Beauty Wise Wednesday: a simple quick post

Today has been a bit of a stressful day so I don't have the energy to blog much today. I wanted to blog about how I do my make up now so that I can see how much it changes by the end of the year so I'll save that for an upcoming blog. Instead I think I'll post a few inspirational pictures from my Pintrest showing where I would like my style to go this year.

Basically I just want to add more style and color. I need to add accessories to my outfits with feminine details. I feel like to reach this goal I will need to lose this baby weight so that I can fit clothes that are this cute. I also want to commit to buying quality items.  I have learned over the years is that you definatly get what you pay for. Paying a bit more, for a quality items that will last longer is something that I think is important at this point in my life. Now lets just hope I can remind myself of that when I see the price tags while shopping.

Mommy Monday: Why do I make parenting a compitision?

I don't know what it is about being a mom that brings out my competative side but I swear I am always looking for my daughter to win. Now, I don't actually mean she wins, but I want her to be ahead of the curve or at least not behind it.

I have two friends that have had daughters within a month of me and I keep finding myself comparing Sloane to their daughters. Do all mom's do this? I even compare her to older babies that are in mommy groups I am a part of on facebook.

Maybe it all has to do with the stress I feel about if I'm doing things right. I swear I second guess everything I do. When should I make sure she is sleeping in her crib? Am I giving her enough tummy time? Am I putting her into her bumbo seat too soon? And my most recent debate in parenting when should I start giving Sloane cereal?

I know that the experts say is to wait till 6 months. My mom on the other hand insists that Sloane seems hungry and would be much happier with a little bit of cereal. (She, however, thinks me breast feeding is totally weird) Another well respected mom figure to me suggests putting a bit in her bottle and she will sleep through the night. Sloane is almost 3 months old and I am leaning toward trying it out. First try feeding her with a spoon just to see how she reacts then I think put some in a bottle of breast milk for Mat to feed her before bed (I only breast feed her when I'm home) Another question that comes with that however is how do I know how much cereal I add to the bottle? Then I start second guessing myself and comparing to my friends with babies. How will Sloane turn out differently if we feed her cereals too soon? Ug! I wish parenting was a little more cut and dry cause I want the absolute best for my baby, but who can say what is the best?

Do you guys have these same struggles? Any advice you can give? I love knowing all the options to help make decisions.

Date night

One thing we knew was very important when becoming pregnant is to make sure that we made time for us, without baby. We made a rule that we would have at least one date night a month. Even before Sloane was born we had out first date night planned. A night out in Seattle in December.

Mat had gotten tickets to see Louie CK close after we had found out we were pregnant. We are lucky enough to have my two best friends as baby sitters. We enjoyed a fancy steak dinner at Sullivan's in downtown Seattle and even splurged on a bottle of wine. We kinda pulled out all the stops knowing that we wouldn't be able to have many nights like that again. We also were celebrating that we had survived the first month of being parents! After dinner we had time to enjoy a drink before the show so we hit up Vons, one of my fav places downtown. It was especially nice because it was just before Christmas so all the wonderful holiday lights and decorations were up, adding to the magic of the evening! The comedy show was at the paramount theater and Louie CK did amazing! Our faces hurt from laughing so hard!

Tonight we are on date night number two, planned by me. (I'm actually writing this in the car on our way cause I choose to get pedicures with my girls over blogging) We are first going to the Snoqualmie Brewery cause I got Mat a groupon for Christmas to there. After we are heading to the casino. If we lose our money too fast at the casino we will probably go somewhere close to home and play pool. It's a simple date night but it brings us back to things we used to take advantage to be able to do in the past.

I'm so glad that we are making these date nights a priority. It's nice to have time just us to reconnect and be a little hit care free. Next month is February's so of course we are looking forward to going out for valentines day!

To all you parents out there, what did you do to keep a good grasp on your relationship or your sanity? Do you have any fun date night ideas for us?

Beauty Wise Wednesday: My Epsy Bag!

As I said before I want to start getting more into beauty products but I dislike wasting money on things I end up hating. Well the Ipsy bag is the answer to that! Plus, what is more fun than getting a bright pink bag in the mailvevery month?

