Adjusting from one child, to two.

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When you have your first child although it can be scary, it’s full of excitement. It’s full of new adventures and endless love. The great thing about having your first little one, is the fact that it’s the first, there’s only one. No one really talks about what it’s like having two or more than one. You always hear how hard it can be, or how tired you will be. But honestly, when i had my first child. It was pretty easy compared to what it is like now, raising two babies.

The transition from one baby to two is pretty hard, or at least it was for me. Especially with breastfeeding. I have a one and a half year old and a now almost 2 month old baby. When my second child was born, after we got home it was so hard for me to adjust for a couple different reasons. Breastfeeding is very painful at first, and it’s super demanding. You have to constantly sit down every 2-3 hours and feed baby or pump and hope that your toddler is satisfied or distracted until you’re done. Breastfeeding is also painful every time at first. It also makes your body cramp, and for me after having my second child, the cramps were unearthly painful. I really didn’t think i could continue to breastfeed because i was in so much pain. Both of those things combine, on top of not getting any sleep, and having to chase a toddler around after just having a baby made my world chaos.

I really though for a couple of weeks that i was going to lose my mind, it was the first time ever that i had felt completely defeated regarding motherhood. I was so upset and tired, really questioning myself and if i was able todo this. As if i had any choice, haha. But it was really hard for me for awhile. Eventually i adjusted to the loss of sleep, breastfeeding became easier and the cramping stopped. It was still hard because the schedule i had with my toddler was out the door. He wasn’t napping, didn’t want to sleep in his crib, and i felt absolutely awful for the fact i could no longer give him all my attention. I was heartbroken. Because i knew he just wanted the attention. Which made it even harder to reenforce the schedule.

Right now, after adjusting things still get hard. I still have my mini breakdowns and i still stress out from time to time. At first it was figuring out how to balance two children, and now i’m trying to make those little times for me to regroup. Like taking a shower alone, or riding to town alone, or just walking to the mailbox alone. Just to give me that short amount of time to breath. It’s important to have that. Mother’s and father’s need that. Don’t let anyone make you feel guilty for needing a second to just breath.

Having children is really an amazing thing, it’s a beautiful experience. But no one prepared me for the adjustment of a second child and having them close together didn’t make it easier. And i’m still learning, it’s still hard. Time is now divided, i get very little time to myself, if any at all. Dishes don’t get done right away, laundry sits awhile before it gets folded, toys may sit on the floor a little longer, and the list goes on. But i really couldn’t imagine my life any other way. When times get hard, when i feel like i’m at my breaking point i just remember they are only little once. And i know before i even realize it, that this time will be gone.

So to all those stressed momma’s out there, ones who are going through this, who are about to, let your toddler crawl in the bed with you. Hold that newborn a little longer. Enjoy watching your toddler run around playing with everything they can get their hands on. Because as hard as it might be in that moment, it will end. You’ll find time for a little break. And everything will be okay. Although having another child, is an adjustment and can be hard it’s such a blessing.

Seven symptoms you should know about pregnancy! What i experienced!

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I am a teen mom, i got pregnant with my son when i was 17 years old. So finding out for me was a huge surprise. After i found out i was pregnant, a lot of girls would ask me questions or advice. Not knowing what the symptoms of pregnancy are, or how they could even get pregnant. So i want to list a couple!

I found out i was pregnant either Christmas eve or Christmas, I woke up and took a pregnancy test and it came back positive. I was in complete shock, because i wasn’t expecting it. The only reason i was able to know when to test, or if i should even test is because i tracked my period. I wasn’t on birth control, i hated how it made me feel. So because of that i wanted to pay more attention to when my periods were supposed to come.

So my first “symptom” was a missed period. Now i know that for most women/girls, they are worried and wanting to know way before their period is even supposed to come. But because i had never been pregnant, i wasn’t really aware of what signs to even be looking out for. This should be the biggest red flag, if you aren’t sure of anything else!

After my missed period is when the real symptoms followed. A huge sign of pregnancy is morning sickness. Now most people think morning sickness is only in the morning, hence the name. No. Morning sickness can last all day, it can be all night. It’s different for everyone, but most of the time if you have morning sickness it’s all day. It was so awful for me, had i not been tracking my period the morning sickness i had would have defiantly been a big indicator for pregnancy.

What followed the morning sickness was food aversions, nothing sounded good. And if it did, the second it was put in front of my face i was on the verge of throwing up. I lost so much weight in the first trimester because of these two. Now keep in mind, for some women morning sickness and food aversions may never happen. But these two symptoms are very common, especially in the first trimester.

