My Five Best Mom Posts

I know a lot of you out there are pregnant, new moms or maybe looking to grow your family again, so I decided to round up some of my favorite posts from pregnancy, postpartum, or adjusting from one child to two.  I feel like now that I am out of the newborn stage and have a one year old and three year old, we have come out of the "trenches a bit."  There are still tough days, but it does get easier :)

{one}

5 Things I'll Do Differently with Baby #2 
 A reflection post just a couple months before having our second child on things that I knew I wanted to try and do differently the second time around.  I can say now that I actually did all of these things with Madelyn and I'm so glad that I did.

{two}

 5 Things I'll Do the Same with Baby #2
Another reflection before Madelyn was born that I wanted to do the same way that we did with Brody because it worked for us!  

{three}
9 Reasons I Know this is Not my First Pregnancy
A post mocking the reality of pregnancy and how it was for me the second time around.

{four}

12 Month Postpartum Update after Baby #1

A look back at my body after birthing our first baby. 

{five}

The Five Toughest Challenges Going from One child to Two

This scenario is no joke.  It kind of rocked our world from time to time.  I think going from one baby to two is the hardest yet :)

Linking up with April, Christina, and Natasha for Five on Friday

Amanda for Friday Favorites 

Farmer Bell for Oh Hey Friday
Momfessionals for Friday Favorites

High Five for Friday {H54F} hosted by Bright on a Budget, Cup of Tea, Coffee with Caitlinand Della Devoted

 

Pregnancy Gift Basket | DIY

A good friend of mine just found out she was pregnant recently and I wanted to do something special for her.  I had a few things around the house that I knew I could use and also some new items I wanted to put together.  I got the idea from Christina's cute Honeymoon Basket she made awhile back.  

You can of course put anything you want in the basket.  I had some pregnancy books that I knew I wanted to hand-down to her and put in a few of my favorite things that I enjoyed when I was pregnant.  

I loved the Dr. Teal's epsom salt baths.  I usually buy the lavender scent, but they didn't have it at the store when I went.  I also included my favorite Little Unicorn swaddle for new baby and my "alcohol-removed" wine that got me through a few social functions when I was pregnant.  I was looking for a Fit Pregnancy magazine, but couldn't find one, so that's why she got Shape! 

I wanted to also include a cute water tumbler in the bag, but I ran out of time.  I'm constantly thirsty when I'm pregnant.

What were some of your pregnancy must-haves that would have been cute to add to her gift??

Badger Moses Basket
Free Printed Banner

Here was my list of pregnancy must-haves from my first pregnancy. 

 

Thoughts for Thursday | 9 Reasons Why I Know This Is Not My First Pregnancy

The second round of pregnancy is definitely different than the first.  Regardless if your symptoms are the same each time or they are different, you are still a lot more prepared for what's to come.   Here is my random list of reasons why I know this is not my first pregnancy:

1. Humongous Boobs Don't Scare Me - This one totally killed me my first pregnancy.  I couldn't believe how huge my boobs got and I absolutely hated them (but of course the husband loved it).  This time around though...I just expected it.  I still hate them, but it was less of a big deal.  The boob stretch wounds were already there and lets face it, the things weren't their beautiful, perky pre-baby boobs anyways :)  So, I'm just over it.  A doc can always fixed those things later...

2. Random Hair Growth is No Longer a Shock - Did anyone tell you about this one??  Not me.  I didn't know about this the first time around and I started seeing random dark hairs making appearances in places they should never show their face.  This was so gross.  I hate (unwanted) hair!

3. Food Aversions & Carb Cravings - I thought I was totally prepared for this this time around, but really, my food aversions were so much stronger this time than my first that I was fairly shocked.  The meat aversions really got me this time and carbs were definitely still my best friend.  Mostly in the form of crackers or fruit.

4. No Surprise Here When My Sex Drive Was at Zero for the First Trimester - probably TMI for most of you, but I think it's still important to discuss.  You are not alone!  And I promise it totally gets better (way better, in fact) as the pregnancy progresses.  That baby literally just sucks everything out of you those first few months, all you can do is try to survive.  That has definitely been the case this second pregnancy. 

5. Exhaustion Has A New Meaning - There has probably been many times in your life that you've been or felt exhausted.  Exhaustion takes on a whole new meaning when you are pregnant though.  Especially those first few months.  You can't believe that you could be so tired when you literally don't feel like you are doing anything.  You're not even carrying the extra weight around yet.  It's baffling.  Just know that internally, your body is working incredibly hard and exhaustion is okay.

