My Home Security: The Ring Doorbell

The Ring Doorbell

I hate being home alone..especially at night. I have irrational fears of that craziest things happening when I am home alone. We have a German Shepherd puppy and it for sure eases a little bit of the fear having her around...but every time I was home alone I still found myself constantly worrying. It got much worse once we had H. I was always planning in my head for all different situations and scenarios about what I was going to do to protect me & H. 

That was until I finally did some research about home security systems. I didn't want to drop thousands of dollars for some big fancy system. I just wanted something that would help me sleep better at night. I looked at many different systems until I finally found one that I thought I would like. 

If you couldn't guess already, its called The Ring Doorbell.

 

This product is truly a life-saver. It is super easy to set up and easy to use. It comes with a base that screws into your house by your door. The actual camera is removable to charge it when needed. That's all the installation, just a base with 2 screws and its ready.

The set up for the actual product is pretty simple and easy to follow as well. The ring doorbell app is available in your app store on your phone. Once you download the app, you set up an account with your email. Each camera comes with a code that you scan with the app and it links it to the camera. You then name the camera and answer a few questions about where it is going to be located to help the camera detect motion. That's all. Your camera is ready! **I do charge the camera to a full 100% before hang it up the first time.

I have this camera at both my back door and my front door. Anytime there is motion detected by either door, I get a notification on my phone. Once clicking on the notification, it opens up to the camera & I can see everything. Another feature that is awesome, by clicking a green phone button while you have the camera open, you can talk to whoever is outside your door. There is also a button on the Ring which is the actual "Doorbell" part. When someone presses it, you get a notification from the app that someone is at your back door. You can open it and talk to them as well. 

I love this doorbell. It gives you a little peace of mind and is super simple to use! The battery life is great, we got our first on the first weekend of December 2018 and to the end of March 2019, have only had to remove it to charge it twice! The price isn't bad either, only $99.99 for the exact camera we have. There are other cameras by Ring, that have different features as well. There is storage plans you can purchase as well. With the storage plan, for $30 a year all of your videos/motion detections are stored and saved to the cloud. This makes it so you can go back and review and re-watch/ listen to all the videos whenever needed. Without the plan, you can only respond to the motion right when it happens, it does not save them. 

I highly recommend this product for your home security! I will link below where to buy your Ring on Amazon! 

Get your Ring Doorbell here!

Until the next dash, 

Momma Spice*

**This is NOT a sponsored post.

A letter to My Baby Girl

 You changed my life, from the day you were born. The moment the doctor put your tiny self on my chest, I felt the most immense love I've ever felt. I knew you and I loved you for 9 months before, but there I laid holding you, hearing you, and seeing you for the first time....

And you were everything I imagined and more. 

Since that day, I can't imagine my life without you. You are and will always be my best friend (whether you like it or not). I am constantly in the battle of wanting you to stay little forever and being so excited to see who you become and what you accomplish, because I know it will be great things. 

For now, I will hold you while you cry, cuddle you each day, pray for your future, and write to you.

My letter to my Baby Girl..

"If I could give you 3 things in life, it would be the confidence to always know your self worth, the strength to chase your dreams, and the ability to know how deeply loved you are."

Remember these 5 things..

1. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, smarter than you think and loved more than you'll ever know. -Never forget that you can take on anything. God made you strong enough and brave enough to take on whatever life brings. Use your brains, you are smart and will only get smarter day by day. Never question if you are loved. You are loved so deeply by so many people.

2. Life is filled with hard and good times. -Accept the hard times, you will get through them. You will learn to appreciate and enjoy the good times more. The hard times are all temporary. Happy endings are true, if you aren't happy than its not the end. Take a deep breath, say a prayer, let go of what you can't control, and take a step forward without looking back. You're not going that way. 

3. Learn from everything you can. -Life will give you daily lessons, daily challenges, and daily questions. Take the lessons, overcome the challenges and ask your questions. Life is too short not to learn something new each day from each new and old experience. Never be afraid to ask and learn something new

4.Chase your dreams as far as they will take you. -Oh the places you will go. You can go so far and accomplish so many great things. Find your passion and go with it. Always enjoy what you do and try new things. Whatever your dreams are, do it.

