Whew, another very busy weekend ["busy" is so much different then it used to be] brunch and a car show would not usually leave me this pooped, but with our little active one and my lack of stamina it felt like a lot! 

Had a great time though, Li arrived last Saturday and was with us for a few days over her week visit. I know you cannot "spoil" a baby but if you could it would have happened. Li is such a light sleeper that during the night if Claire even made a peep she would be rocked and sang to before I could even get in there and get my boob ready haha. She changed many a diaper and held her for my two showers a day. It was a lovely visit. I am so glad that Claire was able to spend so much time with her auntie, we watched lots of movies, tv shows, and ate some really good food - pretty perfect week.

To say our goodbyes Dana brought a delicious brunch over to our house [thank you for the idea], my parents and David also joined us. It was a lot of fun to have so much family around, Claire loves the attention and I know the grandparents love all the time that they get. My parents stayed for the evening and my mom made us crepes and we tried to stay cool in this hot hot weather. My mom loves to get the cutest outfits for the baby lady - we now have her first pair of UGGS! I die. Plus lots more outfits and new sheets, thank you so much mom - she loves them already!

The grandpas came down for round 2 in LB today, we strolled around 2nd street looking at all the cool cars, grabbed a nice lunch and I was even able to visit with Robin & Kate for awhile. Getting out and getting some sun has really helped with my baby blues. When I would have them they would come on strong and last for awhile, thankful for my support system and my placenta pills. I know a lot of women have it a lot worse then I did and I hope that they know to reach out, to cry and to understand  that its normal. When I let myself spiral into thinking I was crazy and a bad mom for feeling that way it got so much worse. I am really happy with how I have been feeling lately and am so thankful to Claire for letting me sleep for longer chunks at night. I am sure that it is helping.


Hope everyone had a lovely weekend!
xo
Nikol

- Thrush update: its still hanging around, not fun but hoping we can clear this all up soon. 
- The heat, man oh man. I try not to complain about this too much via social media but damnit talk to me in person and you would not believe how much I hate it haha thankfully my dad set up a huge fan in front of our ac unit and it feels so so much better in our home.
- My sore body, Lora came over stretched me out and foam rolled me it was so helpful, nursing really is  taking a toll on me.

- Yay to all the family time, hoping we can fit in a lot more. It is so nice to see Claire surrounded by so many loved one. I remember growing up with my huge family in Utah and I hope for the same for her.
- Sleep! cheers to sleep! I was able to take many naps with Li here and Claire has been sleeping for longer stretches at night. With her weight gain I haven't needed to wake her up and it is lovely.
- Claire has been smiling! They are little and quick but they are there and make the whole day better.
- Kansas trip, we have booked our flights and I am nervous/excited for Claire taking her first plane ride but very excited for some time with family, a wedding, Thanksgiving and my 30th birthday!





Instagram Photo Dump

Thrush - this website gives tons of info and was really helpful when I was trying to figure this out at home. 

The ZumMallen ladies have thrush :( 

I realized this on Monday and decided to do some at home remedies because at the time I was the only one with symptoms, since it was a holiday I wasn't able to head to my doctors and I wasn't sure how much of an "emergency" it was.
After my usual Google research I found out this is very common, especially in the summer months. With how hot and sweaty we have all been I guess I am not THAT surprised that this happened. Especially adding in the antibiotics that the hospital gave me after my surgery I should have been more prepared [Antibiotics change the normal balance between germs in the vagina by decreasing the number of protective bacteria.]

The symptoms that we were experiencing: 
- pain while breast feeding, it felt like shooting pains deep in the tissue while she ate and after she ate.
- itchy and raw nipples [this can be normal if you have a bad latch with your baby but after three weeks of good breast feeding I knew this wasn't normal]
- white patches in Claire's mouth that I could not wipe away [if I could wipe it away then it would just be milk residue]

Thankfully we were able to get in and see our pediatrician pretty quickly, the treatment is not so bad but it can take a few days to a few weeks depending on us and how thorough we are.
- I have to give Claire a liquid medication 4 times a day and make sure she gets it on the inside of each cheek
- I have an ointment that I need to apply 4 - 6 times a day after she is done nursing.
So none of that is too bad BUT there is more, I have to wash my bras in hot water daily and hang dry in the sun [what?! lol sorry neighbors] Anything that comes in contact with her mouth or my nipples has to be sanitized. Wash my nipples with vinegar and change nursing bad after each feeding.
These are a bit annoying but oh well I am ready to get rid of this infection.

Thought I would share this with you in case you have a summer baby or just happen to have this happen to you.

So with feeling tired, Claire having a cold, having a stomach flu and us having thrush - I was feeling a little down yesterday morning and posted this on Instagram:







I have amazing women in my life and they all helped pump me up and make me feel so much better!

Thank you all xo

Hope you are feeling wonderful, I have had two naps today and my baby has been so wonderful - no complaints over here

xo
Nikol





Instagram photo dump.

We did our newborn photo shoot! I won a free session and a disc full of images from Melissa Vossler Photography I thought about using it for maternity photos but we decided that we wanted tons of photos of Claire and the three of us and we probably had enough belly shots.
It was so much fun and I posted our sneak peek above! They are amazing and we could not be happier - cannot wait to see the rest and get to printing!

Things have been good over here, we have had a few hiccups like Claire having a cold, me having a stomach flu and the both of us having thrush :( today we are off to the doctors to get the thrush looked at and treated I will post more about that next time, I had read about thrush but am learning so much more about it now that we are both dealing with it.

We had a pretty busy weekend, the Dunning wedding was a blast, such a beautiful event and it was also a lot of firsts for Claire! Her first wedding, her first breast milk bottle, her first dance with mommy and daddy AND her first time taking pictures in a photo booth :) it was a really nice evening and we both ended up being pretty pooped so it was really nice that I had an extra bottle already pumped and ready for her so Ryan took a feeding that evening and I was able to catch a few more zzz's

Lindsey is in town! She is here for a week so Claire still has a few more days with her auntie Li. Lindsey made her the cutest little baby shoes AND she re did her baby blanket so that Claire could now have it! It is so thoughtful and cute, I remember my baby blanket and I hope Claire wants to carry hers around with her all of the time.

My moods are still pretty up and down but I am feeling so much better than before, sometimes I just do not feel like myself and I am trying to not be hard on myself and my body, we have been living on the couch with snuggles and reality tv. I need to enjoy the time off more but my insane need to be go go go has occasionally blocked it, but I am enjoying all the time with my little nugget. She is filling out so fast and changing every second. She amazes me all the time AND WHAT IS THIS BABY SMELL its intoxicating, I just smell her all the time haha.

I still am going back and forth on how I plan on continuing this but for now I am liking lists, they are quick and easy :)

*feeling like just a pair of boobs on the couch waiting for Claire to eat and poop
*feeling frumpy
*the hourly feedings from 4am to 7am
*looking and feeling exhausted

*my perfect baby girl who is growing and changing before my eyes as much as I want to get to the part where I feel normal again I want to freeze time and just stare at her when she is alert and awake.
*the time after she is done nursing and just stares at me like she has never been happier and then starts to fall asleep
*Ryan is amazing, every day he does so much for us I am so glad I am doing this with him
*watching her little belly chub out
*watching her back muscles get all big when she is working so hard at tummy time
*thankful for so much time off work to bond with my baby lady
*thankful for our family and friends for support





Instagram Photo Dump

Hope you are having a nice week!
xo
Nikol