No More Sick Days!

       If you knew me before I had Elliana, you would know that I was a big ol' whiny baby! When I was sick, I needed my mama! When it was that time of the month, I stayed home from school because my cramps were TOOOO bad to move. If I stubbed my toe, you would hear about it for a month and so on and so forth! 

Man how things have changed! 

       When I first told my mom I wanted to do a home birth she laughed because she knew how I was, and she was convinced I wouldn't last through a natural labor. Everything changed once I set my mind to it! As most of you know I WAS able to birth Elliana naturally at home, and it was the greatest accomplishment I have ever experienced! Since that day, complaining in pain is almost non existent from me. I know that if I could handle 31 hours of labor with no drugs, then complaining of a little cold is not allowed in my mind.

   

       This little cold is what we have been dealing with for the past week and a half and I AM SO SICK OF IT!!!! Not that I'm in pain or anything but its just obnoxious and needs to kick rocks! Being a mommy is a 24 hour job with no weekends off! Being sick does not mean I get to stay in bed all day like I use to loveeee! Even though I try to keep her in bed with me all day, now that she is mobile it doesn't work so well. She runs around wild if I don't get out of bed! (but days that I'm not sick she wants to stay in bed and nurse allll day! funny how that works!)

      Hot tea, lots of vitamins and warm baths have been helping so far but it seems like as soon as I feel better I get out and run errands and then I get even worse the next day! Soooo I guess I will have to bring my pillow and blanket out in the living room and entertain Elliana from there! Hopefully she doesn't catch this nasty cold and I get better soon!

       So long sick days where I lay in bed all day and have my mama wait on me...now its my turn to be mama and I wouldn't have it any other way! 

Xo, 

NursingBlissSleeplessMama

Lillebaby Review

At the beginning of this month, The Babywearing World Record Setting was held at the Los Angeles Convention Center. I participated on Team lillebaby and it was incredible to meet such amazing mommies, bloggers, babies and more! I had never tried a lillebaby carrier before and honestly I was nervous because soft structured carriers (SSC) have never been my first or favorite choice to wear Elliana in. I have never been a huge fan of for a few reasons, 

             1) In order to get it tight enough on my hips it makes for some pretty sexy muffin top action which I'm not too fond of.
               2) They take me longer for to buckle up and get her in then my favorite go-to carrier, which is my ring sling! 

       

       When my favorite mommy blogger Emily from ((www.familylifeinlv.com)) asked me be on team lillebaby with her I decided to put all of my thoughts and opinions of SSC's away and go into this with an open mind. I was nervous to do a review because I was scared 

"What if I don't like it?" 

"How do I review a product I don't like?"

( I really didn't think I would LOVE it and boy was I wrong!)

       AS SOON as I buckled the lillebaby around my hips and got Elliana positioned into it I was instantly IN LOVE! There were no love handles hanging over the sides, no digging under my armpits, the weight was SOOO evenly distributed, and best of all, nursing in it was so incredibly easy! I was sold! Everything about it was so amazing compared to previous SSC's that I have worn Elliana in.      

Emily & I wearing our littles in our lillebaby carriers

TEAM LILLEBABY

Nursing made easy!
                                

        I wore Elliana in my new lillebaby for over 3 hours straight and I had absolutely NO back pain. My favorite thing about the lillebaby is the padded back piece! Right where the buckle strap sits on my tailbone I always get sore after about an hour, but lillebaby has mastered this! The pad sits directly on my tailbone and it was like I couldn't even tell that I was wearing my over 20 lb baby!        

Padded back 

       After Elliana slept for 2 hours in the lillebaby she was ready to get down and run around but I wasn't ready to take my new carrier off, so I stole my niece and wore her for awhile! Baby L was 12 weeks at the time and weighed about 10 lbs. Normally in an SSC with a baby that small you need an infant insert in order to properly wear the baby. Not with the lillebaby! No infant insert necessary! I was absolutely shocked at how comfortably snug Baby L was! There was no way she was sliding out the sides or going anywhere for that matter! She was so happy and stayed content in the lillebaby for over an hour!        

