parenthood

A New Blog is Here and so is Fall 2021

Disclosure: I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. This post may contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission.

Happy Fall 2021! I hope your summer was filled with fun, peace, and good health. I’ll keep this one brief. It’s been challenging to find time to blog but the change in season has me motivated. As for some quick updates about what’s been going on with me and my tribe, I’ve been using the phrase “glowing and growing” to describe our summer. Everything from Avianna to my to-do list is growing. I’ve had some extremely tough days trying to balance everything but I’m learning ways to tackle those days better. My commitment to a healthy lifestyle has me feeling more radiant and snatched of course. I can’t complain about the summer and cannot wait to see what fall brings. I’m definitely excited for panoramic views, jackets, and my favorite hot beverages.

Let me know what you have been up to in the comment section. I also have a poll for you to let me know what topics you’d like to see over the next few months. I’m working on planning some exciting content. Make sure you’re following me on Instagram and Tik Tok @a_anyee for more frequent content.

Before I sign off, I want to share some of my favorite items I purchased from Amazon over the summer. Take a look!

1. Kitchen Sink Caddy

2. Toddle Hair Washing Hat

3. Rosemary Oil for Hair Growth

Pandemic Parenting Continues

Hello!!! I’ve missed you all. It’s been a little over a month since my last blog. Even though I’ve taken a break, you all are still liking and following my posts so I just want to start by saying thank you for continuing to support (virtual hugs).

During these last few weeks, I’ve been juggling parenting, working out, my full-time job, my side hustles, keeping the house in order, and trying to look good while doing it. By the way, guess who is an adjunct :). I love a new opportunity and could not turn down a chance to teach a fun public health course.

Overall, life has been nothing less than chaotic. I hit a point where I needed a change of scenery and my family and I hopped in the car to Michigan for a few days. I’m so glad we made the decision to do so because it was refreshing and so heartwarming to see Avianna walk the beach. Plus, the food was DELICIOUS.

As an update with parenting, we’ve been trying to develop some type of routine. I am home with her a lot so it’s easy to let her do whatever, whenever. In the past, I’ve talked about my sleep training fails. I talked to her pediatrician and she gave me some awesome advice to transition Avianna into sleeping in her own room. I realize everyone’s idea of sleep training is different so for us, our ideal situation would be for her to be heading to bed at a certain time and sleeping mostly through the night in her bed. For starters, we are trying to develop a nighttime routine and have her fall asleep on her own for naps. We’ve done great with those tactics but it’s only been a few days since we started so, after a couple more weeks, we’ll try easing her into her crib. Wish us luck 🙂

Outside of parenting (if that’s a thing), I’ve been spending time with friends as much as I can and prioritizing my mental health by learning how to say no, not check emails after 5p, and getting outside. I just watched a Youtube video on mental health, marriage, and motherhood. Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mX7ckqRW6vs. As harsh as it sounds, as a mom, you have to be selfish sometimes. It’s nothing negative against the child(ren), it’s advocating for your mental health. Diego does bath time with Avi and it’s so refreshing to have that break of constantly going all day. Another little method I’m trying includes meal prepping so I am cooking 2-3 times per week instead of every day. The time I get back from preparing dinner I use for myself 🙂 I love it! I enjoy figuring out how to better organize time for myself. This is your message that you should too! Try planning a couple of large meals to refrain from cooking or divide and delegate tasks around the home that you don’t have to do. You cannot take care of everyone and everything else if you aren’t taking care of yourself. Parent or not, prioritize all areas of your well-being.

Leave a comment to share what you are doing for YOU! Thanks for reading.

5 Ways I Make Time For Myself As a Mom

I’ve been reading a lot of posts about motherhood and the energy it takes to keep going. I think we as moms can agree that this lifestyle is so rewarding yet mentally and physically tiring. Just yesterday, I was texting with a good friend of mine about trying to get my 2nd wind and that motherhood is like working 1st, 2nd, and 3rd shifts.

I also spent too much time on Twitter last night reading about the horrible situation going on in Texas and cruel ass comments about moms from people who don’t have kids or even worse, dads. People like to tell you what they wouldn’t do with their kids and first off, we don’t care and most importantly, no one asked you. I’m seeing that it’s challenging for people to understand the complexity of motherhood (some people will read this and think it’s ungrateful for moms to complain about being a mom). In most* situations that I’ve noticed, moms do way more than a day allows and put themselves aside to do it- for years. I admit that I’ve struggled to maintain the balance of being a mom and who I was before. You feel guilty if you take too much time for yourself and if you don’t take that time for yourself, you feel invisible. In order for things to stay sane for me, I have to find ways to do things for myself. Here are 5 ways, I managed to create time for myself.

