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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?

Dominique

♥ Tell us a little about yourself!

I’m 32, live in Florida but originallyfrom Ohio. I was diagnosed with PCOS at 15 and was told the likelihood of having my own children was slim to none.

♥ How many kids do you have? What are their names and ages?

I have 1 child, a daughter. Her name is Rozlynn but I call her jellybean, she is 9 months old.

♥ How do you find your “me time”?

“Me” time is hard to find. Especially now that I’m a SAHM. I find me time when she is napping or when my bf is home and watches her so I can be alone for a bit.

♥ What is the best baby related book you’ve ever read?

I was given What to expect when you’re expecting and both of Jenny Mccarthy’s books on her pregnancy. (Her books were more funny than informational)

♥ What’s the most useful baby product you have? Why do you love it?

I loved our bassinet, it had a mesh covering we could zip and take outside.  Kept her close and let her get fresh air and kept the bugs out. The baby Bjorn and the wrap I have for her have been life savers. The wrap/baby carrier helps me when she doesn’t want me to put her down but I need to get house work done. I could wear her for hours with the wrap and she’s completely content

♥ If you could say something to yourself when you first brought home your first baby, what would you say?

Congratulations,  take it slow and enjoy every moment.  Even the bad…they will only be this size once.

♥ How much planning did you do before your baby was born, and how do you think that it helped or didn’t help?

My original plan was to have a nest egg of money set aside for medical costs and doctor visits. To be “financially stable”….but that didn’t go as planned since she was a surprise. We had just been told 5 months prior that due to my PCOS I didn’t ovulate and we would have to try fertility treatments to conceive. …boy, did I prove that doctor wrong. We bought as much as we could on our own and were blessed to have 2 showers and received a ton of diapers and wipes. ..if I had it all to plan all over again I would try to have a larger diaper supply stocked.

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

TTC – Stressing yourself will only make it worse, don’t focus on what you don’t have, focus on what you do and enjoy life. Don’t lose hope…miracles happen everyday

New mom – You will have bad days but remember you are doing your best and it’s OK to not get everything done. Your child will be this size once, enjoy it and them…you can clean, cook and do laundry later

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

Besides the first time I held her, I’d have to say the day she said her first word, “mama”…music to my ears.

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

We were induced a week early. I was in labor for 2 days, when my water finally broke and it was time to push. After we started  the doctor realized her head was stuck and my blood sugar dropped to the 60’s so he decided we needed a c-section to try to ensure neither of us went into any medical emergencies. My boyfriend was with me through it all and she finally arrived , perfect and amazing.

♥ Lastly, for fun, define motherhood!

Motherhood, the scariest,  craziest, most fun, fulfilling, rewarding and thankless journey you will ever take.

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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Do you have a car payment? A line of credit? A mortgage? Do you have student loans? If you said yes to any of those questions, this post is written specifically for you.

I can’t figure out when or how I came across Dave Ramsey, but I am so grateful I did. Dave is the voice of debt repayment. Every day for three hours a day he hosts a radio show that is broadcasted live on youtube, facebook and is later offered as a podcast anywhere you listen to your favourite podcasts. He teaches millions of people how to get out of debt and how to be debt free. By following Dave Ramsey’s baby steps it is possible for anyone to become debt free. The hubs and I are on his plan and are currently on Baby Step 2 and crushing our goals hard.

So why should I worry about debt? I make my monthly minimum payments, I’ve never been late on a payment and my credit score is awesome.

Well, with most debt, the longer you have it the more money you throw away in interest payments. Banks WANT your money, and interest is their bread and butter. As Dave says, your greatest wealth building tool is your INCOME, and debt makes this number lower the more you owe! Imagine having no car payments, imagine keeping all the money you make? Yeah, it’s possible, and the Dave Ramsey Baby Steps will get you there.

Baby Step 1: $1,000 to Start an Emergency Fund

Sell anything that isn’t attached to the floor, make a budget and cut back on expenses. Save the $1000 as FAST as you can. If you already have a savings account, take everything out of it and leave $1000 in it and put all the rest to your debt. The idea for this fund is that it’s an EMERGENCY fund. A birthday is not an emergency, because you knew it was coming up. With this in the bank you won’t have to go into debt if something were to happen.