       

       Like I said I was so nervous when I agreed to do a review on this carrier because of my previous thoughts of SSC's have never been anything extremely positive, but the lillebaby has completely proved me wrong! Ever since I got home from the record setting I have used my lillebaby for every outting!!! I never thought I'd find a carrier that one-upped my ring sling but lillebaby has done just that!! I love my lillebaby carrier and I recommend it to every parent interested in wearing their baby. 

       - This carrier has a padded head piece that can be folded down when baby is awake so they 

          can look around, or it can be buckled up to support their head when they are asleep.

                               

               

       - There is a removable hood attatched to the carrier which I love because of the fact that you

         can completely remove it and no other SSC that I have used has a removable one (I find

          hoods to be annoying and get in my way so I'm glad I have the option of taking it off)

- Weight range for lillebaby carrier: 7-45 lbs.

       - Baby can be worn in 4 different positions: 

        1) Facing In
            2) Facing Out
          3) Hip Carry
             4) Back Carry

       I highly recommend this carrier and wish I could give every parent one because I am sooo certain you will love it as much as I do!

       Lillebaby has so graciously given me a coupon code for all of you mommies and daddies reading this who want to buy a lillebaby for yourself! I promise you will not regret this purchase! 

   20% off code: 

NursingBlissSleeplessMama

valid until 11/30/13

((www.lillebaby.com))

((By the way, we helped set the Babywearing World Record with a total of 1,003 mommies wearing their babies!!!))

Xo, 

       NursingBlissSleeplessMama

4th Trimester Bodies Project

       Last weekend, my mom, grandma, sister in law and myself tastefully bared our post baby bodies in front of the beautifully talented Ashlee Wells Jackson. Ashlee is the founder of the 4th trimester bodies project which is a fabulous movement opening the eyes of mothers and society about our bodies looking different after we have housed a baby for 9 months, nourished that baby by breastfeeding, and just everyday mothering. To be able to experience such love in one room and to feel like a model while nursing my baby, strutting around the hotel room in my bra and panties was so heartwarming. 

       First we got our hair and makeup done, we laughed, visited, nursed our babies, talked about life, birth and everything in between. We did a short interview with Ashlee about our birth or pregnancy experience as well as reasons why we wanted to participate in the project. My reasons were simple, I want women and mothers everywhere to realize that our bodies are incredible! Going through an amazing pregnancy and and even more amazing home birth I have so much respect for what my body is capable of.  To be able to solely nourish my growing newborn baby with milk made by ME! That fact still fascinates me 14 months later! To be able to calm my baby down by the sound of my voice or the touch of my skin is an incredible feeling and nothing in the world beats that motherly love! 

       Ashlee was such an inspiration to us and the photos along with the memories from that day will forever be in our hearts. Go check out the work Ashlee is doing with the 4th trimester bodies project (she has a Facebook page as well as an Instagram) and if she is in a town near you, you should definitely participate! 

Xo,

NursingBlissSleeplessMama

       

                         

        

         

          

         

After baby body

       40 weeks...thats how long it takes our body to grow a baby. Sometimes it's a week or two longer or shorter but around 40 weeks, 9 months. 9 short months if you think about what your body is going through during that time. An entire little human has been growing and living in your body in those 9 months so to think that body after baby will look the same is just crazy and unrealistic. I was the person that thought my body after baby would look pretty much the same...boy was I wrong! Extra weight, skin, dimples, stretch marks and all of the above. Sounds horrifying but when you get to stare into the eyes of your brand new baby everyday, the post baby body is all worth it. 

