STYLISH BACKPACKS FOR MOMS

My favorite thing to shop for when I found out that I was pregnant with Elle was my diaper bag. In my research though I found so many bags that looked too cutesy and didn't embody the current fashion trends. This time around when I searched for a bag for Levi I didn't need to go too far to find what I wanted. Fashion for moms has gotten so much better!

I really wanted a backpack this time around because having both hands free for two kids is a must. I loved that this backpack by Fawn Designs looked like real leather, but it was actually water resistant faux leather. I also loved the gold zipper detail. It made me feel like I wasn't carrying a diaper bag at all.

The one thing that I have realized in carrying this bag verses my large Petunia Picklebottom bag is there isn't as much room and pockets as my tote bag. I would say for traveling for long days spent away from the house I need the larger tote bag. However, if you only have one kiddo or you aren't going to need the whole kitchen sink, the Fawn backpack is PERFECT.

*Product was given for a review; Photos by Gina Meola

LEVI'S BIRTH STORY & NEWBORN PHOTOS

I am so happy to finally be sharing our beautiful family photos with Levi. Rennai of Ten 22 Studio did an amazing job capturing our new family of four. I also thought I would share his birth story along with them in case you are curious.

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I prayed for my labor to be quick with Levi, and I'm so thankful that my prayers were answered. The weeks leading up to my labor I had a ton of contractions, but they would stop after an hour. They were also inconsistent in the time intervals, so I knew it wasn't go time. I had a feeling I would be early with Levi since I was three and half weeks early with Elle, but I was hoping I could make it much closer to my due date. I suspect a lot of my breastfeeding issues with Elle were because she was born so early, and I was really hoping for a different experience this time around.

My labor started around dinner time on Saturday, September 12th with a strong contraction here and there. At this point I was so used to it I didn't really think it was labor. Plus, we had already called my in-laws to come over and grab Elle a couple of times and I didn't want to cry wolf yet again. After dinner had passed and it was almost time to put Elle to bed, I had a little inkling that this could be the day. So, Ryan brought Elle over to his mom's house just in case.

While Ryan was gone I decided to take a shower just in case we were going to go to the hospital. Last time I was in labor I had to wait over a day to take a shower (so gross), so I wanted to make sure I could wash my hair while I had the chance. The contractions got stronger as my body relaxed, and they took my breath away. I quickly got dressed and checked our "go" bag in-between the pain, and by the time Ryan got home it was time to go. Although, I kept doubting myself because I was waiting for the contractions to be exactly five minutes apart and sometimes they would be six or seven, so I thought maybe it still wasn't time yet. But when Ryan saw my face when the contractions came on he knew this was way different than the others and told me to get in the car. haha.

He hurriedly drove the hospital, which is about a half hour away from us. I was holding onto the car with all my might screaming in pain. In between breaths I was yelling at his driving because every jerk and stop made my labor that much harder.

We arrived at the hospital and I thought I was going to have the baby in the parking lot. I seriously couldn't walk, but I had to just to get the entrance. They really need to have a doorman with wheelchairs for the labor and delivery wing. Yeesh!

We got to triage and they checked me to see how far dilated I was. I was already at 8 cm! They wheeled me back right away to the delivery room and told me it wouldn't be long before I had a baby. It was pretty empty in the hospital that night, so my nurse was able to stay with me the whole time. She was AMAZING! She asked me if I wanted to try to do the whole thing naturally since we were so close to the end, but you guys, I just couldn't. At that point I couldn't even catch my breath the contractions were coming so fast. So, I got an epidural and then things slowed WAAAAAY down. We went from thinking I was going to have the baby in an hour to hardly any contractions. They gave me a bit of pitocin to get me back in gear and that sure worked. I was finally at 10cm at midnight!

So, we decided it was time to start pushing, and my nurse was amazing and brought me a birthing bar to hold onto. I could still feel the contractions coming on for the most part, so I started to push with Ryan on my left and my nurse on my right. Oh man was I out of shape! I was huffing and puffing after a couple of pushes. This was going to take awhile. Unfortunately, with every push Levi's heart rate dropped significantly. They had to give me some oxogen and lay me on my side in between contractions to bring his heart rate back up. Poor little guy. The doctor finally came in, and she started putting some mineral oil around my lady parts to make sure things wouldn't tear. She said she could see his head, but it looked as though he was turned to the side. (sigh). So, with every push she gently tried to turn him so he was face down. They got a mirror for me so I could see the whole thing, and when I could finally see his head full of dark hair I got so motivated. I couldn't wait to hold him!

