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NEW MOM MONDAYS CHASING LITTLES
This post is part of the New Mom Monday series! A series about moms and their advice to new moms! Books and videos can only teach us so much, but there’s something special about hearing from real life moms. Honest, true, and always beautifully inspiring!!
♥ What’s your Name?

Fatima Torres

♥ Tell us a little about yourself!
I’m a mom of two boys and two pups, married to my soulmate. I’m also a freelance social media strategist and Family/Lifestyle blogger who is passionate about life and being social.
♥ How many kids do you have? What are their names and ages?
I have two boys and two pups. Sebs (3), Chris (1) and the pups are 5 and 11.
♥ How do you find your “me time”?
I find a little “me time” any chance I get. Oftentimes it means waking up earlier than usual to write a post or finish up promo. Sometimes I sneak in a few pages from a book I’m reading.
♥ What is the best baby related book you’ve ever read?
Anything from National Geographic, which reminds me, we have to replace the dinosaurs book our youngest destroyed.
♥ What’s the most useful baby product you have? Why do you love it?

I had a really good baby carrier we purchased when we had our firstborn. We kept it until our second child outgrew it and gave the carrier to a family member. It was a lifesaver whenever we went on family walks or even when I had to travel to events with the two of them.

♥ If you could say something to yourself when you first brought home your first baby, what would you say?
“Remember, you’re going to be exhausted. Just don’t take it out on everyone.”
♥ How much planning did you do before your baby was born, and how do you think that it helped or didn’t help?

I did a lot of planning prior to having our firstborn, and even then I couldn’t predict I was going to be a mom at 23. Prior to meeting my husband, I had graduated college a year ago and found my dream job. I was hoping to move up on the ladder until I became pregnant. It happened, and I embraced it. All I wanted was to be with my child. We moved to another state and I was home with our little one until I started doing freelance work and blogging from home. It’s been a blessing. Thankfully, I learned a lot from my 3.9 years at the digital publishing firm. Sometimes I feel as though with blogging and side projects I’m running my own digital firm.

♥ What do you believe are the top three pieces of advice a new mom or someone trying to conceive should know?

You are not just a mom, so don’t hold on to that title like it’s the end of the world. There’s more to you. There’s more to who you believe you are. Go find her! 😉

♥ What is your best memory so far of being a mom?

The moments when they’re finally down for a nap/bed after a very long day. Those repeat themselves often, but the emotions are always the same. I always look back at our moments together. Those are what count. Not the mess, not the tantrums. And believe me, there are PLENTY of both.

♥ Give us the short form version of your birth story.

Our first child was born through C-section It was terrifying, and I was numb to the experience. I remember being told I had to breastfeed my child after everything was done. Silly me, I had told them prior to going into labor that I’d like to do so.

When our second, I went through a VBAC. It was a breeze compared to what we went through with our firstborn.

♥ Lastly, for fun, define motherhood!

Motherhood to me is finding strength in things you never thought were possible. It’s breathing life into someone else and even giving a new meaning to your own. It’s tough, but it’s also life-changing.

To hear more from Fatima be sure to visit her blog Motherhood Through My Eyes and follow her on Instagram.

If you would like to participate in New Mom Mondays please feel free to message me by using my contact form! I would love to not only feature you on my blog but learn from your answers, as I’m sure many readers would too! 
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This post is part of the New Mom Monday series! A series about moms and their advice to new moms! Books and videos can only teach us so much, but there’s something special about hearing from real life moms. Honest, true, and always beautifully inspiring!!
♥ What’s your Name?

Kristin

♥ Tell us a little about yourself!
I’m a SAHM/WAHM of two and I feel like it all happened overnight! My husband and I bought a house in 2009, were married in 2010, had our little guy in 2011, and our little lady in 2012. The years since have flown buy and the kiddos are reaching school age.
♥ How many kids do you have? What are their names and ages?
Our Little Guy is 5 and just started kindergarten and our Little Lady is 4. My husband’s daughter is with us part-time and will be a teenager in a few days.
♥ How do you find your “me time”?
This is something I’ve struggled with so much! Ever since our second child I have stayed home, but I have also put a lot of pressure on myself to try to help provide for the family. I got into blogging as an outlet when I was home with the two babies, but I then started putting some pressure on myself to try to earn some money. My blogging me-time suffered when I started working from home, and I don’t think I had any real “me time” for the next few years. Recently, I have stopped working that job and tried to focus on enjoying these moments with the kids. My me time lately comes in the form of trying to get stuff done once the kids are in bed. I guess I haven’t really gotten this figured out just yet… haha!
♥ What is the best baby related book you’ve ever read?
When I as pregnant A Girlfriend’s Guide to Pregnancy was the best book I found because it was so relatable
♥ What’s the most useful baby product you have? Why do you love it?

