TheBraveLittleMama, Author at The Brave Little Mama

8 Must-Haves To Make Pregnancy Suck Less For You

Posted on January 29, 2018October 27, 2020 by TheBraveLittleMama

Growing a new baby is an amazing experience. I have actually enjoyed most of my time spent being pregnant. However, pregnancy is not all butterflies and glowing skin. Growing a tiny human inside your body can be very uncomfortable. First there is morning sickness, then back pain, leg cramps and throughout it all, sleep is a struggle. Along the 18 months combined that I have spent pregnant, I have found that adding a few items into my routine have made a HUGE impact on my comfort level. I am an Amazon Prime addict, so I’ve included the links to most of these products for your convenience.

Preggie Pop Drops

If you are one of the lucky ones that did get morning sickness, then this product won’t do much for you. For everyone else that has enjoyed those horrible weeks where it seems like all you do is vomit, these will be your new BFF. Preggie Pop Drops are by no means a miracle cure for morning sickness, but they did help me survive through work meetings or outings with friends without having to continually get up to go vomit. They are hard candy that comes in 4 assorted flavors. Their flavors are mild and they are not as sugary as normal hard candies.

Boppy Wedge

This little pillow is a game changer for getting appropriate sleep at night. It wedges right under your growing belly and immediately takes away the pressure caused by the gap between your heavy belly and the bed. This pillow is fairly small, which makes traveling with it very easy. It is also easy to move in the event that your left shoulder needs a break and you want to roll over onto your right side. I could survive without my large maternity pillow, but I could not survive without my Boppy Wedge.

Lemon Concentrate

A downside of pregnancy is that many drink options are off the table. Caffeine and sugar should be limited and artificial sugars should be avoided. It is also a time that you should be more mindful to stay properly hydrated. Lemon Concentrate added to brisk ice water makes the transition from flavored drinks to water a little easier. Personally, I love sugary-sweet beverages and hate how plain water is. Lemon Concentrate added to my water has helped me ensure that I am hydrating every single day. Lemon Concentrate can be found in the juice aisle and is usually $2-$4 per bottle. Add to your preferred strength!

Epsom Salt

Taking epsom salt baths while pregnant comes with a ton of benefits. Aside from the relaxation that comes from taking a bath, adding Epsom Salt will remove toxins from your body, decrease your general pregnancy aches and pains, increase your magnesium levels and can also help with hemorrhoids. Mix about 2 cups of Epsom salt into a warm bath and soak for about 12 to 15 minutes. Make note to not have your bath water too hot as that is not safe for your growing baby. My favorite is Dr Teal’s Ultra Moisturizing Mineral Soak Avocado Oil. It leaves your skin so silky and hydrated which is great if you are struggling with an itchy pregnancy belly!

Purpose Gentle Cleansing Face Wash

Some women get glowing, blemish free skin during their pregnancies. Others, don’t. Better news, during pregnancy you cannot use any of the medicated face washes that can help keep your face blemish free. Purpose Gentle Cleansing Face Wash has been a saving grace in keeping my skin clear and blemish free without over drying. It easily removes all types of make up and doesn’t have a strong odor. It claims to be as gentle on your skin as water, and my sensitive skin would agree.

I have actually made this my new face cleanser for when I am not pregnant and it does a better job keeping my face clear than all my old benzole peroxide cleansers ever did!

Caleb Treeze Organic Farm Stops Leg and Foot Cramps

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Caleb Treeze Organic Farm Stops Leg and Foot Cramps was the miracle product that is safe to take while pregnant that will bring quick relief for leg cramps. Ingredients are certified organic unfiltered raw apple cider vinegar, juice from the ginger plant and all natural garlic juice- which are all okay to take while pregnant. You can take a capful as prevention or you can take a capful when you are experiencing a cramp. Relief is guaranteed within 2 minutes! My doctor gave this product the green light, but be sure to check with your own doctor before taking.

If you are feeling nauseous, you can even rub it on your cramping leg instead of taking it orally. Full disclosure, this stuff does not taste great and has a STRONG vinegar smell. I highly recommend having a flavored chaser ready so that you can wash away the flavor immediately. Enduring 8 seconds of a bad taste is totally worth it to be able to go back to sleep cramp free!

