Ford's Nursery

As I said earlier, 2011 was a really big year for us. I found out I was pregnant in January, Mac was starting his business, and we bought a new house. We closed on it December, 30th 2010. So literally, we started off the new year with a new house.We got a really great deal on it, but it was a fixer-upper.

This room is where the nursery is now, but the carpet has already been pulled up:

Carpet was all throughout the house: in the bedrooms, the hallway, the dining room, and even down the stairs. The kitchen had 2 layers of beautiful vinyl. There was also wallpaper in all the bathrooms and white brick wallpaper throughout  the whole kitchen!! White brick? Wallpaper?? ...YES.

Since we were moving in so quickly and wanted to get the most necessary things done before we moved in, I had to quickly pick a paint color which we were going to use throughout the whole house. I ended up choosing Manchester Tan by Ben Moore:

Below is the nursery with finished floors (stained in Coffee), painted walls, and freshly hung chandelier:

As you can see, I decided to put the headboard that I made in the nursery rather than using it as a kitchen banquette. The bench is actually a cedar chest that can hold toys and can also provide extra seating.

My goal with the nursery was to make it gender neutral. I am ALL about being practical....let's make our money go a long way. I love to buy shirts or dresses that will go year-round it just makes my day...very practical. Anywho, so I was thinking greys, tans, whites and then add a pop of blue with pillows and such.

We also painted our trim in Manchester Tan semi-gloss, but it was this newer kind of trim paint that is Latex/water-based that CAN go on top of oil-based trims. My fellow brother-in-law told me about this paint. It makes it so much easier to clean your brushes and when you are in a hurry, like we were, it was VERY helpful.

Mac and I, throughout the years, have accrued a hodge-podge of family furniture. Here are some pine drawers that I stripped, sanded, and stained. I stained them grey to go with the whole neutral theme and it worked out perfect because they matched the curtains beautifully!

I splurged on a beautiful chandelier from Three Sheets in Homewood and then bought some cute door knobs that were on sale from Anthropologie. The set of drawers below I have had since High School. Again, a hodge-podge! But they work great in the closet!

I painted the angel painting above the headboard and bought the crib bedding, curtains, and two cute pillows from www.laylagrayce.com all from the Pom Pom collection. It was helpful to have the hook-up from a friend and receive everything 50% off!!

I knew I wanted bookshelves in the nursery, so I sketched a little drawing of what I was thinking and handed it to my granddad, Poppop. He is so talented in carpentry! I wanted them on either side of the window, but also far enough apart that one day a King bed could fit in between them. The bottom shelf would come out a little further than the rest, so that one day it could be used as an end table. As far as the height of the shelves, I didn't want them all to be the same. The bottom shelf would be higher than the rest, so that you could put a cute lamp in there one day.

Poppop built the majority of the shelves at home, and then brought them in sections to the house to install. He brought his little machine to cut the molding to make look as built-in book shelves.

Mac has become quite the handy man since we have moved in this house. I never knew he was until we bought this fixer-upper! He put new light switches throughout the whole house, which quickly "updated" every room. Mac even installed a dimmer light switch in the nursery and in our bedroom.

These pictures are not very good, but they are all I have! Below is an Instagram picture of the nursery  with another one of my paintings. The little blue bird gave a POP of blue! You can also see the drawers that I stained grey and the little changing table edge that Poppop built for the top of those drawers.

Here it is pretty much finished. The only thing I was waiting on was the slip cover for the glider, but you get the idea! The rug is from Home Decorators collection. I think it was only $139, and I found a promo code online just by Google searching and that cut out the cost of the shipping. It's super soft and fuzzy and I have loved it, except I find white fuzz balls throughout the WHOLE  house.

Other pictures are posted here... On my sister-in-law's blog!

Nighty night!

Mountain Brook Monday with Shindigs!

Starting next Monday, January 30th Shindigs will be testing the waters of the Brook! They will be parking on Heathermoor Road across from the football field of Mountain Brook Elementary. There is a great parallel spot near the alley that would be perfect for them! When I get to work on Monday I am going to park there to save the spot...I am praying that it will be available because I sure am SPREADING THE WORD! I need my Shindigs fix every once in awhile!