My sling baby carrier.  I’m lost without it.  I love it because I can go to the store, park, zoo, state fair – pretty much everywhere and my baby will sleep, sleep, sleep while I take care of things and have both of my hands free.

♥ If you could say something to yourself when you first brought home your first baby, what would you say?
I would say “relax, Momma, you’re doing fine. You don’t have to do it all, just nurture these awesome babies.” It something I still have to tell myself because, in an effort to be there for my kids, I put a lot of pressure on myself to have everything else all together when I really should be enjoying these fleeting moments. It goes so incredibly fast, just be present and enjoy it.
♥ How much planning did you do before your baby was born, and how do you think that it helped or didn’t help?

I didn’t do a ton of planning – of course, we had the nursery and gathered supplies, but the best things came naturally as we learned about our little ones and our needs. I would say not to plan too much, this will be totally different than expected. Don’t buy too much from the start, because you won’t end up using a lot of it. As you find out what you could use in your daily routine and what will work best for your family and your little one, then make those purchases.

♥ What do you believe are the top three pieces of advice a new mom or someone trying to conceive should know?

These all really tie in together: Try not to put too much pressure on yourself. We’re all trying to do the best we can and there is no right or wrong way. Also, be flexible and do what works best for you and your little one. Last, don’t compare yourself or your baby to others. Each parent, family, mom, baby, etc. has their own strengths and weaknesses and everyone is different.

♥ What is your best memory so far of being a mom?

My best memories come from simple moments with my kiddos. Watching them enjoy things for the first time, watching them grow, each new milestone… My best memories are the moments were we all climb into bed together to read a book and cuddle.

♥ Give us the short form version of your birth story.
With my oldest, we started with a midwife and I didn’t have much of a plan. I had no idea what to expect so I didn’t want to make any specific requests or decide to have a natural or medicated birth. My blood pressure started to rise toward the end of the pregnancy, so I ended up not even seeing our midwife for the birth and going with a regular doctor. When we got to the hospital in the middle of the night, it was a pretty long labor and I eventually went with an epidural. We also started to have a bit of stress just before delivery. I hardly recall it all because it seems so perfect in my memory, but we had a lot of monitoring and our little guy had to be taken right away shortly after I delivered. He turned out just fine and has been the healthiest kiddo ever since. With our second things were so much quicker! She came in no time and I remember hardly anything about that day. 🙂 No matter how it happens, those memories always turn into good ones.
♥ Lastly, for fun, define motherhood!

Motherhood to me is a beautiful, rewarding, and loving responsibility. You’ve received the best gift of your life and now it’s up to you to do the best you can to shape these little people into a better version of yourself. It’s the best job you can ever do. I can’t imagine my world without them.

 

To hear more from Kristin be sure to visit her blog Exploring Domesticity and follow her on Facebook.

If you would like to participate in New Mom Mondays please feel free to message me by using my contact form! I would love to not only feature you on my blog but learn from your answers, as I’m sure many readers would too! 
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This post is part of the New Mom Monday series! A series about moms and their advice to new moms! Books and videos can only teach us so much, but there’s something special about hearing from real life moms. Honest, true, and always beautifully inspiring!!
♥ What’s your Name?

Michelle

♥ Tell us a little about yourself!
I’m 29 years old and I live in Vancouver, BC. I had my son when I was 16. I’m currently a SAHM because I’ve been on a medical leave since September 2015. I love reading and binge watching shows on Netflix.
♥ How many kids do you have? What are their names and ages?
I have one little monkey. His name is Riley and he just turned 12 years old.
♥ How do you find your “me time”?
Since my son is now older, my free time happens while he’s in school and when he’s at his dad’s house.
♥ What is the best baby related book you’ve ever read?
In all honesty, I didn’t read any baby books.
♥ What’s the most useful baby product you have? Why do you love it?

I loved the playpen. I loved that I could put Riley in there and know that he was safe. Plus, as he grew older and started crawling and standing, it allowed me to do things like cook and clean without worry that he’s going to get up to something not good for him.

