Never Google "Baby Rash"

HAPPY TUESDAY MAMAS! Time for....

Here's what you do:
1. Write a post about ANYTHING baby {or pregnancy} related.
2. Add my button to your post.
3. Link your post with the link-up tool found at the end of all of my posts.
EASY PEASY!

We have been extremely lucky that Kenley has never gotten anything worse than a cold and has only had one cold in her life {I am knocking on wood so hard right now}, so when she got a little rash on her leg, I wasn't overly concerned because she's been so healthy. The rash was nothing more than a bunch of small red bumps. 

She didn't have a fever, she didn't have any symptoms, it didn't itch and she was eating, sleeping, playing, peeing, pooping as usual. We tried putting extra lotion {and Eucerin} on it in case it was just super dry, we tried putting her to bed in just a onesie in case it was heat rash and we dried her extra well and let her air dry after her bath in case it was water related. This little rash just didn't want to go away.

After a few days, I started to get a little concerned. She still had no symptoms, it wasn't bugging her and it wasn't spreading but it wasn't going away either. So, I did what I'm guessing a lot of moms do and I googled "baby rash". Whatever you do, DON'T DO IT! The results are terrifying, disgusting and heartbreaking. For those of you who just minimized your window to go google "baby rash"....curiosity killed the cat, don't say I didn't warn you.

Of course after reading all about different types of rashes and looking and hundreds of poor babies with awful skin conditions, I started to get a little panicked. I didn't want to be one of those moms who ignores an obvious problem and then feels super guilty when the rash turns out to be rubella or the mumps or something awful but I also don't want to be one of those moms who runs to the doctor every time my kid sneezes.

So after an internal debate and chats with both my mom and my Beeb, I decided to call the nurse line which I felt completely silly doing because how a nurse is supposed to diagnose a rash over the phone is beyond me but you know what, she did. She was so sweet, so helpful and made me feel like a good mom for checking in. When I said "well I googled baby rashes and..." she replied with "oh honey, never google rashes, it is terrifying what comes up." She recommended trying a teeny bit of hydro-cortisone three times a day,  which we did, and the rash is looking much better. It's not completely gone, but we have a 15 month well check up on Friday, so we'll have the doctor check it out then.

I guess the moral of this story is follow your mama gut {and boy do I have a mama gut} - don't feel bad about not rushing to the doctor, don't feel bad about calling the nurse for help and DO NOT under any circumstances google "baby rash".

Nurturing the Marriage

Anyone who says that marriage doesn't change after having a baby is lying. Being a parent completely changes you. It changes your interests, your schedule, your priorities. If so much of your life is flipped upside down...how is it possible that your marriage is unaffected? That's not to say, however, that the changes are negative. Watching Jason become a dad has made me fall more in love with him, as cliché as that sounds, and I feel grateful every day that this man is Kenley's father - what a lucky little girl!

But, what I'd guess to be a big "negative" impact on a marriage after baby is the amount of husband and wife time. I know for sure that Jason and I need to make more of an effort to spend quality time with each other as husband and wife not just as mom and dad.

Since Friday was Valentines Day, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to get some quality Husby time in. Jason and I made a reservation at a great steakhouse downtown and then I surprised him with a night on the town and a hotel room at one of the amazing downtown hotels. And thanks to a super sweet friend who works for the hotel we got an amazing suite on the top floor and had a bottle of champagne waiting for us!

It's crazy to think that this is what we used to do EVERY WEEKEND {well minus the steakhouse and hotel room}! Boy how times have changed. I wouldn't trade our time as a family of three for anything, but it sure is nice kick it old school with my main man every once and a while. We had so much fun and it was a great reminder that we truly are best friends, we have a blast together, and we love each other more than anything.


And now it's Monday and I want to punch people in the face. J

Cuter Than Cupid



Either my daughter is destined to be a super model or this adorable Valentines Day onesie from Charlie Cheeks Vinyl brings out her inner fashionista.

Girlfriend was legit striking poses while I was taking these photos...a Kenley FIRST for sure!

