If you’ve ever carried a pregnancy to “term” you likely know what I mean when I say, there are days that feel like it will never. ever. end. You feel like your body can’t possibly stretch or grow any more. Then it DOES! You feel like your baby OBVIOUSLY doesn’t want to meet anyone in the outside world. But they DO! Desperation starts to set in because you’re worried that if you “go overdue” you’ll be faced with induction. Or that maybe, just maybe, you’ll be that ONE scientific anomaly that will in fact somehow manage to be pregnant forever.
When All Those Hats Get Heavy {find your space}
I see you. Juggling work, play, drop offs, pick ups, classes, appointments, cleaning your house (shhh… I won’t tell the toilet hasn’t been scrubbed in… a while)… I see you. I feel you. I AM you! Parenting is tough gig. It’s messy and brilliant. Demanding and wonderful. Fulfilling and draining. It’s SO much all at once.
When You Break Your Own Rules {and then have a baby!}
Sometimes you eat a delicious meal, watch (and cry to) Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, sit on a labor ball, and eat ice cream with a hint of Castor Oil mixed in… and sometimes… It works.
The Day I Became “Mama” {My First Birth Story}
As we’re preparing to celebrate the birthday of my biggest baby, I realized, I’ve never written down her birth story. I’ve made a tradition of writing them down on their first birthday as reflection, but with E that just didn’t happen. So… without further ado, I will share with you the experience that changed my life and forever shaped my world (in more ways than one…)
Who Needs a Plan? {You do!}
Being a childbirth educator, I’m often asked… “But do we *really* need a birth plan?!” Yes. The answer is always 100% yes. And not for the reasons that you might think.
The Lizzy Bag {for all your pump toting needs}
-Sarah Wells Lizzy Breast Pump Bag- When you’re a pumping mama, there is a lot of stuff that ends up traveling with you everywhere you go. Tubing, flanges, breast shields, storage bottles, ice packs, A PUMP… Where the heck do you put it all?
Bamboobies ® {for the shirt soaking moments}
Picture this… You’re actually alone for a bit and you’re standing in line at the grocery store. In the aisle next to you, a baby starts crying. Suddenly you get the tingly sensation, you just can’t stop the letdown reaction, and BAM… boobies turn to fountains and your shirt is soaked in the most obvious “I’m a nursing mama” way.
When puke turns your husband into Superman
Let’s set the stage… Final night of camping. All 5 of us snugly squeezed into our tent. Approximately 2:30 a.m. (because who really knows what time it is when you’re camping?!) Suddenly I hear the rustling of a child. Then the splatter. Then “Ohhh nooo, I threw up! Daddy! Daddy, I threw up!” And people, we’re not talking a little puke. We’re talking singe the nose hairs, burn the eyes, curdled apple pie chunks puke. If you’re not gagging reading that, you’re a SAINT because I’m having some PTSD just thinking about it.
I’m Moving Somewhere Else! {Real Life with a “Spirited Child”}
One day my six year old proclaimed from the back seat, “I’m moving somewhere else! Where nobody bosses me around!” In one of my less glamorous moments I responded, “Okay… I’ll help you pack up. Where should I take you?” Being the parent of a “Spirited” or “Strong Willed” Child is exhausting. Flat. Out. Y’all.
Hello, Goodbye {I am her. This is my story.}
Think about all the women you know. Think about your 4 closest friends. Chances are at least one of them has experienced a pregnancy loss.
