All posts tagged: babies

My Labor Day: Otherwise Known as the Scariest and Happiest Day of My Life

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This year’s Labor Day just so happens to fall on September 7th, my daughter Genevieve’s first birthday. It seems like only yesterday that I was in the hospital experiencing the most terrifying and heartwarming day of my life. I didn’t have a birth plan. I thought about making one, but then decided it wasn’t worth it because you can’t predict what’s going to happen during labor and delivery. My husband and I took a prenatal education class to learn a little about what was going to happen to my body. Like most mommy’s-to-be, I also read “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” every week to find out what was happening inside my belly. I skimmed the chapters about childbirth because I didn’t want to build up anxiety. I completely skipped past the material on C-sections. Of course, I ended up with a C-section and also needed pitocin during labor. My two delivery fears became my reality. Throughout my pregnancy, I worried about how my body was going to handle childbirth. I have chronic fatigue so …

Parenting DIY Activity: Weekly Photo Shoots for Year One Baby Book

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I’m obsessed with pictures. Since my daughter was born, I’ve been forcing her to pose for weekly mini photo shoots. I’m compiling them all into a Year One book that I’ll be printing on Shutterfly (Blurb is great too but Shutterfly has adorable baby themes). I purchased baby countdown blocks on Etsy for consistency, however I am really annoyed that on double odd number weeks, like 33, the blocks don’t work because the blocks don’t each have every number on them. So beware. But I digress! Every month, I upload my top photos of Geneveive and start laying out the pages so that I’m not overwhelmed once she turns one-year-old. Each week, I try to capture her doing something that shows her growth, like eating solids, clapping her hands, sitting up and standing. It’s so emotional looking back on all of these things and seeing how much she has changed each week. I encourage other creative moms to do something like a weekly photo shoot book. It’s an awesome keepsake and also makes a great gift for grandparents. My …

Fellow Mamas, We Salute You

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Fellow moms: Here’s to every frizzy, gray hair, chipped nail, under-eye circle, unwashed dish… …To every set of booger-encrusted, milk-&-tear-stained, 4th-night-in-a-row-being-worn pajamas, shower not taken, unfinished book, hell – let’s be honest – unfinished everything… …To every pair of tired & worn-out yoga pants, lonely & unused flat-iron, cold cup of coffee, and interrupted cuddle (with someone other than your child)… …For every item on this list, and the innumerable unmentioned, there’s a tear dried, a boo-boo kissed, a story read, a hand held, a little mouth (or 2 or 3 or 4!) fed. There’s a little person who is becoming who they are because of your daily guidance, love & selflessness, and who drifts off to sleep knowing that their mama loves them, “from the bottom of her heart,” “to the moon and back,” or “thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis much…” and that makes it all worth it. Happy Mother’s Day.

When Your Dog is Jealous of Your Baby

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My dog hates my baby. OK, hate is a pretty strong word. But our plot hound, Lulu, definitely isn’t trilled with this tiny new person taking up all her mom and dad’s attention. During my pregnancy, I worried about how our dogs would react to a new baby. I expected our female dog, Lulu—who was basically used as a breeding machine before we rescued her—to be nurturing with our new addition. I figured our boy dog, Lucky—the resident hunter of small animals—wouldn’t look twice at her once he realized she wasn’t game. I also worried about hurting their feelings. I didn’t want the dogs to feel neglected or unloved just because we welcomed a new, amazing family member. But it happened.  Playtime: Lucky and Baby G. It turns out that Lucky is obsessed with Genevieve and has basically taken on the role of her guardian. He is always in the same room with her. In fact;  whenever he comes in from outside, the first thing he does is run from room to room until he …

What’s Mine is Mine, and What’s Yours is M-I-N-E, too!

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Ok, I am just going to say it…my baby doesn’t like to share. Here’s the problem: Not only does she not like to share her own toys, but she doesn’t like to share things that don’t even belong to her, for example, MY phone, MY keys, MY wallet, etc. Now, you may be thinking – it’s just a phase, teach her to share, explain to her that she isn’t always going to get what she wants, etc. And, of course, I have thought of all of these things and will continue to teach her, but, let me just quickly paint a mental picture for you all of a scenario that happens daily: Briella will crawl over to the couch (or wherever something is), pull herself up into a standing position and quickly grab my phone, then will turn around and crawl away faster than the speed of light. So, naturally, while Briella sprints away from me thinking she just scored a new smart phone, she decides – what the heck, let me just shove this …

Poop.

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Everybody poops, right? Right, and that’s usually all there is to say about that. It happens and we don’t think much of it. That is, until you have a baby… Then, it’s a whole different ball game. Poop is suddenly very important. How many times a day does your tiny little person do it? What color is it? What’s the consistency? It’s even fodder for conversation amid your mommy group. If Timmy’s poop isn’t like Sarah’s, what’s wrong with Sarah? Or what’s wrong with little Timmy?! Oh wait, does Timmy drink formula or breast milk? If he drinks formula it may be different from Sarah’s and that’s ok, because her breast milk poop is different from formula-fed poop. The entire newborn stage is all about the poo, and how to keep it contained in the diapering apparatus, instead of running up baby backs and cascading down baby legs.  Have you ever been changing a newborn’s diaper at the exact moment that they happen to sneeze? That’s fun. Now it’s a question of how to get the poop …