Tag Archives: adorable

Flint Lockwood and a Meal Plan

Making our meal plan was pretty easy this week, but before I get to that, I want to share Emmett’s costume – he was Flint Lockwood from the Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs movies.

A few weeks ago, Seamus was at Kohl’s shopping and came across a t-shirt that had the tuxedo print on it. He obviously bought it, because what’s cuter than a 2 year old wearing a tuxedo shirt. HEHE At this point we still were unsure what Emmett would be for Halloween, he had mentioned being Daniel Tiger from Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, but it has a head piece and Emmett isn’t fond of putting things on his head. So, we kept thinking…

One Saturday morning when Emmett decided to sleep in, Seamus and I were just laying in bed brainstorming ideas and he had the brilliant idea for Emmett to be Flint Lockwood. With his tuxedo shirt, and a pair of jeans, all we would need is a lab coat! Did you know you can get them in child-size lab coat and at an affordable cost?? This is the lab coat (affiliate link) we purchased for Emmett and it fit him perfectly.

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This worked out perfectly, because to Emmett it felt as though he was just wearing regular clothes not a costume so there was no fighting to get dressed. Plus, he loved that his labcoat had pockets and he could hide his many necessities (ie: his hot wheels, binkie, Percy from Thomas and Friends). It was really the cutest thing!!

We made it about 6 houses down the street before we decided to call it a night. I wasn’t expecting to get far, it was chilly and drizzling, but I thought we’d at least make it down the street, oh well. At the first house, while we were waiting for Emmett to grab his candy, the family dog ran out to sniff Emmett. Very sweet dog, Emmett was not in danger, but because Emmett doesn’t have a lot of experiences with dogs, he was freaked out. So, every house going forward we had to coax him to come up, that they didn’t have a dog, that it would be okay – it got to the point where he was just crying. Poor guy! I kept asking if he wanted to go home and he’d tell me no, I asked again and he said yes. So home we went. I’m glad we got out and got to experience everything – next year will be even MORE fun. 🙂

Flint Lockwood and a Meal Plan - Baby Doodah6Now our Meal Plan

Breakfast: 2 Scrambled Eggs & bacon

Lunch: Salad with ham and chicken, blue cheese crumbles, sunflower seeds and honey mustard dressing

Sunday: Pot Roast

Monday: Breakfast for Dinner

Tuesday: Tacos and Guacamole

Wednesday: Homemade Steak Subs

Thursday: Scrounge day

Friday: Rotisserie Chicken & Baked Potatoes

Saturday: Balsamic Pork & Asparagus (Seamus found this recipe, I need to get it from him so I can share it)

It’s a pretty easy week, but one that will be super yummy!! Have you seen my post with tips to make your meal planning easier? You should check it out, these are my TRIED and true tips – they really work.

Join me and link-up with Laura from Mommy, run fast! and Jill from jillconyers.com.

Your turn!

What were you or your children for Halloween? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below!

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Sunday Meal Plan – Week 11

Hi everyone! I apologize for this being a few days late, things haven’t been going so well with our apartment and the noise and when one part of my life is sucking, I often let it spill into other areas. In this case, just the thought of putting any effort into blogging sounded awful. What makes this the most sad, is that I love blogging, I know I do, but when things start to overwhelm me I just lose any joy I felt in everything. 🙁

Likewise, since I was feeling so down, my Sunday meal plan was lacking. Seamus and I just barely pulled together enough ideas to fill the week, and it’s a pretty easy week. We went to my parent’s for dinner Sunday, and my birthday is Wednesday, we needed 5 meals and it took forever to create our menu. Oh well, we’re finding we don’t have a lot we can do to get them to stop the noise, which makes the whole situation even worse. However, if anyone is a lawyer or specializes in this sort of thing, and can offer some advice, please email me.

