Every year, I compile a list of books I've read. My goal is always to read more books than I did the previous year, but seeing as I've had a baby this year, my goal was only to read a few. Any completed books would be considered an accomplishment to a new mother. And as a reminder to those who may have forgotten, if you click on the book images, you will be taken to their listings on Amazon so you can purchase them for your very own! So without further adieu, here's my list! 

1. Completed on January 3rd. I definitely started this book in 2014 and finished it before the birth of my son...so maybe you'd consider this cheating...but it goes on this year's book list nonetheless. Great book! Convicting, but in a way that encourages a change, not in a way that only leaves you feeling guilty. I would definitely recommend this book.

After an unintentional hiatus from blogging, I have returned—and with freebies!

I've always wanted to try my hand at hand lettering (ha!) and I gave it my first shot today! I was pretty pleased with the results (am I allowed to compliment my own work?) so I decided to share it with you all.

Enjoy these free computer and iPhone (and iPad) wallpapers!

Every little girl dreams of being a mother one day. It's in our nature to nurture—we dress our dolls, comb their hair, and pretend to feed them. But even with years of "practice," you don't know what you have in for yourself til you see that life-changing pee stick. And it's crazy how much your life changes even before your little baby makes its grand entrance.

So now I bring you 9 tips for 9 months:

1. Make some time for sleep! 

I know eeeeveryone says that once the baby is born, you should nap when the baby naps. But let's be serious; that doesn't happen. You'll probably be showering, stuffing you face, and conquering mountains of dishes and laundry when your baby is napping!

2. Don't waste your time reading baby books. 

Apple has finally realized that audiobooks aren't music. 

This morning, I wanted to continue listening to my audiobook of "The Book Thief" but I couldn't seem to figure out how to access it with the new Apple Music app. I finally found it hidden in plain sight—in the iBooks app where it rightfully belongs. But even though this change has me praising Apple, I have found more cons than pros when it comes to the new Apple Music app. But let's start with the pros.


What I dislike about Apple Music:

1. Value for money - Considering it isn't as exhaustive as they make it seem, it isn't worth the price they are charging

While the free trial period is 3 months long (longer than most free trials), the service doesn't appear to be worth the money.

This service is supposed to let you listen to all music sold on iTunes, but I've found that a lot of albums I want to listen to have half the songs greyed out! And there have also been some albums that I am unable to find on Apple Music that ARE on iTunes! For the single membership cost of $9.99/month, I think I'd rather go with Spotify Premium which is the same price!

2. iOS app - The iOS app has MANY flaws. These are the ones I've found so far:

• When I click the plus sign to add songs or albums to My Music, it removes what I've added within seconds.
• When connected to my car with a USB cable or with bluetooth, albums just keep playing the same song rather than playing the next song. (This is because up next is apparently not compatible with my car.) BACKWARDS COMPATIBILITY.
• "Up Next" seems to have problems remembering what has been added to it at times! It forgets often
• Radio stations (not Beats 1) aren't working with my UK Apple ID, but the option is still given... (UPDATE - NOW WORKING!)
• The ability to add music to My Music without using iCloud Music Library (which seems to delete playlists I've added)

3. Too many apps - iTunes, Apple Music, iTunes Store, App Store...you get the picture!

Why can't everything be consolidated to the new Apple Music app? Why do I need a separate iTunes Store iOS app and iTunes OSX app? (And WHY do I purchase audiobooks from the iTunes OSX app, manage them with the iTunes OSX app, but then find them in the iBooks iOS app but not in the iBooks OSX app? WAY TOO CONFUSING.)

4. Consistency between OSX and iOS - What you do on your iPhone doesn't seem to copy over to your Mac, even if you are logged into the same iCloud account on both devices

You'd think this feature would be seamless, especially since Apple is constantly improving it for other apps (example: Messages, Continuity, etc.) but it definitely is NOT. None of the music that I've added to "My Music" on iTunes on my mac has shown in My Music on my iPhone. 

