last thursday i knew it was going to be a pajama day before i even opened my eyes. the little 3 month old next to me was sniffling and i could hear coughing coming from the baby monitor on my nightstand, meaning the toddler was feeling sniffly too. after putting my hair in a simple pony tail and changing both of their diapers, i put them in a fresh pair of pajamas and declared it “pajama day!” it turned out to be one of the best days ever, as both of my girls were smiley and in wonderful spirit, despite their runny noses. turns out, allergies! those pretty flowers that are blooming outdoors make my little ones sniffly…they get it from their daddy. but my goodness, we should have bought stock in tissues because it was booger city at our house.
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with our oldest officially two, we are expecting the day when we disassemble that crib that we just assembled while pregnant with her and transitioning to a big girl bed. we don’t know if it will be in the next weeks or in the next months; it is something we are chatting with her pediatrician about today and we are waiting for her to show us she is ready. she is showing no signs of wanting to upgrade, she simply loves her bed. she never tries to climb out of it (despite the photo of her playing that way below 🙂 ) and she has always been the best sleeper so i don’t want to mess up a good thing! i promised myself i wouldn’t transition her until her little sister is transitioned into sleeping through the night in her room…mama can’t have two transitions with sleep at once! that would be unwise.
but despite all of the details, i know this time in the crib is likely coming to an end by the end of summer and i wanted to document her in her crib before that day comes. and her daddy and i are having a little too much fun styling her new room makeover (and for those who really know me, you know i have a little blueprint all laid out) so in a way i am excited to see the crib days go, but i am also clutching on to one of the last things that truly makes her a baby. motherhood is always a fine balance of hanging on to yesterday and being excited for tomorrow. i always try to balance myself somewhere right in between. so before that day comes where we take this sweet crib apart, i document everything about her and her first bed.
motherhood has taught me to live life with intention, so i am always intentional about capturing all the moments with my camera before my little ones outgrow those moments. i never want to wish i would have taken the picture, so i always take the picture.
Pajama Day | Documenting Her Final Nursery Days
this little photo series started when i noticed my 2 year old playing sweetly with her baby mobile. what once hung above her as a newborn baby to captivate her attention was suddenly within arms reach and became a really fun toy to bat her arms at.
Nursery Source List
watercolor animal art prints | purchased on etsy here
felt elephant mobile | purchased on etys, similar item here
crib with drawer underneath | can be purchased here
bunny crib sheets | similar idea here
bunny pajamas | can be purchased here
pink hair snap clip | can be purchased here
let me start by saying, i only post about products that i 100% love and use. the content on my lifestyle blog is never written with the intention to make you spend more money, but with recommendations for things that i honestly think will help on your motherhood journey. i am not getting paid to write this post, but understand how mom reviews have helped me decide on baby purchases and so i want to pay it forward and help you. i understand that having a baby is not only stressful, but expensive. in our modern motherhood world, there is a device for everything and that can be a little overwhelming. but listen to me when i say, some devices will literally save you from going insane and are worth every single penny. and the hatch baby grow smart changing pad is one of those baby products that completely and utterly saved my sanity during my second daughter’s newborn days and first few months. if you are on the fence deciding on whether the hatch baby grow is something you need, let me convince you by telling you our story. even my husband has been telling me to blog about this scale because it honestly is a staple item that we use daily and, in my opinion, a must have!
need help photographing your baby’s first year, check out how i photographed my baby from birth to first birthday!
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The Hatch Baby Grow | Why Every New Mom Needs An At Home Baby Scale
.jpg "The Hatch Baby Grow | Why Every New Mom Needs An At Home Baby Scale | www.bethadilly.com")
when our youngest was born in january, i felt like i was super prepared. she was our second, we had done this newborn thing before. we weren’t going into this parenthood thing for the first timed and we felt super prepared.
our second baby was born completely healthy, with an APGAR of 9.9! but like most breastfeeding mamas, my milk took it’s sweet time coming in. while waiting for my milk to come in, our sweet girl developed jaundice. her levels weren’t high enough to qualify her need for photo therapy (or going under the lights), but they were high enough that our doctor wanted to monitor her blood levels and color in the office frequently. the only thing we could do? breastfeed like crazy and have her pee it out.