 

 

Super sweet Erica started Charlie Cheeks Vinyl after getting frustrated with the selection of baby boy clothes while shopping for her sweet little man. Her creative and adorable shirts are so unique, there is sure to be a style for every little one. If not, she'll custom design something for you! Erica sent Kenley this sweet little onesie just in time for Valentines Day and we both love it! The onesie quality is great {much softer than the Gerber brand} and I think the design speaks for itself.

 

As a special Valentine's treat for all my readers, Erica is offering 25% off her whole store!

Just visit http://charliecheeksvinyl.bigcartel.com and use the coupon code MAMAANDMOU

offer ends February 28th!

 

 

Also, this is totally optional, but Kenley suggests pairing your Charlie Cheeks shirts with a plain white onesie worn as a scarf. 

Cruz's Birth Story {11.13.11}

Hi friends! It's time for another birth story! Are you loving this as much as I am? I could seriously read birth stories all day, I never get sick of them! Today, the gorgeous Katie from Yellow Mango Life is here to share the story of how her son Cruz was welcomed to the world! Cruz is now 2 and if you follow Katie, you already know he is the cutest little thing!

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Cruz John Manganaro

November 13, 2011

6lbs 15oz; 20 in long

12:44am

Saturday, November 12th  (38 weeks, 5 days)

Nick & I had planned to spend the day watching football and lounging around the house, so in the morning I ran to the grocery store to get ingredients to make chili and some other game-day snacks. Around 2pm and after getting everything together, I was relaxing on the couch when I felt an uncomfortable leak. I [waddled] into the bathroom where I noticed a difference from the normal pregnancy discharge and when I wiped the paper was more pink than clear. At this point I was concerned, so I got onto my laptop and googled what had just happened. I got mixed messages on what I should do next and if in fact this was the start of labor. At this point, Nick had come upstairs to get something to eat and I explained to him what had happened. He asked if we needed to head to the hospital and I said, "not yet."

As I was laying on the couch, I continued to feel a slight leak and decided to call my doctor's office. Surprisingly, Dr. McTaggart picked up the phone herself and as I explained what was going on, she said that we should head to the hospital and she would call and tell them to expect us.

I went downstairs and told Nick that the doctor wanted us to head into the hospital but I was going to shower and get ready first so he had about an hour before we needed to leave. After getting ready and washing up the dishes, we packed up the car and headed to Bergan Mercy. On the way down we were debating calling our families to let them know we were heading in - my biggest fear was that I was wrong and they were going to send us home because we weren't going into labor yet.  We decided to call our parents and, of course, my sister Tessa. We also sent a heads up text out to our brothers & sisters. At this point, I started feeling slight contractions.

Once we got to the hospital around 4:30pm, they immediately checked us into a birthing suite where our nurse, Sheryl, started examining me.  This is when my water fully broke and she confirmed we were going into labor. At this point, I was only dilated 1cm. A while later Emily, a resident, came in to examine me and predicted that we wouldn't have the baby until 4am. (What...4am?!? But my water broke, isn't it time to have this baby?) Around this time, the anesthesiologist happened to be in our wing so they asked if I would be ok if they started the epidural process. Surprisingly, Nick watched as they stuck the needle in my spine (surprising because two of his biggest fears have always been childbirth and needles!)

Getting the epidural

From there it was a waiting game. Nick went between pacing the room and being on his iPhone watching football and texting family & friends and I was on my iPad and phone doing the same. Tessa was the first to make it to the hospital and came up to hang out with us in the birthing room, followed soon after by my parents, Josh, Ashley & DeLaney, and Nick's mom Carol & her boyfriend Duane.