Raise Them Well Baby Belly Balm

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Many belly creams/lotions/oils on the market claim to be able to help prevent stretch marks and the itch associated with a growing belly. Based on the anatomy of the skin, many experts agree that it is not possible to prevent stretch marks with a cream. Worse than stretch marks (in my opinion) is the maddening itch associate with a large growing belly. I’m talking about an itch so intense that you literally want to gauge your skin off your body because you are so miserable. Raise Them Well Baby Belly Balm actually brings all day relief to an itchy belly.

I have sensitive skin and have tried dozens of products on the market. I was shocked to find that after applying it the first night, I enjoyed the following day completely itch free! This is the only product that I have ever tried that eliminates the itch all day, rather than just providing relief until 10am. Bonus, it uses all-natural, toxic-free ingredients so it is safe for moms and babies. It also contains authentic Dead Sea Magnesium Oil infused with Aloe Vera, Jojoba & Coconut oils and enhanced with Lavender essential oil.

Constipation Free Iron Supplements

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Anemia is very common during pregnancy. Iron anemia during pregnancy can leave you feeling tired and weak. Most iron supplements on the market cause constipation, which is frustrating and uncomfortable. If you also have hemorrhoids from pregnancy, being constipated will only make the issue worse. The good news is that there are different types of iron supplements, which are made from a different form of iron that do not cause constipation (can I get a Hallelujah!!!). With my first pregnancy I felt like I was constantly making a choice between being anemic or being constipated. Taking an iron supplement regularly has made a huge difference with my energy levels, which is even more important now that I have a 2-year-old to keep up with! Make sure to check with your doctor before adding a new supplement to your routine!

Are there any items that have made your pregnancy easier? I would love to hear about them in the comments below!

Click here to read about the 10 Things I Wish I did BEFORE my Baby Arrived

I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

10 Things I Wish I did BEFORE my Baby Arrived

Posted on January 18, 2018July 18, 2020 by TheBraveLittleMama

As I sit here pregnant with my second child, I am trying to make sure that I prepare better this time around. This mama learned A LOT in the first month with my son. I found myself wishing that I had done so many things differently while I was still pregnant. Hopefully these lessons learned will make baby number two (hopefully) an easier experience. Hopefully my not so great experiences can also help you avoid my mistakes.

1. Set expectations for hospital visits before you get to the hospital

Other than thinking about who would be in the room while I was in labor and while I was delivering, I didn’t really put thought into this at all. I learned quickly that learning to breastfeed a newborn is substantially more difficult when you have guest visiting unexpectedly and non-stop for a 7 hour window of time. Let’s not even get into those postpartum bleeding checks or attempts to walk to the restroom. I don’t want to sound ungrateful; I appreciated how much our friends and family wanted to show us support. However, I ended up extremely overwhelmed from all the visits. This led to a lot of unnecessary anxiety and stress for me. My husband had no idea that so many visitors were so stressful for me. I am a people pleaser and made a point to try to not make anyone feel unwelcome.

This time around we will be setting a no visitors for 24 hours rule. Immediate family will be welcome for a SHORT visit that first day, because I am not mean enough to want to keep a grandparent from meeting their new granddaughter. Everyone else will have to wait. Everyone is different, but for me, having the first 24 hours without the 18 visitors that we had last time (no joke, 18 visitors) will make the world of difference.

2. Plan for childcare if you will be returning to work before you go on maternity leave

Going back to work after maternity leave is already very hard and emotional without having to add in the unnecessary stress of not knowing IF you will even find somewhere to care for your new baby. If possible, you should reach out to other parents in your area when you first get pregnant to get a feel for how competitive childcare is in your area. Luckily this one ended up working out fine for us. We ended up finding a daycare right near our house that had an opening in their newborn room. I have many mama friends that have not been so lucky and find themselves 1-2 weeks away from the end of their maternity leave with no plan in place.

