Category Archives: New Baby

Turn and Face the Strange (and heartbreakingly unexpected) Ch-Ch-Changes

by Stephanie Posted on February 7, 2013

 

I’m not naive.  I knew full well that my life was going to change completely when I had my son.  I was totally prepared for sleepless nights, painful recovery, and drastic change in my social life; but I have to be honest, I wasn’t prepared for the loss of some very close friendships.  Sadly, it turns out that I have some childless friends that have adopted a very “US versus THEM” mentality.

I guess I was naive when I assumed that years of friendship would get us over that hurdle.  Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.  I’ve noticed a serious gap in some of my relationships and to say the least, I’m a little heart broken.  After all, I did help some of these pals get through some pretty difficult times.  Is it too much to expect that after years of friendship, they would be there to see me though the birth of my first child (or at least check up on me with a quick phone call)?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I do have to admit that I am partly to blame.  My whole life (and every FB posting) has become all about my son.  In their defense, they probably can’t relate to me anymore.

Luckily, I have also noticed that my friendships with those that do have children have grown even stronger.  Honestly, I’m not sure I would have made it through the first few months of parenthood without them.  I had no idea what havoc my hormones would reek on my sanity.  Without the constant reassurance from my friends that what I was feeling was normal, I would have probably lost it. Really, who’s to say that I didn’t?  Kidding. Totally kidding.

I guess it takes major life changes to help you weed out the petty, superficial things and relationships that really don’t work for you anymore.  While it is undoubtedly painful to come to the realization that some of these friendships have become petty and superficial, I can only look to the future to help heal those wounds.

In the end, it’s been an interesting transition.  I’m finding myself forging new friendships for myself and my son.  Thanks to “Mommy and Me” classes, I’ve managed to meet a few moms that have babies around the same age as my boy.  The relationships are still pretty new and we are all on our best “mommy” behavior. Who knows?  Maybe I’ll get lucky and find a few cocktail swilling, naughty joke telling mammas to pass the time with and help make up for my losses.  After all, those other friendships didn’t happen overnight either.  I guess only time will tell.  I’ll keep you posted…

 

Posted in Adjusting to Parenthood, Community, Learning Experience, Loss, Memories, Mental Health, New Baby, parent-child activities, Parenting Advice, Villagers | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Love your Mother-Motherlove products Giveaway

by Stephanie Posted on September 22, 2012

It’s official, I’m a mom!  Boy has it been a wild ride so far! I’ll be honest, my life has changed in so many ways, and not all of it has been magical.  Take breastfeeding for example — I’ve had a very difficult time.  Like most mommy/baby teams my little one & I have had to work really hard to get it right (and I’m still not sure we have).  The first few weeks of breastfeeding can be very painful. Luckily for me I have been using Motherlove nipple cream.  When my overused and very abused nipples started to chap while my little guy perfected his latch, I’d dab a little on my girls & I’d get instant relief.  With natural ingredients such as extra virgin olive oil, shea butter, and calendula flower (amongst other great stuff) – I felt confident using Motherlove nipple cream, and was comfortable with my son attempting to latch on soon after application.  I didn’t have to worry that he’d be eating any harmful chemicals that could hurt him.  The cream went straight to work soothing, moisturizing, and calming inflammation.  I also found that it works great on lips & any other parts of the body that need a little extra TLC.

 

Not only did I get relief, but my son also benefited from Motherlove products.  Turns out he has sensitive skin & I was able to use their diaper rash and thrush cream.  In his case I quickly learned that prevention was key.  Newsflash – newborns poop & pee a lot – so there is plenty of action going on down there.  After a few days, my little guy started to get some very red & irritated areas on his butt.  I quickly applied the Motherlove Diaper and Thrush ointment –  and within a few applications the red subsided.  I’ve since then applied it every time I change his diaper and we have had zero problems.  My husband especially loves the wonderful scent. He said it’s like vanilla & butterscotch.

I have always expressed my disgust in all of the harmful chemicals that are used by many conventional baby products out there, so I’m constantly on the hunt for safe and healthy products.  Motherlove is a company that takes it’s ingredients seriously, and only uses organic natural ingredients that won’t harm mom (or baby).  I feel totally comfortable using any of their products (and they have plenty to choose from).  Motherlove has all of your pregnancy and post pregnancy needs covered.  From products like their Pregnant  Belly Oil to their very popular More Milk Plus products (that help boost breast milk production).  There’s nothing they haven’t thought of!

Thanks to the people at Motherlove, one of our lucky readers will win a Diaper Rash and Thrush Ointment, a $20 value!  Enter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Special thanks to Motherlove for providing fantastic samples for my review!
Posted in Adjusting to Parenthood, Giveaway, Health, natural, New Baby, organic, pain relief, Pregnancy, Skincare, Villagers | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments