LUCA'S LUMBERJACK FIRST BIRTHDAY

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My baby boy is ONE! He's actually almost 13 months now but I guess I can't really count in months anymore, can I? It feels like he has grown a billion years the past month. Right before his first birthday, he got his first haircut and now he's taking steps everywhere!! Slow down my baby boy!

Luca's birthday is on June 11th (which was his due date btw!) and I think it's the perfect time for a birthday party! June is usually a safe month to have an outdoor party....well, for most years. This year our weather has been a bit crazy but thankfully, June 11th was sunny enough for a backyard bbq!

I went with the Lumberjack theme and we held it in our backyard. I designed the invites myself. We went all out on the cake and purchased it from Rachel Cakes. It was soooo delicious....and let's just say Luca LOVED his first taste of cake!

We kept the food pretty simple. Pulled pork sandwiches, coleslaw, mac + cheese and a few appies. I made cheap cupcakes for the kids and the adults (and Luca) enjoyed the cake!

He was a champ through the party and only cried when everyone was staring at him singing happy birthday....awe sweet boy.

Thanks to all our friends and family who came out to love on our little lion! Can't believe I have a ONE year old!!!
 

xo,
laura

NEWBORN SLEEP ESSENTIALS

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I am a lover of sleep....like I reaaaaalllly love sleep. I can't really sleep in, but I'm reallllly good at going to bed early (except for times when I spend the late hours blogging/instagramming #momboss ). So when I was pregnant with Luca, I read all that I could on sleep and as soon as I had him, I spent those middle of the night nursing sessions reading all the blog posts on sleep. I'm a hardcore type-A planner so as soon as I could, I got him on a sleep schedule...and let's just say he started sleeping 8-12 hours straight by 8 weeks old....I know baby girl could be different but I'm hopeful that applying the same methods and using the same tricks will help her become an amazing sleeper too!...(please be hopeful with me lols)

Speaking of tricks...here are some newborn sleep essentials that I will start using from day 1!

1. The Ollie World Swaddle- Swaddle, swaddle, swaddle. Swaddles are life savers! Newborns have a reflex where their arms like to spring up and hit them in the head, and if they were happily sleeping, this would obviously wake them up. Swaddles keep them restricted in a good way. And these Ollie World Swaddles look seriously amazing. Super soft and gorgeous colours AND Velcro to make swaddling easier.
*Click here to save 10% off a swaddle!*

2. Finn & Emma Sleeper- This sleeper caught my eye because it has an open bottom. Newborns poop & pee allllll the time. I remember changing Luca’s diaper at least every three hours. This sleeper will keep baby warm yet makes middle of the night diaper changes much easier. They also look buttery soft and are made of organic fabric…win win!

3. Dockatot- Now this has been on my wish list foreveeeerrrrrrr. I have heard of the magic of the dockatot and I cannot wait to try it out on baby girl. It’s a multi-functional co-sleeper and playtime lounger. It will be perfect to have baby girl sleep in around the house while Luca roams.
*Click here to save $10 off a dockatot!*

4. White Noise Machine- Get a continuous white noise machine and use it from day 1. We originally had one that turns off after 45 minutes and at first it was fine, but soon Luca would wake up as soon as it turned off. Having a continuous one kept him sleeping through the night, so I say, get one from the start!

5. Soother- Luca only used a soother for the first 8 weeks but it was great for helping him settle to sleep during the evening witching hour! I’m hoping it will do the same for baby girl!

6. Sleepsense Guide- And finally, the guide that I pretty much followed from the get go. In it, you find amazing tips on how to teach your baby to learn to go to sleep on their own…which is the skill they need to sleep through the night!

Let me know if you have any questions. And please, send me your newborn sleep tips as well! I’d love to hear what worked for you!

XO,
laura

GENDER REVEAL BBQ PHOTOS

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I've got some more photos from our Gender Reveal BBQ to share with you today. Still can't believe we're having a little baby girl!! AND still can't get over Luca's priceless face...precious bubba. If you missed the original post, find it here!

The beautiful floral dress I'm wearing is from PinkBlush. I am seriously so happy I discovered this brand!! Their maternity clothes actually fit pregnant women well AND they're stretchy and comfy enough to wear postpartum too.

Going into it, I had a feeling we were having a little girl but obvs knew it could go the other way. Most ppl there also thought girl! I believe the votes were 13 for girl VS. 6 for boy!

I still can't believe I'm having a baby girl! Since becoming a boy mom, all I've envisioned is having more boys but my heart is soo excited to raise a fierce, world changing little girl!!

We kept the bbq pretty small with family and a few close friends. Normally, I'd go all out but we had Luca's birthday coming up (JUNE 11th AHHHH!!!) so I didn't want to feel to much pressure to put on a big bash.

Huge thank you to Rachael for taking these photos! If you live in Victoria, I HIGHLY recommend hiring her!! Serious skillz and such a lovely spirit!!

XO,
Laura

PREGNANCY STYLE + 5 MONTH BUMP UPDATE

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And just like that, I'm five months pregnant! This pregnancy has gone by 1000000000x faster than my pregnancy with Luca. I also think my belly is 1000000x bigger, ha. But that's totally ok, because I've found some maternity clothes that actually fit pregnant people AND look good.

Last pregnancy I remember going shopping for a baby shower dress and being soooo utterly disappointed with the selection. Every dress was either, 1) way too short, 2) way too booby or 3) wouldn't do up at all aka it was HELL and I left feeling huge and unattractive.

So thankful I discovered PinkBlush this pregnancy! They have tons and tons and tons of beautiful maternity clothes (and non-maternity clothes too) that actually fit pregnant people well! Gorgeous dresses that are long enough to accommodate your growing bump and don't show the world your cleavage...hallelujah!

How far along are you?

Almost 22 weeks! Baby is due in October and man this pregnancy is moving along QUICKLYYYY...which I imagine must be quite common for second time mamas.

How big is baby?

Baby is the size of a spaghetti squash...almost 11 inches long, which is a huge jump from last month! 

Feeling:

So at peace. If you follow me on instagram, you would've read that we had some scary test results and had to be retested....so happy to announce that the second test (which is way more accurate) came back 100% healthy. Feeling on cloud 9 and that I can actually get excited about this pregnancy. In the waiting, I had peace but it was definitely hard to be super excited knowing something could be wrong. 

I'm also feeling ALL THE KICKS! Baby girl likes to move, move, move!

Food love:

mmmmm everything. My appetite is starting to go through the roof!

Food hate:

Spicy food is not my friend as heartburn has made a comeback this pregnancy. 

Exercise:

I've been walking to work a couple times a week but man, need to get on the whole pregnancy yoga and weights again! Because of my placenta previa, I can't do anything too intense but I always feel so much better after doing yoga!

Clothing:

My PinkBlush dresses obvsssss!

What I'm looking forward to:

Can't wait for my next ultrasound at 28-32 weeks to see if my placenta has moved up....will also be nice to see baby girl again! Thank you in advance for your prayers :)

Dress c/o PinkBlush (it's a beautiful pale blue but looks more minty in photos than in person!) 

XO,
Laura