Around 7pm, Sheryl left and introduced us to our new nurse, Maelene. Right before 9pm, the contractions were coming more frequently and were more painful, so I asked for the epidural and our families left for the waiting room. The epidural was amazing. As soon as the anesthesiologist put it in the catheter, I could feel the cool, soothing sensation flow down my back and almost immediately the pain went away (though I still had some slight pain with each contraction). Shortly after, Maelene examined me and told us that I was only 3cm dilated...that was such a deflating feeling, it seemed like it was taking forever. At this point, I felt bad that everyone had been waiting for so long and it looked like it would take a lot longer before Little Mango was going to make his appearance. When Nick's dad John got to the hospital, he came into our room to quickly say hello - and that is when he saw the dry erase board on our wall where Nick had written "Welcome Cruz John Manganaro." We hadn't told him we had decided his middle name would be John and you could tell he was moved. He then sent Janice up and then they went back home to put Sicily & Dominic to bed since they were babysitting them that night.

The waiting continued until my 11pm examination. When Maelene told us that I was fully effaced and 9cm dilated, we were ecstatic - it was game time! Maelene and a few other nurses started prepping the room. We were excited to think that we would be having our baby on 11/12, however, the nurses had other things in mind and we stared at the clock as it ticked closer to midnight. Finally, Maelene came back in, verified I was 10cm dilated and prepped me. I hoisted my legs in the stirrups and she helped me practice pushing during the contractions, which consisted of her watching my contractions on the monitor and having me take a deep breath and push for 10 counts. I would be doing this three times during each contraction.

Sunday, November 13th  (38 weeks, 6 days)
Around midnight, a doctor and a couple of nurses came into our room and we were all waiting for Dr. McTaggart who had been paged, but hadn't yet responded. Finally they found her (she had been asleep!) and we were ready to roll.

With Nick up by my head, holding onto my shoulder, I started pushing through each contraction. Since I couldn't feel anything it was hard to tell if I was making any progress, but all of the nurses and doctors were great at giving me positive feedback after every push - at least making me feel like we were getting somewhere. After some time, they explained that Cruz was being stubborn and wasn't progressing as quickly as they hoped and they thought they would have to use the forceps to help pull him out. I was praying that wouldn't happen and after a few more pushes, he was out!

It's difficult to explain how I felt as soon as I saw them take him from me and bring him over to get cleaned up. He was bluish in color, with a little cone head from being in the birth canal a bit longer than anticipated. Immediately I broke down in tears and took one look at Nick who was smiling through his tears. What an amazing moment. While they removed the placenta and stiched me up, Nick walked over to where they were cleaning Cruz up and grabbed his tiny little hand...almost immediately, Cruz squeezed his finger back.

Finally after what felt like forever, they brought him over to me. With tears pouring down my face, I looked into my little boy's eyes. He was perfect and for the first time I felt like a mother. This moment was truly the best of my life.



Follow Katie at Yellow Mango Life

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To submit a birth story, email me at mamaandmou@gmail.com

4 Days...Baby Free...in Vegas...with BRITNEY!

photo credit

I love my baby. The days where I get to spend the entire day with her are my most favorite days but you guys...mama needs a break! We all need a break now and then and we deserve it! This past weekend I not only got a break, I got a 4 day vacation! For my birthday {in December} my mom gifted me tickets to see Britney...in Las Vegas!

I have been a Britney fanatic since Baby One More Time and had seen her in concert three previous times, I have all her albums and have loved her through the barefoot gas station shaved head days. Needless to say I have been shaking with excitement since December 12th and am having a hard time accepting that this trip has already come and gone. 

I left Minneapolis early Friday morning, and while I am normally a very nervous flyer, I was as cool as a cucumber thanks to my flight essentials.

I arrived in Vegas at 9am on Friday the 7th and met my mom at the airport {she flew in from Scottsdale}. We grabbed our bags, hopped in a cab and arrived at the Paris Hotel, our home for the next 4 days.

We were able to check in early; so we dropped our bags, unpacked a bit, then grabbed our gambling money and hit the strip.

We kicked off our trip with an early lunch and champagne at Mon Ami Gabi which is in Paris. We were able to grab a perfect table on the patio which had a great view of the strip and the Bellagio fountain. I ordered an Eggs Benedict that was made with Beef Tenderloin instead of ham and it was out of this world.

