For this pregnancy, I knew a C section wasn’t in my birth plan. I’d never had one before, so I didn’t want one this time, unless it was medically necessary. Sometimes, our plans don’t always go as planned. My gut kept telling me to prepare for a c section, but how do you prepare for something you’ve never experienced? Especially something as severe as that. You don’t. You can ask 100 questions and reach out to friends who have had them before, but ultimately everyone handles things and heal differently. There are so many things you can read about and be told, but there are so many things I didn’t know to expect.

I won’t lie, I underestimated a c section. It’s not easy and it’s an experience like no other for sure. They tell you that you won’t feel the pain, but you’ll feel pressure. Well pressure can definitely be painful! Just not the kind of pain you’d expect. Everything is so uncomfortable. I remember squeezing my husbands hand with tear filled eyes and him cracking some kind of joke to make me laugh, which is probably a terrible idea when they are cutting on you and digging around. But it was the support I needed. I wasn’t prepared for exactly what kind of pressure I’d feel, or the nauseas feeling you get once they start trying to deliver the baby or the shakes you get afterwards. I must have read 100 websites and the doctors explained everything to me step by step and thoroughly multiple times, but until you experience it you’ll never fully understand.

Fast forward to once things start wearing off and they are having to check things and mash on things to make sure things are doing what they are supposed to after. Definitely wasn’t prepared for that and each time I either cried or it took my breath away. I’d like to think that I have a decent pain tolerance, but this experience proved me wrong. Then the next morning comes, when they tell you it’s time to move around. That was one of the most painful experiences I’ve ever had. Everyone kept telling me the more you move the more it helps, but make sure you rest. At first I was like how am I supposed to move around a bunch and rest!? Well I will say everyone was right. The more I moved the more it helped, but I won’t say it was easy to move around at all. It got easier with time. Let’s not forget the first time I had to sneeze or cough. You don’t realize how much you use your abdominal muscles until you can’t. Talk about a pain in your side (actually, your front lol).

I felt like such a wimp afterwards because so many people told me how they’d do it again, they opted for one or how after just a few days they were moving around great. But truthfully, my recovery was MINE. I couldn’t recovery exactly like someone else. I had to recover however my body was supposed to. I’ve seen tons of articles about how c sections are the easy way out, I beg to differ. I’ve delivered with an epidural, delivered without one when I was having the worst back labor and then now a c section. I’d never pick a c section again unless it was medically necessary for the baby’s health. I am though, very thankful for my doctors, the incredible decisions they made and a safe delivery of my beautiful baby girl. She’s the perfect final addition to our family!

So many people push “breast is best” and shame moms when they aren’t breast feeding. Trust me I totally understand how nutritious breast milk is for babies! Personally, I never breast feed Brodie because we never made that transition because he was in the NICU so long and we had to teach him to eat from a bottle. So I pumped. I pumped as long as I could. Unfortunately after 3-4 weeks, there was nothing left to pump. I was so discouraged. I tried everything, but I know those weeks he was able to receive that were crucial. With Peyton, I knew how I felt about breast feeding. I honestly wasn’t comfortable trying to “breastfeed” and it was a mental thing that made me uncomfortable, but I would pump for her all day long to make sure she got the nutrients she needed. This time though was a struggle. It was much harder than it was in the past. After a c section your milk takes longer to come in, which I didn’t know that until now. For the first couple of days while we were in the hospital I tried hard to pump and pump and pump, but there was nothing. A couple days after we got home things finally started working! Yay! Right?? Well from there, it was even more struggle. I was able to pump for exactly one week. One whole week and that was it. After one week, it was gone. I tried EVERYTHING. Did it by the book, talked to a lactation consultant, Googled EVERYTHING under the sun and tried everything to keep it going, but for whatever reason, that was it.

We live in a world where parents get shamed so quickly because they do things differently than what “society” thinks they should. What people don’t consider is, maybe there’s a reason. Maybe they just can’t feed their child only breast milk. But I guarantee they are feeding their child and that’s what’s most important. Trust me I idolize those that are able to pump and store MONTHS of “the goods” for their baby, but for some reason it’s not meant for me to produce that way. Even with Brodie, I never produced enough to have a stash. We always had just enough for each feeding. For my littles, they will get food. They will get whatever I can provide for them and that’s what’s most important.

So if you are a momma like me who just can’t provide “the goods” for long periods of time, don’t be discouraged. Don’t let society make you feel less of yourself. Don’t feel bullied or pressured by others. Take care of your baby the best way you can. Fed is best!

If you would told me 4 years ago that I’d be having another baby, I would’ve laughed at you. It wasn’t in our plan. After the difficulty of loosing a child, it was something we discussed and we weren’t ready and once time passed, we realized that we were so happy with what we had. We were content.

Fast forward to July 2019, BAM, positive pregnancy test RIGHT before we were going on vacation. Which we were staying on a vineyard and I was super excited to finally try some of our friends new wines. No wine for this mom to be!! That was also a crazy pill to swallow. I had more fear than anything. Telling my husband, who was on board with the no more kids thing, was the hardest thing I’d done. And I couldn’t even get words out. I just tossed the test at him while we were packing. Great deliverance, right? Of course I’m the moment, there wasn’t anything we could do. Just go on vacation and make the necessary appointments for when we got back. I had messed up my birth control patch a couple months prior to that. So I knew that I had messed up. But now that she’s here, it wasn’t a mess up. It was just how the plan was supposed to be. She’s something I never knew I needed. Our family needed her. She’s no replacement of our sweet Cooper Ray, but our tiny caboose, Peyton Rae, is the best addition. A family that’s been wrapped around everything boy, just got a little pink sprinkled into it. Pink and bows are things we aren’t used to, but it’s something I look forward to.

