On having a c-section: Part 1

First I just want to start off by saying that a c-section is a perfectly normal way to have a baby. It may not be an ideal way but you should never feel like you have to explain or justify how your baby got here into the world.
Towards the end of my pregnancy with Claire I had a feeling that I was going to end up having a c-section. I can't really explain it, but around 35 weeks pregnant I started reading blog posts about c-sections so it wouldn't seem so scary and foreign to me. Call it mother's intuition but I felt like it was going to happen and it did. To read more about why you can visit this post on Claire's birth story here. Hopefully this can help someone else who is going to have a c-section.

1. Probably a good first step for any mom but especially if you are getting major surgery done is to make sure you have a great doctor. I love my doctor and it is so important that you do. I did have to go through my fair share of doctors because of my miscarriages and fertility issues. Once I found my doctor I felt like it was just the right choice for me. I honestly thought I would be most comfortable with a female doctor but that ended up not being the case. My doctor is Dr. Timo Hoggard out of Premier Family Medical (In case you live in Utah county and you are looking).

2. Learn as much as you can about the hospital you are delivering at. Schedule a tour if you can, call the nurses and ask them what their polices are on husbands eating meals and spending the night. Some hospitals have rules where the husbands can only eat one meal for the time you are there, which is crazy, especially for a c-section delivery because you are at the hospital for 4 days usually.  Find out if you are staying in the same room you are delivering in, because if you are changing rooms you can't unpack right when you get there and you have to wait. Also learn about any financial responsibilities you may have, some hospitals require you pay a certain amount before you get checked in, some don't. It probably all depends on your insurance so make sure and go over that thoroughly.

3. Hygiene. The incision happens right by your bikini line and they will shave a good chunk of the area if you aren't already shaved. I personally prefer to prepare for this at home because I don't like how hair grows in after it has been shaved by an electric razor. I was going to get this taken care of but Claire came earlier than expected so I had to have itchy hair for a little while. As far as the rest of your body, if you are more comfortable with no hair make sure and take care of it at 37 weeks, that way if your baby does come early you wont have to worry about it.

4. Surgery. The actual surgery is really short. As soon as they got the epidural in and it started working my doctor went to work. From the time he cut in to the time Claire was out into the world was about 10 minutes, maybe less. The anesthesiologist on staff that day was wonderful. He gave me a play by play of everything that was happening the entire time. I was so grateful for him, so if you don't have someone like that tell your husband to either take really good video or just tell you what is happening so you know. I don't know, it happens only once so I really liked being informed the entire process. Afterward it took my doctor about 20 minutes to stitch me back up and I was holding my sweet baby in my arms. I have heard it can take longer for this depending on what method your doctor uses to close up the wound.

5. After Surgery Care. You wont be given any solid foods for 24 hours. I was given liquids but even water I had a hard time keeping down that first day. I learned my lesson that I wont allow for any visitors except grandparents (meaning my parents and my in laws) until the next day. I guess I am allergic/ have some sort of reaction (I don't know if allergy is the right word) to IV's/anesthesia and throw up for a while until it's out of my system. If you know that this is you take time for yourself and only have people there who you are comfortable with. You wont be able to stand that first day either, my nurses had me stand for the first time the next day and it was the worst thing ever. So don't push yourself but once you start standing make sure and take short walks around the hospital so you can get back to moving.

6. Pain Management. Make sure and stay on top of your pain. The nurses will be busy so its important to let them know if you need medication and when. I was prescribed perkaset and ibuprofen and took them regularly. My doctor also prescribed a stool softener for the gas build up that happens. Take the stool softener, I had my first bowel movement two days after my surgery and after that each one got better, so ask for a laxative of some sort because the gas build up can be painful. An ice pack will be your best friend. I loved having an ice pack after the surgery, I kept having them fill it up with ice because it felt so good on scar. When we went home Zack stopped at the store to get a few things and picked up an ice pack and it was the best thing he ever did, I used it for about a week and a half at home during the night.

7. Seek help and take help when it is offered to you. You wont be able to do a lot of basic human functions by yourself for a while. The nurses helped me shower for the first time after surgery, which was the next day. Zack helped me with using the restroom, rolling over and standing up. I also couldn't pick up the baby out of the bassinet that she was in. I had to have someone hand her to me each time I wanted to hold her/ needed to feed her. Basically I couldn't do much of anything without someone's help. It made me very vulnerable which I am usually not at all, but made me grateful for the loving people that go into the nursing profession each day.

