My Motherhood Journey: Season 1

I’ve been a mom for exactly 2 years now so I definitely am NOT claiming to be an expert. AT ALL! I am however thankful that everything gets easier with time and practice. These past two years have taught me a million little things and my hope is by starting this series on my journey into motherhood your life will become a little easier!

I can’t think of anything in my life that has been more overwhelming to me than becoming a mom. Between the pregnancy, shower registry, birth plans, hospital packing list and newborn stage…there are SO many decisions to make. When I was pregnant the first time I felt so overwhelmed by all the decisions facing us. My hope is this series will give you ideas to make these big life changes just a tad bit easier.

My mom journey began two years ago, like I mentioned, when we found out we were expecting our sweet baby girl Emma. I was sick almost immediately…like at 3 weeks…and the entire pregnancy was super challenging for me. She was born on February 20, 2019 and I’m excited to share more details about her birth in another post. We found out we were expecting our 2nd baby on New Years Eve! I felt a little “funny” and decided to take a pregnancy test on a whim! We were surprised and ecstatic to realize we were expecting a little BOY in August…and that I was already 10 weeks along. Luckily, this pregnancy has been a lot easier from the start. One of the biggest reasons this pregnancy seems less stressful is because everything’s done…We have all the stuff, we know what to expect and I feel SO much more prepared this time around. Eli Joseph is due on August 13th, so we will see what happens in just a few weeks!

I’m one of those crazy research people that have to read a million reviews and look at least 10 pages of products before making a decision!! I’ve been very happy with the products we used for Emma and I’m excited to use them again for Eli!

Pregnancy Sickness:
There’s nothing I can say to you if you’re in the trenches of the first trimester…it sucks really bad unless you’re one of those beautiful angels that never gets sick! Unfortunately for me, I’m not one of those! 😂 I was sick all day, every day until about week 18 for Emma. This time I was not violently sick…just nauseous until week 18 or so and then I felt a lot better!

A few things that gave me relief are listed below. I pray they help you through this hard time…I promise it’ll be worth it…even though right now it may be hard to believe that.

1. Eat protein every 2-3 hours. I really can’t think of anything more important even though it’s the LAST thing I felt like doing. Dark chocolate almonds or a granola bar are my go to snacks because they were the easiest to get down. If you wait too long between protein snacks you’re going to “crash” and feel 10x more nauseated!

These almonds are my favorite because they are not very sweet but don’t feel gross either. I’m not a big fan of nuts…or healthy snacks in general!

Find my favorite almonds HERE!

2. Hard Candies. Sucking on cinnamon hard candy really helped me combat nausea—I get mine at a local store from someone who makes them but I think any strong cinnamon candy would work!

3. Ginger Products. Ginger ale really helped nausea for Emma…not so much this time but it’s worth a try if you’re struggling! Lots of people have recommended ginger snaps to me also as being a lifesaver.

4. Medicine works. If you feel like you can’t function and live your life, medication is definitely a relief. My doctor prescribed me medication both times and I don’t know how I could’ve functioned without it for Emma! I probably only took it 2-3 times for Eli.

My experience has been that pregnancy is just hard. I won’t sugarcoat it…these 9 months have been the hardest months of my life for sure (both times! lol) But the rewards are so sweet and it’s definitely worth it.

Although, for me personally, that’s a lot easier to focus on during this pregnancy than my first one. Emma reminds me every day how worth it this is going to be. During my pregnancy with her, I was so overwhelmed, hormonal, scared and terrified of the millions of changes coming our way that it was hard to focus on the joy. I was seriously worried that I wasn’t going to like being a mom…or that she wasn’t going to like me! It seems so crazy to say those words now…I can’t imagine loving a tiny human more…but those were very real fears that I had before she was born!

If you’re in this season of life and feeling super overwhelmed, just know that YOU are not ALONE. You’re not crazy for feeling this way (let’s face it, the hormones are out of control) and life is going to find a new normal that is so much better than what it used to be!

Here are a few of my favorite pregnancy products that have made life just a little bit easier. After reading hundreds of reviews and trying different brands I’ve finally found what works best for me! I hope you love these products as much as I do!

Belly Butter: Stretch marks are a real thing. I’ve seen their mark on mom friends and decided to do the only possible thing I can…moisturize and help the skin stretch! I love the way this lotion feels + smells. It lasts forever and after using last time I only had one tiny tiny stretch mark.

Find my favorite HERE!

Maternity Tights: These tights from Motherhood Maternity are my absolute favorites. I live in them most days…seriously! They are super soft like pjs and I love the belly band! I was able to get a ton of them on sale and they are great after baby also for that postpartum belly.

HERE they are…and they’re on sale!

Icy Hot Packs: I’ve struggled a ton during both pregnancies with sciatic nerve pain. It’s very painful and hard to get relief from…especially during weddings or long days on my feet! A lightbulb finally went off in my brain to try icy hot patches. They work miraculously well…like everything goes NUMB for several hours. It’s amazing relief!!! If you have back pain or any sort of joint pain this should work for you. Obviously it’s not a cure…but sometimes those few hours of relief are golden.

This is a huge pack from amazon…it’s lasting me forever! Get yours HERE.

Pregnancy Pillow: My last pregnancy I refused to buy an enormous, chunky pillow that I would have to store in my closet for the rest of my life. Bad choice. I bought a pillow about a week after finding out we were expecting Eli and it is the. best. thing. EVER. I’m only sorry I didn’t buy this thing sooner! It’s super comfy and supports my back and legs perfectly. I have had indigestion throughout both pregnancies which prevents me from lying down flat at night…at all! This pillow helps me sleep semi sitting up but keeps me comfy. It doesn’t feel like a chore with this pillow!

The one I tried is HERE!

Red Rasberry Tea: This tip was recommended to me during our birth class. There’s tons of people that have shared how this tea has made a huge difference for them! I don’t have anything to compare it to, because I used it for the only birth I ever experienced. I also didn’t have any issues, so I’m definitely doing it a second time! Red rasberry herbal tea reduces bleeding…the idea is that drinking a glass of this tea once a day from around week 20ish on will greatly reduce loss of blood during and after birth. My doctor agreed I didn’t have to use any Pitocin after birth to contract my uterus… if I didn’t bleed more than she was comfortable—and I ended up not needing any Pitocin which I was excited about! This tea honestly tastes really good so drinking isn’t a hardship for me.

This bag lasts FOREVER and is much cheaper than the tea bags!

Find it HERE!

If you have a favorite pregnancy product, please comment below so I can try it out! Always looking for something better to make these 9 months a little easier (and faster!).

Good luck, momma…you’ve got this!