My 10 best moments of motherhood so far

This post is sponsored by Carter’s; however, all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

I have been pretty open about the fact that going from one to two kids has been a struggle for us.

And when I say struggle, I mean it. I recently described it as someone taking our lives and throwing them into a blender. What we thought we had under control is now a chaotic mess. It’s crazy, it’s loud, but it is oh so sweet.

My toddler, H, has probably had the biggest change of us all. Where he was once the center of our world, there’s now another contender he has to share that space with. Jealousy has recently become a big issue that we struggle with. So while my pretty Instagram squares show off a light and bright picture of our days, real life is anything but.

Yet that doesn’t mean the wonderful moments deserve to be ignored.

In fact, the harder my days are, the more important it is to me to focus on the good for the day. So through all the chaos, I can look back and lock away the moments that made my heart surge. Because these moments of pure love are so crucial to keep close and stock up on. 

And my goodness there are so many sweet memories to stock up on!

Some of my favorite moments as a mother of two so far:

• H’s face when he saw J for the first time. We talked a lot about his impending arrival, but nothing will compare to H coming in and giving J a big kiss on his forehead.
• Snuggling with my two boys on the couch right after J was born. One sleepily nursing, and the other snuggled up to my left side, his arms wrapped around both of us. My heart felt like it might explode. 
• Seeing J wear the same clothes H did. Because there’s just something about keeping your favorite baby clothes for future kiddos. When I bring another hand-me-down out of the closet, I am reminded of the first time H wore it. And it gives me all the feels.
• The sound of H’s little voice and my husbands deep sound as they both sing “Hey Jude” to our sweet new rainbow baby. My husband’s guitar soft in the background, lulling J to sleep while I rocked him back and forth and took it all in.
• And the way H still loves to sing to brother every chance he can.
• J’s first giggles. Which were directed straight towards brother! H walked into the room right in J’s view, and his whole face lit up. When H came over closer and said “hey brodder Jude!”, J’s entire body erupted into belly laughs.
• The first time J rolled. And then how H would sit there next to him, cheering him on. Seeing brother laying next to brother, both of them rolling and laughing together made me feel like in that moment, we had done well.
• Then when J started trying to crawl. Oh my goodness, talk about heart melting. H would lay a few feet in front of J and encourage him on. “Come on buddy, come on brudder! You can do it! Come to me, Jude! Come on! Yay!”
• Sitting outside on one of our first “nice” evenings of the year. The elusive summer warmth finally tempting us out. H on my left and J in my lap, as we read through their new books before bed. H kept pointing his favorite things from the book out to his brother, and made me make sure J got to see every bit of every page.
• H comforting J when he starts crying. Yes, we have a lot of “UGH, mom. Brodder is crying AGAIN”, but that’s far out shadowed by his kindness towards his younger brother. When J starts to get upset, H is always there. If they’re in their carseats, H will start singing or making soothing noises. “It’s okay brodder. It’s okay Jude. You’re okay. Sssh, sssh, sssh.”. If they’re playing together on the floor, H will go over and make him laugh. He’ll rub his hand on J’s back, or give him relaxing scratches. 

Life as a mom of two has changed regular outings into big adventures.

I recently took a “big adventure” over to Carter’s with my two little ones to check out their new Little Baby Basics line. And let me tell you, H and I had the best time picking out some new awesome baby boy clothes for little brother.

My shopping buddy walked with me through all the aisles at Carter’s, and filled our bag with cute baby clothes bundles. His favorite thing he chose for brother is the original bodysuit dinosaur printed four pack. He asks me to put J in them almost everyday!

We are very lucky and got totally spoiled with baby shower gifts for my oldest. Babies grow so fast that other than some food stains, most of H’s clothes are still in perfect shape. Because of this, all of J’s clothes are hand me downs from big brother. Which is totally fine! But I thought it would be special to have H help me choose some new ones for his little brother. As an added bonus, now H loves helping J get dressed. And he loves telling J that he picked his clothes out just for him!

I love that Carter’s pieces are not only cute, but also durable. And it sure doesn’t hurt that they are affordable and almost always have a Carter’s coupon available. Not finding out the sex of your baby? They have a ton of gender neutral baby clothing options as well! So whenever our next baby happens, he or she will have some adorable outfits all ready to go. Which also means each piece will have even more sentimental value for this heart-on-my-sleeve mama. 

Having a baby changes everything, adding another changes even more. But I wouldn’t change a thing.

Ready to head over to Carter’s to pick up some baby clothes? Or need the perfect baby shower gifts? Make sure to use this 20% off $40 purchase Carter’s coupon!