I really am sorry for being so depressing, I know most people don’t come to someone’s blog to read the negative crap, they come to be lifted up, but I’m feeling really lost and wanted to be real with my readers. I hope you can all understand.

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Now… Here’s our Sunday Meal Plan

Breakfast for the Week: GF bagel with Egg and Cheese

Lunch: Romaine lettuce leaves wrapped with Ham and Cheese, Grapes, Watermelon and Baby Carrots

Sunday: Mom and dad’s house

Monday: Leftover Chicken Fried Rice with Veggies

Tuesday: Steak with chick pea and tomato salad

Wednesday: Out to celebrate my birthday!

Thursday: Marinated Chicken and Zucchini

Friday: Hot Dogs and Fries

Saturday: Leftover Pulled Pork and Mac ‘n Cheese

Certainly not the healthiest menu we’ve ever created, but at least we made a menu, shopped and are sticking to it. You have to focus your happiness on something, I’m going to focus on the fact that we still made a menu and that we’re not just eating our emotions.

And for the fun of it, because he’s just so darn cute – here’s a little picture of my Emmett, playing at grandma’s.

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As usual, I’m linking up with Mommy Run Fast and JillConyers.com. Check them out, and link-up!

Your turn!

Do you struggle to find focus for the things you enjoy, when other parts of your life are a little bleak?

What are some of your fun eats for this week?

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Emmett’s First Haircut

Emmett got his first haircut today!

Seamus and I had been tossing around getting Emmett’s haircut for awhile, I even thought that we should do it several weeks back, but then I chickened out. His hair wasn’t falling into his eyes yet and I just wasn’t ready, however over the last 2 weeks it has started to fall into his eyes so I began to prepare myself, it really was time for his first haircut.

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I realize this probably sounds super dramatic to some of you, and probably is, but when you have a baby, that baby-phase is so short and you try to treasure every bit about it. When I think about his hair, I think about how it’s been there since his very first breath and how now I’m cutting some of that off. It was inevitable, I’m not into long hair and Seamus isn’t either, but it was tough to accept in the beginning. Thankfully after two weeks of preparing myself, the only tears that showed up today, were Emmett’s and even those were sparse.

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before

before

According to the hair dresser, he did really well. There was some soothing involved, especially when she pulled out the clippers but overall he was great. He definitely wasn’t sure what was going on but as she trimmed I assured him it was okay. I also would hold his cheeks or neck gently so he felt my touch while she had the scissors close to his head or neck. I was really proud of my boy!

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I also want to give a HUGE thank you to Miss Janet of Kiddie Cuts & More. Her salon is really phenomenal! You walk in and you are greeted with a quaint and very clean room. She has plenty of toys and books for kids of all ages, and even some magazines for parents. She has 2 carousel animals for children to sit on and then 2 regular seats that she uses for older kids and adults (yes, even adults get their hair cut here, that’s the & more part). She is wonderful, sweet, gentle and very reassuring. I think Emmett would have liked her quite a bit if she weren’t the one cutting his hair. 🙂 We will absolutely be taking him back to her, when it comes time for the next cut.

haircut-12 haircut-10Oh! And I almost forgot to mention, I wanted to save a lock of Emmett’s hair. My mom did this, I’m sure Seamus’ mom did as well, I wanted to do the same. I didn’t even have to say something to Miss Janet, with her first snip, she took a lock of it and put it aside. At the end she took it and taped it to a piece of card-stock that had a few questions on it, that she answered and then handed it to me. I was so impressed by this and it made me love her salon even more.

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Now that his hair is cut, I cannot believe how grown-up he looks. There were parts of his face that were beginning to look more like a little boy, not a baby, but he really looks grown-up now. I thought I’d be really sad, but really I’m just excited to watch him grow! Our brains are funny things, especially in emotional situations like these. You end up being better prepared than you realized, which is just fine with me!

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This was a seriously awesome, first hair cut experience! I’m thrilled we found this place, and Miss Janet.

Your turn!

