baby Archives - We're Parents

Reflections of Mother’s Day- Moments with the last baby

May 25, 2016 by Larisha Campbell 2 Comments

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Disney Baby for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine

This past Mother’s Day was my first as a mama of two. This past year has flown by as we are now preparing to celebrate our baby’s first birthday. Since she is likely our last child, I have been embracing every possible moment that I can with her. I hold her a little tighter. I kiss her a little more. I brush her hair a little slower. I try to keep her baby-like as long as I possibly can. Much to my displeasure, she just keeps growing.

As a mom, we always want to keep our children as little as possible for as long as possible, but when it comes to “the last baby”, that feeling elevates to unprecedented heights. Every day she looks a little older. Every day she does something that reminds me how much she is growing. Every day she makes me look at her older sister and realize while the days are long, the years are short and there’s only the matter of a blink of an eye before she’s doing the stuff her older sister is doing.

I sit back and watch her and her sister and can’t help but tear up some days as I see the magical bond between them together. Knowing that our baby will never experience life as an older sibling. She will always be the baby. The bond between these two girls is insanely beautiful. Of course, the older one gets upset when the baby messes up her doll house or knocks down her castle, but the really amazing moments are the ones that shine deep in my mama heart. Those moments when she sings to her sister to help her stop crying. The moments where she tells her sister that she’s adorable. The moments where she hands her something to eat because I can’t get to her fast enough.

Being a mama is the hardest, yet most magical, amazing, and beautiful thing that I’ve ever done and I’m so thankful and incredibly blessed to be able to call these girls mine. She’s the last baby, but the moments we share together are incredibly special.

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Creating an Emergency Car Kit for Kids

March 30, 2016 by Larisha Campbell Leave a Comment

I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for Weleda. I received product samples to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for my participation.

Is this the last baby? Only God really knows, but for our family, we really believe that we are done with our two girls. As soon as I was pregnant, Andrew said all done. I wasn’t really sure. During my last trimester though, I knew that I was okay with no more. I wasn’t, however, ready for what would happen after she was here.

SO PROTECTIVE!

Don’t get me wrong, I was insanely protective with Skibbles, our toddler, also, but she was the first. With Baby, I thought it would be a little easier but it was like I knew that this was my last time having a baby this small. I always wanted her to be close. I want to make sure that she was constantly okay and not getting hurt. The first time I cut her nails, I made her bleed. I swore it felt like an eternity before it stopped. WHYYY would it not stop bleeding. UGH! The first time she bumped her head, got a scratch, her sister hit her with a toy….it’s like this horrible mom guilt rushes over you. You let the baby get hurt!

Obviously, as she’s grown, she’s gotten hurt more. Whether on her own doing, from Andrew or I, or more often than not, her sister being a little rough with her. While I’ve still been drawn to hold her a little longer, cuddle a little more, be protective of her a bit longer, I have loosened up a bit. Both of my girls are adventurers and I’m learning to embrace their tenacity and desire to explore everything going on around them.

With that embrace, comes making sure that I have a small emergency car kit for kids always at my fingertips in case of anything that might happen! Inside our kit is:

Bandaids
Wipes
Alcohol Pads
Weleda Diaper Rash Cream
Coconut Oil
Bottle of water
Lollipop
Antibiotic ointment
Tweezers
Splint
Tape
Gauze
Towel
Gloves
Scissors

We keep this kit inside our car so we always have it in case of any emergency. Something small or a bit larger emergency, we are fully prepared to take action until we can get somewhere if needed, even if that’s just back home to clean it up more.

We recently traveled for Easter and the Weleda diaper rash cream came in handy, not only for the baby, but for the toddler too. Both of them ate some different things that their bodies weren’t necessarily used too, so they both ended up with rashes. Weleda provides fast and gentle relief, is organic, and ant-inflammatory, all of which makes me a happy mama. I was so thankful that I had all this on hand.

Weleda is picking 15 random winners to receive a prize pack valued at $70. Just enter on the form below! Closes 4-8-16.

Weleda Giveaway
*I-C will randomly select 15 winners from all program entries and will handle fulfillment of the winning prizes.

5 Goals for Getting My Postpartum Body Back

March 11, 2016 by Larisha Campbell

“This post was sponsored by Nature Made^® as a part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central.”

It’s a taboo topic. Moms are supposed to be proud of their postpartum body and anyone who goes against that is looked at like they are crazy. I am proud that I have naturally birthed two amazing little girls, but I’d be lying if I said that I was happy with my postpartum body. Yet, I find myself not doing enough to change what I’m not happy with. It’s even more vitally important now that ever. Not only do I need to take care of my health for myself, but I need to be healthy because two little ones are depending on me to be around.