I signed up for the bag in the end of December. They charged me the $10 on the first of January then sent out the package (according to my tracking number through USPS) on January 10th. The estimated delivery date was the 14th. Its eemed to get delayed for a couple days; I ended up getting my bag on the 18th.** Note my two friends also signed up for the ipsy bags in December with me,one friend got hers a couple days before me and another friend had yet to gethers now on the 23rd. We all live in the same apartment complex**

I want to do a reveal blog each month to let you guys know what I got in my bag and what the value of the bag is. Then later that month before I get my new bag I hope to do a review blog of the products.

This month’s bag is a very dark navy blue vinyl outside with a silver zipper pull. Inside is blue with white stars and an ipsy tag stitched into it. A very cute simple bag you could fit into a bigger purse.

Product #1: SOHO Crease brush: $8.50 on sohobeauty.com ($3 e-coupon)
*The package describes this brush: "The SOHO Crease Brush has soft and fluffy bristles tapered to a slight point, perfect for applying eye shadow to the crease of your eye. It's also ideal for blending multiple shades of eyeshadow together.
*my first impression: very soft. i haven't noticed the benefit of the ergonomic design.

Product #2: Big Sexy Hair Spray and Play 1.5oz:$10.18 on verbenaproducts.com ($5 e-coupon)
*Doesn't have a package description besides saying it is a volumizing hairspray, which I guess is pretty self-explanatory.
*my first impression: leaves the hair a bit stiff but did last all day.

Product #3: Pacifica Tuscan Blood Orange BodyButter 2.5oz: $7 on pacificaperfume.com (save 20% online) 
*The package describes: sparkling, juicyblood orange with notes of red raspberry and spicy sweet mandarins. The scent of the Mediterranean beach.
*my first impression: the smell is amazing; I have gotten several comments of how great it smells.

Product #4: Nailtini nail lacquer in Frappe: $13 on tinibeauty.com  (save 30% online)
*Product description: Wear Nailtini lacquers alone, layered or garnished to create countless combinations. Great straight or mixed- its cocktails for nails.
* my first impression: love the light pink color, brushed on my nails smoothly.

Product #5: Josie Maran %100 pure argan oil .17oz: .5oz is $14 on sephora.com ~$2.80 for this sample size. (save 15% online)
*Product description: Clinically proven. In four weeks, skins smoothness, hydration and elasticity is visibly improved. Highest grade. First cold-pressed to retain integrity of nutrients. Perfect for all skin types. Balances sebum production to help fight acne. Responsible. Supports women's co-op and fair trade in Morocco.

* my first impression: the oil goes on very smooth, love that it has many uses; moisturizer, hair treatment, nail treatment and bath oil.

$41.48 total value plus the make up bag... Paid $10!!!


Sign up here: http://www.ipsy.com/theglambag

 

Mommy Monday: Baby socks

One of the biggest headaches of being a parent is baby socks. They are constantly falling off and getting miss placed, because of this you quickly become an expert in socks. We have socks littered all over our house, in all baby beds, in between couch cushions, under the couch and in our bed. Luckily since it is winter and we always have a blanket on Sloane when we go outside we have yet to lose any socks.

The fluffy socks that seem to be the most warm are also the one's that cause the most headache. They typically need to be stretched onto the babies foot to fit properly but due to their soft texture they quickly slip off. It doesn't help that a baby is constantly kicking their feet and rubbing them together. I really don't even understand why they make baby socks like these. The only thing I can think of is that the socks get lost so often that people have to buy more and that's how the manufactures makes money.

Thin ankle socks seem to be a bit better cause they aren't as fluffy and easy to slip off. You don't typically need to stretch them as much to have them fit properly so that is helpful but the fact that they are so short give them little to hang on with when the baby is kicking and rubbing her feet against everything.

We found some socks that are a bit thick but come up to be knee high and have a good amount of tightness that when worn as knee socks they stay on for a good amount of time. We were given these as a baby gift. They are from baby gap and they are pretty adorable but come in bright colors so they don't match many outfits as I would like.

My favorite socks that I have found is are the thin socks that fold. They fit babies foot just perfectly without having to be stretched out. The cuff of the sock hold them in place and I have found that they will stay on all day even when taking her pants off and on for diaper changes. I know the Circo makes these socks but I'm sure there are many other brands of these socks as well.

We also have some socks that look like shoes. These are a favorite of mine because they are just too adorable and I have found that they seem to stay on quite nicely also. They are also thin socks. I really think that makes a difference. The Nike Jordan socks we have fit in a completely unique way. They are loose on the foot but get a bit tighter at the ankle to hold them on. They still don't stay on that long but I have hope they will fit better when she gets bigger.