I really think this will help cater to a whole new audience. Mothers can now come out with their kids and/or drive thru to do a pick-up order if you call in advanced ((205) 538-1170)! Village workers will love a new place to eat that is close and convenient. And there should be better parking unlike the parking downtown. I am also hoping it can reach some Samford students.

Soooo SPREAD THE WORD! Here is a link to the Facebook event that I created. I am hoping that will give some kind of estimated head count for them!

Cheers!

iPhone Dump...

My iPhone captures most of my daily life. 

Here are some recent pics of Ford's life from my iPhone download...

 This is what it looks like every Wednesday morning when I drop Ford off at Lindsay's. Thank you sista!

 Ford chillin' in the Kickin Coaster...

 BIG FOOT

I know you have heard me mention the Kickin' Coaster but here it is in action...!

And, now we are slowly moving to the Johnny Jump Up.. Is that what it's called? 

Well, that is what I call it!

NO Green not Go Green! #breastfeeding #babygas..WARNING: could be TMI

You wonder what I am about to talk about, huh? Well, it's ultimately about how God so remarkably designed our bodies, pregnancy, and nursing to be. After having a baby and going through the whole process, I really came to see how perfect, how divine, and how creative our God is. No, I did not have a natural birth. I full-fledged took advantage of that epidural- with an extra boost. But, that's not what I am talking about. I am talking about the beauty of breastfeeding. I am talking about you, the mother, as the prime source of food, energy, and growth for your little one. What a huge task! What an honor, right?!

Please note that I have only had one child, and I am only speaking from my "first time" experience. But regardless, what I am about to talk about is the divine nature of a woman's body and how God designed it to be when it comes to nursing.

In the book "Baby Wise" and quoted from the nurses in the hospital, they told me to feed Ford every 2.5- 3 hours starting from the beginning of one feed to the beginning of the next. Within the 3 hours you feed baby, play with baby, and then baby sleeps. So, the natural routine is: eat, play, sleep. It's as easy as that!

When you know this simple routine, it makes it so easy to decipher what baby needs next. And, after you do this for awhile, if baby cries at all you know exactly what they need! I used to wonder all the time: how do you know why they are crying?! What do you do when they are crying!? Well, when you follow that method, it crosses a lot of those questions out.

When Ford was about one month old he was a little fussier than normal for a day or two. And he was fussy at odd times, so I knew something was up. I called the lactation consultant at St. Vincents (who is wonderful btw!) and asked her what was up. She asked me, "What color is is poo?" I said, "Well, it's not as yellow as it used to be...it's a little darker and it doesn't smell as sweet."

That was it! She told me that he was getting too much of the foremilk. Which is the milk that comes out first. It tends to be more clear, and not as fatty as the hindmilk. The hindmilk is full of all the fat and good stuff and is located in the back. If the baby gets too much of the foremilk then they get overly full/bloated on the foremilk which will cause them to get gassy AND their poo will be green. So cool, right? So, if their poo is green that means they are getting too much of the foremilk and not enough of the hindmilk and therefore they will be gassy and fussy.

So how do you fix that problem? Well, one way is to just feed the baby on one breast for the full feeding. It helps you know that the baby is getting to the hindmilk. If the baby gets a good balance of the foremilk and the hindmilk then he shouldn't be gassy. The goal is to get to the hindmilk. So, feeding on one breast helps you rest assure that baby is getting to the hindmilk.

That means every other feeding you are feeding on the opposite breast. Does that make sense? For awhile you might feel a little lopsided,:) but it's worth it to know your baby is getting what he needs and ultimately will not be fussy.

Isn't that the neatest thing!? So you will know if your baby is not getting to the hindmilk if his poop is greenish/black!!! And, then you know he will be gassy- which you don't want ;)!

Another way I fixed this problem was just by feeding him a bottle. I figured if I pumped then all the foremilk and all the hindmilk would be mixed together. But, sometimes pumping and then having to feed him a bottle is such a pain- just takes too long! Once we got his stomach back to normal I went back to feeding on both breasts and just made sure he was getting to the hindmilk. I let him feed for a little bit longer on both.

