RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU MADE A NEW YEARS RESOLUTION? ✋

Seems like everywhere you turn, new years resolutions are on everyone brains. They are on all the magazine covers in the HEB checkout line. You see tiktoks and reels from friends and bloggers hitting their goals and making all the smoothies. For some, this time of year can be a fresh start and the boost they need to make the changes they want. But for others, New Years resolutions can seem overwhelming. One reason it may seem that way is because people usually give vague statements like “i want to be healthier this year”. Well what does that really mean? Ask yourself, do you want to lose weight? Maybe you don’t care about your weight but you want to exercise more because it improves your mental health? Want to be healthier by getting more sleep? Once you zoom in and focus on your specific goal, it’s easier to break down the habits and behaviors that need to change to get there. 

So before we dive into New Years resolutions and goals, let’s rewind for just a second.

I was diagnosed with Postpartum Depression and Postpartum Anxiety after my second son was born. Life at home with 2 kids was so hard. All this mama wanted to do was just walk the aisles of Target, get me an iced coffee and get us 3 out of the house to break up the day. And I didn't know it yet, but my life would forever change in that Target nursing room. My 2.5 year old at the time was bouncing off the walls and I was trying to nurse a very wiggly and super fussy 3 month old. Every playful scream my toddler made, felt like nails on a chalkboard and my baby just wouldn’t latch because he was distracted by said loud toddler. Right then and there I started sobbing. I couldn’t hold it in anymore. It was the last drop in the bucket of my already over filled cup. I felt this overwhelming feeling of “I FEEL MISERABLE! I shouldn’t be feeling this way!” I knew right then and there that I had to do something. I couldn’t go another day feeling the way I felt. 

The short version of the story is I found a therapist and after being seen for over a year, I had made a lot of progress. One of the biggest thing she helped me with is what she called “changing the narrative”. She taught me how to stop and think about what is really happening when I was having an anxiety attack. Is the situation around me really as severe as I think it is? Or is my anxiety heightening my senses to make my body feel like its at war, when really it was everyday minor inconveniences. It forced me to diffuse the everyday bombs that were happening in my life. 

So therapy helped me to understand my WHY. Next I just needed to learn my HOW. How do I get my life back now understanding why I do what I do.

I came across something called “HABIT STACKING” which I learned from reading Atomic Habits by James Clear. If you can multitask, you can habit stack!

As busy moms, multitasking is like breathing right? Our plates are full and our mental load feels so heavy most days. This is why I love habit stacking because as a mom, I’m already multi tasking the majority of the day. But now I am putting the positive habits that are good for me and making me a better Jenna into place. 

Examples:

Putting away the dishes while making coffee

watching your favorite show while you walk on the treadmill

reading your daily devotional in the pick up like or curbside getting groceries.

A game changer for me is when I learned to workout WITH my kids! I was able to use habit stacking in a way where I got to workout AND spend time with my boys. For so long I used them as an excuse to not take care of myself. Once I accepted that the workout itself didn’t have to be perfect, it just needed to get done, it allowed me so much more freedom. Plus it was the perfect way to lead by example and show my boys how important staying healthy is. Because I truly believe our kids learn from what they SEE more than what we SAY. And I know it’s working because my favorite gift I received this Christmas was from my 5 year old son who picked out a new water bottle for me. Once I opened it, he said “you are always filling your water after your runs. Now with a bigger bottle, it should hold more!”. Our kids are always watching, and that right there, is my reason more than anything to keep up with my goals!

Another important lesson I learned about habits along the way was you need to be intentional. You need to be specific not just about the goal itself  but about when and where.

Now let’s talk about an example that us moms know all too well. You meet this new mom friend and you want to get together. You both keep saying “we really need to get together!” Then weeks go by and you bump into her again and of course you say “we really should get together!” And then this happens again and again and AGAIN until your kids gradate high school. But what would happen if you said “it was so good seeing you! Let grab dinner this Friday at the pearl” Now you have INTENTIONALLY put a plan into action. 

Now in the beginning of your journey, the end result should not be the goal. Your goal should be the consistency of the habit instead. You should be learning to commit to how often you are doing something rather than how well you are doing it. Because once you master consistently showing up for yourself, no matter the circumstances, there is NOTHING you can’t conquer!

But here is the thing, all these habits don’t matter if your mental foundations isn’t in the right spot. For me, tips like these would have fallen on deaf ears had I not been to therapy already to understand WHY I was feeling the way I did. And also none of these habits matter if you don’t have the discipline to do the task EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. Because on the days you don’t want to, is when you need to do it the most. 

