motherhood & parenting Archives

In motherhood & parenting July 30, 2024

My (Failed) Breastfeeding Journey | First Time Mom

During the last few weeks of my third trimester, Dan and I finally got around to doing our birth plan. Our midwives discussed breastfeeding throughout the pregnancy and encouraged us to prioritize breastfeeding over formula feeding. They went over the benefits of breastfeeding and painted a picture that we should view formula as a medicine for being unable to breastfeed as opposed to just an alternative form of offering food to a baby (they were not at all pushy and would’ve respected our decision if we chose to formula feed!). Early in the pregnancy, I knew I wanted to breastfeed and introduce formula as needed (eg. when I’m away or off maternity leave). When I woke up from my c-section…

In motherhood & parenting June 18, 2024

Tips for Nesting in a Cozy Home (We’re 566 sq ft!)

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When I became pregnant, I remember being envious of some of the mommy influencers with their giant homes as I looked around my small condo. I’m grateful to own a place in one of the world’s most expensive cities to live in and I adore my condo but the unfortunate reality is that most newly built condos are getting smaller. Ours is a 2020 one-bedroom condo that is 566 sq ft. Instantly, we knew our time was limited. We anticipated spending about a year or so in our cozy place if we rearranged our unit and made the most of the square footage. During my nesting periods (it’s a common pregnancy symptom!), I walked our place plenty of times to…

In motherhood & parenting January 2, 2024

My Birth Experience with Theo | First Time Mom | Pregnancy Diary

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It’s been a little over 2 months since I gave birth to Theo and I finally feel as though I have the time to share my birth experience. My pregnancy was pretty smooth (read my trimester diaries here!) but I wish I could say the same about my birth experience! One of the big things my prenatal class and midwives talked about was a birth plan so we created a birth plan in our final weeks before our due date. It didn’t have much aside from these: Wednesday, November 1 I woke up at around 9 am. The day progressed normally, but I had trouble falling asleep so I was wide awake when I felt the urge to pee on…

In motherhood & parenting November 29, 2023

Third Trimester | Pregnancy Diary

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It’s weird writing this because it feels surreal that 9 months can fly by so quickly. I remember feeling like I was at a standstill during my first trimester, just hoping for the best, and my second trimester flew by so quickly. Now we’re in the last trimester! —- Week 28: Not much this week. We went to Build-a-Bear to get a little teddy bear with the baby’s heartbeat sound bit inserted in the bear. We ended up getting three bears: 2 for the grandparents, and 1 for the baby (which means for me in the long run, haha). Week 29: Got my Tdap vaccine! Week 30: I started baby kick counts. Week 31: Busy week! We had our mini…

In motherhood & parenting August 14, 2023

Second Trimester | Pregnancy Diary

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I officially hit the third trimester as of Sunday! I’m blown away at how quickly the second trimester flew by because the first trimester was very slow. Only 2.5 months to go! If you recall, my first trimester was breezy but towards the second half and end of the second trimester, I started to feel many pregnancy symptoms. This trimester, Dan and I really sat down to look at our new future and made some family goals. Week 14: I purchased a pregnancy pillow in the first trimester and it didn’t affect my sleep but since my belly started to grow, I feel like it supported me in getting the best sleep! For those interested, I purchased this pregnancy pillow…

In motherhood & parenting May 9, 2023

First Trimester | Pregnancy Diary

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I know I dropped off the face of the planet sometime last year and resurfaced today but I’m happy to share a few things in my life that kept me offline for a bit. Work and school have been insanely busy; I recently got promoted to Senior and I officially have just one more semester left of school! For those who are curious, I went back to school to try to gain my HR designation. And… you’ve probably guessed it from this post… I’m pregnant and just passed the first trimester and I want to share my experience with other expecting mothers-to-be! A little bit about me: 29 years old. This is technically my 2nd pregnancy but I’ve never given…