tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12292299945077477442024-02-07T09:46:20.942-08:00Mrs. Dogan's Married Life!Blogging about any & everything that pertains to my life :)Tiara Doganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16499538538090097360noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1229229994507747744.post-4826394157244362382016-01-26T09:27:00.000-08:002016-01-27T19:32:57.620-08:00Does It Make Me Less of a Mother? Part I: My C-Section PreferenceBeing a 25-year-old fairly new mother, I have a ton of people in my social network who are pregnant and new mothers. Through all of those people I have seen several different opinions/ideas in regards to birth, breastfeeding and child rearing. Both birth and breastfeeding are very hot topics for new mothers, especially breastfeeding. Being respectful is sometimes difficult when I read and hear other people's opinions regarding these topis especially when I disagree with them. I totally understand that it is okay for everyone to have their own opinion but, I don't think that other people do. While I know that Nylah has the best mother, when I hear certain comments I sometimes second guess myself and my decisions.<br />
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While I was pregnant I discussed with my husbnad my fear of having a vaginal birth. Tying that makes me feel a little crazy...lol. Why? Well, I am a woman and women have been delivering babies vaginally and drug free since the beginning of time. And I wanted NOTHING to do with neither of those oprions for 2 simple reasons. One, I know that my pain tolerance is <u>not</u> very high so I knew that I would be opting for meds. I couldn't imagine myself in agony for too long. And secondly, I was afraid of vaginal tearing and having to receive stitches. I have heard some horor stories about that and it really scared me! Now don't get me wrong, I didn't want a c-section either but the baby had to some out some way and in weighing the pros and cons of both, I felt that it would be better for me. I mentally prepared myself for both but was secretly relieved when my daughter was delivered early via c-section.</div>
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I have no problem with sharing my birth story and how great my c-section was but I sometimes get crazy looks when I say that I preferred my c-section. Women tell me how they wanted to hold out as long as possible in hopes to avaoid a c-section and I do not understand why. I've heard pregnant women speak of c-sections negatively and how they will do it the "natural" way and I don't understand it. I may be jumping to conclusions but it seems to me that some women feel that the decision to have a vaginal birth is better than a c-section. But, for what reason? Am I supposed to want a giant baby to squeeze out of my body simply because I am a woman? Or, I won't feel a connection to my baby if they don't come through the birth canal? Or maybe it's the scar that scares some. I am so very curious as to what people think. As I stated above, I am very content with my c-section but I'm just wondering if I am missing something.</div>
Tiara Doganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16499538538090097360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1229229994507747744.post-8514922504259453342016-01-26T08:56:00.000-08:002016-01-26T08:56:25.519-08:00Quick & Easy Frozen Birthday!My little sister turned 4 back in November and my parents had no idea what they wanted to do with her. But since her birthday fell on a Saturday we knew that we should do something fun. A few days before her birthday she suffered a serious injury to one of her fingers so her parents were afraid to take her out of the house to do anything since she wasn't wearing a cast but her finger was still in pretty bad shape. Me being me and LOVING parties the way that I do decided that I would go and buy some decorations, make a cake and have a little party at her house with just family. My sister and my daughter are the only kids in the family but they play together pretty well because my Nylah thinks she is 3 and can hang with big kids. My little cousin is 11 but she acts like a little kiddo sometimes so we count her in too...lol. I decided to do Frozen because my little sister LOVES it like all of the little girls in the world! I went to Wal-Mart to purchase party tabkeware and decor to match the theme, made the cake myself and her parents ordered some pizza and wings. We ended up spending no more than $50.00 for the party which was awesome and I know that my sister thoroughly enjoyed herself. If I had more time I am sure I would have went all out with the decorations and sweets but she loved all of it so that made me happy!<br />
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Lavish parties are the thing now but I don't think that they aren't always necessary. Pick a theme, go to Wal-Mart/Target/Party City and grab a few things, cook or order Pizza, get a cake, invite family and/or a few friends and your little one will have a ball! My family is fortunate in the bakery department because they know that they can always get a custom creation for just about free to match their theme but seriously, it's the thought and effort that counts. Celebrating my birthday as a kid always made me feel special. It was my personal day and I have nothing but great memories of it! I plan on doing the same for my sister & daughter.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Nylah and my sister posing in front of a Frozen backdrop.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The birthday girl!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Table set-up!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The birthday cake!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Nylah & Her Daddy having cake (silly big cousin in the background).</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Birthday girl having cake!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Birthday girl & her big cousin.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My godson came to join the party too!</td></tr>
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<br />Tiara Doganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16499538538090097360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1229229994507747744.post-40685184850169759532015-09-02T19:21:00.001-07:002015-09-02T19:21:45.598-07:00Nylah's Royal 1st Birthday Bash!Our baby girl turned 1 on March 30, 2015 and it was a HUGE deal!!! I love first birthdays. They are just so precious so of course my Nylah had to have an awesome 1st birthday! At first, we debated about having the party at a place or at home but we decided to rent a spot because our house would get pretty crowded between our two families alone. I didn't plan on going all out but.....I just couldn't help myself. I went by my husband's quote; "You Only Turn One Once" and planned everything around those words...lol.<br />
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So on to some of the details! We rented the smallest room available at a restaurant/rental facility called Keya Graves located in Darby, PA (about 15 minutes from our house). On a Sunday, the room was $300 for 6 hours (great deal) and fit about 40 people. I was surprised to find that the room was actually a suite when I went to visit, which was a ton of space. We used the entrance room to store her gifts, one room for the table settings and sweet table and one room as a playroom! Her dad came up with the theme because he is always calling her a "Little Queen" so we came up with "Royalty". I made her cake, we ordered some pizza and chicken fingers and had lots of little things for our guests to do. I knew that I would have a lot to do so I hired a family friend to help with some of the decorations and I must say that she did an AMAZING job with Nylah's sweet table. Below are more details about the party.<br />
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<u>Theme</u>: Royalty<br />
<u>Colors</u> : Pink and Gold<br />
<u>Number of Guests</u>: 30<br />
<u>Food</u>: Pizza and Chicken Fingers<br />