Baby Step 2: Pay Off All Debt but the House

List all your debts from the littlest one to the biggest one and list your monthly minimums. Every month, make a new budget with your partner and attack that little debt with a vengeance! Throw every last dollar you can at the little one until you pay it off. When you do, take all the extra money you were putting towards the debt AND the minimum payment you were making and add it to what you pay to the second debt on the list! This is his snowball method and the idea is that the motivation of knocking off the small debts will inspire you to keep going while freeing up more money to pay off the larger debts!

Baby Step 3: 3 to 6 Months of Expenses in Savings

Now you are debt free! Congratulations!! Time to build your emergency fund to a full fund. This means, add up all your expenses for the month. Mortgage, food, utilities, insurance etc and multiply that number by how many months you want to save. He recommends 3-6 month’s worth. Now this is your new savings goal! This will allow you to be prepared were life to throw a huge wrench your way. This and all his steps are also available on his website.

Baby Step 4: Invest 15% of Household Income Into Retirement

Now that you have no payments and a fully funded emergency fund, time to make that money work for you. Invest!! Take 15% of your gross household income and invest it into a Tax Free Savings account, your work’s matching RRSP etc. Remember, time is of the essence and you will benefit from compound interest when it comes to this step. Stay consistent and soon you will be a millionaire. It’s just math!

Baby Step 5: College Funding for Children

Now that your future is taken care of thanks to investing it’s time to start saving for your kid’s post secondary education! The Canadian government has something called the RESP and by contributing to it the government matches 20% of your contributions up to $500 a year. (aka, free money!) This is a great way to start saving for your child’s education.

Baby Step 6: Pay Off Home Early

Now, there’s just one more debt standing between you and a truly debt free lifestyle. Can you imagine not having a mortgage payment?! I’m freaking out over here just thinking about it! Any extra money you put towards your mortgage is going to shave off so much interest and so many years off your mortgage! This is a huge one, and usually, especially in Canada, we don’t often find mortgages for 80 or 90k like our neighbours to the south do, so our debt here is quite large. Just keep at it. You have no payments, your life is well set up after following all the baby steps, so enjoy your money while paying down your house faster!

Baby Step 7: Build Wealth and Give

Max out your RRSP and TFSA investment contributions per year, and have FUN. As Dave says, you live like no one else so that later you can live and give like no one else. Become incredibly generous, and do whatever you want. You have done so well. Congratulations!

All the baby steps and more on the entire idea behind Dave’s plan, including his own personal story, is detailed in his book the Total Money Makeover, which I could NOT recommend more. I actually wrote about My Top 5 Personal Development books and you better believe this was on that list!

Best of luck on your journey. Are you following his plan? What baby step are you on?

 

 

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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?

Annie Foreman

♥ Tell us a little about yourself!

I am a wife, mom, Realtor, and lifestyle blogger. My blog is where I share about my life, fun activities, fashion, food, Fresno, entertainment, kids, and much more.  I was born and raised in Fresno, CA and have grown to love and truly appreciate The Central Valley.  I married my high school sweetheart, Kevin in 2009 and we welcomed our first baby girl is November of 2011 and our second baby girl in May 2014.

♥ How many kids do you have? What are their names and ages?

Emily Grace – age 3.5  Madison Anne- Age 15 months

♥ How do you find your “me time”?

Finding “me” time is very hard but I think the most important aspect of finding me time is having support from your family especially your husband.  My husband is WONDERFUL about giving me “time off” rather frequently.  Whether it’s dinner or happy hour with girlfriends and a night away to reboot.  I’ve learned that “me” time makes me a way better mom and wife.  As a type A mama I found it really hard to ask for help or not take on everything myself.  However, I learned (am still learning) that the breaks make me a better mom and wife.

♥ What is the best baby related book you’ve ever read?

Baby Wise.

♥ What’s the most useful baby product you have? Why do you love it?

Baby Brezza is a great tool for steaming and pureeing food.  I made all my own baby food so having something to streamline the process was great.

♥ If you could say something to yourself when you first brought home your first baby, what would you say?

Ask for help.  You don’t have to be supermom.