Say No. The skill of prioritizing and recognizing when too much is on your plate is vital.

Find a hobby. For me, this is my blog or binge-watching TV 🙂

Lay in bed a little longer. I love those extra moments of relaxation.

Take time to exercise. Exercising helps my mental state and serves as a midday break.

Create a self-care routine. Splurge on some self care items. I love my CeraVe foaming facial cleanser, and collagen & retinol facial creme . I make it a priority to take care of myself so I feel good about the day. Buy a UV light gel kit and give yourself a manicure weekly, you deserve it.

Throughout the week, I make sure I take my time getting ready for the day, work out, talk with a couple of friends, watch a TV show, browse social media, and blog. It depends on the day when I weave in time for myself. Sometimes, I’m working out before 8, and other times, I’m writing a blog at 4a because I can’t go back to sleep.

If it isn’t clear by now, remember to set time for yourself. You deserve it and much more.

Harmful Ingredients Found in Baby Food (again)

Hey lovely readers!

I hope you are hanging in there and ruling the parenting world. I have to admit I’m pretty tired this week and debated sharing content however, I want your input about something. Do you or did you feed your kid store bought baby food?

No judgement either way. I have fed Avianna baby food but she very quickly chose table food instead. In the past, I’ve heard that baby food producers had harsh chemicals but the bell didn’t ring in my head until I came across a fairly new report about baby foods being contaminated with lead, arsenic, mercury and other dangerous toxins. I’m beyond dissapointed in the FDA for allowing these companies to continue to make products. This isn’t the first report of these findings. I’m angry companies continue to make these products knowing the harmful chemicals in the ingredients. Here is the link if you’d like to read the full report.

Avianna hasn’t had baby food in a couple weeks and there’s no way I am feeding her store bought baby puree. Long-term exposure to the chemicals found in baby food can cause delays in development and a variety of health complications. This is such a bummer because I don’t have a puree machine or the time to make baby food. I’ve learned how to adjust the meals I make to include something she can have. For example, I stick to soft food such as chicken, whole-grain noodle, cut-up fruits, or steamed veggies. For breakfast, I love making her pancakes or eggs. This is a fun time with food because we are learning what her favorites and not so favorites are. It’s also such a scary time because of allergies and the possibility of choking.

I really just wanted to share the announcement about baby food and see what your thoughts are. Did you already know this? If so, do you puree your own baby food? If not, will this information change what you feed your child?

One Of My Favorite Postpartum Products

I’m always excited to write content for you all. Let’s get to it! This week I want to share my experience with one of my favorite postpartum products. It’s my 2 in 1 postpartum recovery belly band.

It’s a two part band. One goes on your lower half of your belly and the other covers the top half of your belly. It’s completely full coverage and it rarely slips or unfastens. Now I know I’m a ways away from when I gave birth but what makes this an amazing product is that I can now use it as a waist trainer. It helps produce some extra sweat when I workout.

Any who, after pregnancy, a belly band helps bind the stomach back together after growing a human and giving birth. After birth, you still look pregnant because of the size of your uterus. It takes about 6 weeks for your uterus to go back to its normal size and the belly band helps get it there. The biggest reason why I purchased and used my wrap was because it made me feel less like jello. It served as some stability. I had a little well big pooch for a while and the belly band snatched it together (at least for a moment). My advice would be for those who want to maximize results that are long lasting is to not eat like your still pregnant. 🙂 I took my band with me in my hospital birthing bag and left the hospital with it on. I got the okay to wear it immediately after I gave birth.

In addition to using this product post-partum, belly bands are used to during pregnancy to help relieve discomfort from the weight of your belly. Before you do this though, be sure to talk to your ob/gyn about how to wear it properly. You never want to wear the band too tight because it gets super uncomfortable and make it hard to breathe.

I have some other favorites I can’t wait to share. The next one is for my breast pumping mommas.

1 Thing I Struggle with as a Parent

I have spoken to several parents and I’ve heard that half co-sleep or room share and the other half has their baby sleep in their room. Ironically, I did an IG story poll and the results showed 50/50.

I’m so curious about baby sleeping habits right now because I’m currently transitioning my little from my room to hers. I would’ve never thought that this would be the hardest parenting task to date.

From giving birth, I struggled with nursery sleeping. I always battled with my public health side because so much data tells us that co-sleeping is dangerous (below are some resources). My other side loves the advantages of co-sleeping (below are resources for that too). To help ease this battle, I would try to have her sleep in the pack-n-play next to me. Now that she’s grabbing at me and trying to bounce and jump in the middle of the night, it’s a great idea to have her sleep in the crib where she’s more secure.

