The Hartland: September 2016

Tuesday, September 6, 2016

35 Week Bump-Date!

I know I know.. its been a while since I've posted an update. We've had some crazy ups and downs (literally) with my blood pressure so I've not really been up to posting much. Since the last bump date, we have had two hospital stays, been put on meds and have been on bed rest. Not exactly how I thought these last weeks would go but we are counting our blessings that Corbin has been ok through all of this. 

So, here we are at past 35 weeks! Time for an update...


How far along? 35 weeks, 3 days
How big is baby? The size of a bunch of Carrots. Weighing in at almost 5-6 lbs but we know that Corbin is on the smaller side. 
Total weight gain/loss? Total gain as of today... 21lbs! 
Maternity clothes? Bed rest has me in PJ's 24/7 so nothing new in the actual clothes department but this my "going to my Tuesday Dr. Appointment " look. 

Sleep? HA! What is sleep? I've had an AWFUL pinched nerve since being on bed rest at 32 weeks.. so I sleep in 4 hr increments, get up, massage my inflamed neck for a bit, scroll Instagram and then head back to sleep if I can.  Prepping myself for baby I suppose. 
Symptoms? neck pain is still alive and well unfortunately. Also, he is kicking me in the bladder all the time. That is as fun as it sounds ;) 
Food cravings?  Breakfast foods, cheese and fruity stuff (Mike and Ikes & sour worms!)
Food aversions? Nothing really 
Best moment this week so far? We finished the nursery! Details coming to the blog soon! Here is a sneak peek...
Worst moment? Well, staying in the hospital sucked but it was worse hearing your baby isn't growing like he should. Because of the high blood pressure it was constricting some growth on his end. All is good now though. He will just be small! 
Belly button in or out?  IN! Totally thought it was on its way out but its hanging in there. 
What I miss? Feeling like myself... ready to get back to a new normal.
What I'm looking forward to? Just having a healthy little guy at this point.
Weird dreams of the week: I had a weird one but I can't remember it now! 
Baby Items Purchased? We have everything we need now! I have returned a few things and finished up his nursery stuff so I will count that towards baby items purchased :)

On another note, Corbin has been breech for the last 3/4 weeks. So, if he doesn't turn, we will end up having a c-section. Basically, they will not attempt to turn him because of my high blood pressure so, it is what it is. Anyone have any advice on having a c-section or things to know before it all happens? I'm just super anxious about it all! Not the way I thought my first child would come into this world but I know that God has a plan! 


Daddy thoughts:
35 weeks... not much longer.. how are you feeling?
It's getting real.. I'm in disbelief! 

If you could do one more thing before Corbin comes, what would it be?
Spend more time with my babe.

What is you overall thoughts on the pregnancy journey?
Crazy how fast this has gone. And surprised by the early due date he will have!

What have you learned?
I learned that I don't care for staying in a hospital overnight! 

That is all for now.. thanks for stopping by!



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Thursday, September 1, 2016

Young Living Starter Kit: What I'm loving!

Hello blog world! Hope you are well :)

I wanted to drop by (while on bed rest...more on THAT later) and write yall a little blog post that isn't all about my growing bump for a change! Today, I'll be talking about Young Living Oils... if you want to stop reading that's fine (and I totally get it, cause I was there once too, rolling my eyes about another product out there people are selling) but I'm super loving these oils and want to share with those that have genuinely been interested.


My story starts back in February. I kept hearing about these little oils that had great power to do lots of different things. Every now and then I would see a post from my friend Nikki about them on FB. I would watch her videos and I could really tell these oils were helping her family so much. I wanted to know more but was still super skeptical. I reached out and she invited me to a few online parties and I attended a class she taught here in Louisville.


I was already reading a fantastic book about health/hormones, Woman Code so my mind was on over drive about chemicals and their effects on the body. Alisa Vitti, the author talks about healing herself from PCOS/Hormone imbalances through food and lifestyle changes. She talks about how parabens in our home can be effecting everything from our hormones to fertility issues.Then my sister passed away from a rare endometrial cancer the last day in March. She had PCOS and Endometriosis. It was crazy how all this lined up in my life and I felt a strong pull to get those nasty chemicals out of the house, especially now that cancer had reared its ugly head at our family. I wanted to do anything I could to help prevent anymore of that. I was also newly pregnant so, I of course wanted to watch everything I breathed in, ate, put on my body etc.


