If you’re a mom and meet another mom, especially when your little one is young like Chase is, there’s a good chance you will end up chatting about sleep. It’s one of my favorite subjects to speak to other mamas about because I always feel like each family has their own routine and quirks that work well for them! After sharing my experience with some of my wonderful friends in my mom support group, I thought it might come in handy for other parents out there!

When I get asked about Chase’s schedule, especially his sleep, I always feel like this is such a loaded question for so many moms. I’m here to share what worked for us and my personal thoughts on “sleep training”. I by no means know what I’m doing or have any sort of professional experience in sleep, so please remember you have to do what works for YOU!

Before Chase was born, I would see tons of things about “sleep training”. I felt like mom’s were constantly comparing their babies’ sleep habits and which methodology worked best for them and how quickly their infants were able to sleep through the night. I was intrigued at the thought of sleep training and of course, mama likes her beauty rest, so I investigated a little further into these popular so-called methods.

As I started researching methods like Taking Cara Babies or the Ferber Method, I realized how militant and rigid their rules seemed. I wasn’t sure how I would feel about any of the practices, but there was one thing I was sure of – I wasn’t going to set myself up for failure before the baby even got here. I also wasn’t keen on listening to my newborn scream all night in the room next door. No offense to people who have success with the “Cry it out’ method, but I knew that wasn’t something my heart could take. I found myself overwhelmed by the “rules” and expectations of sleep training methods and decided that I was just going to follow my gut and do what I felt was right for not only my baby, but myself.

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Now onto our sleep journey.

Chase is what I like to call my unicorn baby. He truly made the transition into parenthood a breeze for Ryan and I, but of course, like every baby,  they go through lots of ebbs and flows. We were very lucky in the sense that Chase was always a good sleeper. I’m not sure if he’s just a mellow baby or it had more to do with the fact that he was always bottle fed so we knew exactly how much he was eating throughout the day and that he would go to sleep with a full belly. Either way, from the moment we brought him home from the hospital he slept in 4 hour stretches and by 3 months he was basically sleeping through the night on his own. I thought I was in the clear and that his sleep patterns would only improve, but boy was I wrong!! 

The dreaded regressions would hit and they would throw us all for a loop. It was around the 4+ month mark that Chase was also phasing out of that “newborn sleep” stage where he would nap for hours on end. Chase was still sleeping well throughout the night at this point but his naps were progressively getting terrible. At one point he would nap for 30 minutes at a time and that’s when I decided I needed to try something else.

As I mentioned above, what we did worked for us. No methodology can ever know your baby better than you do. Every baby is different, every mama is different. 

After the holidays I decided to take two weeks and really try to get Chase in a nap routine. I figured that if I was going to try any sort of sleep training, napping seemed like an easy place to do it for myself and for Chase. I started putting Chase down at the exact same times every day: 9:00am, 1:00pm, and a catnap at around 4pm. Routine was key for us. Babies love a schedule and knowing what to expect every day. When it would come time for a nap, we would go upstairs and do a modified sleep routine. I would turn the lights off, we would change his diaper, the Hatch would come on, and I would put him in his sleep sack. I started putting him immediately in his crib instead of rocking and cuddling him to sleep. I would lay him down and “shush” him as I rubbed his back. The first day I tried this I swear I rubbed his back for an hour but I was determined not to give in and pick him up. Eventually he fell asleep on his own! I remember literally feeling like I had just won the World Series. The other thing I did was make sure that no matter what time he woke up, I would leave him in his crib for his designated 2 hour nap time. Even if he was awake, I would leave him in there until his “nap” was over.  With every day that I did this, putting him down got progressively easier and his naps were getting longer. Now his body knows when it’s time for naps and he’s practically jumping out of my arms to get in his crib.

Nighttime sleeping got challenging as Chase got older. 

Teething was very hard on us (as expected) and there were definitely nights where Ryan and I were up two or three times trying to get Chase settled and back to bed. These times were definitely tough, but I always reminded myself that “This too shall pass”. I knew that eventually he would be back to his normal nighttime sleep schedule and we had to just get through the rough patches. When I would be dead tired waking up 3 times a night and about to cry myself, I would always think about how one day he won’t need me. One day he will not want to be rocked. One day he will sleep through the night and I’ll be up missing those quiet moments in the middle of the night where it’s just him and I staring at the moon. 

The funny thing about motherhood is that whenever you think you’ve outsmarted your baby and have it all figured out, they throw a curveball at you. 