3. Make sure that the baby clothes you have are practical

I laugh at this one a little but I still feel that it is necessary to talk about. Most of the baby clothes that we had for Riley were all gifts from our baby showers. We quickly learned that all those really cute suits and sweater vests were not practical for a newborn to wear daily. I was not going to dress my newborn up in an adorable smocked outfit to hang out around our house. Period. Newborns need comfortable clothes and lots of them (to get you through all those poop blow outs). I also have an intense hatred for baby socks. They do not stay on. I highly recommend stocking up on a bunch of sleep and play outfits for your newborn to keep their feet warm!

4. You will need more than a breastfeeding pillow for nursing

I planned to breastfeed my baby and prepared by purchasing few nursing pillows. I soon realized that I had failed to really make a plan to help make my life easier in those first weeks. Breastfeeding can take up A LOT of time, especially in the beginning when your baby is learning to latch and they are not very efficient at transferring milk. Top of the list for how I didn’t prepare properly was food and clothes. I consider these such a HUGE ticket item, that they are both separately listed below!!

Other things that would have helped would have been to already have nipple cream, cloth diapers (for messy feeding sessions) and breast pads on hand when I returned from the hospital. Also, joining a breastfeeding support group on Facebook BEFORE the baby comes will make it that much easier to find immediate support and get additional information as you enter the world of breastfeeding.

5. There is more to pumping than just what pump you will use

I ended up picking one of the top pumps out there and overall, it worked out well for me. I was able to successfully pump at work for my son until he was 16 months old and weaned. However, there are a ton of cool features that other breast pumps have that mine did not have that I wish I would have considered. Joining a breastfeeding support group on Facebook can also help with picking out a pump as you can get real life feedback from actual people. I am actually planning on switching to a different breast pump this time around.

Beyond choosing the pump itself, I also did not consider any of the real life details surrounding successfully pumping at work. Day one back at work I found myself armed with a small tote bag, my purse, my lunchbox and a separate cooler. I quickly determined that being a lady with 4 bags was not a great set up and purchased a bag meant to carry my pump. It was a splurge purchase for me but it was a game changer. Do yourself a favor and find a pumping bag you love before returning to work.

6. Think about postpartum clothes for yourself

For months and months I spent focused on my new baby. What would he wear, what would he lay on to play, what kind of diapers were best, etc. Never once did I stop to think about what I would be wearing in those postpartum months. Hint: quick boob access will become a necessity of life. Week one I had to send my sweet in-laws to the store to buy me nursing clothing. Outside of a single nursing bra I had worn before during my pregnancy, I had nothing. It’s okay to start out with just a few basics, bras, camisoles and a few shirts. If you are like me and have an oversupply of milk, you may need lots of extra nursing clothing for when you leak. My favorite nursing shirts are these criss-cross cardigans from Free to Live.

7. Stock up on food before your sweet baby arrives

As mentioned above, breastfeeding can take up a lot of time. My son always fell asleep on me immediately afterwards, so I ended up being trapped underneath him. I loved every moment cuddled up with him, except that most of the time this meant that I was missing meals and going hungry. If breastfeeding, you need to keep up your caloric intake to continue to produce enough breast milk. Figuring out a way to make sure that you have eaten is important.

Stocking up on frozen foods before baby arrives is a great start. Keep in mind that some breastfed babies may need their mama to switch to a dairy free diet, so go easy on the milk and cheese! Food that can be prepared in a few minutes or that will still taste good when it ultimately cools to room temperature before you actually get to eat it are the best. Some of my favorites are chicken salad (made from frozen chicken cooked in slow cooker), peanut butter and jelly, soup of any kind (hello, extra hydration) and fruit of any kind!

8. Set up Amazon Subscribe and Save

I had Amazon Prime for years and never knew that Subscribe and Save existed until I became a mom. With Amazon Subscribe and Save you get a monthly delivery of items on a set day. The more items you subscribe to, the larger discount you get on each item. Each individual item can be set for a tailored delivery schedule- every month, every 2 months, every 3 months, etc. We have diapers and wipes delivered monthly but other items are delivered less often. We ran out of diapers a lot before we discovered S&S. Since setting this up, we have never run out of the basics. We also get a better price than you can find in store. Disclaimer: if you are a coupon pro, you can likely find these items cheaper with a coupon. I am not a coupon pro and love that I can consistently purchase these items at a lower price.