How old was your child when they got their first haircut?

Did you enjoy the experience of having your child’s hair cut?

Happy (belated) Halloween!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

You have to forgive us, Emmett had shots on Wednesday (4 of them!) and on Thursday he had a fever. Since the fever went over 101, day care called me and needed Seamus or I to come get Emmett. We ended up spending the day cuddling on the couch, reading some books (the same 2 over and over again). Once Emmett had some Tylenol, his fever went down and he was fine. He was still a bit cranky but nothing some momma cuddles and love can’t handle.

I had planned on stopping for Halloween candy on my lunch (yeah, I like to plan ahead), but since I went right home we ended up not turning our lights on and just got Emmett dressed up in his costume for some adorable pics. We tossed around the idea of not even getting him a costume, since we wouldn’t be going out, but in the end, we felt we had to. We needed to have pictures, plus the costume was inexpensive, we really had no reason not to get it.

So it was after much deliberation, that we decided Emmett would be….

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Captain America!

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This costume was perfect for us and for Emmett! The reason this costume is so fitting is because when I was still pregnant with Emmett we watched the movie Captain America, for some reason Seamus started calling him Captain Doodah. Somehow, that turned into calling Emmett, Baby Doodah (while in my belly), which led to me naming my blog that, so see, it is perfect! If you’re interested in buying your own Captain America Costume, you can buy it here.

happy-halloween-7 happy-halloween-5 happy-halloween-4 happy-halloween-3 happy-halloween-2 happy-halloweenIsn’t that the cutest Captain America you’ve ever seen? I love this kid!

Your turn!

What were you or your kids for Halloween?

Dear Emmett – 14 Months

Happy 14 months baby boy!! 14-months-7

Once again another month has zoomed by and you just continue to grow and grow! I definitely don’t mind, I love watching how much you grow and change on a daily basis. It is just unbelievable that you’re 14 months!

Right around the start of the month you began actually communicating with us. You aren’t yet using words, but you’ve gotten really good at the signs that we’ve taught you. It all started one Saturday morning, we were all playing and you got up and walked to the kitchen door. I asked you what you wanted and you started doing the sign for milk. I then asked if you wanted milk and you lifted your little hand up and did the sign faster and with a huge smile on your face. I went to the kitchen, got your sippy and filled it with milk and gave it to you. You were so excited! You definitely seemed thrilled that you had been able to communicate with me what you actually wanted, it was such an awesome moment.

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We bought you your first pair of shoes AND you lost your first pair of shoes. You wore them out with me when we went for our walk, and as soon as we got home I took them off and set them on the floor. For some reason you really love shoes and picking them up and placing them on your hands, so as soon as I took them off they were on your hands. You were bopping around the house, like you usually do, but when it came time to put the shoes back on to go out, one was missing and we still can’t be find it to this day (almost a month later). It’s in the house somewhere, we just don’t know where. We’ll find it someday, maybe when you’re 5. 😀

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Your paternal grandparents got you a bike trailer for you birthday and this month you went on your longest ride with me, 10 whole miles. You did awesome, too! We went for a ride with momma’s friends down to water, on the ride down you fell asleep but woke up once we arrived. We got out and you had some milk and I had coffee with my friends. The way back was just as easy, you fell asleep about 20 minutes in and slept the entire way. We had so much fun! I’m really hoping we can get one more ride like that in before the really cold weather starts.

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You’re not exactly a cuddly baby, you like to be held and hugged, but it has to be on your terms so the first time you climbed into your daddy’s lap with a book, was the most precious thing. In your playroom you have a bookshelf all to yourself, filled with all different kinds of kid’s books, you love to grab one, walk over to your dad, hand him the book and then climb into his lap for him to read it to you. I’m thinking they must read books like that at day care, or maybe it was just a spontaneous thing, either way it’s adorable!

