Meet This Mama; Miracle after Miscarriage

Oh. Girls. You are about to get a glimpse of one of my favoritest of all time.

I've been following Allie for a while now and have truly fallen in love with her boys. They are so squishy and stinkin' adorable in every way possible.

She also recently experienced a miscarriage, but God worked in amazing ways and blessed her with another pregnancy. So every day I am thinking of the little bean in the oven... for good health... lots of growth....and well maybe a little pink sprinkles added in the mix as well. Hehe why not?! She is getting outnumbered over there... and I believe every mama needs a MINI-ME. So while I send her girl sprinkles, I hope she sends me some boy ones {once we are ready}. Don't get any ideas now.

So when she sent me her feature... I dove right in, and found out things I hadn't already known! I also got the most amazing advice... and she has tons of it! This mama answered 8 questions for ya'll!!

And those boys I mentioned? Her beautiful little boys?
Yeah. Those suckers came out alllll naturrrrallll.

TWO times.

And. I'm totally jealous.

Table for 3-Actually Make That 4

Name: Allie

Age: 25

Number of kiddos: 2, and one on the way!! (March 2012)

Names (and meaning): Vincent Jeffery, and Luke Cosmas {3 of the names come from saints, Jeffery is my dads name, hubbs chose Cosmas-he won a bet with me lol} Babe #3 will be Jude Edward or Lily Ann!  

Age of kiddos: Vincent is 2 years (27mos) Luke is almost ONE{eeek!!} 

Number of desired kiddos: Depending on the next gender, 4 is probably my MAX, my husband would say 1728971. Watch out Duggars...NOT! 

Natural {epidural?} or C-Section: Natural in every way, yes I am that nuts!

Breast,Formula,or both: Both were breastfed babes

Cloth or Regular: Regular 

SAHM or Work {doing what}: SAHM
Something that many people don't know about you: I am a certified wedding planner but will probably NEVER use it, some brides are a little NUTZO! 

9. How did you lose the baby weight? BREASTFEEDING had a lot to do with that! I had A LOT to lose with #1, I no joke gained 70 and #2 probably 50, and I lost that within 4-6 months each pregnancy. I am not a big exerciser but just watching calories (i use fatsecret.com) and keeping carbs low every day(under 100g) the weight flies off! When I did exercise is was just walking and jogging, investing in a good jogger to take the boys along was key!

12. Do you believe in the cry it out method? BAD MOM ALERT, this is NO JOKE the way both our boys learned to sleep through the night , it's not enjoyable for 1 night but they could finally soothe themselves and sleep! Since then Vincent sleeps 12-14 hours a night and Luke 10-12, I wouldn't have it any other way. Sure it is not the best feeling hearing them cry but it worked like magic with both boys! 

15. What do you think about breastfeeding in public? I clearly breastfed them both but in public I was not all about it, just my personal choice for myself, I am probably more insecure than the people near me in public, if I knew we were going to be out I would pump, if worse came to worse, I would go to the bathroom and feed the babe. I know a lot of moms think that is gross or bad but just my personal preference. That being said I could careless if one of my friends breastfeeds in public, I wouldn't even notice, I am just a pansy! 

19. How did you get through a natural birth? LOTS OF KNOWLEDGE! Books (Natural Childbirth The Bradley Way) and movies (Business of Being Born)The weeks and months leading up to our first birth I studied and learned all that I could.I was borderline obsessive with knowing it ALL. I also hired a doula (birth coach-best money ever spent) I put it in my mind that there was no other option (I am not dumb, I still knew I had NUMEROUS options) but it helped. I also envisioned the worst possible pain and when it wasn't near that I handled it better. IT SUCKED at times but the second my babes came out, it was OVER and I forgot about all the pain! My husband was a key player in keeping me sane, he kept me {semi}calm and reminded me every minute that I was "almost there", babe #2 was actually a little more tough! The labor was quicker so the pain was OVER the freaking top from the get go, but my husband kept me in the game and before I knew it, it was time to push! 