9. Plan for Newborn Photos

Professional photography is important to me. Having these memories captured forever is priceless. The last thing you want to do is find yourself a day away from your scheduled photography session with nothing to wear because your maternity clothes are too big and your non-maternity clothes are still WAY too small. I was so caught up with all the money that we were spending around this time. I felt SO guilty spending any money on myself. You don’t have to get something new, but make sure that you have something that you feel comfortable and beautiful in. You just created life, you deserve to feel great while taking photos to commemorate this huge life milestone.

10. Talk to your spouse about paternity leave before baby is born

Somehow we never talked about what my husband would do immediately following our son’s birth. We didn’t discuss it and we ended up on completely different pages. My son was born the day after Christmas, so my husband already had that week off of work. To my surprise, he returned to work just a few days later.

My son was attached to me pretty much all day every day. Between breastfeeding and his lengthy milk drunk naps that followed, my husband felt that he wasn’t needed. Me on the other hand felt completely abandoned and overwhelmed when I was suddenly home alone with my tiny newborn baby for 10 hours a day. This pregnancy I have already set the expectations that he will stay home with me for a minimum of 2 weeks. This will let us find a new routine for our little family before I am left on my own with both kids.

Motherhood is hard and there is really no way to plan for everything. Is there anything that you wish you would have done before your baby arrived? I would love to hear about it! Comment below.

Packing your hospital bag? Check out my list of What’s In My Hospital Bag- The Second Time Around

I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Instructions for Building an Easy Crib Platform

Posted on November 25, 2017October 27, 2020 by TheBraveLittleMama

Combining a few different ideas that I saw online, I decided to build a crib platform for my toddler’s mattress that would allow us to lower it an additional 3 inches. Really, we could have lowered it up to 4.5 inches, but I am pregnant so I wanted to still be able to lay him in the crib without having to drop him the last few inches. I had my plan in place, so I enlisted my dad (aka the man who owns a saw) to help me turn it into reality.

Here’s what we did:

Step 1: Measure the crib

From this step, I knew that I needed a crib platform that would be 27″ wide x 51″ long x 8.5″ high. Note, I opted to go a 1/2″ smaller than the actual measurements for length and width so that it would be easier to move the crib platform once it was in place. If you don’t have a tape measure handy, you can always look up the measurements of the crib mattress that you own. Most standard cribs are similar size.

Step 2: Cut your wood to size

My dad helped with this part (yay for dads) since I do not own a saw, yet.

2 x 51″ long 2 by 4 pieces

5 x 23″ long 2 by 4 pieces

6 x 8.5″ high 4 by 4 posts

1 x 51″ x 27″ x 1/2″ piece of flat wood

Step 3: Line up the 2 by 4s to make the frame then screw them together

We screwed 2 screws to connect the wood at each connection point (see photo).

Crib Platform — Riley LOVED helping Grandpa build!

Step 4: Put the 6 8.5″ post in place. Screw these into place

We also used 2 screws at each connection point to attach the posts (each arrow = 2 screws in the photo). It is important to make sure that when you are screwing the posts on, that the legs are all flush with the top of the frame. This will ensure that your legs are all the same length and that the crib platform is level.

Step 5: Put the top on your frame

Now that you have your frame and legs in place, you can put the top on your toddler’s new crib platform. Put the 51″ x 27″ x 1/2″ piece of wood on top and screw it to the frame. We put a screw in each corner and then added additional screws around the edge to connect it.

Step 6: Sand the edges

Once everything was put together, I ran sanded along the edges to get rid of any rough edges that might catch my crib skirt.

Step 7: Remove existing mattress platform from your crib

This step was pretty simple. Take the metal platform off of your crib. For us, we just had to remove 4 screws, remove the platform and then replace the screws since the same screws were also attaching the bottom of the crib rail.

Step 8: Put the crib platform in place

Once put together, the crib platform is pretty heavy. You will likely need 2 people for this to ensure that you do not damage your walls.

Step 9: Replace bed skirt and put your mattress back in place

Once your bed skirt is in place, you will not be able to see the unfinished wood of the crib platform anymore. Congratulations, your crib mattress is now 3 inches lower.