We rarely put the thick socks on Sloane anymore, unfortunately we have quite a few pairs and I don't want to waste them. I'm thankful that we got so many socks as a gifts that we were able to experiment with which socks we liked without having to go out and buy them.

Finally how do you fold your babies socks? I fold them together like I would my socks but I find that it makes the one sock on the outside stretched out and that is what makes one sock fall off all day while the other happily stays in place. What are your thoughts on baby socks? Am I just completely over analyzing this?

**please forgive me for not listing many brands of the socks, I was given all our socks as gifts and the only way I know who has made the socks is if it says on the bottom as a grip**

 

Neck pain equals a trip to the ER?

If you guys follow me on Twitter or Facebook than you probably already know that my Thursday turned crazy real quick!

It all started Monday while I was at work. I had a tummy ache since Sunday and then suddenly I got a neck ache. (already falling part on my second day back to work) The neck ache was super annoying just round my collar bone. I took some ibuprofen, tried stretching it out and messaging it in hopes to get it better. Come Wednesday and the pain was still bad and seemed to have gotten a bit worse. I also noticed that the stomach ache never really went away. It seemed like the two pains were connected (neck pain was far worse) so I decided I would make a Dr appointment after nearly everyone said i should. I got an appointment for the next day at 1:15pm.

Going to the Dr I didn't really have much hope that they would be able to help besides giving me some stretches to do since I am breast feeding and the pain killers I can take are limited. I got there right on time and described what my symptoms were and much to my surprise the Dr said that I needed to go to the ER. It was the combo of symptoms that worried her. My stomach ache that hadn't gone away was right under the middle of my rib cage was interpreted as chest pain I guess and the fact that my neck didn't really hurt when I moved but did when I took deep breaths lead to her think I could possibly have a blood clot. I was in shock! How does neck pain change to a blood clot so fast? The Dr offered to have a ambulance take me to the hospital but of course I refused. I was just having freaking neck pain! I texted Mat and told him to get dressed because he had to take me to the ER. I think I freaked him out a bit.

I drove myself home and got Sloane ready while Mat got dressed and we headed off to Evergreen Hospital. I packed a bunch of pumped milk in case they wanted to give me drugs that would prevent me from breast feeding. The car ride was pretty silent, I shouldn't have told Mat how bad a blood clot could be.

Checking into the hospital was easy cause the doctor had called and said I was on my way. I had to be wheeled around in a wheel chair which I thought was just ridiculous but "people with chest pain get the royal treatment" according to the nurses. Once checked in I was wheeled to room 24, right next to a room where the patient was screaming. To say I didn't feel like I should be there was an under statement.

They said they had to do some blood work, a chest x ray and hook me up to heart monitors and an IV. Once we were done with that it was a waiting game to see what the blood work said. The blood test was to see if I had a blood clot. If it came back positive it didn't actually mean I had a blood clot but it did mean they needed to take a closer look. Much to my surprise the test came back positive so I had to be given a cat scan.

Getting a cat scan for the first time was pretty exciting. The machine talks to you can tells you when to hold your breath and when to breath and when to swallow and not swallow. They also had to give me a injection to make my blood contrast in the pictures. The contrast injection was a crazy feeling. It makes you all warm, gives you a metallic taste in your mouth and makes you feel like you peed your pants. Once done they covered me in warmed blankets cause I was pretty cold and wheeled me back into my room to waiting Mat and Sloane. They said it would be a 45 minute wait for the results.

I must say Sloane did so great while there. I fed her when we first got there and then she was a happy baby watching everyone hooking me up to all the machines. Of course everyone commented about how adorable she was and what a good baby she was. She fussed for just a little bit when she got tired but we put her in her car seat, closed to cover and rocked her till she fell asleep. The highlight of the ER was seeing her little feet poking out from under the car seat cover.

They came back with the results about an hours later and said it all looked good. No blood clot!!  I was relieved but to be honest I never really believed that I had anything that serious to begin with. I mostly felt ridiculous about being at the ER. They said they did see some little spot right under my diaphragm that I should have looked at again in like 9 months, just to see if it hasn't grown or anything, but nothing really to worry about. So they sent me on my way. I wasn't really thinking, I should have asked what to do about my neck, so I left still in pain. I was just happy to be getting out of there.

