Easy Two Ingredient Homemade Wipes

*Links in post are NOT affiliates – just wanted to share what I like/found helpful.

For the first several months of my daughter’s life, she basically had a diaper rash that just wouldn’t go away. We kept her lathered with diaper cream at every diaper change, but the rash remained. And let me tell you, we tried SEVERAL different types of diaper creams (even one recommended by our pediatrician called ILEX that cost $20+ on Amazon but was the only one that seemed to help). After talking to a friend who was having the same trouble with her newborn son, she told me she switched the wipes she was using and it solved their problem!

Up until that point, I had been using Huggie’s Natural Care baby wipes because I thought they would be gentle on Addie’s skin since they were supposedly designed for sensitive skin. It never really dawned on me that the wipes could be the cause of her rash (DUH, Leigh Anna)!! I guess I had so many things going on in my brain as a new mom, that this just didn’t register. Thank you, Alisa!

I decided to try out the Babyganics brand of baby wipes, and MUCH to my surprise they worked like magic! I was ecstatic that our diaper rash woes were over – but then I got to thinking, since it was the ingredients/chemicals in the wipes that were causing the problem, why not try to save some money by making my own chemical free wipes. I had never tried making them before because I liked the convenience of just buying wipes and being done with it, but since I now needed to purchase more expensive wipes to keep my daughter safe, it was worth a try in order to save money.

I hopped on Pinterest and searched for homemade wipes recipes. Yes, there are a lot out there, even though the concept is pretty much the same. A lot of the recipes involve ingredients like essential oils (which I don’t have). I decided to try out this recipe I found from thehealthyginger.com .

Her recipe calls for coconut oil and essential oils. For my first batch I followed her recipe, but used Dr. Bronner’s Lavender Castile Soap instead since I didn’t have any essential oils. That was a mistake because the lavender irritated my daughter’s skin. So I say, stick with unscented.

For my second batch, I was curious if I could keep it SUPER simple and just add the soap – no oils. I found that the wipes worked perfectly that way for us – so that is how I now make them.

So a BIG thanks to thehealthyginger.com ! Since the recipe is not mine, I am not going to post all the details of it on my blog. Please go visit her website at the link provided for the full recipe.

Below is a step by step of my process using just the soap and water.

*Please note, since there aren’t a bunch of chemicals to preserve these wipes for a longer shelf life, it is best to make only one batch at at time as the wipes can mold. I use a batch in about 1 to 1.5 weeks and they do fine.

You really need to use Bounty paper towels (not the jumbo size). I tried using Sam’s Club brand, and they didn’t hold up or grip as well.

Cut in half using a sharp knife. I started with a serrated knife, but it made a mess so I switched to a regular large sharp knife.

This is the only part that annoys me ha! – pulling out the cardboard.

This size of Bounty paper towels fits PERFECTLY in these IKEA storage containers But you can also use an old wipe container or a big ziplock baggie.

Boil your distilled or purified water and measure out 1 1/2 cups.

This multipurpose soap is awesome and lasts a LONG time. I know you can get it from Whole Foods, health food stores, or online.

Measure 1/2 teaspoon of soap and pour into water.

Pull your wipes from the middle. And that’s it! Easy peasy.

P.S.

I know I’m not the only one who finds it incredibly frustrating and maddening that there are so many chemicals in products that we think are safe for us and our children. That’s one of the main reasons I recently joined Beautycounter.

Friday Faves

I hope you all are enjoying this beautiful Friday!

It is extra hot here in sunny Florida. While some of you may already be enjoying crisp fall evenings, we get to ~~endure~~ enjoy summer weather for a couple more months. So, I guess I’ll just sit inside with my iced coffee and AC blasting while I daydream about cooler temps and colorful fall leaves.

Here are my Friday faves:

1. Speaking of colorful fall leaves – I wish I was HERE sipping on a hot cup of coffee.

2. These sippy cup tethers make grocery shopping and eating out so much easier! No more constantly picking up the dropped cup!

3. This floral dress is so sweet, yet sophisticated, and the length is perfect! I’m tall and always looking for dresses that are just at or below the knee.

4. THIS is a great reminder. Hey mommas, can I get an amen?

Hope you all have a fun-filled weekend!

