Real Momma Mondays

Welcome to a little installment here at the blog that I hope stays around.  It is all about honoring and building up each other as woman and mothers.  So drumroll please...

The first spotlight belongs to Andrea, the mother of two wonderful boys, J (4 years old) and A (17 months).  She lives with her adorable family in Washington and her hubby is bravely serving our country in the military.

1.  What is the best thing you do for your children? 

For mine and my familyʼs lifestyle, the best thing I do or have done for my children

was to be a stay at home mom. Although at sometimes I feel like I am going to go

completely insane, I do understand and appreciate that I was/am fortunate enough to

be able to stay home with both my kids while they were young.

2. What is your one must have items for moms?

My must have items as a mom would be PATIENCE!!!! ( which is hard to practice all

of the time!) Honestly, I have always had the theory stuck in my mind that itʼs best to

make due with what you have/donʼt have. Although we are never short of toys and

items thanks to very generous grandparents and family, my kids have always gone

from one obsession to another so quickly that we couldnʼt keep up! Patience can go a

long way in any situation and in the end toys come and go so often I try to not put too

much focus on that one “perfect toy/ item that will solve this problem or that problem”.

3. Describe how you would tell a pregnant woman to prepare for labor and birth.

I would tell a woman to prepare for labor/birth by packing anything and EVERYTHING

that makes her comfortable and taking it with her to the hospital or wherever it is that

she will be giving birth and recuperating after. It is SO important for the mother to be

calm and comfortable those first few hours after birth because itʼs a whole knew world

you are being thrown in to. It is nice to have a few comforting items around you to

ground you (pillow from home, favorite pjʼs or new lounge pants. Whatever!)

4.  How has becoming a mother of two changed you, your marriage and your family?

Being a mother has changed everything in my life. The perspective I have on life, the

meaning of life, the value of life. Everything has change, and I would say it has changed

for the better. Although, I must admit, children (In my case I have two boys) do put a

marriage in stress at times, but the kids have also brought us together as parents, and

as team mates, so for that I am grateful.

Thanks to Andrea for being such a great mom and sharing a little bit of her family with us today!  If you are interested in participating in this installment, please email me at jenna@starfishbirth.com.

{Couldn't Live Without} Product

I wanted to place where moms and dads could share what products they could not live without- this one is mine!

When L was a wee one, I started making purees and relied heavily on the school of baby lead weaning to introduce more solids to her.  I kept on steaming, mashing and blending hard veggies because L either doesn't choose to eat them on her own off her own plate, or they are still to hard for her to chew.  Every once and a while we buy the organic pouches (for over a DOLLAR) from the store, just to have in case of emergency in the diaper bag when we are out.  This was our normal routine until we found this:

via

THE SILI SQEEZE

I now tell everyone I know about this product!  It works the same as the pouches from the store, but you can refill it yourself with whatever you want...a smoothie, a puree, yogurt....the possibilities are endless!  It also is a great way for children to eat messy things without making a mess.  Another plus for me, it is made out of silicone, not plastic.  I would recommend that if your wee one is used to the store pouches to get the Sili Squeeze with Eeze.  

Also right now, you can get one and then sign up to be a founding member and get them for the same price they are now....FOREVER!  How cool is that!  Just go to The Sili Company to learn more, look around, or buy!

***Just a note, I was not paid/compensated at all to do this, I just think that this is an awesome product***

What product could you not live without?  What product do you tell all your friends about?  Leave it down in the comments!!! I would love to hear!!!

Hello There!

I am so excited to be writing my first blog post!  This has been well over a year and a half in the making.  I am watching my friends and dear family with a tear in my eye start to support my services on Facebook and the web and could not be more thankful!

I am wrapping up for the night after a long day of driving and visiting friends (who have a new, squishy baby) but I wanted to leave everyone with one of my all time favorite quotes.

“In our medicated society we have eradicated some of the pain and anxiety but I am afraid that we have eradicated more of the excitement and joy.” 

T. Berry Brazelton

Be joyful,

Jenna