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    • The Baby Wrangler.

      Posted at 12:38 pm by Kyla Goebel, on March 23, 2019

      This post may contain affiliate links! It won’t cost you any extra, but I may earn a dollar or two. Click here to read the very wordy and boring disclosure.

      I’m writing this while in a state of delirium; drinking coffee, watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and side-eyeing Lad as he escapes to somewhere he probably isn’t supposed to be. One day he was flailing on his belly and the next he was crawling away from us and pulling up on everything.

      When Lad was younger he would sit in a spot and cry for a toy and I remember thinking how great it would be when he could get it himself. Now, I sit him down in one spot and 2 seconds later he has disappeared and is busy pulling shower curtains down and eating a dead bug off the ground (true story).

      It’s impossible to watch him 24/7 so Reese and I decided it was time to invest in some sort of contraption to wrangle him in.

      Tada!

      https://amzn.to/2OohXXN

      Lemme tell ya. This thing is AWESOME. It’s 63″ across so it doesn’t feel so claustrophobic like his pack & play. It came in a little bag like one of those folding chairs, and praise the Lord it was all in one piece so I didn’t have to use brain cells to assemble anything. They’re in short supply and I have to ration them accordingly.

      One of the main reasons we ordered this one and not just the regular fence like we had planned was because this thing has a tarp-ish bottom. Now we can take it outside and set him down and not have to worry about him getting sticker burs or eating dog turds. Win-win!

      We’ve only had it for a week, but so far I’d give it an A. If it would have came with a Nanny I would bump up my rating to an A+, but this will have to do for now. Hehe.

      Overall, I’d recommend it. It’s about $10 more than a regular kid pen, so that’s definitely worth it in my book. If you have a baby that likes to escape, or maybe if you want to leave the kid outside of the pen and crawl in there yourself to eat a banana in peace without some little hands with sharp baby talons trying to steal it from you, then I’d totally recommend this thing.

      We’ll see how it holds up!

      ~KG

      Posted in Baby, Home, Kyla | 0 Comments | Tagged 8 MONTH OLD, Baby, Baby Boy, baby proofing, baby safety, crawling, Home, play pen, regalo, walking
    • 8-Month Old Babe!

      Posted at 1:14 pm by Kyla Goebel, on March 2, 2019

      A list of all of Laddy’s favorites!

      Hello friends! We officially have an 8-month old “big boy” (who likes to stand up in his crib and scream at the top of his lungs. Since we’re no longer in the “baby” phase, I’ve put up several things we aren’t using anymore. I didn’t cry, but I did say “Reeeeese! Remember when Laddy was a little baby and could fit in this!” several times. I also love referring to specific moments in time and say “remember when Laddy was only [insert months-old] and we [insert activity].” Reese absolutely loves when I do that. Just ask him. 😉

      There are a few things that we use every day that I thought I’d share in case there are any other mama’s out there creeping up on “big boy” status. Some of the items are things we’ve used the whole time, and some are relatively new. We put up the dock-a-tot, piano kicker thing (with the awful music, thank goodness), baby clothes and baby bath tub. Somehow now we’re using bowls and sippy cups and t-shirts that show his chubby wittle tum-tum! It’s precious.

      This post may contain affiliate links through Amazon. It won’t cost you anything if you click on them, but Laddy may earn a few more pennies to add to his piggy bank.

      Nose Frida & Saline Spray

      We’ve used both of these things from the first month. I will say I recommend having some of the spray on hand for when your newborn gets his first bout of allergies (which will of course coincide with the very week your parents decide to leave the Country so you can’t call your mom in a panic). When babies are still fresh they can only breathe through their little nosies, so it’s very important to keep the nostrils free and clear! But be careful – there are two bottles and they are both very similar. One is ok for newborns and the other is for ages 2+. It’s part of our nightly routine to give a little squirt up the nose and suck out the boogs with our Nose Frida. I’m actually a little concerned for the college years because he loves the nose spray so much. We’re crating a monster.

      Humidifier

      This was originally suggested by our friend Mollie. Who knew babies needed one of these? Not me. We’ve been using this since birth to help with his allergies at night and you can tell a difference in the morning if we forget to turn it on before he goes to sleep. It is annoying to empty it every day, but it helps his cough, so it’s worth it. We use a cool mist humidifier, but there are warm mist ones. I don’t have experience with those, but I’ve heard they can mold easier. If you clean it out on a regular basis I don’t think there would be any kind of issues though.

