Category: Motherhood

Our Newest Addition!

Hi friends! It’s been a couple of weeks since my last post, and in case you were wondering where I had gone, our newest addition to the Lane family arrived on just in time to be a July baby on Thursday, July 30th.

Jonathan Brooks has been a complete joy for our family. Harrison is loving being a big brother, and we are settling in to our new normal as a family of four. I’m going to take a few more weeks off from blogging, as we adjust to Nathan heading back to work and me juggling the two boys during the day. I do get around to posting daily pictures and videos of the boys over on Instagram, so pop over there to keep up with us until I can work in time to write, and say ‘hi!’

7 Quick Takes (v. IV)

If you’re new around here, every once in awhile I like to round up seven quick things that are making me laugh or melting my heart about Harrison currently. It’s an easy way that I can memorialize these small little bits of his personality as he grows, hoping that I can remember the things that made each stage special.

-1- I mentioned to Nathan the other day that I’m going to miss when Harrison starts referring to himself in the first person. And he pointed out that in fact Harrison does refer to himself in the first person when he says, “I need a hug!” Ok, ok. This one time I’ll allow the use of the word “I.”

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Pregnancy: The Third Trimester

My final trimester of pregnancy is coming to a close. <Insert happy dance!> In all seriousness, I have made a very conscious effort to enjoy this pregnancy more. To embrace my body that is growing another human being, rather than get frustrated at the number of pounds gained or how I looked. I am unbelievably grateful for this body that is able to sustain life, and I know that is a privilege that so many would ache to have. But, I am ready to move to the next phase of meeting this new little man.

This popped up on my Instagram feed the other day, and it really hit home. This time three years ago waiting for Harrison, the fear and anxiety I had over the birth, how we would survive with a newborn, how Nathan and I would transition to parenthood were all-consumiing. And this time around, even though I know it won’t be the same, there’s confidence that we will be alright. And we will figure it out. And yes, it will be hard. And yes, there are going to be things that we didn’t experience with Harrison that we’ll experience this time, but it will all even out. And we’ll be ok. Better than ok. It will be hard to imagine our family without the newest little guy.

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Friday Favorites {07.10.20}

It seems like it’s been awhile since I’ve blogged just a random Friday Favorites! We’re one week into our potentially three week quarantine waiting for baby Lane #2. A lot of you have asked me over on Instagram why Harrison is home again. So, I thought I’d chat about that here as well.

We sent Harrison back to daycare at the end of May at the recommendation of primarily Harrison’s pediatrician, and my OB agreed that, while a risk, was a low risk to send him back to daycare. My OB also, though, at the same time recommended that Harrison come back out of daycare three weeks before my due date, and join Nathan and I in “quarantine” waiting for baby’s arrival. I think the three week recommendation is based on the guidance from the CDC, but don’t quote me on that!

So given that, and after talking to Harrison’s pediatrician, who also agreed that would be best to ensure that we are at the lowest risks as we can possibly be going into delivery for COVID, Harrison’s staying home with us again from now until some period after baby’s arrival. Initial suggestions from his pediatrician were to keep him at home for at least 4-6 weeks after baby’s arrival to allow the new baby time to build up their immune system. So here we all are again, one big happy, expectant family!

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The One Thing I’d Change With My Second Baby

Recently, we sat on our back patio with some friends who had just announced that they were pregnant with their first. What an exciting time of life to have our friends starting to have babies! But they asked us a question, as I kept one eye and ear on Harrison running around the patio kicking and throwing a ball. If we were going to do it all again, which we are, what’s the one thing that we would absolutely not do this time around.

Bringing home Harrison

I didn’t have a good answer. Parenting is such a personal thing, in my opinion. Every child is different. Every family is different. The only thing I could really think of that I would do differently is allow myself some more grace to live in the messy state of life that is figuring out life as a family of three.

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What’s Up Wednesday {06.24.20}

The days of June have come and gone so quickly! I knew that things would really feel like they were speeding up as we head into the home stretch before meeting our newest baby boy! July is already baby month! Or at least, we think so. I guess if he decides to be very late, we could end up with an August baby as well. Harrison was two days past his due date, and right or wrong, I’ve got it in my head that I’m going to have the full forty weeks before this little one arrives too.

Tell me – did your babies arrive early, on time, or late?? Were second babies more on time or earlier than first babies??

I’m linking up with Shay and Sheaffer to share with you what’s going on in our life lately!