It always happens. January 1st, I am pumped to make a ton of new changes to my life. Week 1, works great. Week 2, works great. Week 3, one thing drops off. Week 4, a few things got in the way. By the beginning of March, I’m completing 1/3 or less of what I really wanted to do. I had a lot of goals at the beginning of this year, but admittedly, I’ve been slacking recently. I want to be held accountable though, and that’s why I’m writing this post.

Here’s my 5 Goals for Getting my Postpartum Body Back in 2016

Workout a minimum of 15 minutes a day
Consistently take my Prenatal Vitamin. (Even though I’m not pregnant, taking a prenatal is still important while I’m breastfeeding)
Continue working towards eating more whole foods daily and eliminating most processed food in our home
Loose 3 inches by then end of the year.
Be consistent about not snacking throughout the day. Chocolate/treats should be limited to once a week

I truly believe that not only are these three great goals that will help me feel and look better, but they are also very realistic goals for me. The snacking will be the hardest one, but I know it’s possible. I’ve set a reminder to remember to take my vitamin every day so that I am getting the proper nutrients my postpartum body needs everyday.

We’re kickstarting our new goals TODAY! On a Friday! Because why should we wait until Monday? We’re joining the NatureMade®’s 30-Day Healthy Habit Builder Program. Nature Made® is currently that nation’s best-selling brand for vitamins, minerals, and supplements¹. We headed over to our local Wal-mart to grab a bottle of Nature Made® Prenatal Vitamins.

I’m encouraging you to set a small list of your own goals and join the Nature Made® Healthy Habit Builder Program with me! Not only can you find motivation and tips there for your health goals, but you can also enter to win a $5,000 grand prize!² You can also sign up for the Nature Made® Daily Boost program to get inspiration and more information to reach your goals and also see what other fans are doing to stay healthy too!

Right now though, you can enter to win 20 $50 Wal-mart giftcards. The contest is live now through March 19. *Disclaimer: Influence Central is running this contest and will randomly select 20 winners from all program entries and will handle fulfillment of the winning prizes.

Nature Made Wellness 3

²For full rules and regulations visit NatureMade.com/Challenge. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. LEGAL RESIDENTS OF THE 50 UNITED STATES (D.C) 18 YEARS AND OLDER.VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. Enter by 3/31/16. Internet access required. 1 Grand Registration Prize (actual value $5,000) and 30 Challenge Prizes (each actual value $250) available to be won. For Official Rules, prize descriptions and odds disclosure, visit HealthyHabitBuilder.com. Sponsor: Pharmavite LLC, 8510 Balboa Blvd. Suite 100, Northridge, CA 91325. The sponsor of this sweepstakes is Nature Made. WebMD is not related to or responsible for the sweepstakes.

3 Tips to Prep House for Crawling Baby

December 4, 2015 by Larisha Campbell Leave a Comment

Tears fell yesterday. I think half sad, half happy. I’m not sure if it’s because we don’t plan to have any more kids or because it seems with baby #2 everything is happening so much faster. But yesterday, the baby started to crawl. It’s not a pretty crawl. I’m not sure it could even be classified as an army crawl. But nonetheless, she’s crawling. She sets her sights on something (which likely she shouldn’t be wanting) and gets there. I think I had to make her do it 10 times before it even really sunk in what was going on at the time. I promptly picked her up and put her in our Boba carrier because my heart couldn’t take it anymore. “PLEASSEEE slow down baby”, I found myself saying over and over again.

But I regress….

It’s happening folks.

As a mom, my brain quickly switched. “Now what. I have to get our house in order. This is not going to be as easy as when I only had one”

So, here’s my top 3 tips on preparing your house for a crawling baby:

#1 – Babyproof all the things. Outlets should get safety covers, fireplaces should have something around them if they are used and at least a bumper on the ledge. Any wiring or appliance cords needs to be wrapped up or hidden behind a cover. Gates should be put up near stairs (both top and bottom). Corner and edge guards for anything with a sharp corner. Any cleaning supplies or medicine needs to be put up high out of reach, and preferably in a locked cabinet. Use cabinet locks on drawers and doors than can open. Final step – crawl around at your child’s level and see what you missed. Trust me, there’s something.

#2 – If you have older kids, especially if the old child is only a toddler, it’s important to explain to them over and over again that we now have to pick up our toys. Try to have a designated place for things they really like to play with but aren’t suitable for small babies – like toys with a lot of pieces or things that a chewing and crawling toddler could destroy – like cardboard puzzle pieces (don’t ask me how I know that).

