Pregnancy Skincare Must Haves

Congratulations on your pregnancy mama! It is a wonderful time of your life when you experience a lot of changes, both physical and emotional. With Ava my skin was really good until after birth. Here are a few things you may experience.

When it comes to your skin, you may notices such as breakouts, stretch marks, and dryness. If you're a part of the lucky bunch who haven't experienced this... how do you like being God's favourite LOL. I'm joking...

Kindergarten Checklist

I can’t Believe I’m writing this. Ava is in Kindergarten. Yeah. I know. Time FLIES! I can’t believe some of you have been around since 2009 when I was still in college. So much Life and time has passed. I’m so grateful for all of you. 

Let me stop being sentimental for a bit!

Decluttering 101: Tips for New Moms

As a first time mom, I accumulated a lot of stuff. A lot of gifts - mixed in with a few purchases. Now that Ava Rose is almost two. We decided to get rid of half of the stuff and keep the best ones for baby #2 *Whenever we are ready for that* 

When it comes to decluttering your space, there is honestly no right or wrong way to go about it. Everyone has their own routine that works for them but for someone like me who is extremely sentimental... it takes forever for me to start. Best outlook to have - It all comes down to simplicity and minimizing unnecessary things in your space!

The Best Way to Introduce Food to a Picky Child

I am not sure if your kids are like mine! They love to eat pizza, chicken nuggets and tater tots all the time! Those are mom’s quick go-to’s on those long days of working and juggling motherhood. But, seriously kids are picky they hate veggies and anything that has texture! It feels like mission impossible at times.

So what do you do?

Get creative! That’s what you do… super creative in the nutrition world for kids!

Life Update + Tips for Choosing Child Care

A while back I wrote a blog post about being a Self Employed/Entrepreneur Mom and Working from Home with a Baby. I’ve never knew how much love that would get. As fun as it was having her at home (seven days a week with me)- I know that she was getting bored and it was requiring me to take a lot of time out of my schedule to play/entertain her. Which is fine some days BUT when you have deadlines!! Not ideal. I always felt horrible having to have the TV on in the background at times.

After extensive research and moving houses- I decided to get "help". Making sure that she was with the best care. How extensive are we speaking? I mean going to four of the best day cares in my city within 48 hours. Which was insane but literally allowed me to compare them with fresh eyes. We decided on one which was completely out of my traditional ideas of a daycare but she loves it.

HOW did I do it?

Self Employed/Entrepreneur Mom: Working from Home with a Baby

Deciding go back to work and not take a full mat leave was a hard decision. I started working "again" when Ava Rose was four months. FYI- I took two months off to prep. Let me reiterate that this is one of the hardest things that I have done BECAUSE I also decided to go to school part-time as well. Looking back on it- it was extremely WILD but I had to do it. 

Why did I go back? 
Living on one income can be tricky because you honestly have to cut back on a lot and I'm spoiled. Well I'm used to doing what I want/when I want. Having to look into my resources to do things I wanted/ having to possibly not do it. NOPE. Not the life for me.

My support system: My family/mostly my mom dedicated a good amount of time a week to come and watch Ava while I caught up on sleep/school work/emails. My brother would come and watch the baby during my classes. This is in addition to help from my husband/dad of course. 

Natural Teething Remedies For Babies

A few mornings ago Ava woke up at 5:30am. Most the time (when she wakes up early) we give her a pacifier and she’ll go right back to bed. But this totally was not the case.

Is there anything more heartbreaking then a teething baby? We feed them, we diaper them, we care for them but try as we might, it seems like there is nothing we can do to relieve the pain of their new teeth coming in.

Trying out Aleva Naturals

Have you heard of Aleva Naturals? 

I’m no stranger to the brand. I actually received a massive box of their wipes from my BabiesRUs registry. It honestly helped me get through the first two months of life with baby Ava. A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to try out a few other products from the line.

The line is ideal for moms like me who don't want to use any products which might be an allergen on their children. From the very beginning I knew that I only wanted to use mostly Vegan brands on Ava.

Aleva Naturals is...

• Vegan
• Hypoallergenic
• Paraben Free
• Phenoxyethanol Free
• Toxin Free
• Harsh Chemicals Free

First Time Mom Must Haves- Four to Six Months

Oh my! How behind are we?!? I apologize. So much has been going on! I have been in school, working and taking care of the baby. Plus being wife! Can’t forget that one. I legit have no time for anything but that needs to change. This is the update from her being four months to six months old. 

UPDATE:

• She can say dada. 
• She’s been saying that since she was four months old. 
• She loves to roll back-and-forth.
• She’s working on sitting up without any assistance. 
• She’s good at doing it for a few seconds and then she gets excited and wants the clap but doesn’t have any balance to do so. So she ends up falling over. 
• She also loves singing and dancing. 

Baby: Hospital bag must haves

Say goodbye to the days where everything is provided to you in the hospital. (Some) Hospitals provide you with the bare minimum in terms of amenities. You get a bed, washroom and staff that will assist you with getting your bundle of joy out. But did you know that it was your responsibility to bring things like extra linens and pillows to stay comfortable. I totally did NOT!

Here are a few things that you should not forget to pack in your hospital bag for labour.

buybuy BABY: Breast Pumping Essentials

This post is in partnership with buybuy BABY. All opinions here are my own.
Making the decision to incorporate pumping into your daily life is a tricky one. I applaud moms who are exclusive pumpers. Which means that they pump around six-eight times a day. I pump about four times a day (on a good day) and I feel like I am tied to my machine...but I will do anything for my little baby.

If you're a first time mom and interesting in pumping essentials- you have found the right post!

All of these products can be found at buybuy Baby. If you have any questions: One of their staff members can explain each product to you. They can also let you know what would work for your unique lifestyle before you have your baby. You can even put it on your registry!

UPDATE: She's here + Best advice for surviving your first month of motherhood

She’s here! I’m so excited! She’s absolutely beautiful! Everything I could’ve ever wanted and more. I’m not sure if I’m ever going to talk about my birth story. It didn’t go the way I wanted it to go. But there are more things to celebrate....Like a healthy happy and beautiful baby girl. One that smiles and kicks every morning. Ugh she’s so perfect!

One thing I will tell you if you are having your first child is that a STRONG support system is very important. In the delivery room, I was able to have my mom and my husband for moral support. ***I know some hospitals do not allow you to have more than one support person*... but if you can add people who will encourage and help you make decisions- I would do it. Now after it’s all said and done- it’s really important to lineup the proper AFTERCARE for at least a month. 

Five Babymoon Essentials

I’m not gonna lie when you’re pregnant you kinda have your own system going on. You know what you can eat, you know what smells you can tolerate and  what products you need to get you through the day. Without one... a meltdown can occur! Trust me.. I can attest to it!

If you follow me on Instagram you will see that I went on a babymoon to Viamede Resorts (located in North Kawartha). It was the perfect getaway from my busy life! More on that soon (a lot of pictures). I want to share with you all products that got me through my extended stay.

Change is coming! Guess What!?!

This Blog has been around in some of the best and worst times of my life. The best times of course being that I started it when I just finished college ad needed something to occupy me. I had a great boyfriend at the time (my husband). Also I also got my first REAL job (that I still have now).

This was all at the end of 2008/beginning of 2009- Fast forward to now where does this blog has seen me be a fiancé and get married. And now on the way to becoming a mommy.... YES! You heard me!

A BABY will be here soon!

There are many people who have literally followed me along each milestone and I am always going to be extremely grateful. THIS is just as a heads up because I will be posting quite a bit of baby content on my blog as well.