Almost every day I forget that Easton has Down syndrome. It isn’t at the forefront of every day like it used to be. I used to think about it all the time. When I was pregnant, it was all I could think about. It took me a while, but over time, it just doesn’t seem like that big of a deal anymore. The only time it comes to mind now is if I’m having to do something like fill out paperwork, trying to get therapy services, etc. Today for example, I went to apply, and have Easton screened for the Developmental Delay Waiver waitlist. The woman that did it was very kind. She was really sweet with Easton. I really enjoyed chatting with her. While she asked all the questions she was required to for the screening, my heart started hurting. It was that familiar hurt. That hurt of the past. The hurt I felt when I was grieving the future I had for my unborn child. It surprised me, because it was still there. I thought I had gotten rid of it for good. Forty-ish minutes went by and then we were done. Easton met all the requirements, so she was able to put our name on the list. While this is exactly what I wanted. It’s the outcome I went there for, I found myself crying on the way home. I am happy that he was able to get on the waiver. Hopefully he will be able to use it one day. But it also made me really sad. The grief that I thought I had put behind me came fiercely flooding back. I guess the feelings I thought I had put to bed are still living in a small section of my heart, and small things like today will make them explode again. Why was I sad? I had gotten what I wanted. I went there with a mission in mind, and I accomplished it. So what was I crying about it? The answer is because today was a HUGE reminder of the realization that the future I had planned in my head for my child won’t necessarily come to fruition. When I was pregnant (early on) with Easton, I spent my time dreaming of what he would look like, what he would be like, and what he would accomplish in life. Then life threw me a curve ball, and I had to grieve those visions of the future. Now, to be clear, I am not saying that Easton won’t accomplish things in his life. He most certainly will. Look at all that he has done already. He has already surpassed all the things the woman told me he would do when she told me of his diagnosis. His future is just slightly different than I had envisioned. His future is still bright. It is full of love, joy, and fun. I have no doubt that he will hold a job and be a contributing member of our society. I think he will be able to live independently, although I definitely wouldn’t hate it if he stayed with me. J Today I learned that even though I love Easton with EVERY piece of my being, sometimes I still have a tough time with his diagnosis. Ya know what…that is okay. I am doing the very best I can, and I will continue to do my best for Easton. But I also have to be gentle with myself when these feelings hit. I am only human after all. I’m still learning and growing every day as Easton’s mom. I pray that I continue to get better at this wonderful job I’ve been given. Thanks for reading!
xoxo, Krista
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Hey guys! Today I am sharing about two of the products from Graco’s Registry Collection- the Pack ‘n Play Newborn2Toddler Playard and the Floor2Table 7-in-1 Highchair. These items were gifted to me as this is a sponsored post in collaboration with Graco, but the thoughts and opinions are all my own. :) The Pack ‘n Play Newborn2Toddler Playard is AMAZING. It’s a sleep and play area that grows with your children. It has seven different options to meet whatever goes best with your child’s age and needs. It can be used as a playard, a bassinet, a raised bassinet that keeps your baby eye level for check-ins throughout the night, a changing station, a portable napper, and a toddler cot. Another great thing about the Playard is that so many of the pieces can easily travel based on your needs. We are going on a little trip for the weekend next month. I plan on taking the bassinet portion to use for Easton as the toddler cot, and the portable napper for Asher. The bassinet portion folds up, so it travels super easily. I think my favorite part of the Playard is the organizational piece of it. I love that everything I need to change Asher’s diaper is literally right at my fingertips. Anything that makes my life a little easier is a huge win to me! Next up, is the Graco Floor2Table 7-in-1 Highchair. It also has seven growing stages, and it’s great for two kids. The first stage is the infant floor seat. I can’t wait until Asher is big enough to use this! I think he is going to love it. It also has a snack tray that attaches to it, so it would be really easy to travel with for him as he starts to eat table foods. Stage 2 of the highchair is the actual highchair part. it has a machine washable; stain resistant seat pad, a three-position incline, and a dishwasher safe tray insert. All things that make life easier! Stage 3 is the infant booster seat. You can remove the seat from the base and use it in a dining room chair. I love this aspect of it because as Asher gets older, he can use this as his high chair while Easton uses the youth stool (stage 5 and 7). Stage 4 is the toddler booster. You simply remove the back and insert from the infant booster seat as they grow. It still sits in the dining room chair. So, Asher will be able to use it for a while! Stage 6 is Easton’s favorite! It’s the big kid table and