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We also moved you into a new day care this month, it was a really tough decision for your dad and I to make, but it has turned out to be the right one. The first few weeks were very rough for you, being dropped off seemed like torture because you’d cry and cling to me any time I tried to put you down. You’ve been there just about a month and you no longer cry or cling when I leave you in the mornings. When we walk in you now wriggle to get down and once down run over to your cot with your monkey and throw him on the bed (the sight of this melts my heart). I’m so glad you’ve adjusted, the ride for us has dropped almost a total of an hour off of our morning and evening commutes, we get home earlier, with more time for play or exercise.

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In the mornings, when we enter your room, we always warn you that we’re going to turn on the light. You seem to have kind of caught on to what that means and try to cover your eyes. The other thing I love doing with you in the mornings is asking you where your binkie is. I’ll look at you and say, Emmett where’s your binkie? I’ll put my arms out like you would if you were asking a question and you’ve begun to mimic me. When I ask the question, you know what’s coming and put your hands out, like you are asking me where it is. Seriously, I’m not sure you could get any cuter!

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You’ve also learned how to shake your head, no, in response to some things your dad or I ask you. It’s cute now, but I’m sure down the line it will give us trouble. 😉 You’re also big into say “uh oh” when you drop something, or if something is just laying on the floor. You love to look at it, sometimes you point, but you’ll always say, “uh oh.” Cute stuff!

We made these yummy Mexican pizzas and gave you black olives for the first time. I was skeptical and assumed you would not like them but I was SO wrong. You absolutely LOVED them! We only used about half the can on the pizzas and you finished the rest with your dinner, that’s how much you liked them. I keep forgetting to get you more when I shop on the weekends.

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Your dad and I have really limited your screen-time when it comes to all things, including TV, our phones, my iPad, etc. We decided before you were even born that you wouldn’t watch TV until you were two and we’ve done pretty well in sticking to that. You’ve maybe seen a total of 3 hours of TV over the past 14 months. We do occasionally allow football on Sundays and cartoons on Saturdays, but it’s a treat not the norm. We did however, relax a little on our essential ban of the iPad. I downloaded a few educational apps and you play them, but only if your dad and I are with you. The first time you played, you sped through the alphabet but as you have learned how the app works, you now wait for each letter and the picture to show up before swiping it away. It sometimes amazes me how smart you can be

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Alright, my little love-bug,  I hope you know how much you are loved, each day it grows more and more. Until next month, I love you!

Your turn!

What do you remember from when your child was 14 months olds?

You can read all of my Dear Emmett’s by clicking here.

Dear Emmett – 13 Months,

You are 13 months old! Can you believe that? 13 whole months and we are well on our way into your second year!

We’ve been busy since your last birthday! You are more active than ever, and you keep becoming more and more fun. You are exploring and getting into everything and it makes for some pretty exciting play times.

You’re a lucky little boy! Your daddy and I decided to take our dining room, make it baby safe and turn it into your playroom. We cleared out all of our stuff that was in there (we were mainly using it for storage), bought a baby fence and got some foam flooring (from your paternal grandparents) and now it is a toddler’s paradise. You have all sorts of toys in there now too, legos, fisher-price people, wooden blocks, shape sorters, a little table and chairs (from your maternal grandparents), crayons and paper, etc. We need to get some bins to keep the toys in, because as of now things are kind of strewn all over the place but you love being in there as long as we’re in there with you. I’m happy that we could make you so happy!

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You are also firmly in the walking stage, and actually you are nearly running. Shortly after your first birthday you began slowly walking more than crawling. You’d stand yourself up, take a few steps and then plop down. As the month progressed, you became more and more of a pro and now you hardly ever crawl. The only time is if you’ve fallen and are trying to chase us, you will often chase after us in a speedy little crawl.