6.  The Worrying Never Stops - From the time you find out you are pregnant, the worries begin..."I drank too much the week before I find out I was pregnant." "I ate tuna." "There was soft cheese in that salad and I didn't realize it."  "I haven't felt a kick in 2 hours."  There are a million reasons when you are pregnant to stress out and you just get used to it.  It doesn't go away, but hopefully you are a little more laid back about it the second time around.

7.  The Bump Doesn't Happen Over Night - I know during my first pregnancy, I couldn't WAIT to see that big baby bump!  You are so anxious to look pregnant.  You are immediately ready for the bump.  Unfortunately, the bump does appear quite a bit sooner the second pregnancy; but you still know that it takes time before you have a nice bump and stop feeling like a college frat boy that just chugged a keg of beer.

8.  Nesting is Real & I'm Prepared For It -  Nesting is really an awesome thing.  It kicks in for women at different times, but it's absolutely a real thing for us.  Know that it's coming and just embrace it.  There is no better time to knock out the 98 item to-do list that you've had running for 3+ years now and never gotten around to.  Get shit done.  Take advantage now because it won't get done when baby is here!

9. Pregnancy Brain Sucks And I know It- You are going to be forgetful.  It sucks and it makes us feel stupid, but it happens. I know I must write things down and even if I do there is still only an 80% chance it gets done.  Sadly, this kind of never goes away.  Pregnancy brain turns into baby brain and then you get pregnant again and have more kids to worry about and more things to plan and shit just goes down hill from there.  Good thing I have this blog to keep me sharp :)  Ha!

I had to add this one too because it's so true! Pregnancy felt like forever the first time around and I know it's going to feel the same way this time.

Okay, I'll leave it at that.  Tell me what I'm missing...What pregnancy symptoms were you/are you most surprised about???

This is funny too because so many men really are scared of sex during pregnancy especially as you get further along.

It's your turn.

Grab the button below and link up to Annie and Natalie  on your Thoughts for Thursday post.  

Use #thoughtsforthursdays on Instagram and tag us @homeofmalones and @eastcoastnat.
Link up starts at 6am EST. 

Follow us on Bloglovin' too:

Home of Malones and East Coast Chic

<center> <a href="http://homeofmalones.blogspot.com/search/label/thoughts%20for%20thursday" target="_blank"><img alt="Thoughts for Thursday" src="http://i637.photobucket.com/albums/uu98/lauraleigh925/home-of-malones/thoughts-for-thursday_zps5b440953.png"/></a></center>

An InLinkz Link-up

 

Thoughts for Thursday | I've been keeping a Secret from You...

Baby Malone #2 coming in September!

Some of you may have already guessed and others have you have been so sweet to check in on me via e-mail to make sure everything was okay.  This news would be the reason why the blog has been a bit sporadic over the last 6 or 7 weeks.  I haven't been feeling quite like myself, so the blog has taken a backseat.  We are super excited and Brody has no idea how this new baby will rock his little toddler world! But I do know he will be a wonderful big brother even if it's not evident immediately :)  I thought I'd answer a few commonly asked questions for you about this pregnancy, so here you go:

How far along are you and how are you feeling? I am 12+ weeks pregnant and this first trimester has been nothing short of brutal. I have been nauseas around the clock since I hit 6 weeks with only a couple days of relief.  I keep thinking this has to be the end, but then I'll wake up sick again.  I'm in bed by 7:15 most nights after we put Brody down and I usually lay down or try to nap in the afternoons during Brody's nap time. 

How did you find out?  We found out the beginning of January.  Matt was out of town for the weekend on a hunting trip.  I had plans with my family for a dinner on Saturday night and on my way to dinner I told my Mom that I think we need to make a stop at the drug store to pick up a pregnancy test.  I took the test first thing Sunday morning and it confirmed we were pregnant!  I had a pretty good feeling that we were.  We had decided in November to start trying after our trip to the Bahamas and I started to notice a few symptoms around the first of the year that had me guessing I was pregnant (ex: crying while packing up Brody's baby clothes). 

I decided to try and come up with a cute way to tell Matt when he got home.  I baked a double layer cake and dyed one blue and one pink!  I could barely keep a straight face when he got home that afternoon, but I offered him up some cake and as soon as I cut into it, he knew it meant BABY! 

Will you find out the gender? Yes!! Hopefully we will find out next month.

