{Baby Holt #2} Meet Boston

We are so happy to introduce the newest member of our family to the blogging world. 
Meet Boston Grey Holt.  He made his arrival on Tuesday, February 23rd at 4:05am.  He weighed in at 8 pounds 13 ounces and was 21 inches long. 

Needless to say, we think he's absolutely perfect! 
I'll have his birth story up on the blog next week. 
Until then, I'm off to snuggle with our two week old for just a little longer!

Boston's Baby Sprinkle

A couple of weekends ago, my sweet friend and business partner, Stacey, threw Kevin and me a baby shower, or sprinkle if you will, for our little guy. The party was held at our house and despite having to reschedule it due to snowy weather we had quite the turn out. 
The Food 

The Dessert

Guests got to "sprinkle" their own cupcakes.

Harper approved (; 

The Favors
Guests grabbed umbrella shaped treats on their way out in case it were to "sprinkle" on their way home. 
The Presents We were so blessed to have so many items purchased off of our baby registry; as well to receive so many other adorable items we hadn't requested. I mean seriously, just look at some of the elephant goodness Boston received :P

Best Friends <3 b="">

It was the perfect celebration for our little guy. Now if he'll just hurry up and get here so we can put all of these goodies to use! Just 20 days or less :P

{Baby Holt #2} 9 months.

How Far Along: 36 weeks. 
Weight Gain: As of my appointment last week, I've gained an even 30 pounds. Fingers crossed I can keep it under 35 by the time this little guy gets here!
Cravings/ Aversions: This month I haven't really had an appetite. Most nights I skip dinner because I'm not hungry or I simply don't know what I want to eat. The one thing I have pretty much stuck to this month is Mexican food and pancakes. Weird, right?
Exercise: Ha! What's that?!
Stretch Marks: None so far. I've started applying lotion every few days just for the simple fact that my skin is getting dry due to this NC weather so hopefully that'll keep them at bay. 
Maternity Clothes: Just two pairs of maternity jeans. Otherwise, I'm still wearing my low-rise pants, tunic tops, cardigans, long tanks, and swing dresses. The styles these days work great for prego gals!
Wedding Rings On/Off: Still wearing them. I took them off for a few days this month thinking my fingers might start swelling soon but since they didn't, I decided to put them back on and just keep an eye out. 
Sleep: I'm definitely starting to feel tired more often. Each day around noon and 4pm, I feel like I can barely keep my eyes open and it's all I can do to fight through it. Yet, when night time rolls around, I'm wide awake and can't wind down. 
Movement: This month our little guy started moving more during the day than he ever has before. Not sure if it's simply because he's ran out of room so every movement I feel thanks to being sucker punched in the ribs, lungs, or bladder. We did have a little scare this month when he refused to cooperate at the doctor's office and wouldn't move. I ended up being sent right away to have a stress test done and as soon as I was hooked up to the monitors, he went CRAZY! He was not a fan of being confined to all those bands around my belly. 
Gender: Boy. 
Symptoms: Major acid reflux. Some days I feel like I'm a fire-spitting dragon; whereas others it makes me cough so much I sound like a smoker. Either way, it's the one symptom I'm looking forward to disappearing once this pregnancy is over. Also this month I've been having contractions pretty much daily. Sometimes I barely feel them whereas others I'm sort of panicking that I've yet to pack my hospital bag because I'm wondering if he's coming early!
Best Moment This Month: Celebrating our little guy with two baby showers. I'll share all about those soon!
Looking Forward To: Meeting our little guy this month! (:

{Baby Holt #2} Boston's Baby Registry

With Boston set to make his debut in less than two months and our baby shower set to take place next week, I thought today would be the perfect day to share a few items on my baby registry the second go round. Although we have all of Harper's baby things which were predominately gender neutral, there are still a few new products on the market that I wanted to add to our wish list this go round; as well as a few things we need duplicates of due to Harper still using them. So without further ado, here's what made the cut...

Gear

Fisher-Price Newborn Auto Rock n' Play Sleeper: When Harper was first born she slept in my childhood bassinet next to our bed. However, by the time she was close to a month old, she had completely outgrown her bassinet which led me to purchase one of these nifty inventions off of Craigslist for just $20! Unfortunately, since it was an after baby registry purchase, it was butterfly patterned and I knew it wouldn't really work out for our little guy. To top it off, in the last two years, Fisher Price added an automatic rocking setting to this little baby which means I don't have to lay in bed rocking it as I drift to sleep. So needless to say, this is at the top of my want list (good thing since it's already been purchased :P). I plan for our little guy to spend his first few weeks sleeping in it next to our bed. It also folds up and is super lightweight which means I'll be dragging it all over the house and will probably pack it in the car for visits to the parents and in-laws.

