The Mamas and Chicks Show + Ticket Giveaway

One of my favourite shopping events for the little ones is coming up in November! Since A was born three years ago, I have been going to the Mamas and Chicks Show. The big difference with this show is that almost all the vendors feature local and handmade items - seriously, the stuff is absolutely gorgeous. I wish I had a fraction of the crafty talent that these vendors have! It's a great place to stock up on gifts for Christmas too!

The show will be taking place on Friday, November 20th at the Quality Hotel in Oshawa. The venue is stroller friendly and there are tons of amazing vendors. Some of my favourite small businesses will be there, such as :

• Eva + Dell: Anne makes beautiful handmade accessories for boys and girls - I will do a post at a later time showing off her beautiful items! 
• Bearly Used: One of my favourite used clothing stores for kiddies
• Brunchkins: An awesome non-profit
• The Cupcake Place: I love baking and am pretty particular about buying baked goods. The Cupcake Place does not disappoint. I MAYuse their cake pops at every show to bribe A into taking nice photos.
• Little Miss Bows and Bands: Super sweet and girly girls headbands and accessories. When I found out I was pregnant with a girl, she was my first stop to stock up on pretty headbands for photoshoots.
• Sarita Baby: handmade baby accessories and clothing. Bibs, paci clips, toy straps, teethers. You name it, she makes it. And it is awesome quality.
• Say It Ain't Sew: She makes beautiful and functional baby carriers. I have a ring sling from her and it is as pretty as it is comfy!
• Tara Graham Photography: She is on hand at every show to take holiday photos of kids. Beware, she gets busy so be prepared to stand in line if you come at a busy time. She is well worth the wait, and every photo I've gotten of A from her is fantastic!

For a full list of vendors, check them out here: http://www.mamasandchicks.com/exhibitors.html

Admission to the show is $5, but if you bring a sleeve of juice boxes to donate to Brunchkins, you will get $2 off! BUT - you can win a pair of tickets by entering below! It's easy-peasy, all you have to do is visit the brand-spankin' new Facebook page for Bawlers and Crawlers!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congratulations to the winners - Laura Sanint, Julie Strazzeri, Lauren Smart-Kennedy, and Courtney Evans. I will be contacting you shortly to arrange delivery of your tickets!

Miscarriage and Conception Challenges - Part 2

When A was around 2.5, we decided we were ready for our little family to grow. We picked what we thought was the “perfect” time to try to get pregnant, assuming that it would happen the first month we tried, as it had with the first two pregnancies. We tried…and tried…and tried. And then it wasn’t fun anymore.

I began furiously searching the internet, figuring there had to be a quick fix somewhere…something we weren’t thinking of. It happened twice before with us barely even thinking about it, so what the heck was going on?

Eventually, I began using ovulation tests to try to pinpoint the best times to try – and found out that some months I wasn’t even ovulating (which sure wasn’t helping in the baby-making department!).  Although it was frustrating, using the tests gave me some peace of mind – at the very least, I had a possible reason why we had not gotten pregnant yet…and also gave me a tool that could help better our odds.

Those months of trying to get pregnant really took a toll on me emotionally. Being the eternal optimist, I would get excited every month, thinking “This is the month!”, only to be let down again and again. I was frustrated, angry, sad and confused. But eventually – it did happen. And I couldn’t have been happier.

I have been trying to be a strong voice to women I know to share my story, to let women know that they are not alone. That it can happen. That it is normal to feel sad, angry, or embarrassed. I even became a part of First Response’s Conception Success Stories Campaign (and no, they are not paying me to write this…I just feel that strongly about sharing my story!). When they contacted me about becoming part of their campaign, I jumped at the chance.

If you are interested, you can check out my conception story with First Response here: http://firstresponsestories.ca/en/ and click down until you get to “Baby Girl” – little Miss L didn’t have a name yet, as I was 9 months pregnant when this was filmed.

One of my favourite moments of all time - When A came to meet his little sister for the first time

And so – for better or worse, that was my conception journey. And you want to know what? I ended up with two of the most amazing little beings in the world. Well worth all the heartache. I wouldn’t change it for a thing.

If you are struggling with getting pregnant and want to try First Response Digital Ovulation Tests, click here for a coupon: http://www.save.ca/firstresponse

Photo by Shannon Nicole Photography

If you are feeling brave and open, why not share your story? I would love to feature some other journeys to help women on all different paths feel a little more supported. If you are interested in sharing, please feel free to comment or shoot me an email!

Miscarriage and Conception Challenges - Part 1

I wrote this post long time ago, and have been debating whether or not to share it, as it is of a very personal nature, and contains personal information…but thought that if I helped one person feel normal, or less ashamed, that it was worth the risk.

This post is going to be a serious one – and a lot more personal than normal. I am going to share the journey I went on to become a mom. I think it is important for people to share the difficulties and challenges they have encountered in growing their families, because the challenges are not talked about enough.

Miscarriages and challenges conceiving are SO common. But, unfortunately, in my experience, women do not hear about them until after they have experienced loss or challenges. In my opinion – it’s too late by then. Women need to know that it IS common, it HAS happened to others, and it IS possible to have perfectly healthy babies afterwards.