We went through a rough week. Ethan started teething (for real this time) and wanted nothing more than to feed (constantly) and to be held (constantly). I was unable to bathe, use the toilet, or even eat. I was drained, both physically and emotionally. I decided to give sleep training a shot. After all, Ethan sleeps SO WELL at night, nap time shouldn't be any different. 

I did a lot of research online and to my dismay, there wasn't very much about sleep training for naps. So after my 5-day success story, I decided to do my part to help out other moms who might want to sleep train their babies for naps. 

This is an exhaustive log of our 5-day sleep training process:

Sleep Training: Day 1 (Friday, June 5th)
Finished 210 ml of formula at 2:30 then changed poopy nappy
Put down at 2:45
Started crying at 2:52
Went up at 3:02 and picked him up
Put him down at 3:05 and he immediately started crying
Went up at 3:15 and picked him up
Put him down at 3:15 and he immediately started crying
Stopped crying at 3:22
Slept til we woke him at 6:22

Sleep Training: Day 2 (Saturday, June 6th)
Put down at 9:43
Started crying at 9:46
Went up at 9:56 and picked him up
Put him down at 9:58 and he immediately started crying
Went up at 10:08 and picked him up
Put him down at 10:09 and he immediately started crying
Went up at 10:19 and picked him up
Cried nonstop til 10:28
Put him down at 10:28 and he continued crying
Went up at 10:38 and picked him up
Put him down at 10:39 and he immediately started crying
Went up at 10:49 and picked him up
Put him down at 10:50 and he immediately started crying
Went up at 11:00 and picked him up
Put him down at 11:03 and he immediately started crying
Went up at 11:33 and picked him up, changed his poopy nappy, and decided to feed him and try again later  

Attempt 2:
Put down at 12:21
Started crying at 12:27
Went up at 12:37 and picked him up
Put him down at 12:40 and he immediately started crying
Went up at 12:55 and picked him up
Decided to try again later 

Attempt 3:
Finished 210 ml of formula at 1:33 and changed poopy nappy
Put down at 1:39
Asleep by 1:43
Woke up at 5:08

Sleep Training: Day 3 (Sunday, June 7th)
Put down him at 3:30 and he immediately started crying
Cried til 3:35, stopped, started again at 3:47
Went up at 3:47 and picked him up
Put him down at 3:50 and he immediately started crying
Stopped crying at 3:56 but continued fussing til 4:13
Started crying again at 4:30. Guess he wasn't sleepy!

Sleep Training: Day 4 (Monday, June 8th)
Fed for 21 minutes and kept falling asleep on the breast
Put down at 9:06 and immediately started crying
Went up at 9:16 and picked him up
Cried consistently, put down at 9:18, and he continued crying
Went up at 9:30 and picked him up
Cried consistently, put down at 9:32, and he continued crying
Went up at 9:47
Drank 140ml of formula from 9:50 to 10:05
Changed poopy nappy at 10:10
Put down at 10:18
Fussed til 10:21 then fell asleep

Sleep Training: Day 5 (Tuesday, June 9th)
Finished 210 ml of formula at 9:34
Put down at 9:35
Asleep by 9:55

So there you have it, folks! It IS possible! The common denominator between the successful times was that he was fed a bottle beforehand. At first, this was frustrating me. Was he not getting enough to satisfy from breastfeeding? Is this going to be the start of a bad habit we struggle to break when he is older? I did some more research (I love information on babies!) and learned that breastmilk and formula metabolize differently in a baby [source]. Since Ethan is somewhat used to having bottles of formula, he is used to having more in quantity. What he gets from breastfeeding, though enough to keep him healthy and full, isn't quite enough to keep him satisfied enough to self-soothe, just because it isn't as much as he would get from a bottle of formula. And THAT'S OKAY. (I'm repeatedly telling myself that....It makes me feel better.) Who cares that he needs a bottle to fall asleep on his own? It works. My baby is growing and he is fed and he is loved. That's all that matters. 

I'm improving! Only 6 days late this time! Ha!

Do you ever feel so desperate and helpless where the only words that come to mind are "Lord, help!"—when you know there's nothing you can do on your own strength?

