Minimalism

For awhile now I have felt an annoyance that I couldn't quite put my finger on. I've been stressed out about how much clutter Kyle and I have in our lives and how much stuff we just don't have places for or stuff that we are trying to organize that we will never ever use.

I stumbled upon the concept of minimalism thanks to Facebook and honestly, it rings super true for me. I have a long way to go before I can really say that I am following the concepts but I know that I definitely want to get rid of the majority of stuff we have and live a more simple life with only the things that bring me joy. I really do believe that stuff takes away your energy especially if it's just stuff you are holding on to and not using.

One of the first steps of minimalism is to write down why you want to become a minimalist so I thought I would start there:

1) I am tired of feeling overwhelmed by things all the time.

2) I don't want to spend my free time moving stuff around that doesn't bring me joy.

3) I want to spend less time cleaning and more time with family.

4) I want to buy less and focus my money on paying off debt so that we can travel and experience life with our girls as they get older.

5) Getting rid of stuff will allow me to focus on what is truly important in my life.

6) Less stuff = less waste.

So far, I have made very small steps but I have a long way to go. I have thrown quite a bit away but my intent is to go room by room until my house is completely cleared out. I feel like Christmas will kind of slow down my progress because we tend to get a lot of stuff around this time of the year but I will continually purge/sell/donate all the things that aren't being used and aren't making me happy. I will also strive to be more aware of the things we are spending our money on and try not to gain more stuff that we won't use at all. 

Riley's First Month

1) She was a super easy baby! Slept a lot and had to be woken up to eat. Sometimes feeding her was difficult because she would fall asleep a lot.

2) Gained weight like a champ - an ounce a day. At one month old, weighed 6 lbs 12 oz.

3) She was also a great latcher, great at breast feeding which was the opposite of her older sister.

4) Was amazing during her newborn pictures, slept the whole entire time. Was told she was the easiest baby.

5) She was super easy in the hospital.. had to do a lot more tests than Charli due to her being a preemie. Did pretty well with all of her tests except for failed a glucose test once. Discovered I would probably need to supplement again. Lactation consultant showed me how to use an SNS which was the best thing I have ever been introduced too. I am so grateful to be able to breast feed my baby and have a well fed baby that is gaining weight.

6) Her umblical cord fell off (Started to) at 5 days old, completely at 8 days old

7) Slept in mom and dad's bed. Much more peaceful when held skin to skin.

8) She grunted a lot in the hospital.. thought it was just her being noisy but apparently preemies have more trouble adjusting to being outside of the womb and will stress grunt.

9) Post partum was much easier on mom the second time around. no stitches to recover from and energy/hormones were a lot better. Riley slept most of the night which also helped with recovery as mom and dad weren't too sleep deprived.

10) We had amazing neighbors and family that brought us meals again.. really helped us stay on our feet.

11) Mom and dad were pretty restless but didn't want to take riley out with how small she was especially with colds/flu going around.

12) Charli didn't show a lot of jealousy with Riley and was very affectionate and interested in her sister.

13) Riley started to smile and become more alert.