Motherhood Archives - Page 3 of 6

Five Nursery Essentials For Nervous New Moms

August 22, 2016 By Lauren

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #PrepTheNest #CollectiveBias

There must be a million posts out there with lists of what to buy before baby comes, and I think I read and pinned every single one of those nursery essentials posts in the months before our little boy arrived. As a first-time mom, my mind was spinning with anxieties and fears about my abilities to care for a tiny human around the clock and I grabbed on to any shred of advice I could find to better prepare myself.

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Caleb’s Five Month Update

July 25, 2016 By Lauren

At this point, I can say with confidence that this whole parenting thing just keeps getting better and better. I love watching Caleb’s personality unfold and our days with him bring us so much joy. Jordan has been home for summer break and it has been so fun to spend our days hanging out as a little family. He goes back to work in a few weeks and boy oh boy will we miss him!

Due to a scheduling miscommunication, we still haven’t had our four month checkup (gosh darn pediatrician) but it’s on the calendar soon. Based on some math using a home scale, little man is weighing just above 14 pounds and seeming longer and leaner by the day (minus a couple cute thigh rolls/wrinkles). He’s getting so much more active and interactive and these last few weeks have been SO much fun!

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Caleb’s Four Month Update

June 28, 2016 By Lauren

Yesterday marked four months since Caleb made us parents and these four months have been such a joy! He seems so much more like a little person than a newborn these days and I couldn’t be more grateful for all the time we’re getting to spend with him since Jordan’s home for summer break. I love writing these updates because they give me time to reflect on all the way little man has changed over the last month and I know I’ll cherish reading them down the road!

The Numbers

I haven’t had him officially weighed in a while, so I don’t have an actual update on this, but can I just say he seems HUGE to us? Every time I pick him up I swear he gets a little bit chunkier. His arms and cheeks continue to fill out and I love when I get to see his sweet, soft little belly! We have started switching him to 3-6 months clothes, even though he still wears some 0-3 stuff. I remember thinking those clothes looked so big and it’s crazy that they are what fits him now!

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Seven Things I Wish I’d Known About The Newborn Stage

June 21, 2016 By Lauren

As a first time mom, everything is new to me. Sure, I’ve held a few babies in my day and even worked in the infant room of a daycare for a summer, but I still have a heck of a lot to figure out when it comes to caring for a baby nugget 24/7. I learned SO much in those first few months about everything from newborn sleep patterns, breastfeeding, and so much more. Some it might be specific just to our little guy, but if I could go back and tell myself a few important lessons on Day One, these are the things I’d want myself to know.

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How I’m Fighting The Pressure To Be Productive

June 7, 2016 By Lauren

We’re coming up on almost four months since our son was born, and for the first time, I feel like we’re starting to have a bit of a routine. Caleb’s getting more consistent in his naps (even if they are just 45-50 minutes long) and my weeks are starting to follow a bit more predictable pattern. This is what I’ve been craving for so long, but this week I started to notice something a little strange in my heart: a frenzied desire to get things done.

Whenever Caleb went down for a nap, I found my mind spinning with ideas of how I should use that 45 minutes. I’d open up my computer and try to find something to do that felt purposeful, something that made me feel productive and useful and busy.

I couldn’t point to one specific reason why I feel this urge to be productive, but it is deeply engrained in who I am. Somewhere along the way I started believing that the worth of a day is measured in how many items I can cross of my to-do list.

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Four Ways To Celebrate A New Dad

May 31, 2016 By Lauren

Thank you Snapfish for sponsoring this post! Make this Father’s Day extra special with personalized photo gifts from Snapfish.

I have written a whole lot in this space about my transition into motherhood and all the ways it continues to challenge me and bring me joy. Being a mom is beautiful and impossibly hard at the same time and I always want to be honest about that. But as I look back over my posts, I’m realizing that I’m forgetting to honor someone incredibly important: my husband.

Jordan has transitioned into his role as a dad with grace, joy, and humility. He encourages me, makes me laugh, and affirms me in a million ways I didn’t even know I needed as I’ve become a mom, and I don’t know how I could do it without him.

Dads like my husband are worth celebrating every day, but with Father’s Day around the corner, today I’m sharing four of my favorite ways to honor what my husband brings to our family in his new role as Daddy.

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Caleb’s Three Month Update

May 26, 2016 By Lauren

It’s been three months since our handsome guy made his grand entrance into the world (you can check out his birth story HERE!) and this past month has been so, so fun. He’s becoming more of a little person and less of a newborn and we’ve loved seeing his personality unfold!

The Numbers

He hasn’t been weighed in a week or two, but our little chunk is clocking in right above 12 lbs and measuring about 22 inches long! It’s crazy that he’s almost doubled his weight in three months. Can you imagine if adults did that? He’s starting to look so much more like a little person and I can see a huge difference when I look at pictures from the first week compared to now. His little body is filling out and getting so squishy and sweet and I love that he is growing healthy and strong!

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A Three-Year Anniversary Letter To My Husband

May 23, 2016 By Lauren

My Dear Hubby,

This weekend marks three years of marriage and 5.5 years of dating and that feels so surreal. Remember back when we were two college kids, making milkshakes at a Young Life camp and dreaming about what life would hold after graduation?

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Seven Things I Want My Daughters To Know

May 16, 2016 By Lauren

Today’s post is by my friend Jessica, a sweet mama whose heart to love on her daughters and everyone she meets is beautiful. She shared about her journey with her youngest daughter in a Womanly Wednesday post a few months back, so make sure to check that out if you love her as much as I do and want to hear more!

I’ve been thinking a lot about legacies lately. A few weeks back, my large, loud, and absolutely wonderful family lost a member when my Uncle Pete passed away. In the days that followed, I couldn’t stop thinking about the legacy that my grandparents left behind. My dad’s parents both died young leaving 8 children and several grandchildren.

Over the years, those numbers have grown to a group of over 70 when we include spouses. Typically, after losing parents, it seems like siblings end up kind of drifting apart. In the instance of my family though, it seems to have brought them even closer together and it all boils down to the legacy of love that my grandparents left behind.

While thinking about legacies, I began wondering what I want my legacy as a parent to be. Not only do I want it to be one of love, but also of joy. I want my children, and hopefully grandchildren, to someday look back on memories of me with nothing but smiles on their faces and love in their heart. So here is an open letter to them with a recipe for a life filled with joy.

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Why I Am Overjoyed And Terrified To Be A Stay At Home Mom

May 2, 2016 By Lauren

As the weeks pass by in my maternity leave, I’ve started to get an understandable question from many people: “Are you going back to work?”

Since my heart for this blog (and life in general) is to be honest about the joys and the struggles we all experience, I think it’s time I finally give my answer to that question: I will NOT be returning to work and will be spending my days at home with our kids (both present and future).