When you think about relationships you had growing up, my mom was someone who was there through all the ups and downs in life. Sure there were times she drives me crazy, but she was there. I hope that Peyton and I have a bond like no other. I’ve been a boy mom for so long I guess it’s time to mix things up a little! And hopefully I can master this bow thing!!

This statement is so true when describing Fat Tuesday in Louisiana. Everywhere else it’s simply just another day. In Louisiana, Mardi Gras is a celebration! This year, Fat Tuesday, was a huge celebration for me.

While people paraded the streets, ate king cake, caught beads and let the good times roll, we welcomed our sweet girl. Our final baby. The one we never planned, but one we found a new love for. Peyton opened up our hearts to experience a love like no other. Just when I thought I didn’t know how to love another baby like I do Brodie, she showed me the way. Having a new baby is such an adjustment for not only you as a mom, but the entire family. There’s so much adjustment in our everyday lives. With Brodie now having to share his parents, with Cameron pursuing a college degree and me being a self employed business women, we all have major changes. Change can sometimes bring stress that we all have to overcome. As a family, we grow together. This is something I want Brodie and Peyton to know. No matter how stressful times get, you can always overcome it. Family is everything to me. When it comes to decisions and life, I will always do what’s best for all of us because they are who matter the most. This is the family that I care for and cherish the most.

As scary as it was to know we were going to be parents again, I am thrilled we finally have her in our arms! Here’s to a new life with bows (that I’m not used to yet), fighting off boys when she’s older and molding another sweet baby through life. Forever my king cake baby!

Special shoutout to Taylor Hill Photography for snapping this beautiful photo

It’s important to know who is truly in your “circle”. This could be friends, family, coworkers, the mailman, anyone. But those same people could very well not be in your circle or need to be far from inside it. Don’t be afraid to limit your circle and remove people who don’t belong.

There’s a lot of trials and tribulations I’ve gone through in life and without the select few people who I know are actually IN my circle and care I’m not sure I could’ve pushed forward as hard as I have at times. Even now, there are days when I feel like I just can’t go on anymore. I know who I can call or read h out to when I need someone to talk to. Why? Because the lift me up. They help me rise from the place that I’m in and know I’m not alone.

It’s important to have those people. There are times you just can’t tackle things in your own and that’s ok. It’s ok to not be ok. Let others help you rise.

Know your worth and know your place in others lives. I know there are times as a person that I’m in someone else’s circle and they need lifting. If I can help that person rise up, it’s a win for both of us. Do I need or expect any recognition or medals for helping that person? Absolutely not! Them rising up from where they’ve been is more than winning. If someone expects that, then maybe they don’t truly have your best interest at heart.

So today, are you in someone else’s circle? Is someone in yours that shouldn’t be? Today, lift someone up. Let them rise. Then you will rise together.

33 weeks and 6 days to be exact. That’s exactly how long my little girl has been able to camp out and grow. This has been the longest I’ve ever carried a baby!! When I took that pregnancy test over 6 months ago, I never expected it to say positive or to have even carried this long.

This pregnancy has brought on a lot of trials and anxiety, but I am thankful to be at the point I am today! Everyday I wake up and feel excitement as I feel her grow and move, but I also have feelings of exhaustion, pain and fear of the unknown. As I am older than I was during Brodie and Cooper’s pregnancies, I feel a lot more. My body goes through a lot more. At 21 years old, of course I felt huge and dealt with the morning sickness, but the aches I feel now remind me, I’m not a spring chicken anymore. I’m not that tiny little post sorority girl that could bend and snap. I’m almost 28 years old. In math if I had to round my age, sadly it would be up. Having a baby closer to your 30s is nothing like having one in your EARLY 20s, especially when this is the third time your body is going through these changes. I am at a point I can’t do as much as I could before. I get winded, I am slow, I hurt and I am tired.

Imagine being 6 weeks from your due date and still trying to keep up with an ACTIVE little boy who is getting closer to 7 years old everyday. One who is ready to eat as soon as his feet touch the ground and has enough energy I think he could power my house. Although he likes to be very independent, you can’t rely on him to do everything he needs to without a little bit of assistance.

So with that being said, I have fear of how to handle two kids at once. Which I know some will say is silly and I should be thankful to have been able to have another child, and don’t get me wrong I’m very thankful! The things I’ve had to go through to make sure she stays in as long as she can is something I wouldn’t wish on anyone. But in all honesty, I’ve not tended to a baby in some time. Brodie has been a “big boy” for a while. In today’s society, moms are judged tremendously on what they feed their baby, how they dress their baby, how big their bows are, how you manage your life with a new baby, how your emotions are after birth, etc. It’s so much worse now vs. when I had Brodie. As a “people pleaser” type of person, I have to remember not all babies are the same and to not let others words and actions get me down. Because people can be cruel.

I hope that as a new mom, again, I hope can lift up other moms to not feel discouraged or worried about what others will say. Let’s work to lift each other up and not tear each other down.