first-time mom Archives - Sleeping Should Be Easy

11 Things Moms Do with the First Baby We Don’t Do with the Second

Jun 03, 2021

First-time moms can go overboard with the eldest child. Here are 11 things moms do with the first baby we don't do with the second. I wanted to do everything right. Raising my eldest felt like a chance to start with a clean slate, to take all I'd been learning from observation or research and be the parent I wanted to be. After all, I had more time compared to moms with two or more kids. As crazy as it may be to suggest any parent has a lot of time, it's true. With only one child, I focused only on him, with no other children to worry about. I not only spent more time playing with … [Read more...]

8 Misconceptions about Parenting First Time Moms Make

Parenthood

May 12, 2021

First time moms have made many misconceptions about parenting. See if you can relate to these parenting myths and realities about being a mom. Toward the end of my first pregnancy, you'd often find me getting up to use the bathroom up to five times a night. All this peeing in the middle of the night is to prepare for sleep deprivation, I had believed. If this is what sleepless nights looked like with a baby, then I'll be okay. Little did I know that waking up five times a night to pee would bear little resemblance to waking up with a baby. Not only did I wake up more frequently than … [Read more...]

What Maternity Leave REALLY Looks Like

Motherhood

Mar 31, 2021

Maternity leave is often a challenging stage in parenthood. Here's an honest view of what maternity leave looks like during that time. I was more than ready to leave work that Friday afternoon. Pregnancy had taken its toll, and I was looking forward to staying home for a three-month stretch. I understood the demands of a newborn baby, but I figured I'd have time to tackle a few tasks and hobbies. To a first-time mom like I had been, maternity leave looked enticing. I wasn't alone, either. Many people—from first-time moms to childless kids—assume maternity leave is a vacation. A … [Read more...]

Surviving the First Trimester when You Have No Idea Where to Start

Pregnancy

Feb 25, 2021

Need help surviving the first trimester? Learn how to cope with difficult morning sickness and fatigue early in your pregnancy. For both my pregnancies, the first trimester felt miserable. I couldn't eat many of the foods I loved, including breakfast staples like oatmeal and yogurt. Feeling tired all the time was the norm, as if I had been exercising all day. I barely gained enough weight to meet first trimester goals. Getting through a workday was a struggle, and while I didn't throw up, I felt like I always had to. With the fear and anxiety of things going wrong and the newness … [Read more...]

Everything I Wish Someone Had Told Me when I Was Pregnant

Pregnancy

Feb 21, 2021

New moms: here's the ultimate mom to be guide — everything I wish someone told me when I was pregnant, from pregnancy secrets to welcoming your baby home. By: Queenie Best Many women enter pregnancy having no idea what to expect. Their only experience with labor are the comical or scary portrayals they might see in the movies. Some might feel overwhelmed, leery, or worried they might miss something. Others might dread delivery day so much, afraid of the pain and how to cope with caring for a newborn. We end up learning along the way, with little guidance to help us make … [Read more...]

How to Be Out with Twins Alone (And Actually Survive!)

Twins

Feb 07, 2021

Going out with twins alone feels scary for many moms and dads. Discover simple hacks and ways to be out and about and still survive. I wish I could take them to the beach, I thought. My twins were five-months-old, and when their older brother was that age, I could easily tuck him into a baby wrap and carry a blanket and diaper bag. But with twins, this felt all but impossible. I considered using a wagon before realizing they'd be too small to sit up on their own. There was no way I could push their double stroller through the sand, and I definitely couldn't carry both of them in my … [Read more...]

14 Funny Things People without Kids Say

Parenthood

Jan 27, 2021

If you don't have kids or are expecting your first, you may have said these comments. Check out these 14 funny things people without kids say! I was that person who never understood life with kids. Not that I never wanted them—I've always been open to having a family myself. But when I look back on how I viewed children before becoming a mother, I realized how clueless I was about so many things. For one thing, I figured babies could sleep all day long. After all, most of the times I've seen babies, they were asleep in someone's arms. And not until did I become a mom did I truly … [Read more...]

How to Avoid Baby Clutter

Family Life

Jan 16, 2021

Whether you're expecting your first baby or not, your home doesn't have to be a mess. Learn practical ways to avoid baby clutter! My husband and I lived in a one-bedroom apartment when we were expecting our first child. We couldn't afford to let the baby items clutter our tiny space. Even now, three kids later, I learned that our home—and our lives—would never be the same. It's not unusual to see a toy banana, wooden trains, a Lego digger, a monster truck, dominoes, papers with drawings, and a ball—and that's just on the coffee table. And a baby seems to need so many items, and … [Read more...]

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