-Leigh Anna

Vicko Mozara

Adelaide’s Birth Story

I’ve been wanting to write about the birth of our sweet baby girl, but as you can imagine – I’ve been a tad bit busy lately. ha! Addie is sleeping now, so I wanted to take advantage of this small window of time to document her birth.

On Wednesday, September 7th, I had a suspicion that my water was leaking. Since I’ve never been pregnant before, I didn’t really know for sure. Apparently, only about 15% of women’s water breaks before they go into labor – so the likelihood of this happening was rather small. I already had a regular appointment set up that afternoon for my 38 week check up. I called my OB’s office and was told to just keep my regular appointment. Kyle and I went in for my appointment and after a couple of tests was told that it wasn’t my water leaking and that there was no visible progress of labor – so I was sent home. We had brought all of our packed bags and supplies just in case they told us that we needed to go to the hospital – but it turned out we didn’t need it.

I felt a bit baffled because I knew something was going on, but I went about my day. Kyle and I went to Wednesday night church activities (choir and youth). All was well – until late that evening/early in the morning. I don’t think we went to bed until around midnight, but I continued to have symptoms of what I thought for SURE was my water leaking. It was even more evident than earlier in the day. After some freaking out (LOL) and Kyle urging me to call the midwife – I finally made the call. After describing what was happening, the midwife told me to come on in to labor and delivery so they could run some more tests.

Thankfully our bags were ready to go – so at about 2:00 am we headed down to Morton Plant. I ate a banana in the car because I knew I wouldn’t be able to eat once I got there. I was admitted at around 2:20ish. Tests were run and within minutes they confirmed that YES my water had broken!!!! I knew it! So at that point we weren’t going back home – we were gonna have our baby girl!! It was a crazy feeling. I started getting a little bit anxious but it didn’t last long, thankfully. Once I was all checked in, they moved us to a labor and delivery room where I was hooked up on monitors to show the progress of my contractions and little one’s heart rate. Kyle had a rather nice couch bed to sleep on – although neither of us did much sleeping. I was having contractions, but they weren’t progressing as quickly as they wanted so they put me on Pitocin which speeds up contractions. Since my water had broken, it is typical that they want you to deliver the baby within 24 hours to prevent infection – so that is why I was on Pitocin. Labor was going rather smoothly. I could feel contractions every five minutes or so and they really weren’t too bad. By 7:30 in the morning, the midwife on call came by to check and see if I had made any progress – by that time I was 3 centimeters dilated. It was encouraging to hear! I continued laboring and used some techniques I learned about in our birthing class – like using the birthing ball and standing up/walking around during contractions. I didn’t have an epidural yet, so I was able to eat liquids. I had a delicious Italian ice and some apple juice. It was amazing!

I fully anticipated getting an epidural. I definitely admire all women who have unmedicated births. I went into this with the mindset that I would go as long as I could without the epidural – but was totally ok getting one when I really needed it. The nurse on duty during the majority of my labor (Patti – she was amazing!) kept checking in on me to see if I wanted the epidural yet. Things were certainly getting more intense as the day went on, but I kept pressing on. The main reason is that I was told that if I got the epidural too soon that it can potentially stall labor. I also heard that it could “wear off” (in reality your body just gets used to it) and I didn’t want that to happen! It was my plan to wait until my next check to see how far along I was and then I’d make the decision at that point. Well, several hours went by since the 7:30 am check and the midwife hadn’t come back to check on my progress. Kyle asked the nurse that afternoon when I was going to be checked again, and the nurse said they were waiting for me to tell them when I wanted the epidural. Once I got the epidural they would then do the check. I was unaware of this LOL! Things had really gotten intense – the nurse had cranked the Pitocin up and the contractions were about a minute apart and very intense. I couldn’t talk through them and was really gripping the fire out of Kyle’s hands! At that point I finally decided it was time and I was actually worried that I had gone too long. It probably took the anesthesiologist 30 minutes to arrive. He had an assistant with him who was talking to me and having me sign all these forms before I could get the epidural. It was quite humorous because I did not listen to a word she said nor did I have any idea what I was signing. My signature looked like a third grader learning cursive for the first time! The pain was so intense at that point!