To read about the other two changes we made to our routine to help stop crib climbing, read about them here.

How to Stop Your Toddler From Climbing Out of their Crib

Posted on November 25, 2017July 18, 2020 by TheBraveLittleMama

This post contains affiliate links. See affiliate disclosure here.

Chances are that if you are reading this, then you also had the horrible experience of waking up to the sound of your child falling out of their crib to the ground. The initial thud noise was probably followed by a loud wailing from your now traumatized child. At least, that’s how it went for us. This delightful experience immediately sent me searching for options of how to stop my toddler from climbing out of the crib again. There were a lot of suggestions out there, but most of them lead to converting his crib to a toddler bed, which is a step we are not ready for. As it stands, my son currently naps for 2-3 hours at a time and sleeps at night for 12-14 hours. There was just no way I was going to change-up his current sleeping situation unless I had no other option.

We decided to use a combination of three different ideas so that we could increase our chances of success.

1. Move the crib against the wall! We moved his crib so that one of the long sides was against the wall. A lot of people already have their cribs like this, but in doing so, you reduce the number of sides that your naughty toddler has available to climb out of. Our crib is the same height on both of the long sides., so it didn’t matter which side ended up against the wall. If your crib has a higher side, put the lower side against the wall so that you have even more of a barrier for your toddler to have to climb over.
2. Sleep Sacks! A sleep sack limits how much your child can can extend their leg upward. My son has been unzipping his sleep sack lately, so we started zipping his sleep sack so that the zipper was at his back. This was to eliminate the chances that he would unzip it and have a full range of motion. Our favorite sleep sack is the Zipadee Zip!!

Lower the crib mattress! We built a platform so that we could move his crib mattress down an additional 3 inches. This was definitely the “big gun” in our three-part plan. Instructions for how we built this are listed here.

It has been 2 weeks since the fall that started my frantic online searching for solutions. Since putting all three of these changes into place, we have not had any more climbing out of the crib. My son has been awake and ready for me for 15+ minutes before I get him, which gives me a lot of confidence that the lack of falling is actually because of these changes and not just because of his lack of trying.

Have you done something different to keep your toddler from climbing out of the crib? I would love to hear what worked for you in the comments below!

How to Break Your Toddler’s Wubbanub Habit

Husbands, Please Immediately Stop Asking Your Wife to Pump

Posted on November 10, 2017October 27, 2020 by TheBraveLittleMama

This is a story I have heard over and over again from my pregnant friends. Every time I try to bite my tongue and gently share my thoughts with them in the hopes they will change their expectations. In reality, this is a message that the dad to be to be needs to hear, since ultimately he made the unrealistic request. So here goes..

STOP telling your pregnant wives that you want them to make it possible for you to bottle feed the new baby ASAP so that you can feel connected. I know this sounds harsh, but really YOU are being SELFISH. Now hear me out. Taking care of a new baby is hard, really freaking hard. Despite what you may think, breastfeeding does not come easy to most. For many women, like myself, it took MONTHS to get it right. Those months were emotional and overwhelming. So many tears were shed as I struggled to get my screaming newborn to latch on so he could eat. Thankfully, I had a very supporting husband that understood that those first few months with our new baby were focused on 1 single goal- meeting the needs of our baby. For me that meant making sure that he was fed and happy. For him, that meant that I was taken care of so that in turn, I could take care of our baby.

If you still are not convinced, lets talk about what pumping entails. Lets discuss the many reasons that asking your wife to pump so you can bottle feed is not a simple request:

Pumping is a hassle
- The set up takes time and effort
- It can take up to 30 minutes to pump enough for a single feeding (fingers crossed the baby isn’t already crying and hungry)
- You have to clean 3874 pump parts after each pumping session.
Many women don’t respond the same way to a pump that they do to a baby
- After all that hassle, you might not even end up with enough milk for a feeding.
- Removing less milk could lead to a decrease in milk supply.
Nipple Confusion
- Bottles make it easier for baby to eat. Some babies decide they would rather get the milk from a bottle and start to refuse the breast. Talk about making life 800 times harder for your wife.
Pumping is cold- I had a winter baby and the last thing I wanted to do was to get practically topless to hook up the hands free bra and pump parts.
Pumping freaking sucks. Maybe not all women agree but pumping sucks.