Do you think it's a boy or girl?  My guess would definitely be a girl.  This pregnancy has pretty much been the exact opposite of my pregnancy with Brody so far.  I'm extremely averse to food especially red meat.  I have to make myself eat.  I am much more emotional this time than with Brody and the morning sickness is deadly.  I never threw up with Brody and only felt "hungover" with him for a couple of weeks.  With all that said.....people still say that every pregnancy can just be different regardless of the sex. So, we'll see!!

 Are you going to post weekly bump dates? No. I am not going to do weekly bump dates like I did for Brody, but I do plan to do updates every few weeks to document this pregnancy along the way. 

What do you miss so far? I really miss feeling like myself.  I know that sounds a slightly dramatic, but I haven't felt well in almost two months and I don't know when it will end.  I miss cooking.  I literally haven't cooked a thing in 6 weeks.  My husband has had more frozen dinners and take out than I can count.  I miss my daily exercise and mostly, Pure Barre.  I've been to nauseas for either and I'm finally stepping out for some nice long walks.  I plan on attempting PB again this week, but having my head down is what makes me feel sick.  Lastly, I miss blogging.  The computer screen made me feel really sick so that's why my post have been few and far between.  I occasionally could read other blogs on my phone but typically never left a comment.  I hope to be back to it all soon as I get to the light at the end of the tunnel!!

Hopefully I answered all of your questions; but if not, send them my way!!  Thanks for sticking around and for all of your continued support :) xoxox

Grab the button below and link up to Annie and Natalie  on your Thoughts for Thursday post.  

Use #thoughtsforthursdays on Instagram and tag us @homeofmalones and @eastcoastnat.
Link up starts at 6am EST. 

Follow us on Bloglovin' too:

Home of Malones and East Coast Chic

<center> <a href="http://homeofmalones.blogspot.com/search/label/thoughts%20for%20thursday" target="_blank"><img alt="Thoughts for Thursday" src="http://i637.photobucket.com/albums/uu98/lauraleigh925/home-of-malones/thoughts-for-thursday_zps5b440953.png"/></a></center>

An InLinkz Link-up

Postpartum : 20 Week Update

It's been 8 weeks since my last postpartum update, here.  I gave an update at 12 weeks postpartum and discussed how I was starting to get serious with a workout plan and eating regime to lose the last 10 pregnancy pounds I had left post-baby.  Well, my plan has worked okay; but definitely not perfect.  I have lost 5 more pounds and have 5 more to go.  I was really hoping to get this baby weight off before Thanksgiving arrives (I haven't given up yet. Still 2 weeks away) because I know the holidays will be really hard to eat great and exercise a lot.  

As for exercise, I have continued to take walks with the baby and dog and I have also been doing the Kangoo Jumps classes that I talked about in my last update.  I have done some stair master and elliptical work at the gym as well and I am really needing to start back lifting weights.  I know that even when I lose these last 5 lbs that I will still have a long way to go as far as toning up goes.  

Here's a look at pregnancy pictures from when I was 8 weeks and 11 weeks and still had a flatter stomach.  The last photo is me now at 20 weeks postpartum and still working on getting that stomach flat again!  I had also been working out with a trainer for about 6 months before I got pregnant doing some weight training.  It definitely helped with toning and unfortunately, I think I lost all of that when I was pregnant.

I'm considering joining a new gym at the first of the year that offers child care.  They will actually start taking babies as early as like 6 weeks old, but I think I would be more comfortable after Christmas when Brody is 6 months old to leave him there.  

I'll take all suggestions for losing the last 5 pounds!  I have a feeling that these could be the hardest.   I have actually heard from more than one person that the last few pregnancy pounds did not fall off for them until after they quit breastfeeding.   It's almost like your body holds onto that extra weight for milk production or something.  Have you experienced that??  I'm still breastfeeding and not sure when I will give it up yet, but I'm curious if that was the case for any of you! 

Postpartum : 12 Week Update

Well, Jessica Alba claims to have worn not one, but two corsets after both of her pregnancies to expedite the return of her amazing bod; so what did you do??

I think it's amazing what a woman's body can do and am fascinated that we can grow a baby and bounce back.  And in a lot of women's cases, they grow several babies and bounce back each time.  That's incredible.

I've been interested in how I would bounce back after birthing baby Brody and I have to say that I'm pretty amazed.  I have felt good and had good energy since he was born.  But I definitely still have a long way to go to get back to my pre-pregnancy body.

I felt like 12 weeks post-pregnancy was a good time to stop and evaluate things.  I ended up gaining almost 40lbs by the time I delivered baby Brody which was certainly more than I had hoped to gain, but what are you going to do?

