What to Expect

I am fully guilty of running to google far to many times, especially when I was pregnant or when looking for advice as a new mom.  I remember both my fertility doctor and my obgyn telling me that if I had a question or concern to not look it up on the internet but to call them instead.  It's so tempting to search online, but there is so much information out there and you can find anything to validate something you're nervous about, and easily go down a path of finding scary information, and I'm sure often either not true or incredibly rare.  
At my first appointment with my obgyn when I was pregnant, the nurse gave me the book What to Expect When You're Expecting.  It was so helpful to have a book that contained a ton of information and that was reliable.  What to Expect When You're Expecting is a long-time running book on the New York Times best selling list and is the bestselling pregnancy book, recommended by doctors and moms alike.   It was the only pregnancy book that I read in it's entirety and looked back at in multiple times.  I think this book is a must read book for any pregnant mama!  

I was given the book What to Expect the First Year and it too was super helpful.  It is separated by months so it was nice to read about whatever month Addilyn was in and then a month or two ahead to know what to expect.  There is also a huge glossary in the back where you can look up things like sicknesses, sleep issues, postpartum experiences and just about anything you can think of.  
I didn't know until recently that there was a What to Expect the Second Year, and I have about a month left where we fit into that category!  I like that this one isn't set up by months, because every kid develops at different rates and hits milestones at different times.  There's different chapters that cover topics like sleeping, behavior and talking.  It has a section at the beginning that says "at ___ many months, most toddlers can _____, half of toddlers can _____, some toddlers may be able to ____."  It nice to be able to look as see where your child is and what things you might want to work on as they get older. 

I like there is SO much information out there when you are pregnant and when you are a mom.  It can be extremely overwhelming and can take some of the joy out of being pregnant or being a mom, when you're so consumed with conflicting information and opinions.  I loved having a book that was informative, easy to read and a reliable source to have as I navigated pregnancy and the early stages of motherhood.  I know if I'm pregnant again I'll be using these books for sure!  And I think they should make one for the third year because toddlers? That is some unknown, wild territory for sure!
  I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Mom Fail

I know I am not alone, but five months into motherhood and I've had my share of mommy fail moments. Like the first time Addilyn cried a real hurt cry was because I jammed my finger in her mouth when I was getting her dressed and she turned her head really fast.  Or the time (or two) that I locked her in my car.  
I know I am not alone in my imperfect mom moments, but it's impossible to not feel a little bit of guilt in those situations.  
One of the first stressful failing mom moments I had was when we went to our first fancier event as a family of three. We were going to Chris' cousins wedding when Addilyn was about two months.  I of course had been out many times and to many places, but this was our first "big" event and the longest we were gone for, plus we were about forty five minutes from home.   It took us much longer to get ready, but that I was prepared for and we got there on time.  It was a little cold and rainy so Chris dropped me off at the front door with Addilyn and met us inside.  When he came inside without the diaper bag I sent him back to the car to get it, and to our complete disappointment we realized we didn't have it.  No diapers, wipes, toys, blankets, nursing cover, burp cloth or sweater for Addilyn who was dressed in a sleeveless dress.  
Major mom fail. 
I of course cried because I pictured having Addilyn in the same diaper for seven hours, with spit up all over her and me having to nurse with my non-nursing friendly dress in front a million people. Post partum hormones added to my feelings of course.   With no time to go home, thank goodness there was a CVS down the street where Chris ran there quickly and bought a pack of diapers, wipes and some wash clothes for burp clothes and our evening ended up being just fine.  Addilyn had no clue that we were completely unprepared.  With the holidays here it is really easy for me to stress out about the littlest things and having a baby definitely makes coordinating, planning and being prepared a whole lot harder.  It's a good thing we're surrounded by stores like CVS so that I know if I ever forget our diaper bag with everything we need in it again, I don't have to panic quite as much.  

Thankfully with diapers like Pampers I know that Addilyn's cute Christmas outfits are protected from diaper leaks and blow outs.  Plus my favorite thing is that their diapers have the little indicator line on them that turns blue when they are full so you don't waste diapers changing them before you need too. 
Being laid back and relaxing are far from second nature to me, so it's probably a good thing for me to learn that things like forgetting our diaper are far from catastrophes. 
Going into this holiday week I'm going to do my best to have our diaper bag full of quality diapers and wipes like Pampers, but am going to remember that I'm bound to forget something and a quick trip to a CVS and making due with what we have will get us through just fine!

Want to win a box of free diapers and wipes for your baby? Enter the giveaway below:

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Winner will be contacted at the end of the week and will be mailed a coupon for a free box of diapers and free box of wipes.  Thank you for entering!

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.