First Stitch Fix!

First of all, I got my first stitch fix 2 days earlier than what I had "scheduled" for - so I was pretty pumped about that! It was a fun surprise to get it a bit early! My stylist's name is Chantal and she did a pretty good job on her first attempt. I had done some pinteresting to try and give her a better sense of my style taste, and I think she took what I posted and understood where I was coming from. She also made sure to make this first fix very versatile in terms of types of clothing. I think I was hoping for more tops only because that is what I am kind of lacking in right now. Don't get me wrong I have more than enough shirts to wear - but not many that make me feel cool and really awesome about myself. My favorite tops from last summer don't fit so great due to the breastfeeding that is happening this summer. Chances are they will fit better next summer - but that's a ways off! There aren't many days right now where I feel compelled to look super nice - but on the random day you want to, you want it to be pretty easy to pick something to wear. Anyway, let's get to what I got!

Here's what I'm keeping:

This chevron wrap shirt was the biggest surprise and biggest win of my fix. I'm not traditionally a huge wrap shirt kind of person...they tend to make me feel old and they also tend to be too revealing for my bust line. However, this shirt was the opposite...the length made it feel so much more comfortable and stylish, and the wrap was not at all revealing. HUGE BONUS - super easy breast feeding access. #WINNING

Although I will probably not wear this shirt frequently until September rolls around, I couldn't bear to pass it up. It is super soft, super wearable, and super cute! I can wear it in the fall, winter, and spring and it's length means I can wear it with leggings too! I'm very very excited about that leggings part. It's also very neutral so I can change it up with different bottoms and accessories easily.

Here's what I'm sending back:

The jeans I am wearing in these photos are amazing. I have never put on such a nice pair of jeans in my life. However - my bottom half is in the state of fluctuation right now. I didn't stop losing weight after having Noelle until about 7-8 months into the game. Louie is not yet 2 months old. At the same time, a few months after I stopped breastfeeding Noelle, I gained a few pounds back and pretty much adjusted to my body's "happy weight". Because I started smaller with Louie, and am already one pound under where I started with him, I don't really know how this is all going to pan out this time. I can fudge weight fluctuation with my shirts pretty easily, but that is harder to do with such PERFECT fitting jeans. Bottom line, if I wasn't in uncertain "fit" territory I would have kept these for sure! They were a great fit, great color and super comfortable.

This cardigan was also very nice. Great quality and color, and very stylish. I'm just not in the market for a cardigan right now, and it isn't anything that I feel I couldn't find somewhere else.


This dress I was very excited about when I saw it come out of the box. Very cute and different from most things I own and have seen these days. There was just something about the fit that didn't thrill me, it just seemed to hang a bit funny on me. It also felt really fancy (I know it doesn't look it, but the quality of the fabric was so great, it just FELT fancier). I don't have many fancy places to go to right now, especially since Josh and I haven't resumed normal date nights yet because of Louie. Even so, for the price of the dress I needed to love it and I didn't LOVE it.

So there you have it!  My first fix. I really enjoyed the whole process of it. I like being surprised, I like shopping in the comfort of my own home, and I like someone sending me stuff that I wouldn't normally never try on in a store. Overall I say "two thumbs up" and I hope to schedule another one to see how Chantal learns and adapts from my initial comments so that she can get even more skilled at suggesting some clothing for me!

If you are interested in trying out your first stitch fix, use my referral link: Sign up for Stitch Fix!
It's true, I get a credit if you sign up and order your first box - which is awesome!

Life with Louie: 1 Month

Louie Watkins is officially 1 month old!

Josh and I both talk about how it feels like it went so quickly and yet it has been forever all at the same time. I think that is the general sentiment most people have when reflecting on life with a newborn.

There is so much to treasure about these snuggly days, but we cannot wait to see more of his personality and who he will be in the days ahead.

Here's some fun facts about Louie at one month old:

Louie is most likely a whopping 12 lbs at one month old. He loves to eat...usually every 2-3 hours during the day, and on nights that I am lucky he goes 3-4 hours, but lately his trend has stayed in the 2-3.5 hours during the night. As you can tell by his amazing weight gain, the kid loves to eat.