From one mama to another

It's no secret that I have been in therapy for over a year to help with my PPD and PPA. (Huge shock for you to hear? Well click HERE and HERE to catch up). Now something that comes with that is that once you find ways that are helping, you kind of become obsessed with "what else can I be doing to help with motherhood or every day life"? 

Motherhood is a lot of really great things right? But also it's exhausting, frustrating, lonely and overwhelming. All these negative things. A lot of times those negative emotions take over and feel like they are outweighing all the good that's happening in your life. So we need to ask ourselves, how are we handling these situations? Why do things feel so negative in motherhood? Is it our personality type? Is it situational? 

I am always telling people "go to therapy! go to therapy! its the best! everyone should be in therapy!" Well, that's not really fair  because there are a lot of factors that come with that big of a decision. A lot of people don't feel comfortable talking with a therapist, they can't afford one or they just don't think it's for them. 

The power of social media can be a wonderful thing. I saw a post that talked about this course called "A Thriving Mother" that was made by Lisa Hansen to help mamas who are struggling. Mamas who are wanting to get the most out of their life with motherhood. When I came across it and read "This course teaches you how to be happy, confident, fulfilled and in control of your time and life by knowing and meeting your personal needs." YES PLEASE!

I thought this was so interesting because I know a lot of other moms who are struggling and don't know why they are unhappy, or they do know exactly why but they need some help figuring out how to navigate. And I believe this course is really good for that. Lisa really breaks it down and talks about your CORE NEEDS. She talks about these things that honestly I didn't even think about that were affecting my every day decisions with my kids and then in turn were affecting my mood and life. I am big advocate for HAPPY MOM HAPPY LIFE because like I have said before, if mama isn't happy, the whole house feels it.

What I really liked about Lisa's course was I felt like I was getting a lot of the same benefits of going to therapy but in the comfort of my own home. I wasn't talking to someone directly because it's an online course that you can do at your own pace. You can pause, rewind, fast forward etc. If something happened during the week that I want to reflect on, I can go back to that part of the course and see where I can make adjustments.

Especially right now during a pandemic, you don't truly realize how much the weight of the world is on your shoulders. There is the "everyday weight" we carry from our kids, families, work etc. But now, with politics and everyone being divided on every issue, you don't realize the toll it's taking on you. And while yes we can settle some of that by turning off the news or being very deliberate with how much you watch, that's really just a temporary fix. How do we figure out how to manage these anxieties post pandemic? (whenever that will be). But also just in general, not putting a band aid on your emotions. How can we really appreciate time with our kids and overall live happier lives? Even more so, when we live in a instagram-y world comparing every day. The scary thing about that is, it can take a toll on you and you don't even realize it is and how it's affecting your every day life choices in your home. (The Social Dilemma anyone? Netflix it and thank my later.)

Something else that I want to talk about is, if you are anything like me, it's incredibly hard to spend money on myself. Now my kids? Psssh. Won't even bat an eye. Spending $50 at Target for random things for them, no problem. But $50 on new jeans for myself because I have a hole in them or they don't fit? NEVER. So when you see something that costs a little more, I think it's really easy to find ways to tell yourself you don't really need it. But I think when you change the narrative and see things as less of a luxury and more of an essential, then it really changes your perspective. And If you are not going to prioritize and invest in yourself, WHO WILL? And from a practical stand point, taking her entire course cost less than one session that I have paid for in person therapy. And if you can get some of the benefits of therapy without doing a year long stint like I have? UM, HELLO! That's a steal! And to be honest, really think about what you spend your money on every day. 

The sooner you finally say you are a priority, you are really going to see the fruits of that labor because it bleeds into everything you do. I have been there! Where you don't know why you are unhappy. You don't know why things are the way there are. Or maybe things are going pretty okay and you just feel like you wish you had some tools to make things a little better.

I know this post sounds like a brain dump but I think it's because I just feel so deeply that with this course, you can start feeling better. Now if you are someone who has been kind of thinking of therapy or maybe you just don't know how they feel about it, this course with Lisa is a great alternative to dip your toes in without fully diving into something like seeing a therapist. To understand what you are doing, why you are doing it, and how is that affecting all the things around you like your kids, spouse, family members or work place. 

Near or far, we are each others tribe and community. How can we help each other?

A Thriving Mother Course

Use code: Jenna5 to get $5 off.