at this point, i was a little bit of a wreck. i understand that jaundice is a completely normal and common condition that most babies get, and i also understand that there are much worse things that babies can have. but as a new, sleep deprived and overwhelmed mama…this jaundice rocked my world. we now refer to it as “the j word” because it completely consumed our first 5-6 weeks of newborn life. i cried daily about it and, when i wasn’t crying, i was worrying. being the only one who could breastfeed, i felt solely responsible for flushing the jaundice out of her system and it was a lot of pressure that i put on myself. and like most breastfeeding mamas, i was constantly asking myself whether she was getting enough milk.
and this is where the hatch baby grow literally saved my sanity. and i say this with every honest bone in my body.
how do you know if you’re baby is getting enough milk? count wet/poopy diapers and ensure they are gaining weight. counting diapers was easy enough, and the hatch baby grow weighed her in seconds…whenever i wanted. when i was worried, i weighed. and then, i would see that she was gaining weight and i would breathe. not only did this scale help me stay sane, but it helped me to breathe.
here’s how it works. it is so darn easy, you can do it even while being massively sleep deprived!
.jpg "The Hatch Baby Grow | Why Every New Mom Needs An At Home Baby Scale | www.bethadilly.com")
the hatch baby grow is a changing pad, but also a scale! you can change diapers on it and weigh your baby on the same pad, plus it is wipeable…which you know is a plus! no laundering changing pad covers when your little one has a blow out mid-diaper change, you just wipe away!
once you have the changing pad scale out of the box, you download their app…which is the best part! the app powers the scale, gives your baby weight results in seconds and then my favorite part…gives you the percentile results and places your baby’s weight on the curve. i love being able to see where my baby is ranking and ensuring that she stays within the same percentile range while she is gaining weight.
during the newborn days, i weighed her daily (at the same time, each day). i was just so worried and the only thing that made me feel better was weighing her. after the first few weeks, i started weighing her twice a week and now we weigh her on saturday mornings only.
i love that i don’t have to live in the state of worry between doctor weight checks and i can weigh her whenever i feel concerned. let’s be real, sometimes babies go on nursing strikes or they cluster feed and it’s nice to be able to double check that they are gaining weight well in just seconds.
when weighing our baby, here is what works well for us…
- strip the baby down to their naked self! clothes off, diaper off!
- make sure the scale is zeroed out, by pressing the button in app
- place baby on the scale and record their weight!
- weight baby at the same time each day, we do mornings before her first feed for the most accurate weight
and it’s as easy as that! now having two babies at home, i have come across products that i think are a waste of money and products that i swear by. the hatch baby grow is one of the products that i swear by. we even weigh our toddler on it, from time to time.
peace of mind is priceless, it really is. and this is one of those purchases that will give you peace of mind. and when you are sleep deprived and worried, peace of mind is the ultimate gift.
if you are on the fence, buy it. buy it, buy it, BUY IT!
and also, the jaundice cleared up perfectly! she is now a nice little peach baby!
this husband of mine is always really good about holidays and thinking ahead when it comes to gift giving. he is also super good about keeping a secret list on his phone of things that i mention i like. months later, when i open a present and am surprised by his sweet gesture…i also find myself also thankful that he takes the time to make notes of what i really love. and then he always says, “see, i listen!” it’s super sweet and i love that he is always secretly keeping notes about things i mention. over the years he has spoiled me with some really sweet gifts that are still my go to items today. we are really intentional about listening to each other’s likes so that we purchase things that the other really wants. it makes spending money easier when you know the person will actually enjoy it. if you are thinking about mother’s day, here is a little 2018 mother’s day gift guide of the items that others have given as gifts or i have…gifted myself. because giving yourself gifts is okay too…you deserve it when you’ve been mommin’ so hard.
this post contains some affiliate links, which means i get a commission for items purchased through the link. thank you in advance for supporting my blog so i can continue inspiring you with our everyday.
2018 Mother’s Day Gift Guide
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2018 Mother’s Day Gift Guide
free people bralette // my absolute favorite bralette for wearing under tanks and dresses, i bought two!
tory burch flats // i live in these flats! so comfortable and they go with everything!
white kindle // amazing for reading at night, especially when breastfeeding
madewell purse // perfect for date nights, or outings where you don’t need your diaper bag
the magic of motherhood book // a beautiful source of inspiration for moms, because we all need some!
ugg pom pom slippers // because every mom needs a cute slipper, cute is hard to find!
coffee travel mug // obsessed with this mug! love how feminine it is, too.
sigma ART 24mm f/1.4 lens // the only lens i use to photograph my kids…99% of the time
rifle paper co recipe box // because everyone needs rifle paper co everything!
le creuset dutch oven // the most beautiful thing in my kitchen…lasts forever! we have the circular one.
fujifilm insta camera // super fun with kids to grab some vintage candids!