He tolerates tummy time very well, loves to just lay on his back and look around, and has a tendency to give his sister a few smiles when she comes over to talk to him. He also love to look out our living room window whenever he gets the chance.

He likes car rides and baths (both of which his big sis hated at this age), and my newest discovery is that I think he likes to get out and see the world. I'm going to test that theory this week and see just how right I am, but he tends to do very well when we are out in the world.

He's very strong and loves to jerk his head around and is starting to kick his legs and wants to "stand" on me a lot.  He has not mastered the use of the pacifier but I am convinced we are a few weeks away from him loving it. He has a tendency to go for sucking on his hand, so I'm trying to keep him away from becoming a thumb sucker if I can help it.

Here are some photos of Lou at one month old...what a chunk of hunk! And fun fact...the grover is Josh's from his childhood. It was his favorite and his parents lovingly kept it safe all these years and during my pregnancy they took the time to lovingly and painstakingly clean and restore it just in time for Louie.

Newborn Days

As we round the corner to Louie's one month birthday, I am finally getting around to posting some of our newborn photos! We took some family shots and then just some of the little man when he was one week old. We didn't really do anything quite like this with Noelle, but we have some beautiful shots that Josh took and that my father in law took for her (so I don't feel like a photo failure).

It is quite challenging to get some good family photos with a one week old and a three year old, but we got a few good ones. I hope you all enjoy and as much as I treasure these snuggly newborn days, I am so excited to watch Louie grow and grow (and BOY is he growing...)

  

Welcome Louie!

Louie had a grand entrance into this world, a story to be told - much like the birth of his sister.

As it turns out, I am really really REALLY great at growing babies and keeping them inside my womb. I am really really REALLY bad at getting them OUT of said womb.

If you have read any earlier posts you would have been sure to see that I was convinced that Louie was going to make an early entrance. HA. God laughed at me.

No, no, much like his sister Louie wanted to be fashionably late. My doctor is not one to force induction and I am stubborn and really wanted my child to choose his birthdate. At my 40 weeks + 4 days appointment I asked what my options were going to be (I was losing hope that I was actually capable of going into labor).

The choices were Thursday morning (June 4) or Monday morning (June 8). After a long internal struggle and many conversations with family and friends, Josh and I agreed that June 4 would be the induction date. Exactly 41 weeks to my doctor (and 41 +2 days if you asked me).

As it turned out, Lexington was hopping with people going into natural labor (jerks.) So what was meant to be a 7:30am induction, turned into a 12pm induction.

Everything went so beautifully! It was the opposite of Noelle's induction episode 3 years earlier. I was progressing quickly, I was comfortable and not suffering from intense back labor. We were laughing, joking and having a relaxing time waiting for Louie to make his appearance.

Then at around 10pm it was time to push. That's when the unexpected happened. Though I was pushing very effectively, Louie was stuck. We tried everything, and I pushed for a good hour and 40 minutes. My wonderful doctor told me that I was done - this kid had his head at an angle that just would not permit him to safely come out. Noelle had her head also at an unfortunate angle...the difference we discovered is that unlike Noelle, Louie did not appear to be in the 7 pound range.

Actually as we were getting ready to go to the operating room, my doctor said, "I think we are all going to be very surprised at how big this baby is."

He was right.

In the OR and very delirious, I heard the news that I had a 9lb 3oz son. Impossible!  Have you seen me? Have you seen my pregnant belly? Where was I storing this child? How could little me have grown such a large baby?!?!

Well I did. And luckily my doctor made the call that he did. Louie had his cord wrapped around his neck twice (not surprising with how much that little booger moved around). He also was so broad shoulder wise that if we had tried to get him out for longer we may have broken something of his, or something of mine (ouch!).

So even though we thought we were choosing his birth date, Louie chose his own at 12:02 am on June 5, 2015.

He is absolutely remarkable and everything I had hoped and dreamed he would be as a newborn. Chill, relaxed, easy going, and the perfect addition to our family. Noelle loves him and thinks he is the cutest, and we couldn't agree with her more.

Here are some pics of the big day and our little buddy. Welcome to the party Louie!!

Ready to head to the hospital...How was there a 9lb baby in there?!?!

Such a sleepy peaceful guy :)

Hanging out the morning of his birth!

Just like his big sis, he soiled the original outfit intended to go home in.