A lot of people say that the epidural hurts more than labor – but I beg to differ. It was just a little prick to numb the area and a little bit of pressure. I am not afraid of needles though, so I’m sure that helped. It was a little nerve wracking since there can be risks involved. Kyle told me after the fact that he was most nervous watching me get the epidural. But thankfully all went smoothly and relief came very quickly. I am amazed that I was able to sit still during contractions while he gave me the epidural! Once the epidural kicked in, the midwife came and checked me to see how far along I was. It turned out that I had made it all the way to 10 centimeters!! I couldn’t believe it! Since I had the epidural at that point, they let me “labor down” for about an hour and half. They took the Pitocin levels way down and let my body contract on it’s own. I will say that it was incredibly weird for me to not really be able to feel my legs. They were numb but I was still able to move them – but didn’t really know I was moving them. That part freaked me out the most. The nurse and midwife told me to try and get some rest, but there were a couple of areas where the epidural was not working and it made it hard to actually sleep. The nurse kept pumping me with more of the epidural, but it wasn’t really working in this one spot on my left side. So about an hour and a half went by and the pain wasn’t going away, so the nurse said she was just going to check with the midwife to see if I could go ahead and start pushing since I was already far enough along.

Soon the midwife came and it was showtime! Kyle was on one side and the nurse was on the other – they helped me with the pushing. I will say that I had so much of the epidural that I literally couldn’t feel anything. I honestly didn’t even know I was pushing. It was so bizarre. I will say that pushing took the most energy out of me. At one point the nurse put an oxygen mask on me in between pushing, and I thought it was because I was about to pass out or something. It was very nice and comforting. I soon found out that she was giving the oxygen to me so that it could get to our baby because apparently SHE needed it! LOL! Things regulated and the nurse said that I didn’t need the oxygen anymore – but I asked if I could still have it for myself because it helped keep me calm in between pushes. It was basically a placebo effect – but I didn’t care. It took me about an hour and half of pushing before our sweet baby girl arrived. One of the coolest things is that the midwife let Kyle help pull her out a little bit – and then the midwife told me “reach out your hands and get your baby!” and I was like “WHAT?!” and she said it again. I was totally not expecting that, but I basically pulled her out and placed her on my chest. It was crazy and amazing and I totally cried – especially when she started crying. It was so incredible. She was officially born at 6:48 pm on September 8th, 2016!

Kyle was such a huge support the entire time. He was the only one in the delivery room which is how I wanted it. The whole experience felt so laid back and non stressful. Once Addie was born there were several nurses there running all their routine tests on her. For the first several minutes, Addie just stayed on top of me (they call it skin to skin – which is very good for the baby) while they did a lot of the testing. Our sweet girl was healthy and doing great! She weighed 7 lbs 13 oz and was 21 inches long. She came out with a full head of dark brown hair! The hospital does not give newborns baths until 12 hours after they are born because babies are born with vernix that is a protective coating on their skin and has benefits outside the womb. I will say it was so sweet when the nurse did give her a bath the next day though!

Later that evening our families came in the delivery room to meet our sweet girl! They were only allowed to see her for a few minutes because we had to get transferred to a Mom and Baby room and their hours were more strict for visitors. It was awesome because my brother Joey and his new wife Yulia were visiting from Ukraine and were supposed to leave before her due date. It was an answer to prayer that they got to meet her before they left! During this time I also was able to eat a meal! I was soooooo hungry as you can imagine. I had chicken tenders and fries from the hospital cafeteria and they were AMAZING!

We were later transferred to a different room that evening which is where we spent the next two nights. The bed for Kyle in this room was so uncomfortable but he was a trooper. I had a nice comfy bed, but unfortunately I was a bit sore from delivery and was pretty uncomfortable the whole time we were there. I did manage to get a shower the next day which was so nice. Our parents came by the next day to visit a bit longer. My sister also visited. She got to witness Kyle changing one of Addie’s poopy diapers. That little girl sure let him have it! She kept pooping and peeing while he was trying to change her. It was hilarious. Kyle entered the world of Dadhood quite naturally and wonderfully – he was confident holding her, changing her diapers and clothes, and just tending to her needs. I fell more in love with him as I watched him be Daddy to our little girl. I am so thankful for his help and know that I could not do any of this without him!

