Hi Love! Now that we are in full swing of 2021, and I hope you have been able to find peace, joy and happiness in anything you come across to help your own mental space this year. For my mental space this week, I found new places in my home that brought me peace to work from, and in the evenings binged Virgin River on Netflix. I will definitely share my favorite Netflix binge shows over the last few months very soon!

Now for the good stuff: My most commonly asked question as a Mom, Tips For Getting Baby To Sleep Through The Night! Every mom’s goal. I promise, ask every tired momma. With Brantley, my first, things were so overwhelming. One thing I didn’t really know that is the key to every baby, is the TRY IT ALL idea. Basically when whatever you’re doing isn’t working for baby you go one by one down the TRY IT ALL list until something works. Brantley had some digestion issues that once we got figured out I could really work on his sleeping that was much needed for all of our sanity. 13 months after he was born baby sister JP (Judith Penny) made her grand entrance and I implemented that same routine straight out of the womb with her as well. I did however keep that TRY IT ALL list close by because well, they’re individuals and may not like/need the same things! Remembering they’re in fact little people with opinions/likes/dislikes even at 1 day old helps to truly bring things into perspective when attempting to TRY IT ALL.

For the first month with Brantley things were a huge struggle in regards to sleeping and eating. I found our groove by taking notes from all the mom’s I knew, young and old. I then read/looked into Taking Care Babies, Happiest Baby, ect. It’s a lot of information and I didn’t feel like I fell in anywhere specific so I took a little from here and there and made my own, but very similar to many methods out there. Basically what I found to be true for both of my babies is that if their formula/breast milk intake during the day was at least the minimum total amount they were said to intake in 24 hours at their age, then simply put The Babies Slept, and so did Mom! I followed the every 3 hours eating “rule”, and took the minimum average amount of ounces their pediatrician said they needed to intake in 24 hours for their age, split that into how many bottles they took during the day (6-7 bottles) and that’s how many ounces I would give them. I did push them to finish each bottle and would burp very frequently and let them take as long as they needed to finish it. However, with Brantley I let him eat whenever he wanted all day (5 ounces here, 2 ounces there, 7 ounce, ect.) as long as before bath he hit that total number. JP needed more structure. If they ever acted like they wanted more I did happily give them more. This let me then know they ate their needed ounces or more during the day, which meant that when they woke at night they weren’t hungry and actually were in need of tips to learn to self soothe back to sleep.

Once on their own bottle routine I then focused on their following their lead on nap schedules. Brantley easily fell into scheduled two naps a day until around 9 months old, which transitioned into only 1 nap. JP however needed a bit more structure to fall into a nap routine. Her groove was not 2 naps a day, just 1 long nap. Again, following their lead makes giant difference in everyone’s happiness. Both babies are rested and happy. Different strokes for different folks!

Now for the evening, when it’s time for bedtime in our house, we refer to it as the “Triple B Routine”- Bath, Bottle, Bed. I feel this really, really sets the stage for baby learning to understand it is “night time”. Which to baby means those long stretches of sleep Mom and Dad want me to get, and eventually just take one really long stretch of sleep through the entire night. Since routine and structure is something children of all ages thrive on, I was not willing to budge on Triple B being moved in schedule. We plan around naps/Triple B Routine. Both of the kids have thanked us happily with sleep for it! Best tips for getting baby to sleep through the night I found.
1st B:Bath’s- We found they are calming for our babies. We also use Aveeno’s calming comfort bath for the lavender calming scent to help get baby in that night time mindset. Then it’s warm pj’s (carter’s cotton footed pajamas) and to 2nd B: A delicious bottle and off to 3rd B: BED

We are full believers in sound machines. Hatch Baby is the best by far we have found, and our babies both relish white noise sound to sleep with. I turn the lights off and sound machine on direct after pj’s. Then sit down in the glider, feed them while rocking them to all the night time soothing things. I would then especially as infants would burp them well after the bottle while rocking, and then rock them to sleep. I found that fully rocking them to sleep and placing them to bed, that as they got older (two weeks makes a big difference as an infant) they would move around more when I was rocking them to sleep and took that as they wanted to get theirselves comfortable and would lay them down more awake every week until I was laying them down fully awake to self soothe to sleep. Here again, is a follow their lead thing that I have found very successful. Once Triple B Routine was successful with Brantley, I knew it was something I was starting with JP even in the hospital!