To Shop This Post, Click The Items Below!
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happy mother’s day, mamas! don’t forget to spoil yourself!
Letters To My Children | April 2018
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wednesday, april 18th, 2018
dearest babies,
mama is breathing a little easier this month as you both get a little older. both of you are getting more and more independent each day, allowing mama little spurts of time to unload the dishwasher or get dinner started…before resuming cuddling. it’s getting easier and easier each day to be outnumbered! 🙂 we are finally taking outings together during the week while daddy is working…mama has braved juggling it all in public. and to be honest, i don’t know what i was so worried about. with a toddler who loves to shop and a baby who loves to sleep in her carseat, we really have an easy time out and about! plus, starbucks drive thru is always good fuel for mama!
to my oldest:
you are two! happy birthday, sweet baby! i love that when we ask you how old you are, you say, “two!” with such enthusiasm. it is so so sweet! everyone is talking about the “terrible twos” but honestly, daddy and i were talking last night about how two looks real good on you! you are patient and calm, and oh so sweet. we have decided to rename this age the “terrific twos” because you aren’t terrible at all. sure, you have your moments of fussiness…but they are few and far between. and we are all allowed to have our moments.
we kept up our tradition of having ice cream on your birthday eve! and this year we had two babies to take to the ice cream parlor! you had a tiny cup of vanilla ice cream and after about 7 bites…you were done. you aren’t much for sugar and definitely only want a little bit before you are over it. daddy had vanilla too, mama had chocolate, and your baby sister slept through the entire outing. i love that we have started this ice cream tradition on your birthday eve, to remember that night two years ago when daddy and i went out for ice cream the night before you were born. little did we know that we would be parents in less than 24 hours and now we have years and years ahead of ice cream outings with you!
on your birthday, daddy and i woke you up singing “happy birthday!” a few weeks ago, mommy asked daddy if he could take the day off for your birthday so we could have a special family day and he did. we started off the day singing happy birthday in our pajamas and then got you and your sister dressed up for our first birthday surprise! we took you to the american girl store to pick out your very own doll and we got reservations to have brunch with your new doll too! you had so much fun looking at the dolls and walking around the store, pushing the babies in their strollers. we helped you pick out a new bitty baby and during lunch, you and daddy named her betty. when it came time to have lunch with your doll, she sat right beside you in her own high chair while you ate a grilled cheese sandwich and we sang happy birthday again over a cupcake! again, your little sister slept through the entire outing… 🙂 now, you love playing with your new baby and putting her in your new doll high chair that you got for your birthday!
your birthday party was a hit! we had over 30 friends come over to celebrate you and to meet your baby sister…and there is still a pile of presents in the corner of the living room that are waiting to be opened. every once in awhile you will walk past a gift and grab one to open…we may be celebrating your birthday a little longer. 🙂 just like with the ice cream, you didn’t want your birthday cupcake. mommy and daddy helped you blow out your birthday candles on your birthday cake and you loved eating the popcorn that we served as a party munchie. you really loved having a tea party with your friends and your new tea set, as you put on dress up hats and crowns and sat at your little play table. your friends really love your new playroom and you did a great job inviting them into your space and sharing all of your things!
this morning we hosted a fun playdate at our house and you were the sweetest hostess. you greeted each one of your friends at the door with an enthusiastic “hi!” and played so sweetly with your friends while they were here. once it was time for everyone to go home, you walked towards the door with them, repeating “bye bye!” you are just too sweet.
at lunch yesterday, mama noticed that your bottom two molars are coming in at the same time! your doctor said they would come in when you turned two and, having only been two for 5 days…you are already cutting your teeth! we called daddy at work to share the excitement and he was just as surprised as mama…because, just like with all your teeth, you are perfectly normal and pleasant when you are teething. you just wake up with new teeth, with no fussing.
you know how to say over 100 words now, and we have honestly lost count of the total number. you are starting to sing along to songs and you really love saying “happy happy” to elmo’s happy dance song and “never never” to the greatest showman song. dancing has also become a favorite of yours and we finally found a ballet school that we may join together!