<u>Activities</u>: Decorate your own Crown, Pinata, Dancing, Giant Balloon and Ball Fun!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All of the decor was pink & gold. My family friend did an amazing job!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here is the cake that I made for her!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She got a lot of AWESOME gifts!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Guests decorating their own crowns. The number 1 on the table is actually a pinata that I also made.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nylah & her auntie (my little sister) discussing something...lol</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMKLt3m7vPQ_z8RaRU_v0fs2sEKTJYOHF6WLuaNLwltf1coEeUttLzE64ENg8HeoX2IC4C8Mhw-IiY6GERAjIIYfGg4HlwdZbwl0Sn_1Hgg_MP5Mk2B_yx8PmIQ5HHc-MbKegE3Nmr5wE/s1600/20150329_170435.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMKLt3m7vPQ_z8RaRU_v0fs2sEKTJYOHF6WLuaNLwltf1coEeUttLzE64ENg8HeoX2IC4C8Mhw-IiY6GERAjIIYfGg4HlwdZbwl0Sn_1Hgg_MP5Mk2B_yx8PmIQ5HHc-MbKegE3Nmr5wE/s640/20150329_170435.jpg" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The birthday girl and Daddy</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixK3gB0_4z9dd4rOA7qVige77B-UEoqrtsBpW0wLztHZ69etfXgDwFBqHeE0yJKc-tatU70g3tEla0Q39GtmEptPBlsBn4Q5XkOPcIlLXyXGdnobMv-FNOKIu00ZaOU3_a6MERuWvzCdE/s1600/20150329_170214.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixK3gB0_4z9dd4rOA7qVige77B-UEoqrtsBpW0wLztHZ69etfXgDwFBqHeE0yJKc-tatU70g3tEla0Q39GtmEptPBlsBn4Q5XkOPcIlLXyXGdnobMv-FNOKIu00ZaOU3_a6MERuWvzCdE/s640/20150329_170214.jpg" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our Little Queen!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTnexXzWVO56Lm26JSoC51anxz3fYpuEtAya1w5XvjtsK2JjbUfqViZ0ZbLtYCuxHvXcYCSFGXiwIE56katySNX9rc9_zENQqSzW9zQe3AfLRKHfbFfkt9J-_Nb2TQB3dDXzEikMDuYc0/s1600/20150329_163142.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTnexXzWVO56Lm26JSoC51anxz3fYpuEtAya1w5XvjtsK2JjbUfqViZ0ZbLtYCuxHvXcYCSFGXiwIE56katySNX9rc9_zENQqSzW9zQe3AfLRKHfbFfkt9J-_Nb2TQB3dDXzEikMDuYc0/s640/20150329_163142.jpg" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We put down mats for our tiny guests to crawl around on</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ8cZ1D8-iAsr9SRhwsdju5v_B5Q08R_qg2Gk4X5EFgmuBZQp0FylhIF7aDLNSMNJ3IVUD-TMF-olYtw7jc7K8Osu-FbW9MtGWRlsz1Z2UjFxUL1t4ocghhw-oCgrz93tpkFGbODS5iZ4/s1600/20150329_162904.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ8cZ1D8-iAsr9SRhwsdju5v_B5Q08R_qg2Gk4X5EFgmuBZQp0FylhIF7aDLNSMNJ3IVUD-TMF-olYtw7jc7K8Osu-FbW9MtGWRlsz1Z2UjFxUL1t4ocghhw-oCgrz93tpkFGbODS5iZ4/s640/20150329_162904.jpg" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Daddy & the birthday girl in her gold outfit. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDph6JiQhWzlIvolWUMOiSPkihm8XXS_yxLr178aSOxTfbmvgAvKGoR__D2ThSkWLr_iHWV5fg7tVr7x3BGMsp8FzdjZM0PNDSKnobOpFidnHPBGpibbwb2PeZCPsrpCL2sHOWY9NOpfs/s1600/20150329_162754.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDph6JiQhWzlIvolWUMOiSPkihm8XXS_yxLr178aSOxTfbmvgAvKGoR__D2ThSkWLr_iHWV5fg7tVr7x3BGMsp8FzdjZM0PNDSKnobOpFidnHPBGpibbwb2PeZCPsrpCL2sHOWY9NOpfs/s640/20150329_162754.jpg" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Her birthday board that I also made.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGks40_ysVQ6DlOzrx5K_uCs2vcwTKErZ1NhnDxBVm7CAdqhGtF2ADdwVQfsJIydC8OI222kkycfNpDQf09jIJblkqcD7dXB8xGoocIMTISKRX5_X5drWsmzl_t6bnd7CqWO4SCz6jbeA/s1600/20150329_162740.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGks40_ysVQ6DlOzrx5K_uCs2vcwTKErZ1NhnDxBVm7CAdqhGtF2ADdwVQfsJIydC8OI222kkycfNpDQf09jIJblkqcD7dXB8xGoocIMTISKRX5_X5drWsmzl_t6bnd7CqWO4SCz6jbeA/s640/20150329_162740.jpg" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The birthday girl's VIP seating.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKkBUMNULQ-82hoL_a1mGtLJAqXNit1Azf9t3qoyJx5jqx9GO2p_qp1MDrciKy7chJk-XNyZdW8IrMSBqw1uTS3g45wKHIN3UsIcZTr10YFCnS7A-GkD4s-DuW1LdSZNwVJ5Fs8ifVvgs/s1600/20150329_163045.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKkBUMNULQ-82hoL_a1mGtLJAqXNit1Azf9t3qoyJx5jqx9GO2p_qp1MDrciKy7chJk-XNyZdW8IrMSBqw1uTS3g45wKHIN3UsIcZTr10YFCnS7A-GkD4s-DuW1LdSZNwVJ5Fs8ifVvgs/s640/20150329_163045.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of our early guests</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoAttivQSXxGvyk8C9Ech_RK1Zn8Ex_fNE05GX750ZC6c80wPSx2D8o-StsM7D8k995OylteXd_XGLzEOfCGttSXaZcuMkwXyWXPeFQKIQcPp1kexZ4TYhTC8psz7V_YWaF_2Iy9Uu-rc/s1600/20150329_185417.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoAttivQSXxGvyk8C9Ech_RK1Zn8Ex_fNE05GX750ZC6c80wPSx2D8o-StsM7D8k995OylteXd_XGLzEOfCGttSXaZcuMkwXyWXPeFQKIQcPp1kexZ4TYhTC8psz7V_YWaF_2Iy9Uu-rc/s640/20150329_185417.jpg" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nylah & her grandmothers!</td></tr>
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<br />
Tiara Doganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16499538538090097360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1229229994507747744.post-34395586266194631192015-07-12T08:25:00.002-07:002015-07-12T08:25:33.846-07:00UpdateWow! It has been almost 7 long months since I last updated this blog and I must say that I am a terrible blogger...lol. So much has happened since December of 2014 that I would like to share. Our baby girl turned the big 1, I just celebrated 25 years of life, I started in a new position and so other little things..lol. I promise to get better with things because I love my life and I want to share it with the world!!!Tiara Doganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16499538538090097360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1229229994507747744.post-69294577845316584772014-12-27T13:23:00.000-08:002014-12-27T13:23:05.809-08:00Natural Hair Puff and Bun!So, another thing you'll find out about me besides being a wife, mother and baker is that I am also a naturalista (a.k.a.) a black woman who stopped using chemical relaxers in her hair and has decided to wear her hair in it's natural state. I've been natural since 2010 and it definitely is a process. Waiting for your hair to grow the length that you want or trying out a style only to find out it didn't work out or your hair wasn't dry enough....soooo many issues but nonetheless, I love my hair! My hair is a little past my shoulders now and I am okay with this length but I of course want it longer.<br />
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I like to refer to myself as a lazy naturalista. I never feel like washing, conditioning or co-washing my hair. I don't style my hair often because two strand twisting or braiding takes too long. Or it's really uncomfortable to sleep with rods/flexi-rods/curlformers in your hair. I know that I have some issues and I promise to work on them...lol. Since I am so lazy you can often catch me wearing a variation of three styles; afro puff/bun, jumbo twist or braid out or two braids. This is a picture tutorial for my Afro Puff/Hair Bun.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-ORA-Znl0Vv_17oNC1HxMTonxo_Z6zJTWtjzUwUDgJBS6grz28Gtgo8A4I2NZzAXsQnu1hy8SXqoO0g_GmCoWv22z0KhG1CJq7Z4Tj6gP1cJGxFQQMMwiSu1qfi7GyrrfO8WQWUvrWig/s1600/IMG_20140731_130101.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-ORA-Znl0Vv_17oNC1HxMTonxo_Z6zJTWtjzUwUDgJBS6grz28Gtgo8A4I2NZzAXsQnu1hy8SXqoO0g_GmCoWv22z0KhG1CJq7Z4Tj6gP1cJGxFQQMMwiSu1qfi7GyrrfO8WQWUvrWig/s1600/IMG_20140731_130101.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></div>
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1. I usually start off with an old twist out (about 3 days) but you can do this on freshly washed hair as well.<br />
2. Apply a moisturizer (not too much to avoid residue in your hair) and gel (my favorite is ECO Styler).<br />
3. Use a very stretchy headband. I wrap mine around my head twice to ensure tightness.<br />
4. Pull headband up towards the middle of your head and pin it. This is where you stop if you want to wear an Afro Puff.<br />
5. Flatten your puff on all sides.<br />
6. Take another stretchy headband and apply it over your flattened hair.<br />
7. Pin any loose hairs into your bun and there you have it, a nice and neat bun! Doing this on stretched hair (braided, twisted or straightened hair) will make your bun look fuller but it all depends on what you like.<br />
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And those are 2 of my favorite EASY natural hairstyles! I'll definitely make sure to post more picture tutorials! ToodlesTiara Doganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16499538538090097360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1229229994507747744.post-46173425622882135052014-12-27T10:11:00.000-08:002014-12-27T10:11:08.808-08:00Christmas 2014 - Baby's First Christmas!The most wonderful time of the Year! It truly is. I just love Christmas. And I was even more excited this year because it was my daughter's 1st Christmas. I am going to admit now that we went totally nuts with her gifts! We couldn't help it. I gave very nice gifts to everyone, including some expensive sneakers for my other little sister whose birthday falls on Christmas Day!<br />
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I prepped my house for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving, I play no games when it comes to decorating for Christmas. The tree was up, the stocking hung and my window display complete! We let Nylah add the finishing touch to the tree, the giant bow on top. I don't do real trees. You can't keep them up as long, they have a weird shape and they leave behind too many pine needles...lol. She loved the tree; touching the lights, branches and ornaments. I got some great shots of her under the tree. We also made sure to watch Christmas movies together; Rudolph, Frosty the Snowman, Home Alone 1 & 2 and The Polar Express.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLMAq4duTN2DIkZy01kRTPoAS6e2q1bKjTKzEwaLNkfxTlVHlssr_kIsBMU6qERujAW4qvM5AXv8wWqOnHZYNFCaB-kBuDZ5UCti6s5av1IkgGsFiNT5sqSs_JoryAvFeHnzEJ2tfpGaw/s1600/PhotoGrid_1417304836370.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLMAq4duTN2DIkZy01kRTPoAS6e2q1bKjTKzEwaLNkfxTlVHlssr_kIsBMU6qERujAW4qvM5AXv8wWqOnHZYNFCaB-kBuDZ5UCti6s5av1IkgGsFiNT5sqSs_JoryAvFeHnzEJ2tfpGaw/s1600/PhotoGrid_1417304836370.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