      Diffuser

      About an hour before bedtime, I’ll go into Laddy’s room and turn on his diffuser with lavendar drops. If you want to use oils, just be sure you are using pure oils. There are quite a few out there that are cheaper, but they are filled with junk. Doterra and ACAI are both good brands that I use that are more affordable. I turn off the diffuser once he goes to sleep so it’s not running all night because it would probably be a little too strong. You don’t have to get fancy with the diffuser; you can find them for $10 or $80. I prefer the latter. At first I was putting the oils in the humidifer to make life easier, but then I learned that it’s not a very great plan for various reasons, so here we are.

      Sound Machine

      I have mixed emotions about using a sound machine. I don’t want it to become something he can’t sleep without if we go places, but at the same time it does make life so much easier because he isn’t woken up by noises from the living room since he goes to bed a few hours before we do. If you use one, I would suggest getting one that will stay on all night. It helps him self-soothe himself back to sleep in the middle of the night too (which he was great at before he realized he could stand up and yell). We have this one, but I don’t think it really matters! I like it because it has a little nightlight on it and a projector for the ceiling. We haven’t used that yet, but I can see it coming in handy when he’s a little older. I know there are several out there that you can control from your phone too. #fancy

      Lovey

      We sort of “forced” Laddy onto his little cow mainly for sleeping purposes. It was our thought that if he got attached to it, it would help him soothe himself back to sleep if he had something to cuddle. It has worked so far thankfully! And it’s really precious to see a wittle baby cuddle something. 🙂 I can’t find the exact one he has, but the brand is Jellycat Ltd. and it’s the softest thing in the world. But to be honest, I’ve hugged quite a few loveys in my day and they are all pretty cuddly and wonderful. So I don’t think you could go wrong.

      Letter Mat

      We don’t have carpet so we were very excited when Santa dropped this mat off at our house. Lad is learning to crawl, so that means more face-plants. If we didn’t have wood floors this wouldn’t be such an issue, but his forehead appreciates the softer surface. My only complaint with this is that it does not make a perfect square and my OCD can’t handle it. I understand that with 26 letters this is just not going to happen, but maybe add some numbers or a few squares pictures. Please. Just do it for all of us crazies out there.

      Umbrella Stroller

      As much as I love the jogger stroller for our run-walks, it’s so nice to have a smaller stroller for quick trips. They are much lighter too, so you don’t get winded trying to get it in-and-out of the back of your car. I’m WAY excited for spring so we can start going to festivals and places. This stroller will be a game changer. It also comes with a little pack thingy AND CUP HOLDER for your “mom drink”.

      Teething Bibs

      We also have little teefies now, so he is drooling everywhere and sticking everything in his mouth. These little bibs have a rubber thing at the bottom so he can entertain himself for 5 minutes. They are also a nice fashion accessory, which Lad clearly cares about. (One of us has to look decent from time to time lol.)

      One of the most recent items we added to our home was due to this:

      Yep. I walked into his room and he was sleeping belly-down, with his legs sticking out of the crib, straight as boards. Obviously I had to take a picture. WHAT?! I never registered for a crib set because we didn’t know the gender, and then after he was born I never got around to it just because #momlife. Plus, everyone tells you to stay far, far away from bumpers and anything in the crib. Well what’s a gal to do when her baby insists on kicking his little legs out the side? This mesh thing has worked pretty good for keeping all body extremities within the boundaries of the crib. I’d recommend it if you’ve got a wiggle worm.

      There you have it! Obviously we use a million other things on the reg., but those are all pretty obvious. This list was full of things that were given to us that make our lives easier. Life with a babe can be exhausting at times, so if there is something out there that will allow me to conserve the small amount of brain power that I do have, then SIGN ME UP.

      ~

      KG

      Posted in Baby, Home, Kyla | 0 Comments | Tagged 8 MONTH OLD, Baby, Baby Boy, Home, mom, MOMHACK, MOMLIFE, PARENT, PARENTHOOD
    • Push it, push it real good.

      Posted at 1:24 pm by Kyla Goebel, on December 29, 2018

      Last week I mentioned natural birth in my post and had a few requests to dive into that sooner rather than later…so here we are!

      But first let me preface – however you get that baby out is PERFECT. As long as baby AND mommy are a-ok, then all is well. There’s a lot of mess out there that say one way is better than the other, and it’s not. You do you, booboo.

      About the classes:

      Reese and I went to two classes…and they were a huuuuge waste of our time. The first was for newborn care, and the second was about pain management. The only reason I signed up for this one was because I thought they would talk about techniques on getting through labor. It was actually about epidural the entire time so I was a suuuper annoyed pregnant lady. Shouldn’t a hospital be offering classes on empowering women to give birth naturally and not just skip-hop over to a medicated birth??!! Maybe that’s just the hippy in me, but I was IRKED. Plus, we were somehow surrounded by straw-hat/cut-off-sleeves/barbwire-tattoo hillbillies. It was terrible.