Now another symptom some women may or may not have is tender breast. I defiantly did. But i was also an athlete and thought maybe my sports bras were to tight or it was just my period coming. Which is a common mistake women make. A lot of pregnancy symptoms are nearly identical to period symptoms, that’s why some women don’t notice them at all. If you do have tender breast, make sure you’re aware of how long it last. If it last for more than a couple days to a week, it’s better safe than sorry that you take that pregnancy test.

These were the first four were big ones in my first pregnancy, and if you have read my other blogs, you may know i am pregnant with my second baby! And i was even on birth control this time, haha. And i had NONE of the symptoms i previously listed. But i knew something was off, when i had a lot of gas. Now this one might be gross but it’s true. One day i had crazy gas, i knew something was off because that is not a problem i normally have. I thought maybe it was something i ate, but after some research i found out it is or can be a sign of pregnancy. Your uterus expanding for the baby, causing you to have gas. But even then i still didn’t think i was pregnant. I took a few pregnancy tests, more than one over a course of a few days and they were all negative.

I still kept an eye out for things until i was supposed to get my period, but after a couple days to a week i started having awful hot flashes followed by small cramps. I still thought it was just something i ate, or maybe i was just having a bad day. They lasted all day long, until i decided to go get a pregnancy test and take one. Surely enough, it was positive. I was very early, but the test somehow picked up the hormones. My second pregnancy has been completely different from the first, so if you don’t have the same symptoms as i did or as the internet says that doesn’t mean you’re not pregnant. Everyones body reacts differently! So make sure you are keeping up with yourself and your sex life!

And remember if you are trying to get pregnant or think you might be, make sure you wait the recommended time before you take a test because if you take it to early it will be negative even if you are pregnant. And even then, sometimes you have to go to the Doctors and get a blood test done for them to be able to see if you are pregnant or not. Like i said everyone has different symptoms and everyone will have a different experience, so make sure you pay attention to your body! I hoped this helped and i hope everyone out there is being safe and smart!

1st Birthdays!

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My sons first birthday is next month, i’m excited because it is his first birthday and it felt like this time has just flown by so it’s exciting to celebrate how much he has grown. With me having some baby siblings i’ve attended some first birthdays and everyone does it differently. The first birthday is pretty much for the parents, and the family as your LO doesn’t really know or care about what is going on. But as he has grown bigger, he is in need of some new things. So instead of just buying here and there i figured i would get them a birthday gifts. So i do plan on getting him some gifts.

I’m not sure if i want to throw a big party and invite friends and family, go out some where or just have a family birthday party.

There’s all kinds of fun ideas, but i see no point in spending hundreds of dollars on something he won’t even remember. I want it to be fun, i want him to kind of understand or know that, that day is special for him.

What are some good ideas? How did you celebrate your LO’s 1st birthday?

I think people take the first birthday party for granted, no your LO won’t remember much or any at all so you really shouldn’t spend hundreds of dollars, but it is a special day for the parent’s and the family and when they get older they will get to hear those stories, and those memories, and see those pictures. You don’t have to throw a big party or buy lots of gifts for it to be special. When it turns into it being all about those things, it loses how special it is. Because it’s about them and how you treat them, 1 year old or 50. That day should be special.

Comment down below if you guys have any fun ideas, or what you have done for your LO’s first birthday!

Is your LO, TEETHING??

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Hello mommas, and/or dads! Is you baby teething and you aren’t sure what todo? No worry! Neither do have of us parents!

I have a almost 11 month old son, he started teething around six months and that’s defiantly when it was the worst. He was cutting teeth on the bottom and he was in some real pain. We tried everything, but he was still up all night crying.

Now all babies are not the same, so not every trick will work for your LO. But it never hurts to try. The first thing i got was the Nuby All Natural Teething Gel, it worked good. But it would only last for so long. After that i started to give him Infant Tylenol, and that helped a lot! But i didn’t want to be giving him Tylenol all day long, so I also bought The Nuby All Natural, Teething Tablets. These are also awesome, and you really can’t give them to much. They are easy to give the babies and they really do help.

My son never really liked teething rings a whole lot, but some babies love them. So defiantly try some of those. Leave them in the fridge for a couple hours, let them get cold and sometimes they will work wonders. We also bought a lot of teething toys with bumpy edges, those really helped us. He loved to naw on them, they really helped! I just don’t think my son was a fan of the cold. Haha.

