Livin My Best Mom Life

We are finally excited and ready to share that we are expecting our rainbow baby! My husband continues to be outnumbered by all GIRLS! Baby McShane number 2 is arriving in early August. I’m sharing some details and answering some questions that you may have about my pregnancy and baby announcement.

We knew we wanted to try again for a second as soon as we could, but never in a million years did I think we would still be in a pandemic. Any mamas that have tips of what to expect during pregnancy during a pandemic, please comment!

Although this pregnancy is going by a lot quicker than the first, it has been hard not having my husband by my side at my appointments. I have been extremely fortunate that with both pregnancies I did not experience any symptoms. Due to Covid, we decided not to have a gender reveal party this time around. Instead, we did a low key gender reveal in our backyard with just us and a few weeks later we were finally ready to tell our family. Many wondered why we had waited until 22 weeks to announce and share the news. Quite honestly, after our loss we were scared, afraid, and just wanted to know that everything was going to go okay this time around. We are excited, but overly cautious. We continue to pray for a healthy baby and pregnancy.

Baby Announcement

I knew I wanted our daughter to wear something to tell everyone the big news. I ultimately decided on having her wear a denim jean jacket to spill the beans. It was hilarious seeing how long it took some family members to pick up on the news. Some family members took about 20 minutes to fully process.

To design the “big sis” I used design space in cricut. Design space lets you choose and customize fonts of your choice. I used my cricut maker to cut out glitter iron-on (HTV) to give the jacket a more girly look. As soon as it was done, I weeded and used a cricut heat press to transfer it the denim jacket. I was able to complete the jacket in under 30 minutes and it cost less than $20! I even customized and added some bling by adding flat pearls to the back and front. The pearls really popped in the pictures.

When did you find out that you were pregnant?

I took an at home pregnancy test after realizing my period was late. I have always tracked my period using the glow app so I knew there could be a chance I was pregnant, I found out Thanksgiving weekend.

How did you tell your husband?

I told him on his birthday in December! The timing worked out perfectly. Coincidentally, I have told him on his birthday both times. Seems like a tradition?! With our first born, I gave him a box for his birthday with a fishing hook that said, “our greatest catch coming soon.” It took him a few minutes to process and sink in. This time around, I had snuck a shirt on our daughter that said, “big sis” and had her give him a present. He thought the present was the Lysol wipes she was handing him, until he looked down and noticed her shirt.

How far along are you?

I am currently 22 weeks and in my second trimester. I was able to hide it pretty well until about a week ago. It seems like I’m showing a lot quicker with this baby and have already gained more weight this time around. I gained a total of 25 lbs with my first. It will be interesting to see how many lbs I pack on with this baby. I know every pregnancy can be so different.

Looking for more Ideas on how to announce you are pregnant? Check out these cute ideas:

Use a pet to make an announcement, a letterboard, a digital etsy baby announcement, balloons, a big brother/ sister, the possibilities are endless! Thank you Caitlyn and Megan for your ideas!

We can’t wait to share more of this journey with you all!

Let’s face it, being a mom is hard. We are always trying to do everything we can whether it be cooking breakfast, thinking of activities to entertain our children, giving them a bath, putting them to sleep, or just keeping everyone safe and alive. Throughout the past year, I have found a few mom hacks and ideas that have made my life easier. Why not simplify yours so can spend a few extra minutes doing something you love?

Below are some creative mom hacks that you can start implementing right away.

Food Hacks for Toddlers and Babies

Toddlers love to eat snacks, at least mine would prefer to munch on snacks sometimes rather than eat a decent meal. The Snack catcher by munchkin has helped prevent a lot of crumbs and food from falling on the floor. It also only allows the toddler to grab a small handful instead of shoveling the food into their mouth. Genius!

Cutting toddlers food can be time consuming. Use a pizza cutter to cut finger slice pieces. I use a pizza cutter at every single meal. I use it to cut toast, pizza, chicken nuggets, french toast, vegetables, fruit, etc.

How many of you have spent a ton of money on small bags of dried yogurt bites? Instead use this mom hack to make a ton of yogurt bites in less than 2 minutes. Buy a pint of baby yogurt (we use Stonyfield organic) , place it in a piping bag and start piping out small yogurt bites on wax paper. Put them in the freezer for at least an hour. My daughter loves to eat these especially when she is teething.

Silicone teethers are great if your baby is starting to teeth and has sore gums or is starting to try new foods. We not only put fruit inside of them, but ice cubes as well!

If your toddler is anything like mine, food goes everywhere when they are eating in their highchair. The silicone placemat has suction cups on the bottom that enable the placemat to stay in place. The food is sectioned off and is so easy to clean.

Silicone bib catchers are so practical. They catch literally almost anything the baby puts into their mouth. They are so easy to clean and hold up very well. I have used the same two the past 9 months.

Do you have a picky eater? Mine likes to live off mac and cheese. I sneak her veggies into her smoothies or buy spinach/ kale and broccoli bites from Aldi’s or Target.

Safety Mom Hacks

Does your toddler or baby love to open or explore inside your cabinets? I thought about buying the magnetic or screw cabinet safety locks, but moving into a new house, I did not want to damage the wood. For this mom hack, use thick hair ties to band together the cabinets! This works on cabinets that spin as well as pull out. This simple hack has helped with not ruining our cabinets and kitchen.

Have sharp table corner edges? Use pool noodles around the corners or fold and place blankets over top of the table so the edges are not as sharp and there is a soft cushion if they hit it.

table toddler hack — I know it doesn’t look pretty, but it has worked for us!

Is your toddler crawling out of the crib?

Our toddler started crawling out of her crib at 20 months. Instead of switching to a toddler bed right away because I knew she was not technically ready for one, we took out the springboard in the bottom. It lowered her mattress a couple inches, and she was no longer able to crawl out. This is still working for us!

If you have already switched to a toddler bed, safety is probably at the top of your list. Instead of buying products for the door, simply reverse the door handle so that the lock is on the outside. This allows only you to have access into the room.

Hygiene Hacks for your toddler and baby

Ever since my baby started sitting up and moving in the tub, I had a fear that she would clunk her head on the faucet. Welcome the skip hop silicone bath faucet cover. It covers the spout and is universally adjustable to fit most tubs. We have been using it for months and it makes me feel more relaxed knowing she can not slip or hit her head on the spout when we are in the bathtub.

Afraid to cut your newborn or toddlers nails? I was too and of course I read horror stories of others accidentally cutting their babies nails too short. I purchased an electric nail file that was soft enough for newborns. It made my life so much easier, and I did not have to worry about hurting or cutting her precious fingers.

I hope these ideas and mom hacks will help you in your everyday routines. If you decide to try or use any of these ideas, tag and share @livin_mybestmomlife to be featured.

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. This means that at no cost to you, we may earn a small commission for qualifying purchases.

Baby Announcement: We’re Having A….