Stay tuned for part 2, coming sometime. For now I decided to do this post in two parts because there is a lot to cover.
XO
Caitlin

Monthly view in my Erin Condren life planner

I get a lot of questions about how I use my monthly view and I have finally found a way to use it that I really like. Here is what January's looked like:

It's basically a general overview of what is happening in the month. I keep track of my husbands school/work schedule here. He was traveling this month so I marked those dates he was gone with washi tape, and his school week as well. It makes it so I can look at it really quick and see what his schedule is.
I added a few Polaroid zip pictures from the month to help decorate it.
The pink milestone stickers are from Lillie Henry and I use them on the days that my baby girl hit fun milestones, when she turned five months old, laughed for the first time and learned to roll over.
On Sundays I marked the days I play the piano in church so I don't forget.
I put in a couple of appointments so I wouldn't schedule anything else on those days and marked the Utah planner meet up we are having on Saturday!
I also used candles from Lillie Henry and birthday labels from Mare Bear Crafts to mark birthdays I want to remember for the month.
Basically that is it, really simple and clean but lets me know what our busiest times of the month are.
How do you use your monthly view?
XO
Caitlin

How to organize your desktop background

As you have noticed I love being organized, it makes finding things so much easier and more effective. Today I am going to show you how to easily create this simple desktop background to organize all of your icons and apps.

First you need to find your computers resolution settings for your desktop. To do this go to the control panel on your computer and search for resolution, or go to your computer information and find it there. Mine is 1600 x 900, so once you have that figured out make sure and right it down.

Next you will go to picmonkey.com. When you get there this screen will appear:

 At the top you will click the button that says Design and then you will choose Custom for your choose a canvas option. Once you click custom this screen will appear:

 Enter in your resolution numbers, I wrote in 1600 X 900. Once you get that made then you will

 change the background of your canvas.

To change the canvas color you can type in your specific color code or you can just click on the color spot in the picture. Once you have the color you want click apply.
Next you are going to make the folders or squares that your icons are going to be organized in.

 To do this find the button on the left that says overlays and click on that. These options will appear:

You will choose the rectangle option, the one on the far left. Once you choose that this will appear on your canvas:

 The rectangle is on the left and you can move it with your mouse to where ever you would like. To make it transparent you will focus on the overlay box:

For color one make it dark so that the border around it is darker then the inside of the box. For color 2 choose the transparent option. Now click on that fade bar and drag it to where you want it to be.

Once you have done that you will right click on the box and this screen will appear:

 Click where it says duplicate overlay. It will create another box exactly like the one you just made so you wont have to do it all again. Now you can size your boxes and lay them out on the canvas however you would like to organize your icons. This is the layout I chose:

 Once you get the layout you want you can add titles to the boxes. To add text you just choose the text option on the left:

 Once you choose the text option pick your font and click add text. Type in the words you want and move the box to be above the boxes on your canvas so it looks something like this:

 Once you have done that save the image to your desktop. Then right click the image and say set as desktop background, then it will look like this:

Now you will just move the icons to where they need to go so it is now organized:

 It's really pretty simple and I like this method because I when I open my desktop its nice and organized, I can change the background color any time I want so for February I am going to do something pink. I hope you found this tutorial helpful and that you will put it to good use!

XO
Caitlin

I don't know what to write about for today's post

I have been in kind of crummy mood the past couple of days. Don't be alarmed, I am fine and the baby is fine we have just been bummin around the house lately. I have binge watched Friends on Netflix and I am at the end of Season 2 now. I have read, ordered way to many planner stickers (but it's my birthday next week so I am counting it as an early birthday present), and ordered a new pair of shoes. I have a book goal to read 2-3 books a month and so far so good, this month I have finished two books and trying to get through the 3rd. I just want to get back into reading more.
Winter is so hard sometimes, I just don't have the motivation to do much, and the weather always reflects my mood. You think January would be an awesome month for me since it is my birthday month and all (on the 27th!) but it's just so long and drawn out that by the time we reach the last week of the month I am just ready for spring!  At least I do have my birthday to look forward to. This year I asked for Downton Abbey Season 6 (I get it off Amazon, so I know it hasn't even hit America yet but I just love it so I can't wait for it to premiere here), a solar charger for my iphone so that when we go camping my phone (and camera) can always be charged, and the movie Inside Out. I should have asked for new clothes but if I get birthday money that's what I'll spend it on is a new pair of jeans cause I really need a new pair.
How are you surviving this long month of winter?
XO
Caitlin

The Bachelor: Episodes 1 and 2 recap

I am loving this season of the bachelor. I want to do an episode recap here on my blog and talk about all the hilarious shenanigans that go on during the season. I am going to the episode recap every 2 episodes so that way it's a little more broken up and you can have time to catch up if you missed one week.