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Now I'm going to spill the beans on the gifts that "Santa" bought Nylah. We watch the Sprout channel everyday in our house (Astroblast is Nylah's fav.) so we've had our feel of toy commercials for the holiday season. Aaron and I discussed early on what toys we thought would be great for Nylah and we came up with 3; <a href="http://www.fisher-price.com/en_US/brands/laugh-and-learn/products/Laugh-and-Learn-Smart-Stages-Chair">Laugh and Learn Smart Stages Chair</a> (she's a little to young for this one right now), <a href="http://www.fisher-price.com/en_us/brands/laughandlearn/products/Laugh-and-Learn-Magical-Musical-Mirror">Laugh and Learn Magical Musical Mirror</a> and <a href="http://www.fisher-price.com/en_US/brands/babytoys/products/3-in-1-Bounce-Stride-and-Ride-Elephant">3-in-1 Bounce, Stride and Ride Elephant</a>. I'm a bit frugal so I started looking early for deals and ended up snagging all three toys from both a combination of Wal-Mart and Target at a discounted price. </div>
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Nylah is a small little lady but she's finally grown out of 0-3 months at <b><i>8 months</i></b>! So we knew that she needed a lot of new clothes. Her daddy is what I would like to call a fashionisto...lol. I look okay but I don;t really care about fashion. My hubby likes to look good and keeps up with what's in and what's not (I sound like an old lady). Anyways, we got her some pretty cute outfits from <a href="http://www.hm.com/us/department/KIDS">H&M</a>, <a href="http://www.gymboree.com/index.jsp?FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374303003787&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=1408474395917465&bmUID=kFQcQay">Gymboree</a>, <a href="http://oldnavy.gap.com/browse/division.do?cid=51375&mlink=5151,9208370,Top_nav_Baby&clink=9208370">Old Navy</a>, <a href="http://www.carters.com/home?id=carters&srd=true">Carter's</a> and <a href="http://www.oshkosh.com/">OshKosh B'Gosh</a>! She also got outfits from other family members so she has a whole new wardrobe which I am so happy about!! Reading is also important so she got two new books; Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and Five Little Monkeys Jumping On the Bed (which she LOVES)!! She got other gifts but I just don't feel like explaining it all. She had a great 1st Christmas and it was awesome watching her reaction to her gifts on Christmas morning!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxbU1Hgqx7yu0vI62uDgqk-uEtlr0aYxad9Hpg-bpRHaLS_YyzyIp7G2fRonGV-uSisa8Zk1k4dc7zJpSQJcWoTs4-SUGg1EDnnj5H6mozLFAbqaKVoGpouxwvO4fgwxNPjzqz3S-m1q8/s1600/20141224_202657.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxbU1Hgqx7yu0vI62uDgqk-uEtlr0aYxad9Hpg-bpRHaLS_YyzyIp7G2fRonGV-uSisa8Zk1k4dc7zJpSQJcWoTs4-SUGg1EDnnj5H6mozLFAbqaKVoGpouxwvO4fgwxNPjzqz3S-m1q8/s1600/20141224_202657.jpg" height="400" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Christmas Eve at her grandparents - Santa's Little Helper</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbZqkuIP7zeBV3EBJ5XTo_g_8cTiT4KNV7heOQjRqA2HfCvpZ12kG_0pCEwTY9jtZcdTKfQwRhpr56gByqbBk38E1R7sN6mepKU3som-dpI7OK13ikZQyr7Si9Sgq6CHEQBxpigm7lVUk/s1600/20141225_100445.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbZqkuIP7zeBV3EBJ5XTo_g_8cTiT4KNV7heOQjRqA2HfCvpZ12kG_0pCEwTY9jtZcdTKfQwRhpr56gByqbBk38E1R7sN6mepKU3som-dpI7OK13ikZQyr7Si9Sgq6CHEQBxpigm7lVUk/s1600/20141225_100445.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She's such a happy baby! Posing here with some of her gifts on Christmas morning.</td></tr>
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<br />Tiara Doganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16499538538090097360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1229229994507747744.post-82024097109407617982014-12-27T09:00:00.000-08:002014-12-27T09:00:01.781-08:00Hosting My First ThanksgivingOkay, last year we had Thanksgiving at our house but I didn't prepare it. I was supposed to so my mom stayed over night and was supposed to help me along the way but she ended up doing everything because I was pregnant, tired and sick last year. So this year I wanted to do everything and I must say that everything turned out great! I was super nervous because I didn't think I was domesticated enough to prepare such a meal (I know, it's silly) but I was totally fine. It was also Nylah's first Thanksgiving so I thought it would be better if everyone came over instead of us taking her out and making rounds, Here is my menu;<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><u style="background-color: white;"><b><i>Menu</i></b></u></span></div>
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<span style="color: red;"><b>Turkey</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: orange;"><b>Ham</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: yellow;"><b>Baked Mac and Cheese</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: lime;"><b>Homemade Mashed Potatoes</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><b>Collared Greens</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: purple;"><b>String Beans</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000;"><b>Cranberry Sauce</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #b45f06;"><b>Dinner Rolls</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #bf9000;"><b>Sweet Potato Pie</b></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #38761d;">Cheesecake</span> </b></div>
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I was off the day before Thanksgiving so I had a good amount of time to prep. My mother-in-law gave us what I thought was a chicken months ago that I had stored in the freezer (I discovered that it was a turkey some time before Thanksgiving). I was nervous about making the <span style="color: red;"><b>turkey</b></span> but I followed all instructions and it turned out great. I seasoned it and rubbed it all over with butter, put it in a bag and it came out juicy and tender! I purchased a <span style="color: orange;"><b>ham</b></span> and so did my mother-in-law so I let her make her ham and decided to save mine for Christmas (I just love keeping giant animals in my freezer...not really). My <span style="color: yellow;"><b>mac and cheese</b></span> was prepared the day of and took not much effort to make. I peeled and chopped <span style="color: lime;"><b>potatoes</b></span> the night before and left them in cold water overnight. I threw them in my crockpot the next day for 4 hours. They softened and then I put them in my mixer to cream them down. I made fresh <span style="color: blue;"><b>collard greens</b></span>; chopped them up the night before and cleaned them. Left them in some water overnight (in the fridge) and cooked them the next day. My <span style="color: purple;"><b>string beans</b></span> and <span style="color: #990000;"><b>cranberry sauce</b></span> were canned so that was easy! And we had yummy <span style="color: #b45f06;"><b>Hawaiian rolls</b></span>!! I'm a baker so I of course had no issues with my <span style="color: #bf9000;"><b>pie</b></span> and <span style="color: #38761d;"><b>cheesecake</b></span>. My mom also brought a homemade sweet potato pie as well. We just had some close family over; laughed, talked, watched football and watched my little sister perform songs from the movie "Frozen". It was a pretty awesome day!</div>
Tiara Doganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16499538538090097360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1229229994507747744.post-32397532703897929132014-12-26T23:56:00.000-08:002014-12-27T08:13:13.566-08:00Halloween 2014 - Nylah's 1st Halloween<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQkKpEtP1i0MeJqrzZPxRFb7wPq16vMUefYbDCRS6L5nAPaqwdfAR-ksSn4x9VOIsz3etU1CHzxIX7xKHxpvpDRdwHblDHQbfdz7SEKKO4VHefrFtR6-jgHc70GxVdLJsaOxgGxnZAhQg/s1600/20141031_170841.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQkKpEtP1i0MeJqrzZPxRFb7wPq16vMUefYbDCRS6L5nAPaqwdfAR-ksSn4x9VOIsz3etU1CHzxIX7xKHxpvpDRdwHblDHQbfdz7SEKKO4VHefrFtR6-jgHc70GxVdLJsaOxgGxnZAhQg/s1600/20141031_170841.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
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This year was the first year that I got to dress up my own kid, Awesome!! Nylah had a pretty busy Halloween! The weekend before Halloween she had 2 events to attend. The Saturday before, we threw a small Halloween Party and the next day she attended her first NICU reunion. I purchased 1 1/2 costumes for her. For the party and reunion she went as Minnie Mouse. And on Halloween day, she dressed as Thing 3, along with Thing 1 and 2 (Daddy and Mommy).<br />
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Now, I am such a planner that I decided to throw together a little Halloween party (I always want to plan and decorate for something...lol). I of course wanted to keep it small (mostly family members, and a few friends).My mother and 3 year old sister was there along with some of Aaron and my cousins and some friends of ours brought their young son and daughter. I planned on a couple more children being there but they weren't able to make it. Here's some pictures and details from the party. All of the little ones were in costume and they all looked so cute. We had some bumble bees, a minnie mouse, Spiderman, a Sassy kitten and an owl at the party.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeltAzjlcVEQLd-i1DrGevAxLOg1cSRSsm2WR03YRYx-Nn3WGfv-E7pRB5eIXzG4cdRTsYunosaDgNmARop1QIkg7MH7fyU6uJB3auG6SXaTKdERYcAH84nDqBa60CQ8hlBiEH8JjT_8I/s1600/20141025_160226.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeltAzjlcVEQLd-i1DrGevAxLOg1cSRSsm2WR03YRYx-Nn3WGfv-E7pRB5eIXzG4cdRTsYunosaDgNmARop1QIkg7MH7fyU6uJB3auG6SXaTKdERYcAH84nDqBa60CQ8hlBiEH8JjT_8I/s1600/20141025_160226.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Decorate your own pumpkin station (sytrofoam pumpkins<br />