And a scary part of teething, my son would not eat, i guess it hurt to suck on the bottle. So if your LO isn’t eating, don’t freak out. If they are old enough for baby food, spoon feed them that. That’s what we had todo. But if they aren’t just let them drink from the bottle as much as they will. Do not let your baby not eat, that is not healthy for them.

Pop-sickles and cold, yummy things they can suck on or chew on help a lot. It will distract them and also numb the pain. We always have a pack of pop-sickles in the fridge just incase. It’s also smart to keep some pacifiers in the fridge or freezer for your LO to suck on. And honestly some babies don’t want a teether, or a pacifier. Sometimes my son just wanted to chew on something soft, a t-shirt, blanket, towel, etc. So maybe have one on standby as well.

Teething is no joke, for you or baby! And somethings may help and somethings may not. But please don’t let your LO, sit in pain. It WILL get better. Just remember they don’t want to keep you up all night, they don’t want to keep you from sleeping, they are just hurting and sometimes the only soothing thing is their momma. So make sure to hold your LO close and give them all the love possible!

My Pregnancy Symptoms? How well do you know your body?

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So ever since i found out i was pregnant, girls have come to me asking me how i knew i was pregnant and what todo to find out if you are. I’ve had a lot of people message me, with their pregnancy scares and weird symptoms they’ve experienced wanting to know if it could be pregnancy or not. I even had one young lady message me and ask me how to get pregnant.. Yes. I know. Unfortunately she got no reply.

I’ve never been one to judge or spread rumors. So i think i was someone that people felt they could trust with questions like that, which was cool. But it really showed me how so many young women, know little to nothing about their bodies. Or how our cycles work. Now, given everyone is different and we won’t all experience the same things with our bodies but i think understanding the possibilities is something we should all do.

When i found out i was pregnant, it wasn’t from me experiencing any symptoms or noticing anything different. It was because i knew that my period was a day late, and decided to take a test. A lot of my symptoms didn’t come a long until later. But like i said it’s different for everyone! So just knowing the simple early pregnancy symptoms could potentially help you or someone you know.

One of the biggest symptoms i experienced and is very common, is morning sickness. I was sick all day, every day. I lost so much weight and it couldn’t eat anything. It was honestly pretty awful. And then because i was so sick all the time, i was so tired. My body was so weak and tired. That’s where i would say fatigue, was my next noticeable symptom which is also a very common one. Followed by fatigue i got pretty bad headaches which can be another symptom, but i wear contacts and glasses so it could have been from those. I just remember having bad headaches all day. Another very common early pregnancy symptom, is sensitive breast and/or darkened areola. But, your breast can also become sore or sensitive when you are on your period. So keep that in mind.

A lot of people will say you won’t crave stuff until later on in the pregnancy but that isn’t always true. Right before i found out i was pregnant i was craving white rice and tomatoes. Which isn’t to weird for me because i love those foods, but it was pretty random. So random food cravings can be a symptom for pregnancy! Along side those weird food cravings, i had terrible heart burn. Now this only really occurred for me later on in my pregnancy but you can have heart burn in early pregnancy, so don’t count it out. And the symptom that will haunt you and irritate you for the next nine months and even after, is urinating more often. I know it’s silly, but it really is a symptom for early pregnancy!

Now there are so many more symptoms that women will experience, but i did not experience these during early pregnancy so i don’t have much to say about them. Like, spotting, constipation, bloating, etc. It really is an endless list, and it’s different for every woman. So if you feel off, and you think you may be having some of these symptoms as well as there being a chance you could be pregnant, don’t feel scared to take a pregnancy test or go to your doctor. Some woman experience symptoms right away and some don’t for weeks. And even if there’s no way you’re pregnant or are trying to get pregnant, it’s a least good to know the symptoms!

I know this wasn’t super detailed with information, so if you’re curious to know more definitely go check out some websites! “The Bump”, is a great pregnancy app/website i used through my whole pregnancy. Helping me keep track of how fast baby was growing as well as a place i could ask questions and look stuff up. Catching pregnancy early on is much better for you and baby, as well as catching anything such as a sickness, disease, etc. early. Be aware of your body and if something seems off don’t be afraid to check it out!

Schedule Or No Schedule?

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My day’s consist of 24/7 revolving around my son, when you become a parent you plan your day’s around your kids! So here is a vague description of my day to day routine with my 10 month old, that i pretty much allowed him to put together. Because it’s all on his time.

We wake up any where from 8-10 in the mornings depending on how well my son slept during the night. I always try to feed him breakfast, but some mornings he will just want to play and we end up having an early lunch instead. Some times ill give him pre-made baby food if were in a rush or i just don’t have the time to make him food. But i try to make my own baby food as much as i can.

