The mom version of your hair

Ladies you need to do SOMETHING! Now I am not saying to get a full blow out and curls. What I mean is take a second to do something other than a ponytail or that horrible "I'm too lazy to pull my hair through the hair tie" bun thing... That being said, this also means don't wash your hair everyday (well depending on how many times you CAN get a shower...) Super clean hair is slippery and difficult to work with but not only that, your hair needs those oils as nourishment because pregnancy/postpartum/nursing strips your hair of most of the nutrients. So here are a few ways that will save you some time and help you avoid the "wash and go" look.

Day 1- Curl your ends
 Long or short, thick or thin, this takes a quick 5 to 10 mins and makes a huge difference. With freshly washed hair from the night before I will use a 1.5 inch curling iron and split my hair into six to eight sections and curl away from my face. You can also throw you hair in a loose pony tail and just curl the pony tail. Spray with a little hair spray and even if the curl falls out you will at least have a bit of a smoother rounded end that looks a little more polished. I just keep a butterfly clip handy for feedings.

Day 2- Braid/twist the front.
 This is a very convenient skill to know! You can wear your leftover curls (if you have any) and the braid will hide any oil spills. If you don't know how to do a dutch braid you can also twist the hair back but I really suggest learning to french braid. Here is a good tutorial for a couple different ways.

Day 3- "Sock" bun.
This is the best idea since sliced bread in my opinion. I mean come on, it's nice looking lazy hair! You can wear this messy or nice and clean but if you have oily hair I recommend doing your bun sleek and smooth. It will help hide the oil and its just easier to manage. What I do is spray my hair with a little water on the sides and front where my hair may still be a little crimpy from being braided the day before. The water will loosen it up and I can comb everything smooth into a high ponytail and start my bun. This is the process I use to do mine without the hair donut but feel free to use one if its easier for you. I use hairspray to help keep all of the fly aways down and keep in the bun in place.

Day 4- Wash and start again if I can get enough time to wash my hair or I re-do the bun again.


Here are some products that I have found really help me pick up the pace with my haircare.

Paul Mitchell Smoothing Super Skinny Serum
This is wonderful for all of the lovely little fly aways that come with postpartum hair loss. Its smells AMAZING and just helps keep everything smooth without looking greasy.

Not Your Mother's Smooth Moves Frizz Control Cream
This is nice for when you first get out of the shower. I just towel dry and rub some of this through my hair and it air dries smoother.

Big Sexy Hair Powder Play Volumizing and Texturizing Powder
I use this stuff almost everyday! It gives your hair that little boost it needs to look like you have effortless, fabulous, full locks. I especially love to use it with a dry shampoo.

Salon Grafix Invisible Dry Shampoo
I am not too picky about what dry shampoo I use. I like this one, it doesn't turn my hair white and it works! Nothing to complain about.

Tresemme Tres Two Extra Hold Hairspray
I like this hairspray for everyday use because it doesn't give that crunchy feeling so I can wear my hair down the next day and it doesn't feel gross. It holds well and doesn't dull the shine in my hair.

-Mel

The mom version of your make up routine

Pre-baby me had it together. I did full hair and make up EVERYDAY. My outfits were always well put together and my matching purse was always organized.

Post-baby me thought the brush running through your hair sounded like a baby crying. I forgot I even owned make up and lets face it, it was a successful day if I brushed my teeth. 

I just couldn't seem to get myself together at all for the first three weeks. Just looking at Madeline made me burst into tears (she was just so beautiful!). I couldn't even look at anything but the same ripped yoga pants I had been wearing for 3 days straight. I just kept wearing the same three nursing tanks no matter how much dried breast milk was on them.
I was really unhappy with that feeling of the day's all running together and not know which way was up. My mom and Bryce would try to get me out of the house but looking terrible made me feel terrible. So in order to pull myself out of my baby blues I needed to get it together.

Since pregnancy had changed my skin so dramatically, I couldn't wear any of my foundations (I was much darker and covered in acne before so everything was geared toward that) so I needed to change things up. I wasn't really sure what to do, so I stuck with mascara at first.  This is ALWAYS something to remember: No matter what you're doing or where you're going (I don't care if you're just going to the gym!), you have time for a little mascara.
Then my cousins did a wonderful thing for me. They gave me presents. Now I don't mean they got me an adorable baby outfit or a precious blanket. They gave ME a gift. Two loose fitting tops and the One Hot Mama gift set from Bare Essentials.  This felt wonderful because it was something that was just for me and I was, of course, excited to get clothes and make up!

http://www.ulta.com/

This thing is genius. It has lip gloss, mascara, blush, and a highlighting gel (perfect for under the eyes and on the brow bone. I really love all four products, the only things I added were my eyebrow powder and my MAC Mineralized Skin Finish at first (eventually when I got it down I added a few more things.) I would throw this in the diaper bag and if Bryce was driving I would put it on in the car or take five minutes while she was still asleep. You CAN make it work and its a small way to feel a little more accomplished during your day.

One thing I had to remember was its OKAY to not do a full face of make up! I didn't need a full coverage foundation anymore, I didn't have time to do a cut creased eye with winged liner. I just needed to look a little more put together.

-Mel

Hello there!

My name is Melissa and I am a brand new mommy! Madeline Rose was born June 7th of this year and even though everyone tells you how much your life changes once you have a baby, you still cannot fathom how different your life is throughout each stage of the adventure that is postpartum.

Since the moment I found out I was pregnant I have been researching how to be a parent. I had been a nanny for almost a decade so I knew a lot about having motherly duties but I didn't know a whole lot about being a PARENT. I had always helped my nanny children to the best of my abilities but at the end of the day any issues the children had were ultimately their parent's problem. But  now this was MY baby. Her problems were MY problems now. What if my baby is a picky eater? What if she has a learning disability? What if she won't sleep? What if she doesn't have any of the things I like? What if I give birth to the anti-christ? All of these questions I felt like I HAD to have answers to before she was even born. I started obsessively reading Pins on Pinterest, Blogs, downloading apps, watching Youtube videos; I just felt compelled to be a step ahead of any possible issue she may have because I lived in terror (and still do though not nearly to the extent) that I would be unprepared.

The problem with this is that NO ONE is EVER fully prepared to be a parent!!! My obsessive behavior came to a halt when my mom finally said "what do you think you're going to be able to predict everything?" It dawned on me that those experiences of not-knowing were what would make my parenthood interesting and worth talking about.

So, if you're looking into this blog to try and prepare yourself for being a parent, I assure nothing can. Not even all of the contradicting advice (that EVERY SINGLE PERSON who comes within a 50 mile radius of you) is going to give you. But I hope you find some helpful tips from me throughout my process of learning to be a mama.

-Mel