I have PPD & PPA, now what?

So in my last post I described my experience with Postpartum Depression and Postpartum Anxiety. I actually had every intention to write about my experience AND things that helped in the same post. But how I write is how I talk, the word vomit just comes out and I can't shut up. So now I am going to share the 3 things that I did that helped me understand and cope. I am very careful not to use the word "cure". Because I don't think things like depression and anxiety can go away like that. It's something that I have learned how to handle and, most importantly, learned how to keep from escalating out of control.

1) THERAPY

The day I decided to find a therapist was the day I decided it was time to make myself a priority. It's very easy for mothers to feel invisible sometimes. It was time that on my long list of daily to-do's, which included keeping my kids alive and making sure my house didn't look like an episode of hoarders, that I myself made it on that list.

 You know the phrase "happy wife, happy life"? 

My husband will tell you it's not only a cute phrase, it is an essential way of life. When mama is not happy, EVERYONE in the house feels it. My oldest especially. He feels and takes on any negative emotion I (or anyone for that matter) might be feeling around him. 

The first day I walked into her office I was actually excited, I was ready to see results (in true Type A fashion). I chose my therapist because not only did she specialize in PPD and PPA, but she also has experienced with it first hand! I can not accurately describe how relieved I was that she had not only had the knowledge to help me, but when I talked to her, it felt like talking to a friend. She also had experienced sitting on her bathroom floor while crying or feeling overwhelmed with a screaming baby. 

"I am a bad mom" 

Did you know there are a million ways to be a good mom, but in all actuality, very small ways to be a "bad" mom. Abuse, neglect, abandonment? Totally bad mom things. Letting my kids only eat gold fish crackers for lunch one day or my kids throwing a fit in Target? Not even close to being a bad mom. But because I have this need for perfection, I was constantly grading (and comparing) myself. 

Think of it this way. When you are at a job, how do you know you are succeeding? Raise? Promotion? Better parking space? Those are things that let you know you are doing a good job. Stay at home moms don't get that. And since my personality type craves a gold star for things, I told myself that if my kids acted a certain way or if I did things a certain way, that was my gold star. Therapy taught me that gold stars show up in lots of different ways. It wasn't until I let go of the idea that there is only 1 good or 1 bad way to parent that I was able to free myself from the pressure and anxiety I would feel every day. 

Rewriting my narrative

I said before that when my anxiety was at it's peak, everything felt like a 10. Toddler spilling cereal? 10. Traffic? 10. My kids screaming? 10. Being late to put the kids to bed at the exact time every night? Panic attack. Do you know what an actual 10 should be? War. Death. Financial troubles. While having kids of course can be stressful, daily toddler-ville is not 10 worthy. My stress levels were constantly at a 10 that it didn't know how not to be at a 10 at all times. So if something happened that was just mildly inconveniencing, my body would react like a muscle memory and felt like I was having a nervous break down.  My body thought it was going to war every day.

I remember running late to a session with her one week and I was sweating and in tears. I told her that I was sorry for being late but I needed to nurse Charlie and he was being difficult. And I told her "This is why I have issues. I have to make the choice to feed my baby or go to therapy! Why do moms always have to make these kind of choices??". After talking she made me realize that I was doing it again. Let's rewrite this. Would Charlie ACTUALLY go hungry? Of course not. He was with my husband who could give him a snack or defrost some pumped milk. It wouldn't be the most efficient or perfect situation but so what. But because things didn't go exactly according to MY plan, then I jump to a 10 which is my baby will starve. Not the reality.  

It wasn't until I started therapy that I deeply and whole heartedly feel every single person on the planet should be in therapy. Just like we get our annual physical check up once a year, we should be getting our annual mental check up. Because let's be real, it's no secret that when your mental health is not right, it can manifest into physical symptoms. It seems like killing 2 birds with one stone #amiright?! 

2) SOCIAL MEDIA

After my very first session with my therapist, she gave me one homework assignment. She told me to go home and delete anyone online that I didn't actually know. She told me that social media feels like this never ending race and nobody makes it to the finish line. There is always a new fad or trend that people are supposed to do. So I did. I immediately went home and deleted anyone who made me feel like my kids rooms were not Pinterest worthy or #goals. Anyone that made me feel bad for not feeding them every color of the rainbow in vegetables. People who are 95 lbs and 30 of those lbs are makeup and eyelashes. Mommy bloggers who have nannies and all the help in the world but say #messymomlife etc. People painting this picture of perfection that doesn't actually exist. 