I use a Baby Bullet and honestly i’m in love with it. It’s so awesome for letting my son try foods that wouldn’t normally be made into baby food at the store. If i’m cooking dinner and i want him to have some of whatever it is i’m cooking, it’ll take me a couple minutes to make it for him and he’s good to go. And i never have to worry about making to much because thanks to the Baby Bullet, it comes with all kinds of storing container that even have a changeable dates on them so i can keep up with how fresh the food is. It helps me keep a peace of mind as to what my son is eating, and also allowing me to have full control of constancy and amount!

After we eat, i normally just let him play. He’s at the age where he’s figured out he can get around and play, so he enjoys that and he will play hard. I separate time out of the day to get down on the floor and play with him, help him practice walking and just make sure that we have a good amount of time for just us throughout the day. Because it is very important to interact with your kids, It’s good to always have a strong bond with them. It will ultimately make having the bond between you two easier as they get older.

After a long day of playing he will take maybe two naps throughout the day depending on how busy our day is and i always try to get him out of the house, even if it’s just for five minutes. And then he gets a bath either at night, or in the morning before we start our day. It’s better at night because it makes them sleepy, but showers in the morning will have them smelling good all day haha.

Either way, i try to do everyday in a “routine” but it will change and vary each day. Shout out to the moms that do, have their babies on a schedule it can be hard to follow through every day. But also shout out to the mom’s who take the days as they come, you’re doing just as fine. Babies don’t always need that schedule, it’s good to just let them do what they do as it comes.

I think this can be hard for some moms, for the moms keeping their LOs on a schedule there’s no doubt that can be hard. And they never get the credit they deserve. And then for the mom’s who don’t follow a schedule can make you feel lazy or judge. There are so many things that mother’s do differently and it’s not fair to tell someone else the way they parent their children isn’t right. So be confident in how ever you parent, especially to all you new moms. Chances are, your gut is right. That motherly instinct will hardly ever fail you, so don’t worry what someone else says. Advice is awesome, but judgement is not tolerated.

NO, I didn’t take birth control!

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You weren’t on birth control?? Why didn’t you just take the birth control? Not taking birth control was a stupid decision.

A lot of things i often heard when i first found out i was pregnant. Not everyone will understand the reasons behind why someone makes the decisions they do, but the beauty in that, is the fact i don’t really care what you think because what i do doesn’t affect you.

Birth control is an awesome thing, and i think it should always be an option for any woman that wants it. But just because women are recommended to use it, doesn’t mean every woman wants to. And yes your doctors opinions and suggestions are super important and you should always consider them but no one knows your own body like you do. So do what is ultimately the best for you.

I started taking birth control when i was 13, because other than preventing pregnancy birth control has a lot of other benefits and can be used for many different purposes. From 13 till only a couple months ago, i have been on and off it countless times. One thing i’ve always noticed about birth control is it made me feel sick, physically i felt heavy or just not 100%. It also kept me in a bad mood, and on top of that did nothing for my periods. I’ve tried all kinds of different brands of BC, but nothing ever matched me. Because it’s hard to match that hormone level your body puts out as well as allowing or hoping your body reacts positively to the extra hormones and estrogen being put into your body every day.

Now i know a lot of girls live by birth control and that is awesome, i’m so happy that is an option for us. But i’m just not one of those people. When i found out i was pregnant never once did i wish i had been on birth control, because even with taking birth control there is still that 1% of getting pregnant. And that does and has happened to a lot of women before. If you lay down to have intercourse you have to acknowledge the fact there will aways be a chance you could get pregnant. So to lay down and do that, and sit there and think that could never happen to you is ignorant birth control or not.

Birth control isn’t always going to prevent a pregnancy, and Plan B pills don’t always work either. So it’s not smart to completely rely on that. So before you jump on someone who got pregnant and blame it on the fact they weren’t taking birth control, enlighten yourself on how often women get pregnant while on BC. Or just in general how one time can do it for you and next thing you know you’re pregnant.

Moral of this is, i hated the fact people told me i should of used birth control because i got pregnant as a teen. I hated that people knew nothing about my history with birth control, yet told me i was dumb for not using it. We live in a generation where so many people want woman to feel accepted and be able to make their own decisions. When almost all i got in response to me not using birth control, was that i was “stupid” or “immature”. Birth control, CAN be bad for some women. Birth control CAN hurt some women.

So no, BC isn’t always an option for women or maybe they don’t want it to be and that is fine!