I was recently interviewed for a podcast that my friend Whitney started a few weeks ago all about motherhood! One of the questions she asked me was “if you could give pregnant Lauren one piece of advice, what would it be?” I thought this was such a great question that i wanted to write about in today’s post, for any of my new mommas or mommas to be out there!
So, this piece of advice sounds so cliche and I was hesitant to use this as my answer…but just because it’s cliche doesn’t mean it’s not true. My piece of advice to pregnant Lauren, or any pregnant mommas out there would be to soak up every single second. Soak up every middle of the night feeding, newborn snuggle, the first walk you’ll go on, the pains fo learning how to breastfeed, the sweet newborn smell….all of it. The good, the bad, the ugly. The newborn stage is hard and there is SO much going on – so much beautiful and so much emotion and so many challenges. I always thought “the older I get, the more I feel like time is flying.” And then I had a baby. Time isn’t just flying anymore…it’s like the entire unit of measurement we use for time does not exist with Shiloh! TIME GOES SO FAST WITH HER IT IS INSANE!
There will be times when you are nursing your baby at 2am and thinking “I just wish she would sleep through the night. I wish we could fast forward to a time when she will be sleeping through the night.” There will be so many newborn moments that will challenge you, make you cry, and make you wish you could fast forward. But my piece of advice to all of you mommas out there would be to soak up every single second because they go by WAY too quickly.
So many people gave me this advice before I had Shiloh. To be honest, I had a lot of anxiety before she was born because I was so confused about what my “maternity leave” would look like. How much time will I take off? What if I WANT to work? Does that make me a bad mom? etc etc. But the Lord actually spoke to me so clearly about two weeks before Shiloh was born, through a devotional I was doing at the time. The devotional (Embraced by Lysa Terkeurst) gave the analogy of a huge tree whose branches were breaking. They had just received a massive 20-inch show in the middle of fall…because the leaves had not fallen off the trees yet, the heavy snow caused the branches to break – because they were carrying both snow and leaves.
“That’s what happens when a snow comes early. The trees weren’t designed to face snow before releasing their leaves. They weren’t made to carry more than they should. And neither were we….Like a tree, a woman can’t carry the weight of two seasons simultaneously. In the violent struggle of trying, she’ll miss every bit of joy each season promises to bring.”
After I read this devotional, this morning, two weeks before my baby was born…I made a conscience decision that “this season is about Shiloh.” This season is about meeting my daughter and learning all about her and learning all about who I am as her momma. This season is about letting my body heal and recover and this season is about pressing pause on everything else and that is more than okay.
So, yeah, maybe I was still on IG stories here and there basically just baby spamming all of you lol…but overall, I feel so overjoyed that I can look back on that newborn season and know…I truly soaked up every single second. I cried almost every day out of the sheer joy and gratitude that God gave me such a tiny perfect gift. I’m so glad I soaked up every one of those newborn moments because I promise, they flew by faster than the blink of an eye.
To be honest, this is still something I remind myself of everyday even though Shiloh is almost 7 months old! My to-do list might be crazy long and I have deadlines to meet…but I look over at Shiloh and see “oh my goodness, she has two tiny little teeth coming in.” Or “she just made a new sound I’ve never heard before!” I am reminded daily of how precious this time is with her and how she is more important than anything else I have going on in my world.
So that’s the simple encouragement I wanted to share with you new mommas or mommas to be today. I’m not saying the newborn phase is easy…but I am saying it is unbelievably precious and goes by way too fast. So I want to encourage you to soak up every second. Take way too many photos. Write everything down. Cry as much as you want to. Because it truly is the most precious, beautiful season of life.
Outfit details: Striped maxi dress | Slide sandals | Crossbody bag | Leather bracelet | Similar cuff bracelet
And real quick I want to talk about the outfit I’m sharing with you guys today! Y’all know I love my Apple watch so much but I have been LOVING dressing up my summer outfits with Victoria Emerson bracelets! This leather wrap bracelet looks SO cute with any outfit from cut-off shorts and a tee, to fun summer maxi dresses. I love what a statement these bracelets make, but also how easily they pair with any outfit! They’re also such a great gift for any mommas or new graduates!
Right now is actually the BEST time to shop Victoria Emerson because they’re having an amazing Memorial Day sale! This weekend only, you can BOGO on their adorable jewelry! No code necessary. I’ve honestly never seen such a good sale, especially since their beautiful pieces are already at a reasonable price point. It’s the best time to stock up on go-to summer accessories that you’ll be wearing nonstop these next few months!
A few more favorites from the Victoria Emerson Memorial Day sale:
If you made it this far into this post, God bless you haha. This is something that’s been on my heart for a while that I feel super passionate about, and wanted to share. Love you guys so much and am praying for all of you mommas and mommas to be out there!
This post was created in collaboration with Victoria Emerson. As always, all thoughts nd opinions are my own!
xo Lauren