Now that Chase is 13 months old, his schedule has evolved to this:

Wake up: 7-7:30am
Morning bottle then breakfast
Nap #1: 9-9:15am – 11:00/11:30am
Lunch around 12:00pm
Nap #2: 2:00pm (this nap has been a struggle lately so it fluctuates)
5:30pm: Dinner
6:00pm: Bath time
6:45pm: Bedtime 

I hope that this is helpful for any mama’s who are struggling with sleep expectations. Remember that everything is temporary and you know your baby better than anyone else! Sleep is not one size fits all! 

Since we rounded the corner on our first year as parents, I wanted to write a post about our TOP baby products that we couldn’t live without!

Let me start by saying, I LOVE baby products! I love trying them, researching them, talking about them – I love it all. Now that so many of my girlfriends are pregnant, I feel like we can finally talk shop. All the products I mention below are things we use every day and truly couldn’t have survived the first year without!

BABY BREZZA FORMULA MAKER

If Chase and I were on a desert island and I had to bring one thing, it would be this. Trust me when I say you NEED this in your life! We are huge Baby Brezza fans and have tons of their gear, but the formula maker stands out as our top used baby item that we own. We have used it every day since we brought Chase home from the hospital and still do. In more words or less, this is like a Keurig for babies! You put your desired formula in the top, set the amount of ounces for your little one, and “Ta-Da!!” you have a perfect temperature bottle! This thing is the closest to magic that you’ll ever get and it made our feeding journey an absolute breeze.

BABY BREZZA STERILIZER

This is another item that we used every day and loved. It’s simple enough and does the job! I like this one because it can hold a lot of bottles and has a few different settings. For example, now that Chase is older sometimes we will put his water cups in the dishwasher but they still come out wet. I pop them in the Baby Brezza Sterilizer and put it on the “fan” setting to make sure they’re totally dry before we put them away.

BIBS PACIFIERS

These pacifiers are the BEST. We bought a few different kinds of pacis for Chase to try and he immediately took to these and we never looked back. They also come in tons of colors making them very aesthetically pleasing.

HATCH SOUND MACHINE

This is another item we couldn’t live without. We have used this for every single sleep since Chase came home and take it everywhere we go. I absolutely LOVE the Hatch and we will get one for every baby we have because that’s how much we use it. I love the Hatch for a few reasons. First, I love that you can use wifi and link it directly to your phone and control it from there. This is super helpful when you’re in another room or for programming it. Speaking of programming this is another big plus! The Hatch gives you the ability to program your desired settings for your little one. You can choose your sound, volume level, and nightlight color. I love the programming option because I have Chase’s sleep times all set up. The Hatch automatically comes on at every nap and night time sleep, so I don’t have to manually turn it on and off 3 times a day. The Hatch is not only great for babies, it’s awesome for older kids too! I’ve heard of a lot of parents using the nightlight to signal when their kids can get in and out of bed which is genius!

WATER WIPES

This isn’t really something you think a lot about when you hear “baby gear” but what we put on our baby’s skin is so important! When I was prepping for Chase, I remember going to Target with my mom and buying one of every kind of wipe because I had no clue what I was doing or what to buy. When we brought him home from the hospital and to his first doctor’s appointment, our doctor told us that we really should be wiping our baby’s bottom with water and a cloth but she knows that’s not realistic so she suggested getting a wipe that’s as close to that as possible. I went home and ordered my first box of Water Wipes and never looked back! We
SWEAR by Water Wipes and I credit them for the reason Chase has never had a diaper rash in 12+ months!! We order a giant box on Amazon subscription every month and literally use them for everything – cleaning up messes, diapers, wiping Chase’s face in the morning, you name it we use them for it. Water Wipes are an absolute must!!!

BABY BJORN BOUNCER

We got this as a gift and used it every day when Chase was little. I loved being able to put Chase down in a safe and comfortable place when I needed some hands free time. I love that you can bounce this a little bit to create a rocking motion to soothe the baby. It’s also great because it’s so light and easy to bring with you when you need to do things like shower or fold laundry. We got the toy attachment for this when Chase was a bit older and it would occupy him forever!

JOOVY SPOON WALKER

PUT THIS ON YOUR REGISTRY! There are tons of walkers out there but none like the Joovy Spoon. We actually registered for a different walker and ended up switching to this one after seeing people rave about it online. The first and most important reason why I love this walker is for the safety mechanisms. The Spoon has innovative technology that no other walker has, where it can sense when the floor changes and automatically stops on ledges or stairs. I loved being able to let Chase roam around without ever fearing he could walk himself right down our front stairs. We of course tried the stair test without Chase in the walker and it worked every
time, seriously amazing! Another safety feature is the wide base and tray, which prevents the baby from getting their fingers stuck in between surfaces or being able to reach and grab things. Lastly, it folds completely flat which is amazing for storage.