Mat and I hadn't eaten anything since we had breakfast so we headed to burgermaster for dinner. I was too excited to have a burger, fries and a peanut butter shake after the crazy day I had. I was exhausted and ready to just relax from the stress. I felt bad cause it was my forth day back to work and I was already back in the hospital. I swear I hope I don't see another hospital till I have our next baby, which won't be for a few years at least!

 

Beauty Wise Wednesday: Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch review

Welcome to another Beauty Wise Wednesday! This week I'm going to review a concealer that was recomended to me by a YouTuber: Glamour Wonderland. It was her best of 2012 video and for some reason she really made this concealer sound appealing. It's called Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch in Radiant and you can get it at any drug store for around $7.

I don't typically wear concealer, but I don't usually wear much make up besides a cover girl liquid to solid compact. I have to say I really do like this concealer. I remember when I did wear concealer they were thick and never really felt so natural on my face. Another issue I had with concealer was that I have already have a very red face so I wasn't ever sure where to put the concealer. I always felt like I should just put it all over my face. Again thanks to the magic of YouTube I have gotta tips as to where to put concealer.

So where do I put this concealer? Well this concealer is also a double purpose as a highlighter. I put it first on my under eyes to cover those pesky dark circles under my eyes and while I'm at it I put it into the inner corner of my eyes to brighten my face and make me look a bit more awake. (an important thing for a new mommy like myself) I then put it down the middle of my nose to give it a highlight as well as the side creases of my nose that tend to get bit red this time of year. Also if I'm not feeling like wearing too much eye shadow I will wear this concealer right under my eyebrows as a highlight. Then i finish it up on any blemishes I have on my face, which I seem to have quite a few after giving birth!

So how does this concealer last through the day? I think it does pretty amazing. The dark circles under my eyes are still concealed after an 8 hour shift at work. It also does a great job at concealing my huge red zits that constantly cover my chin these days, which I am very grateful for.

Overall I would 100% recommend this concealer to someone looking for something at a reasonable price, that has a soft finish and lasts all day with good coverage.


**Please forgive my horrible photography, I just took the pictures with my IPhone, I'll be hopefully using a better camera in the future!**

Mommy Monday

Well I'm in the middle of day two back to work. (I'm lucky to be able to sneak in blogging at work) First day was quite a struggle.

First of all I forgot my nipple shields for my breast pump so by the end of my 8 hr shift a was a leaky mess. (I attempted to hand express but that takes way too long to make any difference. Secondly Sloane was still struggled to take a bottle which added to my stress of leaving her. Mat said she cried for nearly 2 hrs straight then fell asleep. Luckily mat attempted to feed her right as she woke up and she finally took the bottle. She was fine after that.

I'm so thankful for modern technology that allows mat to communicate with me. He was able to send a picture to me of her sleeping and once she has happy and fed he sent me a video of her sitting in her bumpo. The video nearly made me cry knowing that they had made it through an were happy.

Day two it seemed that she ate a bit easier but was still a bit fussy. Do you think she is stressed because I'm not home with her? I'm happy that Mat has this time to bond with her cause I just know she is a daddies girl in the making! I also successfully pumped at work. I think by the end of the week we should have routines down and we will all be less stressed.

The night before returning to work

Well it is the night before I return to work and man am I a bundle of emotions! We are trying to get Sloane to take a bottle from daddy so that I feel confident about him feeding her tomorrow while I'm at work for 8 hours. So far it has been almost two hours of her screaming, falling asleep, taking the bottle for two seconds then screaming again. I want to know that she will eventually take the bottle so we are holding off nursing her for as long as we can stand it. I've been told that she will eventually eat.

Right now daddy is in Sloane's room with the door closed trying to feed her while I am out in the living room trying not to cry my eyes out! I read that if i'm where i can be seen or heard she could refuse the bottle. Writing this blog is my distration, before this I picked out pictures for the new frames we got for the living room.

I am going to leave mat with a dropper, a spoon and a sippy cup tomorrow cause I've read those are other ways to feed a baby that refuses a bottle. If going back to work when Sloane is only 9 weeks old isn't stressful enough, her refusing a bottle is just adding to my anxiety!