After lunch we walked our way up the strip to Mandalay Bay to get pedicures at The Bath House. This spa was incredible. It was so serene and literally had baths {aka hot tubs} around every corner. Our treatment included comfy white robes, a warm scented neck pillow {heaven} and the best pedicure I've ever received. A lovely lady named Angel did my toes and I wish I could have brought her home, she was so sweet and funny and took amazing care of my toes. But, my favorite part of the experience was letting my toes dry. I normally dread sitting still under those heat lamps but at The Bath House, you lay on a lounge chair overlooking one of the baths...talk about relaxation.

 

After our pedicures we mosied our way back to Paris to primp for our night. Once we were ready we went up to Eiffel Tower Restaurant for a cocktail. The restaurant was beautiful, the view was incredible but the bartenders were rude. Nonetheless, it was a great way to start the night.

From there, we walked next door to Planet Hollywood to have dinner at Koi, where I failed to take a single picture. The atmosphere was really cool and our waiter was very sweet but it took over 30 minutes to get our drinks and edamame. After expressing my disappointment we had said drinks removed from our tab and received two more complimentary drinks from the manager - apology accepted. Despite the poor service, the food was amazing! My mom and I shared a California Roll, Rock Shrimp, Beef Potstickers and Szechuan Green Beans.

After dinner, it was time for BRITNEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My super amazing Minnesota blog friend Andrea just so happened to be in Vegas to see Britney the same night! So we met up before the concert to share in our spastic excitement. Andrea's sweet hubby Aaron bought us girls a drink and we cheers-ed to BritBrit while surrounded by some of her famous outfits.

What can I even say about this show? I honestly don't know. Britney did not disappoint. Every teeny detail was incredible and just as each time before she put on an incredible show. She debuted her new brunette locks at our show and it now has me wanting to go dark. The set list was perfect, her dancers were insane, the production was out of this world...it was incredible. 

During the show we were sitting behind a group of extremely excited Gay boys. One of the boys who was sitting in front of me and one seat to the left was as my mom called him, "my long lost sister." My mom said she kept looking over and we would be doing the SAME dance moves, we'd get excited about the SAME songs and we were the only two people in our section who didn't sit down. He kept looking back at me throughout the show and we totally bonded over our love for Britney. I don't even know his name, but you better believe we snapped a pic.

Sweaty from dancing my face off. 

After the concert, we popped in to the Britney store where I bought a couple souvenirs and then we crossed the street to The Cosmopolitan. We set up shop at The Chandelier Bar where an amazing singer was covering Frank Sinatra and Tom Jones. We had a couple cocktails, recapped the show and somehow stayed out until nearly 3am. After returning to our room we ordered some much needed room service and then fell asleep with little Britneys dancing in our heads. 

We were late to rise on Saturday morning, but once we got our Starbucks we were ready to take on the shops of Las Vegas. We started at Bellagio and then made our way to The Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace.

After hours of perusing Jimmy Choo, Tory Burch, Valentino, Burberry, Tiffanys & Co and more; we met up with one of my FAVORITE bloggers, Erin, from Hello Erin. 

We had lunch with Erin and her friends at Munchbar in Caesar's Palace and had so much fun. Erin is just as adorable and sweet as she appears on her blog and I feel super sad that we live so far away from each other. Her friends, sister and hubby were all as sweet as she is and my mom and I had such a great time getting to know them. 

Per Erin's suggestion, we made our way back to Planet Hollywood so I could buy this giant pimped out champagne bottle chain filled with Captain Crush - which was some sort of mango rum concoction that gave me gut rut after like 3 sips. But it wasn't about the drink...this bad boy made it's way home with me and is patiently awaiting tailgate season.

After we were all showered and ready to hit the town again, we went back to Bellagio to have a drink at Picasso. This restaurant sits right next to the Bellagio fountain and is decorated exclusively in original Picasso artwork. Pablo Picasso has always been my favorite artist and I was in total awe of what surrounded me as I sipped my Picasso Pom Martini.

