May 20, 2013
by shealynn
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11 years ago today I became a mommy for the first time. Since then I’ve learned so much about life, love, patience, and how swiftly life passed by. I’m so proud to be her mom! So excited to make more memories and love her more with each passing day. I’m excited to see what the future holds for her. Growing up is inevitable so I might as well enjoy each moment! I love this girl so much! Happy birthday to my sweet girl!
April 2, 2013
by shealynn
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Hey everyone I know it’s been a while I just wanted to stop and say hi. Over the past what? Six weeks it’s been just me enjoying life. I’ve been really soaking up my time with my son and my girls and my husband. I remember when I was 21 and I had Angelina everyone always told me how fast they grow up. You kind of just look at them and think “yeah yeah yeah”, but as the days turned into weeks and the weeks turn into months and the months turn into years it really truly does go by so fast I look back at her and I look back at Zoe and I cannot believe how big they are and how fast time flies! Angelina will be 11 in May. It’s unreal. Next fall or I should say this fall she will be in middle school it’s crazy!
I’m 31 years old, I’ll be 32 in May and I just had my son in January and I can honestly say that I love my life. I mean truly truly love it. As you get older your perspective changes on life – everything changes.
So I remember becoming a mom for the first time, I was 21 years old barely – I turned 21 six days before Angelina was born. I was scared I was newly married I was just so young. Being the age i am now I look back and I know back then I didn’t truly appreciate being a mom at that time. I mean I was so young you know? To be honest, sometimes I wonder if I cheated her because I didn’t appreciate being a mom as much as I do now.
Then four and a half years later I had Zoe, and as most of you know Zoe was born 10 weeks premature and I can honestly tell you that was one of the scariest things I’ve ever had to go through in my life – she was tiny but she was small and a fighter and she was healthy. I think I was more terrified after I had Zoe then I was when I had Angelina just because the doctors almost put the fear of God in you when you have a premature baby trying to keep them healthy and away from people so they don’t get infections or RSV or worse. I truly loved being a mom at that time I know I did I remember back watching them both grow up watching Zoe walk seeing Angelina read and grow and watching them interact with each other and become the best of friends has been amazing. Just because they’re four and a half years apart doesn’t mean anything – their age difference doesn’t matter. They’re so close to each other its really cool to see. I look back and think of my 20′s fondly it was just such a good time in my life, my 20s were so good. But my 30s have so far been so much better and I’m so close to my family and my girls and it’s just awesome!
So I’m in my 30s now and I have a completely new perspective and I think it started when I got pregnant with Mason. We weren’t planning on having any more children, But as soon as I saw my girls with Mason it was like he was just meant to be. He was supposed to be part of our family and I honestly believe that’s why this transition from 2 to 3 has been so easy for us. I know my girls are older but I don’t think it matters what the age difference is, it can still be hard for a new baby coming into the house, but for some reason it just was such an easy transition for us, and I feel blessed it was. In all honesty and truth I would absolutely love to have one more baby in about a year and a half… I don’t know if that’s in the cards for us but I would love to have another one so Mason has a sibling to grow up with. I do know age difference doesn’t matter, but I do also realize that when Mason is 10 Angelina will be 20 and Zoe will be 16 and when he’s 12 Zoe will be 18 and Angelina will be 22 and he’ll be alone after that which I think is difficult. I grew up basically an only child, I do have a brother but he lived with his dad. So we’ll see what happens in the future, but for now I am enjoying every second literally of being a mom to my kids I am enjoying every second literally of watching Mason grow. He’s 12 weeks old I cannot believe it! I’ve been finding that I enjoy family time so much more than I used to. I love watching my kids interact with each other I love watching my husband interact my kids – interact with his new son it’s just so awesome! And I truly truly truly absolutely love my life.
So that’s why I haven’t been around. I’ve been enjoying my world my tiny little world, my little section of this planet. I have been enjoying being a mom, And I can’t wait to see what life has in store for us!!
I hope you’re all well, I hope you’re all Enjoying your awesome lives, I hope you’re all appreciating and loving and hugging and spending lots and lots of time with your kids and your husband.
I know I don’t blog very much but if you want to keep up with me, I post there a lot… you can follow me on Instagram, my username is @shey_b!
But I’ll be back before you know it! ;)
February 18, 2013
by shealynn
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I’ve been seeing a lot of posts with lists of baby items recommended and while the stuff recommended is cute, it’s outrageously and stupidly priced! I often wonder WHY IN THE WORLD people spend this much on crap that’s only going to be used for the first year of baby’s life. And sure… plan on having multiple kids… well, it’ll last you with all of them. Except for people like me who happen to have their kids very far apart. Still. Spending $200 on a baby swing, $500-$1200 for a stroller, $800+ for a crib… TOTALLY crazy!!
