Kendra's Kampfire

Wednesday, August 29, 2018

What's Up Wednesday 8.29.18

Hey everyone! How are we already at the end of August?! I'm linking up with Mel, Sheaffer, and Shay like we do every month, and here's what we've been up to this month!

1. What we are eating this week

Mike is working crazy hours for the next couple of weeks, so I am making sure to make dinners that will have leftovers so he can have lunch the next day, while also making quick meals since I have a baby hanging around the house these days ;)

I made a yummy chicken enchilada soup

and shredded chicken tacos - both super yummy!

2. What I'm reminiscing about

Last week was the first week Back to School. I am taking some time off to be a Mommy, so it was definitely bittersweet, missing my Semple Dragons pretty hard. Here are my First Day of School pictures from years past...yes I wear the same dress each year-it brings me good luck!

2016-2017 School Year

2017-2018 School Year

3. What I'm Loving

Being a stay at home Mommy! It's crazy, sometimes I will look at the clock and it's already 4:30, and I'll ask myself what I did that day, but the days just go by so fast! It has definitely been literally every second of every day, but I wouldn't change it for the world. I'm so lucky that I have the ability to be around when he reaches all his Milestones and be able to experience it with him :)

4. What We've Been Up To

It was our 3 year anniversary last week, so we took the nugget with us to celebrate with dinner! We also went to our sweet friends Engagement Party aa couple weeks ago-but I totally spaced and didn't get a photo - DOH!

Our Little Party Crasher

5. What I'm Dreading

In a couple weeks we go back for Miles' 4 Month Round of Shots.....Definitely not looking forward to him being so upset, poor guy.

6. What I'm Working On

Losing the baby weight! I was pretty lucky that pretty much most of it came off really quickly once I started breastfeeding, I still have a little more to lose to be at my Pre-Pregnancy Weight, but I'm also trying to lose a few extra pounds on top of that. It has proven to be pretty tricky with the little guy around, but I am trying to get creative! Sit ups and squats in his nursery when he's playing on the floor, taking long walks at the park, just missing out on doing that hard core cardio, but that will come with time!

7. What I'm Excited About

Miles has been sleeping in his big boy crib - which means Mommy is getting more sleep each night! So I'm excited to start tackling projects around the house.

8. What I'm Watching/Reading

Let's be real, I don't have time to read right now...But I have a confession, when I am breastfeeding, I am ALWAYS watching something! Since breastfeeding, Netflix has become my best friend, and I started/completed the following series (please don't judge me, this is ridiculous I know...)

Riverdale - SO GOOD!

Scandal - SO GOOD!

How to Get Away With Murder - Growing on Me

Image result for how to get away with murder

And I'm currently in the middle of Parenthoood!

...What can I say, my kid likes to eat...

9. What I'm Listening To

Still my same old Country station in the car...and lots of baby songs when we're at home...

10. What I'm Wearing

Lots of workout clothes, all.the.time

11. What I'm Doing This Weekend

Mike is working so Little Man and I are going to spend some time in Castro Valley with my family. We love our trips to see Mimi, PaPaw and Funcle!

12. What I'm Looking Forward to Next Month

Starting to decorate for the holidays - eek!!!

Bonus Question: What's My Favorite Back to School Tradition

Taking first day of school photos!

Hope you have a great last couple of days of August!

# What's Up Wednesday

Tuesday, August 28, 2018

Boy or Girl?

Kendra Petrellese 7:15 PM 0 Comments

Ahh, the great debate. Deciding whether or not you wish to find out the sex of your baby. Mike and I were at odds on this one. He really wanted to find out, and I really wanted to be surprised. My husband is super logistical and is a planner, and I am much more emotionally driven. He said that he wanted to know the sex so he could get the nursery done, and he just really wanted to know if we were having a son or daughter so he could mentally prepare himself haha. I, on the other hand, really wanted to be surprised. I honestly was not wishing for one sex over the other, I genuinely was so happy either way and knew that as soon as they put that baby on my chest that I was going to fall so deep in love whether it was a boy or whether it was a girl. But I knew that even though Mike said he didn't care either way, I knew he secretly wanted a boy. And I was kind of worried that if we found out it was a girl, that he would be a little bummed. I knew that if we kept it a surprise, and it did turn out to be a girl, that when he saw her for the first time that he would forget about ever wanting a boy. I do think it's true what they say, the women become Mothers the moment they find out they're pregnant, where the men become Dads the second that baby is born. I just didn't want Mike to be disappointed.

