A few weeks ago I was finally able to meet the beautiful and unique soul behind the online personality, Way Crunchy. Azalea moved to my town recently from a city that didn't have a huge natural living community. In fact, she was the leader of the Crunchy Moms group in her larger city. So when she moved to our town with the motivation to bring her philosophy, vision and passions to life in a new area, she was met with a huge natural living community that wasn't necessarily in need of a leader (her words, not mine!).
After this quick conversation with her, I had a MOMENT! I realized how easy it is to forget that I live in a beautifully unique area with an incredible amount of support available for mamas and that the education I was led to is not always as available to women in other areas. As if I needed another reason to blog about the First 100 Days of having a new baby, right?! :)
I will say that my chat with Azalea got me off my tush and gave the motivation necessary to work on a handful of new blog posts for my mama blog readers! This brings me to the latest in my First 100 Days Series...
Blog Posts for New Moms
20 Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me About Postpartum
"20. It Gets Better. Postpartum kind of sucks. It just does. But it does get better. Your baby will sleep eventually. Your boobs will go back to normal (mostly). You’ll have sex again. Life will go on and you’ll figure it out. The haze will lift and you will love motherhood. This time feels endless, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel."
Tips for New Moms: A Girlfriend's Guide to Birth and the 4th Trimester, Part 2
10 Self-Care Tips for New Moms
"3. Buy Postpartum Clothes. Everyone talks about maternity clothes, no one talks about postpartum clothes."
Ten Things To Keep You More Comfortable Postpartum
"NO guilt. I just had a patient the other day say “Should I feel guilty when I leave her in the crib like that?” I did a exorcist head spin and said, “NEVER feel guilty for putting your baby down.” The guilt. Leave it behind."
A Toolkit for Postpartum Anxiety and Panic Symptoms
"The term postpartum depression can be a disservice to many, many women who struggle during pregnancy and/or postpartum. Many of these women don’t reach out for help because, well, they are not necessarily depressed and so therefore assume that their struggle is not with postpartum depression."
Blog Posts for Moms-To-Be
100 Little Things About Pregnancy, Birth, and Being a First-Time Mom
"7. Don’t feel guilty if the gender of the baby on the ultrasound isn’t what you were expecting (or hoping for). It’s normal and will pass. (And you will be so happy about your little boy or girl that you’ll forget about it anyway.)" (Sidenote from Liz: I do want to say I completely disagree with #9. Buy whatever it takes for you to feel cute and happy, because 9 months is a long time to feel frumpy and uncomfortable... carrying a baby is tough enough on your body. :))
Tips for New Moms: A Girlfriend's Guide to Birth and the 4th Trimester, Part 1
3 Things We Would Have Done Differently
"As we were driving home from a wedding in Richmond this weekend, Mikey and I reflected on some things we were glad to know now but definitely didn’t for our FIRST born"
My Biggest Birth Plan Regret
"My birth plan ended with routine procedures we did and didn't want for our newborn in his (or her) first hours. But the part of childbirth I completely failed to plan for was recovery and bonding."
No-Fluff Baby List - What Do You REALLY "Need"
"Unless otherwise noted I recommend getting almost ALL these things used. Hand-me-downs, buying at consignment stores or thrift stores are a GREAT option. You have quite a long period of time to get ready for your new baby, spend that looking for great prices on the essentials — that way you’re not stuck with a big bill right as you head into maternity leave."
These posts speak my language, friends!! I love the variety of information available around the internet, but as great as it can all be, sometimes it can really drain us. I hope a few of the blog posts I shared above will help ENCOURAGE you and help you prepare for and/or feel better about where you are in your motherhood journey.
You are doing GREAT, mama! :-*
P.S. If you are a local mama and you have not yet joined The Motherhood Collective at any of their variety of programs, PLEASE do yourself a favor and treat yo'self to at least ONE attempt at showing up. That's the hardest part, friends... but I know it is SO SO worth it! (And goodness gracious, if you do come and I'm there also, say HI!)
Liz is a wedding and birth photographer in Central Virginia. She loves to photograph fun and easygoing couples in love as well as emotional and discreet birth stories and just about anything in-between.
