Category: Stories

When you’re a first time mom, you register for all the essential baby items and all the non-essential baby items. You enter the local baby store feeling excited and prepared and leave feeling exhausted and overwhelmed. There are so many choices for the simplest of products and while you can’t wait to be a mom, you do wonder (as we still do every day), did I make the right decision? Did I get the right thing?

When you’re expecting the second time around, it’s a little more clear (even if your head is so foggy from those pregnancy hormones) what works for you and your little one. However, with baby number two, it can still be overwhelming. Two babies to feed, put to sleep, get into the car etc. You barely have time to do your hair, let alone think about all the things you will need for your second child. This is why we have fallen in love with Baby Cubby.

For some mamas, breastfeeding is super easy. For others it can be super difficult. Either way,...

“This is our first photo together. An hour after you where born. Because I had a really bad Pancreatitis the doctors decided to bring me to the intensive care. I have never screamed so much in my life from all of the pain I felt that day. My infection level was sky high, it was way too risky for both our lives(you can die of an Pancreatitis). I had a c-section with general anesthesia in the middle of the night because the doctors couldn’t wait any longer. So I don’t know anything about your birth except from what they have told me. I was in such bad shape when this photo was taken. I felt you, but I didn’t see you, everything was so blurry when I opened my eyes. But this moment…Is the best moment in my life.
They told us we would never ever have kids of our own. And yet there you were, right there in my arms. I love you Z.” @justliveblogbystephanie

“There in my arms, your four pound frame warm against my skin, I drank you in, studying (no, memorizing) every last delicate feature of your sweet face. I couldn’t get enough of you – the shape of your eyes, the tiny button nose, the darling feet. Yet soon those features of yours, that I loved and kissed (over and again), became little clues to a diagnosis I was entirely unprepared to hear, markers of a different story to be told. One I wanted to protect you from… somehow. So, when I brought you home, I tried to dress you just right and get the camera angle just so, hoping no one would get stuck on the fact that you had Down syndrome, trying to show them you were more than that. See, I was afraid that those telling features would become the only thing people would see. That they would zero in and stop there, as if looking at you thru a magnifying glass, whittling you down to a diagnosis and never pulling back to see that you are a wildly unique person with strong opinions, all the feelings, big dreams, real fears, deep desires, and yes, immense value. For each and every one of us is more than a sum of features or a label. Even on our worst day. And you, dear boy, are far more than a syndrome. You are Syrus.” @corbettburick

“Don’t be afraid of DIY projects. They honestly are usually easier than you may think! The other nice part is that it usually is the cheaper option, instead of paying way more just for someone else to make it, for cost wise it is a lot easier on your wallet! For Addi’s party I did a ton of crafts the weeks prior to her party. I think this also added a sentimental part for me, just knowing I handcrafted so many items for her special day, ones that I will cherish for a long time. The DIY ribbon chandeliers, lace/ribbon banners, highchair garland, floral letter “A” and the tin jars holding the baby’s breath were all tiny, simple projects I did and they were very impactful and so easy to create.”

“Being a parent is not always that easy for me. Sometimes it can seem so but that’s because I prefer to focus on the bright side. But there are those rare days when positive thinking just doesn’t work for me. Than it feels like everyone, except for me, can perfectly juggle kids, relationship, social life, work and leisure time. Today I woke up in such a mood and realized that there is too little energy and inspiration I leave for myself. The fine balance between paying attention to the needs of my child and thinking of my own development is something I find most difficult this first year of motherhood. There are occasions when the latter suffers. So my conclusion of today: I’m going to pay a little more attention to my personal goals. How do you keep up with that?” @thesematters

“Grace. Let’s freely give it to others and fully accept it for ourselves.
Recently I’ve heard so many moms talk about how they are failing at keeping up with life’s daily demands or failing at being the best mom to their kiddos. Throw in the judgement cast upon other moms for not “momming” right and we all find ourselves needing to understand & accept grace a little more.
One thing I’ve realized in becoming a mom is that we can’t do everything. We can’t be everything. Let that sink in a little bit. Honestly…. if you tried your hardest, you will always fail! There is no such thing as a perfect mom. Let’s not be so hard on others or ourselves, we are all striving for the same thing- to love & be loved.” @ellabrooksblog

Being a parent is like being a magician. With practice we become skilled at sleight of hand, slip chocolate bars in and out of shopping carts unseen, appear missing marbles, and vanish talking toys. We fix broken picture frames and dinosaur legs overnight. We make magic appear in hollowed out tree trunks and stories behind shoes hanging from wires.
My mother was a magician. Her skill was in making things appear. Often I would wake to morning glory muffins made from scratch baking in the oven. A new outfit I’d requested the day before would be freshly sewn, draped over a kitchen chair. There would be a copy of my history essay with her editing suggestions marked in red. She had three of us and worked more than full time until I was nine.