      When we got home I just watched labor videos on YouTube (THEY’RE OUT THERE) and squeezed my legs together and made Reese gag. That was WAY more helpful.

      They do have classes out there that are for natural birth, but they can cost quite a bit. And we were in new-baby-money-saving-mode (we’re always in that mode, actually), so I decided I didn’t need them. I’m stubborn enough to make it happen without people telling me how to breathe.

      Anyways. Here we go.

      STEP ONE: KNOW YOUR REASONS

      When it comes to birth, in my experience it was all about mindset. I decided from the beginning I wanted to give birth without meds so that was a big part of it. I’m stubborn and if I really, really want something, then YOU BET it’s going to happen. Dad would say that’s the German in me; mom would blame it on the czech…I say it’s a happy product of both.

      Another thing along these lines is you have to know your reasons. You’ll have your own, but here were mine:

      1. The thought of not being able to move my body when I want to absolutely TERRIFIED me. And that’s kind of what epidural does to you. No thanks.
      2. The entire time you’re pregnant they tell you to be extra careful about what you’re putting in your body. And then they tell you it’s ok to inject some magic juice into your spine during labor? Ehhhhh, seems fishy.
      3. People have been pushing out babies med-free for thousands of years. In dirt and caves and stuff. And with the whole village watching.
      4. For me personally, the healing is always worse than the injury. So I knew if I could get past the actual birth, then the few weeks of aftermath wouldn’t seem so terrible.
      5. I wanted to say I did it.

      So there are my reasons. If you want to do this, then you make your list and stick to it.

      STEP TWO: KNOW HOW TO BREATHE.

      Yoga and running have taught me a lot over the years in knowing how to breathe. This probably was second to the whole mindset thing in getting through it.  In through your nose, out through your mouth…take it slow…you know. That kind of thing. Everyone says “focus on your breathing”…and you should. It doesn’t make the pain go away, but it will definitely help with your endurance. THIS IS A MARATHON, NOT A SPRINT. Unless of course your birth is a sprint. In which case, I hate you. Just kidding. But not really.

      STEP THREE: SUCK IT UP.

      It’s going to hurt. A lot. But you know what? It will be over soon enough. For as many miles as I walked (waddled), as many squats as I did, as many dates as I ate and as many packets of raspberry red leaf tea I drank, I was expecting labor to go A LOT quicker. 13 hours. THIR-TEEN HOU-ERRS. Your back will hurt and there will be nurses sticking their hands in places they shouldn’t be and you will think your water broke 14 times and discover it was just you peeing yourself again.

      I remember during it all I was thinking to myself WHY DIDN’T YOU GET THE MAGIC PAIN JUICE?!?!?! And then I just reminded myself that if I’ve made it this far, then there’s no way I’m giving up now. You just gotta suck it up. If you want to yell, then yell. If you want to say profane words, you can do that too. If you wan’t to call the doctor four times and tell him to pull the baby out of you, then do it. (He won’t do that no matter how many times you ask. A friend told me….)

      STEP FOUR: PUSH. IT. OUT.

      When you get to the glorious point that you can finally push (again, if you beg the nurses and doctor to let you get a jump-start on this, they won’t let you), this is when it gets good. This will also hurt, just FYI. But it will be a different hurt. So I don’t know if you want to take that as a bright ray of sunshine or not. Because the crippling pains you’ve been feeling in your back will finally subside! Yay!

      This is where my squats came in handy (Once I hit third trimester I did 25 squats every time I went potty. Which was a lot.)

      My lower body was supes strong and I was OVER the pain and ready to GET. THAT. BABY. OUT. I only remember pushing like 3 times because I was BOUND AND DETERMINED TO WRAP IT UP. After the second time my nurses said to take a breather and I was all like NOOOPE and did that little circle motion with my pointer finger that you do when it’s time to wrangle up your friends and head home from the bar. I miss the bar.

      Anyways.

      This is the BEST moment. Take a biiiig breath, grab your man’s hand (poor Reesey) and DO. IT.

      Viola! Little baby is out! And this probably sounds ridiculous to most people, but this is the moment where you lean forward and can BREATHE because a little noggin isn’t jabbing you in your lungs anymore because he’s out in the big ole world!! And you will finally not be pregnant anymore. IT. IS. GLORIOUS.

