I love to read birth stories and I am so thankful to have friends that are willing to share such an intimate moment of their lives with me.
I am happy that Callie wants to share hers with us and I am still waiting to meet and kiss this beautiful little baby girl!

CONGRATULATIONS Callie, your body did an amazing thing

The Sucky Truth About Breastfeeding
Being informed is key and I am thankful I had some people really lay it all our for me, I was still surprised with the hard stuff but it was not as bad as it could have been. This lady is a little crazy for me haha but I thought I would share it anyways.


Embarrassed, spoken word about breastfeeding:

I have watched this like 5xs in the last day and a half. I  love it. I love her accent. I love everything. Nurse your baby with a cover or without one but no one should feel like they have to hide.

Men Can't Have It All Either
A good reminder.

Breastmilk - The Movie
"With unexpected humor, with an unflinching camera, with some guilt and some pain, this film takes the unusual risk of examining what breast milk truly means.We are often told that breast milk is better. Better for babies, better for mothers, better for nutrition, health, well-being, and society. Many accept this and yet there are still very few women who succeed in breastfeeding exclusively for the recommended six months and beyond. What would it take to change?"
                                                I must see this ! 

My girlfriend Teresa sent this my way this morning.

There comes a time in your life, when you walk away from all the drama and people who create it. You surround yourself with people who make you laugh.
Forget the bad, and focus on the good. Love the people who treat you right, pray for the ones who don't. Life is too short to be anything but happy.
Falling down is a part of life, getting back up is living.

I'm supposed to pick 8 women who have touched my life and who I think might participate. Please send this back to me. Remember to just read the quotation. That's all you have to do. There is nothing attached. Just send this to 8 women you would like to sit at your table and let me know what happens on the 4th day. Thank you!!





Quote: "Today may there be peace within. May you trust that you are exactly
where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities
that are born of faith in yourself and others. May you use the gifts that
you have received and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you
be content with yourself just the way you are. Let this knowledge settle
into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and
love. It is there for each and every one of us.”

_______________________________________________________________________________

I loved it, I don't usually do the 'pass this along' kind of email and I do not think anything will actually happen on the 4th day haha but it was nice to be reminded that I have 8 women, I have more than 8 women that I value and that they should know to value all their hard work too.

Thanks for the share Teresa, I am lucky to have you at my table 

and thank you to all of my friends <3
Nikol

1.5 weeks down, I am a working mommy and things are going pretty well. I am getting back into the swing of things at work and I have had both kinds of customers already, the ones who are horrified that my daughter is in day care and the ones who welcome me back and tell me that work will feel like a mini vacation from the baby. I'm not sure if its just the industry that I work in or what but my customers feel a deep connection with me and have no trouble letting me know how the feel about my life decisions haha. Usually it does not bother me at all but during my FIRST hour back at work a woman called me, "a bad mom" because I didn't show her a picture of Claire right away. wtf? Not only is that so hurtful but I am also BACK AT WORK and trying to get back into the groove of things. Rude.
Otherwise, work is great! We are opening our 3rd salon in January so interviews are starting and there is not too much time to think about what I would be doing differently and I think getting my mind off being away from my baby is a good thing, even though I miss her tons. I'm thankful that her day care provider, Patsy, sends pictures :)

We have gotten into reverse cycling with Claire which has left me very very very very very very very tired. I won't go into the details but my lovely baby girl who was sleeping 9 hours at a time is now enjoying about an hour or so at a time. I adore that she wants to be with me because she misses me during the day but mama needs some sleep haha. By 4am if she is still doing it I have been bringing her into bed with us, I hear this won't last too long though and I am hoping we get into a routine that works a little bit better for us all very soon.

Hey moms! Please send me  your tips for traveling with a baby :)
I am starting to get a little bit anxious for Claire's first flight, I already do not like to fly and/or pack so we will have to get through this together. I just ordered a pack of diapers to my grandma in laws house so that way we only need to pack enough for our short flight and I just was reading up on luggage and I guess I get my regular carry on AND a diaper bag, maybe we won't have to check any! I also plan on trying that trick everyone has been posting about on FB - taking booze on the plane - I am sure that a diet vodka would help with my flight nerves :)
Thankfully we are able to pack light  because our family in Kansas found us a car seat we can use and a play pen for her to sleep in, I will just be wearing her in my Ergo and probably breastfeeding the whole way! I will def let you know how this all pans out.