4 Moms Plus MamaRoo: MamaRoo's were just making their way on to the scene when Harper was a newborn which led me to register for a Fisher Snugabunny swing (similar) and bouncer (similar) when I was preparing for her arrival. Although we loved her swing and she loved it as well, the MamaRoo is so much more compact and serves as both a swing and bouncer with all of it's many functions. So if I can get rid of two pieces of baby gear in exchange for one that's half the size, this mama will take it! Plus Harper will appreciate the fact that she won't have to get rid of some of her toys since this won't take up much space in our living room (;

Summer Infant Full View Video Monitor: We have the older version of this monitor and we love it! The imaging is crystal clear during the night as well as the day and the pan and zoom is amazing. Sadly, when we registered for the older monitor three years ago, we didn't think to include a second monitor to have on hand for a second baby and that particular model has been discontinued. Since we still use Harper's monitor in her big girl room, we'd love another one of these to add in Boston's room to keep an eye out on him as well.

Fisher-Price SpaceSaver High Chair: This is another product we registered for with Harper and we absolutely love. Since Harper still uses her's daily, we're in need of another one for Boston. These high chairs are amazing because they don't take up a ton of space. We leave Harper's at the kitchen table all the time. If we have guests over, it's so easy to unstrap and place in another chair in our dining room. It also packs well for beach vacations and weekend getaways.

Graco 4-Ever All-In-One Car Seat: We love Graco car seats here in the Holt household so when Graco created this car seat that goes from the newborn stage all the way to a booster seat, I was sold! It'll be so great to have just one car seat that will take us through the next five to eight years which makes the price tag worth it.

Graco Ready2Grow Click Connect Double Stroller: When Harper was born, we were given the Graco FastAction Jogger Click Connect Travel System. We loved, loved, loved it so when we started talking double strollers I knew without a doubt I'd be looking at Graco's strollers again. I knew I definitely didn't want a side by side stroller as they are huge and can hardly fit through a door so when I discovered this little beauty that matched our current car seat and would even fit our current carrier from our previous stroller, it was top priority on our list.

Diapering
Aldo Tote Handbag with Pouch: When I found out I was pregnant with Boston one of the first things I started looking at was diaper bags. When Harper was an infant I used a Skip Hop Versa and loved it but after a year and a half, it had finally had it. It was showing serious signs of wear as the lining was tearing and one of the zippers had broke... but what can you expect when you're lugging a suitcase around each day. Since I had such a great experience with Skip Hop diaper bags, purchasing another one from their line was my first choice. After perusing their new bags, I came across this Skip Hop Duet 2-in-1 Diaper Bag and fell in love. I loved the fact that this bag served as two bags in one...a tote and a removable crossbody because let's be real, when you're just doing a quick run at the grocery store or going to dinner at a restaurant, no one wants to lug those giant diaper bags around. So having the ability to zip out the inner lining filled with just a few necessary essentials like diapers, wipes, and a bottle made this mama giddy. However, the $130 price tag did not. Which led me to look for an alternative and as always, Target did it again. They carried a very similar tote that was not baby related for less than two thirds of the cost. Win win in this girl's book!

Up and Up Baby Wipes: Out of all the wipes we tried with Harper, Target's brand of wipes are my favorite! Which is why you'll see that I requested 10 boxes of them. But no worries... I'll take more than that (;

Pampers Swaddlers & Luvs Diapers: You know you're a second time parent when you stop asking for the cute stuff and ask for the essentials (; We registered for about 30 boxes of diapers... about five boxes in each size. When Harper was little we loved using Pampers Swaddlers since they had the line that indicated whether or not she needed changing. This was perfect for those middle of the night feedings when you weren't sure if you should bother changing her since she'd just fallen back asleep. However, once she started sleeping through the night, we switched to Luvs as they were about $10 cheaper a box and were just as good.

Random Items

Aden + Anais Burpy Bibs: These are seriously the best burp rags ever! They are so large and provide the most coverage of any we tried. They also double as bibs which means they have two functions in one which totally make them worth the price. Since the ones we had for Harper were all in patterns of pink, getting these in colors that would work for a boy are a must!

Aden + Anais Swaddle Plus Blankets: These blankets were by far my favorite with Harper. But like the burpy bibs, we had these in patterns of pink as well. So adding these adorable blue elephant pattern ones to our collection for the little guy would just make my day!

Nuk Pacifiers: Harper wouldn't use any other pacifier than NUK so since we already had a few of them still left lying around the house, I decided to register for some more of these for the little guy. Hopefully he won't be as picky about pacifiers as his sister was.


