Comparing Yourself To Others

I stumbled across the most amazing words the other day…..”We often lose our way when we compare ourselves to others. We lose our inspiration, motivation, and that ambitious drive. Compare yourself to no one. Not a single person. You are unique and what make you perfectly different is what sets you aside to crush those dreams.” ☁️

We as a society naturally compare ourselves to others. It’s human nature. Especially those of us that are extremely competitive in nature. While comparison can fuel you, it can also burn you. 🔥

You really should only compare you, to yourself. Compare your current self to your past self. Are you where you want to be? Are you meeting your goals? If not, do something about it! Only you can make the improvement in your life. 💙

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Pregnancy and workout

Soon to be moms……did you know regular exercisers are 75% less likely to need a forceps delivery, 55% less likely to have an episiotomy, and up to 4x less likely to have a C-section! 💡

If that’s not reason enough to continue (or start) working out while pregnant, I don’t know what else is!

Working out doesn’t always mean lifting heavy weights or doing those intense workouts you see people doing on IG. A workout is what works for YOUR body. Everyone is different. Everyone has different obstacles. I currently lift light weights and do occasional cardio as my workout. When I hit about 8 months I know light cardio is about all I’ll be able to manage. When I was pregnant with Ryder at 8 months, my belly was too big for me to comfortably lift weights. But I could do the elliptical without issue. However when I hit 9 months I had too much pressure and aching that workout became something I had to just let go of for the time being.

If you’re someone who doesn’t workout at all, try starting with just walking. Going on a walk can be considered a workout! It gets your body moving and blood flowing! It’s better than doing nothing at all!🏃‍♀️

Remember tomagotchi and nano babies?

Anyone have a tomagotchi or nano baby growing up? Yeah me too. I was obsessed with mine in JH. They had to ban them at our school because kids were playing with them during class. Little did they know a few years down the road cellphones would take over their classrooms.

Those little digital animals and babies were addicting. I took as good of care of that thing as I did my actual living dog. I swear those things are what helped prepare me for motherhood. Go ahead and laugh. But think about it. Your goal was to keep the digital pet/baby alive. That’s EXACTLY what you do with your own child. We all say we are going to focus on reading them the best books, feeding them healthy nourishing foods foods, creating the perfect routines, etc. But reality is, we are all just trying to keep them alive, unharmed and fed. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but it is.

Kids aren’t easy. My little nano baby was definitely a cake walk compared to my toddler. However, I love him more than anything and love every minute of my life with him. So I guess I should thank my little nano baby for giving me the determination and patience to keep his little digital self going. It’s the same determination and patience I have with Ryder every day. Ok maybe not exactly the same but my nano baby definitely was a good start to learning. Who says technology can’t teach you something! 😉

Gift idea for a new mom

Have a friend who is having a baby, just had a baby or is adopting a baby and you need to get a gift for them? Here is a list of gifts that are must haves and greatly appreciated by new moms! 🙌🏻

🔹Electric nail filer (instead of clippers)

🔹Wipe warmer (Nothing is worse than the scream of a child from a cold wipe)

🔹Cute bibs (Some baby’s drool a lot)

🔹 Simple onesies (With diaper blowouts, you can sometimes go through 3+ onesies a day)

🔹Bottle Warmer (Safer than the microwave and stove)

🔹Diapers (You can never have too many)

🔹Baby books (My son loves to look at the pictures)

🔹 Sound machine (Drowns out surrounding noises to help baby sleep)

These were all my must haves after I had Ryder. I literally couldn’t have done without any of them! All are practical and not ridiculously expensive! 👶🏻

Cravings

I’m 18 weeks pregnant this week! I feel like my belly is getting bigger by the minute. 😂 I’ve put on 10lbs so far. My doctor tells me that’s the perfect amount for someone my size and age. 💪🏻

I’ve been careful about my weight gain. You don’t want to gain too much, but you also don’t want to not gain enough. While I do monitor how much I’m gaining, I have been enjoying myself. I keep up with my workouts but I don’t deprive myself of any food I may be craving at the moment.🍔

I’m not one who gets a consistent craving. I sort of wish I was. I always wanted to get one of those weird cravings some women get. A friend of mine craved cucumbers her whole pregnancy. She would literally eat a cucumber like a corn on the cob. Another craved pickles and peanut butter. I have a new craving every day. It’s never anything crazy. It’s things like an apple with peanut butter, popcorn, ice cream, avocado toast, eggs, sandwich, etc.🍦

I still have 22 weeks left, so there’s still hope for a crazy craving! 🍩

Mom Sick

Before I was a mom I was rarely ever sick. Id occasionally get a stuffy nose here and there. But when I told people I was sick, it was usually to get out of going somewhere or doing something.

