Newborns

I was prepared for everything, except this. When I was pregnant with my son I felt so prepared for everything. My pregnancy was a lot of fun and I felt great the entire 9 months. I read books, took classes, talked to my doctor, went to every event that was recommended to me, combed through tons of blogs, and talked to all the moms in my life. I prepared for everything, except postpartum depression. Birth trauma happens. I was very fortunate to deliver my son at an incredible hospital with the most amazing OB/GYN. Being that this was my first child and my first time ever delivering a baby, I had no idea what was normal or not. I went in with...

To my precious baby girl on your first birthday: How is it possible that a year has passed since you entered this world? It feels like yesterday that the doctor put you on my chest, and your daddy shocked us all by saying, “It’s a girl!” This year has passed in the blink of an eye, which makes me incredibly sad. However, I am so excited to see your sweet and sassy personality start to shine and look forward to watching you grow more than you will ever know. A few weeks back I started to plan your first birthday party. As I sat down to fill out the “All About Me” poster, it hit me that so much of this...

Hello February. I can’t believe you and I meet again so soon. A year ago during the beginning of your month, I was on bed rest awaiting my due date, February 16th, for my baby boy. Three days from now, a year-ago-Mommy would be giving birth to her 3rd baby boy 2 weeks early on a Monday night (which is funny because my nickname for his Daddy is “Monday of People” on my phone but that, dear readers, is another story). As I unpack the Amazon box of Baby Shark birthday party decorations, my thoughts return to February 4th, 2019. I was scheduled to go to the doctor the very next morning since my OB/GYN was off on Mondays. I had...

We bragged too early. After giving birth, I returned to work when Aeris was four months old. She began sleeping for six hours straight through the night, out of the blue. I continued to read articles and check her developmental stages as new moms tend to do, but we never realized how lucky we were. Anytime family and friends inquired about sleep, we responded arrogantly that we slept well. Our daughter didn’t cry at all times of the night, she slept soundly and occasionally stirred when it was time to nurse. It was a parent match made in heaven. As the months flew by, six hours gradually turned to eight and finally, she was sleeping throughout the entire night. We slept...

Did you want to know a secret? My partner thinks I buy Target Brand Up and Up Cucumber baby wipes because they are more affordable than name-brand wipes and because they are gentle on our baby’s sensitive skin. This is only a half-truth. This brand has other wipes as well, like the unscented kind. What he doesn’t know is that these wipes are gentle on the eyes. They soothe the red splotchiness that occurs from excessive crying … it almost disappears automatically and I can go about my day without anyone knowing I’ve had an hour-long crying session. They make my face feel so much better and they’re great at cleaning off mascara stains in a jiffy (if I can...