• Baby,  Faith

    How Waking Up Before My Son Changed My Life

    This may be a little bit of a premature post to write, as I’ve only been waking up before Shane for three days. BUT I am so confident and have already seen the craziest results that I still feel pretty confident writing this.

    Before Waking Up Early

    Before I started waking up before Shane, I felt stressed and overwhelmed most days. I used to feel like there wasn’t enough time to get what I needed to get done. I felt like I was always trying to squeeze in having some downtime and also trying to be productive around the house. Some days I managed to find the balance well. Most days though, I felt like I either was super productive all day and exhausted by the end of it or like I rested the majority of the day and had gotten nothing done.

    My Daily Morning Schedule Now

    6:30am – Wake up
    6:40am – Spend time with God
    7:00am – Read blogs, watch Youtube videos, have some “me time”, etc.
    8:00am – Have breakfast, possibly write a blog post
    8:30am – Shane wakes up

    This is honestly just a rough schedule and each day might look a little different going forward but really the point is I get to fill my own cup before pouring myself out for my family for the rest of the day.

    You Can’t Pour From An Empty Cup

    I’m sure you’ve heard the quote, “You can’t pour from an empty cup”. And that is essentially what I felt like I was trying to do when I’d wake up at the same time as Shane.

    I felt like there was never enough time to really spend with God, and also take care of Shane and the house. I almost always felt like I had no patience and I hated that.

    Having the time in the morning that I can dedicate to whatever I want to do and not feel guilty about changes everything for me. I feel like I have so much more to give to my family. It leaves me the rest of the day to “work”. During Shane’s nap times I can get some housework done, spend time with Tommy, blog or work on Etsy.

    Getting My Priorities Straight

    I think the biggest change and the real reason why I feel like my life has changed though is because I’m putting God first. Having a baby shook my world up in ways I am still processing and it definitely shook up my relationship with God.

    It took me a lot longer than it should have to really get back into spending quality time with God, but I’m so glad that I finally did.

    Timing Is Everything

    For a long time I imagined a time when I could wake up before Shane. When he was waking up in the night to be fed there was no way waking up before him would be healthy for me. So this had to wait.

    I just wanted to give a little disclaimer in case this may be you too. There will be a time when you can wake up before your baby. Sometimes it feels like it may never come, but I promise you it will. Give yourself grace in the meantime. ❤️

  • Baby

    Shane Thomas: Eleven Months

    I can’t believe that my baby is almost one years old! I already miss little baby Shane! Let’s take a look back really quickly to see just how little he really was…

    Omg so small and precious!

    Okay, now back to Shane’s ELEVEN month update!

    What color are your baby’s eyes now? Hazel/Brownish. If you look closely, in the light they look hazel but if you look quickly they look brown.

    What makes your baby laugh? Shane is super silly and thinks it’s funny when he or someone around him sneezes. He also still loves when we try to “get” him. He laughs every time.

    What noises does your baby make? He “talks” all day. He makes a ton of noise and sounds while he’s playing.

    In what way is your baby moving? Shane finally started crawling with his belly off of the ground. He also started walking along furniture too!

    OUR DAILY SCHEDULE:

    • 7:30am- Wake up + nurse
    • 8:30am- Eat breakfast
    • 9:30am- Nurse + naptime
    • 11:00-11:15am- Wake up + nurse
    • 12:30pm- Lunch time
    • 2:00pm- Nurse + naptime
    • 3:30pm- Wakeup + Snack
    • 5:00pm- Nurse
    • 6:30pm- Dinnertime
    • 8:00pm- Nurse + Bedtime
    • 10:00-10:30pm- Dreamfeed
    • 3:00am- Dreamfeed. (I am planning on dropping this dreamfeed around Shane’s first birthday. I am trying to make sure he gets enough milk, as I am attempting to wean him off of all of his formula.)

    What teeth does your baby have? Still only his bottom two. It looks like his top four are starting to come in though.

    He loooves his puppy!

    Favorite toy or Thing to Play with: The remote or anything that is not really a toy! 😉

    How is your baby sleeping at night? We finally moved Shane to his own room this month. It was a little bit sad for me. I’m actually still getting used to it. I loved having him right next to my bed. As I mentioned in my last update though, he wasn’t sleeping well at all and I was ready to try just about anything to get more sleep. Turns out he slept way better in his room so we’ve stuck to that. 

    What new tricks can your baby do? Shane started waving when someone says hi to him. I’m pretty sure he says hi back sometimes, but I’m still unsure because he won’t ever repeat me if I ask him to say hi.


    I can’t believe the next update will be his one year update! I wish he could stay this little forever!

  • Baby

    Shane Thomas: Ten Months

    Finally getting all caught up… here we go!


    What does your baby love getting into? Shane loooves getting into everything he shouldn’t be. He loves trying to eat our dog’s food. 🤦🏻‍♀️

    Our first time eating out with Shane

    Your favorite thing about your baby’s personality:  I love how happy and playful Shane is. Everyone always mentions how happy he is.

    In what way is your baby moving? Shane is crawling all around and pulling up to stand on everything.

    What foods are your baby’s favorites? Shane’s absolute favorite food right now is yogurt. He will always eat yogurt. He also really likes bananas like his daddy.

    What new tricks can your baby do? He learned to clap and give kisses this month! I can’t even explain how adorable it is when he gives kisses. I’m sure you know very well if you have your own baby. It’s just the best!

    How is your baby sleeping at night? This has been the worst night for sleep since he was a newborn. He wakes up anywhere from 3-6 times a night! 😴

    This picture was staged but sometimes Shane and I would fall back asleep together. I miss those days!

    What noises does your baby make? Shane babbles all day. He likes to say dadada a lot.

