Self Care for the Second Pregnancy: 10 Ideas

I can honestly say this pregnancy is worlds apart from my first pregnancy. I worked out religiously the first time around and ate healthy most of the time 😬. I also worked most of my pregnancy and my house was spotless weeks before she got here. Purchasing necessities was on the top of my to do list the entire time too.

This go around is probably the polar opposite… I’m still working out but I’m also exhausted from taking care of a 15 month old. So workouts are definitely fewer this time. Healthy eating is a joke. I eat whatever my daughter leaves behind on her plate and then scarf down whatever I can eat when she’s not climbing all over me. My house is messy 99.9% of the time. I clean but she goes right behind me and destroys it sooooo the mess stays and baby supplies have barely crossed my mind.

With that being said, here are ten self care activities I have been able to squeeze in:

1. Bubble baths: Sure, sometimes the toddler joins me but it chills out my anxiety and we’re both clean afterwards. I usually use my favorite sugar scrub and shave my legs and feel like a new woman for the rest of the day 🙌🏼😌.

2. Take a walk: I try to squeeze in a walk outside at least once a day, if not more. It’s like a reset button for both of us. I feel refreshed as soon as I get my heart rate up and get my daily dose of vitamin D.

3. Clean: Okay, I hear you. Clean? Um yes! I cannot relax in a cluttered home. It’s impossible for me. So, a five minute decluttering session makes me feel complete for a few hours ’til we have another mess.

4. Take a nap: I need the baby to nap anyways so I may as well soak up the last months of solo cuddles while I can.

5. Put makeup on: Regardless of whether I’m leaving the house, I try to put a little makeup on. I feel like a swamp monster most days with toddler snot and peanut butter on me. The least I can do is conceal my dark circles and look halfway rested 🤷🏼‍♀️.

6. Enjoy the coffee: Okay I know some people are completely anti-coffee while pregnant, but let me be frank when I say I think that pregnancy rule is complete bullshit. Your baby will be fine. Enjoy your cup of coffee in the most peaceful spot you can find (front porch, closet, bathroom…I don’t judge)

7. Buy the maternity jeans: If your pants are tight and uncomfortable, just make the switch. Stop letting it control your self esteem. You are supposed to get bigger. Wear pants that fit and feel beautiful!

8. Go on dates: So I haven’t lived up to this one in a traditional sense. We don’t have a sitter anywhere in sight so we go on family dates and we love it just the same.

9. Go on vacation: Take that last vacation before baby #2. You’ll treasure those memories of when your little was still just your only little. A little bittersweet? Yes, but I think it’s important to really imprint that in our memories ❤️.

10. Blog/draw/craft: Make time to be creative. Pregnancy is an emotional time whether it’s completely warranted on hormonal lol, find something to channel that emotion into. You’ll be able to look back after the baby is here and reflect on that season of life.

That’s the gist of what’s been getting me through so far. Here’s to 23 more weeks and beach vacation in March 🙌🏼. Thanks for the read!

Confessions of a Mom Entering the Toddler Years…

Okay so I recently had the discussion with my husband that our sweet girl is now a toddler and will probably start behaving like one (she already does 😳). He obviously only sees her as the sweet angel she was when we brought her home. Of course she’s still the sweetest and I love her immensely, but Jesus she has become a sass master.

Let’s just say this girl is fierce and I see her conquering the world one day. For now, she reacts with vengeance when she’s told “no” and we’re working on that lol. So here are my little confessions since embarking on this terror train. 

  1. I don’t like her sometimes. 🙁 Now, I always LOVE my child unconditionally but I don’t like her all the time. She just now walked up to me and clawed my face. Hence me not liking her for a second. 
  2. When my husband leaves it all to me to deal with, I plot what household object I’d like to knock him out with. Fellas, be better. All around just be there for fuck’s sake. 
  3. I see my temper in her and it scares the shit out of me. I hope I can teach her better coping skills than I have. 
  4. I’m honestly terrified that I’m screwing her up. I’m trying my best to discipline in a constructive, science-backed manner but it’s freaking hard. 
  5. I don’t like being a stay at home mom. I hate saying that because I wanted that for so long. This is probably an unpopular opinion but I feel like I’m wasting my education and it seriously devastates me. My husband doesn’t see me as the accomplished woman I am anymore and that pisses me off more than it makes me sad. I’m still wrestling with this and it’s okay. 