Our entire experience at Morton Plant was incredible. The nursing staff were ALL amazing! We felt so very well taken care of! Kyle and I both were born at Morton Plant, so it was special that our daughter was also born here. I am so thankful for how everything went and I praise God for his goodness and that he took care of us like he always does. I will forever be thankful to him for this precious gift!

There are a million little details that I could still write about – but I think I’ve recapped more than enough! Here are some photos that capture our time at the hospital.

Here we are heading to labor and delivery at 2:30 in the morning!

This is it!

Not the most flattering angle! ha!

Kyle trying to catch some zzz’s in the “Comfy” bed

Me watching my contractions on the monitor

Apple juice – yum!

Aren’t those hospital gowns so flattering!

Here I am on the labor ball – this thing was actually pretty awesome. I look so big because the hospital gown is wrapped around the ball LOL!

Italian ice – it was delicious!

Welcome to the world little one!

It’s amazing how their little heads squish to make their entrance into the world. Don’t worry, she has a beautiful head – it’s not cone shaped! haha!

Fresh outta the womb!

Daddy’s first time holding you!

I look awful here – but I did just go through several hours of labor and I was hungry! The midwife took this of me! HA!

Skin to skin with daddy!

Daddy changing her diaper!

Getting her first bath!

Look at all that dark hair! Love it!

Snuggly baby!

Aunt Libby came to visit!

My turn! 🙂

Adelaide’s Nursery

Kyle and I had a blast putting together our sweet baby girl’s nursery. We turned what was our “office/2nd guest room” into her nursery. Here is what it looked like before

We always wanted to change out the floors in this room. Having a baby was the perfect time to make the change! We got a great deal on some carpet ($0.99 per square foot!). We also liked the color that we had already painted this room when we moved in – which is a light sage/minty green. We decided to keep the color and do an accent wall.

We found the perfect pink for the accent wall!

Dad and Nick helping remove the quarter round so that we could install the carpet.

Our pretty new carpet!

One word – IKEA

I found a similar accent wall on pinterest and wanted to incorporate that in her room. I couldn’t imagine doing this on all four walls! It was very time consuming!

All done!

The rocking chair was Kyle’s grandmother’s. We gave it a fresh coat of white paint. My mom gave us the pillow and recovered the antique stool that we found at Marquette’s salvage.

Don’t worry – we know not to have anything in the baby’s crib! She hasn’t started sleeping here yet so her stuffed animals are doing the job for now. 🙂

Bunnies! ❤

This letter was an Etsy purchase – I added the frame to give it more dimension.

Kyle would sometimes go lay down in her room and read. It was the sweetest thing ever!

And there you have it! I feel very proud of how it turned out!

Bumpity Bump

Throughout my pregnancy I have taken the ever so popular weekly bump photo, but did not post them anywhere online until now. We kept pretty much everything about this pregnancy off of facebook and social media. It was a personal choice and we are happy we did it. It seems to have made the arrival of our sweet little girl more special. Also, I remember the feeling I had when all my friends and acquaintances were announcing their pregnancies and Kyle and I were struggling to get pregnant. Of course we were always happy for our friends, but I had a hard time seeing other people get to experience what we so desperately hoped and prayed for. To be honest, I didn’t really want to be that person for someone else who may be struggling to get pregnant. But now that she our sweet girl is here we have not refrained from sharing her with the social media world. 😉

I will write about her arrival in a separate post. Just wanted to finally get these posted!

Baby Shower #2 and #3

Well, believe it or not I am 2 weeks away from my due date!! I would definitely say at this point I am ready for our sweet baby girl to arrive! I went for my 37 week appointment this past Friday but have not made any progress. I think she is just nice and comfy and doesn’t plan on going anywhere anytime soon! I’m ok with that though because I hear it is better for the baby’s development to stay in the womb until at least 39 weeks. I have not been sleeping great the past week. I mean I haven’t slept through the night since I found out I was pregnant due to the constant need to pee, but the past week I have been fighting a head cold which has made it very difficult to breathe. I have not taken any medicine this entire pregnancy, which I am so thankful for because it means that I haven’t had a need to! But I may be at the point that I need to take something because I certainly don’t want to be in labor with a head cold. It will be hard enough to breathe as it is! ha!