The other thing that happened to me was what is called an "overactive let-down." A "let down" is when you milk "lets down" (i.e. milk is available in the breast and baby is ready to eat). You actually feel the let down. It's kind of a tingly feeling. Well, for a couple of days Ford was fussy again. And, his poo was almost black and smelt somewhat like minerals or acidic??? I can't describe it. Regardless, I knew he was getting to the hindmilk. But I was confused because I was only feeding on one breast at a time. So, what was the problem?!  I finally realized it was what they call an "overactive let-down." It's when your milk is let-down so fast, because you are so full, that it is shooting in the back of the babies throat...they can't even keep up and end up swallowing air and getting too full on the air and foremilk. Sometimes the baby will gag, gulp, gasp, and cough while nursing. He will also turn his head from the breast. And, will continue to be fussy and kick after the feeding. He looks and acts as if he has a tummy ache.

So, how do you fix that problem if you are already feeding on one breast?! Well, you have to pump before you feed him for about a minute or two. Just enough for that foremilk to not be so forceful and to help the baby get to the hindmilk quicker.


Isn't all of that so interesting? I thought it was! This post might have been a little TMI for some people, but knowing all of that really helped me. Don't be afraid to call the lactation consultant at the hospital. Sharon was a huge help to me and knew me by name. So in conclusion, I guess the main thing you always need to strive to do is make sure your baby is getting to the hindmilk. **Note that his poo will ALWAYS let you know ;).

Isn't God so creative!??

All day long Ford eats, plays, and sleeps. He eats for about 30-40 minutes (which apparently that will get quicker) then he plays for about 45 minutes and once he makes that first "wheee"/whine I know he is ready to go to bed. You don't want to wait too long after babies make that first whine to go to bed or they will end up getting wired and get more fussy because they are tired. The chemistry and relationship between the mother and baby really is a beautiful thing. I know there will be harder days and there are hard days already. But, the joy and satisfaction of feeding, nurturing, and cuddling with the child you have made is an unbelievable feeling.

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I have the sweetest, cutest, best friends ever! Happy B'day to me!

I seriously do have the sweetest, cutest, best friends ever!!! I have always wanted to do one of those wine-in-a-bag parties. Where each guest brings a bottle of wine then you hide it in a bag and everyone votes on how good it is, what grape it is, what country of origin etc... whatever you want them to guess! By the end of the night there should be one bottle that was voted the BEST and then the person who brought that bottle wins and takes home a bottle of champagne. I am sure there are other version of this game, but that is how we played it this fun night!! 

I have to highlight one lady from this night, Mary Cox Brown (a.k.a. Martha Stewart). She is one of the most generous, creative, thoughtful, loving, beautiful, and well-dressed friends I know. When she throws a party she doesn't mess around. Normally, they are hosted at her humble abode, but since she was throwing one for my birthday, we hosted it at my parents so Ford could be watched by my mother etc. 

This is just a taste of what she came up with.... I am always blown away by her creativity and thoughtfulness!!!!!

 Look at how cute this chalkboard table is!!!

 Wine bottles painted with chalkboard paint...

 Here she is... the head chef and creative genius...

 Of course, Ford was played with and passed around until his bed time...

 Are you wondering who the baby is in the background of the picture above??! Yeah, that's me!! What is so funny, is that Ford will make that wide-eyed face sometimes too! Runs in the family, I guess. My mom had that blown up for my 16th surprise birthday party and it continues to show up and certain occasions in my life.

 We all had our cards and were ready to vote on the wines as they were passed around...

 The puff decors became bracelets and hair bows throughout the evening...

 Another dear friend and best friend from the age of K-5, Margaret....bringing out the cake.

 Rhodes had to come help me blow out the candle!

 All the ladies...

 And then, to top it off, people put their hand print on Lovey's famous "Wall of Friends" dated back to the 1990's!

I cannot thank my dear friends enough for such a fun night. A night to hang with the ladies while Ford was well taken care of. Thank you, thank you, thank you to the ladies who helped, planned, and participated in such a fun occasion. I felt so loved!

Like Father, Like Son

 Audrey always licks his bald little head...

 Audrey is a little obsessed with Mac so she gets a little jealous...

 This is Audrey jumping over Ford as if he is just not there...

 She is still trying to get attention from Mac...

 Multitasking at its best...

 We have all gone back and forth on who Ford looks like. But, when you put Mac and Ford together, they really favor each other. It's fun to watch Ford grow and change!