1: WHAT WE’RE EATING THIS WEEK:

  • Sunday: For Father’s Day, we’re going to do take out from a local restaurant!
  • Monday: Leftovers
  • Tuesday: Salmon & sautéed spinach
  • Wednesday: Chicken nuggets and Mac & cheese – Nathan has insisted from the first day that we were dating that Mac and cheese must be served with chicken nuggets. I’m guessing that combo reminds him of his childhood
  • Thursday: Leftovers
  • Friday: Carne asada tacos

2: WHAT I’M REMINISCING ABOUT:

Preparing for this newest little Lane boy has me super reminiscent of the early days of bringing Harrison’s light into this world.

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Growing Into a Boy Mom

Almost three years ago, Nathan and I were in New York just the two of us. I was pregnant, and it was on that trip we had planned for Nathan and I to find out whether baby #1 was going to be a boy or a girl. I had imagined this moment in my mind so many times. I had seen so many pictures and videos of gender reveals: the excitement and joy! I kept wondering what was wrong with me, though. I had this sense of dread at finding out the gender of our baby. That somehow that would make it even more real. And even more so than that, if we got right down to the core of it, I was terrified that I was going to have a boy.

We opened the little envelope alone together in our hotel room. And a little blue ribbon fell out. Nathan said something like, “You’re going to be a boy mom!” And that’s when I looked away, and the tears started. Like the tears streamed down my face, and my mind went into a panic.

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What I’m Buying for Baby #2

The good part about baby #2 is that generally, you don’t have to buy all of the STUFF that comes with having the first baby. The stuff alone is daunting: crib, bassinet, bottle warmers, how many contraptions to get for your home to put baby down in, swaddles, sling, wrap or carrier, car seat, stroller. The list goes on and on!

The bad news for us was that we borrowed almost ALL of the baby essentials from my sister when we had Harrison. And when we found out that baby #2 for each of us was going to arrive within a week of each other this summer, we turned to our friends to borrow a lot of the things that we absolutely needed. But there were a few things on my list that I didn’t have the first time around or wanted more of, that I’m buying for baby #2, and I wanted to share those with you!

The Baby Bjorn bouncer.

We had a Baby Bjorn bouncer for Harrison, and it was my single most favorite thing to put him down in while I needed my hands free in a room. I’d pick it up and move it from one room to the next. Harrison loved it, particularly when he figured out he could bounce it himself, and we even took it to South Dakota us twice to my parents’ cabin. Aside from the pack and play, it was the only baby gear I brought with me that first year to visit them. That’s how much I loved it. And given that my sister also LOVED it, I knew I was going to be buying a second one for our new little guy.

Aw…Look at Baby Harrison in the bouncer.

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What’s Up Wednesday {05.27.20}

The days of May seemed to move faster and faster. At the beginning of this pandemic, days seemed soooo slow. And now, maybe we’ve gotten used to it a bit more – our new routine, spending time outside, or the impending countdown to baby, but May seems to have flown by.

Here’s what our calendar has looked like this May…

It could most aptly be characterized as “didn’t even bother to fill it out.” 🙂

I’m linking up with Shay and Sheaffer to share with you what’s going on in our life lately!

1: WHAT WE’RE EATING THIS WEEK:

  • Sunday: Cheesy Baked Ziti
  • Monday: Leftovers
  • Tuesday: Pork Chile verde enchiladas
  • Wednesday: Leftovers
  • Thursday: Italian sausages & peppers
  • Friday: Leftovers

2: WHAT I’M REMINISCING ABOUT:

I feel like most of my reminiscing these days is thinking back to what was life was like at this time last year. The simplicity of being able to go and do everything that we wanted to do!

We’re missing our Splashin’ and Smokin’ Saturdays with Cousin Evie in particular.

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Pregnancy During COVID

Back in October, Nathan and I eagerly awaited the results of an at-home pregnancy test. Hoping there would be two pink lines, but fully expecting that it may take us months upon months to get pregnant again. And there they were. Two perfectly visible pink lines. We smiled, I teared up with joy that we were going to be blessed to do this whole parenting thing again. And so our journey began toward baby #2.

There were the usual stressors of the first trimester: the utter exhaustion, nausea, uneven hormones. The eagerness of wanting everyone to know this special little secret we were keeping to ourselves, and at the same time wanting to hold on to that little secret for as long as we could. It was an uneventful first trimester, punctuated by an anniversary trip to New York in November and the most perfect Christmas morning sharing this awesome news with our family.

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