Man Crushes and Crafts

   So if you know me at all (or read my blog or see my Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter) you know that my child is my whole world. I love him more than anything. I did not understand what love was till I became pregnant with Ryder.

   I also love to craft. I've realized I'm really good at starting crafts and not really finishing them though. I find a new project I wanna try before I finish the last (I know, it is awful). One day I hope to have a craft room, so I can keep all the crafts in one place.

   So in conclusion, I love my son and I love crafts. This means I make a lot of things for my baby. It really is nice actually having time to make things for Ryder. It is also nice because he pretty much likes everything I make him (mostly because I am his mom and he doesn't really have a choice anyway, haha).

   Well, in the last week, I have crocheted a blanket, sewn a boppy pillow cover, almost completed two burp rags, painted a onesie, got squares of a quilt sewn together, and found three or four more projects I'd like to start. Well, I'd like to share my boppy pillow cover project because a cover cost from $25-$60 if you buy one. It cost me maybe $8 to make one. (Fabric cost me $4, Thread cost $2, and a Zipper cost $2). I also shopped smart and used coupons.(:

   My sister has a sewing machine, which she so graciously allowed me to use (thank you, Sarah<3). My boppy pillow was the one my mom got when she was pregnant with my little sister a year ago. It is black and white, it didn't look bad at all, but I wanted something a little more boyish and grey. 

What You Need:

• fabric (1 yard of two different fabrics, or 2 yards of the same fabric. I used cotton fabric for the top side, and a soft minky fabric for the other.)

• thread and needle (or sewing machine)

• zipper (you can always make it with a flap, or use velcro, but I really like the zipper)

   First you trace out your pattern onto the fabric. You can either use a cover you already have, or just used the pillow (give an extra inch to the pattern when you trace the actual pillow). Cut the fabric out, and lay them on top of one another. You sew on the zipper next, I found a great way to do that here. 

   After the zipper is sewn on, sew your two pieces together. Make sure you leave the zipper a little unzipped so you can turn the case inside out after you are done sewing. Once you sew the two pieces together, you have a boppy case. I used this tutorial to make this (except for the zipper part).

   Talk about an easy project, my case didn't turn out perfect (partly because I'd never used a sewing machine before in my life), but it serves it's purpose and actually turned out really cute (at least I think so!). 

   I also want to add the picture of the onesie I made and ask a question before I end this post. 

   How cute is it?!(: I cannot wait to put him in it for Man Crush Monday (the onesie is 6mo. so it'll be a little while before he wears it)! And the question is, does anyone know what the envelope flaps on onesies are for?? I recently found out and will have to write a short post about it tomorrow, but if you think you know, I wanna hear y'all's answers!(:

xx

PS
   If you haven't checked out my last post about a small etsy shop, do it!! She was sweet enough to include a 30% off discount code for her shop.(:

   

Brett Ryder's First Adventure: Through the Birth Canal

   Today my baby is exactly a week old. It seriously makes me want to cry, I want my baby to stay a baby. I figured it would be appropriate to write my birth story today. I wrote it not long after I gave birth, so it was fresh on my mind. Looking back, it's only been a week, but my labor is fuzzy in my mind. I remember it, but not like I did when it had just happened. I'm glad I wrote down what I did. The writing may not be perfect, but I'm sure that people understand I had just had a baby and just wanted to remember the birth of him. So here it is!

   "So I had my baby! He is perfect. I started pit at one in the morning, made it till around noon and got the epidural, which was the best thing ever. I had gotten some other pain medicine around nine which made me kinda loopy. I couldn't stop smiling or talking, and I was a happy girl, ha. 

   Around 11 I decided I would probably be getting the epidural, and by the time it was noon, I was wanting the epidural In a bad sort of way. I got the epidural about 12:45, and it was nothing like I expected. It did not hurt at all really, the only hurt was when he initially numbed where he would put the epidural. The relief came within minutes. The only thing was that the catheter was slightly uncomfortable, but I think that it wouldn't have bothered me if I hadn't have just had a bladder infection. My blood pressure was low, so I was on oxygen till my last push or so. The epidural lowered my blood pressure, and the oxygen was for the baby, to make sure he was ohkay. 

 
  I felt like I needed to push a little after 7. The pain all the sudden became so intense. I just started crying because it hurt so much. I could move my legs and everything, so I think the epidural had started wearing off. They came in and gave me something else for the pain which helped a little bit. I couldn't stop crying. I was crying to my mom because I was crying. I remember telling her that I was sad because I was gonna be emotional now. And she chuckled at me. Pain and meds make you feel all sorts of emotions, that's for sure.

