9 MONTHS IN, 9 MONTH'S OUT

I cannot believe it’s been 9 months since this tiny human joined our world! Now that Atlas has been in this world as long as she was in me, I thought I would talk a little bit about my experience as a new mom and the nine things I have learned along the way.

1. I am stronger than I think- mentally and physically at handling pain, sleepless nights and days, maintaining a good headspace, etc. I thought I had been challenged in the past, but a newborn will put you to the test.

2. I need to take care of myself so I can take care of my family. Our breastfeeding ended early and I lost baby weight quickly, but not healthy way. Skipping meals or “intermittent fasting” is the contributing factor, but I need to rethink. I need to consider not only what I’m feeding myself and my family, but also the amount of water I need to be drinking. My esthetician said I can solve a lot of my skin issues by just drinking more water. Noted.

3. I can’t be the world’s best mom and world’s best boss at the same time - it’s a give and take. I have to make sacrifices and show Atlas we are contributing positively to the world around us. But, I also have to say “No,” at work, create boundaries, and get home at a reasonable time.

4. Don’t make plans- Atlas rules everything. Stick to his routine: Wake, bottles, feeds, naps, play time, etc. Whatever else you can fit in is a bonus. We do projects and house cleaning during naps and make sure to get outside and take Winter on her walk the same time every morning.

5. Be a great partner, wife and mother everyday. I hate to label myself and put what I do in a box, but once we had Atlas mom mode kicked in and I almost forgot to be a wife, partner, daughter, friend, etc. I wear a lot of hats and want to show Atlas he can too!

6. This shit is hard. We read the books, took the classes, got the advice, but whew! Shout out to all the parents out there- you are the real MVP’s!

7. His smile is worth everything. The hardest day, the tired nights, the stressful work meetings, it all goes away when I see Atlas smile.

8. Take all the pictures! At first I just wanted to take them of Atlas, but making sure we are in them too is just as imports. It doesn’t matter if we don’t “look good” because booking back at the photos we don’t say, “wow my hair,” we say, “look how cute Atlas is." Videos too! Check out our Youtube page to watch our Vlogs. We have more coming soon!

9. Being your mom is more beautiful than any dream I could have ever imagined and this dream just started. I love you Atlas J.

OVERNIGHT IN FLAGSTAFF WITH A BABY AND A DOG

We survived our first overnight with baby A! We patiently waited 7 months to venture out and Atlas, Winter, Joe and I are so glad we did. A night in Flagstaff was the perfect family outing for us. We found great places to eat, drink and rest our heads. Here’s our quick guide and reccs especially during the new pandemic normal with a baby and a dog.

Where to stay?

That’s was top priority. The birthday queen in me was temped with a bougie glamping tent off the Grand Canyon, but the mom in me thought smarter. AirBnB to the rescue. We found a 100 year old A-frame home in the heart of downtown Flagstaff. It had original wood floors, a claw foot tub and antique fridge. But plenty of space for a a pack-n-play, a dog bed and all off Britt’s luggage. Side note: packing with a baby requires a lot of things! Stroller, seat, bed, bath, Breza, mat, toys, all the clothes, etc. We just did one night; it’s a 2.5 hour drive from Phoenix and great practice for car trips and overnights with Atlas. (& mom to practice pacting).

Where to eat?

Breakfast?

Biff’s-Bagel sandwiches. Get there early and take to go. Walk to a near by park or coffee at …

Late for the Train- Order the Coconino Mocha, thank me later.

Lunch?

Toasted Owl Cafe- Outside dining bring baby and dog. Order the Turkey Pesto on Ciabatta. Order dranks or water, the drinks taste like soda fountain.

Dinner?

Historic Brewing Barrel + Bottle House- Love at first flight. Sip some sours, IPA, rose, ciders and more. Nine brewed locally. Plus the food is delish: burgers, wings, fried pickles, chicken fingers, etc. you can eat inside or out and everyone is sooo friendly. The smallest of world moment happened when our waiter walked out with our food it was the same guy from lunch!

Desert?

Yet to find! Leave your reccs. We did the gelato at a pizza joint but i won’t not recommend, sorry.

Where to go?

Parks:

Wheeler Park- grass and beautiful trees.

Heritage Square- live music and great shops. Be sure to check out P.J. Chilcottage!

Shop:

P.J. Chilcottage- everything from littles to moms. Great tourist gifts and home decor. and homemade soap. Literally wanted everything in the store, EVERYTHING. Check out their IG.

Babbitts- outdoor gear, dog swag and souvenirs. Love the historical building too!

What a trip for the memory books. We even signed the AirBnB guestbook. Reading some of the entries on the travelers and their stays in the past were entertaining. Let us know if you recommend anything in Flag so the next time we head up north we can be sure to check out. Be well and continue to stay safe out there.