#3 -Invest in a lightweight vacuum. Seems odd I might say this, but this is actually my #1 tip – especially if you have older kids too. Somehow with older kids crumbs, dirt, and debris seem to multiply like rabbid rabbits. I swear I sweep or mop and turn around an hour later and sweep up just as much as I did the hour before. It’s insane. This will really gross you out once you baby starts crawling. You will freak out about their hands and things going in their mouth (natural immunity here people!). A lightweight vacuum is key here simply because you don’t want to be lugging some huge chunk of machine around the house multiple times a day, especially if you have stairs. Lightweight is also amazing for having your kids help do the vacuuming too. After receiving the Hoover 2-in-1 Stick and Handheld Vacuum to test out, I absolutely recommend it. It’s seriously amazing.

A video posted by Larisha (@wereparents) on Dec 4, 2015 at 4:49am PST

Not only is it lightweight and I can easily move it wherever I need, but so can my 3 year old. It’s cordless! I love it. She loves it. Everyone wins. We have the freedom to move throughout the house easily. I don’t trip her anymore on the cord either (whoops). It can also go from carpet to wood floor with the flip of a dial turn. It also has a handheld cleaning component which is amazing for stairs. And it’s easy to clean!!! Can you tell how much I seriously love it?

Okay, one thing I hate about it….there’s a light on the vacuum. Which is actually a great thing. But it’s bad when you have dark wood floors like us because you see just how dirty your floors are – OMG, it’s gross. But it’s also really cool to see how well the Hoover 2-in-1 Stick and Handheld Vacuum clean it all up.

The Hoover Cordless Family includes a line of 4 cordless cleaners – 3 vacuums and a hard floor wet cleaner. They all have an interchangeable 18-volt lithium Ion battery that works with all the products in the line.

While I go sulk in a jar of Nutella because I have a crawling baby, you can go check them all out here and decide which one you’re going to get!

WAHHH…I have a crawling baby now.

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

That Time We Almost Had a Baby in the Parking Lot

July 13, 2015 by Larisha Campbell 6 Comments

It’s incredibly hard to believe that it’s already been a month since we had our second daughter. While it wasn’t expected that we were going to take so much time away from the blog, after some obstacles, we think it’s finally time that we get back to work and our new normal. Our little girl is growing amazingly and we are so in love with her. We’ve had some people ask about her birth story so we decided that would be the perfect first post to write once coming back. We still don’t have a “blog name” for her, so she’ll just be referred to as Beebs for now.

June 11th, 3 days past our due date, and no idea if I was dilated after declining a cervical check on my due date. I’d been having light contractions on and off for at least 3 weeks prior. After a fun morning of swimming and lunch at a friend’s house, my contractions just seemed different. I sensed it was time, however, didn’t want to get too excited, but text Andrew after about 2 hours to let him know I’d been having consistent contractions. Of course he panicked and asked if I needed him home.

I really knew it was time when I got up from watching TV with Skibbles, our toddler, and felt the need to clean all the things. My contractions were consistent but not strong. Hindsight…I should have told my mother, who was driving 3.5 hours to watch Skibbles, to leave earlier.

The next few hours seemed to crawl at a snail’s pace. Andrew got home, we ate dinner, and took a walk together, where I had to pause a few times during contractions. Still, I didn’t feel like it was going to happen soon. I nursed Skibbles to sleep around 8pm and by 9:30, my contractions were every 3 minutes. I called my mom to leave. Nursing seemed to make them stronger. I remember coming downstairs and crying, telling Andrew I was sad it’d probably be the last time I ever nursed her alone. Ahh, the joys of motherhood hormones.

Between 10 and 11pm, I took a shower to help alleviate the pain. I noticed some bleeding so I called my OB to make sure everything sounded normal. I also made Andrew go get me Wendy’s. I got Wendy’s on the way to deliver Skibbles so I decided it should be a tradition. More so, I was hungry, didn’t want to go into the hospital without eating, and I knew it was the closest place open.

Around 11pm, I went to lay in our tub. That’s where things got confusing and ultimately led to Andrew almost delivering our baby alone. I ran a bath with epsom salt and lavender, but once I got in my contractions slowed down from every 2-3 minutes to 5-7 minutes, however they were stronger. I thought my body was taking a break, but really the water was allowing me to relax. After calling my mom for her driving progress, Andrew and I decided his mom, who lived closer, needed to come.

At 12:45am, I got out of the tub and my contractions instantly got stronger. I called the OB back to tell them we were coming. Andrew’s mom arrived at 1:15am. I knew walking to the car we didn’t have much time. Andrew drove as fast as he could the 20 minutes to the hospital. Once parked outside of L&D, I got out of the car and was telling Andrew which bags to grab. At that moment I had to grab the car and felt the urge to push. I looked at Andrew and remember saying, “We have to hurry.” I walked as quickly as I could towards the triage doors, which seemed like a 5 mile walk, but was ~500 feet. We hit the first set of doors and I let out a scream as my water broke right there and my body instantly started pushing as I grabbed Andrew’s shoulders. I looked at the front desk person and (apparently yelled), “help me, the baby’s coming right now”. Then, everything is a bit fuzzy, and it seemed like 12 people ran out from every direction. I remember them trying to sit me into a wheelchair and I kept saying, “I can’t, I’m pushing”. Somehow they got me into that wheelchair and to a bed. Andrew says he doesn’t think anyone really believed me until they got me on the bed and realized that the baby’s head was already bulging out. I remember pushing twice inside the triage doors and twice on the bed. And there she was.

