TIPS ON KIDS CONSIGNMENT
Can I tell you a secret?
Well, it's not really a secret and if you really know me, you probably know this. I am the WORST thrifter. I just can't do thrift stores. You know those people who find the most amazing things every time they go thrifting? Well, I did not get that anointing.
Can I tell you a secret?
Well, it's not really a secret and if you really know me, you probably know this. I am the WORST thrifter. I just can't do thrift stores. You know those people who find the most amazing things every time they go thrifting? Well, I did not get that anointing.
Seriously, I get waaaay too overwhelmed in thrift stores and the smell drives me crazy. I love the idea of recycling clothes, I just never can find stuff that fits me or looks good!
But consignment I can do....especially kid's consignment! Do you know how many clothes these tiny people go through? A LOT! I was just talking to James how unfair it is that babies grow up sooo quickly (we were chatting how London will be standing up and then walking later this year!!!) Why didn't God make the baby stage two years?!! But regardless of my opinion, they go through clothes very quickly. So one of my favourite places to find clothing for my babies is at my local consignment store. I have found such amazing numbers for my babes and I highly recommend consigning if you haven't done it before!
Consignment tips:
Stick to the same consignment store. I know what you're probably thinking...why would I do that when my chances of finding gems is higher if I go to different places!? But the thing is....you're a mom...your time is precious and you don't have all the time in the world to hunt through a bajillion consignment stores! Also, when you start bringing in your own stuff, you'll build credit at that store, and it has more value in the store than cashing out!
If you're in Victoria, I highly reccomend Thistle & Wren in Fernwood. The owner Candace, is sooo lovely and they only take good brands so you'll always find something great!Make a list of what you need before you arrive. Yes, it's fun to go nuts on kids clothing but it can add up! So before I go, I make note of what I need. The last time I went I made sure to look for a windbreaker for Luca and cozy pants for London. (In the top photo, you can see that I found what I needed...Columbia windbreaker and Zara leggings!)
Establish a colour palette. If you want to set your hubby up for success when dressing your babe, this is a MUST, ha. Honestly, if you only have certain colour clothes, you will find that you will get a lot more wear out of the clothes because everything goes together! For London, I usually try to only buy- black, white, cream, denim, rose, light pinks and grey.
Buy a size larger than you need. Ok, this may be a given but definitely buy pants one size up for babies because you'll get way longer wear out of them. Once they're toddlers, you kinda need to shop in their size but you can getaway with larger t-shirts, sweatshirts and jackets! Remember, these tiny humans grow QUICKLY!
Do you love consigning or are you more of a thrifter?
XO,
Laura
LONDON ROSE // FOUR MONTHS
London Rose is now 4 months old!! Well....almost five months, ha. MAN February FLEW BY. I'll do my best to remember last month, ha.
Click to read her four month update!
London Rose is now 4 months old!! Well....almost five months, ha. MAN February FLEW BY. I'll do my best to remember last month, ha.
LONDON AT FOUR MONTHS
WEIGHT: 14lbs 15oz
HEIGHT: 24.5 inches
WEARS: She's now out of 0-3 months and is fitting nicely into her 3-6 month clothing! Buying little girl clothing is SOOOO ADDICTIVE. I had some credit at my fave consignment store and bought her a few things, but man, I want to order EVERYTHING! How cute is this number from baby gap? And this coat from h+m!!! #DYING
SLEEPS: Well this past month we officially sleep trained her! I have a whole sleep training post in the works but what sleep training means is a baby can put their self to sleep on their own instead of being nursed/rocked/swaddled/soother to sleep. We had our girl's conference at our church and I needed James to be able to put her to sleep. So I had my last night of nursing her to sleep (I had been nursing her to sleep about 50% of the time.) We did a bit of cry it out/fuss it out but never let her cry for more than 10 minutes.
We also transitioned her out of being swaddled (did one arm out for a week and then both arms out) and also the dockatot. She took it all really well. She still wakes up once a night to eat (somewhere between 4-6!) but for about a week she was doing twice a night...thank goodness she went back to once!
If she doesn't drop the last feed by 6 months, I will night wean her then but for now it's not too bad.
She's been napping amazingly lately! Her regular schedule looks like
7am wake up nurse play
8:30/9 nap 1 (I usually wake her up after 1-1.5 hours)
10:00 wake nurse play
12:00 nap 2 (usually 2 hours!)
2:00 wake nurse play
4:00 nap 3 (I usually only let her sleep for an hour here!)
HIGHS: Hers and Luca's relationship developing. I feel like it took him 4 months to realize that she's not going anywhere, ha. It's like something switched and now all he wants to do is cuddle her. It's seriously the sweetest. And she just LIGHTS UP when he looks at her. I'm pretty sure he is her favourite person.
