Pregnancy

I prayed tirelessly and tried for almost two years to get pregnant with my second child, my daughter, Camille. Imagine my surprise when those two pink lines appeared when she was only five months old! I laughed and conveyed so many emotions to my husband as I told him the news. This baby was such a shock, and I was excited! But I was also anxious, overwhelmed, nervous, and unprepared. “Two cribs, two babies, I need a double stroller, I need a bigger house, will I ever sleep again?” The list of worries filled my mind along with the joy that filled my heart. We decided to tell our family and friends early in the pregnancy by putting our tiny Camille...

Here at Red Stick Mom, we offer dozens of ideas from diverse perspectives in our mom hacks, tips and tricks category. From taking road trips from Baton Rouge to meatless meals to natural cold remedies, we’ve written about it. We are here to help everyone as we navigate through this wild ride through motherhood. When it come to battling the mommy wars. About a year ago, I woke up to a beautiful fall morning and toted my kids to our favorite Baton Rouge outdoor play area, Leeward Park.  While snuggling my then five-month-old Ben, another mommy of a young baby approached me.  We began with small talk, but eventually our conversation moved to our birth stories.  She told me with much enthusiasm...

Here at Red Stick Mom, we offer dozens of ideas from diverse perspectives in our mom hacks, tips and tricks category. From taking road trips from Baton Rouge to meatless meals to natural cold remedies, we’ve written about it. We are here to help everyone as we navigate through this wild ride through motherhood. A lesson I learned about maternity clothing. I am currently six-and-a-half-months pregnant with my first baby. I couldn't wait until I started showing, going around telling my mother, my sister, my friends, “I think I’m showing, don’t I look like I’m showing?” To which they would kindly inform me that no, I didn't really look pregnant yet; and it was all in my crazy head. I just couldn't...

But maybe you’ve felt it? The heaviness. Felt it physically pressing down on you while simultaneously twisting your shoulder muscles. You felt the sadness. The hopelessness. You take showers not to get clean, instead because they drown out the sound of your sobs. Maybe you too avoid social interaction because it’s so exhausting. And not because of the people, they’re people you love. It’s the constantly guarding of your emotional state. Triggers lie everywhere and they don’t always come with red flag warning signs. But bursting into tears in the middle of dinner conversation is far from “life of the party” you that used to exist. Make-up is useless because you’ll sob the entire way there. And that’s following the...

Thank you, Anna’s Grace {And Welcome Maddie’s Footprints} Before 2017, I had never heard of Anna’s Grace. I had never seen the footprint butterfly logo or known the meaning of a virtual memorial garden, which displays the names of babies whom families desperately want to remember. I wasn’t included in that 1 in 4 statistic until I was. My husband and I lost two babies during pregnancy, Kohen in 2017 and Austin in 2018. Suddenly, a completely new world was revealed that day in the hospital, and we were in need of resources we never knew existed. “When we lost Anna, one of my biggest fears was that she would be forgotten. That her life would not make an impact. That the...