Mothership Confessional

The learning curve to becoming a new parent is steep. It was like a shock to my system, if I had to describe it concisely! My first baby is now almost 2 years old, and our newest little bundle just turned 3 months. Yep...I have 2 kids under the age of 2. Fun stuff!! So if you're reading this for some advice, you've come to the right place! 1. Your Parenting "Standards" Will Lower Take the current bar of expectations and standards in your world of parenting with one child and drop it down.  Now drop it down much lower than what you just did in your mind.  There. Just right!! I quickly learned that survival mode  goes on a whole lot longer than just that initial 6 week recovery period after your second baby is born! My parenting style is full of structure and routine. But once you have 2 tiny humans who need you nearly constantly, something's gotta give!  Ava gets oh-so-much screen time, both the iPad and the tv. I've struggled with thi...

Liam has lost his scrawny newborn look! And he's getting pudgy - he's already in size 2 diapers!! He has his 2-month check up next week, so I don't have an official weight for him, but using the scale at home he's 12+ pounds! He fills out his 3 month clothes, too! He's using his arms and legs well and likes to suck on his fist when he can find it. He's a lot more vocally expressive than Ava was - he cries a lot more than she did! He likes to push with his legs and he can hold onto a small toy! He's getting pretty smiley and he's trying SO hard to talk to us! He's been cooing a bit; I can't wait for more!! He is getting pretty stable during tummy time and is starting to brace himself a little with his arms. He definitely loves to be held, which is great, except I have another child who begs for my attention, too! Ava is pretty much obsessed with Liam! She's a little nurturer for sure! She likes to take things to him when he is in his swing a...

I am so excited to be doing monthly baby updates again!!! And I can't believe it's already been a whole month with our Liam! Apparently Liam had big goals for his first few weeks of life. He outgrew size newborn diapers at one week old...because he kept peeing out of them! He loves to be held on our chests and is pretty good at holding his head up already! He loves to look around! At 2 weeks, 6 days old, Liam rolled from tummy to back multiple times! He's an overachiever! We had his 2-week appointment when he was 3 weeks old. He weighed in at 9 pounds, 10 ounces, meaning that he gained almost 2 pounds in 2 weeks !!! The doctor was pretty impressed! Just last night he found his thumb to suck and he's trying to socially smile! I'm already packing up newborn clothes! It's happening too fast! On one hand, I don't want him to change so quickly. Butttt, even though I'm not as hormonal this time and I feel like I can relax and...

I am surviving the first few days at home by myself with my babies! A part of me was apprehensive about this new change, but I think that's because I was imagining the worst: both kids crying at the same time and me running around like a chicken with it's head cut off. But it's not been that way at all! The first day I was a bit overwhelmed and so  happy when Chris came home. I think all the activity just plain wore me out! I use a step stool to help Ava get in and out of her crib. I change her and dress her on the floor and I just suck it up and lift her into her chair at our bar-height table. Probably the most frustrating part is when Ava wants to run away from me and I have to chase her down - she is definitely faster than me right now! I am healing so well; I stopped taking all pain pills by about 1 week after surgery. Pretty impressive! It feels so good to be able to sleep on my side...although full breasts kind of get in the way, haha! About 35 pounds have just fall...

I find myself in shock  at how different this postpartum experience has been so far compared to last time. This time around, I have been  happy  and felt immediate love for my newborn and extreme contentedness  with our new family of four. It made me reflect on life after Ava's birth, and I now feel a little bad for myself that I thought that experience was normal  typical. Looking back, I think I may have had the baby blues because I definitely did not feel as happy as I thought I would be! I was a first-time parent. My baby was delivered via emergency c-section, so physically and emotionally I had been through a lot. Everything was new, and everything was scary. We were learning to parent one hour at a time. 7 days after surgery, I just can't believe how good I feel! I mean, of course I don't really feel good , but I'm getting around really well and a time or two I have not kept up with my pain meds and I hardly noticed. I might consider reducing my dose o...