from Dollar Tree)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis8gI7zjO-GXD5B2yJ2si-6vciqnfOy5lp0z6pM5Kx4h1sHGDZ-MM3ngF4Kmmn-okkMlfa_-C3XvMqJXtNalWrM0sirX-HuqDUBfkfu5K0Y6iTlXygSqY2LsaW3o270-plomCB0RUJqGk/s1600/20141025_152042-SMILE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis8gI7zjO-GXD5B2yJ2si-6vciqnfOy5lp0z6pM5Kx4h1sHGDZ-MM3ngF4Kmmn-okkMlfa_-C3XvMqJXtNalWrM0sirX-HuqDUBfkfu5K0Y6iTlXygSqY2LsaW3o270-plomCB0RUJqGk/s1600/20141025_152042-SMILE.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Nylah and her auntie (my little sis) Aleah</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cute banner from Dollar Tree</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUMAmmzKgzVj1MZ4YigqIlN4QZJaEe5ImLF82HMzdTIc8F6WWl84S13nnQz3s2vyi6lQr3mUYT8incIVZeQYY8k5JKYDlTgvGxfXYEJ8TXxu2REqFzzIqQlmHIv8VIrYusz__sCnVYqmc/s1600/20141025_182443.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUMAmmzKgzVj1MZ4YigqIlN4QZJaEe5ImLF82HMzdTIc8F6WWl84S13nnQz3s2vyi6lQr3mUYT8incIVZeQYY8k5JKYDlTgvGxfXYEJ8TXxu2REqFzzIqQlmHIv8VIrYusz__sCnVYqmc/s1600/20141025_182443.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pin the hat on the Witch game, Dollar Tree</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgig3PYQfC0sVtEjttudNnl3kAoMQS4WubwclkAhNW_D0SEwajx9J7Vbrqqkb6DSIwZACHUzkskAe1imgpQ4fXJrkV8kPWzUY8q-HuWzr874j4nhrAR3mvv4ecaTYe9BTur5MwT9KB7fZg/s1600/20141025_160212.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgig3PYQfC0sVtEjttudNnl3kAoMQS4WubwclkAhNW_D0SEwajx9J7Vbrqqkb6DSIwZACHUzkskAe1imgpQ4fXJrkV8kPWzUY8q-HuWzr874j4nhrAR3mvv4ecaTYe9BTur5MwT9KB7fZg/s1600/20141025_160212.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yummy treat table with a Ghost cupcake cake (made by me).</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyCY8zQcioN4KggTAKvl-yxROArqYlSQlXPKdOhCe-YKmmo3X2-N8e-Ee_P2dvD8QPfubq5Mtbl5HpSB2FFgQ8x6-QAnEOAi0oF-SJF4N-oFb-3yPpuV-K7I3OtUZ0tHXPVsQ3_1BosPE/s1600/IMG_20141025_200927.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyCY8zQcioN4KggTAKvl-yxROArqYlSQlXPKdOhCe-YKmmo3X2-N8e-Ee_P2dvD8QPfubq5Mtbl5HpSB2FFgQ8x6-QAnEOAi0oF-SJF4N-oFb-3yPpuV-K7I3OtUZ0tHXPVsQ3_1BosPE/s1600/IMG_20141025_200927.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mommy and Nylah as Minnie Mouse, Daddy didn't want<br />
to dress up.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgncPT8bMbvJMYq2oXdL28WrKje3qTiGiZXaGnfgBBdkVkkEXT14kBsTFHQuNQ69FrkJSayV7hG066ZhOeb5P712DU34FzilGKTEf_SsRQhNWUk5rTvTjAHLHt5XaEUsZsZU_hLd4leoiA/s1600/20141025_164034.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgncPT8bMbvJMYq2oXdL28WrKje3qTiGiZXaGnfgBBdkVkkEXT14kBsTFHQuNQ69FrkJSayV7hG066ZhOeb5P712DU34FzilGKTEf_SsRQhNWUk5rTvTjAHLHt5XaEUsZsZU_hLd4leoiA/s1600/20141025_164034.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More decor from Dollar tree and gift bags full of candy.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Guests in a heated round of monster match game!<br />
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<br />Tiara Doganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16499538538090097360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1229229994507747744.post-86750128460813482742014-12-26T23:13:00.000-08:002014-12-26T23:13:23.734-08:00Playing Catch Up!Wow, it's been 3+ months since my last post! I am so horrible at this but I'm getting back into it. Some goods things have happened in our little family in this amount of time that has passed. Aaron started a new job, I accepted a long term subbing position in an early intervention classroom and Nylah had the chance to celebrate her first Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas! I have so much to update and so many pictures to share!! I want to get everything important in before the New Year and start off fresh in 2015 (I can't believe that it's here already)! I definitely wanted to share this Christmas picture that I took of Nylah during our DIY Christmas photo shoot (Galaxy S4 camera, cute baby, covered boppy and Christmas tree). She is so cute and this was an awesome shot! We didn't want to take her to see Santa this year (GERMS) and I was going back and forth about taking her to a studio so I tried this out and it totally worked for her Christmas pictures!<br />
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<span style="color: #6aa84f; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>Merry Christmas from My Family to Yours!</i></span></div>
Tiara Doganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16499538538090097360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1229229994507747744.post-1476003047044605242014-05-25T08:37:00.001-07:002014-09-11T15:50:43.051-07:00Update on Nylah (from May 25th - September 11th)<p dir="ltr">I am super late but my little one has kept me busy! As of today, Nylah is now 5 months old! It was a very long and pretty much uneventful NICU stay (which is a good thing)and on Sunday, June 8, 2014, we were able to bring our little Nylah home!!! Once she was taken off of all of the machines her main concerns were eating and growing. She was gaining weight slowly but steadily but the hardest part for her was drinking from a bottle. She had to drink 100% of her bottles for 24 hours before her feeding tube was removed and discharge was even thought of! After weeks of trying and coaxing the doctors her tube was removed and a few days later she was discharged. <br></p>
<p dir="ltr">Adjusting to home life with her wasn't so bad! She woke for a bottle every few hours and was generally a happy baby. We visited the doctors it seemed at least once a week for almost two months; weight checks, acid reflux (she has a bad case), well check up....blah blah!</p>
<p dir="ltr"> Boy has she grown fast. At 5 months, she's finally fitting into 0-3 month clothes (she's a preemie so she's a little small), talking up a storm, rolling over, holding her head up great and sitting pretty good with support! She just started etaing rice cereal inside of her bottle yesterday! We are so excited for what she will do next! She was evaluated and no developmental delay has been found!!! She's a smart and sassy little lady and we love her to pieces! I will be posting more updates on her and family life much more! I promise</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzmxhIXLWfWKiPaSVYfBmReOVAqDUstGX7viNDFZZb58quYXJbDjrke399Z6nXsM6_I9K_09qEGg_U6ujoDT-Q29YViNl0s4fw027cPFSyzK7DFBrptc1gzPJiCwKRRS5TJHbQGW70-js/s1600/20140608_124226.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzmxhIXLWfWKiPaSVYfBmReOVAqDUstGX7viNDFZZb58quYXJbDjrke399Z6nXsM6_I9K_09qEGg_U6ujoDT-Q29YViNl0s4fw027cPFSyzK7DFBrptc1gzPJiCwKRRS5TJHbQGW70-js/s640/20140608_124226.jpg"></a>T</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Nylah on her way home from the NICU!!!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx4oaA-E_SmgDRmTwQnh2jx_i2GReuLLV3mDOQalyRCOd67nNUuCaQKhRXUCjak4zKzeH_6z0jSWSYQgl4Pz57l2lSFLTCpkziqW0e7oGETIa39jlbp6OOGAR13aZ5M24bHXAjLOTEcmc/s1600/20140830_160027.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx4oaA-E_SmgDRmTwQnh2jx_i2GReuLLV3mDOQalyRCOd67nNUuCaQKhRXUCjak4zKzeH_6z0jSWSYQgl4Pz57l2lSFLTCpkziqW0e7oGETIa39jlbp6OOGAR13aZ5M24bHXAjLOTEcmc/s640/20140830_160027.jpg"> </a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Little Nylah at 5 months sitting in her crib like a big girl!</div>Tiara Doganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16499538538090097360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1229229994507747744.post-38866839388053345152014-05-25T08:33:00.000-07:002014-09-11T15:44:39.905-07:00Recovering from my C-section<p dir="ltr">The c word that so many women fret about! I had to have an emergency c-section dur to my uncontrollable blood pressure levels. And I honestly do not see the big deal. I am not one of those women who absolutely had to have a natural child birth. I honestly was hoping to have a c-section, just not as early of course. There was no way I could see myself pushing a baby out of me with no mess and I was so afraid of the recovery process of a vaginal birth. I was actually afraid of recovery,  period! But nothing in the process was as bad as I thought it would be. Women have been doing it since forever so I could handle it! Here's a few things that I learned from my experience that may help.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><b>1. </b><u>There Will be Pain</u> - There will definitely be pain and there is no way of getting around that! Cesarean sections are abdominal surgeries. Your abdomen is cut open in order for your baby to be removed and stapled back up so you will feel it. Specifically when getting up, standing while showering (which they allowed me to do on the 2nd day, yay!), adjusting yourself in the bed, and anything else that requires you to use your stomach muscles. Walking is hell if you do it on the same day as your surgery. But the sooner you begin to walk, the better the healing process will be. Even walking around the room or down the maternity ward hallway will be good (wheelchairs will be available if you do need them..lol). There will also be meds that you can ask for at anytime. I was sent home with ibuprofen and percocet. Most of the pain subsided after a week when my staples were removed. And I stuck to the Ibuprofen after about day 3 of being home (I was discharged 4 days after birth). </p>