♥ How much planning did you do before your baby was born, and how do you think that it helped or didn’t help?
I read a few books during my first pregnancy but always just felt that I was meant to be a mom so I don’t think I did an overwhelming amount of research.  The books I did read did help especially Baby Wise because the schedule helped me so much.  Also doing research gives you confidence even if you don’t agree with the point of view.  You can learn different ideas then take what works for you.
♥ What do you believe are the top three pieces of advice a new mom or someone trying to conceive should know?

Trust in God, You will get through it (whatever IT is), Ask for help

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

There are thousands of wonderful memories in my past 3.5 years of being a mom.  It’s nearly impossible to narrow it down to one memory.  Seeing my husband hold our first daughter for the first time was priceless.  I never had a father present so to see the ultimate love when he held her was breathtaking and indescribable.

♥ Give us the short form version of your birth story.
My water broke in the early afternoon and our baby girl arrived not so many hours later at 10:14 pm.   When my water broke I wasn’t quite sure but after a few minutes of “leaking” I figured this must be “it.”  I called my husband to tell him, “I think it’s time.”  He rushed home and was anxious to get to the hospital but I wasn’t in any pain so I was in no hurry.  I told my husband to take a shower and get his things together.  I even made him stop at Whole Foods so I could pick something up on the way to the hospital.  Once we got there I still wasn’t have any contraction pain so they called  my OB/GYN.  He instructed them to give me Pitocin to initiate labor but once they checked me they were shocked to find that I was 4.5 cm dilated.  They called upstairs for someone to come get me.  By the time I arrived to the 6th floor the contraction pain had begun and was quite INTENSE.  I asked for an epidural and those next 30 minutes or so of waiting seemed pretty long.  As the anesthesiologist was numbing my back I heard him say, “Dad are you okay?” and dad responded, “yeah,” and then BOOM, dad hit the floor extremely hard.  Everyone ran to his side as I was having the worst contraction yet (my epidural was delayed needless to say).  I was so worried he was really injured but they took my husband outside while they finally gave me the epidural.  Luckily, a few minutes later he returned and was okay except for one huge bump and a headache.  They decided to check me right after the epidural and they were utterly shocked to find that I was totally effaced and dilated to a 10.  Labor went really fast, especially for my first baby.  At 7:55 I started pushing.  As quick as labor was, I pushed for almost 2.5 hours.  Towards the end my dr. gave me an episotomy and had to use the vacuum.  At 10:14 our bundle of joy was born.
My husband and I decided that only he and I would be in the room especially since this was out first baby and we didn’t know what to expect.  Looking back I am so glad we made this decision.  It’s a very special experience and the moment your baby is born is indescribable.  It was so wonderful that we got to share it together; with no other distractions.
♥ Lastly, for fun, define motherhood!

The greatest joy and hardest job in the world.  Motherhood is wiping bottoms, drying tears, cleaning up messes, losing sleep all with a giant smile on your face!

To hear more from Annie be sure to visit her blog The Real Housewife of Fresno 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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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?

Heather Koontz

♥ Tell us a little about yourself!

I’m a full-time working mom with lots of hobbies and dreams. By day, I’m a digital marketer. When I’m not working, I run a personal blog where I share musings, adventures, and DIY tutorials. When I’m not doing that, you can find me in my craft room, drinking wine, or watching Dateline.

♥ How many kids do you have? What are their names and ages?

I have one 18-month-old little boy named Russell.

♥ How do you find your “me time”?

Full disclosure: I don’t think I even know what “me time” is anymore! But, I do try to take time at the end of every day (after working, cooking, cleaning, blogging, checking off my to-do-list, and maybe squeezing in a shower) to spend 30 minutes or so watching television with my husband. It’s our way to connect and relax, and I look forward to it every day! Outside of that, I like devote a portion of my time to self-improvement in the form of devotionals, reading other blogs, etc.

♥ What is the best baby related book you’ve ever read?

When I was pregnant, I was a big fan of the “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” classic.

♥ What’s the most useful baby product you have? Why do you love it?

Two words: gripe water. My son suffered from severe colic, and he was in pain for the first six months of his life. When we started using gripe water, we saw him get instant relief. It helped us survive the colicky months!

♥ If you could say something to yourself when you first brought home your first baby, what would you say?

It’s not as hard as you think! Yes, your baby cries all the time. Yes, washing around the umbilical cord area is intimidating. Yes, he is so small and fragile. But, trust yourself. You know what you’re doing, and you know best.