       I thought "oh I'm gonna breastfeed, I'll get skinny in no time!" Yes, breastfeeding helps you lose weight but not in the fast way that I was expecting. Before I got pregnant I was crazy about my weight! I was always trying some crazy diet or diet pills or just basically not eating because that will make me skinny right?! Wrong! I got skinny for a few months and then gained it all back plus more! So when elliana was 6 months old and I was still 60 lbs above pre pregnancy weight I had a really hard time wrapping my head around that fact! Since I was still exclusively breastfeeding I had to eat to keep up my milk supply so starving myself wasn't an option. I started following a bunch of fitness IG pages for inspiration and it was wonderful! The problem with those IG pages for me was the fact that most of them didn't have kids or weren't nursing so they could go to the gym whenever they wanted. I couldn't do that because I couldn't take elliana. I was stuck! I tried eating healthy but always blew it after a few days!

       Finally I came across an IG account that has been so incredible for my motivation and support in more than just my weight loss! @Ourknightlife is a mommy raising her family in Vegas and blogs about all things mommy! Breastfeeding, cloth diapering, Babywearing && WEIGHT LOSS! I watched @ourknightlife go through 1 round of whole30 and then a few weeks later when she was  about to start her 2nd round I decided it was time for me to buckle down and starting eating healthy!! The first few days were exhausting and the sugar cravings were going to kill me (or so I thought) after the first week, I was hooked. I loved how I felt, how my clothes fit, and all the different foods I could still eat while not feeling guilty. After my first round of whole30, I had lost almost 15 pounds and felt like a completely new person! My pre pregnancy clothes were beginning to fit, my energy level was through the roof, and my confidence was beginning to shine once again!

       I was so stoked about this small transformation that I began round 2 of this paleo lifestyle! My second round was a little bit more difficult, but my results were just as amazing! I stuck through the 30 days and lost another 12-15 lbs! In 8 short weeks I dropped almost 30 lbs and really am a whole new person. I actually like taking pictures with nick and Ellie now, I enjoy eating sweets as a treat every once in awhile instead of on a daily basis, I like seeing myself naked instead of refusing to look in the mirror on my way to the shower. Since I finished my second round I have begun doing paleo throughout the week and usually take the weekends to get my cravings fulfilled. I tried not to overdo it, but come Monday morning I'm always back on the paleo bandwagon! 

((***stay tuned for my post about my photo shoot with Ashlee from THE 4TH TRIMESTER BODIES PROJECT))

       

                                                                  June 6 - July 6

                          

                                                                 July - August 

         

                                                                    June - August

Date night <3

Date. Night.

       A phrase that hasn't gotten used around our house in the last 14 months. I'm not too sure how I feel about that except to say that I don't know if I will ever be okay leaving Elliana with anyone. I mean I have left her a few times with someone other than nick or myself, but honestly I still get a little bit of anxiety leaving the house without her. I know she doesn't feel the same because the few times we've left her she has been absolutely fine when we got home. Playing away or eating snacks and just kind of stares at us when we got home which makes me glad she is fine but sad that she didn't miss me! Haha (mommy emotions) but anyways, Nicholas and I had our two year anniversary today and to celebrate we called in the babysitting troops! Uncle Ian, Auntie Laura && baby cousin Lennon came to play!

       Nick and I decided to walk down to this little foot massage place near our house and get a couples massage. As we left, Elliana waved and said "buuuyee" in her cute little voice! I text Laura as we were waiting for the lady to start our massages and she immediately told me to quit texting her! I was bummed that I didn't get an update on how our sweet girl was doing, but I guess it had been no longer than 20 minutes! I realized in the hour and a half that we were gone that nick and I are not the only ones that loves Ellie. I know that uncle Ian and auntie Laura love elliana as much as they would if she were there own and I just need to sit back and relax and enjoy my date night with my fiancé! 

       Nick and I had wonderful massages, grabbed a drink at the Mexican restaurant next door, dinner to go and headed home to our baby girl (who probably didn't mind that we were gone as long as she had a snack and someone to play with her!) I think date nights in our house need to become more of a regular occasion , and mommy and daddy need to go have dinner or get massages without having to ask for a high chair every once in awhile ;) 

Xo,

NursingBlissSleeplessMama

                    

                                                  Waiting for our massages :)

                                       

                                                             Text from auntie ;)