Driving home!

Louie the cutie

Waiting for Louie

This week started my time off waiting for this baby to come. It has been a welcome relief to take a deep breath and just focus on being a mom to the sweetest toddler girl I know and finish growing this little boy. I have been so much more tired and pained this pregnancy, and I emphasize the pained part when thinking of the last few weeks.

In reality - I have very little to complain about. I am very healthy, the baby is healthy, and many more women have far more difficult pregnancies. What I do know is that it was NOT this hard with Noelle. She just was kinder to her mother - except when it came time to actually come out of her mother. Louie is a mover and a shaker and hardly ever seems to stop poking and prodding me. Every now and then he moves in such a way that prompts me to cry out "OUCH!" Sleep is interrupted and never seems to be enough.

Noelle keeps me very very active, which I think also contributes to my tiredness and general lack of comfort. When I was pregnant with Noelle I basically had a desk job and light housework for a life, and right now sitting down is just not something I get to enjoy for the majority of any given day.

That being said - I do like to think that her activity level is helping me progress and hopefully will mean an early arrival for Louie. Two weeks ago I was in no way progressed at all. Last week at the doctor I was 1cm and 25% effaced. This week at the doctor I was just shy of 3cm and 50% effaced. I know that I could walk around with those numbers for weeks on end and he could still come out past his due date - but it is highly encouraging to me that I have progressed that far...without noticing a single contraction or even a braxton hicks contraction.

The fun part of going to the doctor today was getting to take Noelle with us. I haven't taken her to a single appointment, but today just felt like a good visit for her to come along, especially since Josh was coming with me too. She was eager to experience the doctor and was asking me every couple of minutes if it was our turn to see the doctor. She was fascinated with going to the bathroom with me and wanted to pee in a cup too (very funny)...and was glad my arm was ok after getting my blood pressure checked. She was also very convinced that I needed to lay down on the table while I waited for the doctor.  And she especially loved hearing baby brother's heart beat - her wonder and excitement was enjoyed even by the doctor!

She gave me two thumbs up for a successful visit, which I agreed after hearing how far along I was, and she happily took 3 stickers and a lollipop for being such a great helper during the appointment.

Next week my appointment is on the 15th - and that was Noelle's actual due date 3 years ago. I've always said that it would be very funny to me if Louie came on his sister's due date, (which would be 12 days early) and Noelle ended up having a birthdate of Louie's due date. Only time will tell!!

All I have is my hopes, my mother's instinct, and the fact that I felt compelled to nearly finish packing our hospital bags today...

What's in a Name

The wait is OVER!

The name of our son is....

Louis Gabriel Watkins

We will be calling him "Louie" for as long as he will let us :)

...and let me just say that when we name a child in this household, it is no small feat.

The naming process for both our children have had similarities and huge differences, but both have been a labor of love, thought, and prayer.

Josh and I believe that a name holds weight, and that the person we are getting the privilege of raising has a name that is just right and will suit them perfectly.

Let me start by saying that Josh and I have only ever really agreed on 2 full names. Ever. In the history of knowing each other. Those are obviously the ones of our children.

Sit back and get a cup of coffee or something because I'm starting at the beginning of the naming journey for our son.

It was sometime in early 2014...maybe Spring, tops. Josh and I had been talking and thinking about when we might try for a second child. At one of those conversations names came up and that is not a light subject as we don't have much crossover of names we both love. But out of the blue I asked Josh what he thought of the name Louis for a boy, and calling him Louie. His response was something to the effect of - "I actually like that."

In that moment of his response I remember 2 things very clearly...#1 - "I'm shocked he likes it" and #2 - "Well obviously if we have another child it will be a boy because we have never been so much on the same page for a name since Noelle."

So fast forward to actually being pregnant in the fall. We didn't talk names for a while. To me, it is not much worth it when I'm not sure if it is a boy or a girl. It takes enough work to deal with one gender of names, let alone two.  By late October I had a strong sense it was a boy, though my mother insisted I was having another girl (HA).