LOWS: We're still working on the bottle situation. She finally took the Nuk bottle but so far has only done 1.5oz. Another low was us all getting sick AGAIN. Seriously, cold season, you can go away anytime now.
PARENTING: She's definitely more aware and interactive these days and it's so fun! Everyday I try to get a bit of time on the floor with both kids...it's my favourite.
POSTPARTUM: Oh man, this is still SO HARD. I still haven't run yet but I want to, ha. I still have 19lbs to go until I'm pre-Luca weight and my goal is to get there by the end of the year but guys, it's MARCH so I better start doing something!!!
LOOKING FORWARD TO: We booked a trip to NYC in May! We'll be leaving Luca at home and just taking London. I'm excited to have that special time with her but obvs will miss Luca sooooo much! I'm also looking forward to her starting solids next month!!!
Oh London, I LOVE being your mama.
XOXO,
Laura
LONDON ROSE // THREE MONTHS
Baby girl is now three months old! Seriously, where has all the time gone!!!! Check out this post to see how much she has grown!
Sweet girl, London, is now three months (well almost four months, ha.)
LONDON AT THREE MONTHS
WEIGHT: 13lbs 15oz
I weighed her just after we got back from Mexico and she was almost 14lbs! Baby girl is chunking up....so many delicious baby rolls!
HEIGHT: I haven't measured her height in awhile but I'll know in a few weeks when I take her to her 4 month appt!
WEARS: I still have her in some 0-3 month clothes but she's starting to fit into 3-6 and it's breaking my heart! Why do they have to grow so flipping fast!
SLEEPS: She's been doing anywhere between 8-10 hours straight pretty consistently. I usually put her down between 7-8pm and she wakes up between 4-6am and then goes back down for a couple more hours. If you follow me on instagram, you'll know that I'm starting to transition her out of her swaddle with one arm out. It's going pretty well. Her naps have been mostly 1-2 hours but I know I'll have to start full on sleep training her soon as I'm still nursing her to sleep about 50% of the time. Not looking forward to that but I'm slowly getting there and knowing that 12 hour straight sleeps will happen soon after that definitely helps!
She's still on three naps a day and will probably be until about 5/6 months.
HIGHS: Dressing her in the cutest little sundresses in Mexico was soooo much fun! Summer baby girl clothes are 100% cuter than summer baby boy clothes, ha. She won so many hearts. Her giggle and sweet smiles are also one of the highlights of my day.
We recently started family reading time before bedtime and it has been so special. Luca is slowly getting used to having a sister. Sometimes he cuddles her and sometimes he tries to hit her. He calls her Lala and James and I have adopted that nickname too!
LOWS: Things have been really great with her this month aside from her refusing to take a bottle!!! Pleeeeease send me your tips on giving her a bottle. We have the comotomo and Luca took that one like a champ but London just refuses. We've tried fresh breastmilk, frozen breastmilk, and formula but no dice! We've tried the comotomo bottle and the avent one but she won't take either...please please please send your tips! We're trying everyday but it doesn't seem to be getting any better.
The other low was we all got sick AGAIN right before Mexico. London had it pretty bad and then Luca got it and now he's sick for a third time. We're washing hands and using essential oils but man, it seems like we can't catch a break! Cannot wait for spring!
PARENTING: London is the easy peasy one right now, ha. She doesn't move or throw tantrums. Her brother on the other hand is "learning to communicate". Oh, toddlers.
But on a positive note, I started the study Intentional Parenting by Bill Johnson and it is so so so good. I highly reccomend it if you are a Christian parent!
POSTPARTUM: Well, I finally have started to get my butt in gear. I did three workouts last week, yay! It's a slow start but I'm finally feeling motivated again!
LOOKING FORWARD TO: Her sweet personality coming out! She's seriously super sweet and I know that in the next few months it just gets better and better!
XOXO,
Laura
LONDON ROSE // TWO MONTHS
You guys....London Rose is TWO MONTHS OLD. I'm semi-freaking out here. She has grown so incredibly quickly and seems like a little baby now instead of an infant...weren't we just telling the world we were having a girl?!!?!?
It's been so sweet getting to know this little girl and I can't wait to see her personality come out more. I still can't believe she's mine.
LONDON AT TWO MONTHS
WEIGHT: 12lbs 9oz
She's proving to be a great eater, just like her big brother. And my goodness, the thigh rolls have come and they are seriously delicious! Also cheeks and that double chin. She's just under the 85th percentile for weight. During the day she eats every 2-3 hours..sometimes a longer stretch if she's having a good ol nap.
HEIGHT: 24 inches!!! I still can't believe that. She went from 20 at birth to 22 at 5 weeks to 24 almost 3 weeks later. She's now in the 97th percentile for height, so crazy.