Now that I’m a mom I’m sick more often than expected. Why? Because I now have a tiny human who sneezes and coughs ON my face. Before I could just avoid anyone sick by not getting too close or literally staying away from them. No chance of that anymore. My tiny human brings every sick bug to me in the form of snot or spit.

All I can hope is that with all the snot and spit being flung my way, comes a stronger immune system. Oh the joys of motherhood!

Baby Name Battle

Can I tell you what’s the most difficult thing in the world?……Trying to pick out a baby name after having been a teacher. You have no idea how many kids actually ruin names for you 😂

Seriously! I find a name and I’m like ok yeah I like that. Then all of a sudden I get a memory of a kid who slept all class, picked his nose, was rude to me or did something else and the name is immediately ruined.

I swear I’ve been going through every baby name list possible and I’m just not finding that one name I really like yet. I know it’s out there, I just haven’t found it yet.

The search continues! 👀

Pregnancy dreams…..the scariest

Pregnancy dreams…..are the absolute worst! At least for me. Mine aren’t exactly dreams, they’re nightmares. With Ryder I had dreams that someone was out to kill me. With this new baby I haven’t been able to remember the dream when I woke up but once I have woken up, I feel uncomfortable and nervous. NOT a good feeling to wake up to. I know it’s just the hormones and it’ll pass but for the time being I don’t look forward to sleep. I actually get a little anxiety before bed. Weird I know. But the dreams literally feel that real, I’m nervous to go to bed.

This is one of those downsides of pregnancy. By no means am I ungrateful. It’s just one of those things that I absolutely dread about being pregnant. I wish I was one of those women who slept peacefully and woke up refreshed. Instead I go to bed nervous what dream I’ll have and I wake up nervous and scared. This is the part of pregnancy I’m ready to be over with!

Foods I avoid while pregnant

I’m one of those crazy moms who is really cautious about what they eat/drink while pregnant. My child can’t make healthy decisions yet so I make the healthiest choices I can for them. Below is a list of things I personally choose to avoid while pregnant:

🔹Alcohol

🔹Fermented drinks/juices like kombucha

🔹Caffeine (Coffee & Tea)

🔹Processed meat

🔹Deli meat

🔹Raw or undercooked meat/seafood

🔹Soft cheeses

🔹Non organic fruit and veggies

🔹Meats that aren’t hormone free

🔹Sushi

🔹High mercury fish

I like making sure everything I eat is mostly organic and completely hormone free. I want my child growing in the healthiest way they can and that begins with the food I eat! I can’t expect a healthy child if I’m not healthy myself. I love many of the items on this list but it’s worth sacrificing not having them for the health of my child.

Pharmacists….your new best friend

Pharmacists…..these people can be your best friend when it comes to information. I’m lucky because my best friend actually IS a pharmacist. 😂 But really, it’s shocking how many people don’t realize they should be asking their pharmacist the questions they are asking their doctors.

Here’s the thing, doctors are trained in diagnostics with a understanding of most (not all) medications. Pharmacists are trained in everything medications. They can tell you what medications cause certain reactions or counteract with others. They can tell you medications you should take in place of others or recommend ones that might fit your needs better. They can also give you information on OTC (over the counter) meds you should or shouldn’t be using based off your symptoms and medical history.

It kills me when I hear a friend say something like, their medication is making them nauseous so they are going to call their doctor to make an appointment to see what they should do. 🤦🏼‍♀️Call your pharmacist!! They are way easier to get a hold of, they are trained specifically for this, and you’ll get the answer you need plus additional information to help.

Now remember, the pharmacist can’t fill a new prescription without a doctor. But if the pharmacist recommends you switch to a new med, all you have to do is contact your doctors office, tell them of your conversation with the pharmacist and their recommendation and give the pharmacy number. Done! You’ll get a new prescription that may work better for you and you didn’t have to go in to the doctor.

Use your pharmacist people! If you have a medication question, ask your pharmacy! They are there to fill your medications and answer your questions. 💊