First off do we have some interesting characters this season.
My favorite has got to be this lady, the one who has never been away from her chickens for longer then 10 days, which is kind of crazy. She even lets one in stay in her bedroom and she wrote as her job chicken enthusiast. Personally I don't see this going far. (and it didn't she was gone after week 1)

Then we have these three ladies who spiced up the opening night with drama, a unicorn head and a rose hat:

I am pretty positive none of these ladies last very long.

This girl reminds me of Catherine from Sean's season:

 And she was Ben's first one on one date of the season.

So far the bachelor has been great and I am still catching up on the end of episode 2 and the new episode that aired this week. All the drama and the extravagant dates just make it so much fun.
How are you liking it so far this season?

XO
Caitlin

2016

I do love a good fresh start to a new year. Although I believe that you can really start fresh any time, any day of the week you want, there is just something about a new year that motivates everyone. I held off on writing a resolutions post because I was going to choose a word of the year but I decided against that. Then I couldn't really come up with what I wanted to focus on this year until I read this post by Bonnie at the Life of Bon. She broke down her goals into areas of her life that she wanted to focus on for the year and I really liked that so I am going to do the same thing. Make sure and check out her post and blog in general, it's one of my favorites.

Spiritual Goals:
-Pay tithing once a week instead of once a month. I used to do it this way and it was way too stressful (mostly cause I would forget and have to go back and look at our income for the month) I have since learned about paying tithing online and I can now pay it once a week when I pay our other bills so I wont forget about it and makes it easier.
-Attend the temple more often. I don't want to set a specific monthly or weekly goal because it is harder with a baby, but I want to make more of an effort.
-Finish the Book of Mormon individually and as a family
-Say morning prayers

Personal Goals:
- workout 30 minutes a day (so far so good on this one!)
-eat healthier and limit sweet treats/ excess sugar to only on Sundays
-less time on Netflix
-more time interacting with Claire (even though I don't neglect her by any means, sometimes I choose to do things other than sit and play with her like fold laundry or do dishes. Those aren't bad but I can do those another time when she is sleeping and I can play with her when she is awake)
-less time on the phone, don't look at Facebook first thing in the morning, read scriptures instead to get ready for the day
- get dressed everyday (being a stay at home mom can be weird sometimes, you have full permission to stay in pajamas but getting dressed just helps me feel better)
-make bed more often

Blog Goals:
-keep posting regularly
-find a blog to sponsor with
 -pin posts to pinterest more often

Financial Goals:
-save money and buy a house
-start saving monthly for Claire's education and our retirement
-budget once a week
-communicate to Zack when I want to purchase extra things

Family Goals:
-date night once a month
-family activities more with Claire
 -email pictures to Rachel once a week (she's on a mission and I know she is missing the baby so I try and keep her updated)
-go camping more this summer

Those are it, really simple and easy. I am going to print this post out and hang it near my office so I can remind myself of these and continue to work on them. What are some of your goals for the new year?

XO
Caitlin

Small Space: Nursery/Office layout

Right now Zack and I are living in an apartment while we finish up school and save for a house. We love our apartment and have lived here for almost 2 and a half years now. It's a two bedroom one bath space. While it has two bedrooms, we do have to combine the nursery and office in the extra bedroom because there isn't enough space in the living room or kitchen for our computers. Every inch of wall space is being used in this room and I can't wait until we can buy a house and upgrade to have a separate nursery. Right now it works for us though and I thought I would share the layout. Living in a small space is completely doable, you just have to be conscious of what you are keeping and storing and what you need.

 This is the view from the door

 When you first walk in my desk is on the left closest to the door, that can be annoying but it was the only way to make it work so Zack can scoot is computer chair out.