chair. He LOVED sitting with this in our living room. He played with some Play-doh and had an after-nap snack. He kept getting in and out of the seat. He just thought it was the coolest thing. The best part was that he kept the snack on the table- which he hardly ever does! Both of these items are must haves for any baby registry. The versatility of these products just can’t be beat. I love how they grow with my kids, and that Easton and Asher can both get use out of them at the same time. Check out www.gracoregistrycollection.com to learn more! #GenerationGraco #GracoRegistryCollection xoxo, Krista Asher is officially two months old. Actually he is over it now (10 weeks as of Friday). It is amazing to me how much he has changed in just a short amount of time. Every day he wakes up and changes a little more overnight. He is now holding his head up SO WELL. I feel like he will be able to sit up soon. He is so strong. He is also starting to figure out his hands. He is swatting at things and is able to move things to his mouth. He does NOT like tummy time or being laid down at all really. He enjoys sitting up so he can see what is going on around him. He is loving watching his big brother. He could stare at him for hours. It’s the cutest thing ever! He is the smiliest little guy, and he loves to talk (the cooing will melt your heart)! The first month was rough. Making the transition from one to two kids was way more than I could have even imagined. I just felt completely out numbered. I was also used to Easton as a baby, who was very chill. He would lay wherever I put him and be completely fine. He would put himself to sleep wherever he was. He could also sleep through anything. Asher is much more demanding than Easton ever was. He was crying all the time. unless he was being held. We are finally starting to get used to life as a family of four. I have started to figure out what works with taking care of two kids and what doesn’t. I don’t feel so overwhelmed anymore. Asher doesn’t cry as much and is sleeping through the night like a champ. We are finally getting on somewhat of a schedule- even though I would like it to be even more of a schedule during the day, but we are working on that. He’s a horrible day napper though- so its hard to get anything done around the house still. But we are making great progress, and life is starting to feel more "normal" again! Here is what his schedule (somewhat) looks like: 5:00-6:00 AM Wake up and feed 6:00-7:00 AM Sleep 7:00-8:30 AM Play 8:30-9:00 AM Feed 9:00 – 10:15ish AM Nap 10:15- 11:00 AM Wake and Play 11:00-11:30 AM Feed 11:30-12:30 PM Nap 12:30-2:00 PM Wake and Play 2:00-2:30 PM Feed 2:30-7:00 PM During this time he has been taking a series of mini naps. He’s often really unsettled during this time (witching hours). So it’s really unpredictable. 4:00- 4:30 PM Feed 7:00 PM Feed, pajamas, swaddle, bed time! 9:30 or 10:00 PM Dream Feed- This is where I wake him up to change diaper, put on owlet, and feed usually 2-3 ounces to help him make it through the night. Then reswaddle and go right back to sleep. 10:00 PM- 5:00 or 6:00 AM SLEEP! Thank you so much for taking the time to read my post! I appreciate it! xoxo, Krista Below is a side by side of Easton and Asher both at 2 months! They both weighed 11 pounds exactly. Easton was 22 inches long, and Asher is 23 inches. :)
Hi friends! I can't believe I'm sitting down to write our 6 week update. How on earth has 6 weeks passed already?! It seems like yesterday that he was born. Time went by quickly with Easton, and it's going by even faster with Asher. The saying, "the days are long but the weeks/months/years are short" is so true. SO TRUE. Anyways, Asher is officially 6 weeks old. If I said life has been easy- full of rainbows, butterflies, and cupcakes- I would 100% be lying. Going from a family of 3 to a family of 4 has been...INSANE. I heard people tell me that going from one to two children was a lot, but I didn't really hear them, until now. Now I completely understand what they were saying. It is HARD. There is only one of me and two of them. It is so easy to feel overwhelmed and often defeated. Motherhood is funny like that. It can be one of the loveliest and loneliest places at the same time. It's unbelievably hard, but also unbelievably rewarding. It is without a doubt the hardest job on the planet. Asher is almost 10 pounds and 21 inches long. He loves to eat, and is eating 4 ounces about every 3 hours during the day. He is sleeping for 7-8 hours straight through the night. Yay! However, his naps during the day are a little rough. He seems to be a light napper. So the only time he gets good naps is when I swaddle him, and put him in his room to sleep where it is completely quiet. He is also starting to give some social smiles and coo. It is the cutest! Asher has proven himself to be the complete opposite of Easton in almost every way. Easton was such an easy baby. He rarely cried-like ever. He ate, slept, pooped, and just hung out with me. He also slept through the night from the first night I brought him home. He still does unless he is sick. So I had no idea what I was getting myself in to... Asher is a force to be a reckoned with. He has a voice, and he knows how to use it. He does not like being alone. He enjoys being held....all the time. Which means I can't get anything done, and it stresses me out! With Easton, I could sit him down and do whatever I needed. Now I'm trying anything and every thing to get Asher to sit somewhere