I’m sorry if this hurts your feelings. I know your request came from your desire to connect with your new baby. Your baby will still love you. You will still connect. The moral of the story is that if you want to set your wife up for the best chances to successfully breastfeed YOUR child, you need to kindly back off of the emotional guilt you are placing on her and let her do her mama thing.

Steps off soap box.

Gender Reveal for a Second Baby

Posted on October 30, 2017July 14, 2019 by TheBraveLittleMama

Gender reveal for a second child? Is a big party appropriate for a second child? Do you make your friends feel left out if you don’t have something big and inclusive? The size and guest list of your gender reveal is something that you never expect to ever be conflicted over. But there I found myself, completely conflicted.

We were both born and raised in the city that we live. We went to college here and have since lived here since graduation. Our friend base is fairly substantial (seriously, not bragging here!). We also have a lot of family members that live here. Anytime we host anything that includes everyone, our guest list can quickly grown to 50+ numbers. Really it is a great problem to have and we consider ourselves lucky. But when planning anything, it is something that we HAVE to take into consideration.

Ultimately we, okay really just me because hubby doesn’t care, decided to do something with just our family. Since our last gender reveal party we have had baby showers, baby daddy showers and first birthday parties that all of our friends have given up their own time to be a part of. My decision was based both on two things. 1. The desire to not have to plan a party for a large group, and 2. The fact that I didn’t want to create yet another occasion that our friends would feel obligated to come and celebrate our lives.

We invited our family over for a simple dinner on friday night. At the end of dinner we popped confetti poppers that were PINK!! The rest of our friends and out-of-town family go the news shortly after – thank you social media. I am so happy that we choose the stress free option of having a quaint dinner with our family rather than going all out on a stressful, expensive party.

Also, with all that money we didn’t spend on a party, we decided to do a mini-shoot to celebrate our gender reveal happiness!!

What did you do to reveal the gender of your baby?

Photo cred: Vika Photography

Skin Cancer, Me and Motherhood

Posted on October 23, 2017July 14, 2019 by TheBraveLittleMama

I am a red-haired, blue-eyed, fair-skinned woman. My arms and face are covered with freckles. I have been sunburned more times than I can count. After college, I started avoiding the sun which was made easier since I was no longer surrounded by all of the college pool parties and lake weekends. As I have gotten older, I have hidden from the sun more and more. I’m pretty sure I went 3-4 years in a row without visiting a pool, lake or beach. I purposefully pick out foundations that have sunscreen in them to help add an additional layer of protection. Every year I go to the dermatologist to have her check me over for spots that could indicate skin cancer. I think it is fair to say that I had become paranoid about sun damage to my skin.

Fast forward to the beginning of 2017. I had just given birth to my first child, a beautiful little boy when I noticed a spot on my back that wouldn’t heal. I couldn’t really remember when it had showed up but I knew that it had been there too long for comfort. I scheduled an appointment with my dermatologist, where I was diagnosed with a Basal Cell Carcinoma.

There are far worse varieties of skin cancer out there. Generally speaking, Basal Cell Carcinomas are non malignant cancers (they don’t spread elsewhere in the body) that appear as red or pink open wounds or scars. It is the most commonly diagnosed skin cancer, with 4 million cases diagnosed in the U.S. each year. Hearing all of that did not change the immediate panic that I felt hearing that I (wtf, bad things do not happen to me!!!) had skin cancer. The good news is that my doctor was able to remove the entire lesion on my back and prescribed me a lifelong schedule of being checked every 6 months.

