Ryla is a big girl now

Hey Ya'll!

This is Ryla's ONE month update! My newborn baby is growing up *tear*. She has changed in so many ways. She's cooing, laughing more, very alert, her face features are more defined, and her personality is coming through. During her one month doctor visit she was 8lbs, 12oz and still 20in long. She wears three month clothes (she can still wear some newborn clothes) and is in a size one diaper. She's healthy and on track for her age. I love that little girl so much and seeing her grow has been wonderful and exciting.

She did so good at her 1 month checkup

One thing for sure she no longer sleeps like a newborn. Today she is five weeks, two days so it's time for me to start a schedule. She's a good sleeper but getting her to sleep is the issue. This girl fights her sleep like no other. When she feels herself drifting off to sleep she just yelps in a loud cry. I be like really Ryla lol. Once she's sleep she's good! She wakes up twice for a feeding then goes right back to sleep. Although, she's only five weeks my goal is to get her sleeping through the night or only waking up once for a feeding by time she's three months.
 
I will start a bedtime schedule with her starting at six weeks. Hopefully, while at daycare she can keep her nap schedule but her nightly routine will consist of me or dad giving her a warm bath between 7:30pm-8,  a warm bottle between 8:30pm-9 (at two months I will start putting a little cereal in her milk), and having her sleep by 9:30. I currently do that now (minus the cereal) but I need to be more consistent. The more consistent I am, the better results I will see.

If I can get Ryla sleeping through the night four out of seven nights, I'll be satisfied :) Wish me luck!

Stay tuned for more updates.

Ryla Newborn Pictures

Hey Ya'll!

I just wanted to share a few of my favorite's from Ryla's lifestyle newborn photo shoot. Of course I went with my go to photographer KariTenchPhotography! She has been with Ryan and I from our engagement photos to taking pics of our daughter. Kari came to our house and used our everyday environment as the setting for the pictures.

Ryla did such a great job taking pictures. She got a little fussy towards the end but overall she did great. Let me find out she's photogenic like her mommy :) 

Excuse my husband and I in these pics. We definitely were not ready lol but I was only a week postpartum and the main focus wasn't about my husband and I, it was about our baby girl. 

http://karitenchphotography.com/

Enjoy!

Ryla's Nursery Tour

Hey Ya'll!

I'm finally finished Ryla's nursery. The colors are mint green, pink, gold, and white. I love how my ideas came to life and I didn't have to go over my budget. 

The dresser is actually from Craig's List. When I saw the listing I knew I had to have it and for the price of $40 I couldn't pass it up. Below is a before and after pic. Look at how a simple paint job can make the dresser look brand new! I also cleaned out the inside and lined each drawer and added gold knobs. 

The polka dots are from Etsy.com. They were easy to assemble, just peel and put on wall. They are also easy to take off and they don't take the paint off either. Her letters were an easy DIY project I got from Pinterest. I got the white letters from Babies R Us then painted them. The flowers on the letters are from Michaels. I just took the flowers apart and super glued them on the letters. The mint green and chevron rug is from Target. Her crib is unfinished of course because I still have to get a cute crib bedding. I really haven't seen a bedding set I really liked plus I'm in no rush because Ryla won't be sleeping in it for a while anyway. She currently sleeps in a pack n play bassinet in my bedroom.

The changing table is also from Craig's List and I got it for $40. Again, a nice paint job can turn something so basic into something so nice! My husband spray painted it white. The polka dot storage bins are from Babies R Us and the changing pad cover is from Target. 

 

Her closet is packed to capacity! During our baby shower we did a diaper raffle so we were blessed to get an abundant supply of diapers and wipes. Luckily, they all fit on the top of her closet. The stuff at the bottom is just miscellaneous items such as bottles, lotions, body wash, wash cloths, etc. That 3 drawer storage I got from Target came in so handy.