as for swim, you have really taken a huge leap in your underwater ability! you are now under the water for at least 5 seconds at a time, which is amazing! we got you some new goggles and played with them in the bath a few times before taking them to swim class and you love them! you put them on and leave them alone…you must like to see underwater! your love for your goggles gives us hope that you may love your potential new glasses that you might be getting in the fall, so this is wonderful practice.
here’s to two years of loving you! daddy and i couldn’t be prouder of everything you are and everything you are going to be. you amaze us daily and constantly show us how smart you are. just last night, you opened a gift from that pile in the corner and it was a new puzzle. we took one look at it and thought, “oh, this is hard! i am not sure she is ready for it.” but, we unwrapped it anyways and set it on the table. a couple minutes later, you took all the pieces off the puzzle and then put them all back together…perfectly…on.your.first.try. ON YOUR FIRST TRY! then you looked up at us with a “well, that was easy, wasn’t it?” look and we burst out laughing! you are so smart, sweet pea! and then you proceeded to do the puzzle a few more times before bedtime. we just love you!
to our youngest:
oh my goodness, three months looks good on you! we lovingly call you “ham” because you smile so much, so often. anytime we make eye contact with you, you give the biggest grin. and your smile is so pretty! you put your whole body into your smile and everything about you lights up. you love smiling, especially when your sister is near. you love to watch her and smile when she looks over to you. your daddy is absolutely crazy about your eyes! they are a navy blue and we know that you are going to be a stunner! your eyes are just perfection, just as you are.
you have become very vocal now and love to coo, especially with mama. you are experimenting with a variety of sounds and really love it when i mimic you. you get a huge smile on your face when i copy your sounds and we go back and forth for awhile, making sweet noises. as for sleep, you are doing really good! we still do a couple night feeds, but you are giving us a longer stretch in the beginning of the night. you will usually sleep from 9:45pm to around 2am, wake for a feed, and then sleep for a couple more hours before wanting to eat again. your spit up has definitely slowed down, so you are finding it easier to sleep flat instead of at an incline now. you still spit up, as you should at this age, but you don’t spit up as much as you initially did so our laundry is slowing just a tad.
you are definitely becoming more and more independent and are content laying on your playmat or bouncing in your bouncer for longer periods of time before wanting to be cuddled again. and when it comes to breastfeeding, you are finally getting great at it. you always were great at actually breastfeeding, but you just don’t really love to eat. you are a speedy feeder and only eat for a few minutes before you are full. you like to get on there and get the job done, whereas your sister would take her time doing 45 minute feeds. but your weight gain is amazing, so you are definitely getting what you need! even the doctor double checked your weight and kept saying, “you are only breastfeeding and she is gaining this great weight!?” yep! daddy always says, “mama makes some real good milk and knows how to grow perfect babies.” he’s so sweet! you just hit 13lbs 2 oz and are staying right around the 60th percentile for weight, so we are rocking breastfeeding! yay! you should be right on track to double your birth weight by four months, which is when you should double.
right now you are snoozing on me, while your sister sleeps upstairs and i am enjoying my 4 hour old cold coffee in peace while i finish up this letter. i love listening to you snore and, while talking to daddy on the phone just now, he could even hear it over the phone! growing is tiring and you love your naps!
it amazes me daily at how the two of you are best friends already. i prayed that you both would love one another and get used to one another quickly and you have. when i look back on the last few months, there was honestly not an adjustment period…you both just became sisters one day and never looked back. it is like you have always had one another by your side and you both just perfectly assumed the roles of big and little sister. daddy and i know how blessed we are and we talk daily about how happy we are that you two are such sweet girls to one another. you are making this parenthood thing a dream come true.
we love you so much and are so excited for a summer of fun ahead for our family! we can’t wait to go on our first vacation together and daddy and i are going to make a summer bucket list of all the things we want to do with you girls this summer! get excited!
love, mama
in my next life, i really want to be a party planner. or an interior designer. or, while i am being really honest, a book publisher. but back to party planning…i love it. i stress myself out a little throughout the process, as i compile a master list and browse for months beforehand for just the right items that will complete the look i am going for. but i also have a lot of fun and i love spoiling our girls. on party day, watching everyone have a wonderful time and appreciating a pretty party is always really fun for me. and while my girls are really too young to remember these details, my husband lovingly reminded me that birthdays are a celebration for parents as well. so…we party! and this year, we decided on a ballerina birthday party.