How has my experience affected my decisions as a mother? A lot. I consider it my mission to protect my son’s skin from any and all unavoidable sun damage. This does not mean that he lives indoors or in a bubble but it does mean that we make a conscious effort to avoid direct sunlight. Here are the things that we do:

Hats

My son wears a hat anytime that he is outside. Sometimes he is less cooperative but for the most

He stuffed the hat on his head so that we would hurry up and go outside on a walk. 6pm and lots of shade on our walk.

part, he knows that the hat means that it is playtime and is therefore more than willing to let me put it on him. Our favorite hat is this one that we found on Amazon. Large brim, neck coverage, comes in a ton of color options and it snaps under his chin so he is less likely to remove the hat. It also folds up nicely so it can fit right into my diaper bag so we are never without it!
Sunscreen

Anytime we go outside, any exposed sun gets slathered in sunscreen. Our favorite is Blue Lizard SPF 30+ sunscreen for babies. He is a daycare baby 4 days a week, so we also have a bottle at daycare for any and all recess times.
Pants

We live in the South but that doesn’t stop us from wearing long pants throughout most of the year. Clothing provides more sun protection than sunscreen ever will. He doesn’t tolerate long sleeves as well, which is why we go with the pants instead. If it is a REALLY hot day and we are going to be outside for a longer duration, then yes, he wears shorts (I’m not completely mad!).
Full coverage swim wear

Building his swingset in the shade.

Define going “overboard” with sun coverage

There are a ton of long-sleeved rash guards on the market, but fewer swimwear options with long pants. Sunscreen washes off pretty quickly when submerged in water and other than our backyard pool, most pools are in direct sunlight. Whether we are at a lake, public pool or an inflatable pool in the backyard, we go with full coverage swimwear and swim shoes to cover every inch of his skin. Plus, I think he looks freaking adorable in his swim get-up! Swimsuit can be found here, and swim shoes here.
We play in the shade

We have been very mindful in where we play in our backyard. We built the swing set in the shade. We have the sandbox in the shade. Our backyard is surrounded by trees so that area is shady for most of the day. During the small part of the day that it isn’t shady, we don’t go outside. I had to adjust the brightness of his pool photo in this post dramatically to make his face slightly visible in the photo.

You might think that I am ridiculous or you might completely agree with me. Once your skin is damaged by the sun, you can’t reverse that damage. As my son grows up, he will reach a point that I don’t get to make every decision for him. He will likely make choices that don’t always keep him protected from sun damage. That’s why I am so over the top with avoiding any unnecessary sun damage now, while protecting him from sun damage is completely in my control. These habits we are making now, may even turn into lifelong choices for him (fingers crossed). Nothing that we are doing to protect him from the sun have affected how much he plays during the day or have decreased his happiness levels but they have set him up for a lifetime of healthier skin.

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

And A Baby Girl Makes Four (Hooray)!

Posted on October 21, 2017October 27, 2020 by TheBraveLittleMama

I have always known that I wanted to be a mom. Some of my friends think that I am crazy, but 5-year-old me couldn’t wait for the day that I would get to be a mama. Don’t get me wrong, I had other dreams and ambitions as well and wanted to have my life in place before becoming a mom, but I always knew the end goal was to be a mom.

In April of 2015 we found out that I was pregnant with our first child, who turned out to be a little boy. He has been the center of our universe since he first made his appearance in December of that year. Being the mom of a boy has been so much fun. He was an easy-going boy, he loves to dance and he gets along well with other kids and adults. He is adventurous, playful and so loving towards us. I have loved being a mom to my little boy.

We we found out that I was pregnant again, I couldn’t deny that I really, really, REALLY, wanted this second child to be a little girl. I tried not to admit this out loud because if it ended up being a boy, I wouldn’t want that little boy to ever feel unwanted. I would have loved any baby that came our way. Monday we had our anatomy scan and immediately we could tell that baby #2 was a girl!!! Insert tears, cheering and me doing a mental happy dance.

Immediately I started thinking about all the adorable clothes and accessories that baby girls get that baby boys do not. Tutus, head bows, shoes with rhinestone or glitter!! I can’t wait to have fun with all of the fashion choices that are out there. On a more practical note, I am excited for the mommy/daughter relationship that I will get to build with her. Everyone always talks about how boys are yours until they get married, but that baby girls are yours forever. I have no idea if there is any truth to it, but I am so thankful that I get to opportunity to also be a girl mom.

Photo Credit: Vika Photography

How To Embarass Your Dog On His Birthday

Posted on October 12, 2017October 27, 2020 by TheBraveLittleMama

I am going to start off by saying that this is one of the most ridiculous things that I have ever done as a pet owner. I adopted Camden when I was just 19 years old and he has been my shadow ever since. This year, he is celebrating his 10th birthday and I wanted to celebrate in style. Camden gets nervous (read: aggressive) around dogs that he doesn’t know well, so having a dog birthday party was out of the questions. Naturally, that left one option: doggie photo shoot!

