Good morning, my friends! How are you doing today? I survived what I can only assume was Chase’s first big growth spurt yesterday. He was cluster feeding like a maniac and I felt like quite mama milk machine. Ryan said my one-handed skills are quickly improving as I get more and more comfortable juggling a baby and tackling random tasks simultaneously, but for the most part all I really want to do right now is cuddle Chase, kiss his soft face and give him all my love. And that’s basically all that’s been going on in the Fagan household these days!
I am typing up today’s Things I’m Loving Friday post with a sleepy baby on my lap. (One handed typing is an art I have yet to master, but I’m trying!) Below you will find a short list of things that are making me smile this week. (I did my best not to make every single bullet point baby-related!) As always, please feel free to chime in and share something that is making you smile as well.
Things I’m Loving Friday
- Ross and Leslie’s Arrival
My sister and brother-in-law (and their chocolate lab!) left Jacksonville around 6 a.m. this morning and are currently en route to our house in Charlotte! They will be spending the weekend with us as they get to know their new nephew. I am so, so excited for Leslie and Ross to meet Chase and know he will love them dearly! Woo!
- Honey Sriracha Chex Mix
Breastfeeding hunger is REAL and I cannot stop snacking these days. My mom took the time to throw together this easy-to-make Chex mix on Tuesday and I was psyched… and then addicted! It is so, so good and I love the unique spicy/sweet flavor. We had no trouble polishing off an entire batch in less than 24 hours.
- Grey’s Anatomy
When I was in college, a bunch of my sorority sisters would gather together in the living room of the Kappa Delta house to watch Grey’s Anatomy every week. I was never into it because I am horrible with medical stuff and came in one evening when the show zoomed in on a surgery of some sort that totally flipped my stomach. Well, now that I am glued to the couch for hours on end as I nurse Chase, I was looking for a new source of entertainment and stumbled upon Grey’s Anatomy on Netflix and decided to give it another shot. Now that I’ve made it through labor, I think I can make it through fake medical emergencies on a random drama TV show, right!? I’m a few episodes into the first season and enjoying it a lot so far. Great mindless breastfeeding entertainment!
- $3 Target Cup
Though my Bubba Keg is still my BFF since it holds a ton of water, I couldn’t resist this adorable $3 cup when I saw it on sale at Target a few weeks ago and have been pouring some of my favorite sparkling water in it and sipping from it every day. I’m a sucker for the gold and mint green colors. The $1 and $3 spot at Target gets me every time! (Side note: My friends at La Croix sent me some of their new flavors to try and the pink grapefruit cantaloupe La Croix is fantastic. So refreshing!)
- Food from Friends
Ryan and I feel so fortunate to have such wonderful friends in our lives and we have yet to make one dinner ourselves since Chase arrived thanks to meals our friends have brought to the house or had delivered from afar (and thanks to my amazing mom)! We’ve had pizza, barbeque, Chinese… The works! I am so grateful for everyone’s thoughtfulness and generosity. (Special thank you shout out to my blogging buddy Monica and real life BFF-turned blogger Laurel since I can link to them! Everyone else needs to start a blog ASAP so I can stalk their lives online, too.)
After a few nights of nursing Chase under way-too-bright lights, I placed an order on Amazon Prime for a Himalayan salt lamp, thanks to Gina’s recommendation. I am in love with it! The soft glow is perfect for middle-of-the-night feedings and it has a calming effect I adore. (You can actually control the level of light the lamp emits which is fabulous.) I cannot recommend this one enough to any of my expectant mom friends out there. I didn’t really think too much about what lights we’d turn on during late night feedings before Chase arrived and only wish I would’ve had this lamp ready and waiting for us when we arrived home from the hospital.
Question of the Day
- What is one thing you are loving this week?
And, just for fun…
- For my fellow mamas out there: Did you binge-watch any shows while feeding your baby? Any recommendations?
I know Colleen is all about Bloodline… That one is on my radar! Right now Grey’s Anatomy is entertaining me, but Friends will always be my go-to show when I am looking for something to make me laugh.
![\"Quantcast\"/](\"//pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-1e3-7hOJ_U8Bg.gif\")
I’m binge watching How I Met Your Mother while breast feeding! They replay the whole series on FX, so I just record it and watch episodes during feedings! Grey’s Anatomy is great, though 🙂
Check out Odd Mom Out on Bravo and Astronauts Wives Club on ABC. So good! Frasier and Golden Girls are my midnight go-to’s. I’m allllllllllmost sick of tv!
ahh Chase is SO adorable! #babyfeverisreal!
also…im super jealous that you get to try La Croix’s new flavors…i’m pretty sure I keep La Croix in business (a pack a day…the addiction is real) I can’t wait for the new flavors to roll out on shelves!
and last but not least..bloodline is a MUST! it was SO good. Especially since I’m from South Florida, and currently live in Texas…seeing those beautiful Florida Keys shots was a nice taste of home! If you’re looking for an intense show…i recommend Sense8 as well. It took a couple of episodes for me to figure out what was going on…but then I was hooked and couldn’t stop!
