amber teething necklace

i've notice over the last couple of weeks that Levi seems as though he's beginning the teething process. mostly just because he chews on his hands & toys all the time now & has quite a bit of drool. 

i've had a couple of friends that have used amber teething necklaces to help with their baby's teething side effects & say good things about them. 

I did a little bit of research & decided to order a necklace for Levi. 

make sure to get natural, authentic, unpolished baltic amber. 

- amber is homeopathic

- could reduce swelling in gums

- can alleviate teething pain

- could accelerate natural healing process

make sure to get a necklace that is knotted between each bead for safety. 

*Levi does not sleep with the necklace around his neck, we double wrap it around his ankle when he sleeps. 

the kind of mom that i want to be

             i found a note on my phone from a few months back, before Levi was born that said, 

"the kind of mom that i want to be... balanced"

i'm not sure if i'm doing this but i thought balanced was a great word.

here's why.

I went on a 4 month hiatus & this baby boy is my reason why.

He's also the reason i am so excited to get out of bed every morning. The smile that he flashes me when I walk in his room to get him out of bed... melts. my. heart. like crazy. 

I have always wanted to be a momma. And I have looked forward to receiving this job title for as long as i can remember. Hands down, amazing. Just as amazing as I have always known that it would be. 

There is no greater feeling in the world than being a new mom. It can be tiring sometimes, especially in the beginning. But I was never too tired to complain. It can be challenging but I look at is as more of a learning experience every day. Learning each other is part of the greatness. 

 I absolutely love spending every day with my munchie bear. I keep waiting for the day that I want a break from my baby: i don't think it's coming any time soon. 

Levi turned 4 months old a couple of days ago. He is so much fun right now & I keep hearing that it gets better & better. He can roll over & is so proud of himself when he does. He's more interactive with toys these days. And I love the way he tries to communicate different things with us with his different sounds, gestures & cries. The little noises that he makes are so funny- the vowel-y coo's, his laugh thing that sounds like a dolphin, he's beginning to giggle. 

... this is what i've been up to lately.

LK

baseball & babies

a lot of the time, when baseball couples are trying to start a family they try to plan the birth of their babies around the baseball season. we all want an 'off-season' baby for obvious reasons... we're at home & the guys don't have to work. 

makes sense, right?

well, in our case, it didn't quite work out like that & our baby boy will be arriving right around the beginning of the baseball season. 

due date: april 17th

all of us in baseball are used to any kind of unique, spur of the moment, plan-ruining, plan- changing  situation. 

so when we hear a different 'birth plan' we don't even bat an eye. 

from everyone else... i get the dreaded 'you poor thing' tone of voice & the question always follows, "so what are you going to do?"

welp... here it goes. the plan. the plan that i know can be changed & rearranged at any given moment by our baby or baseball. 

we aren't 100% sure where we will live this baseball season until the end of march. since baby boy is due april 17th & i need to be in one place for the last four weeks of my pregnancy, instead of going to a new city alone, we have decided that it's best that i go to my parents house in florida.

i fly to florida on march 16th. 

i have a dr that i will see for the last month of my pregnancy & who will deliver the baby. logan gets 3 days off for maternity so as soon as i go into labor he will be on his way. 

a few days after we go home from the hospital, my mom & dad will drive baby boy & i to meet logan wherever we will be living. 

to me, this plan sounds perfect! i get to be at home with my mom & dad, as soon as labor starts logan will quickly fly to florida, we'll go to the hospital together and a few (...) hours later baby boy will hopefully be here. if the plan works out as planned it'll be perfect. 

and if it doesn't...? 

well friends, that's what i'm worried about. that's what i think about when i can't sleep at night.

what if my best friend doesn't make it there, to hold my hand during the biggest event of my (our) life?! 

but it will... it will work out exactly how it's supposed to. 

and however it works out, it's going to be wonderful! 

what should i register for?

what should i have on-hand to be baby-ready?! 
what products do i need?! 
what should i put on my baby registry?!

these are questions that were at one point haunting me. i am by no means a baby expert... duh, i haven't even delivered my first one yet! but i did do a ton of research & asked a lot of questions when i was trying to compile a list of must-haves.

i didn't start thinking about what i would need for our baby until around my fourth month, but when i did start thinking about it, i thought about it a lot. i thought about it a lot because being a first time momma i want to do this the practical way. what is practical for our family might be different for yours.
 i did a lot of reading & research on a variety of different products, read mommy blogs, i was even creepy enough to ask strangers what they thought about their stroller if i saw them using one that i was considering. i'll admit, i was overwhelmed, very overwhelmed.
 i was kind of hoping that i'd wake up one day & everything i needed would be sitting in a pile in the living room- that obviously didn't happen.

my list comes from recommendations from friends & family & from the research that i did. 

 i cant speak to personal use on any of these products yet because baby boy isn't here to experiment.