How have you been? Anything new?
Over here besides going back to work and being a mommy there isn't TOO much going on. I am looking forward to this weekend though because I get to spend an evening with the Delta Chi wives, I love that this is our second year putting it on and it seems to be a hit. We will make food, bring drinks, wear lace and catch up with the better halves of those Delta Chi's that we all married. Then on Sunday Ryan and I are hosting an early Thanksgiving for my parents since we will be gone on the actual holiday and on my 30th birthday.

wow - turning 30. I will leave that post for another time,
have a great evening xoxox

Lies People Tell You About Infant Sleep
I loved this article!
I have been lucky and very supported - no one has told me I am doing anything wrong and I feel like things have been going really well even when it comes to our sleep {I wrote this before reverse cycling started}
I read lots of sleep training books while pregnant and so far have no needed to implement them- if you are having trouble I think this article is super :)





My life in Google searches:
Shuttle to LAX
Sprouts promo codes
Frozen mahi mahi recipe
How to fly with a 3 month old
Drool rash
Can you reboil a soft boiled egg
Cami shelf bra
How much milk does a baby need
Clean stuffing recipe
Gerber baby photo contest
Baltic amber teething necklaces



Instagram Photo Dump

Started at:                                
weight - 151
waist - 34.75
lower belly - 38

Ended at:
weight - 147: lost 4 pounds
waist - 33.50: lost 1.25inches 
lower belly - 36: lost 2 inches

Mini Fox 14 day detox was awesome! I loved the teas, I enjoyed eating clean and it wasn't that hard! I think the no dairy was the hardest part for me, I love toast with butter & Greek yogurt so I missed those daily staples but I think I will be able to eat a lot less of them now. It was amazing to see how quickly my body adjusted to the detox, after 4 days I had lost 2 pounds and if I 'cheated' my tummy would hurt and it made me not want to cheat at all. The morning tea gave me a lot of energy and curbed any cravings. The night time tea was also tasty, plus the gentle laxative really helped me feel lighter. I worked out with Lora two times one week and then missed all my workouts one week because of going back to work. Even without as many workouts as I usually would have done I am really happy with my results. I am excited to do it again and keep up the clean eating.

When it came to meal prep, I didn't really make anything amazing or new that was clean but I am going to attempt a new stuffing recipe for the holidays and maybe subscribe to the clean eating magazine to make my meals more exciting :)
Ryan did it with me [he was not quite as strict as I was] and he also is seeing results! He looks lean all over and said he feels better. He didn't do any measurements or weigh himself because he wasn't doing the tea he just did diet part of it.

Overall I totally recommend it to everyone :) even if you just want to try some new tea!

have a great day, foxes 
xo
Nikol

Toddler Nursing Myths Debunked
I loved this article, I had never considered going past a year [fingers crossed we can make it that long] but after reading this I think the concept is interesting and I plan on researching self weaning some more. This might not be for me in the long run but I wanna know more.

Sex After Baby
Really good read.

How Did It Get to Be 'OK' for People to Be Late for Everything?
Its a huge pet peeve and now with a baby scheduling has become a little more important, I loved this article but he is a little angrier about it then I am.

Teach me how to breastfeed
I just cant get enough

These all made me cry... today haha

Google Reunion
aww friendship, some days are harder than others with friends but stuff like this makes me happy

Little girls first time on ice
well, I cried because I thought of Claire doing this 

Twins first bath
so sweet


TGIF, have a great weekend
xo

Time flies blahblah blah you have all heard it but I still think it like 1000x a day! Pictured above is Claire and I reuniting last night after her first day with Patsy at her new day care. She seemed happy and playful and then slept like a champ. I missed her so much but we both got through it and I think we are both better for it, we will see how it all pans out.