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We bought you your first pair of shoes. I wanted to make sure we got you shoes that had soft soles with some rubber on the bottom because your feet aren’t fully formed and I didn’t want hard rubber soles inhibiting that. The most notorious for those types of bottoms is the PediPed brand, but we needed something kind of quick and ended up finding a cute pair at Babies R Us, in their Koala Kids line. They’re adorable, and the first time I put them on you was one of the funniest things I’ve seen in a long time. They don’t bother you too much now, but you still take them off almost every morning on the car ride to day care. Silly boy!

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I’m so excited to say that you have mastered the signs we’ve taught you thus far. We taught you milk, water, more and all done and you can do them all and use them frequently. You were doing milk really early on, you’d know it was time to nurse and you’d start to clench your little fist, which is your version of milk. However, you’ve slowly but surely began using it whenever you are actually wanting milk, not just when I ask you. You also know that when you’re thirsty and don’t want milk, that you can ask for water. When we are all sitting down to dinner and you’ve finished everything that you want on your tray, you will make the sign for more and we will give it to you. It is really awesome! You’re slowly beginning to gain the ability to communicate with us and it is just so fun.

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You continue to make your different sounds but more and more they are beginning to actually sound like the words we speak. When I ask you if you’re all done, you will wave your hands (the sign for all done) and make a sound that sounds like “alld.” I wouldn’t say it is a formal word yet, more of a mimic of what I said but you are definitely getting closer.

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You and food get along great! You love eating and for the most part continue to eat anything we give you. You do go in spurts where you’ll only eat soft foods, but I believe that’s because you’re growing some of your back teeth (poor guy).

Right now, I’d say your favorite toy is a toss up between your fisher-price farm (that your aunt, uncle and cousin got you) and your legos. With the farm house, you love opening and closing the doors and hearing the animal sounds they make. You also love moo’ing yourself, I’ll show you the cow and go “Mooooooo” and you’ll mimic me. It’s adorable! When you’re done playing with the farm, you like to leave the doors open and if I close them you open them back up. Such a cutie! In regards to the legos, anytime that your dad or I build something, you love to grab it and take it apart. You’ve also begun trying to get them to stick together, you’ll bang bang bang and then sometimes they’ll stick and sometimes they won’t. When they do, you get the BIGGEST smile on your face.

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You love cuddling up with your big brown monkey blanket, it pretty much goes everywhere with us. You’re also really into cuddling up this stuffed monkey that plays music that I got as a gift from some of my staff in Rochester. I love it when you lay your head down on his belly and curl up, it is the sweetest thing.

I just cannot believe you’re 13 months, I love you and can’t wait to see what the next month will bring us.

13-months-1To see all of the Dear Emmett’s, click here.

 

5 Tips I wish I’d Know as a New Mom

Life as a new mom, can very difficult but You Can Be Better Prepared.

When you’re pregnant for the first time, and the days, weeks and months are slooowly creeping by, you are left wondering, am I prepared for this?

Oh momma, you’re prepared, but there are some additional things that other mommies may not have shared with you.

I had so many people say that mom’s don’t always share what actually happens after having a baby because they don’t want to scare women away. I say, to hell with that! Nothing would have scared me away from having a baby, but if I had known then, what I know now, my experience as a brand new mom might have been bit smoother.

5 Real Life Tips for New Moms - Baby Doodah(1)

Your Love for Your Newborn Will Grow and Change as a New Mom.

I’ve loved Emmett from the moment I knew I was pregnant. I felt him grow and move and kick inside the womb and there was an instant connection to him once he was born. However, I struggled in the beginning because when he was first in my arms, I felt affection for him but my heart wasn’t bursting with love right off the bat. There was nothing wrong with me, and there is nothing wrong with you, if you should feel this way.

This new, beautiful little bundle is coming in and changing your life completely, it doesn’t mean you don’t care for him (or her) or that you wouldn’t do anything for them, it simply means you need time to adjust. You have too much else going on in your life, that you don’t need to put added pressure on yourself to feel any differently than how you’re feeling.

