Well, it’s over. My twelve weeks of blissful baby snuggles ended with my return to work today. I have dreaded this day, not because I don’t want to go back to work, but because the thought of leaving the tiny human that has not been out of my sight for more than an hour since her invention with essentially a stranger is enough to break my soul. I spent so much time preparing my daughter for her first day at “school”, that I completely forgot one BIG thing I should have done to prepare for my return to work.VIEW POST
D-MER: My Ridiculous Experience with Dysphoric Milk Ejection Reflex {Depression When Breastfeeding} WTF
Leave it to me to find the most obscure and bizarre post partum affliction available. I hadn’t a clue that D-MER was even a thing until it happened to me. Oh what’s that you say… you’ve never heard of it? You’re in good company because basically 99% of the population hasn’t either. Who has ever heard of depression when breastfeeding?! Well now I have, so today let’s chat about D-MER, or Dysphoric Milk Ejection reflex, what it is, my experience with it, and what can be done about it.
My Hurricane Baby: A Second Time Mom Birth Story
I just love a good birth story. Maybe it’s my nosy nature, or maybe I just find birth that fascinating, but either way, when I see one pop up, I’m intrigued. In my last few weeks of pregnancy, I can’t even tell you how many times I searched “second time mom birth story”, as if the stories of others would somehow give me an indication of what to expect for my second birth. Spoiler alert: They didn’t. One of the things that you will hear from your care provider and doula the most is (annoyingly) that every birth is different. And they are. But alas, if you’re a momma-to-be searching for answers, or if you’re one of my nosy curious friends, then here is MY second time mom birth story of my sweet little hurricane baby.
Crib to Big Girl Bed {My Biggest Parenting Blunder}
Exhaustion has been taken to new levels around here folks. I am now solidly 8.5 months pregnant and the struggle to sit, stand, and/or sleep comfortably is epic. In addition to that, being the parenting GENIUS that I am, I decided that now (40 days away from newborn) was the time to transition our two year old to her “big girl bed.” Turned out to be a big girl mistake.
What Your Pregnant Wife Needs From You
As I sit on my birth ball and type this, I am 26 weeks and four days pregnant. It recently occurred to me that though my husband is typically understanding, he is helpless when it comes to the impossible task of deciphering the intricate, delicate workings of his pregnant wife’s brain and emotions. I know there must be others out there in same predicament, so I thought I’d cut through the crap and tell you precious husbands straight up exactly what your pregnant wife needs from you.
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Gender Reveal & Choosing a Baby Name
By now I’m sure you’re all aware that I’m pregnant with baby number two, due June 28th. I have to keep double-checking this date to make sure that I have it right… With Lila I could have told you how many hours and minutes until I was due, and this time around I can hardly get the month right. #secondchildproblems Last week we FINALLY went for the anatomy scan and found out the gender! The baby gender reveal threw us me for a loop and now we’re scrapping the awesome idea that we had and are back to the drawing board for choosing a baby name!
Car Seat Safety 101 {& Big Mistakes We’ve All Made}
People. This was not a post that I planned on writing, but over the last few days I’ve seen so many pictures on social media, both Halloween and voting selfies, that have shown kids improperly strapped in car seats that I think I’m about to lose my mind. We’ve become so detrimentally PC that we are afraid to say anything to anyone at any time that may be perceived as “interfering”, but this is far too important to just keep your mouth shut. When it comes to keeping people that I love safe, I will get all up in your business in half a hot minute. End of story. So on that note, here is a quick Car Seat Safety 101 lesson for those of you that have a kid, know people with kids, or have ever seen a kid in your life. VIEW POST
How to Survive the First Year of Parenthood {Stuff for Baby’s First Year}
Welcome to the second installment of JSH Baby Time! In the first post I talked about some tricks to make pregnancy survivable, and now we’re going to talk about how to survive the first year of parenthood, a.k.a. Stuff for Baby’s First Year. I must tell you though, no amount of lists, planning, thinking, prepping, reading, washing, organizing, or car seat installing can honestly prepare you for becoming a parent. There’s no checklist that can make the full gravity of leaving the hospital with seven pounds of brand new human life that is completely dependent upon you any less terrifying. So, if you’re looking for that post, this ain’t it. This is, however, a list of the top things that I wish I’d known much earlier in my foray into motherhood, so here ya go… a list of sixteen things to help you Survive the First Year of Parenthood, also known as Stuff for Baby’s First Year!