Congratulations on becoming a mommy!! And from a fellow Knight, I hope Chase plans on going to UCF as well 😉
Hey! I have that salt lamp too in our baby’s room! It IS great! For shows, I’ve been loving Downton Abbey. :0)
Congrats on your beautiful boy! The time really does go fast, even if somedays feel like they never end (hopefully Chase eats & sleeps better than my little man). I am nursing my 8 week old (literally as I type this) and have also found myself watching a lot of TV. I highly recommend Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt on Netflix. Only one season so far, but it is hysterical & the episodes go fast. I’ve also stared watching Community on Hulu. And I DVR lots of reality shows like Donnie Loves Jennie, Lacheys Bar, Flipping Out. And i watch a lot of Friends in the middle of the night (tv land or nick, I think).
Love seeing photos of Chase…. He’s absolutely adorable!
I love Netflix! Lately, I’ve binge-watched all 7 seasons of West Wing (Just. Couldn’t. Stop!) and am now watching Hart of Dixie (only one season) but loved watching the entire run of CSI:NY. I used my iPad to watch CSI:NY while recuperating from my hysterectomy and can’t seem to stop searching for interesting or entertaining shows. I’m now watching them when I work out on my elliptical so I don’t focus on the amount of time left on my route!
Enjoy all your baby time… Everything flies by before you know it!
Love you… We’re so happy for you all!! XOXO
With my 3 week old son, I binged watched Friday Night Lights …I would avoid Bloodline during the night, it’s intense and scary!! You might not be able to fall asleep but as a show in general it’s awesome! I started watching Gilmore Girls over again but don’t think I can do it…I have yet to find a new series. I find during the night feeds I need it as relaxed and quiet as possible so I can fall back asleep easily and so can the gremlin..lol….
Do you watch Nashville? Love that one. Currently trying to get caught up on Big Brother:) I know, guilty pleasure! I did the same thing while nursing. I remember with my second watching Will & Kate get married in England, it was like 4 a.m. here but the middle of the day there!
So happy you have your little man. Our son was born in March and was in the NICU for 3 months. While we were in there the nurses gave me some good Netflix recommendations on shows; Call The Midwife, Bloodline, Grace and Frankie. After having a baby and watching Call The Midwife, I felt like I could handle anything. LOL! It’s pretty neat to hear what all the nurses are watching and being able to come in and chat with them about something other then how long your baby will be in the NICU. Our son is doing really great and is a very healthy boy. Again congratulations.
Supernatural! There are 9 seasons which is great. Also, I re watched all Star Treks.
Chase is adorbs! ?? I’ve been into watching episodes of Reba!
Soooo funny! I made my Mom watch it with me one day and she said she hadn’t laughed that hard in a long time! Give it a try!!
I truly believe breast feeding = binge watching tv. I watched all of Downton Abby and loved every minute!
I watched parenthood, if you haven’t seen it, it’s a must!!
When I was nursing my daughter, How I Met Your Mother, was my go to show on Netflix for three am feedings (or anytime feedings). When I think of that show I automatically smile, it is so funny! Also, your son is so adorable! Congratulations!
We got through all of the seasons of Kitchen Nightmares on Netflix. It made us not want to go to restaurants for a while!
Julie, Chase is LOVELY! Congrats again. When my girl was first born, I watched WAY too many reruns of Gilmore Girls on Netflix, plus also re-watched several episodes of Parenthood and Friends. I got through a ton of movies as well (and really perfected the art of watching everything on mute!)
Hey Julie! Chase is a perfect name for such a cute little boy. I’m sure you are exhausted and super focused on loving on your newborn, but I had a random question. Did you have a post awhile back about a TV show you were watching about military wives? I may be shooting in the dark with this one, but I thought I may have seen it on your Things I’m Loving Friday. Anyway, congratulations on your new blessing!
There is a show called ‘Army Wives’ that I absolutely loved, although it lost a lot in its last few seasons (I think there are 7). I’m not much one for military stuff, but this one is more about the tribe of women who support each other on post. Fantastic. It was on the Lifetime channel, but I found it (and downloaded it) on iTunes.
If you’re into crime drama, ‘The Closer’ is also fantastic!
Friday Night Lights was my fave show to watch during maternity leave. I highly recommend it!
Totally agree with FNL and Parenthood.
Friends has been my Netflix go-to this year! I’m still working my way through the seasons! And I’ve been wanting a salt lamp for a while now! The one you linked to looks wonderful!
I can’t even begin to count the shows I binge watched while nursing at 2am lol. I got through all of Criminal Minds (although as a new mom this one made me SUPER paranoid), Psych (my favorite!), How I Met Your Mother, Futurama, Numbers, Flashpoint (which was surprisingly good), and the last two months I got through NCIS again.