The first time I got pregnant, Ryan and I were overjoyed. Unfortunately, I miscarried at 7 weeks. To say I was heartbroken was an understatement. In my ‘first pregnancy’ bubble, miscarriage wasn’t even in my vocabulary. In very simple terms, I was sad, confused, felt hopeless and felt like I got completely blindsided. Not only was I physically drained – emotionally I was a wreck. I wanted to talk about it, but I did not even know where to start.

Like every other woman who has miscarried experiences, women started telling me about their loss – and it became apparent in my grief that it is common and not my fault in the least. But this is the part that women need to be prepared for. Miscarriage needs to be talked about so they don’t get that sense of isolation. It can happen, and it is devastating and shakes up your world. But you can move on from it. It’s okay to feel sad and even angry that other people are pregnant when you have just suffered such an incredible loss. You will make it through, and you will be happy for them too. But you need to take your time to heal.

After I felt ready to try for a baby again, we got pregnant the first month of trying – we were completely overjoyed! Yet I never had that same freewheeling giddiness I had the first pregnancy. We were thrilled, but kept matters private, holding back from telling people or investing too much into it – just in case.  Nine months later, baby A came along, completely healthy and happy!

Next up – how Little Miss L joined us!

Flash Contest!

It's Thanksgiving - and to say thank you for dropping by to have a read, I am offering up two tickets to the National Women's Show this weekend! And to make it even better, there will be TWO winners!

The show is a great excuse for a girls day out -  it is being held this weekend (Friday-Sunday) at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre - check it out for more info here:  http://www.nationalwomenshow.com/en/toronto/visitor/. The only catch is that you have to be able to pick up the tickets in Durham Region this week!

It's easy to enter - all you have to do is shoot me an email at steph.lue@gmail.com or leave a comment letting me know about what parenting or baby topics or questions you would like to read about!

Thanks for dropping by!

Bright Bean Toys

Hey mommas,

Just wanted to take a quick minute to share a sweet little find with you!
I heard about a new online toy store that will be opening later this month, called Bright Bean Toys.

I was intrigued, and contacted them for more information about the company and what makes them different from other toy stores. I absolutely love their philosophy - that play is vital to a child's education and development (because I obviously need more reasons to buy toys). They are structuring their website to help parents find the best toys for their kids at each stage, from birth to age 12. The big difference in their store? Every single toy they sell is attached to a specific developmental category, and you will be able to shop by age and developmental category.

They will be carrying some of my personal favourite brands, such as Hape, Melissa & Doug, Boon, Crazy Forts, Lego, and Lamaze. There are lots of brands that I'm looking forward to exploring such as Janod, Seedlings, Tegu and Uncle Goose. Have any of you tried them?

Just to get you even more excited, they're offering some special perks to people who register before the launch. Head to their website (http://www.brightbeantoys.com) to register and you will receive:

• 6 months of free shipping
• $10 store credit
• 20% off for one month
• 1 year's subscription to Today's Parent magazine

Uhh, yeah. Kind of awesome. Once they have launched and you've done your shopping, drop me a line and let me know what you bought!

Bringing Home Baby...the Sequel.

Three months ago, we welcomed little lady Lily to the family! With two little ones, life can be hectic. I was mentally prepared to be exhausted and feel torn with two little humans vying for attention, but nothing could have prepared me for the heartbreak and sadness I felt at some moments.

Photo by Shannon Nicole Photography

We took time while I was pregnant to prepare A to become a big brother. We read books about being a big brother, he helped me set up parts of Lily's nursery, and spent many bedtimes talking about what he wanted to do with baby "Monkeyhead" (as he affectionately named her in the womb) when she was out of my belly.

When Andrew came to the hospital, he was surprised with a present from baby Lily, and he was thrilled to finally meet the baby that was growing in mommy's belly. From the start, he was a proud big brother, telling everyone we saw that this was 'his baby.' I felt like such a proud mom, what a smooth transition to two kids this was! We were doing awesome! A wasn't acting out at all!

And then.....the honeymoon ended. A started to realize he didn't have my full attention and could not have me at times when he usually did. I still remember in the first few weeks the first moment that brought me to tears. Bedtime was usually me and A reading, snuggling, and talking in bed before he went to sleep. This particular night, newborn Lily needed to feed right at bedtime, so hubs stepped in to put Andrew to bed. I promised A I would come see him as soon as I finished feeding Lily (which as we all know, can be a pretty long time with newborns). I was sitting there, rocking Lily and enjoying that quiet and bliss that comes with a sleepy newborn, when in comes my three-year old with tears running down his face.

"Mommy, you say you come see me. You forgot about me Mommy."

My heart broke. In that moment, it was the first time that both of us realized that I couldn't always be there when he needed me. 

I scooped him up with my other arm and assured him that I could never forget about him, that I was still taking care of Lily and was coming to see him soon.

That is the absolute worst mommy guilt I have felt in my three years as a mom...and I'm sure that is just mild training compared to what is to come in the future. But right at that moment, I felt guilt that I couldn't be there when he needed a hug, that I had turned his world upside down by bringing another baby home, and guilt that I couldn't focus all my energy on Lily like I had when I brought A home. I think guilt is one of those things that is just part of being a mom.

Three months in and we're all getting used to things being done a little different, but A loves his little sister, and I'm sure he will enjoy having her around as she gets to be a little more exciting to him!

Photo by Shannon Nicole Photography

How do other moms balance having more than one little kid at home? Especially moms with more than two! How do you keep that balance between each child?