      KCJFE2148 (1)

      And then you think to yourself (or say out loud…) “Should his head look like that?” or maybe some other things that shouldn’t be said on a blog. We were first-timers. 😉

      Then it’s time to breastfeed and EAT ALL OF THE FOOD. Eating is a good way to distract yourself while the doctor does the rest of his things down there. It’s a blur but I think I had my Cliff bar, and then the best turkey sandwich I’d ever eaten, and some chips, and a popcicle. My options were limited at 2:42 a.m. Next time I’ll be better prepared and have a meal on stand-by.

      So that’s it.

      I will say, the aftermath isn’t quite as bad as I had mentally prepared myself for. As long as I had my aforementioned butt pillow. Give it about two weeks, and you’ll be good as gold. And then your baby will realize he’s out in the big world and stop sleeping and be SUUUPER alert ALL OF THE TIME. And hungry. Very hungry.

      If you have any other questions, feel free to ask! After you have your baby you will want to tell the story to everyone but then you’ll have to wrangle yourself back in as you remind yourself that nobody really cares but you. 😉

      Best of luck and happy pushing!

      ~KG

      Posted in Baby, Kyla, Pregnancy | 3 Comments | Tagged Baby, breastfeeding, cloth diapering, Dad, delivery, Gender, Health, healthy, holistic, Home, hospital, labor, Marriage, Pregnancy, prenatal
    • Packing the hospital bag(s). All four of them.

      Posted at 12:35 pm by Kyla Goebel, on December 22, 2018

      Laddy has recently decided he was going to bump his [first] breakfast up to the wee hours of the morning and I can never fall back asleep if it’s past 2:30, so here we are. Drinking coffee and tending to the bloggy. Today’s write-up is super helpful for all of my preggy friends out there. And for those of you who will have kiddos in the future – take note. Packing your bag for the hospital is very important – especially if you deliver out of town like we did!

      The day I hit 30-weeks, I had my bag packed. #planner

      As we got closer to baby day, I would even take my toiletries that I planned on bringing and bag them up every morning and night just to be safe. Turns out the day I finally gave up on doing that was the day Laddy decided he was going to come. Such a sneaky little rascal! You’ll also want to make sure your husband has a bag packed with clothes (and a pillow and blanket for the hospital).

      When the day came, we ended up with 4 bags total. Yep. We were those people. But ask a girl in labor if she cares what people think. Nnnoooooope. I had a very “Outta my way, b*tchesssss” mentality going on.

      Believe it or not, with all those bags I still missed a few things. Shocker. It’s like I had never done this before! Tehe.

      We’ll start with the things I did manage to shove in the four bags:

      I am an Amazon Associate and may earn from the affiliate links in this post. LaddyBoy’s gotta go to college one day! 😉


      NURSING NIGHTIE

      The hours/day after you have your baby, the nurses are going to pop in frequently and push around on your uterus to make sure all of the things are going back to their respective locations. It’s fantastic. So unless you want to keep pulling pants up and down, plan to stay in your nightie. And anyways, #NoPantsAreTheBestPants. I have one like this and it is the SOFTEST nightie EVER.

       

      NURSING PADS

      *drip, drip, drip*

       

       

       

      HIGH-CALORIE (healthy) SNACKS

      After pushing that baby out, you will be FAMISHED. Thankfully I was thinking ahead and got the highest calorie protein bar I could find (that didn’t taste awful): Peanut Butter Cliff Bar! I still ate about five more things other than this, but this was a good first course. You will have hospital food, but that gets old. And if there are any issues, or you have a jaundice baby like we did, you may be there longer than planned. If you are going to be breastfeeding, you want to make sure you are eating food with sustenance; whatever you eat, baby eats!

      GIANT WATER BOTTLE

      I have a giant water bottle that I carry everywhere with me. It’s 0.79 gallons and I drink at least 2 a day. It’s a real conversation starter. I can’t find the exact one I have, but here’s one that is pretty big too. LADIES. When you are nursing, your thirst will NEVER CEASE. So unless you want to buy one of those Camel backpacks with the straws that hikers use, get the biggest water bottle you can find. And take it with you eeeeverywhere. The little cup at the hospital last me about .02 seconds.

      ROBE

      Hospitals are cold. And I’m a robe gal. Not necessary, but I was happy I had it. And back to the nursing part – if you are going to be feeding little baby via boob, then a robe is wayyy easy. Because breast feeding for the first time is tricky and you don’t want to add pulling a shirt up and down to the equation.

       

      MASCARA & CC CREAM

      This may sound ridiculous, but it made all the difference on the day we were finally able to go home. If you know me, you know I’m perfectly fine going make-up free and channeling all the hobo vibes. But after feeling like a dog for 3 days, it was nice to look fairly decent going home. This is my faaavorite CC cream from Juice Beauty. It’s all natural so you don’t have to worry about chemicals on your precious face. (Plus, it smells like Fruit Loops.) And when you are breast feeding you will double-think everything you put on your skin. And mascara is just a given; enchanting lashes make all the difference.