I wish I’d known about that lamp — for the most part I either have to turn on a real light or nurse in the dark, neither of which are super fun. My kiddos mostly sleep through the night now, but if we have another I’m totally buy this!
Did a nurse at the hospital show you the side-lying nursing position? It makes those middle of the night feeds so much more tolerable with my babies.
He is so cute! I’ve been following your blog for quite some time now, but I just decided to finally leave comments. I’m terrible 😡
My friend has that lamp! We eat with himalayan salt a lot and REAL salt, no other!
I hear you lose a lot of weight while breastfeeding because it takes so much energy. So eating a LOT is justified 🙂 Keep it healthy as usual!
A LA MODEST – Fighting Insecurities with INSPIRATION!
I watched all of star trek tng and Voyager. That’s 16 seasons I think. Enjoy!
Friday Night Lights!
Congrats on your new little guy! I watched a lot of Grey’s Anatomy and Below Deck (the Bravo show about the yacht staff, haha) I also read like 15 Diane Chamberlain novels. Such easy reads! I downloaded them to my Kindle and also had the Kindle App on my phone, so I almost always had one or the other close by for surprise nursing sessions.
Friends hit Netflix when my baby was 5 weeks old! Also watched cupcake wars. You will master most major activities of daily living while feeding. 🙂
I watched Friday Night Lights when my son was born! I miss those long snuggle sessions. Now he’s 11 months and walking all over the place exploring life! I have the same salt lamp and love it. I keep it on all day but turn it very low during our last night one bottle in his room before bed. Enjoy baby Chase. Don’t sweat the small stuff like laundry and a messy house. Relish in the time you have now with your little itty bitty. It’s goes by so fast.
My son is 12 and when he was a newborn, Dawson’s Creek was about to end as a series so they showed a marathon of all episodes, starting from the first season. This is long before the days of Netflix so I would just watch them on TV every morning for 4 hours straight.
Although I am not a mom yet, I revently had surgery and was confined to the couch for a week. Grace and Franke on netflix is fantastic- Jane Fonda and Lillian Thomplinson! My other go-to is downtown abbey- al 5 seasons are on amazon prime tv!
My mom recently gave me one of those lamps and I love its soft glow!
Your little guy is precious!
I can totally relate to the Chex Mix (addicting)! Lately I’ve really been into frozen yogurt dates & binge-watching Scandal.
Chase is such a cutie!! I bet you are in heaven!!
I binge watched Gilmore Girls, Downtom Abbey, and the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt!
Enjoy this time 🙂 The newborn phase is hard but comes with the sweetest moments!
i swoon so much over every pic of him! he is absolutely adorable and i’m so happy you’re all doing well and enjoying awesome food from friends and visits from family. i’ve been thinking about you all! welcome to the grey’s obsession too haha. i haven’t watched it in wayyy too long but it brings me back to those college nights, too. 🙂 so happy you’re enjoying the salt lamp! ours is ready to go with # 2 makes her arrival 🙂
love you, friend!
Hi Julie,
What a sweet little picture to start the day.
When I brought my son home, at first I didn’t want to turn any lights on or put the t.v. on because I was afraid he wouldn’t know that it was “bedtime”. hahaha. That became isolating and very lonely pretty quick, so I binge watched Golden Girls! I have no idea what made me buy two seasons, but I really enjoyed them, but was sort of surprised how risqué those ladies were!!! hahaha. Whenever I hear the theme song, I have really good memories of our time together in those early days of his life!
I binge watched Felicity (though I don’t know if it is on Instant Netflix anymore) and also Big Love (ha!)
First of all, congrats on the arrival of your baby boy! I’m just catching up on some blog reading.
I binge watched a TON in the first few months, Gilmore Girls, Gossip Girl, Sons of Anarchy, Prison Break….If you haven’t seen them yet, I also highly recommend Homeland and Suits!
Chase is so cute! I just had a baby girl 6 weeks ago and found “Say yes to the dress” to be my go-to show. I just DVR the episodes that air during the day and watch them whenever I am nursing. I’m glad to know I’m not the only one binge watching shows while feeding 🙂 I hope everything is going well!
I binged Grey’s Anatomy last summer and loved it! I had quit watching a few years ago, so it was great catching up.
I recommend Scrotal Recall on Netflix. It’s a six episode British romantic sit-com. It’s adorable, despite the strange name.
Grey’s Anatomy is a great show for the first few seasons then goes downhill. I am sure it will keep you entertained for awhile. Parks and Rec is a great show. The first season isn’t the best but seeing as you like New Girl I think it would be be up your alley.
Hello, I also have a two month old and found it interesting how you recommended the salt lamp. I am looking into purchasing one but was wondering what size did you get your lamp in?