Motherhood often brings me to the most humbling position—on my knees. (I say that only figuratively. I mean, let's be honest, I'm usually sitting on the sofa breastfeeding.) Life is new, life is different, life is exciting! A new baby brings in many new joys but also many new challenges. I've realized, now more than ever, that I am terrible at balancing my time, that I have no clue what I should prioritize, and that I often end up neglecting my own needs so I can coddle my baby. I don't want to spoil him, but I'm not exactly motivated to bathe when my baby is screaming from teething pain and just wanting to be held. There goes my shower, there goes my chance to eat, and there goes any hopes of making my house look liveable (at the very least).

Of course I'm late again. 10 days late. Oh well!

For the past week, my baby boy has decided he is an anti-napping baby. His last decent nap was 6 days ago and I can't seem to get him to sleep longer than 40 minutes at a time during the day. Up until yesterday, this was maaaajorly stressing me out. It's nearly impossible to get anything done when you have a 3 month old that's constantly awake. My momma friends kept trying to reassure me and let me know that this is just a phase and I shouldn't worry about housework and things like that, but their advice was going in one ear and out the other...until yesterday.

I don't know what it was that did it yesterday, probably the grace of God, but it all finally clicked yesterday. So what that my baby needs to be fed to sleep. So what that he needs to be held to remain asleep. This is just a phase, and I'll probably miss it when it is gone. So I'm gonna cherish these moments with my baby boy. I'll hold him, I'll cuddle him. All day if that's what he wants. The housework can wait.

Today, something strange happened. I finally opened up two of the baby-raising books I was given as gifts before my baby was born. All of a sudden, my 11 weeks of hands-on experience felt completely wrong. I felt like a failure of a mother. Here I was spoiling my precious baby boy and doing everything the books said not to do. He naps on the sofa, he feeds on demand (even if it's every hour), he gets rocked to sleep, and he breastfeeds for comfort. SO WHAT.

Hundreds of years ago, no one had these books. When a baby was born, the mother had to use trial and error to fend for herself. I wanna go out on a limb and say that I think God meant it that way. If there was truly a step-by-step guide for parenting a newborn, you'd think that God would have included it somewhere in the Bible. Why do certain people think they are the authority on parenting when every baby is different?

Googling my parenting "issues", I found that I'm not the only mommy who feels this way. Someone posted this question on babycenter.com: How can I get my baby to nap? After reading through the answers, I came across this post that was SUPER encouraging to me.

Ever since my baby was born, I feel like I've sucked at being a housewife. My poor husband is stuck eating sandwiches most days for dinner. How boring!

This past week, I have been trying to find good crockpot meals to make for dinner. The problem is, I've noticed that most of the pinned crockpot recipes on Pinterest take A LOT of prep work. That just isn't practical for this new momma. I'm sure there are others of you in the same boat I'm in.

Anyways, there have been several go-to crockpot recipes I made quite frequently before I was even pregnant and I realized it wouldn't hurt to resurrect them. I've adapted one of the ones I found online to make it my own and seeing as I made it yesterday for dinner, I'd definitely say it's doable with a newborn in the house! This recipe makes about 4 servings (for big eaters!), but it'd be quite easy to double if you want some leftovers!

Enjoy!

Recipe: Crockpot Beef and Bean Casserole

Ingredients:

Instructions:

A little late is better than never, right?

This should have been posted on the 3rd, but here it is 10 days late!

It's hard to believe I'm a mother now. Motherhood is a good excuse for my lack of posts lately.

Yes, I made it to 40 weeks of pregnancy. My precious baby boy was born at 40+4 (on the 3rd of February weighing 7 lbs. 8.5 oz.) and, believe it or not, he's 7 weeks old now!!

He's the cutest thing in the whole world and sometimes I catch myself "wasting" hours on end just staring at him, holding his little hands, and having a one-sided conversation with him. He is the biggest blessing.

I'll probably be MIA for a while because I haven't yet mastered the art of multitasking with a newborn—you should see the chaotic state my house is in right now—but for the time being, I'll leave you with Baby Ethan's one month update, seeing as his two month update will be here in a week and a half.

