hard at her routine & her schedule. You can disagree with doing that if you want, but it's worked and we are happy and Isis is happy! So things are great!! Night Sleep: We start her bedtime routine between 6:30 and 7:00 and make sure she is in bed between 7:30 and 8:00 - this time includes a 30 minute feeding, a bath, a song, a prayer and some cuddling. She still gets up 1-3 times a night, but 3 times means something is usually wrong like she peed all over herself or she has bad nasal congestion. More often than not, it's 1-2 times. She normally does at least one stretch of 6-8 hours of sleep at night. When she does wake, we get up, change her diaper, I feed her ...

Little known fact about me & Lewis: with the exception of going on tour with his band or going to Nashville for his uncle's wedding, we have never been on a real trip together. We didn't ever get to go on a honeymoon or anything! So now here we are with Isis and we have decided that we are going to take our first family vacation this summer!!! We are very excited!! Lewis has a week of vacation left at work and I will definitely be ready to go somewhere before starting student teaching in August! So we have decided to go to... LAS VEGAS!!!!! Sounds weird for the first trip with a new baby, doesn't it? But the truth is, one of my dear friends, Emily & her husband Nate, live in Vegas where Nate is a youth minister at a church called The Crossing . We kept telling them that we wanted to come visit and we thought this would be a great opportunity!! And maybe they'd even babysit one night?? (I haven't asked her this yet. haha I'm just hoping!) I know it's ...

These peace sign shoes remind me of my dad! Maybe I'll have to get some for Isis. Cream and Gold Baby Booties Grey and Fuschia Baby Girl Booties Both of these are from funkyshapes

Girls tiered skirt with vintage buttons - 3littlebirdsboutique I love this skirt!!! I'm so obsessed with Etsy right now. I want to buy Isis all kinds of stuff! Even though she can't fit in or use half of it yet! haha

If you read my Sickness post, you know I've had a rough day. One of the things I knew would be really difficult about being a mom is that you can't stop just because you get sick. Especially when you're nursing. Well, it's the same for dads, too. Today I went back and forth from being achy with chills to being super sweaty and hot. I felt pretty awful all day. Getting up and walking around was really uncomfortable. Nursing hurt because of the achiness and the mastitis. Well, Lewis really stepped up and helped me a lot. He still had to work, but he just really did his best to make sure that I was comfortable and okay. A lot of the things we usually do together at night, he did alone because I felt so bad. He even called his mom and asked her to make me chicken noodle soup and bring it over! She did and she also made cupcakes!! He is really the best husband and dad. He made my whole day way better!

I love this !! I would've totally freaked out if my bed was like this when I was younger! Maybe I'll figure out a way to make Isis' bed like this...

Image Source First of all, if you are squeamish when people talk about breastfeeding or other female issues, just don't read this post. But I am of the opinion that I'd rather share my experience so that maybe someone else would benefit from it. I definitely didn't know enough about this to know what to look for or what to do. Last night before going to bed, I was talking to Lewis about how my left breast was hurting & felt really tender. The lactation consultant at the hospital had told me you could get a clogged milk duct and that massaging it would help get the milk out. I tried that last night and then went to bed. Isis woke up to eat 3 times last night! Some nights she does 1 time now, sometimes 2 and sometimes 3. Last night she had lots of nasal congestion issues, so she woke up a lot. The first time she woke up, I was sweating and kept asking Lewis if it was too hot in her room, but he said it felt fine to him and our Grobag Egg said that the room was cool enoug...

Just so you know, I get my Etsy inspirations from these 2 blogs right now... Dear Baby I Heart Baby

I think these would make really cute baby shower gifts!! They wrap the clothes up into little cupcakes or lollipops! That's cute!! Baby Sweet Treats Onesie Cupcake & Lollipop Set Blanket Lollipop and Onesie Cupcake Set Rock Star Guitar Applique Baby Onesie Cupcake Set

I really want to buy Isis a tutu!! Do not be surprised if one day you run into me & Isis somewhere normal like the mall or a restaurant or something and I have her dressed in something like this! You're only a little girl for so long & I think it should be fun!! Birthday bash tutu - HannahsTutus Love child birthday tutu - HannahsTutus Light pink pettiskirt pageant birthday ballet tutu - birthdaybaby

I love these cute hats from Heartsmiles ! You can get them in any size, so I could get one that fits Isis now!! The CatrinaGorgeous deep red, cream and olive hat Cream, light pink, sage and brown earflap hat Vintage inspired cream newsboy hat, big flower with lace and pearl center I also love all these cute shoes from ivoryandmoss ! They have girls shoes & boy shoes! And you can pick the colors for several of them! Marilla whimsical felt maryjanes Licorice damask maryjanes Isla baby booties/maryjanes Sailors plaid babyboy loafers for boys Black houndstooth baby boy loafers

Sometimes I am so overwhelmed by the idea of being your mother. Such a privilege & such a responsibility. So many ways to make mistakes. I think for both our sakes, I'll go ahead and admit that there will be so many times I will fall short. So many days I don't get this right. But I promise to never stop trying. We will figure this life out together. Sometimes these middle-of-the-night feedings are the sweetest moments for me. It's like we are the only ones awake in the whole world & I get to just share a few stolen moments with you. It was just me & you for nine months, so I treasure these moments at night. I do look forward to you getting older and able to sleep through the night, but for now I am content with our quiet feedings by night light. I also hold so dear those times when your fussiness is only eased by me or your dad holding you & whispering to you. I hope my arms, voice & face always provide the comfort they clearly provide for you now. I kn...