Last month I had two more baby showers. One was thrown by my sister, Libby, and sister-in-law, Jessica. Libby had it at her house and it was a Dr. Seuss theme. It was SOOOOOO CUTE! All of my girlfriends came to this shower. Jessica made a diaper cake and everyone had to guess how many diapers is took to make it. Libby made some delicious food including green eggs and ham sandwiches. 🙂 My mom had painted an adorable Dr. Seuss themed chair and helped with some of the decorations. To go along with the theme, everyone also brought me a book instead of a card – so now our baby girl has a good library established. hehe! I had a lot of fun and was thankful to be able to celebrate with sweet friends.

The ladies at my work also threw me a shower. I was only able to get a few photos on my phone as someone else was in charge of taking pictures. I have hard copies of photos from that shower, but only a few to share here. I felt very loved! My newest sister-in-law, Yuliia, was here from Ukraine (she and my brother just got married and have been visiting with us the past month) and she was able to attend this shower. I was so glad she could come along with my mom and of course the ladies I work with. We had it at my co-worker’s beautiful home – Jennifer Uppercue. I think my favorite thing may have been my donut cake! 🙂

I am incredibly grateful for all the people in my life who took time to celebrate our sweet baby girl’s upcoming arrival. Kyle and I were blessed with many items that we need to get life started with a newborn! We are so thankful.

Sorry there are so few of the shower from the ladies I work with! At least you can see the delicious treats we had! haha!

Baby Shower #1

On July 23rd I went to my first baby shower which was graciously thrown by some long time family friends, Christy Childress, Laura Center, Amy Boudreau, and Lori Smith. Several of my old teachers from Skycrest as well as friends of my mom and Marsha came. My aunt, sister, sister-in-law, and niece were also there. It was such a lovely time! It was a beach theme and everything was decorated adorably! We had a delicious brunch, gathered around for a very sweet and thoughtful devotional given by Laura, played a game where everyone had to writ
e down 24 things that they thought should be in a diaper bag and then Amy had an actual diaper bag full of items to see who got the most right. Then the guests played bingo as I opened shower gifts. They were given a bingo card that they had to fill in with gifts they thought I would receive. It was a very clever game and made it more funfor those watching as I opened gifts. I felt very loved by all who came. Kyle and I received many items that will be so helpful to us when our little girl arrives. Thank you to all who came!

Here are a few photos from the day. I was a bit distracted and didn’t get a whole lot! Oops!

32 Weeks…When did that happen?!

I’ve been meaning to update, but I just haven’t gotten around to it with all the craziness of work and preparing for our sweet baby girl’s arrival. A lot has happened since the last time I posted.
The last post was related to our 20 week ultrasound, and as of the date of this post, I am 32 weeks and 2 days! In that time frame a lot has happened!

-I can’t remember exactly when, but I started feeling her kick (and knew for sure it was kicks and not gas) somewhere between 19 and 21 weeks. I think it has been my most favorite part of this pregnancy. At this point, she is really moving a lot and I can feel her little feet or arms moving across my belly. I can even see her move through my belly. I’ve tried to capture a video of it, but she always seems to know when I start recording and decides to stop! Hopefully I will catch it before she gets to squished in my belly to move around!

-I feel her hiccups. She gets them a lot, which is no surprise since her momma gets them all the time! It’s the cutest little repetitive thump. I feel them on my left side below my belly button, so I’m hoping that means she is in the head down position. They say babies can still move all around in the womb at this point, but I seem to always feel them in the same place, so perhaps she is already settled. Only time will tell!

– I’ve gained about 20-22 pounds depending on what time of day I weigh ;-). I know that it is silly, but I will be honest in saying that this part is a little difficult for me as I’ve never gained weight like this before. Kyle reminds me daily that I am beautiful and that I don’t look at all as big as I feel, but it’s still hard to believe sometimes! He is so patient and loving towards me, I am so grateful for him! The good news is that my weight gain is right on target with the recommended total weight gain which for me is between 25-35 pounds. I have to keep that in perspective – and that the weight I have gained is important for a healthy baby girl!

– Within the past few weeks I’ve noticed that my hips hurt really bad at night when sleeping. It actually wakes me up often and I have to switch sides constantly throughout the night. I have been told that it is because the pregnancy hormones are causing muscles and ligaments to relax in preparation for birth and as a result it can cause pain. As I take a step back and look at how this pregnancy has gone, I am thankful that this has been the worst of my symptoms so far!