5. I am always here and I hope you believe in yourself as much as I do. -No matter what you do or what you say. No matter where you go or who you're with, I will always be here for you. I will be by your side celebrating the good and supporting you through the bad. Holding your hand and helping you stand tall and walk away from what isn't right and embracing what is. You will never be alone and I hope you never feel alone.


Never let anyone tell you to change yourself. Be sensitive, be strong, be quiet, be loud, be ambitious, be curious, be strong, be assertive, be independent, whatever it is...BE YOU. 

You is Kind. You is Smart. You is Important.

Love you for ever & for always,

Momma*

Birth Photographers....yes or no??

I love pictures because the best thing about them is that, they never change...even when the people in them do

I am 100% obsessed with pictures. I take millions of pictures all the time and I never get rid of any! (Shout out to Microsoft OneDrive for always backing up all my memories....136GB of them!) I take pictures of everything, from major events or milestones to daily activities. I will never regret taking all the pictures, I will only regret the ones I didn't take.

This was the same mindset I had going into my pregnancy, with maternity pictures and birth photography. I knew I wanted to document all of it, I wanted to be able to go back and look and remember everything.

Everyone gave me a weird look when I said we were going to have a birth photographer. I got questions like "You want pictures of THAT?" "You want everyone to see THAT?" "You really want an extra person in the room and seeing everything during THAT?"  My answer to every question was, yes, yes, & yes, because "THAT" was the birth of my daughter and I want to remember it perfectly for the rest of my life.

Now, I will say it helped a lot that I knew the photographer very well. I was more than comfortable with her being in the room and being apart of it. The photographer was the same photographer that took my high school senior pictures, our engagement pictures, wedding pictures, and maternity pictures. She is clearly A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. (Which is why we keep going back to her) **Check out her website below.

Nicole Morehead Photography Website

It wasn't weird having a photographer in the delivery room and I honestly LOVED all the pictures, so I vote ABSOLUTELY YES on birth photographers.

**Below are the links to all our events that Nicole photographed. 

Our Baby Girl's Birth Story

Our Engagment

Pregnancy Video

Our Wedding

Until the Next Dash,

Momma Spice*

10 Must-Must Have Products for Newborns

Anyone who is having their first baby, if they are anything like me, look up what the best products are, what everyone suggests to use, and they go out and buy each and every thing. 

I read so many articles and lists, I asked everyone who had babies what products I should buy. I got a lot of information, a little overwhelming, some of the information was contradicting to what another person would tell me.

 It was confusing and I felt like I needed to learn what was gonna work best for me, but I wanted to compile a list of the Top 10 Items that I found have been so great in at least the first 2 months of our baby girls life. 

So below I will list 10 of my favorite items and a detailed description of why. I will also include a link to purchase the item + so you can do your own research about the products too.

1. NosaFrida: GAME. CHANGER. I swore up and down that I would not use this product...because EWWW! The first time our little girl had a stuffy/snotty nose, I used the saline spray and the bulb syringe like it was my job...but nothing ever helped. I would get nothing out with the bulb and she was still so stuffy, she would also always cry during this process. My sister insisted that I use a NosaFrida, then my Dr told me they recommend them as well. The first time we tried it, we couldn't believe how much we got to come out of her little nose and with almost no fuss at all! We didn't have to do this as often either because so much would come out at one time. I HIGHLY recommend this product!













NosaFrida: HERE!

2. Fisher Price Rock N Play: I love this sleeper. This is what my girl has slept in since day 1. She is 10 weeks now. This specific Rock N Play has a power chord. It has buttons to rock, vibrate, and a built in sound machine. You can also control it with an app on your phone. This keeps them sleeping on their back and also in a cradled position. We have her sleep right next to our bed and it works great! It doesn't take up much space and is fold-able for easy transportation.

Rock N Play: HERE!

3. Baby Brezza: This is for all the formula feedings moms. This product will spoil you! It's the Kuerig for babies! You put your formula powder in the top, water in the water reservoir, select your OZ size and press start! In 30 seconds your bottle is ready to go, perfectly mixed and at the perfect temperature. It is an expensive gadget, but totally worth it! Especially those middle of the night feedings that some babies just don't want to wait for.

