Baby

5 Important Things I wish I’d Done Before My Baby Had Arrived

{Disclaimer: I received compensation to share this post and my thoughts about cord blood banking with you guys. But- this is my story, and all opinions are my own.}

One of these days I’ll get around to writing the full story about my unexpected journey to motherhood. But let’s just say – I’d never planned to become a mom. I didn’t feel comfortable holding a friend’s new baby. I knew nothing about babies. Then, after 5 years of dating, we unexpectedly found out we were expecting. Oh my.

I tried to prepare for Abby’s birth. I bought baby clothes. Set up a crib. Stocked up on supplies like diapers and wipes. But there are a few really important things I really wish I’d done before she arrived. Especially because she surprised me by coming 3 weeks early. {And keep reading until the end to find out how you can WIN $2,000 worth of baby gear!} [Read more…]

Posted by Meagan Paullin on July 29, 2015 Filed Under: Parenting | No Comments

The Difficult Path to Motherhood – Made Easier

This post is brought to you by The Stork OTC and The Motherhood. All opinions are my own.

My path to motherhood was….. Difficult. I’ve always wanted to tell the full story of that here on the blog, but haven’t done so yet. But, early May, watch for a series of posts, as we head to Mother’s Day, and my almost 5th year of being a mom. Until then, let’s talk about how difficult it can sometimes be to become a mother.

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Posted by Meagan Paullin on April 15, 2015 Filed Under: Parenting | No Comments

The ONLY Car Seat You Ever Need to Buy

I participated in this sponsored campaign about the Evenflo Symphony DXL on behalf of One2One Network. All opinions stated are my own. #EvenfloPlatinum

Evenflo: A Brand Moms Trust

When it comes to gear for our kids, we all have brands we love and trust. One of those in our house is Evenflo. I had an Evenflo stroller when Abby was a baby. I used a couple of different carriers, back when she was still small enough for me to carry around. We used a ton of their toddler feeding products. This is definitely a brand I feel confident in, and that has grown with us from the time Abby was an infant to now, as a 4 year old. [Read more…]

Posted by Meagan Paullin on February 8, 2015 Filed Under: Parenting | No Comments

Celebrating Motherhood and Your Baby’s First Moments

Thank you to JOHNSON’S Baby for partnering with me to share some awesome #favbabyfirsts with you guys in a compensated post. Hope you enjoy – and I hope you share your own too!

Ahhhhhh…. Motherhood. A burden and a blessing. Almost all good stuff though – right? Except for “those days,” … I know you know what I mean <3 There are so many “firsts” that are absolutely wonderous to behold – first words, first steps, seeing them grow into kiddos that discover new things. But there are also so many “firsts” that are exhausting – they learn to speak so they can back talk you, they walk so they can run away from you, they discover things they have no business messing with… It’s a huge process of love and frustration. But so totally worth it.

To celebrate these firsts, and the wonder and joy of being a mother, JOHNSON’S Baby has a campaign called #FavBabyFirsts – which is all about sharing your most special first memories of your little one. To kickstart it, they invited me, and a couple of other awesome mom bloggers – Crazy Adventures in Parenting, and That Chic Mom – to join a live Google+ Hangout with the absolutely lovely and down to earth Tammin Sursok from Pretty Little Liars. It was kind of surreal to chat with someone who’s a celeb like that, with my hair in a messy bun and totally not prepared, lol. But it was awesome that as we chatted, you can see that no matter who you are – all moms go through these SAME types of feelings when you have a baby. I’ve always found that so beautiful and amazing. Check it out:

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Posted by Meagan Paullin on November 19, 2014 Filed Under: Parenting, Family | 9 Comments

6 Simple Newborn Photography Tips

Newborn photography tips – by Lori Epstein, senior photo editor, National Geographic Kids. This is not a compensated post – as a #NGKidsInsider, I love being able to share cool tips and info from their amazing team with you guys!

As moms, we love taking pics of our family. And some of the most amazing photos are the ones we capture of our babies when they are just brand new little ones, right? There are a million amazingly talented photographers out there that can do professional photo shoots for you, but it’s also awesome to be able to snap those little everyday moments on your own. So, I’m excited to bring you some amazingly smart newborn photography tips from National Geographic’s senior photo editor, Lori Epstein. If you have other tips to share too, leave them in the comments!

6 Simple Newborn Photography Tips
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Posted by Meagan Paullin on May 6, 2014 Filed Under: Busy Mom Solution, Family | No Comments

8 Clever Mom Tips that Went Viral

“All mothers are working mothers.” – Unknown… This is one of my favorite mom quotes. Because, no matter how much the media wants to talk about the “mommy wars” – we’re all working moms. We’re all tired. We’re all doing our best to make the best for our families. Right? So – I wanted to share my absolute most popular posts and tips – the things that have gone viral, having over 30k repins on some of these posts. Others are newer – but seem to be helping solve mom-probs already. And others are some of my best freebie tips that people asked for updated codes and info on. So – whether you’re a new mom, a tired mom looking for extra tips, or a friend of a mom looking for cool gifts and info to share – you’ll find it here. Pin it at the end to share it with your other mom friends – we all need a boost, right?

Some of you might remember when I won the StartupNation Home Based Business award in 2012 – when I shared my story of becoming an unexpected work at home mom. I had to use every tool I had – from survey sites to selling on ebay, to make enough money to get by. As I did that, I learned an amazing amount of ways to be an awesome mom on a small budget. Check out some of the most popular tips of the past two years… Pin ’em, share ’em on Facebook, or tweet, google +, or whatever else the kids do these days, lol.

Get a free nursing pillow – pick your choice from 9 different prints. Once you’ve added your favorite to the shopping bag, you’ll enter promo code “ENBABY”, and it’ll automatically take 100% off of your purchase, leaving just the shipping charge for you to pay. These are seriously gorgeous – and Abby still uses hers, even as a big girl :) [Read more…]

Posted by Meagan Paullin on September 7, 2013 Filed Under: Busy Mom Solution, Frugal Parenting | 45 Comments

Baby Shower Gift Tutorial: DIY Cupcakesies

“Babies are such a nice way to start people.” – Don Herrold… Who doesn’t love baby showers? {Well, ok, besides my mom. She hates playing “party games.” But other than her…} I love any reason to celebrate, and sharing in the excitement of a new mom expecting her first baby is one of the greatest things ever.