 Zack's desk is in the corner facing north. He wants a new desk so when that happens we are going to have to rearrange the room to fit it.

 This is Zack's desk in relation to mine. And where the crib is in relation to that.

 The crib is a full size regular crib we purchased from Walmart. It came with the mattress and we decided to go with a honey bear theme for Claire's nursery because we call her Claire bear all the time.

 This is the corner opposite of zack's comptuer and holds some plastic drawers from walmart that has miscellaneous items such as envelopes and stamps. The baby monitor sits on top of it which makes it a perfect place so I can always hear Claire at night. We also have the diaper genie next to the dresser and that thing rocks! It holds poopy diapers so well so you can't smell the odor, everyone should get one if you have a baby.

This is her dresser and bookcase, which holds her books, toys, burp clothes and other miscellaneous items. For how her dresser is organized check out my previous post on baby clothes. Her bookcase is from walmart. Her bathtub sits between the bookcase and the closet doors until it's in use.

 In relation to the closet doors

 Half of her closet is our camping gear, coolers, sleeping bags, tent, tarp, mattress pad, etc. We have a lot of camping gear and hopefully we go on a lot more trips this summer!

Underneath her baby clothes stores our musical instruments, yes we have three guitars, two flutes and an accordion. The accordion is actually really cool, it's antique and was my great great aunts. The boxes hold extra baby stuff that didn't have a place and of course there is random ribbon on the floor from Christmas that I was too lazy to put away *real life*.
As you can see every part of this room is packed, which is good. Do you have any tips for organizing small spaces? I would love to hear your ideas.
XO
Caitlin

Baby Clothes 101

Since having a baby I can tell you that figuring out what sizes your kid needs can be kind of confusing. In the last 4.5 months I have learned a lot about baby clothes so I thought that maybe I would share my knowledge. I did get a lot of information from this post by Danica Holdaway. So check that out for more tips.

 1. Don't be afraid of second hand clothes. This is my biggest money saving tip. I purchase the majority of Claire's clothes off of KSL from mom's who are done having babies and have big bags of clothes for about $40.00- $50.00. When Claire is ready for the next size up I just browse KSL for a while and find a good deal. I always make Zack go with me to pick up the clothes or I meet the person selling them at a public place because lets face it you can't always trust people these days. Most of the time I get pretty good stuff out of the bags of clothes, whatever we don't like or want I take to DI or give to my friends/ family. I always wash the clothes before Claire wears them as well.

Along with KSL the other place I get clothes is the DI (Utah's version of the goodwill). They usually run about $1.00 a piece and I have found carters brand, baby gap, H&M, seriously all the high end name brand baby clothing from DI. It's great. In fact I think I might take Claire out to DI today just to see what they have. Sometimes I walk away with great finds, other times its hit or miss. Another good store is ROSS, they have cheap clothes as well.

2. Always wash clothes before your child wears them. I wash everything we get straight from the store. I don't know, I just feel like they are gross and I know that when I am shopping I touch everything so I am assuming that a million other people are as well so wash everything.

3. Storage. Storage can be tricky. I purchased these plastic bins for $3.59 at walmart and they fit perfectly in her closet. These are storing all of her newborn and 0-3 month clothing because we are now in 3-6 month size. Our closet is a little packed because Claire's nursery shares a room with our office/storage so she only gets half the closet for her baby stuff.

Down below the closet shelf we hang up all of her dresses/outfits. I know she has a lot but hey she's a girl and that's what's fun about having a girl.

The rest of her clothes go in her dresser. We purchased this from Wayfair and so far I have really liked it.

 The top left drawer is her accessory drawer, which holds hats, bows, shoes, socks, tights, bracelets, and headbands. All the stuff a little girl needs.

 The top right drawer holds all her outfits, onesies, and shirts for the current size she is wearing.

 The middle right drawer holds all her current size pants she is in. (I told you I post real life pictures, I mean these aren't even folded just kind of thrown in there, I will work on that).

Sorry this picture took long ways, but the left middle drawer holds all her current pajamas. We love jammies so she has a lot. 

The bottom left drawer holds the 9-12 month clothes, yes we have a pink floyd shirt for her. I saw it at Target one day and had to buy it so she could match daddy.