XoXO

Mama Britt

MONSTER FOODIE

Atlas is finally experiencing the deliciousness along with the nutritiousness of food. One of the many reasons to live in my opinion. BUT with the millions of advice out there on how to raise your child all I can say is this is our choice of food introductory the with the guidance of the community and our pediatrician. We are all about purées and trying all the delicious gummy all natural things first.

First, was the basics like avocados, apple, bananas, sweet potatoes and squash. Then we found Sprouts the grocer has a variety of little squeeze purées made with only natural real easy to pronounce and recognizable ingredients. No matter what variety we get, and we like to stick to a vegetable base: peas carrots chickpeas beets squash, Atlas loves them all. Lastly, I started getting creative at home for flavors and proteins. The other night I boiled some chicken, used the broth to boil some mushrooms ,added some blueberries, threw that in the magic bullet and Atlas could not stop eating it up.

We also love breakfast around here. Atlas does too! From a yogurt parfait, baby oatmeal, and all the fruits. Again, from Sprouts natural raw live active cultured yogurt, some frozen strawberries or blueberries, and the three ingredient oatmeal. We also like to mixing things to our oatmeal like spices such as cinnamon and nut butters like peanuts and almond.

As busy parents we do enjoy the convenience of the Sprouts squeeze packets and will continue to use those. They retail at our local grocer $5 dollars for three pouches and last 24 hours once you open them. Atlas will finish one in a day: one meal one day and then in 24 hours he’ll finish the rest.

Let me know if you have any amazing recipes ,quick tips or tricks. We’re learning together and it’s so much fun! Enjoy the adorable foodie photos.

XoXo Mama Britt

FIRST MOTHER'S DAY & FATHER'S DAY

Happy (belated) Mother’s Day and (present) Father’s Day to all you moms, dad and mother/father-like figures! Jose and I talk all the time about how lucky we are to have an incredibly smart, healthy, brave, strong and handsome young man. He is five and a half months now and growing every day!

My first Mother’s Day was everything I could have imagined. Slow, full of snuggles and with a memory I can cherish forever. Jose made a delicious breakfast, we read books and crafted a hand print keepsake. My flowers bloomed all week and I dressed him in as many “Mommy’s little …” onesies that he could fit into. It was perfect.

For Father’s Day it was much the same. Staying in, making memories in the pool, delicious food, fun presents and plenty of Atlas laughs. My favorite part was recreating this photo of Jose and his father when he was nearly 6 month’s old. Do you see the resemblance?

We also finally released a new episode of the Finding Arizona Podcast Vlog! We share some amazing Atlas firsts and its a chance to see more the behind the scenes of us living our lives as a family of three now. Make sure you subscribe so you can catch all the new episodes.

Atlas, you’re such a sweet little man and there’s nothing better than getting to spend all day with you. You give my life so much meaning and I am so lucky you chose me to be your mom!

XoXo
Mama Britt

WORKING MOM BLOG

Last week I had a hard day. I cried leaving for work. I transitioned back to work after 8 weeks of maternity leave. Because Jose is able to work from home I am blessed to have a sense of security when I leave for work everyday. I make it most days no tears, but the end of the week it gets harder. Last Friday and Saturday I was too hard on myself- thinking because I couldn’t calm him, he had forgotten all about me. But, last Thursday was different.

I usually stay pretty busy at work and keep my mind occupied. I am grateful Jose is working from home and caring for Atlas and his development. He FaceTimes me at lunch and I try and wrap up at reasonable time to be home to feed the animals and the baby. But, last Thursday was different. At 4pm I learned I had to run an errand across town. I called Jose and the disappointment on his voice broke my heart. He understood I had to take care of a work situation, but I had never felt so torn. I was being pulled to be a great employee and a great mom and great wife at the same time.

Two hours later and less than a mile from my house I get a call from my boss. He shares positive feedback and encourages me to keep heading in the right direction and I will continue to do great things.

I showered that night realizing I can’t be everything all the time- a working mom is finding that balance, knowing I can’t always be there next now, but I’ll be there forever.

To any moms and dads out there working, caring and loving for your tiny humans- great job! We are doing amazing and we can do it! Cheers to doing it all again tomorrow.

XoXo Britt

AM I ENOUGH

I am constantly asking myself this question especially now, as a mother, raising my baby boy. Being my first child I want to do everything perfectly and give him the world for being my world. This especially holds true when it comes to breastfeeding him.

While being pregnant I was constantly questioned if I would be breastfeeding and I replied, “Yes.” Once he was born he had no issues latching and even after a visit from the lactation specialist, we were assured everything would go smoothly.

But then the opposite happened. The pain I felt every time he latched made me dread feeding time and I was always curious in the back of my mind if he was getting enough. It’s hard to measure coming straight from the nipple and his obsessive crying was new to us to figure out.