Okay, rant over and if you made it through that, snaps for you! 😉 

Mom Dating is Hard

So I’ve come to the conclusion that finding your best friend soul mate is a million times harder than dating and finding a mate. Don’t get me wrong, I have several close friendships I established and continue to care for from high school and my hometown. However, when you move away it can be daunting to find a new “tribe”. 

I’m extremely introverted and I struggle with small talk. I’ve tried to socialize in Facebook groups and it never goes anywhere. I live in the Deep South and I’m not especially religious sooooo obviously that’s a huge hurdle. 

Now I’m not saying I’m not a believer in Christianity. What I am saying is that I do not want to come to church three times, two potlucks, and six women’s studies groups to make a friend. The struggle is real people! 🤷🏼‍♀️

Buy guys….. I found the mom equivalent of Tinder and it is AH-mazing! It’s called Peanut and you swipe up or down based on hobbies and the ages of your children to find a good match. It’s so easy and cuts down on the first awkward “what do you like to do for fun” convo. 

As an incredibly shy person, I’m stoked to say I’ve officially made 3 friends from this app!!! They are my people and I haven’t felt this fulfilled in such a long time 😍 

Listen mommas, give this one a try, especially if you’re struggling to find your village. 

Also, I started a Facebook page for my blog so follow this link and like it please! 

https://m.facebook.com/Daily-Struggle-Bus-1247521345354332/

I Love my Husband but…a short list of crap SAHM’s Put up with

I know I’ve posted loving little references to my wonderful husband in the past, but I am not immune to the annoying shit that husbands put wives (and specifically moms) through. He’s a great dad. I’ll give him that, but if I could just get him to switch me places for one day….

  • First of all… he’d be pretty damn irritated if I came home after work and just sat in my recliner and neglected to help with childcare. He does this 95% of the time. I’m sitting in the floor “playing” after only speaking to a tiny human all day and he just sits there. I can’t ask him for anything or even bother him to talk about the day until he’s sat there for at least an hour 🙄 he has a stressful job (air traffic controller), I get it. However, I also know he only works one freakin hour at a time and I’ve been holding my pee for three hours because the kid is having a clingy day. 
  • He’d also get a little annoyed if I put all my dirty dishes in the sink when the empty dishwasher sits 20 inches to the right…how hard is it? Will his balls fall off if he does this? I don’t know but there is a mysterious force that keeps him from loading the dishwasher 🤔
  • Oh I know for a fact he’d get pretty pissed off if I asked for a gold sticker every time I did something around the house that’s just expected for everyone else. You know, picking up after yourself, laundry in the hamper, putting the q-tip you drop back in the trash can, changing a dirty diaper (not waiting an hour for someone else to do it), taking out the trash….you get it. Why do men want and freaking congratulations when they do stuff wives do 100x a week?? Where’s my damn cookie and confetti? 🙄
  • Or, or, or….if my response to every request or complaint was simply “yeah but I work.” 😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡 

Yeah, I’m a stay at home Mom but guess what, I work LEAPS AND BOUNDS more than he does. My job is 24/7 without mandatory lunch breaks. Just something to think about….


Me too kid, me too. 😐

Makers Gonna Make: So I Started a Business 🤷🏼‍♀️

I’ve clearly been on a sabbatical from blogging but I’ve been up to some really fulfilling stuff! I completely resigned from my job and took the plunge into starting my own creative business. For the last 3 months I’ve been toying around with idea and I finally just said “now or never!” 

So here’s the gist of what I been digging into…I’m up to my ears in wooden signs, sewn baby items, and screen printed shirts 😍 I guess I’m too scattered to settle on a niche lol. 

Long story short… the focus of this blog will be shifting a bit. I suppose that mirrors how life changes in the first year of motherhood. We’re all just growing into our roles and adapting to the chaos of juggling it all. I’ll still be writing about my struggle bus but we’ll probably throw in some crafty posts here & there. 
Thanks for hanging with the struggle 🚌