But but but we all have the same 24 hours as Beyonce right? We are woman and we can do it all! Of course we can! But just because we CAN, doesn't mean all of us want to do it all. I never realized how much all of it affects me until it all feels piled on. My feed tells me I am not traveling enough, eating enough amazing food, drinking enough Starbucks or wine, working out or putting in that hustle. It's constantly telling me I am not good enough. So I decided that day that I would stop letting other people tell me how I should live my life. Do I still sometimes fall envious of people or the things they accomplish or cool trips they take? Of course I do! #imstillhuman But I just don't let it define me or control me anymore.

3) Hello New Friend #CBD

Like most people, I had heard about CBD all around but never really knew what it actually was. All I heard was that people loved it. So naturally, that sparked my interest. For those of you who don't know what I am talking about, CBD is short for Cannabidiol which is one of the many chemical compounds found in canabis. I'm not going to go into everything about it because there is a lot of information and that's why google was invented. Personally, I went directly to a local CBD shop to get my questions answered. But I will tell you why it helped me. 

When I take CBD I don't feel high. Not even slightly. I just feel more like me. I'm not necessarily always calm, but it just takes the heart palpitating panic out of my brain. It helps me think more clearly. For example on Day 2 of trying it, I noticed something. Usually getting out the door with 2 adults and 2 kids is a 45 min ordeal. Packing snacks, getting kid dressed, "WHERE ARE YOUR SHOES?!" Where are my keys? Did you remember to pack the binky??" But that day, while I still felt slightly rushed, there wasn't this intense pressure in my chest and dire emergent feeling of "WE. NEED. TO. GET. OUT. THE DOOR!!" It was a refreshing change. 

One of the other benefits that I wasn't even looking for, but always appreciate, was that it helped me sleep better. Normally when I lay down at night, it's like my pillow making contact with my face ignites my brain. I can't stop talking my husbands ear off about my day or "don't forget we need to..". It drives him crazy because like every other person, bedtime means shhhh! But this time, only 10 mins into watching Altered Carbon, I was out. It's like CBD tells my brain to just cool it. 10/10 would recommend. 

And without these 3 things, I honestly don't know where I would be today.

Postpartum Depression & Anxiety...Tell that B**** to go home!

Let me paint you a picture.

6 weeks postpartum. New baby in tow with me to my check-up. Boobs are leaky. Bags under my eyes so heavy - Southwest Airlines most definitely would charge me extra for them. Running late to my appointment because Mr. nurses-every-30-mins took longer than expected to eat in the car. And the first words out of my providers mouth when she comes into the room is? 

DRUM ROLL....... 

So how's baby sleeping?

*insert eye roll emoji*

After about 5 mins of answering generic questions, her pager goes off, she ignores it.

"So I am worried that I don't feel right."

Pager Again. 

"I never felt this way with Henry. I am very overwhelmed and angry all the time"

Pager again. And Again. AND AGAIN!

"Someones in labor I gotta go! We will revisit this at your next appointment"

"When will that be?"

 "ASK THE FRONT DESK!"
(As she is running out the door)

And this ladies and gentlemen, is why we are FAILING MOTHERS! 

After that appointment I told myself that if it was serious, she would have addressed it. Postpartum Depression (PPD) and Postpartum Anxiety (PPA) is an important topic. So it must just be hormonal. No biggie. I'll be fine. I'm fine. On the drive home I was thinking about the small white piece of paper you fill out while in the waiting room. I kept thinking about it over and over and over again. Well, since I marked all of those NO, then clearly I am fine...right? 

1) Do you feel like you want to harm your child today?

2) Do you want to harm yourself today?

3) Do you have trouble getting out of bed?

Now let's fast forward 6 weeks. 

I had, what I like to call, PPA-the rage edition. At the drop of a hat, I would scream (and I mean SCREAM) at my children. Scream at my husband. Scream at my dogs. I was angry with everyone. Even more so, I was angry with myself. Angry that I wasn't handling this the "right" way. I wasn't handling this better. This is kid #2 Jenna, you should know what you are doing. You are fucking this up. Why can't you figure this out? Why is this so hard? It shouldn't be this hard so clearly I am the problem. I became overwhelmed by noise. Like the sound of a loud toy or a baby crying at the same time the TV was on would make me want to hyperventilate.

