Alle Rene

So with my first child, who is now 4 (almost 5), I was extremely hard on myself when it came to breastfeeding. I wanted it so bad and every set back led me closer and closer to feelings of failure and depression. We dealt with a tongue tie, an improper latch, low supply and thrush! If that isn't the worst nightmare ever, I don't know what is. But some how, we made it through it all and I was able to successfully breastfeed her for 8 months. I was extremely proud of myself for this. No, I didn't go to my 1 year goal but I was proud of myself for sticking it out during what seemed like some of the hardest weeks of my parenting life. Fast forward to now and I have a 2 month old baby boy. I told myself this entire pregnancy that I was going to breastfeed him for a whole year. I thought to myself, "there is absolutely no way I will struggle like I did with my daughter because that simply just cannot happen to a person twice." I did caution my boyfriend to mind...

I like my pancakes in the morning and I searched high and low for a yummy delicious pancake recipe that was low on the glycemic index (I am trying to lose that post baby weight) and would also help with lactation. I wasn't having any issues but this definitely help secure a nice strong milk supply early on. They are super easy to make and down right delicious! BONUS: They are also gluten free!!! My hubby loves them and so does my 4 year old and they are also a great source of fiber and protein which many of us don't get enough of in our daily diets! Feel free to top them with fruit and whip cream or your syrup of choice. If you are trying to stay low on the glycemic index I recommend a good sugar free syrup. I prefer ..... if I'm using syrup or I just use .... which is more natural than table syrup anyway. Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes: Prep Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 15 mins Serving size: 3 medium size pancakes Nutritional Value: Calories:_________________...

Any woman who has ever been pregnant looks forward to the day her baby will arrive. They even more so look forward to maternity leave where they can kick their feet up and collect on the long awaited baby snuggles, the quiet house, the infinite rest, all the free time to catch up on DIY projects and Netflix shows, or maybe even read the books you have been using as decoration. Am I right or am I right? HAHAHAHA That's a fantasy! If you have ever had a child and stayed home on maternity leave you may be laughing to yourself at the very thought of it being anything like a vacation. From crying babies and dirty diapers to sleepless nights and minimal time for proper self hygiene, you know its more like a job that never ends. That being said, I can definitely say I do not envy a single SAHM (Stay At Home Mom) out there. You ladies are the real MVP. But, with all that said, it can still be enjoyable. These are some things I found to be helpful during maternity leave and helped mainta...

If you have been following my blog you know my story. If not, here is the short version: At 17 weeks pregnant with my son, I was a pedestrian struck by a car. This lead to placental abruption and major hemorrhaging so I was forced to stay in the hospital for almost 3 months to keep me and my unborn baby safe. Needless to say, it was absolute hell. But I survived it with a smile on my face most of the time and in this post I'll explain how. Hopefully these tips and tools will help you as much as they did me. Read Some Books Thankfully we live in the era of e-everything. I downloaded a few e-books to read and I also had friends and family bring me books as I read the ones I had. If you have anyone bring you books, I recommend being very specific about the types of books you like to read. I had a few brought to me that were just paper weights because I'm not interested in certain types of reading. This tied up a decent amount of time and kept my mind wondering. It ...

As the weeks built up to our induction day I grew bigger in the hospital and my anxiety got worse. My delivery experience with my daughter was hell and I kept thinking history would surely repeat itself. After all, I had spent months in the hospital and I felt as though my pregnancy was a disaster anyway. Why wouldn't it have been? I clung onto every little sign that labor was going to just spontaneously start on its own. The whole reason I was there was because bleeding supposedly meant I had a high risk of delivering early. Hospitalized, strict bed rest was supposed to keep me from going into labor. So every little detail was a new sign for me to cling onto. I was absolutely terrified of being induced and had heard horror stories about Pitocin. Most women I knew that had ever been induced with Pitocin said it made their contractions awfully painful among other scary things like losing the baby's heartrate and increased blood pressure. I lost my mucus plug and thoug...

I spent a grueling 8 days in the hospital. I begged the doctor to send me home. All I could think was, "My daughter is leaving to be with her dad for the summer in a matter of weeks and I'm not getting any time with her!" My heart was full of guilt and my mind was frustrated with trying to determine a way to go home. The bleeding had stopped! What was the issue? I can sit at home and do nothing and at least be with my family and not alone! Finally on day 8, against my boyfriend's wishes, my doctor said "I'll let you go home; but, you will be back. I don't know how long it will take you to come back but you will bleed again. You can do everything perfectly right and you will still be back." I accepted that ominous premonition. I didn't care! At least I would get some time at home with my family and my daughter before she left for the summer. While I was in the hospital my boyfriend had hired movers and got us all moved into our new home. I ...

Fast forward another 3 weeks. We were finally planning to move out of our mold infested home into a new beautiful home. We were excited to be putting that chapter behind us. My boyfriend had been packing up boxes here and there and had plans to spend this weekend packing all the big stuff so that we could move the first weekend of May. He didn't want me doing much work at all out of fear of me bleeding again. I however, wasn't concerned with that at all. It was one isolated episode and the doctor wasn't worried so I was carrying on as though this was a smooth, easy and healthy pregnancy. No reason I can't pack a few boxes. I didn't plan on moving them but I figured two people were better than one at packing up such a big house. We had the master plan down and felt great about it. I also, was supposed to be studying for semester finals at this point as they were two weeks away. Then my boyfriend got the call. I could tell by the look in his face, this was a bad ...