9 Months

I absolutely love this age. Your sweet new squinty-eyed smile makes me burst into laughter and I love that gummy cheesy grin. You are talking furiously and with much conviction, which is also just hilarious. Your little eyes grow bigger and brighter when I talk back in your language. I think you like the conversation! 

Your little personality is showing more and more each day and it's so fun to be able to interact with you. You're a sassy little thing, and get very upset when you're not able to fully experience whatever it is you're going after. You want to be able to play with and discover absolutely everything and get the sass-look on your face if you can't figure it out. Squinted eyes, lips pursed all the way out and a low grade whine. It's the most precious yet scariest thing. A glimpse into your toddlerhood? Teen years? God help us. You are a little free spirit. You want to be free to roam and scoot (speedily I might add) all over the place. You have a deep affection for wires and love to gnaw on them (until I catch you of course!) 

You love music and think it's hilarious when we dance together. You love surprises and silly noises and loveeee when daddy kisses your neck. 

You're very inquisitive about the world around you. You are shy around new people though you will let just about anyone hold you. Holding you over our shoulder is still the surest way to calm you down. 

You are drawn like a magnet to: buttons, zippers, ribbons, jewelry and anything bright and sparkly! What a girly girl already! You said "mama" once and I've been trying hard to get you to say it again ever since. 

get after it, girl

hair brush = only way I got her to sit still for a few minutes to take pictures

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The Broken + the Beautiful: Our Breastfeeding Story

This week is World Breastfeeding Week, and I've been thinking a lot about our experience because of it. I wanted to share our story to encourage anyone who may be going through a rough patch in their nursing relationship. 

We are not at the end of our breastfeeding journey, and it's been rough. In saying that I know there are many mama's out there who have had it much worse than I have. Things like infection, acid reflux and having to quit altogether because of circumstances outside of their control. Because of that, I am so grateful to be able to continue nursing my daughter even through the difficulties. 

Like every new mom, I pushed through the agonizing physical pain of the first month. But for me the deeper pain has been emotional. She has pushed me away, screamed and has been disinterested from day one. I had hoped that nursing would be bonding, and there are some moments that provide that, but there have also been many times that I have felt rejected by my sweet daughter, and it has hurt. 

Photo by Logan O'Rear Photography

As a newborn she sucked in more air than milk which caused a lot of frustration for both of us, sleeplessness and pain for her. She had a misdiagnosed tongue and lip tie that went unchecked until she was 2 months old, when we finally saw a dentist in Dallas who helped us. The procedure to laser her ties was a huge blessing for us, and allowed her to make many improvements. I cried every day for those two months leading up to the procedure. I knew I wanted to nurse for a year, but it seemed impossible and each feeding was a fight. 

After the procedure, her latch was deeper and she seemed to be improving. But it wasn't long before things weren't right again. She seemed to slowly begin to revert back to her old habits. It's like she never really learned the proper way to latch because of her lip/tongue tie. I would talk with friends and hear stories about how nursing was so easy now that they "got the hang of it" that they felt they could go on forever. My heart was crushed. When will I get the hang of it?

When lactation consultants and nurses at the local hospital told me she was weaning herself at 7 months and shrugged their shoulders because she's a healthy weight, I felt completely deflated. There have been countless times I've wanted to quit. Thoughts flooded my mind like "how is my daughter 8 months old and still pushing me away almost every time I nurse her? I must be doing something wrong!" The pendulum then swings to the other side because I know I've followed all the LLL rules and advice from the professionals, so no, there's nothing I'm doing wrong. (Which happens to be even more frustrating). My days are filled with highs and lows, wondering if it's really worth it. No matter how hard it's been, I keep coming back to the answer "yes." This is worth it. 

Our journey is not over. For now we're sticking with it, and I do hope we make it to a year. What may seem so normal and small to some, would feel like a huge accomplishment for me. It doesn't look perfect, and I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a sacrifice. Any mom (breastfeeding or not) knows the daily death to self required to provide for their little one. 