I tried pumping for the first time at 3 weeks and only got 2 oz from both breasts. I started taking more lactation supplements from vitamin drinks to oat pancakes. My favorite were the no bake energy bars and the waffles. You can enjoy even if you’re not looking to increase your milk supply. I’m not sure it helped, but it sure was delicious. I was also thankful for local company Majka to make the best smoothies and still get all my nutrients.

He took to a bottle so quickly. Our favorite is Nuk for pacifiers and bottles- such a smooth transition from the nipple! I was pumping every 2-3 hours to keep up with the growing boy, but was getting frustrated. Am I enough?

I started supplementing after 6 weeks of just breast milk. I needed to take care of myself in order to take care of my little guy. Now, I am pumping every 4-6 hours now and producing 4 oz which is great for his age and to have with formula feedings daily too.

I will keep this system as I transition back to work and face the next dilemma of being enough presently in the parent category as I return to the office. I need to remember I am enough and will teach Atlas that he is always enough as well. Grow strong my love. 

XoXo 

Britt 

P.S. These AMAZING newborn photos were taken by Sally Whetten Photography! Check her out here!

MY NEW VALENTINE

My valentine this year was 4 week old Atlas J Acevedo. Born on January 13 at 11:31 am at 6 pounds 1 ounce and 21 inches long this little man quickly stole my heart. He came into our world 10 days before his due date and when we announced his name in the delivery room I said, “Atlas: because you’re my world.”

His arrival started Tuesday at work. Around 2 pm I started feeling cramps / contractions and didn’t know if this was the “false labor” I had learned about. He felt very low and I started timing the contractions around 4pm. I could still walk, talk and breathe so I pushed through the rest of my work day. At home, a shower felt great even though the pain was intensifying. We recorded our scheduled podcast that night, had dinner and went to bed. My goal was to make it through the pain till the morning, when I had my 38 week appointment with my midwife. But a little after midnight I saw some spotting and quickly woke Jose to tell him it’s time. We through together an overnight bag and some snacks then drove to the hospital.

At 1:30 am I was in observation getting my vitals checked with a nurse. We thought I would be told it’s not time and be sent on our way, but instead I was 6 centimeters dilated and was being admitted to a delivery room.

The pain was real and by this time I was more than ready for my epidural. One of my fears of labor was receiving this because I am not a fan of needles and although I couldn’t see it the pain was felt and I screamed. Minutes later I could feel the coolness rushing through my spine and numbness to my legs. The next frightening thing for me was the urinary catheter. Mentally I was dreading this pain too, but I didn’t feel a thing. Suddenly the baby’s heart rate was dropping and we had to stop the contractions for his safety. A shot later we were back in a safe zone and ready to get the contractions started again. Now we play the waiting game.

My water never broke on it’s own and my midwife waited till I was 9 centimeters before breaking it. I never saw my mucus plug, but I was told there was quite a “bloody show” while I was dilating. At 10:30 am my midwife said she just finished a 3 hour delivery and it would soon be time for our birthday party.

I was determined to not make this a 3 hour push session. At 11:06 am I began my first one. Jose was right there counting and patting my head with a cool rag. I grabbed the back of my legs and with each contraction I pushed with all my might. Between the nurse, midwife, Jose and classical music I had the best support for delivery. Twenty five minutes later I gave my last push and out came our precious baby boy.

I was in tears- the baby wasn’t even crying. I was in love and when they placed him skin to skin and I looked into his big eyes I was flushed with a wave of new emotions. Jose cut his cord and after they weighed him he was back in my arms where I never wanted to let go.

We checked off all the boxes in the hospital to be able to go home and after another night stay we were on our way back home as a family of three - not 2.

The first month has been a challenge. You read all the books, watch all the videos and take all the advice to prepare for baby, but nothing but real world experience will teach us. We’re balancing breast feeding and bottle feeding and making sure little guy is getting enough to grow strong. We’re practicing sleeping in the crib alone, or in the bassinet in our room, or if it comes down to it, in mom or dads arms. We’re developing skills from tummy time, reading out loud and constant interaction. Every second we’re in love and can stare at him forever.

Our journey has just begun as parents and we are excited for every minute of it. Everyday is Valentine’s Day with Atlas.

XoXo

Britt.

EXPECTING AMY (AND BRITT)

Amy Schumer and her husband share a raw mini-series on HBO on the ups and downs of her pregnancy journey and their adventure to parenthood. I was not a fan of hers in the past- you either love that she always talks bout her vagina or you don’t. But, now that I am relating and finding more of an interest in everything about pregnancy this was a must watch.