After an hour and half of pushing he was born, and it turns out the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck. Poor guy! He arrived at 1:27am and was 21.5 inches long and weighed 7lbs and 5 ounces. They laid him down on me right away and I held him for almost an hour before they did all of the poking and prodding. It only took 4 hours in the hospital before I got to see his face. I couldn't believe it.

It has been a month now since we have had him home with us and I can't remember what our family was like before he arrived. When I look at these pictures of our family I feel so proud, humbled, thankful and at peace. This is my family. Nothing feels like it's missing. Everything feels just right and beautiful.

Photos by Ten 22 Studio

EASY INFANT CARRIER

Since 2012, when Elle was born, there are so many more baby products and gadgets to choose from. I have specifically seen a huge growth in selection of baby carriers. In fact, at Alt Summit this past summer I was introduced to three new carrier companies - Solly Baby, Lille Baby and Nesting Days. They are ALL amazing in different ways.

I wanted to share with you the Nesting Days carrier first because it is specifically and perfectly made for the newborn phase. I LOVE it! Rather than worry about whether or not you have wrapped your fabric correctly and juggle yards of fabric in the parking lot, this is a carrier that you slip on like a tank top and simply place your little one in it. It also holds TWO infants at a time if you have twins. PLUS...and here's the cool part...It helps suck in your postpartum gut.

You can wear it as your top for the day or you can wear it over a nursing tank. Either way it is so EASY and so comfy. I really wish I had this when I had Elle. You better believe I am taking this with me to San Fran next week!

Get $5 off your carrier when you use the promo code "AVESTYLES" at check out! Click here to get yours!

*Product was sponsored for this blog post. Photos by Gina Meola.

REAL TALK WITH REAL MOMS ON TRAVEL

Traveling has always sounded luxurious to me. I’ve met some people who haven’t seen snow or the ocean, so I consider myself very fortunate to have been able to travel quite a bit as a child and young adult. However, traveling with kids is a whole different ball game, and I would associate the words, ‘chaos, anxiety and tiresome,” with travel when kids are involved. The anxiety that I have felt in the past when traveling with Elle has almost made me not want to travel with kids at all, but then you realize it’s worth it when your kids can’t stop talking about how cool the trip was.

We have traveled from the west coast to the east coast twice with Elle. I would say that traveling with a nine month old that wants to crawl everywhere and can’t understand that she can’t is much harder than traveling with a two year old. I wrote a couple of months ago about how I prepared for our cross country flight with Elle (click here for tips on surviving a long flight), and I am really happy to report she was amazing. Did she sleep on the flight? No, but she was very well behaved for six hours.

Traveling with her at nine months was; however, not the best. I HIGHLY recommend direct flights if you can make it. I also would consider flying before they can crawl and avoiding flying during the crawling phase. Some other things I recommend are below are:

1. Pack a carryon completely full of snacks and brand new toys from the dollar store. The novelty of new toys is your best friend when you’re stuck in a seat for hours. Though eating when bored isn’t something to do often, sometimes food can be just as entertaining as toys. Animal crackers, teddy grahams, gold fish…Yes, it’s junk food, but it works for a tough situation.
2. Download some kid apps to your ipad or iphone. We really like everything by Toca Boca. Elle never played with an iPad until she was two because I really didn’t want her to become obsessed with it. We only use it for travel or really tough situations, and so it has become a special treat and something for her to look forward to when she has to sit still for a long time.
3. Pack comfort objects that make your hotel feel like home. We packed a blanket, a stuffed animal, her sound machine and her pacifier and she slept like a champ. I was particularly nervous about sleeping in the same room with her in a hotel, but when we turned out the lights and went to sleep at the same time as her she felt very comfortable sleeping in her own full size bed.
4. Bring the carseat with you to the gate. Even if you didn’t pay for an extra seat for your infant and you plan on holding them on your lap there’s a chance that there may be an empty seat on your flight. If that’s the case then your little one can sit in his/her carseat and you can have a breather. If there isn’t an empty seat you can simply check your car seat at the gate.
5. Try to keep your schedule as much as possible. Elle has always been a really great sleeper, but just like any kid, change can disrupt her sleep routine. We just kept her on the Arizona time zone while we were in New Hampshire, so she stayed up late east coast time. It worked out because we could go out to dinner with her and didn’t have to worry about hiring a sitter or staying home.

