What Works

Last night, I sat in my glider in Sutton’s room thinking about my big belly and a year ago waiting on the arrival of my son! I have a picture of his 20 week sonogram on a table beside the glider, “baby’s first Bible,” and a book called Eat Your Peas for the New Mom. I opened the book for “New Moms” and started reading the encouraging words and notes! It’s crazy to think Sutton is almost 10 months when a year ago I was getting ready for him to join our world! With it being my first, I was convinced I needed EVERYTHING! I wanted to be prepared and have everything “on hand.” I remember flipping out about not having a contraption to sterilize Sutton’s bottles! Did I need one? Was it necessary? YES, I need EVERYTHING and be prepared for any scenario!

Well, I never got the bottle sterilizer contraption! And, guess what?! I hardly used bottles after the first couple of months! I have bottles and nipples that have never even been used, and Sutton is almost 10 months! Traveling back and forth to New Orleans and doing so much by myself, pumping and bottles got to be too much so I did what worked for me. Sutton was strictly on the boob, and I fed on demand! It made life easier at the time, and I was just trying to SURVIVE (cue the song I’m a Survivor… I’m not gon give up)!!!!!!! I was feeding Sutton, cleaning the house, changing him, giving him a bath, fixing dinner and lunch all by myself on top of the commute to New Orleans regularly! (Side Note: I don’t tell you this to say gosh poor Hillary because I know there are many single mamas out there who do this on the regular, but I tell you this to say do WHAT WORKS FOR YOU!) Sutton still wasn’t sleeping through the night either….. and might I add still doesn’t! Yes, we tried the CIO (moms lingo for Cry It Out) method, and he still doesn’t! I found this quote in Eat Your Peas for the New Mom “When the baby keeps you awake all night, remember you will have a lifetime to catch up on your sleep. But you’ll never have this night with your little one again.” Oh, if it seemed like that at the time when your so tired and all you want is your baby to sleep; I promise there is light at the end of the tunnel!

I also did what all mothers aren’t suppose to do! I put the babe in the bed with me! For some reason, co-sleeping is so frowned upon in the parenthood world! Once again, I did what worked for me! I was home with Sutton so much by myself, and there was no way I was putting him in his crib across the house from me! So, I bought a DocAtot and put it beside me in the bed at night… it worked, and I wasn’t up constantly picking up Sutton to nurse! It worked well for us for that point in time! We got rid of the DAT around 6 months, and Sutton loved his freedom in the pack n’ play! He is now a belly/side sleeper!

As Sutton gets older, I think about all the places he has been to in his almost 10 months of life. I think about how there were times I honestly didn’t think I could go anymore with S on the road, but I somehow pulled through. I remember one mom telling me that my life was going to be hell if I didn’t start putting Sutton down for naps instead of holding him! Oh honey, if you only knew the half of what my life is as a baseball wife and mom you would do whatever you could just to get some sleep when your managing a household by yourself 1/2 of the year! And honestly, Sutton is only small once, so I plan to hold him as long as I can until one day he is running from me, won’t text me back or telling me I’m embarrassing him! If I have learned anything through baseball it’s to cherish every single moment because you never know when those moments are gone! After S’s success in 2015, I promised myself I would never take our crazy life for granted and enjoy the little moments in life; so, I carried it over into my son! We bought a Go Pro to capture every single moment with our son and to watch him grow!

So, I leave this blog post with this for all you moms or new moms out there reading this, DO WHAT WORKS FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY! I had moms to tell me to get the book Baby Wise but just thinking of that book stresses me out! I never even thought about getting it, and we have our own little routine and go with the flow! It’s “what works” for us! Find your niche and know that no matter what your awesome mama!!!

Pictured below is Sutton’s baby dedication! At PAO (Professional Athletes Outreach) Conference in November, Francis Chan dedicated our sweet babe to the Lord! I asked Francis to pray for Sutton’s salvation and future spouse! What an amazing experience for us as Sutton’s parents!