We started the process of having her in her room a few weeks ago. I was so surprised because the first 3 days, she rocked it! We would just lay her down and she would be asleep in 10 minutes. It all got worse though. She would notice no one in the room and shriek. We would rock her to sleep or sit in the room but she then got used to us coming to get her and eventually stopped falling asleep unless we were in the room. After several nights of me sitting in a chair more than sleeping, I brought her back with me. Sleep-deprived Anye is scary. It’s been about a week, and I’m ready to give it another go. Today marks day 1 *again but I need help from you all. If you have had a similar situation, how did you get through it? How long did it take? I’ve found that some articles suggested that it could take up to 3 weeks. What techniques did you use to get your baby to fall asleep? Right now I set up the humidifier, a sound machine, and sleep oils (lavender, eucalyptus) What are your baby’s bedtime routine?

My Number 1 Place To Buy Baby Products

Hi readers!

How’s parenting life going? We’ve been trying to work on an eating and sleeping schedule for Avianna and it’s been a struggle, to say the least. She did start daycare this week and the first day was rough on us. So needless to say, parenting for us lately has been an emotionally trying period.

What I haven’t been stressing about is making sure Avianna has her necessities like pampers, wipes, and other baby items. My go-to store is Amazon because shipping is so fast and there is plenty of variety to browse. I rarely search for a baby item on Amazon and see it out of stock whereas if I go inside the store, the store will be out of her size or the brand I’m looking for.

Here are my favorite items to snag off of Amazon.

Pampers! I’d like to review pampers at a later time as a video to compare and contrast brands. I love ordering diapers from Amazon. I get the monthly supply of Luvs: https://amzn.to/3sM6OnC and it’s at my door the next day. If you buy a monthly supply it is usually cheaper than buying in stores too.

For parents’ breastfeeding, I found it helpful to buy breast pump parts and milk storage bags from Amazon. Breastfeeding requires constant replacement of parts because it helps keep your milk supply. Again, super affordable and also shipped on time.

Breast shields and valves: https://amzn.to/394m6MH.
Breast pump replacement tubing: https://amzn.to/35X6Mzm
Breast milk storage bags: https://amzn.to/3p7EZDT

For parents’ bottle feeding, if you like to change nipple sizes, those can be found on Amazon as well. We’ve switched to formula feeding and I’ve yet to buy formula from Amazon but if anyone has, please drop the link below.

My friend purchased us a diaper pail that has literally saved our lives because I have such a strong sense of smell and by using a pail, I smell nothing, not a single dirty diaper. Amazon offers trash bags to refill the pail. The best part is that these bags are scented. Here is the link: https://amzn.to/3qH2kNb

I did most of my Christmas shopping for Avi on Amazon as well. In addition to the items above, I am able to get her clothes, shoes, baby wash, eating sets, bottle cleaning sets, and learning toys. Again, my reasoning for buying these items from Amazon is because most of the time the store doesn’t have these items in stock. By purchasing off of Amazon, I’m saving myself time. Are any of you Amazon baby shoppers? If so, what do you like to buy?

Disclosure: This post may include affiliate links and I may earn a small commission if you click on the link as no extra cost to you.

Pandemic Parenting Continues

Parents- How ya doing? You ok?

I have to check- in because our lives are purely chaotic and non-stop on a regular basis. During this PANDEMIC, let me just say that I am focusing on staying sane.

With everyone in the house all the time, I’m finding it difficult to get some time away for a mental break.

The pandemic isn’t going anywhere so it’s important that we parents learn ways to take care of our mental health. My biggest struggle right now is keeping my little one busy. She loves to explore and see what she can get into around the house. I’ve probably stopped about 20 times while writing this blog trying to tend to her. I’ve tried to make sure she has a variety of toys to catch her attention but, it doesn’t match up to the pantry or TV stand. On a positive note, I’ve created a morning/night routine that I cling to. In these routines, I’ve made sure to include something self-care related so that my happy hormones are released and my mood is a little better. Triggering your feel-good hormones during stressful times have helped me get through the days that seem impossible.

If you’re unfamiliar with the happy hormones here they are and how to naturally boost them.

You feel more stressed, tired throughout the day, or constantly craving unhealthy foods when these hormones are out of whack. I know that you’re thinking, how could we not be feeling stressed with everything going on. I’m telling you though that with workouts built into my day, a little Sarah Jakes Roberts or my go-to music playlist, I am feeling more optimistic about managing my plate. If nothing else, try to build in an hour in your day filled with ways to boost these hormones. Need help? DM me and we can think of some ideas. If you already have these built into your day, I’d love for you to share what you are doing to stay sane.

