Review: Maxi-Cosi Lara Stroller

Can we talk about strollers for a minute? 
I remember when I was 30 weeks and the hunt to find one (that had everything I wanted) was tricky. I knew I wanted a bassinet stroller which came with a car seat. FYI: Super important for leaving the hospital. I was extremely grateful that the Maxi-Cosi Zelia stroller just came out on time and met my full expectations. I was even luckier that I put it on my baby registry and my brother purchased it for us. We have been rocking it ever since.

We always knew that when the time came that we wanted to get a travel stroller as well. 
Why? 
When my Ava and I are just out shopping- it's all fine but the minute I need to take her up a flight of stairs we're in trouble. Thankfully I only had to do this once so far and my husband was there BUT... I remember the struggle. And I don’t want to have to do all that again on vacation.

A few months ago, I started the hunt because we wanted to travel a lot this Summer. I knew that meant that a plane would be included and thinking of everything we have to carry is stressing me out and we haven’t even left yet!!! Plus the thought of struggling with a big stroller through the airport and the narrow aisles of a plane is giving me nightmares. 

Thankfully, I found a solution. I was gifted the Maxi-Cosi Lara stroller.

REVIEW: Dreambaby Mayfair Converta 3-in-1 Playpen Gate

The best thing about being a parent is watching your little one grow up. Every new milestone is exciting! Ava Rose is so smart! I just love the way how she catches on to things. Their process of learning how to crawl is no exception, even if it is the “belly/military” crawl (like what she is doing). The scary part is that it makes you realize just how dangerous your house is. 

Without giving out my full details I live in a decent sized townhouse that has a open concept kitchen/living room/dining room. Not my first choice- but the best choice that my husband and I had at the time. We totally didn’t think it through if we had kids... 

Back to the baby: My 11.5 month-old has been crawling a lot lately. And getting into EVERYTHING! The one thing about her is that she quite quick! I don’t know where she got it from but if she sees something she likes... she goes for it. It's adorable....until she heads toward the TV unit, or the stairs. Pretty sure that if we leave her be- she'll crawl her way right out the front door altogether. 

I’m so happy that I was introduced to Dreambaby. They graciously gave me the opportunity to chose a gate of my choice for Ava. When my husband and I started researching we looked into everything and a Play-Pen Gate was the best option. More specifically, we went with the Mayfair 3-in 1 Play-Pen Gate

Revlon Kiss™ Cushion Lip Tint

Ava Rose is literally my world. While I husband is at work- I stay home and maintain my business.... Plus take care of her daily. So when it’s time to go out- I usually have a bare face. 

As always, I'm looking for products which are going to make my day easier. 

The girls on twitter have been talking about the new Revlon Kiss Cushion Lip Tint that has been popping-up in stores. When I got the email to try them I jumped on because of the word “tint”. That means that after my wild day that hopefully I will have a tint of something on my lips. 

I miss the times where I could sit and do my whole face.
I am lucky if I get to do my eyebrows!

Sponsored: Calling all moms! Let's talk about Sleep!

*Sponsored Content*

New Mom?
Well, here's what some good sleep will do for you! Having a newborn baby can be stressful. And the most common problem about it all is that you will barely catch some good shut eye. If it is about changing diapers and all, you could get your partner to do it, take turns. But the first few months will have you, the mom, up after every two or three hours, because you will need to breast feed(or prep a bottle) your little tot. For any human though, sleep is important. It is among one of the top ways to get your body performing at its peak, and have you productive and energetic during the day.

So what are some of these benefits, and why is it so important that you actually lie down and get hours of proper sleep? 

New Mom Essentials: Up to 10 months!

We are a few days shy of eleven months and again I feel like I say this in every post but I cannot believe how quickly time flies. Ava Rose is growing and doing something amazing every day. I honestly cannot get enough of her. Having a baby is expensive but I’m blessed to have the opportunity to try many products whether it be through blog, gifts or just my husband and I seeing something cool and buying it. Here are some products that helped up in the past few months.

Yoomi 
Yoomi Bottle with Warmer ($39.99 CAN)
I was actually gifted the yoomi feeding bottle a while ago. I thought it was super unique. I can admit- I didn't get to use it for night-feeding (baby girl slept through the night). I can totally see how a product like this could be ideal! No fumbling in the dark at 1am trying to warm up milk. The yoomi self-warming bottle warms your baby's feed in just 60 seconds using the bottle warmer that inserts into the nipple.

Quick and Easy Apple Puree Mixes for Your Baby

Making food for your baby at home might seem high maintenance for some. When Ava was 5 months we started to feed her "solids". For the first few days, she was like... what is this!? Then after a while, she was obsessed. For the purposes of this article, I'm going to base my tips on a simple fruit that we all start on as babies: Apples.

You know how that old saying goes, an apple a day keeps the doctor away. Well, in this case, an apple a day might just make their transition to solids so much easier!

Guest Post: Road trip with a baby under 3 months old

Road trips are meant to be fun right? 
I personally love taking them every chance I get. I like packing up, wearing my sunglasses and singing songs on the highway like I’m the artist on stage while driving to my destination. It was all so simple before our daughter Juliette was born. Now I try my best to plan it all out before hitting the road. Our first road trip as a family was to Atlanta, GA luckily for us Nashville, TN is only 4 hours away by car. I must admit I was a bit nervous to take our 3 month old on a road trip, but she really enjoys car rides. We decided to leave early in the morning to beat the morning traffic here in Nashville and arrive before the after work rush home from the Atlanta drivers.

I nursed Juliette at 5:30am then got her changed into a clean diaper. I dressed her in a sleep and play onesie to make sure she would be comfortable. This outfit also helped make diaper changes on the road swift. Afterwards, I checked her diaper bag to make sure I didn’t leave anything out while my husband loaded our luggage in the trunk. Anytime we head out the house I always make sure Juliette has her 3 favourite items a soft blanket, a WabbaNub and her lovie. Juliette’s lovie is a small bunny with a tiny security blanket attached. I tend to keep them in her car seat so we don’t have to go on a wild goose chase searching for them. She loves holding them all while traveling in her car seat.

An hour later it was finally time to hit the road. My husband Johnathan loves to drive and I sat in the back with Juliette. We closed our eyes and prayed for safe travels and opened them to see we needed to get gas. I highly recommend getting gas the day before. We grabbed a quick bite to eat and was on the highway by 7:00am. Literally, 7 minutes later Juliette was asleep. Two hours later we stopped in Chattanooga, TN to change Juliette’s diaper at a restaurant nearby the exit ramp. I like stopping at a restaurant so I can eat a snack, if needed and nurse her at the same time. After Johnathan got a few good burps from Julie it was time to it the road again.