I am fortunate (and not so fortunate) to be surrounded my super moms in my life. Women who I believe have superpowers because of what they can accomplish in a 24 hour period. Social media didn't help me either. I would watch these women with way more kids than me and they were killing it. Hair and makeup done before the kids woke up? Check. Breakfast and beautiful bento box lunches made? Check. Pinterest styled home? Check. Having regular date nights or weekends away? Check. I told myself they had it all figured out. They found the answer to the balance I was struggling so hard to find. (It wouldn't be until much later that I learned social media was fueling a lie that was causing my unrealistic expectations)

The final tipping point? 

I am 12 weeks postpartum and both of the kids have been screaming nonstop for over 45 mins. Right now I could go into a very descriptive scene to describe why my kids were screaming but you have already been reading this for far too long so I will keep it short.  

I kicked a hole in the wall of our hallway. A very BIG one. 

See, what people don't tell you is that while PPD and PPA are more of a conversation now, it's still not enough. It needs to be THE conversation we have with both new moms and seasoned moms. I can't tell you how much time I spent talking to other moms about the best stroller, car seats, breast pumps and fucking Boppy's. It wasn't until I got help that I would see the root cause and the escalation. And let me tell you, being Type A was not helping my cause. Postpartum Depression and Postpartum Anxiety do not look the same for everyone. Mine? Looked something like this....

Anxiety:

Feeling completely paralyzed by the thought of taking both my children outside the house. How would it be possible? What if one of them needs something the exact moment the other one does? How do I nurse Charlie while also keeping an eye on Henry? What if Henry needs to use the bathroom? How do I stop nursing a screaming baby while my newly potty trained kid needs me? God forbid someone take a short nap or have a tantrum in public? I would feel like I was having a panic attack. I would think about 100 "what if's" that could go wrong the entire night before and morning of. On a scale from 1-10 everything in my life felt like a 10.
Every decision I would make felt like life or death.

Depression:

I am the worst mother in the world. My baby isn't sleeping. All I do is yell at my toddler. My husband deserves a better wife. I should be doing this better. Why can't I do this? 

I am writing this now because I didn't have the courage a year ago. It goes against my whole core of being a Type A. Admitting mistakes and needing help? #nothanks. We have to do better. We just do. I thought because I didn't have the "can't eat, can't get out of bed" stereotypical anxiety and depression, that I must have been fine. I missed so many moments with my kids because I was so overwhelmed and stressed about how my life should have been.

Now, since you have been reading this for way too long, in my next post I am going to talk about the 3 changes I made that literally changed my life.

Gwyneth Paltrow Gave Us a Baby

"So when are you guys going to start trying?"

"You guys are young"

"Try and not think about it"

"It will happen when you least expect it"

....things people suffering from infertility would rather put there head through a wall than to ever hear again!! Now I say that lovingly because it wasn't until further into our journey that I realized; people who can make babies by basically sneezing out a child don't know how to talk to people who are struggling to have kids. They just don't. They try their hardest and probably think saying above phrases is being helpful or supportive (and honestly, is there really a "right" thing to say?), but sometimes listening was all I needed. And a donut. I would have loved a donut during some of those failed attempts. I would be lying if I didn't say how much easier it is to talk about it now that our son is here. Do I wish I could have been this open 3 years ago? Do I wish that I didn't have to rely on social media (aka strangers) to know that I wasn't alone?

It's something we MUST talk about. It is so easy to feel completely like an outsider. It's easy to be so angry you could scream and at the very same moment be so heartbroken by the sight of a baby when you walk through Home Depot. I remember in my darkest thoughts I honestly believed people were getting pregnant and having babies JUST TO MAKE ME UPSET! #iwishiwaskidding

But baby making is supposed to be fun, right?! Yes, until…

• You’re having so much sex that it's become a chore. (Unthinkable? No Way? Try having sex every day for 30 days in a row for countless months because someone's best friends dog walker got pregnant that way and get back to me)
• You start taking fertility medications that turn you into a non-stop crying, "why is it always so hot in here?!?!", raging lunatic, ready to bite someones head off at any given moment.
• Your life revolves around ovulation predictor kits, basal body temperatures and cervical mucus (oh yea, I’m going there!)
• You spend every month believing that “this is my month!", only to have disappointment waiting around the corner.

It starts to become the norm. You can't remember the last time you weren't obsessively googling pregnancy symptoms. 

"Right knee hurts when standing up....does this mean I'm pregnant?" 

(Sadly, this was an actual search I made one of those months because I read somewhere that joint pain can be a pregnancy indicator #facepalm)

SO....... HOW DID WE ACTUALLY GET PREGNANT? And how does Gwyneth play a role?