Baby Brezza: HERE!

4. Boon Bottle Drying Rack: This little lawn is a life saver. Holds so many bottles and all the little parts, keeps the counters cleaned and organized. The bottles don't get knocked over or fall on the floor and they dry perfectly without being flat and having a smell to them.

Boon Lawn Drying Rack: HERE!

5. Backpack Diaper Bag: The backpack diaper bag is awesome. My husband will carry it, you can pack it full and it still doesn't feel heavy at all. its convenient to just wear even when walking or pushing a stroller.

Diaper Bag: HERE!

6. Spit Rags, Spit Rags, Spit Rags: I never thought I would need so many spit rags! Our girl doesn't even spit up that much, but I still feel like I am always looking for a spit rag and washing a ton of them! Don't skimp on this, get a ton!

Favorite Spit Rags: HERE!

7. White Noise Sound Machine: This is a life saver! Our girl loves the ocean noise, and it helps drowned out all the other noises, so she sleeps through just about everything! It helps relax her and calm her down when she is fussy and it also has multiple sounds and projections which are nice in a dark room, because it subtle light.

White Noise Sound Machine: HERE!

8. Oil Diffuser and Lavender Oil: We use the Young Living Essential oils. We have the Desert Mist diffuser and use lavender oil every night. She sleeps totally through the night, since she was about 5 weeks old.


--If Interested in purchasing, contact me!

9. Braun Ear Thermometer: This is the exact thermometer that our Dr uses. It is so accurate and I feel confident knowing I can trust the readings.

Braun Ear Thermometer

10. Itzy Ritzy Car Seat Cover:This car seat cover is not only adorable but easy to use. It just covers the entire carseat and keeps wind, rain, and anything else out of our girls face.

Mom Boss Cover: HERE!

Bonus: Dr Brown Options bottles: These are our favorite bottle! We haven't had any colic issues, she spits up, but shes a baby and its a normal amount. She loves these bottles & they are easy to store!
Dr Brown Bottles: HERE!


Everything on this list, except #10, can be purchased at Target! I hope these products work as great for you as they do me!


Until the next dash,

Momma Spice*

5 Things I Wish I Knew Before Getting Induced

Scheduling an induction gives you an end date. You know that if you don't have your baby before, you will at least give birth by that day. That makes it an exciting ++ kind of nerve-wracking time. I thought I had a good idea of what being induced would be like...but there were somethings I was completely wrong on and I wish I would of had a better idea.

       1. Being induced isn't necessarily easier or less painful then your labor starting naturally.

• While it may seem more convenient to be induced because you pick the day and the time, you can  let family and friends know. It seems like it would be easier and less painful because you are controlling when everything starts and when you get what medicine...but this is far from true. The Doctors are administering a medication that helps push your body into labor. This will still make your body act as if it happened on its own. Therefore, you still have contractions, back pain, and any other pain that you can have during labor that is started naturally. The only difference is that you know its coming and maybe you can prepare yourself a little more. 

       2. SLEEP WHILE YOU CAN!!!

• I was induced at midnight on a Friday. I stayed awake the entire time, except maybe 20 minutes after getting some pain medication. I delivered my daughter at 2:55pm. So I was awake most the day Thursday, all Friday night/morning and had her Friday afternoon. After delivery, I went to postpartum care...you don't really get to sleep there either. Then during the nights, the nurses come and check you and the baby e.v.e.r.y. hour...so not much sleep there either! So basically I was awake until we left the hospital Sunday afternoon. I should of opted to sleep beginning around 1am on Friday after the medication had been started but before I was in too much pain to sleep. Sleep whenever you get the chance, even if people are visiting...IT'S NOT RUDE! You are giving life to another human...you deserve it!