On a final note…

Five Things To Do Right Now To Ease Into Parenthood This Year

five ways for parents to begin the new year

Happy New Year readers! I hope everyone had a relaxing time bringing in the new year. I’m stoked to kick this year off. I have tons and tons of content ideas to share with you. For most of the year, I’ll focus on parenthood content to help ease the transition and troubleshoot. Expect to read about choosing the right diaper for your baby, creating a schedule for your little one, and much more. Today, I’d like to share what I’m doing to begin my year of parenthood hassle-free.

It’s mind-blowing how fast infants grow out of their clothes. From 5 to 6 months, I spent so much time shuffling through Avianna’s closet looking for clothes she could fit. Let’s just say that she received a new wardrobe for Christmas. One thing I suggest doing at the start of a new year is to review your child’s closet and pack away or donate clothes that they’ve outgrown. I chose to save JUST in case we have another girl in the future.

You shouldn’t be unfamiliar with sanitizing or disinfecting after the year we had. Sanitizing toys is and should be a regular household chore but it’s particularly important that you give those toys a deep cleanse. Cleaners that are baby-friendly are emerging and because your child is likely to put their toys in their month, you want to disinfect with something without harsh chemicals such as bleach and ammonia. Here are a couple of favorites. Seventh- Generation Disinfectant Spray: https://amzn.to/3n66LPp and BabyGanics Multi-Surface Cleaner: https://amzn.to/3n4f8e7

Let’s do this dirty laundry, dirty laundry as Kelly Rowland would say. Wash everything! Sheets, pillows, and baby bags.

If anyone regularly sees a doctor, it’s a parent. Make sure you’re organized with which days work for wellness visits and reschedule if you are foreseeing a conflict.

focus on one aspect of your child's growth

And last but not least, try to pick one milestone to prioritize that you want your little one to meet. When I think about all of the milestones I’d like to reach with Avianna it’s overwhelming and nothing but pressure. Instead of focusing on everything you’d like your child to learn, focus on that one thing. For us, we are focusing on having Avianna sleep in her crib in her own room. She’s never done it and usually sleeps next to us in a pack n play or co-sleeps with me. Needless to say, I want my bed back. We started off the new year by having her sleep in her room and she did so well. She only woke up once and it was around 5 in the morning. Two things that helped with this process were her sleep sound machine: https://amzn.to/3o1MfAJ and her humidifier with color night lights:https://amzn.to/3rLvVX7 (I add essential oils as well, try lavender).

I hope these tips help you start your year off with some clarity, cleanliness, and determination to beast mode parenthood. I’d love to hear from you about how you started your year. Did you enjoy what you read? All feedback is welcome.

3 Life-Changing Lessons I Learned in 2020

Can you believe that the year is over in a matter of days? WHAT A YEAR! 2020 definitely has been full of twists and turns. I’m walking away from this year with viewpoints I didn’t imagine. Between having a baby and being quarantined for most of the year, I’ve had to learn to keep sane and push forward. As I reflect on the year, here are the three things I’ve learned that I plan to continue to value as the years continue.

Don’t undervalue your community

Being a new mom in a pandemic has its pros and cons. I enjoy having space and time to bond with Avianna however, I feel like we are missing out on play dates and family gatherings. I get really stuck some days feeling like we are missing out on so much. I don’t know about you, but my phone screen timed has increased because I’m looking into online mom groups and online shopping (okay, most of it is online shopping). The pandemic has paved the way for moms to connect outside of being in-person. It’s been great being a part of these groups since there is plenty of shared information and experiences. In addition to the mom groups, my loved ones have also figured out how to be supportive without being in-person. There are always kind texts and calls that make the day better. It’s nice to have people check-in and be there to listen and support.

Take a moment & pace yourself

Pandemic or not, having a moment to yourself to restore is essential. It’s hard as heck raising a kid, taking classes, trying to get my pre-prego body back, having sexy time with Diego, working a full-time job, and other responsibilities around the house. I cannot even tell you the last time I slept through an entire night. I’ve had to come to terms that not everything needs to be done in a day. It’s mandatory that I set aside time for myself every day. EVERY SINGLE DAY! Most of the time, I use my time set aside to absolutely do nothing and watch a couple of episodes of my favorite shows.

Spend Time Doing Something That Interest You

I would really be stir crazy if I didn’t have activities in the week that I enjoy. In the past year, I’ve started to take classes, launched a website, and started a podcast (somewhat). I never thought I would like taking informatic courses! At first, I struggled to get into the groove of being in school again but now I have a schedule and I’m enjoying the weekly content ways I can use these courses to claim my bag. Aside from classes, creating this blog has been a fun getaway from the pandemic disaster. I’m looking forward to growing my audience and content over the next year.

Who the hell knows what 2021 will bring. As I see it, we will still face pandemic restrictions while we figure out the new normal for a few months longer. Let’s continue to show gratitude, be humble, and social distance as we roll into 2021. What lessons are you taking with you into the new year?