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The Mom Diaries

Mom Diaries: October 8, 2022

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It’s Baby Week! Well, maybe. Technically she’s due tomorrow, but who knows when she’ll arrive.

This week I had to go back and read my Hospital Bag post from 2 years ago to remember what to pack for this go ‘round. 😅 There are a few things that I’m adding, so I’ll do an updated post about that coming up. I also switched up some of my postpartum must haves, and I’ll let you know which I prefer.

This pregnancy has been my easiest, as far as her & I are concerned. Least nausea, least sciatica, least SPD. HOWEVER, being in the 3rd trimester while moving and chasing after 2 young children is no joke. While I have felt good, I have been unable to keep up with their activity levels and that has been SO frustrating. As we have entered the final week(s) I keep reminding the boys, and myself, that I’ll be back to playing (slowly) soon!

We have done a lot of prep work to get the boys ready to be big brothers. From reading books, to pretend play, to planning her ‘birthday party’. We have been making the transition as fun as we can, while also holding space for the big feelings that will come from it. There’s a blog post coming all about this transition too!

Overall, impending baby has been the #1 focus around here and we cannot wait for her to arrive!

The Mom Diaries

Mom Diaries: September 24, 2022

MariaLeave a comment

Michael was gone for CTE the last 10 days. The first week we did great! Our routines held us through the transition and helped keep things from feeling too ‘different’.

There were some moments of big emotions and missing Papa, but overall we were on top of things. Until both boys got sick. Then everything hit the fan. Ted was out of school for 4 days, due to an on/off fever. Neither boy was sleeping well, so neither was I (which is extra awful when you’re 37 weeks pregnant). We were blessed enough to have my Mother in Law visiting those 4 days, so we weren’t totally up the creek, but it definitely threw us off.

Now that we’re all feeling better, and Michael is home, we are ready to have a fresh start into our routines before Baby Girl gets here & throws it all out of whack again!

The Mom Diaries

Mom Diaries : May 28, 2022

MariaLeave a comment

So many exciting things in the last two weeks! We found out where we are moving: Ft. Bragg, NC. We are very excited because it is close to Michael’s family and the boys will be able to spend more time with their cousins. Now we are preparing for the move, and I’ll have more detailed blog posts about those steps coming up.

Our other exciting news is we found out that our new baby is a little GIRL! Michael is over the moon and ran around announcing it to everyone he saw. I’m still processing having to change my language from ‘the boys’ (see above) to ‘the kids’.

Baby girl will be joining us in October!

We have continued fighting the War of the Fleas, with moderate success. I haven’t managed to completely eradicate them yet, it takes a bit more time & energy than this solo mama has. But we are making steady progress. Chester is fed up with me constantly brushing him, multiple baths a week, & getting haircuts every other week. But I know he’ll thank me when they’re gone.

Making time for silliness, even amongst the chaos
Why Blogging?
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Why Blogging?

MariaLeave a comment

Maria, why are you starting a blog? Great question; I’m not quite sure yet. When I was on maternity leave from teaching with Teddy, our oldest, I found myself feeling very isolated. We lived in a rural community, in the backwoods of Vermont, and I had no family close by. So when the time came that I had questions about the brand new world of parenting, what did I do? Like any good Millennial, I turned to the internet. I read blogs, watched vlogs, and followed other moms on social media. I learned a lot that way, but more importantly I felt a part of a community.

In January 2020, we found out that Michael’s unit was being deployed later in the year and it made us rethink our plans for the upcoming school year. We decided that with a toddler and a newborn, commuting an hour (each way) to work every day wasn’t going to work for me while he was gone. So we started to prepare for me becoming a Stay-at-Home Mom. Then COVID-19 hit. It was (and still is) a crazy, hectic time for teachers. I suddenly had my full time job, a toddler home full time, and was in my 3rd trimester of pregnancy. Did I mention that Michael was an essential worker, working 12 hour night shifts at a surge hospital? It was overwhelming to say the least. In my time balancing all of the things, I realized that there were so many things I didn’t know about having a toddler. So I did the thing that I always do when I have a spark of passion/curiosity and I researched the crap out of all things developmentally appropriate for a 2 year old; eating habits, play habits, routines, social/emotional development. You name it, I researched it.

As I debated working vs. staying home, I realized that what I really want is to stay home with my boys, but also do something for myself. I wasn’t sure what that meant, but I knew I wanted to use my passion for teaching, my new found knowledge of early childhood development, and the Mama Community I had found in some way.

Thus the parenting blog idea was formed. I am by no means an expert in any one area of childhood development, but I hope to gather resources and experts in different fields and have them all in one place that parents can come to when they need help. If you have any specific topics that you want me to cover, please contact me! This space is a place where I can share all of the information that I have learned, but it is ultimately for you, parents.