so I can do stuff around the house or tend to Easton. Want to know the only thing that works? The mamaRoo by 4moms. Yep. That's it. He loves it. If he loves it, then so do I! I never had one of these with Easton. The only time he ever used one was in the NICU. He used it almost every day when he was in there (all 33 days). He loved it. I should have known that Asher would as well. I was gifted this mamaRoo from 4moms to give an honest review. So here it goes! The mamaRoo has five different modes or swing styles. I have tried them all with Asher, but he seems to love the car ride mode the best. You can also set each mode to faster or slower speeds. Asher prefers speed two or three (likes to live life in the fast lane). You can also play the music that it comes with, or you can play music from your phone. Another cool feature is that it has an app that you can use to control the entire thing from your phone. I haven't needed to use this yet. But I can see how it would come in handy if you were trying to soothe a crying baby, but didn't want the baby to see you. Lastly, the seat reclines so that it is safe and comfortable for your little one no matter the age. As Asher grows and can hold his head up better, I will be able to change the position so that he is sitting upright more. Easton is also loving it because he loves to press all the buttons! He likes feeling like he is helping take care of his little brother, and this is a great way for him to do it. He really is the best brother. He loves Asher so much. You can see it in his eyes when he looks at him. It melts my heart into a puddle. Anyways, thanks for taking the time to read my update and review! We love the mamaRoo and think you would too!
xoxo, Krista Hey guys! As you know our family has recently grown from three to four with our newest addition, sweet little Asher. Ever since bringing him home, we have been adjusting to our new life as a family of four. It has definitely had it's ups and downs. But I know it s just a matter of time until we adjust to our new normal. One of the biggest challenges we have had is being able to get out of the house. Just the thought and logistics of leaving the house, and getting around with two children have completely overwhelmed me. How will I ever go shopping again!? That's where our new Graco Modes2Grow Travel System has come into play. This travel system from Graco has been a life saver for us. I love the versatility of it, it's more compact than other travel systems (that can be a double stroller), and it is super smooth/easy to use! The Graco Modes2Grow Travel System grows with your little ones. It comes with the infant carrier, infant carrier base, bassinet seat, toddler seat, and stroller base. It also has a parent tray, parent cup holder, removable child tray, extra-large storage basket (my favorite thing), and one-hand standing fold to make it super easy to put away! This is definitely the only stroller we will ever need to buy. To be honest, I wasn't sure how Easton would like sitting lower than his brother in the stroller. I thought he might hate it. But, I was totally wrong! He loved it. He was super comfortable, and seems to enjoy it the entire time he is in it. He often falls asleep in it, that's how comfortable he is. I also love how I can see both of them easily this way too. They are both within arms (and kissing) reach. :) The stroller is really easy to convert to other options as well. When I just need to use it for the infant seat instead of the double. I simply take the toddler seat out that Easton would be sitting in then click the carseat in from the base in the car, and DONE. It's that easy. I have had to use this option a few times in the past week because we have gone places where Easton didn't need to be in a seat (like the park, or a friends house for a BBQ). Bonus for this way to use the Travel System is that Easton loves to be a "big helper" and push the stroller too. It's the cutest! Another of my favorite ways to use the stroller is just with Easton using the toddler seat. We have been using this mode a lot to spend some quality time together taking walks around the neighborhood while Drew hangs with Asher. Easton's favorite part is the toddler tray (this piece comes on and off easily). He also really enjoys helping me press the buttons to switch it from the infant seat mode to the toddler seat mode. He's growing up so quickly! I love that he loves to be so helpful. I also love that this stroller system grows with us as a family. As Asher grows out of the infant seat, I can easily switch it out for the other seat that comes with the stroller. Here are just a few of the variations of ways we will be able to use the seats in the stroller in the future: The versatility and ease of use of this system is just perfect for our growing family. I truly enjoy using it, and would totally recommend it to you! This stroller system is part of a larger family of Modes strollers from Graco. So if this stroller doesn't meet all your family's needs, there is definitely one that will! You can find this Travel System and all the others in the Modes family at GracoBaby.com. If you have any questions about this Travel System that I didn't answer above, please leave them in the comments below. I would love to answer any questions you have. :) xoxo, Krista The Graco Modes2Grow Travel System was gifted to me for a review of the product.
This blog post is sponsored by Graco. |
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