To accurately tell that story, I need to bring you back in time a little. After being married for 3 years, we decided that we would start trying in September 2012. I was very naive and thought we would get pregnant right away. Very quickly I learned that just because you want a baby, doesn't always mean you get one. Month after month nothing was happening. I had irregular cycles but didn't think much of it. If only I had paid more attention to that detail. It would have saved me literally YEARS of pain and heartache to understand why we couldn't conceive. After over a year with nothing to show for it, we decided to see a fertility specialist. We did all the tests and work-ups and we got the diagnosis that I had "unexplained" infertility with "possible PCOS". Not actual PCOS. But my labs said I was slightly in the "PCOS" category. Basically we had NO ANSWERS! Awesome. Our doctor recommended to start Clomid and Metformin to try and trigger ovulation. I'll skip to the end and tell you after 3 months, nothing happened. Our doctor said that the only next option would be IUI or IVF #thousandsofdollars

Dane and I were on year 3 of no baby and actually had decided to take 2015 off from trying. It was getting too much to handle and we just needed a break. Around September 2015 I was at work one day when a co-worker was reading a magazine during lunch and said, "Oh Gwyneth! Can you believe her? This girl is crazy!" It obviously sparked my interest and I asked what she was talking about. She then went on to tell me that Gwyneth Paltrow's new "thing" was Yoni Steams AKA Vagina Steams.

Still with me?

We had a good laugh about how crazy celebrities are and I went on with my day. But for some reason, on the drive home from work, it stuck with me. I got curious as to why she would do them. So when I got home I grabbed my computer and did some investigating. And holy moly, my mind was blown! That Gwyneth knows what she is talking about! Essentially Yoni Steams are "a practice in which a woman allows the warmth of herbal steam to permeate the exterior of her vagina to heal your cycle."

Vibrant Souls Yoni Steam Herbs

 Yoni Steams Have Been Found Throughout History To:

• Significantly reduce pain, bloating and exhaustion associated with menstruation.
• Decrease menstrual flow as well as reduce dark purple or brown blood at the onset or end of menses.
• Regulate irregular or absent menstrual cycles.
• Increase fertility
• Speed healing and tone the reproductive system after birth.
• Treat uterine fibroids, ovarian cysts, uterine weakness, uterine prolapse & endometriosis.
• Assist with the repair of a vaginal tear, episiotomy, or C-section scar.
• Assist with the healing of hemorrhoids.
• Treat chronic vaginal/yeast infections, and works to maintain healthy odor.
• Relieve symptoms of menopause including dryness or pain during intercourse.
• Detoxify the womb and remove toxins from the body.

I'll speed it up by saying after my first steam, I got my period THE. VERY. NEXT. DAY! I was in complete shock! Like I said previously, I had VERY irregular cycles (50-75 days!). I continued to do the steams once a week for the remaining month of October and then into November. But then something interesting happened...my period didn't come in December! To say how disappointed I was, I can't even put it into words. I thought "I was finally getting answers! Something was FINALLY working in my favor! How could it not come?". I sulked for 3 days because I thought the steams were just a fluke. To this day, I can't tell you what possessed me to take a pregnancy test; I woke up one morning weirdly optimistic. I woke up thinking, "what if?". My thought was that if it was negative then who cares because I've been down that road MAAAANNNNYY times. Whats one more "no"?

IT. WAS. A. YEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I told myself I was going to surprise Dane because Christmas was only 10 days away. I could keep that to myself right? WRONG. My brain turned off and I literally ran downstairs waving the stick to him crying my eyes out. He didn't know what to say because he assumed it was negative (like the many times before). We hugged. We cried. And here we are today with our beautiful 10 month old....all thanks to Gwyneth Paltrow.

WHERE TO PURCHASE

Yoni Steam Herbs (6 Steams)

Summer Travel Favorites

Hey all! Today I am talking about my absolute must have favorites when traveling this summer. We just recently came back from Padre Island on a family trip and there are a few items that really stuck out!  

"Summer Infant Pop-N-Sit" 
I have been looking for a new booster seat for Henry because we are venturing out more and more. We are currently using the Bumbo Multi Seat with Tray (pictured below) and have really liked it so far. The issue I have is it's kind of a pain to travel with. If we are going to my nephew's baseball games, dinner at Nana's or flying to California to visit family, it's bulky and takes up a lot of room. 