The bottom right drawer holds all of her 6-9 month clothes. Once she gets to this size I will be searching for clothes again on KSL/ DI to get more because we need more for sure.

4. Sizes. Sizing can be really weird. I have noticed that most stores have a 0-3, 3-6, 6-9 and then 12 month size. At least Target, Walmart and Ross are like that. Carters has sizes newborn, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, and 12 months. 3-6 month and 6 months clothes are basically the same except 6 month clothing is a little bit longer.  Right now Claire fits into some 3 month stuff from Carters, 3-6 month clothing from Target and Walmart and 6 month clothes from Carters. The 3 month stuff is kind of tight around her tummy but she fits it length wise because she isn't very tall yet. I haven't gotten a swimsuit yet for her so I don't know how that is going to go but I basically heard that you have to size up a ton in order to get one that fits.

5. What you need. As far as what you need goes, I would say get at least 2-4 white short sleeve onesies in every size for layering/ extra outfit in the diaper bag. Get at least one pair of jean leggings in every size, probably 2 to be safe. I would say probably 4 dresses, enough to rotate once a week if you go to church or once a week as part of your normal outfits. You will need a jacket in every size for the days that is cold. Socks to cover those tiny baby toes. 6-10 onesies and 2-3 pants that you can mix and match so that way your outfits can last longer and you don't get sick of clothes so fast. For pajamas I would say at least 5, but for me we get about 15 because I just love a baby in pajamas.

I have been loving dressing Claire every morning in all of her cute clothes. Being organized and having everything its place helps the routine go smoother, especially for Zack who really doesn't know what size she is in at the moment. Having one drawer with her current clothes helps him so he doesn't have to know, he just opens it up and picks what he wants her to wear for the day. I hope this post helped some of you new moms, and for the experienced/veteran moms what other tips do you have for me that I could use?
Thanks for reading!
XO
Caitlin

My Everyday Makeup Routine

 Hello beauty lovers! Let's talk makeup! I have really simplified my routine lately. Mainly because I have a baby and she only gives me about 10 minutes before she starts needing something from me to do my makeup. I don't put on makeup everyday, but I usually do at least 3-4 times a week, and when we go out. Let's start with the face.

Rimmel Long Lasting 24 hour foundation! This is my favorite foundation right now and its only about $7.00 at the drugstore. It is a full coverage foundation but I just use about 1 pump for my entire face and it is perfect. I used to use a bb cream/ sheer foundation but I was having to apply so much because of the redness on my skin that it was taking up a lot of time to do each morning. With a full coverage foundation I can use a little bit and not have to build it up saving time. This gives a great matte finish and makes my skin look really natural.

 Loreal true match powder in the shade C3. I use this to set my foundation and under eye concealer. It's the perfect shade and a great all around face powder. If you are needing a good powder check it out, they have so many shade options.

 Bronzer: NYC sunny bronzer. This bronzer is about $3.00 and it's one of the best. I feel like it is a really good dupe for the popular Benefit Hoola bronzer which I also own. I don't put a lot on, but in the winter its great to make my face not look so flat.

 My all time favorite blush right now is Mac Mocha. It is the perfect blush for me and is practically a my cheeks but better shade. I have been obsessed over this blush for the last month or so.

 Maybelline fit me concealer in the shade 20 is good for hiding the dark circles under my eyes. I heard once that wearing concealer is just part of having good manners, it makes it so people ask you less questions if you are tired or not. I really liked that.

 Onto eyes. My favorite primer is wet n wild fergie eyeshadow primer. It's so cheap and really really good. Very comparable to the two faced shadow insurance primer I used to love but used up last year. I never wear shadows without a primer and this is a great one.

 My current eyeshadow palette that is in rotation is the coastal scents revealed palette. I love all the colors and I am trying to pan this palette this year. We will see how this goes as there are a lot of shades.

 For eyeliner I really like liquid eyeliners. They are easiest to apply for me and last all day. This is from NYX and it is their classic liquid black liner.

Mascara I have been using the covergirl super sizer. This is a new mascara from 2015 and it is amazing. I love it, I have very straight lashes but this holds my curl and lengthens them really well. I love this stuff.

So there you have it my really easy everyday makeup routine. The pictures aren't the best quality because I took them at ten at night and my kitchen table needed to be cleaned but hey this is real life not blog life, and my kitchen gets dirty once in a while.
XO
Caitlin