My Childbirth Experience (remembering the first time)

As most of you know, in 2016 I become a mom. It was the most amazing, scary, yet fulfilling day in my entire life. My husband and I felt all the things new parents feel. How is labor going to feel? Where will we be? What about delivery? When will we know? Are we actually taking a baby home? It was such a new experience for us. It is for that reason that we chose whichhospital to deliver in very carefully.

After my sister-in-law birthed both of her children at Medical City Dallas and then I got a referral from a friend to go there as well, we felt like it was a no-brainer for us. In addition to that,ourOB-GYN, Dr. Kathryn Waldrep, is a well-known doctor that not only could deliver babies there but her office was located a few floors down from labor and delivery. In addition, they gave us TONS of literature to help answer any questions that we just did not know to ask as new parents.

What sealed the deal, honestly, was the classes we took. We took the first-time parenting class and the breastfeeding class. They gave us tours of the labor and delivery wards, allowing us to ask all types of questions as we embarked upon our new journey as parents. The hospital and  doctors made sure that we knew what to do every step, starting with our pre-admissions appointment, that we barely had any questions! This made me feel like I had a team behind me instead of walking this new journey alone.

Due to my slightly high blood pressure, Dr. Waldrep decided to deliver my daughter Olivia at 39 weeks. I was scheduled to be induced that Tuesday. I ended up having a few “false labor” moments and went into the hospital twice the week prior to my scheduled induction. The labor and delivery nurses were SO nice and gracious. They never made me feel like I was overreacting or not in labor. They checked me in and allowed me to be fully examined to see if I was indeed in labor. I wasn’t,so I went home and was fine. Everything was so unknown to me and I had no idea what labor felt like, so going in to get their reassurance was such a relief.

When it was time to get checked in, everything flowed smoothly. I got my epidural, the nurses hooked me up to the baby heart monitor and I was ready to go. I feel like I had the BEST nurses ever! They were like angels. It’s so important to have people that just know what to say and how to make you feel when you’re in such a vulnerable place. Those nurses were amazing!

After Olivia was born, she never left my side except to go to the nursery every so often so I could sleep. I loved how my husband was able to be there with me overnight as we welcomed our child into this world. As we were loving on our daughter, they even gave us a Celebration Dinner. We had heard great things about this dinner from family and friends, so when we experienced it for ourselves it was the PERFECT cap to our new beginning. Basically, you get a gourmet meal (that’s different from the regular menu) that you and your husband can chose from. It includes a full meal with dessert and drinks. They even bring a table in the room for you as well. Here a picture below of our dinner:

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I was so excited I forgot to take the lids off before taking a photo, but the food is good!

Throughout the first day, various nurses came in to take tests on Olivia, give shots, make sure I could breastfeed, we even saw a lactation specialist right there in our room. She checked on me frequently to see how my breastfeeding journey was going. That was a HUGE relief because after labor and delivery, breastfeeding was the next journey that I embarked upon.You need someone there to help you. Trust me. Their lactation specialist is ALWAYS available to help. I felt so blessed.

After this experience, we had all the reasons for choosing Medical City Dallas to birth my son on March 29, 2018. The experience was just as good and we couldn’t have asked for a better doctor and hospital staff. All in all, very impressed with what they have over there and if you need a hospital and experience that will give you peace of mind, Medical City Dallas is your place. If you’re not in the Dallas area, you can also visit any of their other hospitals in North Texas We’re so grateful we listened to our friends.

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10 Things To Know To Have A Great Time At The Great Wolf Lodge

(Day Pass Review)⁣⁣⁣⁣

1. If your like us we arrived around 11am so we were ready for lunch. Thankfully they have a great pizza area downstairs before you go into the water park. ⁣⁣⁣⁣

2. If you want some additional fun before the waterpark, check out the fun arcade area.⁣⁣⁣⁣

3. If you have little girls, check out the Kids Day Spa downstairs as well which is super cute for kids mani & pedi. ⁣⁣⁣⁣

4. The indoor water park is actually quite large AND they have an outdoor area as well! Both indoor and outdoor areas include a toddler / kiddie pool area. (Great for us).⁣⁣⁣⁣

5. Children under 2, get into the water park without a wristband.⁣⁣⁣⁣

6. If you plan to book a hotel room (which we highly recommend) you get access to the water park included! ⁣⁣⁣⁣

7. Make sure your stay includes the dinner buffet at the Loose Moose Buffet restaurant. We spent our whole day there so this was a pleasant cap to our day.⁣⁣⁣⁣

8. The food at the buffet was VERY good. We felt like we were on vacation and this all you can eat buffet made it feel EVEN more like a vacation, or staycation for us.⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣

9. Check out the events. Right now they have #SummerCampIn and even had homemade s’mores available that smelled delicious! ⁣⁣⁣⁣

10. If you forget your kids life jacket, no worries they have that and towels ready for you and your family. Also, we found out they even have a spinner in the change rooms that dries your wet clothes out. For the win! ⁣⁣⁣⁣

All in all, this was our first time at the Great Wolf Lodge and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay! We will definitely be back for a family staycation! Has anyone else been to Great Wolf Lodge? If so, how was your stay? ⁣⁣⁣⁣

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We would like to thank The Great Wolf Lodge for hosting us today! #Sponsored

Can You Hear Me? Finding Your Voice In The Noise

Have you ever felt like you were talking but no one was listening? I mean of course outside your close circle of friends or family; what about those that don't know you? Are they listening? Is your lane seemingly too "loud" or crowded? 

My mom blog is about my journey, and giving you all a glimpse of how I press through moments of insecurity, failure and to let you know that your not alone. I want you to have a place to come and read and know that someone gets it. Entrepreneurship is hard. Anything worth it is hard. The highlight reel is not a full picture of the days that you have to go back to the drawing board and just try again. It doesn't show the thousands of dollars you spent on projects that just didn't work out. It doesn't show the people that come nor the people that go. It doesn't show the long nights and the days you lack support. 

I have been through all of those things. Each one has taught me a lesson so I encourage you to fail fast and fail cheap. That was the best advice someone gave me. What is means is learn fast and learn without wasting TOO much money. Truth is we are always learning as the consumer landscape is always changing. 15 years ago social media was just getting started now whole businesses run online.  

Need to know if they can hear you? Do one thing....be 100% authentically you! Blessings! 

Favorite Mom Product of the Month! May 2019

Motherhood can be hard. It doesn’t have to be but sometimes it is. As you feel the weight of worrying about something that has to do with your kid, you realize that you need to give yourself and other mothers a break. We’re actually in this together. That’s why when Snugbaba connected we me about her mom brand I got so excited! She has a few genius products that I would love for you to know about. 

Lets start first with her detachable onsies. These are amazing because as your kid grows the feet actually come off and he/she can grow into them without you having to buy more onsies. Check them out at https://snugbubusa.com/

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 The other product that I love in her onsie line is the wipeable onsie. Like I just wish I heard about these sooner and I totally needed them with my daughter! I still need them with my daughter but I digress (she can make a mess!). For Josiah he’s drooling a ton as he’s still teething, so his clothes are constantly needing to be changed. Like total win! I don’t recommend a product that I don’t myself use and both of these are definitely being used. 

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Again you can find them located at the following places:  

1) Instagram page:

https://www.instagram.com/snugbubusa/

2) FB page: https://www.facebook.com/SnugBubUSA

3) Newsletter Sign-up:

Visit https://snugbubusa.com 

Planning A Trip to Disneyland with toddlers

So, we’re finally settled in after our stay at Disneyland in Anaheim, California. We decided to go to Disneyland over Disney World this time around because the parks are a lot smaller and the time to get from one park to the other is shorter as well. Below is my IGTV show that I shared a few days ago about my tips and things you should know BEFORE traveling to Disneyland. Check it out here! Feel free to comment any questions, I will respond right as soon as I can!

As mentioned in the video here is a list of rides in both Disneyland that are good for toddlers:

Here is a list of rides in California Adventure that are good for toddlers:

  • Alice in Wonderland

  • Astro Orbitor

  • Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters

  • Casey Jr. Circus Train

  • Disneyland Monorail

  • Disneyland Railroad

  • Dumbo the Flying Elephant

  • Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage

  • “it’s a small world”

  • Jungle Cruise

  • King Arthur Carrousel

  • Mad Tea Party

  • The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

  • Peter Pan’s Flight

  • Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin

  • Storybook Land Canal Boats

Here is a list of rides in California Adventure that are good for toddlers:

  • Golden Zephyr

  • Pixar Pal-A-Round (non-swinging)

  • Toy Story Midway Mania!

  • The Little Mermaid ~ Ariel’s Undersea Adventure 

  • Monsters, Inc. Mike and Sulley to the Rescue!

  • Red Car Trolley

Top Toddler Shows & Parades:

  • Disney Junior Dance Party in Hollywood Land

  • Storytelling at Royal Theatre in Fantasyland

  • Mickey and the Magical Map in Fantasyland

  • Turtle Talk with Crush in Hollywood Land

  • Frozen—Live at the Hyperion in Hollywood Land

    Also, I’ve finally uploaded small recap of our time while in disney….enjoy!!

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