Turning the page on another month of reading.
Here’s what I finished in November…
AKA, finally putting a dent in my Colleen Hoover collection
Monthly Reading Recap {November 2025}
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Monthly Reading Recap {October 2025}
Monthly Reading Recap {September 2025}
Turning the page on another month of reading.
Here’s what I finished in September…
Registry Must Haves: One Year Later
Now that I’ve been in the throes of motherhood for a whole year, I’ve been thinking back to what I’m glad I had on my registry, what I had to race to buy after the fact, and what I wish I would have never added to my registry in the first place. There is so much out there that you don’t even really need. Third time’s the charm on this blog post topic and I think I’ve got it right this time. If I knew then what I know now, this is exactly what my registry would have looked like from the start.
You can check my previous write ups here:
Continue readingUdderly Unstoppable (One Year of Pumping)
As Parker turned ONE yesterday, today marks one year of my exclusively pumping journey. And quite a journey it has been. 8 pumps. 2 extra freezers. 2 milk banks.
And to think I wanted to quit in the first couple of days when it was such a struggle just to fill up the tiny syringes the NICU nurses would give me.
Based on the data: I have completed 2417 pumping sessions, totaling ~1,184 hours (that’s almost 50 days) and producing 27589 ounces of milk. According to ChatGPT, that equates to 551,780 calories burned and can be estimated to be worth $110,000. My personal record is pumping 38 ounces in one session.
So far, we have donated 9,144.75 ounces of our stash to the Mother’s Milk Bank of SC to help fellow NICU babies just like Parker. This has helped feed 450 NICU babies.
We have also given 1000 ounces via private donation and we’ve been paid $9087.91 so far by donating 7533.06 ounces to Tiny Treasures, with another 900 ounces still pending payment.
During World Breastfeeding Week last month, I talked about how every single day I wanted to quit. Then (also during World Breastfeeding Week), my favorite pump died. I was devastated. Who knew I could be so attached to a breast pump. I posted about my dilemma in a Momcozy Facebook group and another mom mentioned that Target should take it back, and lo and behold, Target took it back! And that’s just the beginning. When I bought the pump 3 months earlier, I had a 15% off coupon, but Target issued a merchandise credit at full price because I wanted to buy another (and luckily there were still a few in stock). Plus, I had a 20% off coupon this time. Too bad breast pumps weren’t included in tax free weekend to save even more.
I’ve made it a year so what now? Do I quit? Do I keep going? I’ve been asking myself these questions every time I’ve put my pumps on for the past few weeks now. I really don’t know. I’m looking forward to the day when I don’t have to wear a bra 24/7 and I don’t have to plan out a pump schedule around activities, but I also really like that I can help make my own truck payment and put back some savings for Parker.
Check out my other three pumping posts here:
Happy World Breastfeeding Week
Squeezing Out Success
Milk It for All It’s Worth
Happy First Birthday Parker!
Princess Parker is 1 today!
This is our final monthly milestone recap because Princess Parker is officially ONE!
A year ago, on Monday, September 23, 2024, Parker came bursting into the world
six weeks early at 8:39 p.m., weighing just 4 lbs 3 oz and measuring 19 inches long.
Today, she’s a healthy 19 lbs 13 oz and 28.5 inches tall.
Looking at her now, it’s hard to believe she’s the same baby who once lay in an incubator, surrounded by tubes and wires, unable to eat and recovering from surgery.
From Newborn to Nearly One
From Newborn to Nearly One
Tomorrow, Parker turns one.
But today, we’re taking a step back to look at how far she’s come.
It feels like a lifetime ago that she came popping into the world and was whisked straight to the NICU. Looking at her now, you’d never guess she once had a PICC line, a central line, a feeding tube, and major surgery—all within her first 48 hours of life.
You’ve seen these photos before, but I wanted to gather all of her monthly milestone snapshots and stats in one place—a single post to celebrate the incredible journey from newborn to nearly one.
Continue readingMonthly Reading Recap {August 2025}
Happy 11 Months Parker!
Princess Parker is 11 months old today!
This month, Parker weighed 19 lbs 8 oz and measured 28 inches long—nearly five times her birth weight and almost a foot taller. She added three more teeth, bringing her total to five, with a sixth just starting to peek through.
Happy National Rainbow Baby Day!
Today is National Rainbow Baby Day
By definition, a rainbow baby is a baby born after the loss of a pregnancy, stillbirth, or even after birth. Essentially, the rainbow after the storm.
Rainbow babies are special because pregnancy after loss is filled with anxiety since the innocence of pregnancy is gone. But it’s important to acknowledge that not every storm is followed by a rainbow. Some couples face more loss, secondary infertility, or make the heartbreaking choice to stop trying.
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Danielle D. Mercer 