Things that impacted me this week:

Walking along the Manhattan Beach pier…

Nature and the ocean always reminds me of how good God is.

Amazing friends who come over to landscape your parents house out of pure love…

A couple weeks ago, we invited (more like begged) some friends to come over and help my parents landscape the backyard. My sister and my dad are working hard to get the backyard up to speed for our baby shower coming up. They’ve really taken on quite a heavy load just for the baby shower and I cannot be more grateful. I am also so honored to have friends who were willing to get down and dirty at the crack of dawn just to help us! Truly, I am so blessed! Thank you SOO SOO much Josh, Tracy, June, Meagan, Martin, Missy, and Eddie for all that you did. You guys are AWESOME! (said in a high-pitched voice)

BBQ dinners at home…

I’m in love with meat! Haha. Especially the expensive kind my husband buys from the Farmer’s Market. He’s really into eating meat that is produced from naturally raised cows. There really are many benefits… like the Omega 3 and 6 amino acids are higher and in more balance than the meat at the grocery stores. And..you can DEFINITELY taste a big difference, especially in the Rib-eye steaks. I know, I know…some people might think meat is disgusting, but if you’re going to eat it, might as well eat it right! Haha. We BBQ’ed the other night and it was a really nice way to end the weekend.

Things that distracted me this week…

Realizing how incredibly addicted I am to this game…

Really? All vowels! I can’t win!

Posted on 2.28.12 by melindadh

TodayI…thought I’d share some of the unique finds I’ve thrifted recently to start getting this nursery up and ready. The nursery is nowhere near done, but I have mustered up some energy to slowly get things organized little by little. I’m really surprised on the amount of energy I actually have to satisfy this “nesting” bug. I think I get it now. Anyhow, hope you enjoy!

I decided to use these $4 crates I bought awhile back from a yard sale as a makeshift bookshelf. It’s not going to be permanent because, as you can see, not many books can fit on there, but it’ll do for now. I just had them lying around anyway waiting to be used for something.
The green lamp was given to us as a wedding present. I think I’m falling in love with it all over again because I like how it pops out in front of our boring white walls.
The books that I have are actually my old childhood books! My mom actually saved them all..passed them down to other relatives..and now has come back to me! They are very sentimental and I can’t wait to read them to our daughter!

Bought this awesome glider chair at a local thrift store on Saturday! I took off the cushion to be washed, but I’m so excited that I finally found one. It was only $65 for both which I thought was a pretty decent price. It’ll be perfect for breastfeeding!
Will probably be reupholstering the cushion fabrics..but will save that for a future post perhaps.

Okay, the crib wasn’t thrifted. You got me! But, the unique thing about it was…I bought it on sale at Target and used my $50 gift card and it turned out to be only $50! That is a steal in my mind! It’s simple, but also turns into a toddler bed, so I’m sure we’ll get good use out of it.
I haven’t bought a mattress yet, but did buy the bedding at Target because I really liked it and I thought the giraffe was the cutest thing! I decided I love animals and that will be the semi-theme of the room. Haha.
I haven’t figured out what to do about all my crap on the bottom of the crib. I just stored it there for now..but I am probably going to buy some cute bins or something and hide stuff underneath. We shall see…

Anyway, this little rascal is getting antsy in my belly as of late. Here she is at our latest ultrasound..foot in her eye and all…Perhaps she will be a dancer or a gymnast, haha.

This picture was also a cool one because you can see her pointing her finger. She can count to one already! I’m not too sure where she got her long, monster fingers from. I want to say Eddie because my fingers are definitely not that long.

Happy Tuesday err’body!

Quote of the Day

Posted on 2.27.12 by melindadh

Hope you all had a great weekend! I sure did! Here are some highlights…

- Relaxed at home and started decorating the nursery

- Watched this movie in theaters, and this and this and this on Netflix

- Ate good BBQ here and ate the best ice cream I’ve ever tasted here

The Benefits of Breastfeeding (Part 2)

Posted on 2.24.12 by melindadh

*DISCLAIMER*: This post may contain some boob~age. Beware!

TodayI…learned that there are different positions that you can hold your baby while breastfeeding. Different holds work different for different women. I wonder which one will work for me??? If you weren’t here last week, I decided to post about some of the tips I learned in this Breastfeeding class I took last week. It was very useful! See Part 1 here. Are there any mothers out there who favor a certain position? Do you have any breastfeeding tips? I’d love to hear suggestions or comments about this. Any info will be helpful, I’m sure, because I honestly am very foreign to this subject.

Breastfeeding Holds

Cradle-hold:

This position is where you hold your baby with his or her head on your forearm and the whole body facing yours.

Benefits of this postion:

comfortable for most mothers

Cross-cradle hold or “transitional” hold:

This position is where you hold your baby along the opposite arm from the breast you are using. Support the baby’s head with the palm of your hand at the base of his or her neck.

Benefits of this position:

good for new mothers who are just learning how to breastfeed!
good for premature babies
good for babies who are having trouble latching on

Side-lying position: (Why do I feel like I will use this one a lot?!?)

This position is where you lie on your side with your baby facing you. Pull the baby close and guide his or her mouth to your nipple.

Benefits of this position:

allows for the mother to rest while baby nurses
useful for mothers who had C-sections

Clutch or “football” hold:

This position is where you hold your baby at your side, lying on his or her back, with his or her head the level of your nipples. Support the baby’s head with the palm of your hand at the base of his or her head.

Benefits of this position:

good for mothers with large breasts
good for mothers with inverted nipples
good for mothers who had a C-section

Thanks for reading! (Photos were taken from this site.)

~Melinda

5 New Things I Learned About My Husband

Posted on 2.23.12 by melindadh

Week #27:

1. I think Eddie would prefer it if I didn’t go watch his softball games. It’s not that I’m a loud, obnoxious fan, but I think he appreciates the “guy time.” I guess I can understand that. Guys do need their “guy” time and girls need their “girl” time. I never really saw myself as the type of girl who relishes in “girl” time, but when I do have it, I can see the benefits.

2. Eddie is really scared when it comes to scary movies or scary stories. He actually had to stop reading scary stories from Reddit because it got to his head.

3. He would never admit this, but I think one of his passions in life is drumming.

4. He LOVED the coupons I gave him for Valentine’s Day. He actually used a couple of them already. I love when gifts are a success!

5. Eddie is very protective when it comes to me. I REALLY love that about him. The other day he was the reason I stayed home from work. I probably would have gone and tried to work while being sick. But, he said, “YOU ARE NOT GOING IN TO WORK TODAY.” I actually admired his firm, controlling tone in this circumstance.

Out Sick Today…

Posted on 2.22.12 by melindadh

Today I..called in sick.

Sorry for my lack of a semi-meaningful post. I spent all night sneezing up a storm and taking care of a runny nose. Not fun! Called in sick at work today so hope to spend the day resting and doing a whole lot of nothing.