I'm writing this up from the hospital on day 2 of recovery...can you believe it?! Things are totally different this time! We checked into the hospital at 9 am on Monday morning. Not going to lie...I was fighting the tears saying goodbye to Ava - it was crashing down on me that life was about to change and that things would never be the same. I was so nervous and excited and my heart was pounding as we walked in! I hardly slept the night before. I spent about an hour and a half in the recovery area hooked up to an IV for fluids and then they monitored Liam for about another half hour. It was kind of a long, boring 2 hours - it was hard to keep my mind occupied! Then they came back and told us it was time to go! We walked back to the OR and I got my spinal while Chris got dressed up. It's crazy how fast the spinal works - I felt the warmth race down my leg, into my buttocks, and then the other leg. It happened so fast I was pretty numb before I could even lay down on th...

Ever wondered if the MamaRoo baby swing is worth the money? Here is my review, and hopefully after reading this, you will be able to decide if it's a good purchase for your family! As a first-time mom, I had a lot on my shopping list for our baby girl. My goal was to search for good deals on quality products. We had planned on me being a stay-at-home mom, so we tried to be frugal to keep that goal a reality. At the same time, however, we had been trying to get pregnant for 4 years, and we had been dreaming of our little Ava Mckenzie for more like 5 or 6 years. So when we found out I was finally pregnant, we couldn't wait to spoil her! I had seen the MamaRoo before and I thought it was a brilliant concept for a swing. Different motions and speed options made so much sense to me. My impulsive brain said, "I want it!", while my practical brain said, "It costs too much!". I had been doing a really good job at not buying the most over-the-top thi...

There are about 10 bajillion posts and articles that talk about what "they" don't tell you about having a newborn. And they all kinda say the same thing, but it's not really anything that you couldn't have already predicted... "you will be tired" "your lady parts will hurt" "you won't have time to shower for days" "you won't feel like yourself" Duhhhhhh. So I'm going to share what I've learned so far that has been shocking to me. Or at least things that I didn't think about. Pregnancy was dreamland for me. I had a fabulous pregnancy and up until the last week before she was born ( she was born at 40 weeks and 1 day ), I wasn't too uncomfortable. I was so happy to finally be pregnant and I loved to sit and fantasize about our upcoming life with our little Ava. And then the little bundle of joy arrived!! But...where was the joy?! 1. It is not uncommon to not ins...

Oh, my baby girl!!! She has officially left the newborn phase, and is now an infant! She has been changing so  fast lately...I also noticed a lot of changes in her around 8 weeks. It must be those growth spurts! So we didn't end up weaning her of her swaddle. I tried weaning at naps for 2 days with just one arm out, and I couldn't even get her to sleep while holding her. Her arm would just whack her in the face and wake her up once she was asleep. So I decided that it wasn't quite time. She has been busting out of her swaddle a lot lately, so I'm hoping she gets used to that feeling and will make the weaning process a bit easier the next time I try. She has gotten really good at putting herself back to sleep during the night, though. I'll watch her on the monitor and she will have her eyes open and then whip her head back and forth and wiggle for a few minutes and then she's asleep again. I've been trying to lay her down for naps and bedtime...

So I went for my first run   jog  bouncy speed-walk with Ava in the jogging stroller. It was a rude awakening. I felt like I had a black hole was where my lower abdominals should have been. My butt jiggled...out of control. My legs burned. Probably because of poor form since I could hardly pick my feet up. It got me thinking...when was the last time I went for a jog?? Probably about this time last year . Well that certainly doesn't help. Although I wouldn't exactly call my "run" a success, I know its a step in the right direction. I feel like 10 weeks after your belly is cut open and then you drop 40 pounds, being able to get out and jog at all  is a pretty big deal. As "not fun" as these walk/runs are, I know it will always make me feel better and help me stay active and restore function to my muscles. Plus, Ava is usually content and drifts off to sleep, allowing me to have a much needed mental break. Fresh air and e...