I wanted to go ahead and do another installment of Being a mommy :)

Being a mommy - 12 days in
Being a mommy - 60 days in 

First things first - being a mommy includes  too many pictures 

Sleep
A tiny human goes through ups and downs just like a big human. Overall Claire loves to sleep! Loves it! During the day she has kind of ditched nap time for more play time and being held time which worked out for us, she did not mind doing chores with me and if I really needed a nap I could calm her down by swaddling her, putting on her mobile and laying her down in the crib. For about an hour I was able to nap with her or get a few things done around the house. Because she has  been so active and alert during the day I was curious how her night time sleep would go. I am not really into any big type of bed time routine just yet but usually she gets cozy with Ryan around 9 and they read a book, I then nurse her and put her to bed. She still likes to be swaddled and I put the boppy around her feet so that she does not wiggle herself awake. She will sometimes wake up around 1 and then sleep until about 6. Lately though she can go for about 8 hours with no wake ups. It has been pretty splendid. Thankfully she just nurses and then goes right back to sleep. I don't want to get too excited about how its been going for the last month because I know things could change, especially now that I am back at work but so far so good. I am not as lucky as she is though, I cannot seem to sleep that long. I have been getting up around 3am to pump because I want to keep my supply up and that is helping me make sure we are good for day care. Last night I went to bed at 9:30 right after she did and I was able to sleep soundly until 3am, I then pumped and was unable to fall back to sleep so being the mean mommy I am [jk] I decided to wake her up and feed her since the lactation consultant said she should be eating more anyway and then this way I would be able to sleep a few more hours before waking up for the day. She nursed while sleeping and then I tucked her right back into her swaddle and off  to bed I went. Ryan & I woke up at 6am for the day and I woke Claire up at 630am to nurse and get ready for her day. Our schedule seems to be working for us, even though this week I have been soooo tired with throwing work back into the mix but I am sure we will get our groove soon.

Breast feeding
We are doing so so so so so much better! I still have a few hiccups here and there but overall it is all good! Last week I went to the lactation consultant through the hospital for a weight check and for her to watch me nurse. Claire gained 3 ounces in 7 days and she kind of made me feel 'bad' about it. I don't know. Claire is happy and healthy and this woman made me feel like I eventually might need to start supplementing, I spoke to my pediatrician about it and she said Claire is fine and has already almost doubled her weight so I just need to keep up what I am doing. I made her bottles for day care a little bit more than what she usually eats so that way she is getting some more during the day when I cannot feed her on demand. Pumping is a whole new thing, to get my supply up I started pumping every hour for just a few minutes and I was able to freeze a lot from that and get my first day of day care bottles ready. That with the Milkies I am feeling good. Now that I am on my third day back at work I am trying to figure out how pumping is going to work. In a perfect world I will be able to pump every two hours but some days I just do not have someone else with me, so I will have to figure it out but so far so good, I have been able to get about 10 ounces during my work hours and then I just keep pumping once I get home too. This morning I had the idea to reach out to my breastfeeding support group and see if anyone had a Medela they aren't using anymore and I found a few ladies willing to give me their old ones!! This will be great because I can just leave one at each salon and at home, it will reduce my stress and all the stuff I have to lug around. I am happy.

My relationship with Ryan
As usual, he is awesome. 
He is so in love with Claire and so in love with me that I cannot ask for anything more. I am hoping to plan a few more date nights very soon but for right now we are enjoying the three of us, with me going back to work I feel like I cannot get enough time with Claire and leaving her any more than I have to right now just does not sit well with me, so this weekend we have a picnic park date planned and I am so excited for it. I am lucky to have such an involved partner and someone I love and respect so much. We have both been working on helping each other with whatever is needed and I am trying to be less of a stress ball about things being clean haha they will eventually be done I just have to remember that.

Healing from her birth
I feel 100%, sometimes I can feel pains in my incision but I usually forget all about it. Plus, I have been working out a good amount, I think that is helping me feel better in many ways.

Going back to work
I am three days in and today there were A LOT less tears. 

Monday was my first day and my mom watched Claire and that really helped with my transition. The two of them just had the best day it sounded like. I went into work and I cried on the drive there but once I was at work I was right back in it. I thought of her all the time but I knew she was doing great with my mom and thankfully she sent many pictures. Once I got home it was wonderful to nurse her [4 times in 4 hours haha] it was so nice to feel connected with her again and we both slept really well that evening.