Next week I am traveling to San Francisco with our one month old little one. This should be interesting, but I’m actually thinking this could be the easiest travel experience with kids since he just eats and poops right now. I plan on wearing him all of the time because of germs, etc. Any advice on traveling with infants is welcome!

Check out more stories and advice from 10 other moms, and don’t forget to enter our Instagram contest where you could win a $750 gift card.

Sacramento Street: http://www.sacramentostreet.com/2015/10/real-talk-real-moms-travel/
The Effortless Chic: http://theeffortlesschic.com/real-talk-real-moms-travel/
Our Style Stories: http://ourstylestories.com/2015/10/08/real-talk-with%E2%80%A6moms-on-travel/
A Daily Something: http://www.adailysomething.com/2015/10/real-talk-real-moms-on-travel.html
Could I Have That http://www.couldihavethat.com/2015/10/real-talk-real-moms-on-travel.html ‎
Smitten Studio Online http://sarahshermansamuel.com/real-talk-real-moms-travel/
Parker, Etc. http://www.parkeretc.com/blog/real-talk-real-moms-travel

Real Talk with Real Moms: Feeding

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Feeding your child should be the simplest thing a mother can do, but breastfeeding, specifically, was the hardest part of early motherhood for me. Labor was a cakewalk compared to the feeding challenges that lied ahead when Elle was born. As I write this blog post, I'm feeling contractions on and off and waiting for baby number two to arrive. You would think I would be nervous about the labor that lies ahead, but sleep deprivation and labor are things I know I can get through. Being able to breastfeed, as I learned, isn't something that I am promised no matter how hard you work for it.

You see, breastfeeding was actually the thing that I looked most forward to and I'm still looking forward to with this little guy. It's such an incredible bonding experience. But knowing how hard I tried and how bad I wanted it with Elle, doesn't bring me much comfort the second time around because I now know breastfeeding is a dance between you and your baby.

With Elle, I saw three lactation consultants in the hospital, three visited my home, I tried fenugreek and Domperidone, I pumped after every feeding, I laid in bed skin to skin for days, and in the end I still had to supplement with formula. I just wasn't producing enough. Unfortunately, for Elle she was allergic to dairy, soy and even had a hard time digesting corn products. We even tried goats milk and flaxseed when she was older. I not only couldn't make enough breastmilk, but I couldn't even offer her formula because she was so sensitive to it. I was brought to tears with the reality that I couldn't feed my precious child. I felt SO helpless, scared and like such a failure.

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Then a miracle happened...No, I didn't start producing more milk, BUT a community of moms I knew in my church began donating their breastmilk to Elle. I know this idea might be a controversial, but it was my only hope in the early weeks when her digestive system was still maturing, and her pediatrician was well aware of what was going on. I breastfed and pumped what I could, and then supplemented with donated breastmilk from trusted women. It was really my village of moms that helped feed Elle, and because of this I was able to give her breastmilk until she was six months old. It was a miracle! By that time we were able to switch to a very hypoallergenic, corn-based formula that she could process because frankly the moms that were helping us couldn't keep up the pace of feeding two babies for a year. It was super expensive, but we made it work.

This challenge of feeding taught me so much. One mistake I do plan on correcting the second time around is starting to pump right when my milk comes in. I cannot trust my baby's latch will be a good one no matter how many LC's I see. Right when your milk comes in is such a crucial time in establishing your supply because it's based on demand. So, this time around I plan on pumping after each feeding to ensure I'm emptying all of the breastmilk out of my breasts, so that my body can learn how much to make. I'd rather end up over producing then under producing given that this little guy could very well have the same sensitivities to dairy, soy and corn.

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I'm sharing this story to encourage any other moms that have experienced this feeling of "feeding failure" to remind them that motherhood is not about being able to do everything perfectly and right, but simply to love your children fiercely. If that's feeding formula, great! If that's breast feeding, great! If that's driving around the city picking up donated breastmilk, great! You are an amazing mother because you love and care for your children not because you can breastfeed and not because you have the most perfect nursery. I also share this to remind moms not to judge one another, but instead support each other. I don't know where I would have been without those amazing moms that donated their liquid gold to my child.

If you want to read more honest stories about feeding, check out these other amazing, creative moms below. You can also read our stories about sleep challenges by clicking here.

A Daily SomethingApartment 34

Parker EtcThe Effortless ChicOur Style StoriesCould I Have ThatThe Refined WomanSmitten Studio OnlineSacramento Street

Photos by Mike Olbinski