SUMMER has arrived before we realized it. If you are like us, you have been quarantined and are ready to started venturing out to enjoy the gorgeous weather ahead. As you know, our daughter has really sensitive skin, so I have had to try every possible sunscreen out there for babies & Children.

***Please consult your doctor when using sunscreen for infants under 6 months. We do not pretend to know better than medical professionals.

What is the difference between baby/children's sunscreen and adult sunscreen? Baby/Children's sunscreen is generally mineral based, which is supposed to cause less irritation. Adult sunscreen is generally chemical based. There are children’s sunscreens out there that contain chemical blockers like avobenzone, oxybenzone and octinoxate. And though the FDA is still in the process of updating its regulations for sunscreen safety, for now, the only two ingredients that have been deemed safe are zinc oxide and titanium dioxide.

What SPF should I use for my child? From everything I have read, your child should wear at least SPF 30 or higher. You should wear it every day and put it on at least 15 minutes preferably 30 minutes before going outside so the skin has time to absorb the sunscreen.

How often should you reapply sunscreen? Every time you get out of the pool or ocean, dry-off first. Every hour if you are out in the sun or in the water continuously. 

It is the worst. I hate it for any parent, but especially for any baby, let's face it, my toddler is still dealing with it. My daughter has sensitive skin, so I have to tell you the special remedy that worked for us, better than ANY prescription medication and homemade remedies that I found on Pinterest. 

***Please consult your doctor for all concerns you are having with your child. We are NOT suggesting that we know better than medical professionals.***

What can you do before having to utilize this method? 

1. Change your child's diaper's often. Recommendations for prior to one year old, checking every hour while awake, overnight whenever they wake up. Recommendations for after one years old is every two hours and overnight only if they wake up to feed. 
2. Use a diaper that truly absorbs the urine
3. Utilize warm water on a wash cloth, instead of wipes to clean your child's bottom
4. Give the bottom time to air dry before putting on a new diaper
5. Utilize powder every diaper change
   
6. If you notice some pink or irritation either Step 1 or 2 from below
7. Make sure your Daycare or Provider is on-board with your plan, consistency is key
8. Our doctor mentioned diet, as my daughter LOVES pickles, so we especially watch her diapers after she eats them so the acidity from the pickles doesn't bother her.

Until Next Time...

I truly felt and appreciate that we wouldn't get pregnant easily. My parents adopted me when I was a month old and my brothers & sisters in law got pregnant so easily...so we had to be the couple who weren't so lucky. 

After having parent's who couldn't get pregnant and tried for 16 years, I do not take for granted that we are that couple who can tell you exactly when and that it was a one time thing...no not that we only did it once that month, that we were only reckless once that month :) and reckless is a bad word. We couldn't be more thankful to have our daughter. 

When we got married, we decided we wanted a baby but had not fully decided when. We went away for New Years with one of our Coastie couples. I got really car sick which wasn't truly like me. On our way home from the weekend, my hubby told me we needed to get a pregnancy test. I was for sure that it wasn't possible. Nah man, nah were my exact words to him.

We took a test and I was so sure it was negative, I made my hubby look. I wish I had videoed the response as it was the sweetest I could imagine. He looked at our doggies and said, you ready for a human sibling? 

The tears started flowing as we couldn't believe that one wreck-less time would give us the most magical gift that we could ever have been given. Life surely gives you some crazy turns and this was the best twist we could have ever imagined. 

We could barely contain ourselves. Thank God for Clear Blue. No guessing at a time I already didn't think I was pregnant, was essential. 

We didn't wait until our first appointment to tell our families. We told them as quickly as possible. My parents lost it and wanted to proceed with caution since they had never been through the experience before. My in-laws were just as excited for Grandbaby #5 & #7 (My hubby's parents are divorced so Peyton's a different number on each side.)

So I started on the prenatal vitamins NO ONE TELLS YOU to start taking them as soon as you are thinking about getting pregnant. So do it. And now they have a Men's Preconception Vitamin to increase healthy sperm. Finally, something the men can do to help with the conception process. It always feels like we have so much to worry about. One daily vitamin is easy!

and waited the 8 weeks to go in. I had no idea you had to wait that long to go in. It makes sense now but in the moment, I was loosing my mind. They shared with us that insurance won't start covering you until your baby is 8 weeks with a heartbeat, You can't really see anything until 8 weeks on the Ultrasound, and so we waited. Longest 4 weeks of our lives. Seeing that baby the first time and hearing the heart beat! Pure Wow!

