5 months already

How is this little goober 5 months already?! He is so much fun. I love how he starts to coo in the bath or after he has eaten. He is such a happy little guy. But he has his moments. :)

His cousin, Maya, came into the world on November 8th! Here is the video I did: (It's not my best - I was focusing on taking pictures, not video).

I also threw my friend a baby shower. She is hilarious and the kindest person ever:

I have a new photography blog! http://www.annachristinephoto.com/

Have a happy Thanksgiving!

Backyard Family Photoshoot

Pregnancy Photoshoot at BYU-I

I used to work for Student Support on Campus at BYU-Idaho as their photographer. I graduated, and then my boss called me back to be IN a photo for one of their pregnancy health brochures. It was fun to not have to worry about getting the right shot. I was totally relaxed.

Except when I had to eat that apple. It was kind of awkward.

Sometimes I miss the bump! But then I look at my cute baby and also remember how grateful I am to button my pants again. 

milk for baby

Breastfeeding. Sometimes I want to punch it in the boob.

Am I the only one that thinks it takes wayyy too much time, makes you sweat like you're in the desert, and is kind of very uncomfortable (especially in public)? I'm all for ladies feeding their little ones wherever they are, but it's just not for me. I'd rather be at home naked with the AC all the way up and no one to bother me while feeding my child.

We made it to 2 months of mostly breast feeding/breast milk (pumping) with formula supplemented here and there (mostly on trips). But right now I'm low on supply and I just can't seem to find the energy or will to bring it back up. A month into this already painful journey I got mastitis and it was miserable! I'm kind of on the fence on whether or not I should keep going or stop cold turkey. My decision at this moment is to keep pumping when they hurt or when I can (which is about every 4 hours), and feed him formula when I don't have enough (which is all day errrday). I literally pump barely an ounce each time combining the two (so pathetic! I used to pump 4 ounces out of one!).

What makes me so happy about this dumb situation is the support I've been getting from Kent. He's happy I was able to make it this far and if it's too much for me now, he told me I should stop. But... if I stop, I can't get it back (without a lot of work). It feels like I'd be loosing part of me and this wonderful thing for Milo. But I know I'd be able to worry less and spend more time with Milo and Kent (because of pumping and nursing takes a million hours each time and he's never full).

 The doctor told me, "As long as he's gaining weight, I don't care what he eats." For some reason that gave me comfort with this whole stressful situation. Whatever happens, I know Milo will be fine and a happy, healthy baby.

who does he look like?

I could just stare at this baby face all day. When I see this photo, I seriously see my sister's face in it! Maybe her eyes?? I don't know...

Here's my sister (the baby):

And here's the chunky me:

I guess he's just a perfect mix. 

I couldn't find Kent's baby photos and got way too distracted while looking for them and wasted so much time! haha. But I'll get them up sometime. :)

Husband Talents

I am always amazed at Kent's crochet projects! His favorite hobbies are basketball and crocheting. This makes my heart so happy.

He's trying to convince me to learn to crochet so we can do it together - but I want this to be HIS talent. Besides, it's the most confusing thing on the planet. Just look at this pattern. What the heck?!

7 week new baby

Milo is 7 weeks today! That means we made it past 6 weeks - WHEW! I can already see his little personality coming in. Sometimes when he's sleeping I miss him, so I watch videos of him on my phone. That little kid has my whole heart!

Things to mention at 7 weeks old:

• - Once he's swaddled, he's out. But he has to be swaddled.
• - When he wakes up mid-nap, he stretches out his neck all the way and looks like a turtle.
• - When he knows he's going to be fed, he puts his hands together and moves his head back and forth and stops crying. 
• - He SMILES only in the wee hours of the morning.
• - His tongue is the cutest little thing.
• - His hair and eyebrows are non existent, but you can see his eyebrow muscles move.
• - The leg rolls are becoming bigger & squishier.
• - He holds his neck up like a pro for about a minute. Then he's a bobble head.

Every day just keeps getting better!

Daily Photoshoots

Just a few photos of my baby.

Cute Sad Face :(

Mommy lessons

I want to make a list of what I have learned from being a mommy (remember - I'm only 5 weeks in).

• It's okay for the house to be dirty.
• It's okay for babies to cry.
• PATIENCE.
• Napping when baby naps is ideal.
• The nipple shield is pretty cool and can help a ton!
• The swaddle puts baby to sleep.
• Put your expectations really really really low, then everything your husband does is really awesome. (Kent is great, and I expect too much from him sometimes).
• It's okay to feel sad and cry. (p.s. I had some baby blues but I can tell they are gone now).
• COMMUNICATE with your husband when you have stuff on your mind (which is all the time for me). We like to sit in bed and chat before we go to bed - it's really helped through these first few weeks.
• Taking 5 minutes a day to close your eyes and breathe will help you clear your mind and be a good mommy.

That's all I can think of, and I need to do some other things before he wakes up! :)

Baby Milo

Baby Milo from Anna Buys on Vimeo.

Create

As humans we are born to create. I find myself browsing pinterest saying, "I want to make that" and then frivolously pinning almost everything. I usually never get around to it. I even have a secret board called "DO THIS FOR REAL" where I pin things I'm actually going to do (within a reasonable amount of time) and then delete them once they are done. But guess what? I've done two things. Maybe three. This is unacceptable! I want to create more. I NEED to create more. Since graduating and being a stay at home mom, I especially want to create more. I desperately need something else to spend my time on rather than cleaning, eating, sleeping and feeding a newborn.

So to get things started, I have created this:

I'm always worried about my designs. I could spend hours on them and never really "finish" them. That's what happened with my birth announcements for Milo. But you know what? You just have to stop and be done or nothing will get done!

I love what President Uchtdorf said, "The more you trust and rely upon the Spirit, the greater your capacity to create."