      NURSING PILLOW

      I’m pro-nursing pillow, but I honestly didn’t start using it until Lad got bigger and heavier. I actually ended up putting the nursing pillow around my neck and using it that way while we were at the hospital. Because stitches down-under are uncomfortable and regular sitting for hours in a hospital bed is for the birds. TMI? Whoops. I even have this super attractive pic I sent to my dear friend Chelsea the morning after Laddy was born. If you want a real look at labor aftermath that you won’t find on the ole “gram”, here ya go. Ladies and gentlemen, this is what I call an exhausted new mom that is confused why her newborn baby has pooped six times in one morning, and has aching lady bits:IMG_1278.jpg

      I know what you’re thinking: SO HOT!!

      BUTT PILLOW

      LEMME TELL YA. If you have to get any kind of stitches, you may want to consider investing in one of these bad boys. Don’t be ashamed, gurl. After pushing a child out of your hoohah, if you want to sit on a hemorrhoid pillow, then you do that. And tell the world.


      What I wish I packed:

      BREAST PUMP

      Because I began trying to nurse Lad as soon as he popped out, my milk came in pretty quickly. I wish I would have had my electric pump for a million reasons, but mostly because I was still trying to figure out breast feeding and as time passed, I kept making more milk so it was making it harder for Lad to eat. And then it just started to get frustrating. So bring your pump. Even if you don’t think you’ll need it or want to use it – BRING IT. Also, I don’t have this one, I just think it’s pretty. You can get a free pump through your insurance – SO DO IT! Don’t not do it because you don’t think you’ll need it. If you buy pumps from the store you will be spending over $200 on the cheap ones. We pay tons of money every month for this dang insurance, so make sure you get everything out of it that you can!


      What I packed & didn’t need:

      Lavender, headphones, dried pineapple – These are all grouped together because they’re all crap when it comes to delivery. All along I knew I wanted to have a natural birth without any meds, so I was all about reading up on methods to get through it. (I’ll do a post another time on that, because it’s totally doable and I 100000% recommend it.) Anywho. Everything I was reading insisted on these three things and to be perfectly honest, they were not helpful. SHOCKER, KY. I sniffed lavender once during contractions and I think I got angrier. Speaking of angry….headphone cords while you’re in labor? NEXT. And dried pineapple is supposed to help with pain and the sugar is supposed to give you energy. That is FAKE NEWS.

      So moral of the story, no oil sniffing or special snacks or any other nonsense items are going to be the trick to pushing out a baby sans-meds. You just gotta do your squats, suck it up, and remind yourself that it will all be over soon enough! 😉


      A few other things that were helpful to have: phone charger, extra blanket for YOU, dry shampoo, nursing bras, and an extra vehicle to bring home all of the goodies people will bring you. 🙂

      Well that’s that. This post is kind of wordy, but I’m kind of wordy, so you shouldn’t expect anything less. I have soooo much more to say about the whole natural delivery/hospital/first few days home topics, so hopefully I’ll manage to keep up with my posts on a regular basis! We shall see.

      Hope everyone has a (stress-free) Merry Christmas!

      ~KG

      Posted in Baby, Kyla, Pregnancy | 0 Comments | Tagged Baby, boy, breastf, breastfeeding, Coffee, Dad, delivery, diary, Health, healthy, Home, hospital, labor, Marriage, milk, Pregnancy, texas
    • Finally an update & a very entertaining story.

      Posted at 1:54 pm by Kyla Goebel, on November 17, 2018

      I’d like to start off by saying MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!

      Just kidding. But not really. Because we WILL be saying that in just a few weeks. There are only FIVE-AND-A-HALF weeks until Christmas and excuse me while I go have an anxiety attack. My left eyeball is literally twitching as I type this. [Starting a petition for Reese to let me put up Christmas decorations.]

      IT’S BEEN A HOT MINUTE SINCE I’VE BEEN ON HERE. We’ve been busy. And Lad does this whole thing where he screams when you sit down. So that’ll keep a gal away from a computer. I have a lot to say, but I’ll do my best to keep this short. Also, be ready for a bunch of random topic changes.

      I recently mopped for the first time since September. Go ahead, judge me. I HATE mopping. It’s the worst. But it had to be done. Because another fun thing that Lad likes to do is projectile spit-up over your shoulder so you don’t know he spit up until you are walking around later and step in curdled milk. For all of you new parents out there, heed this advice: GET RID OF YOUR CARPET. I literally do not know what we would do if we didn’t have wood floors. It would smell like buttcrack in here for sure. There aren’t enough Scentsy’s in the world.