** Later that night we gave up, gave her a bath and put her in her bumpo seat for the first time. She watched an entire episode (25 minutes) of Blues Clues, eyes glued to it while sitting happily in her bumpo!**

Parenthood can be hard but all the fun things make it 1000x worth it!

 

What kind of struggles have you faced and how did you ge through them?

Beauty Wise Wednesday: Nail Polish Review

I want to start experimenting with beauty products but in an affordable way. To keep me motivated I've decided to bring my blog readers along for the ride as I discover new products. **A bit of a disclaimer I am extremely inexperienced with beauty products.** As a teenager I loved doing all my friends make up and hair but as I grew older and started paying for things on my own I discovered how expensive beauty products can be. I got discouraged from trying new things because I would spend the money on a product and then discover I didn't like it and be frustrated that I was out the money. As I move forward in my career and as an adult I realize how important your appearance can be (as shallow as it may sound) so I am going to try and find my own style, while reviewing products on my blog.

My first beauty product review is a simple one. NYC nail polish in 212 Mulberry Street. This is a sparkly nude tone. This nail polish says it claims it will dry in a minute and I have to say it lives up to it's claim. I love that because I have to do my nails between feeding Sloane and with a regular nail polish it would never be dry enough by the time she started getting fussy.

I painted two coats on my nails and then soon after took a shower. Now I will say there was a little bit of marking on my nails from the shower but not nearly as much as a regular polish. I painted a third coat on after my shower and my nails looked flawless. (well as flawless as I can get them) The polish is thin so it will dry quickly and it goes on quite smoothly.  It is a nice light pearl color with just a mild sparkle, which I really like and think would be a great color for any occasion.

The nail polish lasted a week without chipping. I then decided to change my nail color so I'm not sure just how long the polish would last but I'm thinking till it wore off, rather than chipping. The next nail polish I put on wasn't a quick dry and it was a disaster! Sloane of course woke up just as I was getting my nails done. I redid them once she was asleep again, let them dry (or so I thought) and went to bed. When I woke up I had imprints in the polish. Looks like I'll be sticking with the quick dry stuff for now on.

What is your favorite nail polish and why?

Mommy Monday (on Tuesday)

 

To Our Darling Daughter,
         You are now 2 months old. You are 24.5 inches long and weight just over 10lbs. This month has been so exciting to watch you grow. You have started holding your head up really well and you give us the most bright smiles we could ever ask for!
         You celebrated Christmas this month, it was a bit overwhelming for you but you enjoyed seeing all your friends and family. You big gift was from your grandparents; your rocking horse.
         You sleep through the night with only waking a couple times for a quick meal, mommy and daddy are very thankful for this. You also have been awake a lot more during the day which give us plenty play time. You love the play mat you got from Santa.
         You are growing so fast and we are loving to see all your new developments! Can't wait to see all your new things in month three.
                                                                                                     Love you lots
                                                                                                                  Mommy and Daddy

My YouTube Obsession and Vlogs

People usually think that Youtube is just a bunch of random videos and nothing you really would get too attached to. I've learned that YouTube is a little community where people share their lives and interests on daily videos. I have come to find that it is better than TV. Only one "commercial" at the begining of the video and you don't have to wait a whole week for the next episode because most of these people vlog daily.

This past year I have gotten closer to a friend, Ashely, who has introduced me to vlogs on YouTube. I had watched videos on YouTube in the past and had a few channels I followed but never regularly watched. One day when Ashley and I were getting ice cream at Menchies she mentioned that she noticed that I followed Karen Alloy on twitter. She was the first real person I followed and became a subscriber of on YouTube. That led to her suggesting a few other vlogs for me to follow.

Shaytards: This is a man, Shay Carl, and his family (Collette, Sontard, Princesstard, Babytard and Rocktard) who have been vlogging their daily lives for nearly 4 years now. They started in Idaho but have since moved to California and made vlogging into a real buisness. Thay have even co-started at production company named Maker Studios. This family is so fun to watch because they are genuin. They have an amazing family dynamic and they just raise your spirits.



CTFxC: This is a vlog about a newly married couple and how they go about thier daily lives. They have been vlogging for over 4 years now. These two people are so fun to watch, their relationship is so adorable. Charles became the base player in a band called We the Kings the past year and the vlogs have taken you on tour with him in Europe as well as on tour with Warped Tour in the US.