♥ If you could say something to yourself when you first brought home your first baby, what would you say?
1. It’s going to be a difficult road ahead but it’ll be so worth it!
2. Don’t be scared, you have so much help around you.
3. You are going to be an AMAZING MOM.
♥ How much planning did you do before your baby was born, and how do you think that it helped or didn’t help?

I planned and planned. As in… I made sure that I got everything before hand and I had to organize how I was going to finish my schooling. I left the high school I’ve been attending since grade 8 and decided to compete it online so that I can be at home. You can’t plan for everything because in reality, everything is on the baby’s schedule. Everything else was trial and error.

♥ What do you believe are the top three pieces of advice a new mom or someone trying to conceive should know?
1. Always live in the moment. It’s going to fly by so fast… you won’t know what hit you.
2. Take lots of pictures! I love looking at all of Riley’s baby albums.
3. Start some sort of baby book where you can record all the baby milestones, you’ll appreciate the memories when they’re older.
♥ What is your best memory so far of being a mom?

In all honesty, that’s a difficult question to answer because there are so many memories to choose from! I took a mental video of when Riley was learning how to crawl and his first baby giggles and those are baby milestones that definitely stuck in my mind. I love watching my little monkey find himself. I love watching him learn and try new things. I love watching him not give up. There really are a lot of memories in the past 12 years.

♥ Give us the short form version of your birth story.
I just knew that Riley chose his birthday – he decided to come 3 weeks early. The birth itself was super fast – only 3 hours and 12 minutes from the moment my water broke. He was born in a hospital and delivered by a doctor who was not my OB because my OB was delivering another baby.  I had my mom, a friend from school and my brother’s girlfriend at the time with me. I didn’t plan on taking any pain medication and in all honesty, there was no time for it. The birth itself was fast and with no complications. The nurses and the doctor was so surprised that I didn’t need stitches! Riley was slightly jaundiced and I had high blood pressure so we stayed two nights. I was so happy that I couldn’t sleep at all that night.
♥ Lastly, for fun, define motherhood!

It’s a crazy rollercoaster with its ups and downs. It’s exciting… stressful but so rewarding!

To hear more from Michelle be sure to visit her blog CoffeeHeartMind and follow her on Instagram.

If you would like to participate in New Mom Mondays please feel free to message me by using my contact form! I would love to not only feature you on my blog but learn from your answers, as I’m sure many readers would too! 
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This post is part of the New Mom Monday series! A series about moms and their advice to new moms! Books and videos can only teach us so much, but there’s something special about hearing from real life moms. Honest, true, and always beautifully inspiring!!
♥ What’s your Name?

Corinna Smith

♥ Tell us a little about yourself!
I am a wife and homeschooling mom of nine.  I live in the Deep South and try to juggle everything, every day just like all moms do.  
♥ How many kids do you have? What are their names and ages?
I have nine kids – I can’t remember all of their names and ages (kidding, mostly)
♥ How do you find your “me time”?
What is “me time”?  Seriously, though, when my husband and I can get away for a quick bite to eat or even some shopping together is when I find “me” because I don’t have to worry about meeting the needs of all the little people in my life.
♥ What is the best baby related book you’ve ever read?
 The Baby Book by Dr. Sears
♥ What’s the most useful baby product you have? Why do you love it?

My sling baby carrier.  I’m lost without it.  I love it because I can go to the store, park, zoo, state fair – pretty much everywhere and my baby will sleep, sleep, sleep while I take care of things and have both of my hands free.

♥ If you could say something to yourself when you first brought home your first baby, what would you say?
Don’t listen to anyone except yourself.  Unless you specifically ask for advice on a specific issue, you know what is best for your baby.  Oh, and take more pictures of yourself with the baby.
♥ How much planning did you do before your baby was born, and how do you think that it helped or didn’t help?

I was not prepared for the birth experience at all.  I failed to take a class or even read a book.  So, that didn’t help me as I didn’t know what to expect at the hospital.

♥ What do you believe are the top three pieces of advice a new mom or someone trying to conceive should know?

Research your options for childbirth.  Surround yourself with people who support you in your parenting decisions.  Don’t forget to take it all in and have fun!

♥ What is your best memory so far of being a mom?

So many!  I have great memories of traveling with the kids.  Love seeing new places together and old places through their eyes for the first time.

