I haven’t done a good old motherhood update in a while… mainly because I think the past eight months have been wild…. and finding the right words to express the journey were hard. While our transition from one kiddo to two kiddos was significantly easier than the transition from zero to one, the day in and day out life is significantly more demanding than having one kiddo. Significantly. It took a while for us to find a groove…. and over the months I’ve come to realize, and accept, that motherhood involves constantly finding a new groove. Just when everyone is sleeping through the night, someone gets sick. Just when everyone is on a good nap schedule, someone needs to drop a nap + it throws the schedule for a loop. Just when one kiddo gets over a cold, the other one comes down with it….

For me, personally, the struggle was all in the juggle. How do I give both of my kiddos equal amounts of attention. Particularly little miss. I found it to be so challenging while nursing. And while I know that’s not a challenge for others, it was for me. In the past month, since I’ve weaned Camille, I’ve felt as if a weight was lifted off of my shoulders. It felt as if I had more freedom to dedicate to little miss, and the juggle has become much easier.

And while I share the struggles of the past 8 months, both TJ + I find so much happiness in the chaos. Maybe not in the moment. It might take 20 minutes after the dust settles, but once it does we often laugh at with each other about how wild life can be…. and then we relish in the temporary silence.

There are three main mindsets that have helped me really embrace this season of life. One is that I hear from women, on the regular, about their struggles to conceive. When we’re having a sleepless evening… or a major threenager day… I take a moment and gain a little perspective. How many women would love to be in this situation, but can’t? It really helps me to have a sense of gratitude + to realize how temporary my current situation id. Second is that I’ve learned to find humor. In the moment it can be hard, but I have found that the more I can find some sliver of humor in any situation, the more I appreciate the season. The third is that nothing has to be perfect. Days don’t have to be perfect. Moments don’t have to be perfect. Trips don’t have to be perfect. Perfect doesn’t mean happiness, happiness can be found when we embrace the imperfect parts and learn from them…

So, I guess you could call the above section my thoughts + reflections on the past 8 months…. now onto other fun stuff like sleep, eating, etc….

SLEEPING

Everything is pretty status quo in this department with Camille. She sleeps through the night (goes to bed at 7:30pm + wakes up at 7:30am) + she takes two long naps a day (one in the morning + one in the afternoon). We use this sound machine for Camille, which we really like, and these sheets are super soft (and organic).

Where we’ve had struggles lately is with Harper’s nap + bedtime. We’ve always been very routine with the girls’ sleep schedules, so being in a limbo phase with Harper was challenging. If she took a short nap (even 30 minutes) getting her to sleep at night was hard (wouldn’t fall asleep until 8:30/9 and stall majorly). Yet, if she didn’t nap, it was as if a monster took over at bedtime and a constant battle. I turned to instagram and the community response was great: drop the nap, move bedtime up 30 minutes. Worked like a charm. Literally. As long as her head hits the bed by 7pm we have huge success. I was initially concerned that putting her down earlier would mean she would wake up earlier, but she is still sleeping to 7/7:30am. You can read more about our general evening routine here.

EATING

This section more or less pertains mainly to Camille. I’ve officially weaned Camille from nursing (we made it 7 months) and she is now eating solids + drinking formula (these are our favorite bottles). You can read more about my nursing journey here but I have found myself to be a much happier mother since weaning… and Camille is just as happy + developing just as well as Harper did.

We did introduced solids to Camille at the 4 month mark (per pediatrician recommendation) and she’s taken to it really well…. we do puréed veggies + fruits, and have recently begun mixing them. Sometimes I make my own (using this blender or this food maker from when Harper was little) and other times I purchase baby food. It all depends. We love using this bowl + spoon set .

THREENAGER STATUS

Oh. My. People weren’t kidding when they said three was the new two. Sassy. Limit Testing. Meltdowns. BUT so loving + funny at the same time. Amidst the sassy comments Harper makes, she also says the funniest things… she’s taken to calling TJ, “Teej,” and loves referring to everyone by their first names….