Broken up into three parts, part one called “Conception” is all about her first 15 weeks of pregnancy and this episode in not for the weak stomaches. As someone suffering from all day sickness I had to leave the room a few times and visit the toilet bowl myself during this episode. Although it was rough to watch, I loved the way she outlines the unglamorous phase of pregnancy. All my life I have seen from movies and the highlights of social media ladies puke once, find out they’re pregnant then live their best, glowing nine months. But Amy shares the opposite- and I can relate. Feeling sick all the time, no energy, losing weight, throwing up multiple times a day, that is my first trimester and the start of my second.

Part two is called, “Gestation” and this part focused more on her and her husband, Chris’ personal life as he is diagnosed late in life with Aspergers. Not only are they experiencing her first pregnancy, but she is also touring and prepping to film her Netflix special. The entire series is directed by Alexander Hammer- who also brought us Beyonce’s Homecoming documentary. And between the hand-cam cinematography and the professionalism once we were halfway into episode two, we were committed to finishing the third. Amy is unfortunately diagnosed with hyperemesis: excessive vomiting through out your entire pregnancy. She finds little relief in suppositories and I can relate.

The final episode, “Birth” everything comes to a close. The special gets filmed, the diagnosis are more manageable and little baby, Gene, makes his way into this world. Although, the complicated C section scene left me- and Amy scarred, it was beautiful to see all the pain and suffering was worth a beautiful health baby boy. That is all I keep telling myself- when everyone else says- it will go away, you will feel great soon, I am tired of hearing it and just look forward to the day I can hold my little one and say, it was all worth it.

RED, WHITE & DUE

Coming in with the big news! Eleven weeks and three days pregnant: it’s official! Well we can talk about it now because it’s been official on social media and we are overjoyed with all the love we are receiving. This is been one of the hardest secrets to keep and I can’t wait to tell you the story and continue to share throughout the journey of becoming a mother.

How did I find out?

I knew because I had a feeling when I was getting sick in the afternoon consistently and I missed my period- I know I knew it was time to take an official test. When I saw the + it didn’t seem real almost like a dream but I knew I had to share the news in an exciting way to Jose. I was overjoyed with the news that our life was about to change- we are about to be parents.

How did Jose find out?

Four days after I received the news, jose and I both had the same day off and I booked us an appointment to confirm the news. That morning I woke up early and went and got donuts, threw up on my way to the donut place, came back home told Jose what a great cat dad he is what an amazing dog that he is and that he’s going to even make an even better human. He was in shock, of course, like most first time dad’s reactions. From there we went to the doctors to confirm the news

Working in healthcare I am mediately had to tell my boss, my director of nursing and my HR director, but they couldn’t have been more supportive. The hardest thing, though, has been or was keeping it from our families.

How did the family find out?

I’m an only child so I knew that I had to tell my parents in person and during this quarantine I didn’t make things any easier. We tried to get them to come out but Fourth of July ended up being the big weekend. Keeping it from the local parents, Jose’s parents, was even harder especially when you want to go over for Sunday dinner or celebrate Father’s Day. Finally we had everyone over on the Fourth- and shared- were Red, White and Due, January 2021.

So how is my first trimester?

The morning sickness turned in the afternoon sickness turned in the evening sickness. I remember getting my blood drawn and the phlebotomist said the only time she wasn’t sick was when she was sleeping and I feel that girl. The cravings were more like things I enjoyed over things I didn’t enjoy like citrus sour salty things. I really had to change up how I was eating meals and making sure I was snacking throughout the day to not only keep up my nutritional intake, but make sure that I was eating enough. But, even as I write this I’m trying to figure out if I want to go throw up or not. So, first trimester we are a week away from being over and I’m hoping that’s true with the nausea as well. Now that the cats out of the bag I can start asking for tips tricks and any advice that will help me along the way to the second and third trimester. 

Boy or Girl?

That’s the million dollar question. As long as the baby is healthy I am happy and to make sure the baby stays healthy I need to make sure I’m taken care of myself. This is hard for me because I want to do everything obviously cleaning the cat box and heavy lifting is out, but I definitely need to be more vocal in expressing my needs and allowing those around me to lend their hands. Being pregnant during the Corona Virus is not any easier, not that I have anything to compare to, but imagine being sick and having to wear a mask all day- feeling nauseous and the smell makes you sicker and you have to continue to either smell your mask or smell whats is in your mask. I also work in healthcare so I see the pandemic every- new cases or asymptomatic patients and I know that I need to put myself first, my health and my baby.

 I can’t wait to share everything about this journey. It’s a long road ahead, but baby when you read this when you’re older, know that I love you so much already and I don’t even know you. Cheers to 2021! I know we’re all looking forward to it for so many reasons and here’s another one! Thank you for the love and support and we can’t wait to debut our new Finding Arizona Podcast Co-host in January 2021.

XoXo

Britt