Look. I’ve had 3 kids and have NEVER spent that much on any one thing. Why would/should I? I have yet to hear a good answer to that why. haha! It gets so irritating when I see these lists of expensive baby things. It’s like people are trying to show their status or something. Babies do not NEED anything except diapers, clothes, blankets, a place to sleep, food, a carseat and love. Everything is NOT a need. But a lot of the things we buy make our lives as mothers easier. Bouncers, swings, baby carriers, etc.
I have no fancy collage of the products I like, just photos and links. So here we go.
We got Mason’s crib at Target. It is one of those that transforms from crib to toddler bed to full bed, but we have yet to actually use a crib past the crib stage. We might this time around… who knows. ;) Anyway. His crib is Graco Mason 4-in-1 convertible crib. Pretty funny, right? haha! It was $160. And it’s a lovely lovely crib. And durable!
I bought my cribs sheets from a company on Amazon called Sheetworld, because I couldn’t find the right color in stores. Like burnt orange, dark grey, and black. It’s so ridiculous that all I can find in stores are pastel colors. Ugh. For a boy? NO thank you!
I crocheted a blanket for Mason’s crib. I’m VERY picky about things, and pretty much hate all the cutesy crap they have out there for bedding.
I hate that baby swings take up so much space. My living room isn’t huge, so I knew when we walked into Babies R Us that I wanted a travel baby swing. Also a baby swing is pretty much my only MUST have baby product that’s not truly essential. Again I hate cutesy, but since I really couldn’t find anything that’s not cutesy that didn’t cost $200 or more, I settled for this swing. It’s basic. Plays music, has a timer and swings my baby. That’s all I need. And it’s $75. Perfect. It’s small, and folds up quickly if I want to put it away. Barely takes up any space.
I wasn’t a baby wearer with my girls, but I really wanted to try it out with Mason, so for Christmas my husband got me the ERGOBaby carrier. But Mason is too small for it right now, so a friend of mine let me borrow her Moby Wrap for a month or so. I will say I do really like the Moby wrap a lot, but it hurts my back after about an hour and I get super sweaty if I wear it around my house. Does this happen to anyone else? Anyway. I like the Moby because I like to be with my baby – I’m like the logic and studies around Attachment Parenting, and using the Moby wrap is part of that. It allows me to do the laundry, make dinner, vacuum etc.
For all 3 of my kids I’ve purchased the travel systems. Stroller and carseat combo. Mason is 6 weeks old and I haven’t used the stroller yet, which is pretty surprising, but that’ll change once the weather warms up a bit. I find the travel systems to be easier to use because all I have to do is unfold my stroller, and snap in the carseat into it. There is no waking Mason up when I don’t need to. With Angelina I had a Snap N Go stroller base. I highly recommend one of those as well. The only problem with those is you can only use it with a car carrier car seat, so once your child outgrows that, then you’ll have to buy another stroller. We got the Eddie Bauer Trail Hiker 3 Wheel Travel System at Target. The fabric is kinda scratchy so I ended up buying something similar to this to put in the carseat. We have the red one.
Let me tell you. All of my kids didn’t like baths when they were newborns, but Mason takes the cake. He absolutely HATES being cold, so bath time is pretty much his worse nightmare. haha! Basically bath time is a race to see how fast I can get him in and out. With all of my kids I’ve always gone for a baby bath tub that has a sling in it. It’s the best in my opinion, because it allows you to be handsfree. (NEVER leave your child unattended in any bath tub!) The night before I went into labor, we were at Babies R Us and one of the things we picked up was THIS bathtub. But if you’re at Target, we’ve used THIS one in past and have loved it! During bath time, we use Aveeno Baby Wash & Shampoo and Aveeno Baby Daily Lotion afterwards.
Mason LOVES being warm, so it’s important to me to have warm blankets. I love and recommend Tiddliwinks chenille blankets at Target. They’re so soft and so warm!! Mason HATES being swaddled, so these are the only blankets we currently use. Though I’m thinking about making some for him out of a knit/t-shirt fabric for spring.
Looking for a good nursing pillow? I highly recommend the Simplisse Gia by Dr. Browns. Infact, I’m nursing Mason right now and typing this blog post. With both hands! ;)
Planning on pumping so you can get a date night? Or will you be going back to work sometime after your baby is born? Then you’ll need a great pump. And the best pump on the market is Medela of course!
And what about bottles to feed your baby that pumped breast milk? I recommend Tommee Tippee. In my opinion, they’re the best on the market that I’ve used, and I’ve tried a TON of them. Next best are Dr. Browns.
And lastly. Let me let you in on a little secret. Do not buy cutesy burp cloths! They are stupid. Buy Gerber Flatfold Cloth Diapers. These are a gauzy type fabric that work wonders! And they soak up messes immediately! I use these constantly, so buy at least 2 packs!
I don’t currently have a list of handmade companies to share, unfortunately. If you make and sell baby items and you’re interested in having them featured, let me know. My only requirement is that you send me a product I can test and photograph being used by me and my son, Mason. :) You can email me at: shealynn@gmail.com – and I’ll gladly write a blog post about you and your product free of charge!