♥ How much planning did you do before your baby was born, and how do you think that it helped or didn’t help?

I’m nothing if not a planner. I have no less than five active planners and calendars at any given time, and I like to have everything scheduled and checked off. BUT. When it came to having a baby and bringing him home, none of those plans mattered. The perfect birth I planned went horribly against plan; my plans to work while my newborn slept did NOT happen; and the baby book I so thoughtfully planned to keep updated is pretty much empty right now.

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

1) You can do this. There are times when it seems impossible, but girl, I promise you can do it. You became a mother for a reason, and you are the only person meant to be a mom to your baby. 2) It gets better. Colic? Crying? Sleep regression? Growth spurts? It all gets better. And believe it or not, you will look back and regret how quickly it went by. 3) Reach out. If you’re feeling sad, even a little bit, find someone you can talk to. Don’t remain silent if you’re suffering from any kind of emotional pain. PPD is real, and it’s dangerous. Reach out!

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

My son is a very sweet human being. He loves to hug and kiss and smile. The very first time he spontaneously hugged me is my best motherhood moment thus far. We were playing on his floor and when he looked up at me, and I could see his little eyes sparkling. His face softened, he started to smile, and he decided to stand up and wrap his little arms around my neck. It made me feel like maybe he realized – in that moment – who I am and how much I love him.

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

My birth experience wasn’t what I expected. In fact, it was pretty much my nightmare. I’d been leaking amniotic fluid for a week before realizing it, so an emergency induction, threats of an emergency C-section, and blood pressure scares followed.

♥ Lastly, for fun, define motherhood!

Motherhood is sacrifice, anxiety, and lots of sighing. But, you’d never, ever want to give it back once you have it.

new mom mondays

To hear more from Heather be sure to visit her blog OakCityFolk 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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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?

Sheena Lastoskie

♥ Tell us a little about yourself!

I am a Christian mom, wife to the love of my life for 8 years, and a family travel blogger. I was born and raised in Southern California and I don’t plan on ever moving away. I love to craft, from scrapbooking to wood crafts, I love it all. My new addiction is to adult coloring books, they are so calming to me. I could eat pizza and tacos everyday of my life as long as I have a rootbeer to go with it.

♥ How many kids do you have? What are their names and ages?

I have two children, ages 3 & 4. Shane and Scarlet

♥ How do you find your “me time”?

I miss me time. It is the one thing that I have not found time for in my last 4 years of motherhood.

♥ What is the best baby related book you’ve ever read?

I stayed away from reading mommy books. Once you start letting others influence your parenting you will be unhappy.

♥ What’s the most useful baby product you have? Why do you love it?

The Nose Frida saved my sanity on numerous occasions. When my children would get a running nose, I was so scared to use those awkward nose suckers you get when you bring your baby home. The Nose Frida is the same concept except so much less stressful. Now when my children have a runny nose they ask for the Nose Frida because it clears them right up.

♥ If you could say something to yourself when you first brought home your first baby, what would you say?

Your baby is not going to break. Don’t be scared of her, all she needs is your love.

♥ How much planning did you do before your baby was born, and how do you think that it helped or didn’t help?

I love to plan and I did a lot of it before I brought home both of my children but nothing could have prepared me to care for a new baby.  Going from a family of 2 to 3 and then from 3 to 4 is a huge transition.

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

My husband and I struggled with infertility and it was some of the hardest times of our lives. The negative pregnancy tests seemed to be never ending. What I would say to those trying to conceive is that God has a plan for you, don’t let it consume your life, he will provide.  Enjoy the time with your spouse because once you have a little one, your life will forever change. Stay positive, as hard as it may be, this is just apart of your life’s journey, embrace it.

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

Watching all of my children’s accomplishments. Seeing them proud of themselves always makes me cry happy tears.

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

I suffer from extreme anxiety and when I was making my birth plan with my doctor we decided that we would induce and give me an epidural very early on to keep me from feeling any pain. I labored for 3 days and pushed for almost 4 hours. I was exhausted and hungry but had a healthy baby girl to show for all of my suffering!

♥ Lastly, for fun, define motherhood!

Organized Chaos

NEW MOM MONDAY CHASING LITTLES

To hear more from Sheena be sure to visit her blog Shining Thoughts Blog 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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