 
  I had music playing while this was going on, and I had made a little playlist of just songs I liked. A few weeks ago I was joking about playing the song "hooked on a feeling" when I was pushing. My mom was not amused, although my siblings were, ha. Well, the last song I remember hearing is that song. I was in so much pain, and all the sudden, that song starts playing, in my extreme state of pain, I started laughing while I was crying. All I could think of was how ironic it was playing because my playlist was on shuffle, and I will definitely not forget that song playing.

 
  I pushed for a good 30 minutes, and my perfect baby boy was born! The doctors kept saying most mommas push for an hour or two, and with the epidural, two or three hours. I was not going to push that long. There was no way. So I didn't. They got a mirror so I could see Ryder's head. I saw my baby be born. My doctor was telling everyone how good I did, and that I had an amazing birth. It definitely made me happy that I had done so well my first time.

 
  They said I must have had a perfect epidural. I made it till my pain was at a 8 1/2-9, then I got the epidural. I never had to up the pit more than what was supposed to be the perfect amount. I could still move my legs, although I think it wore off right around the very end. I wasn't numb at all after Ryder was born.

 
  I think that my birth was perfect for me. As soon as he was born, they put him right on my chest. I ended up needing two stitches, which I could feel her do, but I didn't care because my baby was laying on my chest, I couldn't believe it. My mom cut the umbilical cord, and I got to bond with Ryder for an hour before they gave him a bath and weighed him and everything. It was so surreal. 

   One thought I couldn't shake was how good he smelled. Before you have a baby, you think about how your baby is gonna be kinda slimy and need to be cleaned when they are born, but when he was on my chest, he was not slimy at all to me. He was perfect. And I really couldn't believe he smelled so good, ha. My baby ended up being 7lb 14.8 oz. 20 1/2 inches long. And at 12 hours old, he had pooped three times, and had started to suckle more with breastfeeding. My dr made a good call with having him a bit early. I love him so much.<3"

   I am so blessed with my little boy. At a week old, he is breastfeeding really well. He is having good diapers, and he enjoys sleeping, which is wonderful. He is such a sweet-tempered baby. He doesn't cry a lot either. I love my little baby so much.

xx

   

#ManCrushMonday

   I am going to try to start posting on Mondays when it comes to my little man. It seems appropriate considering  the oh so popular hashtag. #mcm. I am so in love.

 I feel like I am going to sporadically post at first, after all, I am a new momma. 

   I adore being a mommy. I plan on writing about how the birth went in another post, but I want to talk about last night for this post.

 I brought Ryder home around five in the afternoon yesterday. I was nervous to be home, but I knew that home is where we need to be to be able to really recover and for our lives together to start. 

   All I could think about when I got home was how I have this little human now. This little boy, that I carried in my tummy for nine months, is mine. I am responsible for this baby. I am the one who has to love, nurture, protect, teach, and take care of this little baby. 

   Ryder was eating really well when we first got home, and he was sleeping well. It seemed like when I decided to go get in my bed for the first time, things just started messing up. I was so tired, and it was the first night of me doing this by myself. I couldn't remember to write down when he was eating. I couldn't get him to stop crying unless I was holding him. Last night seems like such a blur because I was so tired, and I could not remember when he had started or stopped eating. It just was such a difficult night for me. 

   I honestly did not think about how difficult it would be. My mom woke up and came in to help me early this morning and I just could not stop crying. I just felt like such a bad mom. I felt like I had been doing so well, and then I was supposed to do it on my own and it is like everything was just wrong. All I could think about was how my baby was not going to be okay. 

   Now when I look back on last night, I had Ryder alone for only about four hours. It was not that long. I fed Ryder enough, and he was safe, warm, full, and with his mommy. (These hormones are no joke.) These first few days are going to be really hard, but I know that if I push through these days, I will be just fine. I really am so so blessed. 

   There is no way I could do this without my family. My mom and dad both came in this morning and held Ryder and watched him long enough for me to get a little bit of sleep. My sister watched him this morning after I fed him and got him settled down. That allowed me another hour and a half of much needed sleep. 

   After waking up, and getting ready to take Ryder to the doctor to get a check, all I could think about was a certain quote. “Making the decision to have a child - it is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body."  This is a quote by Elizabeth Stone.

  I think this is the first quote I have ever heard that is so applicable and true. Right now, holding my little boy, I am looking at my heart. When someone is holding Ryder, they are holding my heart. This baby is a part of me. 

   It is insane, this feeling of being a mommy. I pray that I will be the best mom that I can be for Ryder. I know I wont be the most perfect mom, I'm gonna mess up, I am gonna forget to write down which breast Ryder ate at last. I am gonna forget to write down when I changed his diaper sometimes. I am also going to love this little boy more than anything in this world. 

   I'm so happy my baby is now safe and in my arms. I am one blessed momma.

I have just started one of the greatest adventures of my life.

xx