I lost 25 lbs within the first week, maybe 10 days, of delivering Brody.  I was amazed.  The water weight literally melts away.  You wake up in puddles of sweat in the middle of the night and your hair is wet and you wonder, what the hell? But it is your bodies way of releasing the excess water weight.   It felt so good for all the swelling to be gone...swelling you probably didn't even know you had.

After that weight came off, I felt better; but still had 15lbs to go.  I watched the scale for a week, then another and then probably another and realized that these last 15lbs were not going to come off easy.  Damn it.

So it was time to start making an effort.  I started making time to workout whether it was a 45 minute walk with Brody and the dog, a workout video at home while the baby was sleeping or even just a few quick sets of push-ups, abs and squats.  I had to start watching what I ate a bit, but still know that I was feeding my child with those calories.  With that, I have been able to knock off 5 more pounds.  That still leaves me with 10 super stubborn pounds to get rid of...so I am telling all of you as a way to be accountable and stick to a game plan.

I took this photo for fun and compared it to one of my pregnancy photos.  The truth is that I still look 4 months pregnant or so.  It's not something I feel bad about and know it is part of the process, but I am ready to lose this belly fat and shrink this uterus to get my flat  pre-pregnancy belly back.  

These items below are some things that I've utilized to try and get back in shape!  One thing I have really had to invest in is really good, supportive bras for these milk makers!  If you don't, your boobs will hurt too bad to exercise and jump around during these workouts!  It's no joke. 

Jillian Michaels 6 week to 6 pack abs // Jillian Michaels 30 day Shred // Lululemon Booby Bracer // Kangoo Jump Boots //  Pure Barre Workout Videos // Belly Bandit // Smart Water // Slim Away Adjustable Slimming Garment //  Lucy Race Me Bra II

So I'm not as dedicated as Jessica Alba, but I have become interested in utilizing compression on the belly.  I do think it could help.  I found the slim away garment at Bed, Bath, & Beyond one day and snagged it for $10 just to see if I would use it.  I've used it once.  Again, I think it could help; but it requires discipline just to wear it.  People swear by the belly bandit which comes in at about $50, but I have not invested in that.  Have you used one or know any that has??  Tell me more about it.  

Workout videos at home are great, but can be hard to stay consistent at.   Starting last week, I have my mother-in-law coming two afternoons a week to babysit Brody and I have started a fabulous new workout class called Kangoo Jumps.  It's so much fun and a great workout.  I also use my Kangoo Jumps to run in my neighborhood.  I have a bad knee and these boots making running absolutely painless for me.  It's amazing!!

Water is so important.  You need as much or more water now as you did when you were pregnant.  Luckily, I love water and it hasn't been too much of a challenge.  What has been a challenge though, is dropping the bad habits I picked up during pregnancy like eating something sweet each night after dinner and introducing bagels back into my diet! And let's not forget the 9 months spent with no alcohol...I may have added a few extra "liquid" calories back into my diet there as well.  Oh well, I enjoy every sip :)

What did you do to bounce back into shape after pregnancy???

++ You can read my updated 20 Week postpartum update here.++

My Pregnancy Journal | Photobook

I am so excited that I finally completed my photo book of my journey through pregnancy with baby Brody.  It really turned out to be a pretty easy project since I had documented each of my weekly updates during the pregnancy.  I included all of the weekly updates with the bump photos, the story on how we found out, photos of his nursery at Lee Lee's (I think we finally decided on a grandma name for my Mom), our baby showers, places he traveled in my belly, our baby moon, our friends having babies, and his birth story.  It is such a special book and I know I will love referring back to it during future pregnancies. 

Here's a few shots from our book:

Surprise! We're Pregnant!

Weekly Bump Updates

Photos of the Growing Bump

Pictures of the Nursery and preparing for baby Brody

Photos from our baby shower in Pensacola

All the places Brody traveled in my belly during our 9 months together

Our friends that are having babies and overlapped during our pregnancy with Brody!

Brody's birth story

I am so happy that I documented this time because it really is amazing how quickly you forget and things become a blur.  The book turned out perfect.  You can see the entire thing by clicking on the link below to Shutterfly.  

Use code BOOK50 to receive 50% hardcover photobooks. Ends today.  

Keep an eye out on Shutterfly emails because they do big discounts on photobooks very often!

How did you document your pregnancy??

Click here to view this photo book larger

Turn your favorite photos into a photo book at Shutterfly.com.