<p dir="ltr"><b>2. </b><u>There Will be Blood</u> -  well duh, but I wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I was immediately given a catheter which I did not feel at all so I did not get up for the entire day until it was out. I was nervous about having a nurse come and check my bleeding and changing me but once it was being done who cared! Bleeding is very heavy and clotty for the first 2-3 days but it then becomes lighter and lighter. The hospital gives pads, which I used, and they worked great! They also gave me disposable underwear which worked great. Some women complain and say bring your own but i had NOTHING prepared at 29 weeks so i had no choice and it all worked out fine. The bleeding stopped completely after 2 weeks for me and it was definitely manageable.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><b>3. </b><u>Your Bowels will be Funky</u> - this is what I hated the most! The doctor will send you home with a stool softener and you must take it or you will be in trouble! Before you are discharged, the nurses will make sure that you are passing gas and able to have a bowel movement (which was pretty easy for me in the hospital). Now when I was home, the struggle began. I was going days without a bowel movement and getting them out was terrible!  The stool softer helps if you continuously take them which I didn't because I didn't think I needed to. Boy did I learn!</p>
<p dir="ltr"><b>4. </b><u>The Incision Site</u> - everyone has a different experience with their incision. Mine was closed very neatly and healed very well. It was rather itchy especially once the staples were removed. I had no drainage, which some people do. The bandage covering it is removed on the second day and the incision is left uncovered to heal. It hurt really bad to cough, sneeze or laugh but putting a pillow up to the site may ease some pain when doing any of these. Once the staples are removed,  usually a few days later it will feel 1000 times better. My incision was very numb and still is a little now 8 weeks later. But I was overall good after around week 5.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><b>5. </b><u>Listen to your Body!</u> This is the most important advice that I can give. We all have different bodies which means we will heal differently. Over exertion is very harmful and your body will tell you if you're doing to much. When I was up, moving around too much I would be in pain the next day. And I know it's difficult to just sit around and heal but doing too much can prolong your healing process.</p>
<p dir="ltr">I am 8 weeks post c-section now and doing great. My incision is looking really good, my stomach muscles are getting <u>stronger</u>, no more pain or pain meds, and I am back to my usual activities!</p>
Tiara Doganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16499538538090097360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1229229994507747744.post-19449356046149635072014-05-23T14:00:00.000-07:002014-05-23T14:00:01.887-07:00Purple Birdie Baby Shower for NylahBeing the mama-to-be left me out of hosting the shower, we'll not really. My original baby shower was planned for May 17th and was being put together by my mom and mother in law (MIL) but since Nylah came early things changed. We weren't sure if she'd be home by May 17th (she wasn't) and we didn't want her to be present at the shower because we know everyone would have wanted to hold her. So we pushed the date up to May 3rd. I wanted to get gifts and still have time to shop for whatever else we needed.<br />
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With Nylah being in the NICU and going through so many different emotions on a daily basis I thought it would be best to have the shower at home and totally down scale. My mom and MIL were going to rent a hall and all if that jazz but Aaron and I both thought it was unnecessary, I don't think MIL liked that too much...lol. And I decided to help out with decorations and making my own cake! I wanted EVERYTHING purple but my MIL insisted on having a "baby" theme and I settled for a pink mommy and baby bird theme, but I made sure that purple was really incorporated. I was pretty busy that day so I didn't get many pictures but here is what I got and some details.<br />
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<b>Date</b>: May 3rd<br />
<b><u>Time</u></b>: 3:00-7:00pm<br />
<b><u>Location</u></b>: Our Home<br />
<b><u>Number of Guests</u></b>: 35<br />
<b><u>Games Played</u></b>: Baby Word Search & Scramble, Ball Toss, Guess Baby's Birth Weight, My Water Broke<br />
<u style="font-weight: bold;">Menu:</u> Meatballs, Chicken Fingers, Seafood Salad, Tuna Salad, Deviled Eggs, Cake, Cookies, Chips, Candy, Soda, Juice, Water<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN9xsRoS5g6ZajImkyxtLEmO5B8Hu0q3jeSb2IzbssB1i22mbmTCY-f7NpgAZ31d6OucmicQGdEh_q26AL9nSobNDEmQl3EUpHJTyh6heWdBRKEVkSbSYpIw6RSX8gtfStQjr76sOhEEo/s1600/IMG_20140503_202741.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN9xsRoS5g6ZajImkyxtLEmO5B8Hu0q3jeSb2IzbssB1i22mbmTCY-f7NpgAZ31d6OucmicQGdEh_q26AL9nSobNDEmQl3EUpHJTyh6heWdBRKEVkSbSYpIw6RSX8gtfStQjr76sOhEEo/s1600/IMG_20140503_202741.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baby Shower cake made by me!!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1G7iFlCLk09xEtdtVU5ciR0wo9AZPsFEXcpH2A4B-kFkVvMpeYmgCGSHiBGUWHBH3R-n9RqzVR_xFmJAqxWmaVdqGmTLawpw4pU1hEMpn7LpiVu66tHGJ1hySCmMaYmBertDkNHAzXws/s1600/20140503_200148.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="display: inline !important; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1G7iFlCLk09xEtdtVU5ciR0wo9AZPsFEXcpH2A4B-kFkVvMpeYmgCGSHiBGUWHBH3R-n9RqzVR_xFmJAqxWmaVdqGmTLawpw4pU1hEMpn7LpiVu66tHGJ1hySCmMaYmBertDkNHAzXws/s1600/20140503_200148.jpg" height="400" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Guests signed and wrote messages to Aaron, Nylah and me. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSOQRHaInzbadmWpsH94y1wH0deY20TXARSxwTBB3fp8w4LotDE7QSi5R_BBvWdb_DvYbzLY4XXv1RbZyYPtJ2ZZAdvd1bdUpO0zAAfweSgVGjsHOdRj_J-4927qpPVq1GWhOY7I0fC6U/s1600/20140503_193915.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSOQRHaInzbadmWpsH94y1wH0deY20TXARSxwTBB3fp8w4LotDE7QSi5R_BBvWdb_DvYbzLY4XXv1RbZyYPtJ2ZZAdvd1bdUpO0zAAfweSgVGjsHOdRj_J-4927qpPVq1GWhOY7I0fC6U/s1600/20140503_193915.jpg" height="400" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Guest's favors; custom made cookies and a cupcake candle. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdF7nL7DodKwdaSECu_O6XgUIIDOeWRfVNiz9QV93CBOx0CGPEXE8kKT8nrE8Bk4jTdgQK4SMvOwF3uc9b5Wl_D2N0L906BGLJVExsUIrTOjcz1B-nwjMUo9gF-lie3v3Sv88v-_kTIWs/s1600/2014-05-19+23.37.48.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdF7nL7DodKwdaSECu_O6XgUIIDOeWRfVNiz9QV93CBOx0CGPEXE8kKT8nrE8Bk4jTdgQK4SMvOwF3uc9b5Wl_D2N0L906BGLJVExsUIrTOjcz1B-nwjMUo9gF-lie3v3Sv88v-_kTIWs/s1600/2014-05-19+23.37.48.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Decor; Nylah's name</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHALv9p0RgI3pV10fOOK5_HkhCS5QhhF2tL43DggTkJQamikc6vm1xRYXdHZWbkqfOVhyphenhyphen__yZLHKE-nCJYMHe_hubCEHaqRZYt5cppMINqxaYkX-n3EJOGkLutS5fN4dt3qPwLpunlRbE/s1600/20140503_154114.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHALv9p0RgI3pV10fOOK5_HkhCS5QhhF2tL43DggTkJQamikc6vm1xRYXdHZWbkqfOVhyphenhyphen__yZLHKE-nCJYMHe_hubCEHaqRZYt5cppMINqxaYkX-n3EJOGkLutS5fN4dt3qPwLpunlRbE/s1600/20140503_154114.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our chips table</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ8HD45O0I5xxT_1SXbI788icUoMUUqjKWEvVMFhIdyyceZTUe-vsgZf45UqGKbAKAGstualroLn32b1ZMQOZjx1UcSC45PKydTAgzfESyxct1boHaZ-e5pZ1vwKvaptMlO3A8j3sO_W4/s1600/20140503_154149.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ8HD45O0I5xxT_1SXbI788icUoMUUqjKWEvVMFhIdyyceZTUe-vsgZf45UqGKbAKAGstualroLn32b1ZMQOZjx1UcSC45PKydTAgzfESyxct1boHaZ-e5pZ1vwKvaptMlO3A8j3sO_W4/s1600/20140503_154149.jpg" height="400" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mommy's Special Chair</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrru934yq5KALnQ2ODsDvtGIHZv56T61jOWKloeBt4sxyMSnphFwfWLlgud4sGPQSXsJghxwZiW0w21TbMtmkEQeu31o3dlrWHBDXJ2iLUL-kkR94EK-IX_WxacjHVn-5oDkO7CbYdtPY/s1600/20140503_154106.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrru934yq5KALnQ2ODsDvtGIHZv56T61jOWKloeBt4sxyMSnphFwfWLlgud4sGPQSXsJghxwZiW0w21TbMtmkEQeu31o3dlrWHBDXJ2iLUL-kkR94EK-IX_WxacjHVn-5oDkO7CbYdtPY/s1600/20140503_154106.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sweet Table; Cookies, Mini purple cupcakes, Nerds, Jolly Ranchers, Sweet Tarts, Tootsie Rolls, Laffy Taffys and Gobstoppers. EVERYTHING was gone at the end. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkoHfOcjj___Gt8nlsLogCkSxGc6eI-2AQiOrQ_g4QvUYonyHy8a8i4CIFxZ3uWDZxY9-7LqOkojux6xOQ5OyW3QLg5vhrbBFvVXBz_nwq7J7DDwi-ErC58ZSMT94advIj_jucppSjELs/s1600/IMG_0935.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkoHfOcjj___Gt8nlsLogCkSxGc6eI-2AQiOrQ_g4QvUYonyHy8a8i4CIFxZ3uWDZxY9-7LqOkojux6xOQ5OyW3QLg5vhrbBFvVXBz_nwq7J7DDwi-ErC58ZSMT94advIj_jucppSjELs/s1600/IMG_0935.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Guests of Honor, Aaron & Me</td></tr>