Right around Thanksgiving my mom had a dream that she told me about. She told me she was with me in her house, and suddenly her parents walked through the door. They looked to be in their 40's and they were so happy - excited even. She was so glad to have had the dream because she hadn't dreamt about them in a very long time (Grammy died in 2008, and Poppy died in 1985). She told me about the dream because she felt it was God's way of telling her that everything was going to be ok for Josh and I (as Josh had just lost his job at the time). I still loved giving her a hard time that I thought the baby was a boy, so I told her, "What if they were so happy because the baby is a boy, and they never got to have any boys?" I also knew, but did not say to her, that if it WAS a boy it was probably going to be named Louis, which was my grandfather's name. She didn't think my interpretation was very amusing as she was still convinced it was a girl.

So then finally on December 11, we went to find out what our little bundle of joy was, and of course you should always trust the mother's intuition :)

A week or two later I was just reading something in my bible, and God pressed upon my heart so clearly that our son's name was Louis. From then on it was just a done deal in my heart. I approached Josh a couple days later with that information and he really just agreed with me, but didn't want to make a FULL decision until baby brother also had a middle name.

And for as easy as the first name was...oh the middle name. I was just eager to land it and announce the whole thing because I was tired of dodging questions from friends and family alike on what we were naming this kiddo.

Here was our dilemma...Louis means "renowned warrior" - a fabulous meaning for a boy. But at the same time, we wanted the middle name to complement such a strong first name. We wanted a softness to it, and a name that would also point back to God.

I went through so many biblical names. I would read them off, give meanings, look for a clue to anything that would seem to entice Josh.

Nothing.

Then one saturday we had an honest middle name discussion at random. And Josh said he wanted something that was along the lines of "God strengthens" - so the idea would be that our son would be a great warrior, but one that relied on the strength of God. I looked at him and said, "That's essentially what Gabriel means."

**Please note that I had given him the name Gabriel as a middle name option several times at this point.

He fought me on it for a minute, because his brother's name is Gabriel, and his brother has a tattoo that says "messenger" and he thought that was the name's meaning. I corrected him (without having to look it up, because I am that much of a naming nerd) and said Gabe probably chose that because Gabriel is very much God's messenger in the bible...however, that is NOT what the name means. Josh then googled and confirmed the meaning as "God is my strength."

The finalization began to take place...Josh loves his brother and loved the idea of getting to use his name as a middle name.  We both loved the idea of being able to use 2 family names in the process.

Louis is special certainly because of my grandfather. He died when I was just 2 years old, and I was the last grandchild he met. He and I also bore a resemblance to each other when we were babies...so much so that at one point he said to my family, "OK, I can die now. One of them looks like me." They got mad at him for saying that, but then it actually happened and it just seemed to take on a different meaning.

Louis & Florence D'Ambrosio

Though I have no memories of my own of Poppy, I have only ever heard wonderful things about him. He was the first born of 4 sons of the D'Ambrosio family (and according to my mom he was my great grandmother's favorite son). All of the brothers were the first generation born in America. He had to learn english in school because only Italian was spoken in the home. He dropped out of high school six months shy of graduating, but he was very hard working and provided as good a life as he could for his wife and three daughters. He served as an Italian interpreter during World War II, but was never sent overseas to fight, as he became 18 towards the end of the war. He was extremely funny and loved to have a good time. At one point he got to open his own Italian delicatessen and it was in that little deli that my mom and dad met. It is actually also thanks to my grandfather that my parents ever went on their first date.

My mom was 16 and had a big crush on my dad who was 20 (yikes, I know - Noelle would NOT have my permission). However, it was the 70's and times were different! Anyway, Poppy knew my mom had a crush on my dad and he asked my dad to take my mom to a Mets game because he had a meeting and couldn't take her. Mom was a little mad at first, but got over it enough to actually go on the date. The rest they say is history, as my mom and dad married 5 years later. So would I be here if Lou D'Ambrosio hadn't interfered with his daughter's dating life? Seems like I wouldn't!

Poppy died all too soon at the young age of 59 from a heart attack. I am sorry I never got to really know him, but part of me feels like I did because of all the fond memories that my family has shared about him over the years.

So I had the example of my grandfather, and then I read the book "Unbroken" which is a biography about Louis Zamperini. The movie came out this past December too, but please, skip the movie and go straight for the book. Zamperini was most definitely a warrior, and he survived things that you and I couldn't even begin to imagine over the course of WWII. Despite his seemingly "invincible" nature, he was brought to his knees after the war and gave his life to Christ at a Billy Graham event in the 50's. His story was so inspiring and it truly anchored in the name and every thought I had behind its meaning.

