Dear mama, things will get better. This phase will pass.
But that doesn’t really matter right now, does it?…
Parenting
How to Maintain Your Kids Routine During the Holidays
In case you didn’t know, the holiday season can feel a little like some sort of psychotic, sleep-deprived marathon when you have small children. Yanking kids up from naps, skipping meals and eating when they’d normally be asleep, constant stimulation, tons of sugar…all of the necessary ingredients for a dangerous science experiment. But since you’re here, I’d be willing to bet that you’ve experienced a taste of that and you’re looking for some advice….
Perfect Gift Ideas for a New Mom
I know, I know. It’s fun to buy all of the adorable, tiny little baby clothes as gifts. Of course, it’s fun to receive those tiny clothes, too! If you have a friend that’s expecting a baby, you may have already given her baby clothes, a bouncy seat, bibs, or some other kind of baby item. Those are all fine and great, but when you go to meet the new baby, there are all kinds of things you could bring the new mom that would absolutely make her life easier, brighten her day, and make her feel more like a human again….
Warnings from Experienced Parents (that you just didn’t listen to..)
When I was pregnant with our first child, there were days that I felt like my head would explode if someone tried to give me one more piece of unsolicited parenting advice. “You’ll be tired..sleep when baby sleeps!” “Don’t drink coffee while you’re breastfeeding!” (HA!) “Don’t let them watch TV until they’re 15!”
While people meant well, they started to sound like the same annoying song stuck on repeat. Their so-called words of wisdom were truly going in one ear and out the other. Now that I have a 3 year old and a baby, I TOTALLY understand what these do-gooders were ACTUALLY trying to say. For anyone that’s curious, allow me to put some weight behind some of those coined phrases that you hear so often while awaiting your first little nugget…..
Vaginal Delivery vs. C-Section (From a Mom that’s done both..)
A little over three years ago, I gave birth to our first child. I was so sure that I was going to have an incredible, unmedicated birth experience. I drug my husband to an all day birthing class and was borderline obsessed with asking other moms about their birth stories, imagining how it would go for me. …
How to Deal with Mom-Level Worry
It’s no secret that parenting can be pretty effective at bringing out the paranoid side of a person. My own tendency as a mom has been to worry about just about everything. Over the last few years, I’ve really had to get a handle on it and it’s been no easy task.
I recently wrote a guest post for Stacey Ogden’s site, Creating My Happiness, called How to Handle Mom-Level Worry. It goes over 6 effective ways to cope with and conquer the habit of worrying, and I wanted to make sure you all had the link to get there!
For you moms like me that earn approximately 2000 gray hairs per day worrying about your little ones (sometimes to the point that it’s hard to enjoy the phase they’re in to the fullest), I hope the ideas in the post are useful to you.
XO,
Erin
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How to Find More ME Time
No matter how much we as parents love to spend time with our children, it’s so healthy and necessary to fit in some time for ourselves. It makes us happier, more centered, and allows for a fresh perspective, which makes for happier kids and spouses, too!
Some of us need to balance our home lives with full time work..others just really need a coffee with friends once in a while. No matter where you fall on this spectrum, I hope you find some of these tips helpful in achieving the time you need for yourself….
Co-Sleeping, A True Story
Co-sleeping. One of the most controversial parenting topics out there. My beliefs about family sleeping arrangements have shifted several times since I became a mom. I understand the push for babies to sleep alone, in a crib, on their back. I get it. And I’m sure we can all agree that as parents, all we really want is what’s best for our children and our family.
But what happens to families like ours, whose babies REFUSE to sleep like that?…
The Best Parenting Advice I’ve Ever Received
The most valuable word of parenting advice I’ve received was fittingly given to me on my first day of motherhood. Since that day, people I trust and respect have given me all kinds of advice that I’ve taken to heart. Friends have given me awesome tips on potty training, coworkers have offered their tricks to get a picky toddler to try new foods. But the one word of wisdom I keep coming back to is something a nurse told me on the day our first child came into the world.
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Pressing Pause
If you’re a parent (or frankly, if you’ve ever MET a parent) you’ve probably heard people say “enjoy every minute, because it goes by so fast!” Our daughter is almost 2 1/2, and wow is everyone right. I think about the day she was born and it literally feels like it was last week. I could swear that yesterday she was drooling all over herself, and today she said “daddy is the funniest guy I’ve ever met.” What??
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