I researched so much April-June, watched videos, read reviews, followed instagram posts about them and talked to the hubs about it and finally in July, I took the plunge and thought, well what do I have to lose with these oils? Money was really the only thing I could think I would be losing. And how much money do I spend on cleaning supplies already that are full of chemicals? Especially buying a bunch that are specific to what I was cleaning (toilet cleaner, wood floor cleaner, glass cleaner etc.) Spending a fortune probably. Diffusing an essential oil in the house instead of an air freshener with chemicals? I bet I would feel better about the air we were breathing...


So, Nikki got me all set up and I have been diving in!  I read daily about the different oils and what they can do to benefit many different areas of our lives. There are so many out there and I want to try them all!! But, let me get to my point for this post... In the little time I have had these oils, here is what I have done with the Premium Starter Kit Oils.




*These opinions are all my own. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.


First of all, lets start with my most used...



1. I sleep so much better (and I believe Pheebs and Tyler do too!) I just diffuse Lavender at night and we are knocked out. One time I added Peace and Calming and I slept SO hard. Best night sleep ever. PS- Peace and Calming isn't in the Starter kit but a sample of it is. Its on my list to get when its back in stock! 


**Bonus: Lavender will literally calm your pooch down. I let Pheebs sniff it once when she was freaking out about her nails being cut and she was much better after!


 2. I am helping prevent stretch marks! I mix carrier oil (coconut oil) and lavender and slather on my belly at night. I was just doing coconut oil the last few months so I can't say the lavender is the reason I have zero stretch marks right now but hey, I like to think its helping ;) 

3. I got rid of Dryer Sheets! I use Wool Balls now with Lavender oil added to bring back smelly goodness to my clothes. Zero chemicals, yay! (Saving some $$ here man. No more buying those disgusting chemical infused dryer sheets) 
4. I got rid of a headache without using Tylenol! Since Tylenol is the only headache med I can take while pregnant (and I did NOT like doing that anyway) I found a roller blend that is supposed to help..  about a month ago I had a killer headache so I mixed Peppermint, Panaway and Lavender with grape seed carrier oil and put it on my neck and temples while we finished watching the last episode of Stranger Things (go watch on Netflix!!) and it went away before I fell asleep. Amazing. And guess what? Chemical free!
5.  I've read that Lavender is good for helping skin issues such as acne. My hormones are crazy right now but I have a little mix I put together with lavender in it to see what this does for my skin. So far so good.. if I could just STOP picking at my skin. I have a problem. haha! I'll report back on that mix later if I love it!

Next up.. Lemon 


1. I have cleaner dishes AND they smell good! I mix hydrogen peroxide with lemon essential oil and add it to my rinse aid section of the dishwasher and Voila! Chemical free rinse aid. Winning!
2. I am focused and am energized! Peppermint and Lemon in my diffuser has helped me get energized to get things done. One Saturday I used this combo and really knocked some stuff off my to do list for Corbin's room. Most productive weekend I've had in a while.. thanks oils! 
3. Drop some lemon in your water for a zing and some digestive help! 
4. Great for cleaning as well: 
  • 1 1/4 cup water
  • 1 cup white vinegar 
  • 20-30 drops lemon essential oil... Put in a glass spray bottle and done! 
PS-  I love Young Living's Thieves cleaner as well which is another post for another day haha! 

Next is.. Peppermint!



1. Peppermint helps my headaches. That's all I need to say bout that ! 

2. Gives me energy.. put some in your diffuser with lemon or toss some in your water!
3. Add it to your baking.. Christmas is just around the corner! 

Another I love... 


Purification! 


The STINK it takes out of my sun room is unreal. I just love diffusing this in there! I also have used it in my wool dryer balls. And, I've used it so much, I am out of it! So when I get more maybe I'll have more ways to tell you how to use it!


Those are just a few things I have done with my oils since getting them .. and its been less than 2 months using them! Possibilities are endless here folks! My obvious favorite is Lavender but others in the kit like Digize and Thieves are great for helping stomach aches and colds. My mom used Thieves on her throat and it really helped her with coughing at night. WE have not been sick but I'm sure it would help us just the same if it were us!


Ok, sorry for the rambling!  If you are at all interested in learning more, I would love to talk to you about them! I'm no expert but I love to share. No pressure at all. Drop me a line in the comments ! I will be doing an order in the next week so its in before baby decides to come, so if you want to try an oil, I get them at wholesale price and we can order you some! 


It obviously took me a while to jump on board and there is nothing wrong with making an informed decision. However, if you are ready to get  a kit now, click here and we can get ya set up! I will also throw in a little goodie bag full of stuff to get ya started living the oily life with me. This will put you on my team but you don't have to do anything more if you don't want. I can explain all of that after if you are interested.


Anyway, I hope this post helped to break down what you can do with oils in the Starter Kit and how they can benefit you and your family! 

Peace, Love & Oils... 

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