Navigating new motherhood one cold cup of coffee at a time
Motherhood is loud. Very loud. Both from within ourselves and in our every day surroundings. It's a beautiful chaos that we learn to love. Even though I gave birth to my son well over a year ago and have grown used to this beautiful chaos, I catch myself in recurring conversations with fellow new moms… Continue reading Giving new mothers a blank slate
There is a hilarious video circulating the Internet of a mom showcasing the differences in how she prepared for the birth of her first child vs. how she prepares with littles already running around. It pokes fun of the contrast in the glamor that we create around first-time pregnancies – and how this glamor abruptly… Continue reading The real reason second-time moms “care less”
The books will define toddlerhood as a phase that starts at 12 months, but so long as mine has his squishy cheeks he'll always be my baby. That said, there are hilarious differences as we navigate year two – the first year of this thing called toddlerhood. You know you have a toddler when: Instead… Continue reading You know you’ve started toddlerhood when…
Our first duty station was Hawaii, and I gained so much from our time there. I was ambitious, young and impressionable. I was starting my career, pursuing this thing called love; I couldn't have been in a better place for this chapter, where the community leads with Aloha – a powerful outlook that set me… Continue reading What I didn’t know when I married the military
I officially hit the third trimester of this second pregnancy. It's surreal that we will meet our daughter in a few short months. Last pregnancy, there was this constant looming and enormous news that we were going to become parents, and it made us one giant ball of nerves. Now that our days are already consumed… Continue reading Third trimester turbulence
As a stay-at-home mom, the ways in which I use and rely on my smart phone have certainly evolved from when I used it in the workforce as a reporter and online communications strategist. But out of habit, I held onto this sense of urgency that was embedded in my work of needing to have… Continue reading Four traumatic things that happened in 24 hours without my phone
"Remember, you didn't have a normal birth." I was told this in recovery by my care team as I was trying to grapple with what just happened to my body, why nurses were physically punching me to help get my baby out, why my baby wasn't breathing, why my recovery was taking forever, why it… Continue reading My redemption birth: I am enough
I could never be a true minimalist, admittedly, but I have been striving for moderate minimalism – which I define as having *majority* of my surroundings serve a purpose, with some wiggle room for pointless fun ... because, Target. I've been clearing out quite a bit of baby gear and toys in preparation for number… Continue reading Must-have baby items you might not have discovered yet
There are so many lists out there on valuable lessons learned as first time moms, from enduring that first pregnancy, birth to recovery and beyond. But I haven't found anything sharing wisdom specifically for second-time moms. We are kind of the forgotten ones in some ways because we are supposed to be experts or something… Continue reading “What to expect” your second pregnancy
"Are you hoping for a girl this time?" This was a popular question that followed our second pregnancy announcement since we have had the overwhelming joy of experiencing a boy our first go-around. I always felt a tad awkward answering this because there's a bit of shame associated with admitting that you may have a… Continue reading I was hoping for a girl, and that says nothing about the kind of parent I am