-For all pregnancies, doctors require you to take a 1 hour glucose screening test to help determine whether or not you may be at risk for gestational diabetes. This test is designed to see if your body can efficiently process sugar in your blood, as sometimes pregnancy hormones can cause insulin resistance or the inability to produce enough. At around 27 weeks I took the test which consisted of me drinking a sugary orange flavored drink (which really wasn’t bad at all and kind of tasty!), waiting one hour, and then having my blood drawn. Unfortunately, I got my test results (while on vacation!) and found out that I had failed the 1 hour glucose screening by 19 points over the normal range. I was discouraged because I really didn’t want to have diabetes (who on earth does?!) but I knew that if I did have it, it wasn’t because of anything I did or didn’t do (from what I have been told, you can’t get gestational diabetes from your diet). When I got home from vacation, I went back for the three hour glucose test where I had to fast the night before, have my blood drawn when I arrived at the lab, then drink an even higher dose of sugary drink (this time it was fruit punch!), then have my blood drawn again, then for three hours had my blood drawn every hour. Kyle was the best husband ever and came with me to both the 1 hour and 3 hour glucose test. Thankfully, we got to have our own little room to wait in for those three hours. I watched HGTV while he read. The good news is that I found out a few days later that I passed the 3 hour glucose test with flying colors! All my numbers were well within normal range – which meant that I did NOT have gestational diabetes. This momma was very happy! I think I may have even celebrated with a donut! haha!

-VACATION! Speaking of vacation, Kyle and I took the opportunity for one last vacation before our baby girl arrives. They call this a “babymoon” nowadays. 🙂 I took a week off of work (Kyle was already on summer vacation since he works for a school and gets the awesome perk of summer vacay!), and we headed on down to Sanibel Island and stayed at the Tarpon Tale Inn. It is the cutest little cottage. We had stayed there before a couple years ago and loved it so much then that we wanted to go back. We were originally going to go down to the Keys as that is where we went on our honeymoon and haven’t been back since, but the Zika Virus (transmitted by mosquitos and can cause birth defects in unborn babies) was becoming more and more of a possible risk in the Miami-Dade/South Florida region. So we decided to keep things a little closer to home. We had an incredibly relaxing time. We would go to the beach in the morning (because the afternoon was just too hot!) I would read while sitting under the umbrella and Kyle would go fishing. 🙂 We ate at some delicious restaurants, took long naps, shopped, went for walks and bike rides with the complementary bikes that our inn provided. It was perfect! While it is going to certainly be an adjustment, we really can’t wait for our sweet baby to get here. Kyle and I several times have talked about how we are so thankful that we have had 7 years of just the two of us. We have made so many special memories and have grown strong in our love for one another during these childless years, but are looking forward to our new life as a family of 3!

– I celebrated my 29th birthday in July! Kyle was so sweet and threw a little birthday party for me with our friends – the Whites and Phillips. They came over for pizza and cake (that Kyle made all on his own, funfetti cake with chocolate frosting! It was delicious). We also had a lovely day in Hyde Park/Tampa where we ate a delicious breakfast at Daily Eats (the cutest diner), shopped around Hyde Park (they have a Pottery Barn Kids where I got a couple of sheets for baby girl’s crib and a mobile holder!) We then went to one of our favorite coffee shops – Buddy Brew – and just relaxed there for a good bit while sipping on some delicious drinks and enjoying a yummy cookie! 🙂 It was just how I wanted to spend my birthday. We also celebrated the day after with my family. My mom always throws us a little party where we have a birthday table theme. This year mine was a princess party. ha! I can’t wait to throw our little girl parties like my mom has done all these years for us kids.

-I had my first baby shower which I will write about in a separate post. This one was for my mom’s and Marsha’s friends. It was just so lovely and I am so appreciative for everyone who came.

-We finished our last birthing class tonight! I feel much more prepared for labor and delivery and am very glad we attended a class. I may write a bit more on this later.

-Last weekend, Kyle and I went to Old Navy so I could buy some more maternity pants (my regular pants are pretty tight at this point!). While I was looking for myself I told him to go find something for our baby to wear. He picked out the sweetest little dress and another outfit on his own and was just so proud. He told me later when we got home as he was looking at his purchases…”boy, I am in trouble!” hehe! This little girl already has him wrapped around her tiny baby pinki finger! I just love seeing how much he loves her even before she is born.