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<br />Tiara Doganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16499538538090097360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1229229994507747744.post-70605936633338755332014-05-23T05:55:00.002-07:002014-05-23T05:57:14.897-07:00Nylah, My 29 Week BabyIt takes 40 weeks from conception for a baby to be completely developed and ready to enter this world. A baby born at 37 weeks is considered full term and ready to enter the world as well but there is no way that a baby born at 29 weeks is ready to enter the world and can thrive on their own.<br />
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My little Nylah was born at 29 weeks weighing 2lbs 6.8oz and having trouble breathing on her own. I was in the hospital a few days before my emergency c-section and was given steroid shots to enhance the development of my baby's lungs and brain in case she needed to be born early, sooo happy that I was able to get those shots. She was immediately taken to the NICU after birth with issues breathing on her own and was placed on a C-PAP machine to help her. She stayed on this machine for a few hours and was then able to breathe on her own.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbVi5qeK8AYRRKEC5Ijxq2__UmdNtu7ehy-5Qtw_6QGLhR0o0q_KNZo4TFmLkO1MvZmluJ2bFbmq2hY8F9A45_vti9LLClEhdb798yGgGSiaDvKGfaDxoawx65E9R2BHRmCI9ktvrmQhw/s1600/IMG_0656.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbVi5qeK8AYRRKEC5Ijxq2__UmdNtu7ehy-5Qtw_6QGLhR0o0q_KNZo4TFmLkO1MvZmluJ2bFbmq2hY8F9A45_vti9LLClEhdb798yGgGSiaDvKGfaDxoawx65E9R2BHRmCI9ktvrmQhw/s1600/IMG_0656.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There she is with the ventilator, Artery and Vein lines in her umbilical cord. </td></tr>
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She was also jaundiced and had to receive phototherapy, a light treatment that helps to lower her levels of bilirubin. She was jaundice free after about a week. She also had an artery line and vein line through her umbilical cord for drawing blood and giving fluids, these only remained in for the first week and a half. She also had a feeding tube placed in her mouth, down her throat and into her belly and 24 hours sensors monitoring her heart rate, respiratory rate and oxygen percentage.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4v3mcdtDd3CErnoL5d3RW1BPmIuAN_bHzSECdGe8PjJbg1ttDXG90itXVn_7AvoFNDu7Y_DFX9FKxK16I1uZxGJJCmjiTTJwoL1i680q_S5K9VPJjBdlEpqpBFgxT-WjddaSSK2CBPyY/s1600/IMG_0665.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4v3mcdtDd3CErnoL5d3RW1BPmIuAN_bHzSECdGe8PjJbg1ttDXG90itXVn_7AvoFNDu7Y_DFX9FKxK16I1uZxGJJCmjiTTJwoL1i680q_S5K9VPJjBdlEpqpBFgxT-WjddaSSK2CBPyY/s1600/IMG_0665.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nylah with the CPAP machine on and her Photography glasses on the side there.</td></tr>
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After having her Artery line removed we were able to hold her for the first time, on the second day! It can be very overwhelming holding a tiny little baby, she lost water weight from her birth so she was even smaller. I was able to do Kangaroo care with her; holding her skin to skin on my chest to keep her warm and establishing a bond with her. She was such a feisty baby, sucking and moving her head all around! She came off of all of the support machines within 2 weeks and spent most of her journey focusing on growing and eating. This is just the beginning of her journey! I have so much more to share. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She's sucking her hand during one of our kangaroo sessions.<br />
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<br />Tiara Doganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16499538538090097360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1229229994507747744.post-31690642224019366562014-05-23T05:00:00.000-07:002014-05-23T05:00:44.530-07:00My Birth StorySo, we always here that you should expect the unexpected. I know exactly what that phrase means but you never expect it until you have to and on March 30, 2014 the unexpected hit me right in the face. I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl at only 29 weeks gestation! My daughter, Nylah Amerie Dogan was born at 3:34am on March 30, 2014 due to my severe pre eclampsia.<br />
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I was hospitalized 3 days prior to her birth with no intentions of giving birth. I was already having issues with high blood pressure throughout the 1st and 2nd trimesters but was not diagnosed with pre eclampsia. I was on 2 medications and would visit the doctors (OBGYN & Cardiologist) for BP checks biweekly. I was not feeling well one night (high BP, nausea and headache at 28 weeks) and my mother persuaded me to call my doctor who insisted that I come in to the hospital. When Aaron and I got there I was given a room on the labor and delivery floor and put on Magnesium Sulfate (which makes you feel crazy and insanely HOT). My Doc came to see me the next day and told me that I had protein in my urine and which meant that I had mild pre eclampsia. She said that I would be delivering the baby between now and 34 weeks, 34 weeks being the time frame that we were very sure of. But nonetheless, she had a NICU doc meet with us to discuss what it would be like to have a baby this early. Aaron and I listened but we did not take it seriously because we knew that I would be pregnant a bit longer!<br />
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My doc wanted me to stay under observation over the weekend and early Sunday morning my pre eclampsia took a turn for the worst, 29 weeks into my pregnancy. My BP skyrocketed to extremely dangerous levels and was uncontrollable. Doctors tried giving me 2 different medications and neither worked. My baby was not under any distress but I was informed that she needed to be delivered immediately at around 3 am. I was pumped with more Magnesium Sulfate (Ugh!) and quickly prepped for an emergency c-section. I was scared but had no time to think about anything!!! Everything went fine in the OR, including my spinal tap, and my baby was delivered at 3:34am. Aaron was able to snap a quick pic of her before she was rushed to the NICU with issues breathing on her own. I was not able to see her until about 4 hours later in which she was stabilized and breathing with the help of a machine. She is doing great now and I'll be posting more on her!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRF4e2uA9r7S-KzSQQtJzYbr_wK9_V79kvVeUizG-JQnAz0Ne8cK4V9d0xpu6M3N1uXOwQF7889fZXxFSUtClQCQM_9anvZl8FTOKsRPpvK6rcfkI7-UiQM-oOIvzgjDpUSB6bZqa1mZ4/s1600/IMG_0654.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRF4e2uA9r7S-KzSQQtJzYbr_wK9_V79kvVeUizG-JQnAz0Ne8cK4V9d0xpu6M3N1uXOwQF7889fZXxFSUtClQCQM_9anvZl8FTOKsRPpvK6rcfkI7-UiQM-oOIvzgjDpUSB6bZqa1mZ4/s1600/IMG_0654.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Newborn, Nylah Amerie Dogan! </td></tr>
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<br />Tiara Doganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16499538538090097360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1229229994507747744.post-63753469709401423842014-05-23T04:28:00.001-07:002014-05-23T04:28:02.230-07:00I Am Back!!!I am back and I have so much to update you on. I have not posted since the end of January and many things have happened. I am now a MOMMY! I was not supposed to be until June but my little baby girl arrived more than 2 months early, that entire experience will be so many posts! She is of course in the NICU so the past 2 months have been an emotional roller coaster for Aaron and me. So please check back for my posts and I hope that my experience is one that can help other s, especially new moms of preemie babies.Tiara Doganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16499538538090097360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1229229994507747744.post-46436464358144934402014-01-26T19:12:00.000-08:002014-01-26T19:12:07.026-08:00Short Cervix....Ahhhhh!At my 19 week anatomy ultrasound I found out that I was having a little girl but my doctor also discovered that my cervix was short. Now if you don't know what that means it pretty much means that I am at risk for preterm labor. If my cervix continues to shrink then it will eventually open (dilate) and my little one will be on the way. Whew, talk about overwhelming!! We're not sure if my cervix has always been short or if it has started to shrink. I'm only 20 weeks, at the halfway mark, and little Nylah needs to stay in for at least another 17 weeks to ensure that she is completely healthy.<br />
