In the recent years after I had severe postpartum depression (PPD) and recovered, several of my best friends and my sister also became first-time moms. In addition to all the baby registry gifts or hand-me-downs I could pass on, I wanted to come up with a heartfelt gift that might help them ease into new… Read More The Best Personalized Gift for New Moms – What Might Have Helped Me With My PPD
Before I became a mom myself, I thought traveling with kids would be a breeze. I mean, my parents did it, right? But that was before I understood how toddlers were a totally different genus and species and how much they need naps and how much they want to eat anything except what you’re feeding… Read More Staying at Carmel Valley Ranch with a Toddler-A Hotel Review & Kid Tips
When I became a mom two years ago, I realized just how little extra crap I needed in my life (literally and figuratively). Stuff is just stuff, and when you have a baby, you don’t really need more stuff in your life. So if someone gifted me anything, my favorite items were those that were… Read More A Mother’s Day Gift Guide – Favorite Gifts Ever Received
Honestly, I swore I would never be one of those bloggers that gives you their life story in 20 paragraphs (and how they never thought they’d ever get an Instant Pot but they fell in love with it and it’s better than sliced bread and you should get one too–*cue affiliate link*) before getting to… Read More Salmon Onigiri (Japanese Rice Balls) for Toddlers
Last year after Thanksgiving, I publicly shared my postpartum depression (PPD) story. It was scary to put it out there, but it was also liberating–as if talking about monsters makes them less scary. Since then, I have been extremely humbled by all the moms and moms-to-be (and even husbands of moms-to-be!) who have told me… Read More Beyond Pregnancy (4) – Getting Off Antidepressants for Postpartum Depression
Honestly, I never ever thought I would one day write a beauty post like this about lashes, considering I didn’t know mascara from eyeliner until college. My knowledge of makeup is pretty laughable. I’ve never had lash extensions before, and it takes me awhile to put on fake lashes in general. But since I started… Read More Lashify for First-Time Users
Depression is not all-encompassing of the range of mental illnesses that 1 in 5 women experience either during pregnancy or after delivery. The better term to classify these changes in mood is less commonly known, but on the rise– Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders, or PMADs. Postpartum depression and postpartum anxiety are the most common… Read More My Resources for Postpartum Depression, Anxiety, and Insomnia
Starting solids was something I dreaded with our baby. I had heard the horror stories of messy babies, babies who didn’t want to sit in their high chairs, babies who didn’t want to eat what you gave them, and the stinkiest poops! We held off on giving solids to our baby until she reached 6… Read More The Coolest Baby Essentials for Starting Solids
The first time I heard of the word “doula” was when my sister-in-law was pregnant with her first child. She told me she was hiring a doula (pronounced DOO-lah) to basically coach her through the birthing process since she wanted to have a good birthing experience. A do-what?! I thought. I couldn’t wrap my brain… Read More Why I Decided to Hire a Doula and Why Every Mama Should Consider It Too
When I started my maternity leave 4 weeks before my due date, I was so focused on cleaning and decluttering the entire house (because I was told it would never be clean again) and setting up a cute nursery (because it has to be Gram-ready, right?). What I wish I would have done instead was… Read More 12 Things I Never Knew I Needed Until I Had a Baby — Newborn Months