Breastfeeding remains the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life.  I am incredibly blessed to have an amazing husband who has supported me and coached me through many tearful nights, as well as women in my city who care deeply about helping me continue if I can. If you are struggling and having a hard time, please reach out and share your story. There is most likely another nursing mom out there who wants to help. 

Motherhood has been the single most humbling experience of my life, and I realize (and appreciate) that there are so many different stories out there. I'd love to hear yours as we celebrate the broken and the beautiful in motherhood this week. 

Currently // Vol. 4

Happy Monday! I am so excited to be partnering up with A Mama Collective to co-host this week's Currently Link Up! This is where we share with each other what we are Currently up to and let you share your post through the link-up below. We love this link-up, where we can make new friends and build community. Join us.

Thinking about //
Food. All the food. Apricots, blueberries, collard greens, chocolate mouse, pineapple rice, and homemade whipped cream. My mouth is watering.

Thankful for //
Time to actually clean the house this weekend! The hubs and I cleaned all our floors. This may not sound like much but it's kind of a huge deal as I never seem to get this chore done. Reaghan is getting super close to crawling so that gave me the extra push I needed to get it done. Not to mention the spill stains on the kitchen floor and dust bunnies were getting a little ridiculous. 

Enjoying //

My Whole Foods decaf coffee. We picked this up on our date night last week and it was so cheap! I rarely ever drink coffee black but this coffee is amazing black. Even with a small spoon of sugar it's incredible. I'm hooked. Only problem is that we don't have a Whole Foods near us! I'm hoping to find something similar soon since I've kind of been on the hunt for a while. Coffee enthusiasts: leave your suggestions for naturally decaffeinated coffee below! 

Photographing //
This child #won'tstop 

This girl loves herself some food again! After a little bit of a strike, I can't tell you how excited I am that she is experimenting with new flavors. Here she's sucking on a fermented carrot and gobbling up some probiotic sweet potato purée. Up next on the little babe's menu this week: blueberry sage purée and lentil ragu! 

Your turn! Link up your Currently post below. Please comment on the blog post directly before yours to help support and get to know each other. If you do not do this, your post will be deleted from the link-up. Can't wait to hear what you're up to! 

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10 Tips for Road Trips with Little Ones

I'm taking a break from laundry and unpacking to tell you about our little family vacation! We had a great time relaxing and getting way too sun burnt. I learned a lot about myself and my relationship with Jordan, and we did, in fact, survive the drive with our little one.

I honestly don't know why I listed this as a goal for July, as everything in motherhood is up to God's grace and not our effort. 

We can do all the planning we want, but ultimately prayer is our first, middle, and last stop in preparing for anything with our child. We did pray A LOT and we were really impressed with how sweet natured our girl was throughout the whole trip. Our biggest "complaint" would only be her crying at the start of her naps, which she never does at home. But of course if I was sleeping in a closet with blankets thrown over the closet doors to block out the massive amount of sunlight coming into the room (gorgeous for Jordan and I, not so baby-friendly), I would be a little freaked out too. 

Here are some tips we used to make our 7-hour drive more enjoyable:


1. Bring a bottle of breast milk or formula in case of code-red crying
We actually did need to use this on the way home. I had Jordan stop the car so I could nurse her on the side of the road, but she was wayyyy too distracted for that! So a bottle came in really handy when I knew she was hungry but too distracted to nurse. 

2. Bring a bag full of toys to keep them entertained 
I kept a bag tucked right behind the center console so I could reach it easily. I would periodically rotate toys to keep her entertained and wanted to have enough options in case she just wasn't having it with any of them. I also brought a couple books to read to her before "naps." 

3. Have a back up plan -- download some apps
We were able to keep to our general at-home routine while on the road by scheduling our departures around naps. When she was due for one, I covered her seat with a couple blankets to block out the light and had the Relax M HD app going on the top of her car seat to block out any noise from the road or Jordan and I. I also downloaded the Veggie Tales Video Clips app for videos if nothing else worked.