I was armed with a few supplies that I picked up ahead of time for the photos and the small window of time that my son’s nap time provided to make these photos happen. I tried to get as many of the supplies ready to go ahead of time before nap time so that I could fully take advantage of my time window. I had great intentions to give Camden a bath before his pictures, but that didn’t happen. Sorry buddy! Here’s what we got!!

Pennant Banner: Hobby Lobby

Blue Pom Poms: Amazon

Party Collar: Midlee from Amazon

I love this little fella so I wanted at least one picture with us together. Unfortunately I was home alone, so it was just me and my camera timer on the job. 38 takes and 400 treats later we got this photo which makes me so happy!! I really don’t know if I can express how much I love this little dog – don’t tell our other dog, but Camden is definitely my favorite (yep, I just said that).

What is a birthday without a birthday cake? Prior to nap time, I baked this bad boy from dog cake recipe I found on Love From the Oven. I topped the cake off with mini milk bones and a cake topper I found at Hobby Lobby. Camden was really unsure of the cake at first, because he never gets to eat food off a plate. He gave it a few tentative licks and then went to town!

4 Things I Learned from My First Baby

Posted on October 9, 2017October 27, 2020 by TheBraveLittleMama

I’m not the first to tell you, but becoming a mom for the first time is an experience that no one can really prepare you for. There are wonderful and not so wonderful parts of becoming a parent. I have learned a few lessons along the way and I am sure that as mt first baby grows up and our little family continues to grow, that I will continue to learn even more.

Life is SO much easier when you give up having a specific plan

Babies change constantly. No phase lasts for a very long time and the second that you think that you can plan around their “usual” timing- nap, feedings, awake time, your baby will probably change things up on you. During my first few months as a mom, this made me feel like a failure. Why couldn’t I figure out how to manage my baby better? My life became less stressful when I gave up trying to stick to a plan and make everything work perfectly. If baby is not having a good day or doesn’t nap like “usual” then we may not make it today, we may not go grocery shopping today and that is OKAY.

Give your spouse a break

The years are short but the days are long. Insert fussy baby, difficult breastfeeding, blow out diapers and some days are much longer than others. I spent a few of directing my frustration at my husband, who really didn’t deserve it. I choose to breastfeed- a decision that I am proud of and would do over again 100 times over- but along with breastfeeding comes a lions share of the childcare. My husband made up for this with cleaning, doing our laundry, waiting on me when I was trapped on the couch with a latched on baby. Still, some days I was so jealous that he barely lost any sleep and definitely didn’t miss any meals or showers that I would be angry at him. Rather than focusing on what he was doing to support me, I focused on what he wasn’t doing.

Accept help whenever it is offered

This one sounds like it should be intuitive but for me it wasn’t. I am an independent mama that prefers to be self sufficient. I love helping my friends and giving gifts but when the generosity is turned back on me I have a hard time accepting it. My mother and mother in law live close by and in the beginning I did not want to accept their help. I am woman and I got this- except maybe I didn’t, at least not all the way. There is nothing better than getting to take a long shower or go shopping alone **gasp** because your baby is happily snoozing on Nana’s chest. Accepting help is not weakness and allows you to take care of your needs.
Live in the now- be present

Babies grow up fast, too fast if you ask me. Looking back I wish that I would have spent less time plugged into my phone, preoccupied and less time not focused on my baby. If he wants to be in the swing for 45 minutes straight, saying “more” every time he starts to slow down, then guess what? I’m going to stand there pushing his little tushie on the swing for 45 minutes. If he wants to cuddle with me for 20 minutes before going to bed, I am going to soak up his snuggles and sit in that glider rocking him. Rather than focusing on what other adult things I could be doing, like eating dinner, plugging into my phone or watching the latest episode of This Is Us, I focus on him. There is going to come a day, a mean and awful day, that he doesn’t need me to swing him or doesn’t want me to cuddle with him anymore so I am going to take in all in while I can.