And that's pretty much it other than a few other items like crib sheets, a stroller toy, and a few hygiene items. There were plenty of cute outfits from Target that I could have added to our registry but let's be real, everyone buys babies clothes so I knew there was no need to do that. I'm sure he'll end up with an even more stuffed closet by the time our shower gets here...which is a-okay with me. Whoever said boy clothes weren't as cute as girls was seriously lying. Have you seen what Carters, Old Navy, and Target has to offer these days?!

And that's it ladies! Anything you second time mamas suggest I add?!

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{Baby Holt #2} Maternity Pictures

As I mentioned in my weekend recap, last weekend we got together with my sweet cousin for her to take maternity photos for us. I wasn't quite sure if I wanted pictures this go round but since we did them with Harper I felt like it was only fair that we do them for Boston as well. After getting the link to these photos, I am so glad we decided to go for it. April did such a great job capturing our little family of three {soon to be four} and I have been dying to share them ever since I first received them!

{Baby Holt #2} 8 Months

How Far Along: 32 weeks. 
Weight Gain: Not quite sure what happened but I actually lost weight over the holidays despite the million and one homemade desserts I ate. When I stepped on the scale over the weekend I had gained right at 20 pounds. Not nearly as much as I had thought I would have gained at this point but definitely not complaining (; 
Cravings/ Aversions: I am still loving pizza! I could eat it all day everyday. No shame. As for aversions, I'm finally able to eat steak again; however, I can only handle it in small quantities. 
Exercise: The only exercise I've got time for these days is chasing Harper around and running all around the house cleaning and weeding out every space I can find! 
Stretch Marks: So far there are none in sight. I still haven't started using cocoa butter but I'm thinking I should probably grab some next time I'm at the store just to be safe. 
Maternity Clothes: I finally pulled out my maternity clothes bins but haven't actually started wearing the clothes that are in them. With Boston being located behind my placenta, I'm not nearly as round as I was with Harper which has allowed me to wear leggings and tunics much longer than I had figured possible. At this point, I'm curious if I just might be able to make it the entire time without them...
Wedding Rings On/Off: Still wearing them!
Sleep: I'm still suffering from insomnia. I'm exhausted each night but by the time I get Harper in bed and our things laid out for the next day, I'm wide awake. But on the bright side, it's allowed me time to tackle cleaning and weeding out without Harper trying to mess with everything!
Movement: This little guy is quite the wiggler at night just like his sister. Needless to say, I'm already preparing myself for him to have his days and nights all mixed up when he arrives. 
Gender: Boy. 
Symptoms: My acid reflux is still hanging around. I've finally figured out that it tends to be worse when I drink sweet tea and Coke. Needless to say, I've had to cut back on those which hasn't been easy but my throat sure thanks me for it. 
Best Moment This Month: Finishing up little guy's nursery and having our maternity pictures taken. 
Looking Forward To: Our baby shower this month! So excited to see all of the sweet outfits and items that will line his closet and shelves!

{Baby Holt #2} 7 Months.

How Far Along: 28 weeks. Hello third trimester! 
Weight Gain: As of my appointment yesterday, I've gained right at 20 pounds. Looks like the holidays are catching up with me (; 
Cravings/ Aversions: I am obsessed with McDonald's pancakes. I could seriously eat them every.single.morning which is totally weird because I am by no means a pancake eater nor do I care for sweets. But hey, what the baby wants the baby gets! As for aversions, I still haven't touched a steak. The thought makes me nauseous. 
Exercise: Just chasing after a toddler and trucking laundry up flights of stairs on a daily basis. 
Stretch Marks:None so far. I still haven't applied the cocoa butter yet but thanks to this weight gain, it's probably about time. 
Maternity Clothes: I'm still in regular clothes. I had plans to purchase maternity clothes during Black Friday but didn't get around to it. Most of my sweaters are tunic style tops so they're working great right now. However, my jeans and pants are getting a little tighter in the belly which means a trip to Motherhood may be in order pretty soon. 
Wedding Rings On/Off: On
Sleep: This month the insomnia hit. Come 4pm each day I am exhausted but by the end of the night when I get Harper laid down and fast asleep, I can't seem to wind down. By the time I finally fall asleep its nearing midnight or later. I'd like to say I could sleep in but by 5am, I'm usually bright eyed and bushy tailed. 
Movement: Our little guy is finally making his self known in there. He wiggles and squirms more throughout the day than he did initially which makes this mama happy as I know he's doing okay in there. 
Gender: Boy!
Symptoms: My acid reflux is back with a vengeance. I pop Tums like they're candy and Zantac 150 is never far from me. But if this reflux is any indication, our little guy should come out with a head of hair like his sister. 
Best Moment This Month: Passing my glucose test and ordering Boston's bedding from Restoration Hardware. Thank you Jesus for holiday sales!
Looking Forward To: Getting Boston's nursery in order and planning our baby shower that will take place in January!