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The high risk doctor is the doctor who discovered all of this. This was my first meeting with him. I was originally meeting him because of high blood pressure during my first trimester (which is pretty much under control with the aid of medication). Now I am taking a progesterone suppository in which I have to insert every night. I have not been put on bed rest yet but hubby and I have a feeling that it may be coming much sooner than we anticipated. From all of my research, I have read that progesterone is pretty effective so I hope it works! I'll be back at the DO in a week for him to check my cervix again. I'll be praying, taking my meds and resting as much as I possibly can in hopes that my cervix doesn't get any shorter. I'll keep you posted. Tiara Doganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16499538538090097360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1229229994507747744.post-73023587901114607632014-01-26T18:11:00.000-08:002014-01-26T18:11:22.136-08:00We Found Out Baby's Sex!Well at 19 weeks, the time finally arrived to find out our little one's sex! Hubby, expecting a boy, and I, with no preference were very excited for our Thursday afternoon anatomy appointment. I felt like there was a little <span style="color: magenta;">girl</span> growing, inside of my tummy and I was absolutely right!! We got a chance to get a good look at her, her brain, heart and all of her little body parts and it's amazing how much she has grown already. I can feel her little movements and seeing her just made me even more excited, Daddy is with out a doubt excited too!<br />
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After my appointment I had to share the news with family and friends. I really wanted to have a gender reveal party but I knew that my mother could not wait, she can't wait to find out most things...lol. So, for very close family and friends I took a picture of her ultrasound and added the words it's a girl and texted it to everyone. For everyone else, I decided to make a gender reveal cake and post the pictures on facebook and twitter (the easiest way to spread the word).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW7ZffGH-mvpvkfBUbAtnFDbXnZxnLxamc0o6G0pUDVDKV_w8R8kXCPMgEQSDHvc0BIqgG-jShSCbyOfwEA49Ta09jiSdmABct_KhleXnAeIO0SfoB3shfrN61Pt6hlKJIsgP_fN1sZYE/s1600/ncake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW7ZffGH-mvpvkfBUbAtnFDbXnZxnLxamc0o6G0pUDVDKV_w8R8kXCPMgEQSDHvc0BIqgG-jShSCbyOfwEA49Ta09jiSdmABct_KhleXnAeIO0SfoB3shfrN61Pt6hlKJIsgP_fN1sZYE/s1600/ncake.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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"Bowtie or Bow? Who Knows?" Designed with a handmade bowtie and bow made by by me!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOoCY6UiF4KdFOoHW-kHOxQsj2CUq30R-WKAErMtTSXPltmwLts2X-eihMdRdt88uRtqTmSxi0ps9uFshSncutP3y07czLe0T2HVjUr3wkcBI1BwjpS-lonh6nPRePxaA8sOBP0YgLZKc/s1600/nylah.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOoCY6UiF4KdFOoHW-kHOxQsj2CUq30R-WKAErMtTSXPltmwLts2X-eihMdRdt88uRtqTmSxi0ps9uFshSncutP3y07czLe0T2HVjUr3wkcBI1BwjpS-lonh6nPRePxaA8sOBP0YgLZKc/s1600/nylah.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></div>
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And here is the inside of the cake with pink icing and a picture of our baby girl "<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: magenta;">Nylah</span></span>"! So excited to meet her!!! </div>
Tiara Doganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16499538538090097360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1229229994507747744.post-31626468427860884332014-01-05T09:30:00.002-08:002014-01-26T18:45:59.834-08:00We're Expecting!!!Here Ye, Here Ye there is great news to share. The Dogan kingdom will be filled with even more greatness. In about 5 more months, the King & Queen will be welcoming a little prince or princess!<br />
Yes, my hubby and I are expecting now and our precious bundle of joy is supposed to arrive on June 14, 2014! And we are beyond excited! I have not blogged in a very long time because I have a hard time multitasking these days. Mama-to-be is just too tired...lol. I haven't done any baking lately, just eating, sleeping, working, searching pinterest for baby stuff and being pregnant.<br />
I am currently in my 17th week and I will be blogging about all of my pregnancy ups and downs right here!!! So stick around with me ans hubby and I embark on this awesome journey. Tiara Doganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16499538538090097360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1229229994507747744.post-86177573904527342192013-07-28T07:47:00.000-07:002013-07-28T07:47:10.652-07:00Making Over Our BathroomAs I have stated before, hubby and I are moving out of his mama's house and into our own!! And we have set a move-in date; August 4th!!! I am uber excited and we have been super busy for the past two weeks trying to "flip" the house. If you didn't follow me before, the house that we are moving into is a house that my grandmother owns and a house that has not been occupied for about 7 years. So of course there were some repairs needed and fresh coats of paint that needed to be applied.<br />
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So our 1st project was the bathroom. It had some ugly tan wallpaper on the walls that we decided to tear down and I wanted to paint the bathroom blue because I had this blue shower curtain set for years that I never used back in my college days...lol. Hubby and I worked on the paint job for about 2 days (would have taken us longer if we didn't get a paint that had a primer built in!). <br />
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Hubby working hard painting the parts of the walls that I couldn't reach...lol</div>
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<b>(Left)</b> Walls are painted and now we were moving on to the doors.<br />
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<b>(Right)</b> Front and closet doors were painted white.<br />
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And in this picture, the paint work is fini (although you can't see it well because of the angles in the bathroom)!! We've actually done a thorough cleaning and put up the shower curtain and rugs. Once EVERYTHING is complete I will post a finished picture :)
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<b><u>What You Will Need</u>:</b></div>
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Eco Styler Gel (I use the gel with Olive Oil in it)</div>
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Spray Bottle</div>
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<a href="http://www.folica.com/tools/hair-brushes/denman-classic-styling-brush">Denman Brush </a></div>
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<b>1.</b> I sectioned my hair off into very small sections as I worked through my hair.</div>
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<b>2.</b> Make sure that each section is very wet and apply a generous amount of gel (gel may make your hair a </div>
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bit crunchy).</div>
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<b>3.</b> Lastly, run the Denman brush through your hair (you may have to do it a few times). As you are doing so,</div>
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your curls will begin to form.</div>
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<b>4.</b> Let your hair dry and voila, you will have a defined set of curls that will last for a few days (mine lasted 2</div>
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days).</div>
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Tiara Doganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16499538538090097360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1229229994507747744.post-53318356642260074222013-06-18T07:12:00.000-07:002013-06-18T07:12:21.644-07:00Good Things Come To Those Who Wait.We have all heard that saying before at least once in our lives and I am writing about it because I am waiting....I have become a bit frustrated with life recently and I will share with you why that is. It mainly has to do with the root of all evil, Money! As I stated before, hubby and I are fixing to move very soon. We also just purchased a new car, fairly cheap from a family member. Anyways, we have spent a great deal of $$$ on things and I know this is just the beginning. <br />
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I have been working at my current job for 7 months now and I have grown tired of it. Not because I don't enjoy what I do (I work with kids), I just don't make enough money. I have a college degree but that means nothing to my job because it's in Therapeutic Recreation. I get paid the same amount as people who never went to college and I can tell you now that it's very frustrating!! I have friends who never went to college either and they make more money than I do as well. Not saying that having a college degree is everything but it should at least count for something. <br />