      I get asked how our cloth diapering is going quite often. Verdict: I highly recommend it if it’s something that can be worked out for your family! Once we actually figured out how to put them on so his pee didn’t get out all the time, it’s been great! It adds 2 loads of laundry a week, but that’s not a big deal in my opinion. When it comes to laundry it’s not like you ever finish anyways. And honestly, we’ve only had a handful of poosplosions so far, and they’ve all been while he was wearing a disposable diaper! So we either don’t put regular diapers on correctly, or there actually is something to this whole cloth thing!


      Speaking of poosplosions.

      There was one time recently that made me really proud to be little LaddyBoy’s mom. Recently, Reese was changing Lad and I was in the kitchen washing bottles and pump parts (which is how I spend 95% of my time these days). It was getting close to Lad’s bath time, so instead of dirtying up another diaper, Reese just snapped the (leg-less) onsie up. Sans diaper. Did you get that? Sans diaper.  *cue face palm* When the boys came into the kitchen, Reese seemed taken aback by the look of horror on my face. Because I’ve already learned my lesson about not putting a diaper on this baby. He’s pretty much armed and ready to blow at all times.

      Me: “That’s a really bad idea.”

      Reese: “Why? He just pooped and it’s almost bath time. It’ll be fine.”

      Lad: *takes biggest dump of his life*

      Reese: “NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO. HELP ME IT’S SO BAD.”

      Me: *dying*

      Lad: *still pooping*

      Reese: “STOP LAUGHING AND HELP ME. IT WON’T STOP AND IT’S SO BAD. KYLA. STOP. THIS ISN’T FUNNY.” *runs to the bathroom*

      Me: *laughing & trying to hold in my pee*

      Reese: “GET IN HERE RIGHT NOW. THIS ISN’T FUNNY. IT’S COMING OUT AND IT’S SO BAD.

      Me: *still laughing*

      Now, for those of you who aren’t aware, Reese DOES NOT do bodily fluids. He just doesn’t. Especially when the bodily fluid is turd in his bare hands.

      I was finally able to make it back to the bathroom (without peeing myself, holler!) where Reese had Lad dangling over the bathtub just like the time Michael Jackson dangled Blanket/Pillow/Duvet (whatever that poor kid’s name is) over the balcony with this look of disgust on his face.

      And my heart grew 10 sizes. Just like the Grinch.

      It’s moments like these that we will treasure forever. 😉 Well, maybe not Reese, but I certainly will. I needed a good belly laugh.


      Other than that very entertaining episode, it’s been just peachy over here! Laddy even sleeps about 6 – 7 hours straight each night! We had 2 miracle nights of 12-hour stints and then we’ve had our wake-up-every-hour moments too. But all-in-all I’d say we’re knocking it out of the park. We still swear by the sleep sack and I tell all my pregnant friends to put several of them on their registries.

      Working at home with a baby is proving to be a lot more difficult than I thought it would be, but I wouldn’t change it for the world! Speaking of, ANYBODY WANNA BUY A HOUSE?!”

      I’d like to say that I’ll be back with another update soon, buuuuuut we’ll see. My little bloggy isn’t at the top of my priority list right now, believe it or not. 😉

      ~KG

       

       

      Posted in Baby, Home, Kyla, Pregnancy | 0 Comments | Tagged Baby, cloth diapering, Dad, Health, healthy, Home, poop, post partum, Pregnancy
    • Two Months In: baby products we love

      Posted at 1:14 pm by Kyla Goebel, on August 25, 2018

      Note: As an Amazon Associate I may earn from qualifying purchases. :)

      Today makes 8 whole weeks for us as a family of 3! I thought I knew what life was going to be like but lemme tell you what – there’s absolutely nooooo way to prepare yourself for what’s to come. I mean that in the best way (obviously), but it’s literally nothing like you could ever even comprehend until you are there!

      Oddly enough, you make your baby registry when you are pregnant and have NO IDEA of what you will need or want. I mean, you think you know what you will need after talking to people and being around other babies, but your baby is going to be different and you are going to be different, soooo all I can say is: keep your receipts. 😉

      Here are the major things that we currently need for a smooth day:

      Rock n Play

      Fisher Price Auto Rock-N-Play AKA the Holy Grail of baby gear.

      Yes, I know I’ve mentioned this before. But since then I’ve come across several other people who use this bad boy too and there are ZERO complaints. It’s where Lad sleeps at night. It rocks automatically, poop wipes off (thankfully ), and it’s priced great! We also really like the fact that it is inclined because we’re still nervous about him spitting up in his sleep on his back, so it’s a comfort.