Postpartum Depression (PPD) Isn’t a Joke!

Obviously, I knew going into having a baby that there was a chance that I would feel mopey or sad, but I completely underestimated how mopey and sad I’d actually feel. No one shares how bad it can be. Not one single other mom said to me, watch out for how you’re feeling after you have Emmett. Sure, I’d read about it, and my OB-GYN had mentioned it but I was in no way prepared for the swing of hormones that were racing through me. All of which, lead me to feel sad and ready to kill myself one minute and so undeniably blissful the next. I thought something was seriously wrong with me, that nothing would ever feel right again, which is probably why I had so many issues with #1. Thank goodness for my doctor, Seamus and a dear close friend, reminded me of what was going on in my body, and allowed me to cry to them without a lick of judgement. They only ever wanted me to feel better and I did, eventually.

5 REAL LIFE Tips for New Moms - Baby Doodah

 Breastfeeding Isn’t Easy, but You CAN Do It!

In the midst of dealing with the beginnings of my PPD, I was trying to get my newborn son to latch and nurse and gain weight. I knew before having Emmett that I would breastfeed him, but in the back of my mind I knew there was always formula if I needed it. I regret thinking this way, I should have never entertained the idea that formula existed and that my son might drink it, I believe this is what led to most of my trouble with breastfeeding, because I was always so willing to just give up.

Emmett’s first night was a tough one, he was latching but not really sucking because he’d fall asleep at my breast. The next night, was the night he went through his cluster feeds, he’d wake up and cry every 2 hours or so to eat. I was exhausted and just wanted to sleep, I almost admitted defeat and allowed him to be fed formula. Once again, thank goodness for Seamus, he gently pushed and encouraged me to keep doing what I was doing, reminding me that the next night would be easier and he was right. Each subsequent night got easier and easier, and now we’re old pros (yes, Emmett is still breastfed today at 13 months old).

I encourage you to reach out to support groups, lacation consultants and friends who have breastfed. Surround yourself with people who will support your desires, not belittle them or make you feel crazy for wanting to give your child the very VERY best, despite the extra effort it takes in the beginning.

Breastfeeding Will Likely Hurt in the Beginning but Your Body is Made to Adjust.

As with anything worth doing, it requires extra effort and perseverance. The first several times that Emmett would latch, it was wrong, but I didn’t know it was wrong. His mouth wasn’t open wide enough, which leads to a shallow latch and potentially cracked nipples. Thankfully our hospital had lactation consultants on duty 7 days a week, who were very VERY helpful. They watched Emmett latch, showed me what he was doing wrong and how to fix it, they shared the phrase, “shove with love,” which basically means that once you have the baby’s mouth open wide enough and your nipple inserted, to gently shove the baby on until you feel him latch. It worked like a charm and it was because of these women that I had such success.

The other thing is, it hurt a lot, in the beginning, but with patience and lots and lots of Medela Lanolin (I recommend you buy this now, if you plan to breastfeed), I healed and breastfeeding became a pleasurable time for me and my baby to spend together.

You will bleed lots and lots and LOTS!

Again, one of those things that people had mentioned to me but never quite stressed how bad it would be. The hospital gives you pads that resemble adult diapers, but in the first few days, even those you’ll soak through quickly. Most hospitals will load you up with pads before you walk out their door, but once you run out of those you’re probably wondering what you should buy next. I went with Stayfree Ultra Thin Overnight Pads and they worked perfectly! They weren’t the bulky pillows from the hospital, but they still soaked up so much blood, I never worried whether I was going to overflow it, which is a huge accomplishment considering how much comes out of you at a time.

There you have it, my top 5 things I wished I’d known before delivering Emmett. My goal isn’t to scare you, but to share what REALLY happens after birth, so that you’re prepared and can stop PPD in its tracks.

Your turn!

What tips do you wish you’d had before becoming a new mom?

Any questions you have that I can help you work through?

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