Motherhood
Snapshots: Traditions
Friday, December 30, 2016
When I was growing up during the holidays, my parents and I used to spend our Christmas' in Charleston, South Carolina. It was my parent's hometown and a lot of my dad's family still resided there. All the family would come together. There would be lots of food, crab cracks, gift exchanging, and lots and lots of laughter. There were some years where us kids would put on talent shows for the family. Eventually, we started spending Christmas at home, but there was still the dinners, the laughter, the games...just on a smaller scale. These traditions were what I looked forward to the most during Christmas. Yes, I loved getting presents, but nothing beats having family around.
These are the things I want my kids to look forward to during the holidays. I want them to have memories like I did and continue to have as the years pass. As the years come, I would love to do more and make more memories. Maybe getting around to an Advent calendar too.
These are the things I want my kids to look forward to during the holidays. I want them to have memories like I did and continue to have as the years pass. As the years come, I would love to do more and make more memories. Maybe getting around to an Advent calendar too.
What are some of your favorite family traditions?
Three months of Gideon
Monday, December 19, 2016
I definitely dropped the ball on giving
an update on Gideon since he was born. I guess it's true when
they say the second child does get the short end of the stick!
they say the second child does get the short end of the stick!
One
month was definitely a trial and error month. While I was waiting for
my milk to come in, we supplemented a little bit because he lost 1 pound
while in the hospital. During that time, he would spit up a lot, which
wasn't unusual for c-section babies. Then there were those times where
it seemed to be too much spit up to the point where it didn't seem
normal. So I took it upon myself to try a dairy-free formula because I
was thinking it was a possible allergy to the formula we were using. He
seemed to keep the milk down better, but I didn't worry about it because
I was able to breastfeed at this point.
Well,
the spitting up started back again...I mean, projectile type spit up.
Even though he was classified as a "happy spitter" there were times
where it seemed as though he was irritable and in pain. I informed his
doctor of my observations and we ended up testing his stool to see if
there was an allergy/sensitivity that was causing Gideon to spit up.
Sure enough...he has a dairy allergy.
Normally
I would opt to switch to formula because there is no way I could give
up dairy. I mean...no milk chocolate, no ice cream, no cheese, not even
certain barbecue sauces. Yes, I know there are alternatives, but do they
really even taste good? On the other hand, I made a pact to myself that
I was going to breastfeed Gids longer than I breastfed Norah, which
would be longer than 5 months. Not too mention, formula expense is not
in our budget right now, so I have to make the free milk, the good milk!
In a future post, I'll share some of my favorite dairy-free products
and provide a list of non-dairy free items.
Since
the transition to dairy-free, Gids would still spit up, but it's not as
much and would be more from him being so full. He ate every 2 hours and
would wake at least twice during the night. He is such a happy baby
overall and he smiles all the time, which Norah didn't do until she was
about 3 months old.
Then here comes three months! Total ladies man! If you call him handsome or cute, his smile would make you blush! He's so full of coos and cackles this month. He loves to watch Norah play and be all in his face. He likes the mamaroo, which he wasn't a big fan of when he was a baby. Too bad he won't be able to use it for too much longer. He still sleeps through the night, but may not go down until close to midnight. When I had Norah, I was implementing a bedtime routine closer to her two month birthday. I've started giving him his bath at night with his last feeding around 8:30pm- 9pm. Some times it works, other times it doesn't, but I will continue to implement this until he gets the hang of it.
Nursing throughout the whole pregnancy has been a breeze. My problem is just carving out time to pump! When I'm at home, I normally wouldn't pump because I would be EBF, but at work it can be a bit tricky because my days are so unpredictable. On average, Gids eats every 2-3 hours. Once he was about 2 months old, he skipped the overnight feeding. If I did have to supplement especially if I ate something with dairy, I used Nutramigen for his feedings.
Happy Quarter of a year Gids!
We're having a Boy // Gender Reveal
Saturday, April 23, 2016
From the first moment that I found out I was pregnant, I knew we were having a boy. Unlike my pregnancy with Norah, which was practically a walk in the park, I was consistently nauseous, I had aversions to certain foods and drinks (especially coffee...sad face), early onset pain, and consistent headaches. I believe us mothers are so in tune to our bodies that even we can predict the gender before an ultrasound picture tells us.
When I scheduled the appointment for my 2nd trimester screening, I wasn't thinking when I scheduled it mid afternoon on a TUESDAY! There was no way that if we planned another gender reveal party that I was going to wait until the weekend to find out what we were having and I didn't just want to find out at the appointment without some family or Norah around. Thinking fast, after the appointment, we decided to go to Carter's, pick two outfits (one boy and one girl), hand the cashier the envelope with the picture of the gender, and as we walked away, she packaged the outfit and we checked out once she was done.
Once we arrived to my parent's house, we had Norah open the box to reveal what Baby Caruso #2 was going to be. I'm having the hardest time uploading the video. One day I'll figure it out to share.
My husband, who was team blue prior to Norah, was now team pink and loved the thought of having another girl, so he was a little disappointed, at first, but can't wait to raise a little boy.
As for myself, I'm just taking in all the blessings God has bestowed upon our family. To be a mother of soon to be two children is better than all the gifts in the world. My heart is so full right now and I cannot wait to see the bond between Norah and her brother, as they grow up together. On the other hand, I'm definitely going to be doubling up on prayers and coffee during this season of motherhood. This will definitely be uncharted territory for me, so I'm taking in any advice you can give.
The second best part....SHOPPING!! I didn't have an excuse before to spend money, but our little boy needs some clothes and I saw that Carter's, Gap, and Old Navy all have awesome deals right now...Come to think of it, Norah needs summer clothes too!
Guilty, but not guilty!
Guilty, but not guilty!
Shaping Little World Changers
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
"Rise and shine and give God your glory, glory."
"Rise and shine and give God your glory, glory."
"Rise and shine and (clap) give God your glory, glory."
"Children of the Lord!"
Every morning when I'm able to get Norah up, we sing this verse from this song. When I would point up to God, Norah would look at the fan and say, "whas dat?" *as I would side eye roll* I would explain that that's a fan, but that mommy is pointing to God. Days would go by, we would sing, and she would still ask about the fan. Well today folks, she pointed to the sky (not the fan...phew), swayed back and forth, and we worshipped together to this little children's hymn.
God has a perfect timing for everything and even when we think our kids aren't paying attention, they're always watching. Every word we speak, how we treat others, what we hold value to...just everything. This is just one daily routine that I do with Norah. I believe that if we want to create future world changers for God, we have to equip them and make God a priority everyday. Pray over everything, read your bible as a family, go to church weekly, be a faithful tithe-r, and serve in your community.
Now us Caruso's are still a work in progress and there are some areas, in which, we need to improve. By doing all these things with Norah, I see our family growing and learning everyday.
What are some of your Christ building routines you have created with your kids?
We're Pregnant...Again!
Saturday, March 5, 2016
We are beyond excited to be adding another little Caruso to our tribe!
My friendographer (friend/photographer), Justine, came up with this cute way to announce to our family and friends about the great news. I always wanted to do a shoot like this with Norah, so I'm glad we were able to do this as a way to share our news.
I encourage you to take photos like this with your littles at least once. Moments like these, are often missed and then, before you know it, our kids get older. Don't get me wrong, Norah didn't make it easy, at times, because she wanted to do things her way and she definitely needed a nap, but I wouldn't change it for the world! Trust me...you'll thank me later!
Words cannot express our thankfulness and I can't wait to see Norah become a big sister!
Now bring on the no sleep and yoga pants!
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