      So get one. Or two. Or another ideas is to have one for every room in your home. Really.

      Baby V’s.

      v-neck

      When I registered for these, it was more so our baby would look like a cool kid hipster. Turns out they are AMAZING in real life because they are 1) super soft and snuggly, and 2) way easier to fit over your baby’s head when you are still freaking out about the soft spot OR when you are trying to get the outfit over your baby’s head without getting the poop that managed to run up his back everywhere. So there are definitely some benefits.

      These are from Target, btw. Like everything else.

      Carter’s Socks (actually Carter’s everything because it’s all soft & snuggly)

      1d428ab0-f8a9-468b-be4d-542b1b6f85f2_1.29f663d5cb5fe9513b0efd4fbbd169b4

      I LOVE baby socks. They are the cutest things I’ve ever seen in my life. Unfortunately, they are not attached to each other via string and one is always missing. My mom found these Carter baby socks and (other than the ones from the hospital) they are the only ones that stay on his little feetsies. Let’s also add that they look like athletic socks and are adorable. Reese is REALLY nervous that Lad is going to get some of my non-sporty skills, so we’ve got to do all we can as a baby to brainwash him into being really good at sports.

      Bottle Warmer

      munchkin

      A lot of people will tell you that a bottle warmer is a “luxury item” and that you can warm up a bottle over the stove just as easy. And if you and your baby have that kind of patience than goooood for you. We do not. And we need this. Like I need a beer in the evenings.

      I would recommend a bottle warmer a thousand times over. We have the Munchkin brand and it works great so far! It’s quick, but it does leak water all over the place. But you know how you can fix that? With a towel.

      I’ve heard from a few people that this brand does die quickly. Dr. Brown’s has a bottle warmer that will apparently last longer but it’s not as quick. The Munchkin one was around $25 I think, so when it does die I’m perfectly fine with getting a new one.

      Spotify Playlist

      logo@2x

      This is kind of a joke but kind of not. Turns out Lad is very particular about his music choices and it is handy to be able to turn on his favorite tunes when he’s screaming. For example: he prefers a nice Billy Joel tune over Don’t Drop that Thun Thun Thun. Which I can kind of get on board with – clearly Billy is a wayyy better artist overall, but there’s nothing like a good song to have a dance party with.

      Graco Travel System – My Ride 65

      3a64235b-9aa4-4813-81d5-a93020034931_1.683831553d990c7b7ff501de729ba72d

      First off – this name. “My Ride 65”. EL OH EL.

      Secondly – This. stroller. is. the. bomb. If I wasn’t so big on going on runs and walks, maybe this wouldn’t be so important, but I am. And this stroller works perfectly for that. You just pop the car seat into the stroller base thingy until they are 20 lbs or something crazy and they can sit in the stroller without the seat. So we’re here for the long haul with this! I will say that we have to stay on the paved road at this point while his head is still jiggly, because the dirt road didn’t work out for us. But when he gets older fingers crossed it works on the dirt road just as well! It’s also a bonus when your dog can ride in the little basket thing underneath because she’s not smart enough to stay out of the way of the front tire. Bless her heart.


      Obviously there are tons of other things that we have and love, but these are the big points that have been life-savers for us. Your baby may hate wearing v-neck onsies, but we’re here for it. Plus, if Lad takes after his father he will probably have a chest hair popping up any day now so we’ve got to let the chest air out. 😉

      And let’s take into consideration he’s still only 8 weeks old, so I’m sure that this list will change in a few weeks!

      Lad definitely keeps us on our toes! And I thought I was sleep-deprived back in my prime when I went out several nights a week, but noooooope! This is at a new level. I was washing my hair the other day and when I looked down I noticed there was a roll of paper towels also taking a shower with me. And one time when I was trying to take a sip of coffee I grabbed his bottle instead.

      But whatevs. I’d say he’s worth it. 😉

      ~KG

      Posted in Baby, Home, Kyla, Pregnancy | 0 Comments | Tagged Baby, Baby Boy, bottle, boy, carters, fisher price, graco, Home, newborn, registery, socks, target
    • The breaking of the waters & sagging.

      Posted at 12:10 pm by Kyla Goebel, on June 23, 2018

      So, funny story. This past week I was PRETTY CERTAIN my water broke. Like, I told Reese that we should maybe put the bags in the car and everything.

      It was urine.

      Most of you are probably like “You can keep those details to yourself, Ky.” but I thought I’d share because I’m all about presenting myself in the best light possible.