- stroller: we (i) decided to go with the uppababy vista. i wanted a travel system, lightweight, nice size storage & a stroller that could grow with our baby & our family. i read a lot of great things online about this stroller & spoke to a few women that absolutely love it. truth is, there are so many options out there, do your research & find a stroller that will fit your lifestyle needs. 

- jogging stroller: BOB
- infant car seat & base: make sure you have a head support for the car seat. most will come with one.

- fisher price rock & play: we haven't gotten one yet but people rave about them.
-exersaucer
- pello floor pillow

- ergo baby 360 carrier

- medela 'instyle' double electric breast pump: before you invest in this fine piece of machinery you may want to check to see if your insurance company will cover one or a portion of one for you.
- medela nursing bottles
- lansinoh hands free pumping bra
- pack & play system
- humidifier: we decided not to get one of these until we need one but a lot of mommas suggested having one on hand.
- nose frida
- bottles: tommee tippee is what i have been recommended the most.
- pacifiers
- dishwasher basket for bottle nipples & pacifiers
- boppy feeding pillow & cover
- burp cloths
- bebe au lait nursing cover
- swaddle blankets: aden & anais muslin blankets. velcro blankets to make swaddling easy.
- receiving blankets
- bumbo seat
- diaper bag: petunia pickle bottom seems like a favorite
- formula dispenser for diaper bag
- insulated bottle tote
- thermometer & first aid kit
- sophie the giraffe
- hamper
- highchair
- boon grass bottle drying rack
- diapers: from what i've learned, your baby will most likely dictate what brand of diapers you use.
- wipes 
- bath tub for baby
- washcloths
- hooded towels: look for real terry cloth, seems like you get what you pay for here. a lot of momma's like the pottery barn kids towels.
- bath products & lotion
- mustela foam shampoo for cradle cap
- a&d ointment
- desitin
- changing pad & 2 covers
- mattress pad x2
- crib sheets x2
- mobile
- feeding bibs & teething bibs
- belly band for post pregnancy
- nursing tanks & bras
- video monitor: we have decided not to use a monitor in the beginning & see how we do, but parents LOVE the motorola
- infant gowns: baby gap
- white noise or sound machine: sound b sleep sheep

i hope this little list can at least help you in some way!
please feel free to add any recommendations that you have in the comments section.

bumpdate: 33 weeks

{33 week bumpdate}

if there is ever a good time for a selfie, now is it, i guess?!
i know, i know, the bathroom wallpaper is great too.

a week ago we left home in texas & began our drive to arizona for spring training. it should be a quiet few weeks since we are living in a 55 & up community.

today marks 33 weeks of pregnancy & i can tell that baby boy is getting bigger. he's moving around a ton, i can feel his little hiccups (cutest thing ever!) & i can definitely tell where his feet are because they tend to be in my ribcage. with a growing baby comes a growing bump which makes for more discomforts...  uncomfy sleeps, an itchy belly & not being able to bend over all the way. i'm still not complaining though, because i have had a very easy & pleasurable pregnancy so far- added bonus: i haven't had to buy any maternity clothes.

with sleepless nights comes a lot of time to think. there are a couple of things that i'm beginning to get anxious about. the first, is knowing that Logan & i will have to share each other with a new little life.
 having a baby is an exciting time & believe me, i am so excited to meet this baby boy & fall in love with him, but i'm also starting to mourn the fact that life will not be just Logan & i (and Rowdy) anymore. since i'm heading to florida on march 16th to get ready to have the baby, these are the last few weeks that we have as just us. in the meantime, i'm really trying to enjoy & savor every single moment that we have together.