Mom [noun]

I remember when I was 17 and in my final few months of high school. I thought about my future and what it would look like. I thought that at 22 I would graduate college, get married and immediately start working on a family. That didn’t happen… and I am so glad that it did not. Now I realize how unrealistic it was for me to think that as a kid.

Now as a 30 year old mom of two boys I am thankful for all of the lessons that life has taught me since graduating high school. It has taught me to be patient and not to stress. It has also taught me to get to know myself, as well as the people that I surround myself with. The lessons I learned since I was 17 have all molded me into who I am now… and prepared me for my greatest role ever… Mom.

When I found out I was pregnant with my oldest, I was in my first semester of grad school. My husband (then boyfriend) and I had spoken about having kids and we both decided that we should wait until I was in my second year of grad school… but the universe had other plans.

He and I were both very excited about becoming parents and we laughed like two kids when we found out. We both immediately started downloading every pregnancy tracker app that we could find and calling our families to tell them the great news! Eight months later, our son Ronnie was born and we were overjoyed! Once we were able to hold him in our arms, all the pregnancy struggles immediately vanished. We had made it and we had a handsome little boy to call our own.

My pregnancy with Ronnie was rough, due to me having hyperemesis gravidarum. I was sick for 7 months of my pregnancy and it was an all day illness. Once he was born, things were still rough. Ronnie had a milk protein allergy that we did not find out about until he was a month old. That made the entire first month of his life very difficult for all of us. He would cry nonstop and nothing could console him. I spoke with his pediatrician about it multiple times until we finally realized what the issue was. After we got his diagnosis, I was able to make the necessary changes to my diet, in order to still be able to breastfeed. After about 6 months, Ronnie outgrew his allergy and we were both able to enjoy dairy. He has continued to grow and thrive into an amazing, smart, and entertaining 3 year.

Austin is my newest little addition and he is nothing short of amazing! My husband and I planned out when we wanted to have another baby and Austin came right on time. My pregnancy with him was easier than it was with Ronnie, but I did get sick for longer than the usual 12 weeks again. This time around though, I knew what to expect so I was prepared for everything that was thrown at me. As soon as I felt myself getting sick, I knew exactly what to purchase in order to ease the symptoms. I felt great during my second pregnancy, because I also had someone already relying on me… so I had to be the best that I could.

Being that this was going to be my second baby, I also took necessary precautions to eliminate dairy from my diet prior to Austin being born. I chose to do this in the event that he also had a dairy allergy, which he did. As mom, I knew that I would be the one to have to make certain adjustments to make adding a new baby an easy transition for everyone.

Now that Austin is 5 months old, he has outgrown his dairy allergy and is gearing up to start solids. He is the sweetest and chunkiest baby I have ever seen and I can not wait to see him and his older brother become best friends.

Motherhood is a journey and it is the best journey to be on. Every fiber in my body is committed to being the best mom I can be to these two little boys and I challenge each and every mom to do the same. We are all in the same hood-motherhood.

Mom