Not only were TWO of my bloggy friends in Vegas the same weekend but so was my DAD! He was in town for business so we all met up for a couple of drinks at Tap in MGM. My parents are divorced but it makes me SO happy that they get along and are able to be around each other. I had so much fun hanging out with both of my parents, even if it was just for a couple of hours.

After our drinks we walked to Mandalay Bay to have dinner at Border Grill. We shared guacamole and I ordered the Brisket Taquitos - HOLY MOLY - they were so frickin' good! The restaurant was pretty dead for a Saturday night but I loved the atmosphere and decor and the food was some of the best Mexican I've had. This is definitely a place I would revisit! 

We finished dinner around 10:30pm and were both beat from our antics the night before and the 11+ miles we had walked that day {thank you FitBit}. We opted to head back to Paris, grab a drink and Gelato and watch a movie. I polished off my Gelato but fell asleep before I could finish my drink...and I'm pretty sure I saw about two minutes of the movie.

Sunday morning we woke up feeling nice and rested so we once again walked all the way to Mandalay Bay to visit The Shark Reef Aquarium. It was so neat to see all the crazy sea creatures and be surrounded by tons of sharks.

 

On our walk back we stopped in New York New York and had lunch at Broadway Burger Bar. I ordered the Greek Turkey Burger which was SO delicious. I loved that it was served in a pita and I'm definitely going to use this as inspiration for dinner in the future, or like tomorrow.

We made a pit stop at the hotel to shower and change and then walked to the Sports Book in Caesar's Palace to watch the Arizona basketball game and place some bets. I won one of my four bets and then bet my winnings which I lost - such a bummer! But it was really fun to watch the game and now I understand why Jason is so obsessed with sports books.

After the game we ran into Richard Sherman in the casino. He was so much smaller than I thought he would be so I had to google him to make sure it was actually him. Of course by the time I got my act together he was gone so I missed my chance to snap a pic. We had some time to kill before our dinner reservation, so we popped into Fizz which is Elton John's bar {also in Caesar's Palace}. The bar is decorated with art from his personal collection and is a wonderfully eclectic and totally Elton atmosphere. We both ordered the Fizz Noir Martini which was probably the most delicious drink I've ever had. It was made with Grey Goose Cherry Noir, Domaine Chandon Brut Champagne, Cherry Herring Liqueur, rock candy syrup, lemon juice and egg whites. I tried to get the recipe out of the bartender with no such luck. I would seriously fly back to Vegas JUST for one of these bad boys.

That night we had dinner at Rao's {also in Caesar's Palace} and it was incredible. We each had a Caesar Salad and I ordered the Ricotta Spinach Ravioli in Vodka Cream Sauce. It was SO GOOD. It was probably my favorite meal of the trip - which is saying a lot.

As we were leaving the restaurant we got passes for free cover and free drinks at Pure Nightclub in Caesar's. Experiencing a Vegas nightclub was definitely on my list but I knew wasn't really my mom's thing. We figured it was worth it to check it out and at the very least get some free drinks. We ended up having the BEST time. We danced the night away, talked with quite a few interesting boys, saw quite a few interesting girls and had one {or two, or three} too many drinks.

I can't even tell you what time we got back to our room but I can tell you I was a hurting unit the next morning. Despite the brutal headache, we hit up the strip one last time. We did some shopping at The Grand Canal Shoppes in The Venetian and Palazzo and had breakfast at Grand Lux Cafe in The Venetian which was a great spot but just had OK food but it certainly hit the spot after a night of drinking.

It was such a gorgeous day, we opted to spend the rest of our afternoon lounging {and napping} by the pool at Paris. After the coldest winter in Minnesota's history, feeling the warm sun on my skin was just about the most amazing thing ever.

We ended our trip with lunch on Cabo Wabo Cantina's patio with nachos and a Corona.

It was an incredible trip filled with so many new memories. I had such a blast with my little mama and am so grateful that we are able to do things like this together. I'm happy to be home with my family but wish I had a few more days to recover. That, and I'm incredibly sad this trip is over.