NUNA TRIV STROLLER

This is a more recent purchase for me, but I love it so much so I had to include it. We recently got the Nuna Triv because I felt like I didn’t have a compact stroller that folded up and could easily be kept in my car to take places. I found myself never bringing my stroller anywhere because it was such a pain, that is until I found the Triv. Not only is it sleek and gorgeous, but it has a ton of positions and features that make it a must have for me. I love that it can lay completely flat which is important for naps on the go and the canopy goes down super far creating a ton of shade for baby. Another thing that I find really important in strollers is the ability to change the seat back and forth. This is a must for me especially now with Covid, I find myself being much more protective and wanting the baby to face me. The Triv seat is super easy to flip front and back and it folds up like a dream. The suspension on the stroller is great and the ride is super smooth. We definitely are loving our new Triv.

HALO BASSINET

We used the Halo bassinet when Chase was a newborn and really enjoyed it! I liked that I could hover it over our bed so that he was practically sleeping with me and the collapsible side was really great for reaching in and grabbing him during the night. The Halo has a few cool features like the vibrate function which we used a lot, nightlight, nursing timers, and music. When selecting a bassinet, I wanted something more simple and safe and the Halo was just that for us. I know a lot of people try the Snoo, but my rule of thumb is always if it’s something you’re eventually going to have to wean your baby off of it, I would rather skip it. Sleep habits are so important
for when your baby gets older! The Halo had the vibrate function which was just enough for us when he was fussing or waking up, but not too much that he would get dependent on it.

DOCATOT

I feel like this is a given on everyone’s baby lists. This is pretty self-explanatory so I won’t spend too much time on it but it’s definitely nice to have to be able to safely lay your baby down no matter where you are. I also bought an extra cover for when there were accidents!

For future babies, I’m so excited to add to this list. To all you mamas out there, I’d love to hear from you with what products changed the game for your first year with your little ones! I hope this was helpful to any new or expecting mamas out there!

My baby is ONE!

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I can’t believe I’m typing these words. My little baby, my sweet boy, my Chay Chay is ONE! How is this possible when it seems like 5 minutes ago we were taking him home from the hospital for the very first time? Chase is the absolute love of our lives and the sweetest baby we could have ever dreamed of. He is so fun, loving and super laid back. I won’t bore you with all the ways he’s changed our lives, but we really hit the jackpot with our little guy! Since Covid began when Chase was still very young, we’ve been holed up in the house for a large part of his life and quickly realized we wouldn’t be able to have the big 1st birthday party we originally planned. When his birthday was near, I knew I wanted to do a really special photo session to celebrate him and share all the photos with those who wouldn’t be able to come celebrate in person! I always go a little too crazy when it comes to these set ups and occasions but I can’t help myself! It’s the planner in me and I truly enjoy doing it.

I wanted something soft and elegant, yet fun and different for a first birthday shoot! Everyone who knows me knows I can never resist florals, greenery, and a soft color scheme! My favorite detail of the shoot was his high chair, which was actually my dad’s, then mine when we were babies. We had it refinished white for Chase to use for his shoot and it was so special.

He was absolutely loving all the attention and having a blast but the best part for him was diving head first into that CAKE! These images say it all. We love you beyond words our sweet Chase Cristian.

Photography by: Keri Calabrese @kericalabrese
Balloons: Elissa @indie_be_balloons
Banner: Kaylyn Kontras @pirouettepapercompany
Styled by: Angi & Co @angiandco
Outfit: Cecil & Lou
Stool: Amazon
Banner: Ours was custom, but here’s a similar one on Etsy.
Hat: Etsy
Cake topper: Etsy
Extra birthday outfits: Pajamas and Bubble Pants

Welcome!

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I am SO happy and proud to finally introduce my other baby, The Pretty Little Life by Kaitlin Cuccinelli.

I’ve been wanting to start a blog for so many years, but never had the time or knew what direction I wanted to go in. I felt like I was the last to the party and really missed out on the opportunity to start blogging. I kind of put it on the shelf and figured if and when the time was right it would happen organically. Over the last 3 years in particular, I noticed how many people would reach out to me via Instagram for advice or information on things like my wedding, our engagement, my shower, baby things, and most recently our home build. I absolutely loved the community I was establishing on Instagram and more than that I LOVED connecting with people who I never would have met in my every day life. It’s so fun to develop such a strong network of people that are interested in the same things you are.

It wasn’t until recently that I decided I was ready to take the plunge. My hope for this blog is that it’s a fun, safe and creative space where people can connect and I’m able to provide a platform where I can help and inspire. I’m so excited to see what this next chapter holds and I’m so happy you’re here with me on this journey!