My advice to a first time mom...

Lately, all this natural parenting advice has been all over the place. I love all this new information but honestly, it scares the crap out of me! One of my friends posted a Facebook status about how worried she was to get her daughter's 2 month shots. I guess people have the choice to not get all the shots that are suggested at a certain age all at the same time? I probably sound super naive, but I'm a first time mom and I am just going with the flow. Anyway, some children have horrible reactions when they have to get 3 or 4 shots at a time so parents are choosing to spread the shots out. I had no idea you could do this?! I was blown out of the water! Granted, I'm not sure what the "rules" are when it comes to putting your child in daycare because I think certain shots are required since the child is going to be around other children, but regardless, I think it's pretty cool that you can do that. My son has never had a bad reaction to the shots so I don't know if I would do it differently the next time.

I guess I just get really flustered when I hear all this natural parenting stuff. I love the idea of cloth diapers and really want to use them when we have another baby. There is just SO much information and SO many opinions that it's hard to figure out what is best for you and your baby. One HUGE topic these days is breastfeeding. I breastfed for about 2 months or so. After I had my son I had about 3 months until my wedding. And I started my last semester of classes. Some would say this is an excuse, but I was a little overwhelmed. I had tons of appointments to go to where I just didn't have the time to nurse so formula just ended up being a better fit. I had NO education on nursing and ZERO support so I struggled a lot. I would say 95% of the information I got was off the Internet. I pumped for a couple weeks before I stopped completely. I had such a hard time quitting. I would cry and cry about the thought of stopping. It was miserable. It would take me an entire day of pumping to get enough for one feeding, but yet, I still couldn't bring myself to quit. Now, when I look back on how much I struggled, I realize I wasted so much energy on it. When the next baby comes around I cannot wait to tackle the whole nursing thing head on. From what I've learned from friends is that breastfeeding is a lot easier when you have a support system. I plan on joining a group either at the hospital or online, or both.

The hardest thing for me to accept as a first time mom, a working mom, and a (somewhat) young mom, is that you cannot listen to EVERYTHING someone says. Yes, take in what they say, but know in the back of your mind that it might not work for you and your baby, but then again it might. That is the hardest thing to remember. You will find what works for you and your child. Some people have extremely long nights where their baby never sleeps, and then some people, like me, have a baby who sleeps through the night at 6 weeks. You will hear tons of people that say to never give your baby a pacifier or to let your baby cry it out or to not let your baby cry it out. You might hear from someone that you shouldn't introduce solids until 6 months instead of 4 or wait until 9 months. There are so many opinions and everyone has a different idea. People might say that when your baby becomes a year old they can face forward in their car seat, even though it's recommended that they rear-face longer than a year. If it worked for their child, it might not work for yours. Just remember to not get all caught up in what everyone is doing. Try it out and if it doesn't work, don't put yourself down. You and your baby will be fine.

The best advice I have: Do what you want to do, relax, and ENJOY every single second, because each day your baby will be different than he was the day before. Cherish every breath, every tear, every smile, every giggle. Just LIVE.

**note** I am still pretty clueless about a lot of all these natural parenting ideas so I am open to hear any tips, advice, information that is out there! Feel free to share your experiences please! I would love love love to hear them!  :)

I wonder who I would be....

I wonder who I would be if I had never became a mom. I'm sure I wouldn't be so pale as I am now. I would probably have more time to stop by the tanning salon. My hair probably wouldn't have as many split ends. I tend to lose track of the last time I got my haircut these days. My eyebrows probably wouldn't look like caterpillars because I would probably remember to get them waxed on a regular basis. So basically I would probably look more put together than I do now. I would probably be that girl that wears all name brand clothes because I would have money to spend on them. Instead now, I use all that money to buy diapers and wipes and baby food. I would probably be the girl that could meet her friends out for a drink after work, but instead I'm giving my baby a bath and reading bed time stories and singing my baby to sleep. I would probably be more rested and not have dark circles under my eyes from waking up at 3am to play with a baby that did not want to go back to bed. My house would definitely be more put together. The clothes would be folded and put away, instead of sitting in the laundry basket, there wouldn't be dishes in the sink, dinner would always be ready at the same time every night. Instead I'm having to make sure my baby isn't playing in the toilet water or pulling forks and spoons out of the dishwasher or dragging pots and pans out of the cabinets. If I had never became a mom I would probably be a little bit skinner and would have more time to workout and run instead of catching up on sleep. If I had never became a mom I would never fully understand how precious life is. I would never know how fast time flies. I would never learn that being a mom is the hardest, yet most rewarding job a person can ever have. If I had never became a mom I would have never found out who I really am or who my husband really is. If I had never became a mom I would have never learned who my true friends are or how much family really means to me. If I had never became a mom I would never fully comprehend how much it can actually hurt YOU to see someone you love, especially your own child, cry and be in pain, and that you would do anything in the entire world to take that pain away. I would have never learned that when he is hurt, it probably hurts me more than him. If I had never became a mom I would never understand the true meaning of a mother's love. I would have never learned how hard it actually was for my mother to do what she did. If I had never became a mom I would not be as happy as I am today. I would be a woman who had no purpose, no direction. I would be lonely and I would be missing out on something way better than working hard, working out, being tan, and being successful. Sure, it's great to be those things, and you can do all those things while being a mom, but the women that choose not to be a mom or think that they won't accomplish their bucket list if they become a mom, have no idea what they are missing out on. They would probably say I don't know what I am missing out on because I am a mom and all the sacrifices I have to make. The thing is however, is that I have the best of both worlds. I can do all the things that they are doing AND be a mom. I can have dreams and goals and a huge bucket list. I don't need to complete a bucket list before I can be a mom. People that believe that think their life is "over" when they have a child. To me...my life has just begun.

Being a Mom

Every mom knows that being a mother is one of the hardest and rewarding jobs in the world. Every day is a blessing and it's hard to believe how much work goes into each day. I feel like I have a different choice to make regarding my son on a daily basis and as a first time mom it is very hard to know if you are making the right one. At the end of the day if my son is happy and content then I think I've done my job as a mother. A mother can never love too much. Some days seem longer than others and it seems as though the hours just drag and drag, but the weeks go fast and I think the years will even go faster. I think back to when Hunter was a newborn and I honestly do not know how I did it. I felt clueless on what to do and I'm not sure I even knew the right thing to do, but it's so true that your motherly instinct just kicks in. You just KNOW what to do and what is best for your child. Sure, there are times you have no idea what to do if you can't get rid of his diaper rash after slathering on Desitin or why he's crying at 2 in the morning and won't go back to sleep, but eventually, everything falls into place. Every day is a new lesson for me. I learn new strategies daily on what works best for my son. I've learned that he rubs his eyes when he gets tired and wants to go to sleep, or he'll cry if he's hungry, or he'll lift up his arms to you if he wants you to pick him up. When I smile, he smiles and when I laugh, he wants to laugh with me. The thing about motherhood is there is always someone out there that thinks they know what's best for YOUR child. There are lots of tips and advice that I have used and I found it comforting to hear what other mom's did and have gone through. It's hard to know what's right or wrong, but at the end of the day if your baby is happy, loved, and has a full tummy, I think you're doing your job. I've learned that while I'm taking care of him, he's taking care of me too, and he doesn't even know it.