need some help photographing your kids birthday parties? here are my 4 secrets to getting great photos and enjoying the party too!
this post contains some affiliate links, which means i get a commission for items purchased through the link. thank you in advance for supporting my blog so i can continue inspiring you with our everyday.
after i cried and accepted the fact that our oldest daughter would be turning two, i knew i wanted to do a ballerina birthday party for her. she has recently taken an interested in dancing and will hopefully be starting ballet soon. because peonies are such a soft flower, i also wanted to inspire our party around them too. as well as having our oldest turn two, our youngest turned 3 months on party day! we decided to host a double party for our girls, both celebrating our oldest turning two and having a “sip and see” for our littlest…complete with rosé! i have always wanted to host a sip and see with one of our babies, so i was really giddy about popping some rosé with our friends to celebrate our girls and debut our youngest!
this meant, of course, matching dresses for the girls.
to be honest, this party was mainly inspired around some leftover rifle paper co wrapping paper that i had from making our daughter’s play kitchen. this wrapping paper is my favorite thing ever, so i wanted to base the party around it’s print and subtle tones as i incorporated the print into my homemade invitations and homemade party hat.
besides rosé for the adults and pink lemonade for the kids, i kept the menu simple. cupcakes, cake, and popcorn. my advice when party planning, keep the food easy…especially when hosting kids. i also liked the idea of having dainty food to pair with the softness of a girly party. in our experience with hosting parties, we love to mingle and have fun once the party starts. keeping the food simple makes it so we can do everything up ahead of time and not spend any time in the kitchen during the party. and clean up? there is barely any cleanup…which is a win!
this sweet ballerina birthday party/sip and see turned out exactly like i hoped. not only did we have a wonderful time, but my husband and i were humbled by the 30+ friends who surrounded us while we celebrated our girls and our amazing family who facetimed her throughout the weekend to celebrate her! and also, that gluten free cake? my husband made that! he asked me exactly what i wanted and then MADE THAT! he is the real deal, you guys. the real deal! below you will find all the links of sources i used to put this party together, enjoy!
A Two-Two Affair | A Peony Ballerina Birthday Party
Ballerina Birthday Party Source List
girls’ pink dresses // purchased from target
monogrammed bib // custom made locally, similar idea here
girls’ hair bows // courtesy of cammi and co
girls’ bracelets // courtesy of baby cates shop
ribbon streamer // purchased from target, similar idea here
rifle paper co. birthday sign // purchased from amazon
white letter board // purchased from amazon
pink letter board letters // purchased locally, but can be found here
bunny bowl // purchased at target
gold letter balloons // purchased locally, but similar ones found here
mini cupcake stands // purchased at target dollar spot, similar idea here
2 light // purchased locally, but can be found here
2 cake topper // purchased locally, similar one here
wooden spoons // purchased locally, similar ones here
gold party hats // purchased locally, similar idea here
invitations // handmade, with rifle paper co wrapping paper
wooden scoops // two sizes purchased locally, similar ones here
.jpg "A Two-Two Affair | A Peony Ballerina Birthday Party | Bethadilly Photography")
and finally, a huge thank you to our friend for taking a couple family photos for us, once the party started! i am a huge believer in putting my camera down and living in the moment, as i am a mama first and a photographer second. i took all of the party detail photos in this post before the party started, then purposefully set my camera down so i could enjoy our girls’ day. we were lucky to have our friend offer to pick up my camera during the party and photograph some party moments for us (including these final two photos, which are my favorite!), as well as a family photo before everyone arrived. i will always cherish these photos! it’s always nice to be in photos with my family too, and my husband and i are intentionally getting a family photo with our children on their birthday. isn’t that a fun tradition?
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[…] your birthday party was a hit! we had over 30 friends come over to celebrate you and to meet your baby sister…and there is still a pile of presents in the corner of the living room that are waiting to be opened. every once in awhile you will walk past a gift and grab one to open…we may be celebrating your birthday a little longer. just like with the ice cream, you didn’t want your birthday cupcake. mommy and daddy helped you blow out your birthday candles on your birthday cake and you loved eating the popcorn that we served as a party munchie. you really loved having a tea party with your friends and your new tea set, as you put on dress up hats and crowns and sat at your little play table. your friends really love your new playroom and you did a great job inviting them into your space and sharing all of your things! […]ReplyCancel