I have been wanting this booster seat from Summer Infant for a long time but to be honest, I just kept putting it off. I finally snagged one (they have been sold out everywhere!) the day before we left for our trip. It was so easy to use. We strapped it to one of the chairs at the table, but it was also super easy to un-strap and take to the beach which was my favorite part! It took 2 seconds to get him all set up and snacking so that I didn't have to worry about a wiggling 9 month old trying to get sand in his food.

"Guava Family Lotus Travel Crib"
If I had to list the top 5 things we have purchased for Henry, this would FOR SURE be in my top 3! I can't talk highly enough about this! Unfortunately, I don't any photos of him in it because, I don't dare try and sneak in and possibly disrupt a sleeping child #helltotheno! I love how light-weight (ONLY 13 lbs compared to the traditional 30 lb pack-n-play) and easy this is to set up. That is something that is VITAL for when I am with him alone during the day and need to set up camp on a wim. We keep this in the trunk of the car at ALL TIMES! As much as Henry is a great sleeper, the down side is that he can only sleep well in a crib. Car seats, strollers, swings etc are #shortnapcity. So wherever we go, this is the only place he will actually sleep a good length of time. My favorite part about this is it packs into a back pack so I can carry it no problem while also carrying the 50 other things traveling with a child comes with.

Rusoji Premium Packing Cube System

Who ever invented packing cubes is a flipping genius! I get a little high anxiety when it comes to packing (big shock, I know). I'm not exaggerating when I say that I can't sleep for days leading up to a trip because I am always thinking about not forgetting something while also not wanting to over pack. I go over and over in my mind how to be as prepared as possible while also not having to rent a u-haul every time we leave the house. I love these cubes because they keep everything super organized and grouped into each persons belongings. It comes as a 6 piece set (2 small, 2 medium, 2 large). The rule of thumb for us is if it can't all fit into one large suit case, #byefelicia. I also use them on a daily basis. I use it for my Ergo 360 Carrier to store under my stroller or in my diaper bag and also for Henry's "bedtime routine"; like I said above, dude is a little high maintenance when it comes to re-creating his bedroom environment wherever we go (good job mom #facepalm). 

Summer Infant Pop-N-Play

You may notice a trend, I am super fan girl for Summer Infant. I love all their products! Some of you have seen this on my Instagram but I LOOOOOOOVEEEE this! This would also be in my top 3 of baby products that we have purchased. Simply for the fact that we use it every single day! We use it as a play pen during the day to keep wiggle butt contained, and then also we take it everywhere! It's perfect for a day at the park, at the beach or we take it to Nana's house when all the big kids are there so Henry doesn't get wrestled over. It gives plenty of room for him to crawl around but yet still big enough for sweet auntie's to jump in and play along too! #shoutoutauntmaddy

Where to purchase

Summer Infant Pop-N-Sit

Guava Family 'Lotus' Travel Crib

Rusoji Packing Cubes

Summer Infant Pop-N-Play

Oilogic Essential Oil Care

It seems now a day's there is a label for every type of mom. Are you a Crunchy mom? Silky mom? Attachment mom? Helicopter mom? Free-range mom? Tiger mom? (I heard this one the other day but still no idea what this one is). I don't like these labels but if I had to give myself a label i would consider myself a half crunch mixed with Type-A/ Google mom lol. I do lean towards more natural food and products for Henry (I secretly think breastmilk and coconut oil fixes 80% of everything) but he was also circumcised, vaccinated and we believe that modern medicine is vital for certain ailments. So like i said #halfcrunch.

I am relatively new to the essential oil world but have heard amazing things about them. I came across Oilogic when i was pregnant with Henry. I loved the idea of using something natural first when he wasn't feeling so great before jumping into something over the counter. Their oils are diluted properly within the blend and moisturizing carrier oils to provide a safe solution for little ones. During my research (because remember, google mom) I learned that it's important for the essential oils to be diluted with a carrier oil, as the essential oil by itself would be too powerful, which could cause a reaction on the skin.

Ingredients:

Castor Seed Oil, Jojoba Seed Oil, Orange Peel Oil, Siberian Fir Needle Oil , Eucalyptus Leaf Oil, Lavandin Oil, Cypress Leaf/ Nut/ Stem, Tea Tree Leaf Oil

As some of you know, Henry had a stomach bug last week and then a few days later he caught a small head cold (on top of teething #poorkid). We used the roll-on during the day by rubbing it on the bottom of his feet, back of his neck and center of his chest and then used the vapor bath at night. We did this regimen for about 3 days and all of his symptoms were gone! What I also enjoyed was it never felt like I was giving him medicine. He thought it was so funny when the roll-on would touch the bottom of his feet; and with the vapor bath, we just poured in while he splashed around in the tub. It was a real struggle when he had the high grade fever last week to get him to take his medicine, so it was nice to get a small break from that battle.