      I’m only 38 weeks into this whole “pregnancy thing”, but this is the first time that I legitimately was unsure if I had peed or not. All these years I have been taking advantage of the fact that I had control over my bladder. If I had only known.

      Fingers crossed that the next time that happens it’s amniotic fluid coming out of me.

      That’s a weird sentence.


      On to the important topic:

      Let’s get this baby out!

      According to my dream I had wayyy back at the beginning (I think around Christmas), this little nugget should be popping out very shortly. On the 26th, to be exact. There is also a full moon coming up on Thursday. I do 25 squats every time I go to the bathroom – which is a lot – in hopes that things will speed up the process. The official due date isn’t until July 8 though, and sadly I’ve come to terms with the fact that since I am late to everything, this baby is more than likely also going to be late just to spite me. Sounds like my smart-alec kid already!


      A good sign that the baby is coming soon is when it “drops”. I can safely say with certainty, that this is the first (and only) time I’m patiently waiting for something to sag. I mean really. Let’s do this already. I’ve been told that this is when you really have to pee a lot. And frankly I don’t see how things could be any different than how they are now. If I’m going to pee even more, then let’s consider it a good thing that I work from a laptop because I may as well set up shop in there.

      Honestly it may even be a good thing to do anyways for “the breaking of the waters”. If that even happens.

      Did you know sometimes it doesn’t?


      I should probably be relaxing and enjoying the last few moments of worry-free life, but instead I’m drinking all the liquids (wishing they were mixed drinks) and driving Reese Goebel crazy with name ideas and gender ideas and my complaints that my thighs touch now when I walk.  I know he really does love me, but I’m pretty sure he’s ready for a change in topic.

      NOPE.

      Maybe next time I write a post there will be a baby. But probs not.

      Oh and about that. We’ll see when the next post is after the baby does come. There’s a good chance it may be a while. I know you are all sooooo bummed about that. 😉

      ~KG

      Posted in Baby, Kyla, Pregnancy | 2 Comments | Tagged Baby, baby names, Gender, Health, Home, Pregnancy, prenatal
    • The day we realized how much junk we had.

      Posted at 1:35 pm by Kyla Goebel, on April 7, 2018

      Moving day has come and gone…and somehow there are still piles of things that need to go places. It’s times like these that Reese gets really scared of me and my trash bags. I make donation piles and throw away piles on a regular basis, but we somehow still manage to accumulate so much JUNK. Grr. If this happens before little kids, I can’t even imagine what our future holds. Especially if our kids are “collectors” like I was…YIKES.

      Here’s the picture we’ll show our kiddos in 20 years of Reese and I (and little [large] baby), of us on moving day from our first home together!

      Old House Inside

      You know what’s fun? Moving when you’re pregnant and achy and large and have a leg that likes to randomly fall asleep.

      We still have several things to do before our sweet little home is complete, but I don’t think you ever really finish a house – and when we finally do I will want to re-decorate all over again. Yay! The transformation of our home over the last few months is monumental and we are SO HAPPY with how everything turned out! My most favorite is the kitchen [obviously] and I forgot how much I absolutely LOVED having a gas stove! Burning things is so much easier on electric stoves because of the heat situation, so Reese is pretty pumped about the change. Lol.

      Reese made a rule that I’m not allowed to hang up anything on the wall so our dining room is currently a storage facility for all of my wall-hangings, pictures, and decorating things. Somehow he got the idea in his head that I will just hammer nails in the wall willy nilly. There’s no way that’s true. Just ask my parents….or maybe don’t. 😉

      We have a brand spankin’ new shower with a LIGHT and Reese said he just stands there and smiles every time he takes a shower because it brings his heart so much joy. I’d have to agree though. It’s miraculous.

      If any of you out there like re-doing furniture for free, hit a girl up. My re-do pile is quickly growing and my motivation is quickly fleeing. I can’t. Plus I don’t want to fill the womb with strong paint odors for the little baby. So my slacking is really for the health of our child.

      If you remember, this was our starting point:

      IMG_0475

      Drum roll….

      New House Kitchen1

      Weeee! So stinkin’ excited. I would show other rooms, but the walls are barren.

      In the midst of all of this excitement, RE/MAX also moved offices downtown! Our new space is bright and shiney and I love it!

      New Office.jpg

      Unfortunately, this means that no matter where I go there are boxes that need to be unpacked. For now, I just put my office boxes behind my desk and me and my exercise ball chair face the opposite direction. Some would call this denial; I call it problem solving.

      Really though, I just need to fill my space out before deciding how I want to organize everything. My brain works that way. And Pinterest. I also need to hit that up.

      -KG

       

      Posted in Home, Real Estate | 2 Comments | Tagged diy, Home, makeover, renovation
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