DockATot

I'm just going to go ahead and tell you that I have decided the DockATot is my favorite baby product of all time. I wish I had it with my first two. Our main use for it is sleeping at night. We started out with our Hattie girl sleeping in the middle of us with the DockATot in our bed. She slept well in it from day one, and there was no risk of one of us rolling over on her or pulling blankets up too high in our sleep. We all got better sleep because of it and we were sold right away. What a blessing. After a couple of months, we transitioned Hattie into a bassinet in our room, and we just put the DockATot right in her bassinet so there wasn't much of a difference for her. The transition to a crib one day will be so easy on her because of this. She naps well in it and we bring it with us when we travel too. It has truly been a life savor. I highly recommend this product.

Hattie Eleanor Nielsen

Our Birth Story

Everything about this delivery was much like the other two but with a little twist at the end of this one just to spice things up. I was scheduled to be induced at 39 weeks. July 11th (7/11!!) was the date and we were pleased about the fact that I would have her a week early and also that our darling girl would get free slurpees from 7eleven on her birthday every year for life. win win. I was set to go in at 7:00am so the night before, Emmy and Hudson stayed at Greg's parents house while Husband and I went on a date. Thai food of course. The next morning we were off the the hospital bright and early. We got all checked in and settled in our room and then my nurse brought in her nurse-in-training who has clearly never done an IV before and thought it would be a good day to practice. Had I have been fully aware of the situation, I'm not sure that I would have given nurse-in-training my blessing to poke my wrist with an oversized needle for the first time. Live and learn...and ask questions when needles are involved. They started Pitocin and the contractions began. I like to tell myself that I'm super tough, but in reality I'm a bit of a pansy which is always a bit of a disappointment to rediscover every time I birth a small human and have the epidural option at my fingertips. Gimme all the drugs! Once I had that epidural it was smooth sailing! I really love being able to nap while in labor. Based on my previous experiences, I banked on having a baby by dinner time or at LEAST by the time the bachelorette came on. Nope. This girl took her sweet time...but so did my doctor. He didn't show up to break my water until 6:30ish and that got things moving along at a slightly more reasonable pace. As 11:00pm was creeping up on us and we were wondering if we would even have a free slurpee baby, the entire left side of my body started showing signs of discomfort, which quickly turned into intense pain. My WORST nightmare...the epidural was wearing off at a terrible awful time. Im pretty sure I panicked a little and demanded that the anesthesiologist return really quickly with his magical potions. He did. And then he told me it would take 15-20 minutes to kick in. Little did he realize that until this very moment I had never felt real labor pain and I didn't ever plan to. This "15-20 minute" talk was ruining my life. The real cherry on top was that crazy pressure I felt just seconds after he left. I didn't tell anyone at first because I knew exactly what that meant. I knew I was at a 10 and I sure as hell was NOT about to push this small human out without being numb. I started shaking, the pain kept getting worse and i suddenly wanted the child out of me so I let everyone in on the situation. My sweet nurse checked and sure enough it was baby time. She ran to call my doctor, but this baby wasn't about to hang tight. Sweet nurse returned and I informed her that this baby was coming despite my honest attempt to wait it out. She grabbed a doc from the hall and they returned just in time to catch her. At 11:04pm our sweet Hattie Eleanor arrived. 8lbs 1oz 20 inches and oh so sweet. Our hearts were full and our family finally felt complete. We all have so much love for this sweet girl. God is good.

Floral Robe: Pink Blush Maternity 
Floral hat + blanket: KB cute designs 
Personalized Milk+cookies sack: The Lavish Leo

bump style

When I first laid eyes on this maternity one piece denim jumpsuit from Seraphine, I knew it had to be mine. It's no joke, the comfort of wearing onsie pajamas all day long, only socially acceptable to wear out in public. win win. Super stretchy, enough room for a growing belly, great quality...I honestly have nothing but good things to say. Be sure to check out Seraphine if you're currently growing a small human and still want to feel cute!

xoNIKKI