       3. Don't expect to have your baby an hour after the induction begins

• This was kind of a big one for me, I just expected it to all go much quicker. (In my defense, it was my first baby) I went in at midnight thinking I would be holding my baby girl by 3am. Boy was I wrong! I was in labor for 15 hours. The first couple hours, I had no pain..just kind of waiting. From about 4am-10am, I was in constant pain. Contractions 1-3 minutes apart, adjusting the levels of Pictocin I was receiving because I was contracting but not dilating. From about 10am-11:30am, I was getting my epidural and medications to make me "comfortable". 11:30-2pm I was pushing and taking breaks for breathing and pain and getting yet another epidural. 2pm-2:55pm I was deciding between having a c-section and using the vacuum and FINALLY at 2:55pm I was holding my baby girl! Approx 15 hours from the start.

      4. Having people there with you, really does make the time go by quicker.

• Although it probably effected my sleeping, I really enjoyed having my family there from the very beginning. My husband, my mom, my sister, and my mother & Father-in-law were all at the hospital from the beginning until after I gave birth. They were in the room for most of the time except for when anything was going to happen. We talked and had alot of laughs and jokes. We played cards & took pictures to document everything. It was really great to have the support there the whole time. They supported not only me, but my husband who was going through all of this for the first time as well. They also were my advocates for anything with the nurses and doctors.

      5. Things may not go exactly how you plan them.

• This one is actually whether you are induced or natural labor. There were a few things that caused bumps in the road to delivery. I was contracting, hard and quick, but not dilating..so I had to have my water broken. My first epidural didn't work, at all. I had to have a second epidural, the stronger one. Then after an hour and a half of pushing, we found my pelvic bone was stopping any progression, therefor we had to make the decision of having a C-Section or using the Vacuum. We opted for the Vacuum, with this decision it brought in the NICU team, NICU Dr and a few extra nurses. Although it didn't go exactly how I was hoping, it all ended the same. We held our beautiful, healthy baby girl at the end. 

Although I didn't know everything and I wish I would of known these few things, I still had a positive experience for the most part & I obviously ended with the best little girl in the world! (In my unbiased opinion right?!)

Until the next Dash,

Momma Spice*

Nursery Tour

Hey All!

When we found out we were having a girl, I was so excited. I couldn't wait to do everything pink, and trust me...I did. I had so much fun decorating and planning out our baby girl's nursery. Below I have pictures of our nursery and where I got all my decorations. Check it all out!

-Delta Children Skylar 3-Drawer Dresser with Changing table: Great storage & awesome quality (Find it Here at Target!)

-3 Tier Metal Utility Cart- Love this to hold Diapers, wipes, lotion, Diaper Cream, Bows, Hats, Socks, and other misc items that I need to be handy. (Find it Here at Ikea!)

-Flowers on the Wall (Find it here at Hobby Lobby!)

-"Haislea" Wood Wall Name- I had great customer service with this Etsy shop, I highly recommend it! (Find it here!)

-Purell Hand Sanitizer Dispenser on the wall- (Find it here!)

-Olive Swivel Glider & Ottoman-(Find it Here at Wayfair!)

-Changing pad & Changing Pad Cover: These are both from Target but I couldn't find the cover on the website any more but they ahve a ton of others! (Find Others Here at Target!)

- 3 8x10 pictures on the wall: These 3 pictures are from our birth photographer..which I will post about in a later post!

- Book Shelves..they are actually spice racks from Ikea that I painted white..(Find them here!)

- Baby Monitor...I love this monitor..the video and sound are both great & it was super easy to install (Find it here at Target!) 

- Curtains are white with gold dots & they are totally Black out! Which are perfect for daytime naps.(Find them Here!) 

-Lamb and side table are both from Walmart!

-Ikea Children's Chair-I use this chair for pictures mostly. Its nice to have one spot where we will always do pictures and be able to document how big she will get. I also got the gender neutral color of chair so that we can use it for all of our kids. (Find it here!)

-Circle play mat-Great for tummy time! (Here at Target!)

-Delta Children Skylar 4-in-1 Convertible Crib-Matches the dresser/changing table(Here at Target!)

-Crib Bedding is all Cloud Island brand from Target (Find it Here!)

-Above the crib is my veil from Wedding Day. 

-Hamper is from Target as well!

There isn't a ton to describe on this wall. The Curtains replace the closet doors, much easier (+quieter) then the doors. We have a cube organizer from Walmart that we use to store shoes, blankets and any bigger sizes of clothing.