I am really loving this so far and I can't wait to try more from their product line!

Where to purchase

 Stuffy Nose & Cough Essential Oil Roll-On
Oilogic Care Stuffy Nose & Cough Essential Oil Vapor Bath Relief

June Favorites

Hey mamas!

I wanted to talk about some favorites our house is currently obsessing over! Henry is 9 months old and has really been taking a love to all things yummy snacks. Also with summer upon us, we have been slowly venturing out more and more. We have done 1 splash pad (HOLY FIRST TIME MOM ANXIETY) and lots of pool swimmin' at Nana's!

Neat Cheeks
I plan on doing a separate review on this a little later because it totally deserves it! I don't know about you, but trying to wipe Henrys face after any meal is always a battle. There is SO. MUCH. DRAMA! (*ahem, I wonder where he got that from? #getitfromyourmama). I came across Neat Cheeks when watching Shark Tank and fell in love with the concept! These face wipes are naturally sweetened with Stevia extract and made to taste delicious! Usually during meal clean up, Henry starts crying and screaming with his arms waving like a crazy person. But the first try and he was silent! SILENT PEOPLE!! *insert all the amen emojis* Not only was he silent but he was SMILING!  Safe to say, we are believers forever! #sold #takeallmymoney

SwimZip
We are absolutely LOVING this! I originally bought this because the fact that it gives Henry full UV 50+ protection makes this "does he have enough sun screen on?" mamas heart REAL happy! The second was how insanely easy it is to take on and off. None of those stupid pregnancy books prepared me for how mad little ones get trying to pull a wet bathing suit/rash guard off! #neveragain

Happy Baby Oatmeal Cereal & Puffs
At this very moment, I have a baby boy sound asleep and will continue to do so for the rest of the night. How you ask? THIS MAGIC OATMEAL CEREAL!! Now, I am not going to sit here and say that your child will sleep 100% through the night only because of this. We sleep trained Henry about 3 months ago and that had a huge impact. BUT! With that being said, after sleep training he was still waking 2-3 times in a 12 hour period. At the time it didn't bother us because it was a huge improvement from him waking ever 1-2 hours. Until we were casually talking about with our pediatrician in passing she then recommended adding this to our dinner menu. Well.... I. COULD. KISS. THE FREAKING WOMAN!! Literally the first night, he slept 9 hours straight! And has slept through the night ever since. There are a lot of oatmeal cereals on the shelf but i really love that this has probiotics to support his digestive health, is fortified with Iron & has Choline to aid his development. #winwin

Nosh Teething Wafers
My little secret weapon! If you open my diaper bag you will find about 539 of these. The reason being that this will occupy little dude at a resturant long enough for me to actually shovel some food in my mouth while it's the temperature it's intended.  Because they are rice wafers, they are really dissolvable and easy for him to handle.  I like these compared to other wafers we have tried because they don't leave that weird and sticky mess that others left behind. Like i need another mess to clean up? #nothankyou

Ella's Kitchen
If i am being real honest, what first got my attention to these pouches were how cute they were (#waytogomarketingdept)! Anyone who really knows me, it should come to no surprise that when i started introducing Henry to pouches, i bought every brand on the market because i am the most indecisive person on the planet. It's a super annoying quality i have. After the tiny human tried about 4 or 5 different brands, this was the only one he physically grabbed out of my hand and started to suck down all by himself, like he was a big kid or something. It also helped that all the ingredients are 100% organic and there is nothing extra added #mamaloves. So with that, Ella's Kitchen made it's way into "Henry's Kitchen" (see what i did there? lol)


Where to purchase
Original Neat Cheeks
SwimZip UV Protective Rash Guard Set
Happy Baby Organic Probiotic Oatmeal Cereal
Nosh Baby Teething Wafers
Ella's Kitchen


In the next coming weeks, i will be sharing more of my current favorites. During those early months with a newborn, i was constantly searching blogs and forums for info on certain topics that applied to us in that moment. I truly believe that when they say "It takes a village to raise a child" that includes moms across the google and internets sharing all the knowledge they can to help a mama out!