Also, a few other things that each of our babies and I needed to have at night from newborn age to aid in tips for getting baby to sleep through the night-
Mom: My only need besides sleep for baby was the Owlet sleep sock for night time so that when they were sleeping I could too!
Brantley: He loved to sleep in the dockatot, even the largest one they made until we recently move him to his big boy bed. Now he just sleeps with a ton of pillow. He also had to have a soft blanket to hold while sleep to help soothe him.
JP: She had to be swaddles until 9 months. We used Halo’s sleep sack swaddle as they kept her hands down the best. She would whale her hands and arms around on her face and wake herself up constantly. Then with time I followed her lead with giving her room to move her hands/arms around and eventually she moved to a sleeveless sleep sack, then completely out of sleep sack. She also loves her soft blanket to sleep with as well.

I hope you have found this insightful for getting your baby to sleep through the night. Basically we are their guide to understanding sleep and what nighttime is meant for. If you have any specific questions on anything, I’d love to help answer them! Feel free to leave me a comment below or reach out to me on Instagram and this fellow momma who loves sleep will be happy to help you and your baby get there too! P.S. I’m NO expert, these are just my tips for getting baby to sleep through the night.



** Please note: I’m not a medical professional and all things in regards to your baby should be ran by a professional. These are things that worked for me and our babies. Every babies’s needs are different so the TRY IT ALL idea is still one I use daily since the kids are constantly growing and changing in their needs.**

Eyelash Serum // Eyelash Curler // Mascara Primer // Mascara // Mascara

Those gorgeous naturally long curled eyelashes is not something God gifted me with naturally. I’m one who has struggled on the lash train for years. I previously had eyelash extensions for about 2 years. I did love the look they gave my not so fabulous lash straight stubs. However, I didn’t care for the extra tender care I had to give to maintain them along with the hour refill appointment every few weeks. I’m a busy working mom and this just doesn’t fit into my schedule. Lash refills became a chore that was not enjoyable.

All of those things led me down a path to find something that would grow my natural lashes, longer and thicker, curl them well, and the best mascara for my lashes. So here I am, my Top 4 Products for Gorgeous Natural Eyelashes.

• Eye Lash Serum: I attempted to try the highly marketed Rodan and Fields lash serum, but my sensitive skin couldn’t handle it. I was red, itchy and slightly swollen. I was later recommend a new lash serum for sensitive skin that was half the price of R&F. Grande Lash Serum. This serum is amazing, and affordable (it’s frequently on sale at many retailers) and not irritating to even my sensitive skin. It works! When I initially started using it for the first three months, I used in morning and night in my skin care routine. I now use it only at night to help continue growth and maintain the current progress.
  
• Eyelash Curler: For my straight eyelashes this is a must do before applying any lash beauty products in my makeup routine. I have tried many “Holy Grail” lash curlers… If you need a list of those that don’t work, message me lol. I had kind of given up in the curler department and thought I may never find The One. BUT, then I saw this expensive lash curler shared that was to be life changing. And it’s just that LIFE CHANGING. I say expensive because in the world of lash curlers it’s on the pricier side. Not un-affordable ($34) though. Currently Sephora is running a sale that with another item or two will get you a discount off of your whole order. Go and checkout what you’re currently low on and grab this eyelash curler with your other needs so you can get on the road to loving your lashes again!
  
• Mascara Primer: I have found out how much better my eyelashes look with mascara when using a primer. My mascara also holds better all day long when using a primer. This duo set comes with a great mascara and primer in most stores. If you have a mascara you love and just need this primer it does come individually as well. This a drug store find I swear by.
  
• Mascara: Some days I do two coats and combine two mascara’s over my primer. Other days, I’m one, done, and out the door. I have a few favorite mascara’s I do swear by and my top 3 are listed below, and yes I use them all at different times depending on the look I want that day. Any of these are a GREAT choice.
  • Bad Gal Bang Mascara- Benefit
  • Voluminous Lash Paradise Mascara- L’oreal
  • Monsieur Big Mascara- Lancome

I hope this lash post has been a helpful resource for letting your natural lashes be a focal point in your makeup routine you actually love. And like I said above Sephora is running a great sale right now so you can stock up on your lash favorites all while saving!

