Formula for Happiness - Get Some Sleep

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Disclaimer: this is a sponsored post. Click here for more info, or see below.

Another weekend has come and gone. I swear they fly by.  I always have these great plans for a productive weekend on Friday night, then Sunday night comes and I've barely checked off my list.

 
 

And why am I so tired? I was actually able to take a bit of a nap yesterday afternoon, and then we were in bed before 10p.  Oh, that's right. I'm a mom. I'm perpetually tired.  ;P

 
Even the dog is perpetually tired. 

Even the dog is perpetually tired.
 

 

But it's a happy tired.  Every morning my alarm goes off and I think how can it possibly be time to get up? I look at the monitor.  Is Little Man still asleep?  NO.  Ugh. Why don't toddlers sleep in?  No matter what time we put him down (which is usually consistent) he always wakes at the same time.  And it's almost before the sun.  I lay there in the dark for a moment, yearning for a morning when I can actually sleep until I don't feel like sleeping anymore.  Then I roll out of bed, jump in a 5 min shower, and then make my son's bottle before bring him out of his room.  And as much as I'm missing my bed, I am still eager to see my little guy every morning.  He's eager to see me too -  because I have the bottle for him, lol, but I know he likes to snuggle with me on our bed as he drinks, and the fact that he is there and we have these moments together and I can kiss his sweet cheeks and breathe in his still baby scent is heaven.

 
Note: Until your child can roll over on their own, the safest way for them to sleep is on their backs. 

Note: Until your child can roll over on their own, the safest way for them to sleep is on their backs.
 

 

Course when you're only a few weeks/months in to this new baby thing and they don't sleep through the night and you are a walking zombie, it's hard to imagine these days will ever come. Considering babies basically operate off of instinct their first several months out of the womb, I does seem counter-intuitive that they so often have trouble sleeping.  If you're hungry, you eat. So if you're tired, then sleep.  Don't cry and spend all that energy when you're already tired! Just close your eyes and sleep. For a long time.  Our adult logic does not help us when it comes to babies.  Fortunately, help resources are becoming increasingly easier to access and contact.

Until you can leave the kid(s) with the grandparent's overnight and sleep on your own again, you will never again awake fully rested.  But any little bit more helps.


 

Friday Faves - Anthropologie

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Everyone has been excited about the Nordstrom Anniversary sale, which is warranted because you can find some good savings. But one of my favorite places to find things on sale is Anthropologie.  They have some of the prettiest items - I would feel pretty every day if my entire closet were their collection.  Here are some of my favorites that are on sale now, all for less than $100.

PLUS, all sale items are an extra 20% off with code: saleaway.

Don't you feel pretty just looking at them? ;)


 

It's Not too Late - Nordstrom Sale

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If you've spend any time on the Internet in the past week+ you know that the Nordstrom Anniversary sale is in full effect. While we've been having a heat wave lately and most things on sale seem to be cold weather items, it's hard to pass up on some of the good savings they have for items you will wish you had 2 months from now.  Here are some of my favorites, good for now and later - get them while you can!!

Formula for Happiness - Mommyhood

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Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. Click here for details.

Want to shake things up in your life? Bored with your flexible lifestyle and freedom to do whatever you want when you want, to sleep in on the weekends, to meet up with friends at a moment's notice?

Then you should have a baby!

Wow. I have yet to have an experience that flipped and scrambled my life the way becoming a mom did.  9 months of pregnancy does not prepare you for the life altering experience that becoming a mom really is.  And before the new, completely helpless human being that will depend on you for life actually enters this world, everyone makes motherhood and parenting look like this wonderful experience.

You have no idea.  It is every extreme possible.  Exhausted high and low after high and low.  It is really hard.  But it is really wonderful.  Your world will never be the same, but you figure out a new normal.  And in that normal you will find love and happiness like you've never experienced before.

 
There are no words to describe. 

There are no words to describe.
 

 

The first couple months are hard, I'm not going to lie.  It's funny, because I would say its the hardest but most enjoyable thing I've ever done.  Any time something was feeling SO frustrating, I would remember my mom telling me "It feels hard and never-ending in the moment, but you look back on this in a few months and it will seem so short."  And I can say from where I am now that she was right.  ( And I think it biologically needs to be that way, or no one would have more than one kid!)

But my son also made it easy on us, in the scheme of things.  When I was early in my pregnancy I read a report on a study that indicated women who ate a little chocolate every day during their pregnancy had happier babies.  So I ate a little chocolate everyday (such a sacrifice, I know) and I can confirm that I have had a very happy baby from the start.

 
 

But despite the fact that women have been having babies for thousands of years, it doesn't mean it comes naturally.  And every baby and mother is different.  We mothers put a lot of pressure on ourselves that we shouldn't, and often feel ashamed that we need help.  DO NOT FEEL ASHAMED FOR NEEDING HELP.  Help is so easy to come by, take advantage.    There are great brands out there that make products that fill needs and allow us to enjoy motherhood.   If you are having trouble breastfeeding, ask for help.  There is no shame in that.   If breastfeeding doesn't work for you, there are quality formulas available that give you peace of mind that your are caring properly for your new baby.  If you've run out of ideas for getting your baby on a sleep schedule,  there is help for that.

 
I nursed as long as I could, but my son drank formula as well. Â 

I nursed as long as I could, but my son drank formula as well. 
 

 

Motherhood is a journey, one that should be enjoyed to the fullest.  You deserve to enjoy it.
 

Links I Love

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Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

  1. I did my own, Kate did too.  Beauty guru Bobbi Brown shares her tips for doing your own wedding make-up. (yahoo.beauty.com)
  2. Turn your own handwriting into a font for your computer, for free. (myscriptfont.com)
  3. Bloggers always need good photos, and sometimes you can't take your own.  Here are the top 10 websites for free, non-cheesy stock photos. (creative boom.co.uk)
  4. He may have left us in person in 1991, but he lives on in his works. Dr. Seuss' new release will need to be added to our library. (amazon.com)
  5. 6 super-weird beauty tricks that work wonders: I'm trying the first one tomorrow. (thebeautygypsy.com)
  6. Check out this guy's Instagram: he brings beauty to doodles. (instagram.com)
  7. You had me at "chocolate".  They've compiled the best chocolate recipes in the universe. (purewow.com)
  8. For you frequent travelers, find out the quality of your hotel's wifi before you book. (hotelwifitest.com)
  9. I'm always looking for new recipes, I might get addicted to this Tender app. Downloading now. (yahoo.com)