Parenting

The number one piece of advice I would give anyone who hasn’t had kids yet

Men and women are pressured, maybe equally, maybe women a little more to have kids. Once college is over and a career is started, a common question seems to become “when are you getting married?” Soon after marriage, the question that seems to come is “when are you having kids?”

It’s a concern a lot of women seem to battle with, for no real reason. Now, we have the ability to choose- whether using birth control, morning after, adoption and even abortion- women have choices about when or if they become moms.

It’s not a choice to make lightly. Many people do not want to be a parent, others give in to pressure and later regret. In reality, becoming a parent is a lifelong responsibility. It extends beyond the time they leave. You will always worry, want to see them as often as possible and want to spend time with grand kids.

The early years involve a lot of late nights, potty training isn’t smooth, you will grow comfortable with every type of bodily fluid (although I still have to ask my husband to clean up if someone pukes most of the time- just the smell alone can make me join in). When I was pregnant, I had to have other people change poop diapers due to my extreme sensitive smell and how prone I was to queasiness. (once again, unless I wanted to puke)

You can deal with colic, temper tantrums over everything, there will be times they don’t want to eat anything and times they only eat one food for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks and you’ll deal with all types of bad but the good should outweigh the bad. You will feel a strong maternal bond, but not every woman feels it- even after kids. You will feel a strong love and bond and the good times will quickly outweigh the bad.

A lot of people try to justify the why behind why they want kids. To me, it sounds like they’re talking themselves into wanting instead of actually wanting to be a parent “just because.”

This is my opinion alone, I always wanted to be a mommy. I wanted to be a career mommy (career and kids) and I never had a reason. Over the years, I read a lot and all the reasons people gave for having kids sounded more like they were trying to convince people or themselves they wanted something they were unsure of.

After looking at the realities of having kids, the numbers of women living in regret, I never give advice without being asked but if I was asked, I would always tell someone if they have a reason or a list of reasons to hold off on having kids.

What are your thoughts?

Health · Uncategorized

Winter Tips for Skin

The cold weather of winter hits your skin in multiple ways. The cold weather can wreck havic and dry your skin out. The dry air from running the heater sucks the moisture out as well. When you get sick, constantly blowing your nose chaps lips and dries out the skin under your nose above your lip. Winter is painful for skin but it doesn’t have to be. Here are a few tips to keep your skin smooth, moist and pain free during the dry winter months.

1. Wear sunscreen- just because it’s cold, doesn’t mean the sun isn’t a threat. It can be more of a threat due to reflecting off the snow (water). It can cause sunburn and sunburn is one of the leading causes of Melanoma (the most deadly form of skin cancer).

2. Use a moisturizer-with the chilled wind and dry air, a good hydrating moisturizer will be a must. Make sure to choose a hydrating formula because all this stuff dehydrates your skin and you need to replenish.

3. Drink lots of water- like I said in 2, dry air dehydrates your skin so drinking lots of water can help counteract the loss of moisture.

4. Use a cool mist humidifier or vaporizer. Using either of those at night while running the heat keeps the dry air from drying your throat or skin and I found it had me feeling better after one use. They both put moisture in the air so when you’re breathing in the heat, it puts the moisture back into your skin or throat.

5. If your lip or under your nose gets chapped, use vaseline or Aquafor- both help protect against further damage and both help heal chapped and painful skin. Usually 2-3 nights *along with using a vaporizer* is all it takes.

If anyone has anything to add to my list, let me know in the comments.