I am also very excited about Gabriel. I love my brother in law and have always loved the name Gabriel. For some reason, I also have always thought the angel Gabriel in the bible had the best jobs to go do. Seriously, even when I was a kid I thought that. Here's a couple fun facts about Gabriel...

1. Gabriel is mentioned in the Old and New Testaments. He’s known for bearing good news of Jesus’ coming birth, but his first biblical appearance is in Daniel when he is told to explain a vision to the prophet.
2. Gabriel stands in the presence of God. This is how he describes himself to Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist. The Greek word for “stands” is paristánō, which means to wait before a superior. The Septuagint uses this word to describe how Joshua served Moses. 
3. Gabriel is one of only two angels explicitly named in the Protestant Bible.
4. Gabriel anticipates Jesus. Gabriel relays a prophecy concerning “Messiah the Prince” to Daniel. He tells Zacharias that John the Baptist will be a forerunner before the Lord. And most famously, he tells Mary that her son will be called “the Son of the Most High.” Here's the source where I found these fun facts...

I told you this was going to be a long blog post! If nothing else it was just so important for me to get it all out for my own little Louie. I look forward to meeting him and seeing just who he will be, and I hope he will understand how much thought and prayer went into his name.

28 Week Comparison

I write this as I am rounding the corner to 30 weeks, but luckily I did remember to have Josh take a 28 week picture so we could have a true comparison. And the results...

28 weeks - taken on 3/5/15

28 weeks - sometime in February 2012

I won't lie. The belly looks-a-bigger. But honestly, I don't think much else looks all that bigger from this angle! So that's encouraging to me at least.

I actually missed my original 28 week appointment thanks to Winter Storm Thor who dropped an amazing 17 inches of snow in Lexington. There was no way to get out of the house in our sedan to get to the appointment, but it didn't matter because the doctor's office ended up closing for the day.

I was highly annoyed because I H-A-T-E the glucose test and was not looking forward to it. I had waited and waited for March 5 to come and go so I could move on with my life. Sadly It had to be rescheduled for the following Monday.

But just like last time, I sucked down that orange drink like a champ (I highly recommend using a straw to anyone pregnant out there who has the test coming up) and passed with flying colors. And also the same as with Noelle, I am slightly anemic, so I have to add in some iron supplements.

I worked up the courage to ask my doctor at the appointment how much difference my weight was at this point in the pregnancy than it was at the same point with Noelle. He looked at me and said, "Do you really want to know?"

Even with him prefacing with that question, I wanted to know.

Now, let me just say, that after I had Noelle I knew I weighed less than my pre-pregnancy weight (cue the millions of women hating me everywhere) - but I wasn't sure HOW much less I weighed.  I also knew that I had somehow overnight gotten ALL of that back in the first trimester with this pregnancy. I attribute that mostly to my chest to be honest. It's like the girls know what to do and literally I was back in my huge pregnancy bras in a matter of a few short weeks after discovering I was pregnant.

Anyway, I digress...the real numbers: I started this pregnancy 7 pounds lighter than where I started with Noelle. That was more than I thought! But at the 28 week mark, I was 5 pounds ahead of where I was with my weight with Noelle. So grand total I have actually gained 12 more pounds than I did with Noelle already....however, I am choosing NOT to count the 7, because I know exactly where that came from and I know exactly where it is going to go after 4-6 months of breastfeeding.  So 5 isn't that bad, and my doctor obviously has no concerns and wouldn't have said a thing if I hadn't brought it up.  Even so, he did recommend I be a bit more mindful this month, since I had "such a strong month" last month :)

I'm just telling you, boys are different! I've been more hungry with this kid. I honestly didn't understand the constant hunger pregnancy thing when I had Noelle, and I am not exactly constantly hungry now, but I definitely feel hungry more often than not.

What matters most is that I have a healthy baby boy growing away and for that I am willing to gain however much weight he needs to thrive!

It feels like we are in the home stretch. I know 10 weeks can still seem like a long time, but to me it feels very very short!