♥ Give us the short form version of your birth story.
My ninth birth was amazing.  We went to a free-standing birth center for the first time.  My water actually broke at home (also a first for me) and we quickly headed to the birth center.  A couple of hours later, our son was born.  No birth plan, no medication, and no complications.  Seven hours later we were home and able to recover in peace.  Loved it and would recommend it to anyone who is expecting or trying to conceive.
♥ Lastly, for fun, define motherhood!

Motherhood is the opposite of all things selfish and ugly.

To hear more from Corinna be sure to visit her blog The Mommy Clause and follow her on Facebook.

If you would like to participate in New Mom Mondays please feel free to message me by using my contact form! I would love to not only feature you on my blog but learn from your answers, as I’m sure many readers would too! 
Follow:
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This post is part of the New Mom Monday series! A series about moms and their advice to new moms! Books and videos can only teach us so much, but there’s something special about hearing from real life moms. Honest, true, and always beautifully inspiring!!
♥ What’s your Name?

Samantha Bush

♥ Tell us a little about yourself!
I’m a mom of two kids ages 6 and 7.  I love the outdoors, when we’re not camping in the summer time you can catch our family out at car shows(hubby has an antique truck he enters) or just hanging out at home.  My blog is something I do to help bring awareness to other moms about the importance of being healthy and choosing the right foods for your family.
♥ How many kids do you have? What are their names and ages?
Kaitlyn is 7 and Jacob is 6.
♥ How do you find your “me time”?
I’m a WAHM so I find my me time when the kids are in school between helping clients and running errands for my mom.
♥ What is the best baby related book you’ve ever read?
What to Expect When You’re Expecting is the only book I read and with that came a lot of trial and error!
♥ What’s the most useful baby product you have? Why do you love it?

I would say the swing.  I know it’s simple but both my kids loved it when they were little, so it was a great buy because it gave me a chance to clean house or just have some down time while they enjoyed their swing time.

♥ If you could say something to yourself when you first brought home your first baby, what would you say?
Don’t stress!  And get sleep!  I tried to be the perfect first-time mom, up cleaning house, doing laundry and making dinner while she slept.  I didn’t heed the advice of sleep while they sleep!  And it drained me.
♥ How much planning did you do before your baby was born, and how do you think that it helped or didn’t help?

We didn’t go overboard on planning but we had the necessities in place by the time I was 6 months along, and that helped a lot.

♥ What do you believe are the top three pieces of advice a new mom or someone trying to conceive should know?
I lost two pregnancies before finally carrying my daughter full term.  It was a struggle because it was hard losing the pregnancies but also not really knowing what was the cause of it all.  I over stressed about it.  At the time I had a high-stress retail job that demanded a lot of me.  So my best advice would be, don’t stress.  Stress can really do damage to your body in so many ways. 
♥ What is your best memory so far of being a mom?

Last July we took the kids on their first over-night stay at a hotel to go to Lego Land.  It was such a cool experience getting to see their absolute joy by getting to stay in a hotel and travel.  Traveling is something I love to do so I know we’ll be doing that more in the years to come.

♥ Give us the short form version of your birth story.
For my daughter, Kaitlyn it was a quick birth, from start of labor to delivery was about 5 hours, which wasn’t bad.  I just had my husband in the room, he got to cut the cord of course.  After delivery, my mom and both in-laws came in to see the baby.  It was a great experience and I wasn’t nervous once everything started to happen.  Instincts kicked in.
With my son Jacob, it was a bit more planned.  I had complications in my pregnancy and passed out 3 times during my 9 months.  So I opted this time for an epidural and for the nurse to start labor.  I had Braxton hicks for 3 days before he was due and it felt different than last time.  I don’t remember how long I was in labor but it was about 10 hours and I was exhausted.  Again my mom and in-laws were with us and a friend stayed at the hospital with my family while I was in labor.
♥ Lastly, for fun, define motherhood!

It’s a huge ball of joy, excitement, worry, 2nd guessing decisions, patience and love all rolled into one.  You’ll have good days and bad days.  But you know love is there and that’s what keeps you going!

 

To hear more from Samantha be sure to visit her blog Simply Samantha Bush and follow her on Facebook.

If you would like to participate in New Mom Mondays please feel free to message me by using my contact form! I would love to not only feature you on my blog but learn from your answers, as I’m sure many readers would too! 
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