To my husband, the father of my unborn child,

I wanted to say thank you. I feel like husbands are often unappreciated when wives are expecting. But there's no way I could have done this without you. I really can't comprehend how unmarried women go through 40 weeks of pregnancy on their own. I'm so thankful that God designed pregnancy to fit so seamlessly together with marriage.

Thank you for loving me.
Thank you for being there for me constantly.
Thank you for giving me a baby.
Thank you for praying for me and with me.
Thank you for praying for our baby.
Thank you for wanting to be a good, godly daddy.
Thank you for being sympathetic when I'm uncomfortable.
Thank you for not expecting too much from me.
Thank you for letting me have lazy days.
Thank you for doing favors for me.
Thank you for helping me with jobs around the house.
Thank you for washing dishes for me.
Thank you for rubbing my back on demand.
Thank you for helping me put on my socks.
Thank you for helping me put on my shoes.
Thank you for picking things up from the ground for me when I don't feel like bending.
Thank you for carrying things for me.
Thank you for helping me get up when I'm stuck on the sofa or on a chair.
Thank you for helping me get out of the car.
Thank you for letting me fulfill my random food cravings.
Thank you for being flexible and eating whatever I can bring myself to cook.
Thank you for being flexible with our schedule.
Thank you for still finding me attractive and always telling me that you do.
Thank you for the extra kisses.
Thank you for the belly rubs.
Thank you for the foot massages.
Thank you for pampering me.
Thank you for being there for me when I feel needy.
Thank you for being the best husband in the entire world.

I love you from the bottom of my heart.
Forever, for always, no matter what.

I can't believe we're literally in the home stretch. Today marks 39 weeks of pregnancy. Seven days left. Just seven. I'm hoping and praying that Baby decides to make his debut sometime within the seven days. I really don't know if I can handle being overdue. Haha! My mom comes in five days, and I think the most ideal would be if baby decides to come right when she does...but I wouldn't mind if he decided to come earlier either. :P 

38 weeks today! C'mon Baby! We are ready for you! Although my mom would prefer that you wait for her (she comes in 12 days), I definitely wouldn't mind if you decided to come a liiiiittle early. Hehe. 

So many of my friends have been having early first babies lately. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't jealous. I'm super uncomfortable and it's getting harder to fight against that all too famous pregnancy waddle. But all the annoyances seem to diminish when I stand in front of our little baby's wardrobe and look at all the adorable clothes he'll soon be wearing! I can't wait!

Today was Craig's first day back at work after the Christmas holidays. I assumed I'd be productive, but my assumption couldn't have been further off. I've done nothing today. My brain wont focus. I tried to read; that didn't work. I have a whole list of things I need to do around the house; I've done none of them today. Something about this waiting game, waiting for baby to arrive who knows when, is making my brain feel like mush. I am so excited, nervous, and anxious! I want Baby to come early because, let's face it, no woman is comfortable at 36+3, but I also want my mom's wish to come true and Baby to wait til she arrives in England. Thank God I'm not in control of the timing! But, my goodness, how slow this month feels already! 

I thought the start of this week would be considered "full term" but I just learned that it's the end of the week! So here's to aaaalmost being full term! My friends keep having first babies [really] early though so I wouldn't mind if my baby decided to come now. They house is clean, the baby bag is packed, and my hospital bag is packed...so I'm as ready as I'll ever be!

My friend Rachel posted a really good blog post on New Year's Day. I absolutely 100% agree with everything she wrote so I figured I'd share it with my friends here!

"...in 2015 I want to focus on the important things. I want my time with the Lord to dictate everything else in my life. I don't plan to set a list of resolutions that I can't keep- instead I want to just re-determine in my heart to keep my eyes on Jesus. To have that be the priority in my life so that all other smaller desires will work themselves out. To not aim for perfection but just for a consistent relationship with God, a deeper devotional life, more time in prayer and the anticipation that God can and will do great things!"

Looking forward to see all God has in store for 2015!