Friday seems like the best day for shopping, don’t ya think? I’m helping my girl Brittany shop the NSale and in doing so I thought I would share my picks for the sale, and my favorite dupes I have found so far on some of the top items.

First Up: My picks this year are all things cozy and shoes! The shoes are VERY good this year. And cozy picks because well, most of us are still lounging around this house since COVID is still a very real thing. I also found that the more dressy pieces were more just trendy pieces and not capsule. That led me to dupes for some of these which is up next.

Second Up: Dupes! I was shocked to find super good dupes for many of the popular NSale items this year. However, as there are so many items I only did a few. I’m a total good dupe finder so if you find something in the sale you love, but you don’t love the price tag..I got you! Just let me know which item it is and sizing and I’ll go hunting for you!

Chunky Knit Sweater – Camo Utility Jacket

Band Tees – Knit Midi Dress –  Fleece Pullover

Cropped Sweater – Moto Jacket

Helllllo my ride or die loves! What better to kick off my first blog post in 2 years than one on a Nordstrom Anniversary Sale!

If you’re unfamiliar with the NSale, don’t feel bad. Until getting into blogging, I hadn’t heard of it either. It felt crazy to me that I hadn’t because well I’m all about a deal on current trends I love so how could I have been in the dark? I’m still lost on that answer.

But, regardless I have since then found it and shopped it every year since (the past 2 years I shopped it pregnant praying what I purchased would fit after I delivered). I thought I would share how I personally shop the sale in hopes to help you shop and actually enjoy the sale without being overwhelmed.

• Make A Budget
• Make A List of Things You Would Like To Snag
• Don’t Get Overwhelmed and Go Overboard

Making a budget goes a long way to ensure you don’t go overboard. You don’t NEED everything. And remember this sale happens every year with all the fall/winter staples so keep a list you might want to snag for next year. Stick to the budget! You may also want to use this sale to get early Christmas gifts for loved ones, but again.. stick to the budget.
** I have a trick I do to keep myself in check. Items sell out insanely fast (in minutes of going live), and since I, myself, am only a Nordstrom CC holder, I get to shop the sale early, but there are higher Nordstrom status buyers who get ability to shop before myself. My trick is to watch their social medias to see their posts on things they purchased I may have on my list, to see the fit and sizing. I then add details for my checklist to shop those specific things when I first get the green light. I then search for things I had on my list others didn’t share, add those to my cart, then quickly add all the other already detailed things from others to my cart. If that $TOTAL is over budget I quickly go through and remove those things I really CAN life without! Then checkout ASAP to ensure those I do love are still in stock**

Making that List and Checking it Twice: Y’all this is important to keep you and your budget in line. This year I’m looking for sweater, good thermals, possibly a black faux leather biker jacket, and booties. Not too much, and I won’t be doing excessive purchasing like you may see other Influencers. My purchases will be what I think I really need from this sale.

This is SO much in this sale. It’s crazy easy to get swept up in the hype of all the cute styles, and trends feeling the need to buy it all. This will leave you kicking yourself later for doing more damaged than you really needed to. Stick to the above, Budget and List. I promise this will leave you happy you shopped the sale, and not sick at what you spent. If budget is no issue and you want All The Things, although favorites sell out crazy fast, MANY of those favs do come back in stock throughout the duration of the sale. I will be watching for those items, especially if you let me know of something you really want and need me to stock for you 🙂

Just remember- Don’t get overwhelmed or discouraged. This Nordstrom Anniversary Sale happens every year so remember there is ALWAYS NEXT YEAR. Also, Be sure to enter my below giveaway to possibly win a Nordstrom gift card so the shopping odds can be ever more in your favor!

I have teamed up with an amazing group of bloggers to give YOU a chance to win: one of two $500 Nordstrom Gift Cards to shop the Anniversary sale!

Simply enter below by completing the rafflecopter. You’ll receive one entry per completion. This giveaway is open to the U.S. and Canada only and runs until 8/2. Winner will be announced here. Good Luck!

Void where prohibited. By entering the giveaway you acknowledge that you are agreeing to complete each task, which involves following, liking and subscribing to newsletter’s.

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