WEARS: Sadly she's outgrown newborn clothing :( She's fitting great into 0-3 month clothing but I think she may be moving up to 3-6 closer than I want to admit!!
SLEEPS: She's sleeping like a champ...just like her big bro. Most nights she goes down around 8pm (although tonight I put her down at 7:20 because she fought her last nap) and then sleeps for anywhere between 8-11 hours. She fights her swaddle hard and if it isn't velcro-ed tight enough, her little hand creeps up and wakes her up. Last night was a "bad" night (because it was post shots and James didn't swaddle tight enough), which meant she went down at 8:30pm and woke up at 3am for a quick feed and then back down until 7:45am...I know, she's a dream!!!
Our regular schedule when James' is working looks like- 7am Luca up, 8:30ish London up, 10ish walk to park/mall and she sleeps in the wrap, 12:45ish Nap #2 in her crib (which usually is at least 2 hours!!!), 5ish nap #3 in her crib. I'm finding her fighting the last nap more and more, so on days where James is working, I really just need to put her in the wrap or carrier and get her to sleep! Otherwise she's super cranky and overtired from 5-7pm, which is no fun for any one!
We moved her to her crib at 7 weeks (which was the same time we moved Luca) and I gotta say, it's sooo nice to have our room back. I can stay up reading without worrying about her waking up. I still wake up a ton in the night to watch her in the monitor though.
HIGHS: Her sweet giggles!! Oh man, they have been so precious. She has the sweetest smile too and gives you the best coos. AH, I'm just obsessed with her.
LOWS: Her two month shots!! Oh man, she cried SOOO much and took forever to calm down. It was the saddest thing. Even the nurse was so sad and said most babies do not cry that much. She was also super fussy that night and thankfully calmed down eventually. I don't know how you mamas of colic babies do it. The crying gets to me soooo much. You mamas, are super heroes!
Another low was getting sick conveniently the weekend when James away. Oh man, I got hit with a serious head cold and it was the WORST. And having to take care of two sick babies when you are sick is not fun at all. So glad we're on the mend.
PARENTING: We've definitely have found a groove with the whole two under two thing. It's crazy and sometimes intense but honestly, not as crazy as I thought it would be. Thankfully, James is able to help get Luca up in the mornings (even on days he's working), which is a huge blessing for me to catch a few extra ZZZ's or quickly have a shower. It was super hard the days when James was on tour but we made it through!
POSTPARTUM: Oh man, this is an area that I have been SO lazy at. Seriously, I am just not motivated at all to exercise and eat well. I've been eating like crap but thankfully breastfeeding is keeping me around the same weight. I still have 22lbs to go until I'm pre-Luca weight. I know I'll get a better groove in the New Year so I'm really trying to not be so hard on myself but we're heading to Mexico in January....eeeeeek...thankfully I have my one piece from when I was 1 month postpartum with Luca!
LOOKING FORWARD TO: CHRISTMAS! So much to look forward to....our family of four opening presents and eating yummy breakfast on Christmas morning, Uncle Franco and Auntie Emy from NYC meeting London, along with James' sister and hubby coming up from Austin! Oh and did I mention we booked a last minute family trip to Mexico in January!!!! So much to look forward to.
Can't believe London's next update will be in 2018!!! This year flew by WAAAAY too quickly!!
XOXO,
Laura
Huge thanks to Rachael Alexandra Co for snapping these gorgeous photos. If you live in Victoria, BC, you need to hire her!
2017 CHRISTMAS FAMILY PHOTOS
What a difference a year makes...or two. Seriously...look back at our 2016 photos...and our 2015 photos. The familia has GROWN and I just feel so dang blessed. My Nanny Rosa would always call Luca "tesoro" which means treasure and that's really what these two tiny humans are...treasure. Gifts from God that are entrusted to us. What a privilege and blessing...I need to remind myself that, especially in the throes of wiping snotty noses, cleaning blow outs, dealing with a fussy babe, etc.
We had our fave, Rachael Alexandra do our photos and we couldn't be happier. If you live in Victoria and are looking for a family or wedding photographer, book her!!
Photos with a camera shy 17 month old and a newborn can get a little hectic but she managed to give us amazing shots...even with Luca running away the entire time, ha.
Seriously, how sweet is our London girl. She is such an amazing babe. We all have a cold right now and she is such a trooper. Already sleeping like a dream (8 straight hours, hellllo!) and just providing pure cuteness all around. I couldn't imagine life without our dream girl.
It's kinda funny because as we were getting ready for the photos James and I were fighting. We resolved it on our way to the photos but it's a reminder that a few photos can give you the impression that everything is all dreamy but EVERYONE has issues and fights and insecurities and struggles. Just keeping it real folks :)
Love these treasures of mine.
XO,
laura