Last but not least download an app. We loved Ovia Pregnancy Tracker. My husband used it too. It tells you week by week how big your baby is, what to expect, you can personalize it too. It was so much fun to check each week together. 

​until next time...

Hair loss after baby has been PRETTY devastating. Not only is your body feeling all over the place and like you are in a foreign country under your own skin, your hair starts falling out. Of course, I thought it was a joke, really, could anything about postpartum or pregnancy for that matter be enjoyable? Everything I have read says you return to normal between 6-12 months after giving birth.

So I don't know about you but it seems like 2 years is how it is, feeling weird, not knowing what is going on with your body. BUT completely thankful for the sweet little baby that we have. Sometimes I have to keep reminding myself of this, that is life though. Think positive. 

​3. Get a good hair cut
​I went and saw my favorite hair girl, Chris from Blank Salon. Are you in the DMV? (DC, Maryland or Virginia) You will have to check her out. If you book an appointment online she is offering a $10 discount & 10% off all products. She is located in Merrifield. You will feel gorgeous again! I wish I had a before picture so you could see how awful it was. ​​

And if no one has told you, it will get better. Keep smiling even when it is hard. You are doing an amazing job. Motherhood is a journey. We got this.
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​Until next time,

***Full disclosure: I am a Brand Rep for Monat. All products I talk about I have personally tested and all comments/opinions are from my own experience.

I had been using Monat Shampoo & Conditioner for 8 months. I did switch my Shampoo & Conditioner to Kevin Murphy. More about why here. Whether it be hormones from pregnancy or postpartum, I don't know. However, I did not found a shampoo and conditioner system that I liked from Monat. They leave my hair either super oily or super dry. It was one extreme or the other. Nothing in between. It also made my hair very hard to brush. I had to use my Wet Brush and I swear by this brush. It could brush through the craziest knot. 

When I say I tried everything, I tried every combination that I could think of of Monat Shampoo & Conditioner. After 8 months, I figured it was time to find something else. So I do not use Monat Shampoo or Conditioner products, I know, I'm shocked to say this out loud. However, I have plenty of clients who have and LOVE THEM. I do like a lot of their "non-shampoo & conditioner" products. Plus, I made my husband try all of the "men" products and I will share the ones he loves in another post. 

I am thankful. I have read the information about those who had a really bad experience with Monat. Everyone's experience is going to be different. The company is top notch. I really like their mission - cruelty free and plant based products. This is how I originally got turned on to these products. We only use cruelty free products in our home as we have 2 rescue beagles and want to help end testing on these sweet animals.

I recognize my hair is falling out because I just had a baby. Not from these products and I won't lie to you about my experience. NONE OF MY FALL IT IS FROM THESE PRODUCTS. I have found a bunch of other products they have that I love. Check them out below.

Until next time,

Shiz no one tells me, well first off, I am trying to clean up my language since I had a child. I know she is still not talking BUT I should start now trying to clean up my language right...that makes me a good mom??? So I will do my best but no promises. 

This blog is starting because I cannot believe the amount of information I found out AFTER the fact of needing assistance, advice, or I'm trying to find another A word - apprehension fits the bill. Even in this day of technology I felt like I didn't and do know what is going on for my family or child.  I always wanted to figure out everything on my own until the internet. Now I research every little thing. Especially after having a baby. I look for every DAMN thing to see what others have done and what is the best. GOSH! You really could drive yourself to drink with all of the options and needs for our children, product options, places to travel, best this or that. 

So I will touch on babies, doggies, military life, weddings, education, and life. So really I don't specify at all. Well, I won't do politics. I don't have anything on that. I'm just one new mom, military spouse, and fun loving woman trying to help out my fellow humans. 

All of the products and experiences I share are my own unless otherwise noted. We do have affiliate links on some of our posts, however, I will NEVER share anything that I haven't done myself and personally stand by.

Until next time,