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I'm waiting for my good things to come. Where is my wonderful job as a Recreation Therapist so that I can get a car note and but a down payment on a house?? I have been out of college for a year now (I know that's a short period of time) but I feel like I shouldn't be doing what I am doing. I am now at the point where I am forcing myself to look into graduate degree programs because it seems that just having a bachelors isn't enough anymore (sigh). Hubby & I have this discussion quite often and it's quite depressing for me. I just keep telling myself to wait and that it will all have been worth it in the end but I don't know if waiting is worth it....Tiara Doganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16499538538090097360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1229229994507747744.post-60014396149496074782013-05-31T07:39:00.000-07:002013-06-10T18:42:33.765-07:00UpdateSo, I am a horrible blogger....lol. I haven't created a post in over a month! I can admit that I have been a bit busy since I lasted posted. Hubby turned 26 and we celebrated that by going to a lounge with a few friends! We of course have still been going out, to dinner mostly. But, we have been putting a great deal of our time & MONEY into our newest project, OUR NEW HOUSE!!! <br />
Well, the house isn't so new but it will be our 1st home together and that's definitely a new idea for us! I am of course a Philadelphian and the house isn't in the best of neighborhoods but I will tell you why that doesn't matter to us right now. The house belongs to my grandmother and it is where I lived with my mom & sister between the ages of 5 and 16. My granny isn't going to charge us rent to stay in the house, we do have to pay the bills of course. Sounds like a sweet deal for 2 young adults who have student loans to pay! The house has been sitting since we vacated so it needs some TLC. And this is our new project! Fixing ceilings and floors, paint jobs and the ever so fun task of decorating!<br />
We are in progress already, well the people we hired are...lol. I will definitely be blogging our progress, room by room with pictures! We are so excited about moving and I am even more excited about decorating!!!!Tiara Doganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16499538538090097360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1229229994507747744.post-3902694880383262242013-04-10T18:01:00.000-07:002013-04-10T18:01:29.770-07:00The "B" Word......Baby! I am without a doubt certain that many newlyweds have experienced what I am about to talk about. I am talking about the big "B" question. "When are you guys you going to have a baby?" We have not been married for 2 months yet and I have been asked this question several times by people on both sides of the fence, those saying "go for it" and those wanting us to wait. The truth right now is, We do not know!<br />
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Babies are the next big thing after walking down the aisle and finding a place to settle in to. So it isn't out of place or weird for people to want to know this information but I do find being asked quite annoying sometimes. While Aaron and I have "settled down", we are not quite ready to retire to our home 24/7 with a couple of little ones running around and driving us nuts! Not saying that being a parent means you can't do anything but it does limit some things. Our spontaneous nights of going to the movies, out to dinner or a bar without having to find a babysitter would of course be nonexistent as well as the future trips I am planning for us to take (he doesn't know anything about these trips yet....lol).<br />
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Aaron and I have had this discussion and are excited about being parents in the near future. We both grew up in single households so we are really looking forward to raising our children together. Now don't get me wrong, there are some days when I come down with baby fever and I want to procreate right on the spot but there are a few things that snap me back. I work in childcare so I deal with screaming babies ALL day so that puts a damper on my baby dreams sometimes....lol. I also think about ALL of the costs; formula, car seats, crib, clothes, shoes, daycare and so on and while I am sure Aaron and I would make due with a little one, it would be beneficial to us to wait just a bit longer. So for those looking for a little baby girl or boy Dogan, not just yet, HOPEFULLY!!!Tiara Doganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16499538538090097360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1229229994507747744.post-58806978229402220442013-04-10T17:47:00.001-07:002013-04-10T17:48:04.835-07:00Tuesday Night Dinner: Italian Bread Pizza!!!I didn't get home last night until almost 9pm and hubby wasn't home yet so I wanted to hurry up and make something for him to eat for dinner. We went to Wal-Mart on Monday night so I picked up a few things and one of them was a loaf of Italian bread (it was only $1.29). I had made these mini pizzas before for my mom, dad and sister and they were a hit so I was pretty sure he would like them. I really like making them because they are extremely easy to make and in less than an hour they are ready to be served! These mini pizzas also make a great party dish as well. Here is what I used and how I made them.<br />
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<span style="color: orange;"><b><u>Ingredients</u>:</b></span><br />
Italian or French bread<br />
Pizza sauce (I used the Ragu brand last time)<br />
Cheese (any flavor of course, hubby picked cheddar)<br />
Toppings (we both love pepperoni pizza)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibw5o3bJwuMS9OjdMDWxXY0y-gOoy5C1Xc6FMQWh_s_EVYqXdmp9hnz4XyWfDS7QAkRgIU-YrbX7Pvy-H0_kynCT2OYz1-wyCDLzab8L6NTUNBIZ9k_bhslCkaylIBVBysOPEk5jncGvQ/s1600/sauce.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibw5o3bJwuMS9OjdMDWxXY0y-gOoy5C1Xc6FMQWh_s_EVYqXdmp9hnz4XyWfDS7QAkRgIU-YrbX7Pvy-H0_kynCT2OYz1-wyCDLzab8L6NTUNBIZ9k_bhslCkaylIBVBysOPEk5jncGvQ/s1600/sauce.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS6GqyN3LyuXrDYueooKasTCYRc6OwsVToRXosu_1X1SYZsDD0LYCXtSLuHak2vBoIQ35vd0a9Z73kLNFSCmchGpeIlmipnZhJYMTuDbvAEvlgbh_VCJOMLItjebfKdpyCVuXhaOtc3fQ/s1600/cheese.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS6GqyN3LyuXrDYueooKasTCYRc6OwsVToRXosu_1X1SYZsDD0LYCXtSLuHak2vBoIQ35vd0a9Z73kLNFSCmchGpeIlmipnZhJYMTuDbvAEvlgbh_VCJOMLItjebfKdpyCVuXhaOtc3fQ/s1600/cheese.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: orange;"><b>1.</b></span> Cut bread into slices (as thin or thick as you would like them).<br />
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<span style="color: orange;"><b>2.</b></span> Spoon sauce onto each pizza. I made 21 pizzas and used the entire jar. If you want your pizza to be very saucy, it would be best to buy 2 jars.<br />
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<span style="color: orange;"><b>3.</b></span> Sprinkle as much cheese as you want! I love cheese...lol<br />
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<span style="color: orange;"><b>4.</b></span> Add toppings and set pizzas in the oven at 350 degrees.<br />
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<span style="color: orange;">**</span>For a soft crust, cook pizzas for about 15 minutes. I like my crust a bit hard so I cook them for about 25-30 minutesTiara Doganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16499538538090097360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1229229994507747744.post-19817914599903913462013-04-03T16:11:00.000-07:002013-04-03T16:11:57.735-07:00Cultural Dinner Night!So, Aaron & I have been married for a little over a month now and we are finally settled back into our normal lives, only to be uprooted again when we move into our apartment next month...lol. Anyways, the first couple of weeks of our marriage I was brainstorming some date night ideas for the future (sounds a little silly, I know). I wanted to find some things we could do outside of home as well as at home. We literally went out every weekend for the 1st month of our marriage and dinner and show costs definitely add up so, I really wanted to find things that could be done at home. During my research I compiled a giant list and I will be posting them on a separate post. <br />
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There was one really cool idea that I did come up with that I wanted to share. Since I am now a wife, I have taken up the new hobby of cooking. I have always liked the idea of cooking dinner for myself and my family but I never really cooked at home, I am more of a baker. Anyways, I thought it would be cool if hubby and I could have a dinner date at home featuring food from a different culture (once a month). I decided that I will look up a dinner and dessert from a specific culture and prepare it as best as I can...lol and we will have a nice in home date night. I ran the idea by him and he of course said yes! We were trying to compile a list of different cultures/regions of foods that we would like to try. Now, I have book idea how these things should taste so that makes it a bit difficult but I think we will have fun with it anyway! We are waiting until we move into our own place to start up this date night and I cannot wait. I have no idea what will be on the menu for the 1st night but I will keep you posted!Tiara Doganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16499538538090097360noreply@blogger.com0