We had names picked out for our girl and our boy, and even during the ultra sound where they could tell us what we were having, we asked them not to because we weren't sure if we wanted to know. After our genetics scare (you can read about that here), I really didn't want to know the sex, because God for bid if something happened, I knew I would either be losing Miles or Baby P (going to hold our girl name secret in case we are blessed with one in the future), and putting a name to the baby just made it all the more real.

But I obviously caved, and I decided to give in and find out, I thought that decorating a nursery would give me something to do and be hopeful and have faith that the little boy or girl inside me would one day sleep in it despite all the scares we were going through.

We decided not to do a gender reveal party, that Mike and I wanted to find out just the two of us. So Mike went out and bought a pink and a blue balloon and we asked our sweet neighbors to put either a blue or pink balloon in a box and Mike and I would open it together. We went out to the backyard, (which is where Mike proposed, so it was really special to do it in the same place), and we opened the box together and found out we were expecting a sweet baby boy! We were so excited, Mike ran around the backyard fist pumping, I kid you not, and it was really cool to finally be able to put a name to the little human inside of me.

He or She? We will see!

IT'S A BOY!!!!

Bubba is so excited to have a little brother

We are so EXCITED!

Wahoo!

So the next day happened to be my birthday and we decided to do a small gender reveal for our parents. We put a onesie in a bag and had our families open them together, which was fun :) It was truly the best birthday present I could have asked for, knowing that in 5 short months I would be meeting our SON!

My brother took a couple snap chats to remember the special moment :)

Miles Grey, we couldn't wait to meet you!

# Pregnancy

Monday, August 27, 2018

The Dreaded Sleep Regression...

Kendra Petrellese 7:29 AM 0 Comments

The Sleep Regression is real yall. And I was naive to think, oh no, my baby is such a good sleeper, there's no way the sleep regression will effect him. Well, if that wasn't a huge face palm to the head, I don't know what is.

We hit the regression a little early, a couple weeks before Miles hit the 4 month mark. Before that, he would go stretches of sleeping 5ish hours, wake up to feed, then usually go another 2 or 3. And I've heard for a newborn, that's pretty good! So I was definitely counting my blessings, and thought we maaay be in the clear. Whomp Whomp. And folks, it hit out of nowhere! One night he slept great, and the next night he woke up every three hours...then the next night every two hours...as you can imagine, I was one tired mama. And I know there are many moms out there who have gone through this and can relate!

It lasted about 2 weeks, and at that point, Mike and I started kicking around the idea of putting him in his crib so we wouldn't wake up at every little sound and could maybe get a few extra minutes sprinkled throughout the night (you can read about that here). We decided that not only did Miles need a transition to his crib, but we did too-we were not ready to have hime sleep in his own room! So we decided that after his final feeding of the night, we would put him into his bassinet in our room like normal, but then when he woke for his next feeding, I'd transition him into his crib, so that way he would get used to it. The first night was a little shaky, when I went in to get him, he was sleeping completely sideways from where I put him down. He must have thought he had so much freedom and moved around like crazy! We were still getting up every 2-3 hours, but I have heard this is just a phase, and to power through it.

So last night, we were continuing with the plan, I fed him, put him in his bassinet, and about 10 minutes later he woke up noooot happy at all! Mike thought maybe switching up his sleeping places was making him confused, so I topped him off and we decided to put him to sleep in his crib for the whole night (insert me sobbing here). And friends, he slept for 6.5 hours the first stretch!! Then another 2 and a half! When I went in there at 6:45, I fed him, thinking we'd be up for the day, and after he was done eating, he seemed sleepy, so I put him back down in his crib, and he slept for another hour and a half! Which is insaaaane. Now, I don't want to get my hopes up that we are through the sleep regression phase, but I am majorly keeping my fingers crossed that we are! And today marks another MILEStone, because we got so much sleep last night, this is the first time he is napping and I'm not! So I got laundry put away, swept the downstairs, cleaned our bathroom, AND am having time to write this post. It's amazing how much I can get done when I feel rested! Majorly crossing our fingers that this sleep pattern continues!