37. How and when did you start potty training? When Vincent was 18 months we bought him a potty {it was one of those days I just wanted an excuse to buy something} well he of course just played with it (it plays music). He had ZERO interest in it so in the closet it went. When he turned 2, we brought it back out and also got one of the seats that go on the big potty. Randomly he would use one or the other but nothing crazy, the option was just always there if he wanted. About a month ago he randomly used the potty, so we thought let's actually try to finish this potty training stuff! I let him be NAKED seriously 247 with exceptions of us going in public lol. But he had no restrictions, m&m's were his prize and we bought another potty, one for upstairs and one for downstairs so he had one in his sight ALWAYS. Every time he went potty I acted like he had just won a Grammy {insert-crazy jumping up and down and clapping},he would also get excited! A week or so went by and he was DONE! For night time we put a potty in his room, for a few days he would wake me up by yelling "MoMmmmMmY!" and I would come in to a full potty at 3am, but now he found out how to hold it overnight! {YESSSS!} So I swear by playing the naked game and lots of praise! Also he just started peeing standing up...his aim is not.so.great but we're getting there! 

36. How do you deal with unsolicited advice? I feel like the minute you find out you are pregnant, EVERYONE has advice they want to shove down your throat give you! I am someone who likes to do things on my own and figure out what works for me. Plus ALL kids are different therefore we all have different techniques. I usually do the 'smile and nod' approach when people give their advice. I know most people are trying to be helpful but sometimes I just want to freak out! Sometimes when advice gets to be too much you have to stand up for yourself and let the advice giver know that you are the mother and while you appreciate their input you are the one in control! I have found that since I get so annoyed by "advice givers", that I do not give advice unless I am asked. It works out well that way plus I then know that I am not that annoying friend who thinks she knows it all because I do not, I am still learning every second of every day. If you have the secrets to everything regarding parenting, then amen to you sista! 

34. How do you keep your husband and your relationship strong while being so busy with babies? Well since we will have 3 under 3 it's clear keeping him happy in the bedroom is a key component! haha Communication is also key, I know people say when your alone "do not talk about your kids" but I disagree, when we became a family that included having kids, so therefore they are NOW part of everything we do, even when we are alone for a date night! We do a lot together and get out as much as we can as a family. When the kids go down to bed we just relax and have fun together chatting and watching shows, we pick TV series to watch on Netflix and it's actually really fun (we are a few episodes away from ending 24!, last series was Prison Break-I am a Real Housewives fan but I have to give and take when it comes to shows we watch together) Also if something is bothering you...speak up! I know when Vincent was younger I wanted him to help a little more but instead of telling him I just got annoyed, obviously it would have been easier to tell him than to hold a tiny grudge. I of course ending up telling him and he had NO CLUE I wanted him to help more, so just be open and relay your feelings often! Men have trouble reading our minds! 

49. How do you set rules with family members that watch your kids? I am a LITTLE obsessive when someone other than my husband or I watch the boys. We left Vincent when he was 4 months old and I sobbed and was a NERVOUS wreck. I laid out a detailed list of what to do and what not to do. I know its probably annoying but seriously, it's my child and if you want to watch him, it's my rules! Mainly I am just big on the sleeping side of things, I do not allow blankets or them to be on their bellies when they are young, so that is ONE THING I will not budge on! Also I co-slept but I do NOT want anyone but me sleeping in bed when my babes are that young, mainly because I trust myself but if something were to go wrong under the watch of someone else I would DIE! Now that they are older I do not have near as many rules but there are still a few rules. I am just a tad psycho on sleeping but hey if I were watching a friends babe, I would go by their rules because I respect them as parents! Be open with your family and lay out the rules, they will respect your choices, and if not, find another family member to help! 

Show me your 9 month Prego picture (or your last prego pic before birth):

Show me the nursery:

cant leave Vincent's room out....

Show me your kiddos:

Lastly, show me a quote {or picture} of something you believe in, or something that makes you smile: 

So head over to Allie's blog, give her a big congrats on her new pregnancy, and get to know her little awesome fam dam!!