Fun Christmas Traditions with Gymboree

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Gymboree. All opinions are my own. Please visit my disclaimer page for more information.

I’m sure you’ve done it too. From about the time I was 15, until I was 22, every holiday season the words “it just doesn’t feel like Christmas!” would escape my mouth. As I got older that magical, wonderful feeling just started to fade away and I started seeing the holidays in a different way: Stressful.

There are rooms to decorate, a tree to chop down, presents to buy, malls to navigate, cookies to bake, and oh so much more. As a teenager and young adult I started to feel the pressure of the holidays more and more and it just not longer felt like Christmas.

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Dealing With Dog Anxiety- Part 2

 

There are few things more heartbreaking than a fur baby in distress. Because our pets don’t speak english, they cannot communicate their fears to us, and we cannot communicate words of comfort and affirmation that everything will be alright.

When Bennett gets anxious, we can usually calm him. Using soothing tones, giving gentle pets and belly rubs, avoiding loud noises, etc. But we can’t be there every second of every day to soothe him, and when we’re driving we can’t have him freaking out with our kids in the backseat. We needed assistance to calm Bennett when we physically could not. I always thought we were alone in our struggle with an anxious dog. I didn’t even realize there were so may other people out there dealing with their pet’s anxiety until I wrote my last post on it (read that here), but it turns out – lots of dogs experience anxiety. In fact, 75 million dogs will experience anxiety at some point, 55 million are afraid of loud noises, and 24 million have anxiety issues.

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Disneyland While Pregnant

Call me crazy, but I did it back in May.

I went to Disneyland when I was 27 weeks pregnant with Oliver. And I actually had a pretty great time.

I’m not superwoman or anything, at the end of the day my feet were screaming and my back hurt so badly I couldn’t stand up straight, but I made it, I made it to the end of the day!

I took a lot of precautions to make sure I could survive the day that I want to share with you

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The Babywearing Guide: Our Day at the Zoo with The LÍllébaby Complete All Seasons

Disclaimer: This post is in collaboration with LÍllébaby. All opinions are my own. Please visit my Disclaimer Page for more information. 

We went to the zoo with the boys yesterday and had a fabulous time! Sawyer is starting to get old enough to where he really appreciates and is excited about experiences like that. The whole ride there he kept saying “I’m going to see animals!” over and over. It was so cute!

I knew Oliver wasn’t going to want to be in the stroller the whole time because we were going to be there for quite a few hours. So, I elected to wear him in my LÍllébaby Complete All Seasons carrier.

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Sleep Tips For Newborns

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Nested Bean. All opinions are my own. Please visit my disclaimer page for more information.

Don’t hate me, but both of my boys slept through the night by 6 weeks old! Sawyer still went through the typical sleep regression at 4 months. Then again at 9 months. And then again at one year. And he’s not sleeping super great right now at 2.5, so it hasn’t all been rainbows and ponies. But they were both sleeping through the night (in between regression periods) by 6 weeks!

And it’s not because my kids are super amazing and I am super lucky to be blessed with angels from heaven, it’s because I put in hard work to get them on a schedule from birth to ensure better sleep.

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Failure to Thrive

 

 

I had both my babies prematurely, every pregnant woman’s worst nightmare.
Premature babies are a whole different ball game. They grow and hit milestones on a different timeline, the have to be closely monitored their whole first year of life, they need physical therapies, evaluations, and more. Being a preemie Mama is exhausting.
I’ve breastfed both of  my babies, rather unsuccessfully.
I’ve always been able to fix any supply issues, both babies learned to latch okay, and pumping went as well as it could have, neither of my kids have gained weight they way they should have, and it was devastating. This means seeing the doctor every 2 weeks for weight checks, trying different medications, doing stool and blood tests, etc. If you want your heart to shatter into a million pieces, just watch your 4 month old get blood drawn.

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Your Pets Get Anxious Too

 

We’ve had Bennett for 3 years now.

When we rescued him, we got almost zero information about his previous owners. We have no idea what went on the first 18 months of his life.

Which means we have no idea what causes his almost crippling separation anxiety.

But it’s there, and it’s bad.

When we adopted him, they warned us he was very hyper, so we were prepared for that, but it felt like so much more.

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Little Colorado Toddler Furniture

Disclaimer: This post is in collaboration with Little Colorado. All opinions are my own. Please visit my disclaimer page for more information.

Toys.

Toys everywhere.

Do any other parents feel like their home has been taken over by toys? I’m constantly feeling this way. They’re everywhere and yet, he only plays with like…5 of them consistently (and they’re all Lightning McQueens).

I’ve wanted to get a big toy box for ages but couldn’t find one that was classic enough. They were all giant and plastic. I wanted something that would last through multiple kids and not show wear and tear.

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Giving Parents Peace of Mind with Owlet

Disclaimer: This post is in collaboration with Owlet. All opinions are my own. Visit my disclaimer page for more information.

When I was a first time mom, I was a wreck. The day we brought Sawyer home from the hospital, a friend of mine on Facebook shared an article about SIDS.

I read it, and then I didn’t sleep for weeks.

The fact that babies can just die in their sleep overwhelmed me, as I’m sure it does most parents. Thinking about waking up to him being gone for no reason was just way too much to bear. Sawyer was actually sleeping rather well for a newborn, but I wasn’t sleeping at all.

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The Postpartum Body Shamer

 

There’s a new voice in my head, ever since I had children.

She criticizes my every move. She tells me I’m not as pretty as I once was. That I’ve let myself go. She tells me that my stomach will never be flat and I’ll never wear a swimsuit again. She tells me that my hair will never grow back from multiple postpartum hair losses and I’ll need extensions forever.

She tells me that I’ll never lose the baby weight. That everyone is looking at me. That everyone is pitying me. That everyone thinks about how pretty I used to be, and how sad it is that I changed so much through pregnancy. She tells me that everyone is probably staring at my stretch marks. She tells me my hips are too wide, my arms are too flabby, and my legs will never be toned again.

She sounds just like me, but she’s so much meaner.

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