Tuesday was my first day at Costa Mesa and her actual first day at day care. Ryan took her because I had to get to work and that was the hardest. I cried and cried while nursing her, dressing her and even harder when I had to say goodbye to her. It was our first time using the car seat in Ryans car and he snapped a few pictures for me :)

Once she got home we played, she nursed, she slept and overall she was wonderful. I like the day care provider a lot, she bought her the cutest little jiggle seat so she can hang out in there when the older kids are reading and doing crafts.

Today it was my turn to drop her off, when I got there Patsy [the day care provider] was super nice and I was able to meet a few moms and their children. It was nice to see the kids being excited to go and the parents told me how long they had been using her as a provider and it really helped me feel better.

Today has been flying by but I am so excited to go pick her up and take her on a walk.

Hope you are having a wonderful day

xo
Nikol

wow.

three months.

at this time 3 months ago I was just getting the epidural process started and would meet my baby girl a few hours later. now I sit here while Claire is enjoying her toys, my  husband is napping and I am reading over my long list of how to be ready for my first day back at work tomorrow and I am proud. I am proud at everything we accomplished, I am proud of all the days we did nothing but sit, breastfeed and enjoy each other, I am proud of how our newborn has grown into her own little baby self. I might be biased but I never saw her as a blob as I sometimes see other babies, she always had personality but now she is starting to really come into her own. she loves to laugh and play and respond to us. she is fascinating.

I am so excited for all of her milestones that might happen in her 3rd month and I am sad that I might miss a few while I am back at work. But my hope for her is that she will continue to grow, to be healthy and that she won't forget me while I am away haha.

I love you Claire Olive ZumMallen

Happy 3rd month birthday!!
xo
momma

I could stare at her all day, sad that in a few days that will not be an option any longer.


Helloha Photography took more pictures of our babe.

This is my last Friday before I head back to work and we started the day with cuddling in my bed and I so wish we had done that more often, I'm looking forward to doing that on weekends and work days when I start at noon. This time with Claire has been so special, she and I have done so much fun stuff, we have talked, laughed, and taken care of each other. I am lucky to have her. 

I am sitting here pumping and she's in her little chair sucking away on her fingers then we will get ready for our day, I wanted to post so I could look back on this last Friday morning but I am at a loss for words.

Instead I will share pictures from this last week.

I loved our time together and once I am back at work I think it will just make every second we all get together even more special.

Ok her naps done, going to squeeze her for awhile.

xo
Nikol

FOODIE BABY

There are so many things to look forward to when you have a baby. One of them for me was Hailey’s first experience with solid food. I always knew I wanted to make Hailey’s food. I did a bunch of research and had no idea how many options there were out there. You can start your baby out on rice cereal, you can skip rice cereal and get straight to pureed food, you can skip pureed and start with mushy finger foods, start with only vegetables to avoid a “sweet tooth”. One isn’t more right than the other. Purely just personal preference.

I choose to skip the rice cereal route and have Hailey’s first experience with solid food be mashed avocados! I pureed an avocado with some breast milk and served it up. Hailey loved it! She is a good little eater like her Mom and Dad. She has also tried sweet potatoes and bananas. Next up on the menu is green beans, applesauce, pears, butternut squash, oatmeal and brown rice.

I was surprised at how easy it was to make all her food. I bought a baby food maker which isn’t necessary at all but really just makes my life easier. It steams and purees all your food (so less dishes!). A lot of them I have mixed with breast milk to make the transition to solids easier. For the oatmeal and brown rice, I bought rolled oats and long grain brown rice. I then ground them into a powder using my magic bullet. Sooo simple and it just gives me piece of mind that I know exactly what is in my daughter’s baby food.

I’ve always loved to cook but am surprised at how much I am enjoying making Hailey’s baby food. There is just something satisfying by peeling, chopping, steaming, etc. all of her food. I know she is getting pure and natural foods. To help me get a bit more creative I bought The Wholesome Baby Food Guide by Maggie Meade and am really enjoying it so far. I can’t wait for my little foodie baby to get more adventurous!

xoxo,

Kristen