Mother’s Day Tops
#momlife. It’s my every day. As much as I try to get away from it sometimes, it defines me. I got married at 23, pregnant at 24 and had my first baby at 25. Scroll down to shop my looks, and read 5 things I have learned in my #momlife.
#Proudmama Top // Denim Shorts
Tops: 402 & Beyond and 402 & Beyond | Leggings: Nordstrom | Denim Shorts: 402 & Beyond | Popover Tunic: J.Crew | Earrings: Rocksbox (similar style here) | Bracelets: Nordstrom (similar style here) | Stella & Dot (similar style here) | David Yurman
How cute are these tops?! They’re perfect for Mother’s Day, and make great gifts for moms-to-be. Shop my looks below!
When I found out I was pregnant with Maddie, I was two years post college, and very much in love with only having to worry about me, myself and I. I remember telling a friend that I wasn’t ready for a baby. She replied with “Are you ever really ready?” My husband and I had been married for a little over a year. We lived in a tiny condo in Omaha while I taught first grade, and he was in medical school. We turned a (large) closet into a nursery and, excitedly, embraced our new reality.
After my mom told me just what an episiotomy was, I practically begged my doctor for a C-section. My doc told me that by the time I was 9 months pregnant I wouldn’t care if I birthed that baby through my nose. She was right. To this day, I have still never seen a live birth. As miraculous as it is, blood and such just isn’t my thing.
The day Maddie was born. She was 5 minutes fresh, and it was like I didn’t even know how my life felt whole before her. All the feels came spewing every which way, and this mom thing felt very right.
Since that day, I’ve gone on to have 2 more vaginal deliveries, an ECV (External Cephalic Version – read on to find out what that is) and 1 c-section. Here are 5 things that I have learned in my #momlife:
1.) I’m not in charge. Over the last 10 years of motherhood, I have become a firm believer in that everything happens for a reason. We signed up for our middle two, and our bookends were enlisted. Yes, we know how all of this works. Maddie came at a time when we could’ve been a little more responsible, and Henry defied all odds. I was surprised to find out I was pregnant with my first, and utterly shocked to find out I was pregnant with my 4th. We were done at 3, but it was crystal clear that I was meant to be a mom of 4.
2.) C-Section vs. Vaginal Birth. This one is definitely up for debate, and is such personal opinion. I can’t say which one is better, although it seems natural to say that anything is better than slicing your belly open. The hardest thing about having a c-section was coming home and taking care of 4 kids, three of which were 3 and under. My husband was chief resident, and was almost never home before 11pm, and left around 5am. To be honest, I didn’t have a lot of time to think about the fact that I just had major surgery. I was so tired, and it really all is just a blur, but I do remember thinking how great it was that it doesn’t feel like I just birthed a bowling ball. I was also thrilled that I didn’t have to walk around wearing the world’s largest pads with a period that lasts 6 weeks. But, again, the tradeoff was a giant hole in my belly. And I was tired and didn’t care about anything.
3.) You can turn a breech baby into a head down position from the outside of your belly. Did you know this?! At 36 weeks, Mae was breech. Because I had a healthy, uneventful, pregnancy, I was a candidate for an ECV (External Cephalic Version). If you ever google ‘ECV pregnancy’ you will find youtube videos of doctors gently massaging women’s bellies to get the baby to turn head down. That’s a lie. You know when you’re in your last few weeks of pregnancy and you accidentally bump something, like a counter top, with your belly and you sort of freak out and rub your belly out of concern? Well, don’t worry. Your baby’s just fine. My doctor, who was ah-mazing, positioned herself to move Mae’s head, while another doctor positioned herself to move Mae’s rump, and on the count of 3, they turned her body into a head down position. This was all preformed on the outside of my belly. They literally just grabbed her and moved her. It was totally bananas. It is also a totally safe procedure, with no mortality rate. If baby’s heart rate were to drop, they were prepared to do an emergency c-section (I was hooked up to an IV, and had an epidural).
-On a MUCH different note, but definitely a part of my every day #momlife-
4.) Use dry shampoo at night. Seriously, do it. If you don’t plan on showering the next day, those extra hours soak up your gross mom-ness, leaving your hair looking pretty decent in the morning. I don’t have a favorite dry shampoo, so if anyone has one that they swear by, please let it in the comments, but I’m in the market for something new!
5.) Braid your hair at night. In the morning, press a flat iron over it, and you’ll have beach waves. It works most of the time, but if for some reason you’re not feeling it, at the very least, it’ll dress up your mom bun. I have linked an article here that has some really fantastic busy mom hacks that I’m definitely going to try!
#momlife runs the spectrum with valuable information. What is most valuable to you?
xo, Leslie
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