 It's Judy's Life: This is a vlog I just recently started following. It is a couple who lives in the Seattle area and have had a baby girl right around Sloane's age. They are so fun to watch because they both have great personalities. Judy has a beauty channel and her husband has a food/cooking channel. It is also fun to watch a vlog with a baby around Sloane's age to see how their child compares to mine.

A fun part of YouTube and the vloggers is that it is a community. All these vloggers I mentioned also link you to many other vloggers or channels that are fun to watch. The Shaytards and CTFxC have family members that have vlogs and other special interest channels. The possiblity of what I can watch videos of is endless, giving me hours of entertainment while I nurse and pump.

So what kind of YouTube videos do you watch? I am always looking for new vlogs and tutorials or what not to subscribe to.

Sloane's birth story Part 2

This is the second half of my birth story. If you want to read the first half click HERE.

The nurse arrived to take me to my room and we slowly followed her back, stopping once to let a contraction pass. Once we arrived to the room it seemed like everything was flying by. We were asked a bunch of questions, my vital signs were checked and I was hooked up to monitors for my baby's heart rate. While checking in, lunch arrived and the tray looked so good with an amazing looking lemon bar calling my name. I had only eaten a pack of peanut butter crackers so far that day. I so badly wanted to eat it but the nurse strongly suggested I didn't because it was likely I could get nauseous during labor. I sadly agreed not to eat. Once we were checked in I decided I wanted to labor in the tub.

The nurse filled it up and I quickly climbed in and turned on the jets. This tub is the only thing that got me through my labor is believe. The warm water and the jets really helped to relax me. During this time I was also receiving texts from family and friends letting me know they were on their way, I wasn't really able to concentrate on texting back however but Mat was letting me know what they were saying. Linnea was the first to arrive followed by my Grams and then my parents and Kristin were soon after. They all gathered around me in the tub as my contractions were rapidly getting stronger. I remember getting annoyed that they all kept offering their seats to each other and quickly I made a rule that there would be no talking while I was going through a contraction. While in labor I remember yelling "I don't like this" and "I'm so stupid, why didn't I want drugs?" It was hard for me to remember why I was going for an all natural birth while in pain. I wish I could discribe the pain I was in but it was really just a lot of discomfort. They say you forget how much pain it was and I will agree with that. I know it was a lot of pain but I can't really remember what kind of pain it was and so, in a way, I have forgotten how bad it was.  It was nice because Mat was being so supportive and not letting me give into the pain. I thought for sure once I started saying I should have taken drugs that my nurse would have offered them to me, and I would have given in, but she was didn't really make it seem like drugs were an option which was good. I feel like having my birth plan really helped with the way my nurse treated the experance. The headline was; "I'm just dramatic, I'm sure I'm fine." I also stated to not offer me drugs, that if I wanted them I would ask for them. I hear from friends that my nurse was a bit rude, luckily I don't really remember that. I was brought cranberry juice to drink and it was very tasty but quickly the contractions became so strong that I started puking from the pain and I couldn't even keep down ice chips. I was happy that I hadn't eaten that lemon bar earlier. My Dr arrived and started talking to me about my options. She suggested that we could break my water to get the process moving a bit quicker. I was a bit nervous about that so I decided to wait it out a bit longer. By the time my dilation was checked I think I had been in labor for 4 hours. I was at 7-8cm and it seemed like things were progressing pretty well on their own. I climbed back into the tub to make it through the rest of my labor.
I decided I wanted my water broken a little while later so I got the nurse and let her know. They got me back out of the tub and checked me again, I was 9 and 3/4cm so the Dr broke my water and a few minutes later I was pushing. My mom and grams where holding my right leg while Mat was holding my left. Pushing was the hardest part of labor by far, so exhausting having to push so hard. I pushed for 30 minutes total. The last two pushes were the worst, I felt like I was literally ripping in half, I sat up, screamed and nearly jumped off the bed but my Dr grabbed my attention and very firmly told me that I had to push and that it was almost over. With the last push I felt the most amazing relief I've ever felt. There was suddenly no pain just pure relief. When they broke my water they had noticed that Sloane had pooped while still inside me so they had extra nurses in the room in case she was born with issues. As soon as Sloane was out she cried and we knew she was all right! Sloane Lori-Lee Evans was born November 7th, 2012. She was 8lbs 8oz and 21in long. My labor totaled 6 hours (not including the time I spent at home feeling light contractions.) They quickly placed her on my chest for skin to skin while they worked to get out the after birth. Sloane promptly pooped on me, she is quite a poop machine still.

