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Here you will find recent home and fashion favorites, gift ideas along with information on mothering and wellness.

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Postpartum Must-Haves

I had a rougher time postpartum physically than I expected and hoped for and E had colic pretty bad the first few months (he’s finally doing better, praise God!). Here are things that we got to help during that time and what I actually used for myself and will use again next time.

Must-Haves for Mama:

I had a whole stock of different brands of sprays, ointments, pads, and the Frida Mom Recovery Kit — the above are all that I used and recommend. Everything else was too complicated and too much of a pain in for me to use while I was weak and in pain.

Must-Haves for Baby:

We bought some of these items out of desperation trying to find something to soothe E while his colic was at it’s worst those first weeks and what I’m sharing below is what seemed to help most and worked for us. It was a hard time... for anyone looking for reassurance — just know it’ll pass even though it doesn’t feel like it will.

Another thing that really helped us get through the hard first few months was making sure to set aside time to spend with the Lord. Whether that meant going outside for a few minutes to pray, reading the Bible, listening to worship music or just reading the few verses about being awake at night that I wrote and put on our bathroom mirror to see easily while awake changing diapers, etc.

Tiana 7/15/23 Tiana 7/15/23

Making Hospital Birth Comfortable

We were fully prepared and planning on a home birth but unfortunately a third trimester ultrasound and some doctors overstepping (and being biased against home birth) ruined that for us and we were forced into a hospital birth.

All that to say, these are the things I brought, used and recommend bringing to make a hospital birth more comfortable and to feel a bit more like home.

A comb. I know it sounds strange but this was a lifesaver for me and really helped to distract from contraction pain. I had this comb in my hand the entire time.

A birth gown. It was definitely not necessary but I hate hospitals and it made me feel more comfortable to labor in. I wore it to the hospital and didn’t have to change when I got there which was nice and took the edge off as well. Mocha Delivery Gown, Milk and Baby.
I also wore this nursing bra to make things easier once baby was delivered so I didn’t have to change or feel exposed at any point. Auden Nursing Bralette, Target.
My favorite comfortable throw blanket from Target. I really enjoyed having this to help myself feel at home, it was nice having something soft and comforting while I was in pain (especially in the car on the drive there).
Honey sticks, Liquid IV, gum / mints and snacks. My favorites were apple sauce pouches, Belvita and Nature’s Bakery Fig bars because they’re easy to eat when I don’t have an appetite or if I’m nauseous.
Flameless candles to make the atmosphere more comfortable. These candles flicker like a true candle and made everything feel calmer after we turned down the bright lights and put these in the delivery room and bathroom.
Travel / car diffuser with USB charging cord, Amazon and essential oils, Young Living. Lavender and Neroli for any stress, tension or headaches. Peppermint for headaches. Lemon for nausea. Orange for energy. Clary Sage and Cypress for their medicinal properties. I had a lavender Aroma Ring in the entire time I was there to help me stay calm. I brought my oils in this travel case to keep them organized and easy to grab quickly.
Birth Affirmation Cards — here’s a link to the cards I used here.

|| Young Living — Get 10% off with your first order with promo code: SHAREYL ||

Tiana 6/30/23 Tiana 6/30/23

High Protein Food for Pregnancy

I deeply struggled with getting the recommended 90+ grams of protein daily during pregnancy and had to do some work to find foods that worked for me. Some of these aren’t the *most* healthy but they helped me get that amount when I was basically in survival mode. I’ve since been asked by several friends for advice on this so I want to share what I did and hope it helps!

Chicken breast was the quickest way to get a huge amount in one sitting. I ate that almost every night and just mixed it up with different seasonings.
Eggs. I had eggs for breakfast every single morning and just switched up the way I cooked them.
Nutritional Yeast and Chia seeds are easy to sneak in to many different meals. I added them everywhere I could.
Dave’s Killer Bread is a great brand to get extra protein in different meals. I would eat their bread, bagels and english muffins and they are all good with different flavors.
Kodiak Cakes. Making these can be time consuming so I would just make a batch of them and freeze whatever leftovers for later.
Orgain Protein Powder for shakes, chocolate flavor is my personal favorite!
Chobani Complete Yogurt Drinks
Think Protein Bars. These made it a lot easier to get extra protein while I was snacking and they have a lot of great flavors. Brownie Crunch, Target.
Core Power Protein Shakes by Fairlife Milk. Chocolate Flavor, Walmart.
Lunch meat, cheese, almonds or peanuts as a snack between meals. I know it’s controversial to have lunch meat during pregnancy but I just made sure I was having high quality meat and I never had any issues or concerns.

* This is not health advice, this is just what worked for me personally.

Tiana 4/10/23 Tiana 4/10/23

Preparing for Baby E

We are going for a very minimal setup right now because we are in a one bedroom but here are some of the things we’ve added to our baby registry. I had a hard time finding out what was most important vs completely unnecessary - I hope this helps any moms who are trying to build their registry. Once baby is here I’ll make sure to share what we ended up using.