    What does your baby dislike? Shane has started to dislike being in the car. I’m not sure if it’s because he’s bored or is uncomfortable in his car seat or what it is.

    Shane loves music just like his dad. When we play music he dances and it’s the sweetest thing.

    What is your baby’s relationship like with his cousins? How do they interact? He hasn’t noticed his baby cousin too much yet. He’s only been around him a couple of times. There was one time though where Shane did notice him and kept wanting to touch him.

    What is your baby’s relationship like with his pets? Shane loves his puppy so much. We are in the process of teaching him to do nice to her still but he loves following her around.

    Shane had his first Halloween this month. He was a hedgehog! The cutest hedgehog ever if you ask me!

  • Baby

    Shane Thomas: Nine Months

    I have fallen super, super behind on Shane’s updates but as I mentioned before, I want to get these up even if they are late just to have them to look back on. I’m going to be posting his nine and ten month updates today. On Friday I will be posting his eleven month update because he turned eleven months old today!!


    STATS: Weight: 16.13lbs (8th percentile) Height: 27.3in (10th percentile) Head Size: 42.86cm (4th percentile) Our little guy ❤️

    In what way is your baby moving? Shane is army crawling super fast!

    How is your baby sleeping at night? This month has been a little tougher. Shane has been waking up a lot and just wanting us to hold him while he sleeps.

    What new tricks can your baby do? Shane will fake sneeze if we sneeze at him first. It’s just about the cutest thing in the world.

    What is your baby’s favorite thing to do? Shane loves exploring new objects or places. If I give him a new kitchen utensil that he’s never seen before, he will play with it contently for 20-30 mins.

    Which teeth does your baby have? He has his two bottom teeth. I forgot to mention in his last update that he finally got his bottom teeth! Yay!

    Favorite book: Dear Zoo

    Describe the love you have for your baby: I can’t even begin to describe my love for Shane. His is my whole life, I love getting to stay home and take care of him. I’m the luckiest person in the world to be the one to spend all day with him. I wish I could protect him from everything. I can’t stand to think of anything bad happening to him.

    Some fun facts from this month: 

    • Shane started crawling this month!
    • He loves playing with Noelle (our dog) now that he can crawl over to her.
    • He is constantly babbling dadadada all day long.
    • Shane got his first cousin this month. His cousin Devin was born!
    • We took our first beach trip with Shane. I blogged about that here, in case you missed it! It was an awesome day. Shane loved the beach.

  • Baby

    Shane Thomas: Eight Months

    I’m still so behind on these as Shane is now 9.5 months old (😅) but I refuse to give these up so I’m going to keep posting, even if they are super late!


    What is your baby’s favorite toy? He has a few — he loves his Nuby teether, activity cube, and his activity table.

    What new tricks can your baby do? Just a couple of days before he turned eight months he started saying dada. He has not stopped saying it since. 😉

    How is your baby sleeping at night? To maintain my milk supply, I still nurse him at 1:30. He will 95% of the time just fall right back asleep after. Then he wakes back up around 6-7 to nurse again, and only sometimes will go right back to sleep. I think Shane is a morning person!

    What noises does your baby make? Shane babbles a lot, mostly only when you are home and comfy. Sometimes he likes to yell too.

    What foods are your baby’s favorites? Shane loves pumpkin and yogurt the most.

    What size clothes is your baby wearing? He still fits in 3-6 month pants, but is in 6-9 month sleepers.

    What does your baby dislike? He does not like being held too tightly, like if you are trying to give him a hug. He loves to explore and does not like if we try to stop him.

    This was the last time he ever sat in this toy… haha

    What is your baby’s relationship like with you? I feel like mine and Shane’s relationship has grown a lot this month. When I’m close by, he will sometimes put his arms up for me to pick him up. Or if someone else is holding him he will sometimes reach for me. I feel like he looks to me for comfort and it’s the best thing.

    Blurry but so cute

    What is your baby’s relationship like with his dad? Shane’s relationship with his dad is so precious to watch. Tommy is such a good dad and is always trying (and succeeding) in making Shane laugh. They have so much fun together!

  • Baby,  Life

    Baby’s First Beach Day!

    On Saturday we had our first family beach day! It was honestly so much fun. We are even debating on going back this weekend because we had so much fun. Not to mention we want to soak up all of the good weather before it starts getting too cold.

    We decided to leave around Shane’s first nap time so that hopefully he would sleep all of the way down. It was about a 1.5 hour drive to not too bad. This part of our trip was the only time we had a bump in the road. We had to stop for breakfast and the food store for lunch. My plan was to nurse Shane in the car after we ran those errands so that he would go right to sleep.

    Shane had other plans though, ha! He was way to distracted to nurse so after trying for a little while I just gave up and decided I would just have to stop on the way at a rest stop and nurse him then. So we left and this did not make Shane happy one bit. He had a breakdown because he was so tired and didn’t want to sleep. We had to pull off an exit on the highway and I had to nurse him in a random parking lot lol. He fell asleep right after and I put him in his car seat and off we went!

    He did end up sleeping all the way down though so that was great. We ended up getting there around noon, which wasn’t too bad. We decided to walk the boardwalk for a bit, then head to the beach.

    We spent most of our day on the beach and we got to put Shane’s toes in the water and sand and see how he liked it. He was having such a good time! It made Tommy and I so happy to see how much he was enjoying our favorite place.

    We even got him to take a nap on the beach, which was the cutest thing ever.

    After spending most of the day at the beach we decided to pack up and go for one last walk before leaving.

    We left around 6 and made it home by 7:45. It was such a fun little successful getaway. I’m so glad we had the time to do this as a family!