The first few moments after Sloane was born is a bit of a blur after going through so much pain. There is video of me holding her to my chest talking to the Dr about when she should get her ear pierced. (for the record I vote for her getting them when she is around 10 yrs old, as a right of passage.) After getting me all stitched up it was time to start breast feeding. Sloane took to it quite well, and once I was comfortable at what I was doing I let all the rest of my family and friends gather back in my room. It was amazing how many people came for Sloane's birth. I'm so grateful that she has so many people that love her. I was especially excited that Mat's aunt from California was able to make it up here for the birth.

I'm so proud of myself for making it through an all natural child birth. I hasn't known that is what I wanted until I was pregnant. It just felt right to, I don't know, earn my child. Like people say the best things in life you have to work for. Now onto the best adventure of my life. I can't wait to see who our beautiful daughter will grow up to be.

Sloane's Birth Story Part 1

I had been waiting to go into labor for what seemed like months. I was put on bed rest at 28 weeks for being at risk for going into pre-term labor. It seemed ever since then I had been waiting for our little one to arrive. I wanted her to make her appearance before Halloween because it would have been so much fun to celebrate with her. Well November 6th, 2012 arrived, her due date, and she still was no where to be seen. I felt like I might have been having contractions, I hadn't really felt any during my pregnancy thus far, but being a first time mom I really had no idea what labor felt like. I went to my regularly scheduled Dr appointment at noon. Told my Dr that I thought I had been feeling contractions, hoping that she would just send me to the hospital that day. She checked me and saw that I was dilated to 4cm (I had been dilated this much for about a week or so already). She hooked me up to monitors and saw I was having contractions but they weren't very strong or very regular so she sent me on my way. I was determined to go into labor after trying a bunch of old wives tales already. Mat and I headed straight to our favorite Thai restaurant, Chantanee. We ordered or regular; Heavenly Beef, with the full 5 stars (spicy foods are said to bring on labor). Sadly no real improvement in my contractions so we headed to Bellevue Square Mall to walk around. I think we walked every inch of the mall and I thought my contractions were getting a bit stronger but still no real pain. I wanted to be able to just go back to the Dr's office but it didn't seem like the time so we headed back to our house to rest. I was on edge cause I knew something was happening but it just didn't seem like enough to call the Dr about. Much to my dismay any pain I had been feeling faded as we relaxed at home. Seems it was all just from the exhaustion of walking so much, so we headed to bed. Around 4am I woke up feeling more pressure than before but still no pain. I decided to get up and move to the living room to let Mat sleep and see if it was possible to time the contractions. The first few hours they weren't really regular but as time passed the pressure seemed to come anywhere between every 2 to 4 minutes. I was pretty excited once Mat finally woke up but still pretty sceptical because I wasn't in pain and everyone who had talked to me had said "You will know you are in labor. it will hurt!" but after a full hour of contractions coming every 3 or so minutes I called the Dr's office and they instructed me to come into their office to be monitored.

We arrived at the office around 10:30am November 7th, 2012. Upon seeing me my Dr said "You don't look like your in enough pain to be in labor" I'm pretty sure she had made up her mind then that I wasn't going to the hospital that day. She checked my cervix once again and I was still at 4cm. I was once again hooked up to monitors. While we sat there my contractions were becoming more and more painful to where I had to stop what I was doing till they passed. My Dr still wasn't convinced and was talking about sending me home. I told her the problem with that was I wouldn't be sure when real labor had started if what I was going through wasn't it cause I already felt a good amount of pain and pressure. She said she would check my cervix one more time to see if I had gotten any closer to the 5cm I needed to be sent over to the hospital. As she was checking me she said that I still hadn't gotten all the way to 5cm but if I really felt like I needed to go to the hospital she would "fib" for me when she called the hospital to tell them I was heading over. Her final words as I left to head to the hospital were "make sure to look like your in pain so I don't look bad for sending you over." I was relieved to be finally heading to the hospital. Mat and I slowly walked through the underground tunnel that attached my Dr's office with the hospital. We did have to stop a couple of times to let contractions pass. We arrived at the hospital and they called up a nurse for me. As we waited I was texting all of my friends and family, and calling my mom. This was it, I was finally being admitted to the hospital.