March 2020 – my oddinary

Let me start off with…parenting is tough and full of learning curves! It is a rollercoaster of emotions and learning experiences, and I think having the right tools to help is key to maintain your own sanity throughout the newborn phase!

Top Favorite Baby Items as of now;

Dock A Tot– this has been a life savor. I am not sure if it is the fact that is holds the baby tight or what is is about it. But Anchor sleeps so well in it and its a nice easy item to move around and take if you are traveling as well. We loved ours so much, we ended up buying a second one! One for upstairs and one for downstairs. The one downfall to it, is that the cover cannot be put in the dryer, so when spit ups happen on it it takes a full day for it to dry.
Mama-Roo– When I first saw the Mama-Roo in the store I instantly was like NO WAY are we 1. spending that much on a baby product, and 2. buying something that looks so insanely strange!….Well I am eating my words now! This has been a go too when I need to get things down around the house and he won’t go down for a nap without being held or wanting to be moved. Whoever invented this thing is genius!
Formula Portable Storage Container-Not sure what you really call these, but they are great! When baby is crying and you need to make a bottle, but only have one hand and lets be real measuring out formula and getting it in the bottle without spilling is almost impossible! This comes in handy! Not to mention perfect for your diaper bag, so you don’t have to haul around the entire formula canister! My friend had this and instantly after I saw it, it went on our baby registry!
Hatch Plus– white noise, clock, colors to help the baby know when to get up as they get older, intercom. This thing has it all! We have been using white noise at night so Anchor knows when it is time for bed (and it also helps drown out household noises) he has a case of fomo so if he is not in the same room as us and hears us he is not happy, but the funny thing is, if he is in the same room we can be vacuuming, cleaning, have the music up, all the noises and he sleeps great…fomo for sure! It also has an app so you can program it to turn the white noise on for each nap time, night time, etc. And it also is rechargeable so if the power goes out or you want to take it on a trip or move from room to room it stays charged without the cord.
Lou Lou and Company Knotted Gowns– last but not least, oh my goodness! These have been WONDERFUL! So awesome for nighttime changes and when he was first born! No zippers, no frustrating snaps or buttons to try and figure out in the dark or when you are recovering and standing straight up just doesn’t work the same that it did prior to giving birth! Great quality also! (I bought a couple of their newborn hats also and love them!)

I am sure I will have more favorites that pop up as we continue to learn!

x0_meagen lea

February 9th, 2020 will forever be a special moment, memory, and experience that will never be forgotten and forever changed my life.

1:00am on Sunday, February 9th, contractions started to get more intense, I called my Doula and she confirmed it sounded like it Anchor was ready to make his way into the world! My Dad had said it was the Snow Moon that day, so Scotty and I made sure to go out and see it just in case my Dad was right on Anchor making his grand entrance on a full moon (my Mom passed away on a Full Blood Moon, and my Grandfather passed away on a Full Moon as well, so every Full Moon or the 13th has a special place in our hearts). The moon was so bright and so full, no photos could do it justice. After a few hours of doing whatever I could to get sleep and get comfortable we called our Doula again to give her an update around 6:00am, contractions were getting more intense and a steady 5-7 ish minutes apart. At that time she said it was time to call our Mid-Wife so they were prepared. We called our Mid-Wife and Chris answered and went through a couple contractions on the phone and confirmed we were heading in the right direction. We found out we were pregnant in May, and now the time had come we were about to meet our baby boy, something I had dreamed of since I was a little kid. My Mom always used to tell me I had told her and others growing up that my dream job was to be a Mom and it was about to happen. Our doula showed up around 7am and from 7am-2:00pm we counted contractions and waited for them to progress. At 2:00pm we made the decision to head to the birth center. That car ride is one that I will never forget! Quiet possibly the longest 20-ish minutes of my life! The contractions were getting more intense and having to sit in an upright position in a car was not fun! We arrived at the birth center around 2:30pm they had the birth room all ready for us. Dad sat out in the waiting area and Scotty and I went into the birth room to get settled in. The bath tub was being filled and I was still in shock that this was all happening. The next few hours were a blur of contractions, intense ones, pain, and excitement all into one. At around 7:00pm my water finally broke and I was 10cm. We made our way back to the tub. It was an intense 3-ish hours of pushing, all natural and unmedicated and at 10:02pm we welcomed Anchor Patrick Morrice into the world weighing 7 pounds 13 oz (I kept saying there would be a 13 in there somewhere if he wasn’t born on the 13th!) 21 inches long, full head of hair (dirty reddish blond like me) on February 9th, 2020. It was the most magical birth experiences and overall experience ever. At 1:30am on February 10th, 2020 we were released and able to go home, we made it home at 2:00am on February 10th, 2020 and the learning curve of being new parents was upon us!

Initially when we found out we were pregnant I immediately told Scotty I wanted all the drugs, and possibly wanted to just schedule a C-Section. I was so scared after hearing about others birth stories and ending up in a C-Section and their initial thought process or birth plan wasn’t how they planned at all. So I figured lets just schedule a C-section so I am no let down. I am so beyond blessed and thankful for those in my life who helped me open my eyes to the reality of hospitals, the medical field, the lies, I could go on and on. I am so thankful I decided at 34 weeks to exit the hospital scene and go to a birth center and have a full natural birth. (More on that later as to our experience in the hospital setting, needless to say it was a horrible experience and I can’t imagine going through the entire birth there) I am so thankful for the research I did on my own and the final decision we made and couldn’t be happier. I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

x0_meagen lea