4. Bring snacks for yourself! 
For a nursing mommy and driving daddy, we were in need of continuous healthy snacks. I packed hard boiled eggs, Against All Grain's trail mix, some paleo banana muffins and bottled water. 

5. Plan to be flexible
As glad as we were that Reaghan did in fact nap a little in the car, we knew in the back of our minds to be flexible. We had a few stops planned out every 3-4 hours to get out for about an hour to stretch our legs and let Reaghan play a little bit outside of the car seat. 

6. Keep the morning nap if possible 
This suggestion more so applies once you arrive at your destination. We went to the beach both days and she did well overall (with a short crying spell the first day due to over tiredness). I think she did so well because she had her regular nap in the morning and was able to take a little snooze on her nana's shoulder while at the beach on the second day. It's amazing what even a cat nap will do for a child's temperament. 

7. Keep the backseat clear in case you need to hop back there for any reason
I did need to do this during the 45 minutes or so of crying on our way home. I was able to feed her a bottle and I may or may not have done many an interpretive dance to distract her from her sorrows. I also used my Veggie Tales app which brought a smile to her face for about 20 minutes. 

8. Pack a big bag with all their necessities
I packed a change of clothes, a little cardigan, diapers, wipes, burp cloth, nursing cover and a few extra toys. I also had teething remedies, essential oils, hand sanitizing spray and some coconut oil on hand in case of emergency soothing.

9. Remember, you have a baby
At the end of the day it's helped me a lot to just remember that Reaghan is still a baby. I can never predict how she will react to new experiences and some crying or fussing is just what baby's do! 

10. Pray
Like I mentioned in the beginning, we really did pray for her sleep and temperament. I struggled with asking for these things because I wanted the trip to be easy on us versus easy on her. At the end of the day it was for the both of us. It really is good for mommy, daddy, baby AND extended family when our child is well rested and content. Obviously none of us can control this for our children, but we can do the best we can with what we know - and trust God with the rest. Praise Him for giving us a smooth family vacation!

“10 Tips for Road Trips with Little Ones” is part of a blog relaunch series entitled 

"31 Days of Responding to Him" Follow along here

Baby Stuff I Love // 7 Months

Pinterest is full of helpful products and resources people are loving for their little ones, and I always enjoy browsing these to see what we might benefit from. I wanted to share with other mommies what I've found to be time savers and what bring joy to our lives in the day to day. Here's what we're enjoying this month. 

Sleep // White noise machine
We take this on all our trips, even if it's just for a night. It brings a sense of familiarity when she's sleeping in a new place and blocks out ALL noise coming from other rooms. Sweet girl hasn't even woken up to the fire alarm going off with that thing running. Hallelujah. 

Play // Discovery basket
This is the stage where babies are really into textures, and they are starting to become more familiar with concepts. I'll tell her "look, you took all the toys out, now lets put them back in" and repeat. She loves to sit and pull everything out, chew on the toys a bit and do it all over again. I've filled her basket with alphabet letters (hello, accomplishing goals!), rattles, soft animals, and teethers.

Feeding // Ice cube trays and a plethora of bibs
I've managed to get into making homemade baby food without anything fancy. Of course there's this tray that I'm obsessed with. And those fancy steam-blend-all-in-one systems that are super expensive and I'm sure super convenient. But those things really aren't needs. And right now our ghetto mommy system is working for us. 

All we have is a blender and some plain ice cube trays. I'm only making small portions of food as Reaghan has been trying something new about every 4-5 days. I'll steam my veggies, purèe them in the blender with some breast milk and water, and freeze them up. Once they are frozen, I transfer to a large tupperware and pull cubes out to thaw when needed. One or two cubes is equal to one serving for her right now. 

Out and About // Small books 
I love these little books because they are easy to stuff in the diaper bag to read whenever and don't weigh you down. I usually keep at least one in my bag in case we are somewhere else during nap time (we read a story most days before her naps) or just for fun. 

What are you loving for baby right now?

“Baby Stuff I Love: 7 Months” is part of a blog relaunch series entitled 

"31 Days of Responding to Him" 

Follow along here