She was born at 1:40am.

While we laugh about it now, Andrew and I both realize if anything would have changed–his mom got there 5 minutes later, I stayed in the tub 5 more minutes, anything….we wouldn’t have made it to those doors and likely would’ve had the baby in the parking lot or on the side of the road.

I did, once again, get the natural, intervention free birth I desired, but looking back, maybe cut this one a little too close! Andrew sure thinks so!

We’re now happily a family of FOUR!

A Baby! Our Announcement

February 1, 2015 by Larisha Campbell 6 Comments

Almost 3 years ago, we started our blog as a way to share with our family and friends our journey into parenthood with a new baby. Our daughter is a little over two now, and a few months ago we found out that we would be joyously welcoming another precious baby into our lives. We are finally ready to share our excitement with the world and letting everyone know that we will be expecting this summer.

Just like with Skibbles, we have kept our pregnancy very quiet so far for personal reasons, which may seem very odd when it comes to a blogger…Don’t we share everything!? But hey, this is a very personal decision right?

Here’s answers to some questions that you may be wondering about our pregnancy and what we are willing to share at this time:

We are more than halfway through our pregnancy
We’ve decided at this time not to share our exact due date, but rather just let everyone know that we are due sometime between May and July.
We are excited to share that we are having another GIRL
We have a million names on our list, but just like with Skibbles, we won’t be sharing her name on our site. Any suggestions for a baby nickname for our site?

I will say that this pregnancy is COMPLETELY different than when we were pregnant with Skibbles. I find myself tired way more often than I remember with her (WHICH WAS OFTEN!) and have to remind myself that I’m also chasing a toddler around which is exhausting in and of itself. While I’ve gained less than 10lbs so far, I find that I feel like a whale already. I think I starting showing a few weeks BEFORE we got a positive pregnancy test.

Overall, I feel amazing. We are beyond blessed to be experiencing a second child, and I’m thrilled that Skibbles is going to have the bond of sisters. Of course I’m nervous as well as to how another baby will change our entire lives, but we’re up for the experience!

Like the first time around, we are still shocked that God trusts us with one child, let alone now two and we once again find ourselves asking…We’re Parents!? …again!

A Baby!? – Our Pregnancy Announcement

June 30, 2012 by Larisha Campbell 2 Comments

pregnancy

I don’t always feel like I keep in contact with my close family and friends enough, so my goal with this blog is to be able to share a lot more with everyone…and hopefully others as a result of my successful writing skills (if you want to call it that!)

In March…Yes almost 4 months ago…we found out we were having a baby. We have kept is a secret from the “public” aka “Facebook” for almost half the pregnancy for multiple reasons, but now we are beyond excited to share with everyone our joy. We found ourselves relaxing at night and asking ourselves..Seriously…We Are About To Be Parents!? Part of it doesn’t seem possible…but as my bump continues to expand and I have started to feel my very active future soccer player move everyday now, we are realizing VERY QUICKLY how real it is.

So I just wanted to give everyone a quick “first update” on our progress.

As of yesterday, I am 20 weeks along. Halfway there! This pic of me is from 3 weeks ago, when I was 17 weeks. It’s INSANE to think that I am already halfway through this incredible journey already. Pretty soon we will be able to have our baby home with us and get to experiences all the ups, downs, and crazy moments as we embrace parenthood.

As of this week, I have gained 14 pounds so far. The recommended weight gain for the entire pregnancy is 35 pounds, so I am right on target for where I should be. Which is pretty darn exciting to me!

Now onto more important stuff that you all really care about…

We have a VERY healthy…VERY ACTIVE…(did I mention active?…Seriously…I don’t think my child sleeps). I swear I have a future soccer player growing inside of me. We had our 20 week ultrasound this week and found our little star is just perfect. The baby weighs 11 ounces so far and is quite the stubborn one. This is the best pic we could get because the baby just would not rotate AT ALL to get a better face shot. We do know the sex, but we are waiting until our gender reveal in a few weeks before we make that public.

I think our baby is just perfect…active, stubborn, and all…I look forward to updating everyone in the next few days, weeks, and months about all the ups and downs of pregnancy so far. So enjoy and thanks for reading 😉