For those mamas who have gone through the sleep regression, what are some of your tips that helped you survive?!

Image result for keep calm sleep regression

# Mom Life

Sunday, August 26, 2018

I've Become THAT Mom...

Kendra Petrellese 12:28 PM 0 Comments

Well, it's the first of many I suppose. The first of many aha moments realizing I've become that Mom. And when it happened, I couldn't help but laugh at myself! You see, before I got pregnant, and especially while I was pregnant, you are privy to many different people's experiences with kids. You get their opinions, suggestions, what they did, what worked for them, which is extremely helpful, but also can be overwhelming!

In our Newborn Care Class, they suggested that Baby sleep in our room in a bassinet at first so we can be close to each other, have easy access to feeding, bonding, and all that good stuff. They said it's personal preference on how long you can have them sleep in your room, some say 3 months, some say 6, I've talked to some people who still have their little one sleeping with them until their first birthday. Like I said, it's personal preference. Before Miles came along, I said that I would have him in his own room, in his crib as soon as we could, I was thinking like, 3 months ish.

But as soon as that little nugget entered the world, I couldn't get enough of him! I don't know about you, but every little move and sound he made, I would wake up and check on him, I think that's human nature. But as he started to get older, I knew that I didn't need to check on him every time he made a sound, however, I still subconsciously woke up each time he started to stir. You can imagine that this made for a very tired mama, because I was losing out on sleep unnecessarily. That's when I started to throw around the idea to Mike that we think about moving him into his crib sometime soon so I wouldn't wake up at every little sound. He instantly said, "NO! I'm not ready for that!" Haha, which surprised me, and I thought it was cute. Then I realized, when I really thought about it, it was really hard for me to grasp the fact that this phase was going to end and I'd never get it back. I know he's not going to be this little for very long, and once we transition him to his crib, he won't ever sleep next to me all tucked into his bassinet. And this made me really sad. Like I said above, I thought I would be the mom that kicked him out as soon as possible and it wouldn't phase me, but boy was I wrong! The thought made me really sad and I had the first glimpse of the feeling that my baby was growing up! I know I'm going to have many more of those moments throughout his lifetime, but this first one caught me off guard!

Stay tuned tomorrow to see what we decided...

Just a sweet photo of me and my boy reading stories on the floor

# Mom Life

Tuesday, August 21, 2018

MILEStones Month 3

Kendra Petrellese 4:30 PM 0 Comments

How are we already at the Month 3 mark? I just can't believe it! Time is just flying by, and I know that it will continue to go quicker and quicker, so I am doing my best to soak up as many moments with my baby while he is still a baby!

I feel like we are finally starting to get into a groove. I am really able to tell what he wants most of the time, which is so weird to me! People always said that you would know their different cries, be able to tell what they need most of the time, and I always questioned how?They can't verbalize to you what they want and need, that seems impossible to know what they are trying to say. But for the most part, I'm able to differentiate his cries and moods, which has been super cool for me :)

The bummer this month is we think he is starting to teethe, poor guy! He is starting to drool more often and anything and everything is going in his mouth. It is the most frustrating feeling knowing there isn't much I can do to help his pain! But he has been a trooper and has been fighting through it. We also had our first visit to the Emergency Room this month. Due to his enlarged umbilical cord that they were worried about in our 2nd trimester (you can read about that here), he had a lot of extra tissue on top of his belly button, so we have been doing weekly treatments of silver nitrate to shrink it. One day I realized that it was spreading all over his belly and was really black, after a call to his pediatrician, she suggested we go into the ER since she couldn't see him that day. After a couple hours of waiting, they determined it wasn't infected, it was just stained, (which it has since gone away now), so thankfully all was ok! He was so great, didn't hardly cry and even fell asleep in his carseat towards the end, after Daddy was a stud and rocked him to sleep for 30 minutes. From his entrance into the world, through his shots, and teething, he has proven to be a pretty tough kid!