Check out that cute little chair!!! One day I was with my best friends and we were browsing in the store Buy Buy Baby. When I saw the chair I told my BF's that I had to have it but after looking at the price tag I changed my mind quick lol! To my surprise, one of my bestie's actually bought it :) It's a great addition to the nursery plus it's so little and cute.

These pictures are actually from my room at my parents house. I've had this picture set for as long as I can remember. A couple of months ago I was at my parents house and when I saw that picture set (it was still hanging up in my old room) I knew it would be perfect for Ryla's nursery!

The glider and matching ottoman is from Craig's List. The previous owners were very nice, very clean, and had a beautiful home. They even delivered the glider and ottoman to my place. I got it for $100 and I thought that was a great deal for the great condition it was in.

 

I hope you enjoyed the highlights of Princess Ryla nursery as much as I did decorating it!

Stay tuned for more blog posts.

Ryla is here!

Hey Y'all!

Ryla Ann Anderson is here! She was born on Monday, August 24^th at 6:54pm weighing 7lbs, 4oz and 20in long.

LABOR AND DELIVERY

• ·         On Sunday, August 23^rd (my husband’s birthday) my mucous plus started coming out and I was having contractions here and there.

• ·         Monday morning, August 24^th around 3am I started having contractions and they were 2-3 minutes apart. Also, the rest of my mucous plug came out

• ·         Was still having contractions but they went to 5 minutes apart. At 6:45am I had a really big contraction and my water broke

• ·         My husband jumped up, we got ourselves together, put the bags in the car, and proceeded to the hospital but wait! I had to get a breakfast sandwich from Hardee’s first :)

• ·         Got to the hospital, nurse checked to see if my water broke and it came back negative. Did another test and it came back positive. Got checked and I was 2cm dilated. SHOWTIME!

• ·         Nurse put me on Pitocin and contractions got longer and stronger. At 12pm had the worst pain of my life and yelled EPIDURAL!

• ·         Epidural put me on cloud 9 and I didn’t feel any contractions after that. Legs were dumb numb!

• ·         Had a little scare with Ryla. She was unresponsive due to to much pitocin. Doctor mentioned emergency c-section but they got Ryla back responding and her heart rate went back to normal

• ·         Got checked around 1pm and was 4cm dilated. Got checked around 5pm and was 9cm dialated. Got checked around 6:30pm and was 10cm dilated.

• ·         Around 6:45pm I yelled to the nurse that I had to poop and had the urge to push. The pressure was unbearable. I thought Ryla was going to fly out.

• ·         6:50pm started pushing. My mom and husband was in the room and all they were talking about was how much hair she had

• ·         At 38 weeks, 6 days, 12 hours of labor, and 3 pushes later at 6:54pm Ryla was born!

HOW AM I DOING!?! 
I had to get stiches in three different spots but other than that I’m doing pretty good. My recovery hasn’t been that bad. Every 8 hours I pop a 800mg Motrin and continue with my day. My stiches are starting to dissolve because it feels a whole lot better down there lol. I still have the swelling in my feet and legs so I try to just relax pretty much the entire day.

I gained 55 pounds with this pregnancy and so far I’ve lost 25. The snapback is on starting Monday. Gotta get back to what I was before I had Ryla. I’ll be using a postpartum girdle and watching what I eat. I can’t wait until I get the clear to work out again.

HOW IS BABY RYLA?!?  

Ryla is the best! From her head full of hair, thick eyebrows, and deep dimples she is just perfect! Pretty much all she do is poop, eat, and sleeps which is what she’s supposed to be doing at her age.

At her first doc appt she lost weight which is normal and had a slight case of jaundice. Her jaundice has reduced but she is being monitored for her weight gain so my husband and I are on a strict every 2 hour feeding. I’m currently breast feeding but lawd knows it’s hard. It’s something I’m struggling with but I really want to keep it up until at least 6 weeks but I do have some similac on standby.

OTHER STUFF

It has been great joy having Ryla here. Ryan and I are just so in love with her. She is so perfect and she looks exactly like me (I wish lol)! We can’t wait to see what the future has in store for us with her!