My Mom made the shadow box with all the stuff from the hospital when she was born, out hospital braceletrs, her crib tag, footprints, and her first hat.

The "Welcome to My Crib" Sign is from Hobby Lobby

 

This height measuring stick my Mother-In-Law made it for us. We have it in the nursery for now, but once we have more kids it will be in a general place in our house to measure all out kids growth!

It was so fun to plan and decorate for our baby girl and we are so beyond pleased with how beautiful it turned out!

Until the next dash, 

Momma Spice

Update: What did I actually use in my hospital bag?

Hey all!

So in December I wrote a blog about what all I packed in my hospital bag for my first birth. (Click Here to Read Original Blog Post) I was induced on January 4th and I am finally ready to follow up with what I actually used from my hospital bag & a few things I wish I would of packed! 

I’ll break down the sections by what we used out of what we packed for my husband, myself, & our baby girl. 

Husband

My husband pretty much used everything he packed, comfy clothes, blanket/pillow, body wash, shampoo, toothbrush, slippers, & Q-tips. 

**The only thing he didn’t use, was a nice outfit. At the point in the hospital, we didn’t really care what we were wearing for pictures. 

Myself

This one gets a little more complicated, I used somethings but somethings were not needed at all. 

-Comfy sweatpants were an absolute MUST! It was so nice to not wear a hospital gown all the time especially with people visiting and having to get up to go to the bathroom and just get up in general. 

- Large underwear, I found this unnecessary, I wore the mesh underwear from the hospital the entire time until after I got home. It was easier & I didn’t worry about ruining any actual under. 

- Same thing with the Always Discreet underwear, these came in handy once I got home but not necessary for the hospital. 

-Nursing Bras and nursing tanks, I used the nursing tanks more then the bras. It was easier to just have that on with a sweater/cardigan on over it, especially when people were in the room 

-Large Bath towel...why did I only pack 1?! I wish I would of had at least 2-4, my husband and I both used these for showers because the hospital towels were so small and not soft. 

- Soft toilet paper, this was nice because it help reduce the rubbing of you “down there” region.

- Shampoo, conditioner, body wash, lotion-NECESSARY! (For obvious reasons)

-Soft socks with walking stick on the bottom were nice just to make sure I didn’t slip getting up in the middle of the night. 

- Slippers were nice also just to be able to walk around and stay warm

- My fancy robe with matching swaddle for baby girl was absolutely a must, even if it was mostly for pictures. 

- Chapstick & Mascara, chapstick was great because the air in the hospital is soooo dry & mascara was a must for me because it just helped open my eyes a little bit for pictures. 

-Breast Pump was good to have because the lactation consultant was able to help show how it works and see if there were any issues with it.

Baby Girl
- We actually didn't use any sleepers or socks during out hospital stay
- Mittens were an absolute MUST! My girl was born with fully manicured and long nails.
-The hospital provided a hat, so we didn't use any of the ones we packed.
- Headbands...we used one or two for a couple pictures, but I wish we would of had smaller ones. I under estimated how small our girls head would be.
- First personalized outfit & going home outfit were great. We got so many cute pictures and of course she was adorable!
- Blanket- we used one specific blanket from when she was born for the first day, we had our friend who was dog sitting our puppy take this specific blanket home to help our puppy get used to the baby's smell. Other than that, we used the hospital blankets
- Matching swaddle & headband that matched my robe, I loved having a cute matching outfit and a few cute pictures!
 -We obviously used the carseat.

On-The-Go
-Everything in this section was a must. Camera, laptop, phone chargers, all of it.

What do I wish I would of packed? 
I was pretty well prepared for the most part, but there are a few things I wish I would of had.
-Sensitive Wipes...My hospital did not have sensitive skin wipes.
- Diaper cream..My hospital also didn't have any diaper cream for us to use.
Snacks, Snacks, Snacks. My Husband and I were seriously always hungry. He ran to the gas station multiple times for snacks.

I hope this and my original post helps anyone who is preparing for their big hospital stay!


Until the Next Dash**

Momma Spice
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