We do have some pretty epic meltdowns though… and I am constantly referring to the book “The Whole Brain Child.” I used this constantly in my therapeutic work with families, and have found it to be incredibly helpful in dealing with Harper’s emotions. In fact, when we don’t use techniques from it we can tell. I think an inclination when toddlers have meltdowns is to send them to time out, or want to leave them alone. I’ve found that when we do this it only further escalates Harper’s behaviors. Instead, picking her up, doing a “time in,” and helping her to soothe deescalates the situation much quicker, and then we can rationalize with her. This is one of the techniques I worked on with families + is directly from the book. I can’t recommend it more.

On the flip side of meltdowns, I have loved watching Harper develop her interests more over the past eight months, particularly since starting preschool. Running, jumping, dancing, singing, she loves it all. We went to her first school performance and it was absolutely adorable. It’s moments like those that make this season of life so special.

WELLNESS

Well, our doctor warned us. She said that once Harper started pre-school she would bring home every sickness under the sun. We thought she was kidding. She wasn’t. I think, over the past 3 months, either Harper, Camille, or TJ has been sick… and I was hit a couple of weeks ago. I swear that once someone gets better, someone else comes down with it. Given that, we’ve come to rely on a few go-to wellness products that I thought I would share with you today. We rely on Walmart for all of these products. I love that I can get many of the items with next day delivery… and that they carry my go-to wellness items that are natural + organic as well. Knowing that I am getting supreme quality, at a great price, is always an added bonus. I’m breaking down all of our go-to products below:

NoseFrida: The best snot sucker for baby congestion. We used it with Harper and now with Camille. Really gets the job done. Just make sure you’re changing out the barriers with each use.

Little Remedies Saline Drops: We use these for Camille to help break up her congestion…. and then follow it up with the NoseFreda.

Sambucol Elderberry: A staple for Harper, TJ, + Me. We give Harper the kids syrup nightly before bed. TJ + I take the gummies daily. I swear it helps to lessen the intensity/duration of a cold + to build immunity.

Humidifier: Used this humidifier with Harper + we purchased another one to use for Camille. It’s super easy to use, and we love the sleek design. We use this whenever the girls are sick.

Zarbees Cough Syrup: Zarbees was recommend to me by our pediatrician to naturally help with Harper’s coughs. We find that it really helps to break up the chest congestion and decreases the intensity of her cough. She also likes how it tastes so that’s an added bonus.

Oregano Oil Gel Tablets: While I don’t give this to Camille or Harper, I take them whenever I feel a cold coming on, or while I have a cold. I’ve found it to help stave off a cold many times.

Nose Wipes: These have aloe in them, so they’re super soft on Camille’s little skin when she has a runny nose.

Maty’s Baby Chest Rub: Another product recommended to use by our pediatrician to help soothe airways and chest congestion for Camille. Everyone else uses this product.

Little Remedies Pain + Fever Reducer: I’ve been using this line since Harper was a baby! It’s super helpful in giving Camille pain relief when she is teething (we have two front teeth now!) and for Harper when she has a fever.

RELATIONSHIPS

Balancing relationships with motherhood can be hard sometimes. At the end of the evening, your tired… but something that really fills my bucket is spending quality time with TJ. Being able to unplug + rehash the day… laugh about the craziness that likely ensued. Don’t get me wrong, there are moments where we’re short with one another… but it’s nice to know that we’re partners in this wild ride….

I feel lucky to have all of my friends in the same season of life…. so I always feel as if we’re extending one another grace and really able to empathize with the other. I have friends who apologize for not returning a text… and I tell them to never apologize. Life is wild… we’ll always be friends.

In the end…..

Life is wild, but I feel so grateful…. here’s to seeing what this next decade holds for motherhood!
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Thank you to Walmart for sponsoring this post.