I think this about sums up most of what has happened during the last 12 weeks! Only 8 more weeks to go! So crazy to think about – but we are certainly excited!

Stay tuned for more updates (hopefully I’ll get them in before the baby arrives! haha!)

Gender Reveal

Kyle and I decided that we would reveal the gender of our sweet baby girl to our families on Mother’s Day since we knew we would be together with our families that day. Also, we thought it would be a nice gift for our momma’s to open on their special day!

We went to lunch after church with my family and made sure to record the moment momma opened her gift. She was tickled pink! haha! Here is the video:

Later that day, we went over to the Mulletts to celebrate Mother’s Day with them. We also gave Marsha her own gift to open. I think everyone was pretty surprised since the Mullett side of the family has only had 3 girls in the past 100+ years (I don’t remember the exact number!)

After this, Dan said “We already knew it was a girl” and then Marsha pulls out a pink cookie cake that said “It’s a girl” on it. I was baffled for a moment and then figured out that they had baked two cakes one for a boy and one for a girl and planned on pulling out whichever one fit! 🙂

Marsha took blue icing and wrote “NOT” on the boy cake as a joke. We ate the girl cake and she gave us the boy cake to take home. Kyle and his dad had an even better idea for Kyle to take it to his worship class as they were all anxious to know if it was a boy or girl. Kyle knew they would all be tricked at first when they saw the blue. He captured their reaction(s) below:

I also wanted to reveal the baby’s gender to the ladies I work with. My co-worker Jennifer was in on the secret and brought in a treat for all of us. Here is the moment I told the DLG crew!

We certainly enjoyed sharing the news of our baby girl! And we continue to find such joy in telling friends and people face to face. 🙂

Isn’t he the cutest! So proud!

Boy or Girl?

On May 5th, Kyle and I had THE appointment where we got to find out whether or not we were having a boy or a girl. I was 20 weeks and 3 days which is about when doctors like to have the anatomy scan done as at this point they are usually able to see everything that they need, plus it is easier to determine the baby’s gender.

I was a tiny bit nervous as you never know what may happen at an appointment, but I think I was way more excited because this would be the day that we would finally get a decent glimpse of our sweet little baby. The last ultrasound was at 7 weeks, and our little one was only about a centimeter big and had no distinguishable features.

The ultrasound tech began the process like all ultrasounds by putting a big glob of that jelly on my tummy. It was weird LOL! We both had our eyes locked on the screen as she started taking images. It didn’t take long for her to find our baby’s head and profile. It was the most surreal moment! At one point our baby turned and looked at us and also brought their foot up next to their face. That little one was very active and moving all over the place. The ultrasound tech was having a hard time keeping up haha! There were a few moments where the tech made comments such as, “look at how beautiful that is!” (I had no idea what she was talking about except maybe the baby’s spine lol) She also showed us the baby’s heart and we saw the four chambers beating. She showed us the baby’s brain as well. It is amazing what they can capture!

I will be honest the entire time I was trying to see if I could figure out if it was a boy or a girl. But most of the time I was not able to tell what part of the baby was on the screen haha! The tech took several minutes getting all the shots she needed, and then towards the end she tried to find out the baby’s gender for us. That little one was squirming around so much that I was afraid she wasn’t going to be able to tell. You are supposed to have a full bladder when you go in for this ultrasound, so I made sure I drank lots of fluids. A friend of mine suggested drinking something sugary beforehand to get the baby moving, so I had some apple juice prior to the appointment. I think that really worked haha!

Finally and literally out of the blue, the ultrasound tech (with no warning) said……

It’s a girl!

And Kyle and I immediately looked at each other with sweet, surprised faces. Kyle said he wanted a boy, and I always said I wanted a boy first – but it is true that it really didn’t matter because when she said girl, I was immediately excited. I was concerned at first for Kyle and then realized, duh Leigh Anna – he is not disappointed. How on earth could he be?! And no worries – he is not disappointed one bit. I am so incredibly excited to watch Kyle be a daddy to a little girl. My heart already melts just thinking about it. He is going to be an amazing father.

We got to take home a print out of our baby’s photo shoot. 🙂 She got us some really good shots!