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My second favorite thing in the morning is Mommee Coffee! First is waking up to a healthy husband and child. đ Photos courtesy of Milas Breakables @milas_breakables, winner of our March Giveaway from our Mommee Coffee Real Stories feature. Check out her photos and find out how you can win free Mommee Coffee!
Before becoming pregnant, I worked as a Medicaid Service Coordinator for almost three years for an agency that supported families who had a child with either severe medical diagnosis or disability. Even before then, I worked in the mental health, special education, and human services field for several years. I had learned the ins and outs of providing supports to families who needed them most. These supports ranged from helping families find ways to put dinner on the table to helping create a modified bathroom to suit a wheelchair-bound individual. Many, or most, of my clients had Medicaid and with this insurance, they were able to access supports and services to benefit their familyâs specific needs â whatever they were.
Being a mom of twins, I walked into motherhood knowing comparisons would probably happen. I also knew it was something I had to do my best to stray away from. I have officially learned how difficult it is not to compare your children and not to compare yourself to other moms â even when you try desperately not to. Every single day, I make comparisons and every single day, I try to stop myself. This has become an ongoing battle and simply knowing other people genuinely fight this same battle makes it a little bit easier of a pill to swallow.
However, it still leaves me feeling like one heck of a guilty mom.
Bonding with Baby: It Doesn't Always Happen Right Away. This truth is a tough one for many women to admit. However, it is a truth that needs to be discussed openly. Too many women believe they need to feel that immediate wave of emotions the second they lay eyes on their baby. They believe they should know absolutely everything about their baby within that first week. They think they should feel this overwhelming, overflowing amount of love every second of every single day.
The truth is, many moms donât feel any of those things for many, many months â and it is completely normal.
Finding time for yourself, away from motherhood, is not an easy task. It also shouldnât be seen as a task, but more times than not â it is. As a mom of one-year-old twins, I have struggled over the months to find time for myself. Their needs come first, as they should, but sometimes that leaves a new mom to get smacked in the face by âBaby Bluesâ or to force aside her own interests and hobbies. While I was able to still intertwine some of my hobbies into my schedule early on, I also had to push aside some of them. This brought forward a deep depression and made me feel less like the confident, secure person I had sculpted myself into over the years.
Even before the girls were born, people asked me about how I would handle favoritism and the sharing of attention between my twins. For parents who have more than one child, this concept can come up in conversation often. At first, I was nervous. Would I have a favorite? Would I not be able to show my babies equal attention? Would it be harder than I thought it would be?
Well, of course it would be hard â thatâs just motherhood in a nutshell.
I was told during my pregnancy that being a mom of twins would be different than being a mom of a singleton. At first, I really didnât know what that meant because this was my first time stepping foot into motherhood. I didnât know what to expect and all I knew was what I was experiencing. Of course, it wasnât easy. However, it was all I knew.
The starting line begins with Halloween and the finish line ends with New Yearâs Day. The âHoliday Raceâ has officially begun.
This time of the year can be just as exciting as it is stressful for many parents. While many moms may love putting together creative costumes and buying every decoration they see, anxiety may also be very present. Between the planning and purchasing that goes into the holidays, parents may find this time of the year quite stressful when it should be enjoyed with loved ones.Â
So, how do you make it to the finish line?
Maternity leave has run out. Your boss wants you back. It brings tears to your eyes just thinking about it, but the time has come to return to work. Ugh! And on top of adjusting yourself the change, now you also have to prepare your child to start daycare. Here are five ways you can prepare for your childâs first day at daycare.
It can be incredibly tough embracing your postpartum body. The saggy skin. The scars. The stretch marks. It isnât the body you were used to before your pregnancy and will most likely not be that body ever again. Â However, there is a sentence many âMom Bloggersâ are using on social media to help build a positive âMom-Bodâ mindset when it comes to facing your postpartum body. This sentence not only rings true, but can help build a different, more positive thought process when looking in the mirror.
When looking at your postpartum body, think this: âThis is the result of my successes, not my failures.â
Between facing mental health battles as a teenager to facing similar struggles during pregnancy, one thing is for sure â life doesnât hand you what you canât handle. ClichĂ©s are often overused, but some do hold a lot of truth. Iâve conquered quite a few demons in my lifetime: cancer, self-harm, suicide attempts, depression, anxiety. Iâve managed to make it through those difficult times and learn from them â something some people, unfortunately, do not. The dark hole of mental illness is a dark hole, but there truly is light at the other end.
With the courage âMom Bloggersâ have recently shown when posting their personal â1 in 5â stories on Instagram, I felt encouraged to share my personal âMental Health Mamaâ story as well. Being someone who has struggled in the past with depression, anxiety, self-harm, and suicidal ideations (as well as attempts), I felt drawn to this viral hashtag and the message attached to it.
1 in 5 Americans Struggle With Mental Illness
The National Alliance on Mental Illness states that â1 in 5 adults in the U.S. experiences mental illness in a given year.â Many âMom Bloggersâ have taken to Instagram to share their personal mental health stories by involving this statistic as a hashtag. Putting yourself out there isnât for everyone, but for those who do it carefully and appropriately are strong, courageous individuals â such as the following âMom Bloggers.â
Like with anything else, pregnancy gets easier the more you do it! Here I am 37 weeks pregnant with my 3rd girl, and I have finally managed to have (dare I say) an enjoyable pregnancy. And even though my body stayed relatively fit and healthy with the last 2, I think I have struck a balance with this one that has allowed me to enjoy the ride. I chalk it up to staying present and mindful along the way.
Hi, I'm Sarah, I handle Mommee Coffee's Instagram account (@mommeecoffee - follow us!) and I'm also an artist and mom. I live in Philadelphia with my husband Eric, our son Fritz, and too many cats to name. I'm a photographer by training, but over the years I've expanded my repertoire to include illustration and writing. "Triangle and Circle" is my first childrenâs book, and the first of a forthcoming series of books.Â
How did you feel when you first heard about Mommee Coffee? Did you find it on your own or did a friend share with you? Youâll love these responses from our Mommee Coffee lovers when they first discovered our low-caf, low-acid coffee options. Maybe one of your comments is even on the list!
Whatâs your Mommee Coffee moment? Have you shared Mommee Coffee with your friends (I bet theyâd thank you for it!). How did you feel when you first heard about Mommee Coffee? Youâll love these real stories from our Mommee Coffee lovers when they first discovered our low-caf, low-acid coffee options. Maybe one of your stories is even on the list!
I find inspiration for my books a lot of ways: from the silly things that make my kids laugh, to my husband pushing me to follow my passions; from the teachers at school providing new experiences for my children, to the special family and friends in our lives. Each one adds up to a new book idea and my latest book, âFiona the Snail Goes to Kindergarten,â gives a shout out to all of them!
Being home with your newborn is an incredibly rewarding experience. You start learning more about their personality, their needs and the little human they will grow up to be. However, being home with your baby can come with moments of overwhelming exhaustion and feelings of cabin fever.
Feeling like the outside world is filled with possible germs, many new parents choose not to venture into the public with their newborn unless it is for a doctorâs appointment. This means many new moms, though loving and caring for their little one (or ones), may feel trapped within the walls of their own home. Since babies can often sense how Mom is feeling, here are some suggestions to make your home as stress-free as possible.
The holidays can be stressful and challenging. It is an important time of year to focus on self-care. Here are five easy and quick tips to help you survive the holidays while pregnant.