Anticipating a new baby is overwhelming enough without worrying what to pack for the hospital. Use this checklist to take away the guesswork.

It’s been three weeks since the arrival of Ryan Nicol Schroeder. From the very beginning of our pregnancy, I knew I wanted to try for an unmedicated childbirth with as little intervention as possible. Thankfully, we had a very healthy pregnancy which made that an option.

Up until the third trimester, pregnancy has been pretty smooth sailing. I’ve kept up my busy, active lifestyle and thankfully haven’t suffered too many of the terrible pregnancy symptoms… until the third trimester hit

We booked a maternity photo session during our Miami babymoon, and I am absolutely in love with how they turned out. It was such a special time.

It wasn’t until half way through my second trimester that I became desperate for more maternity clothes. However, I did invest in two pairs of maternity leggings right off the bat (zero regrets)!

I am officially 24 weeks pregnant and definitely starting to feel like it. Up until 20 weeks, I barely noticed a difference in my body, my sleep or my energy levels, but I’m starting to slow down a little bit now.

I can’t believe my first trimester is coming to a close. I feel SO blessed that this pregnancy has been smooth sailing. I know many women aren’t so lucky. I’ve heard good things about the second trimester, so it’s time to get to work preparing for baby!

I can’t believe we are already waving goodbye to the first trimester! It feels like a lifetime go and just yesterday that we found out we were pregnant all at once. We have had A LOT going on over the past three months.

I can’t believe I’m writing a blog post on family planning! For as long as I can remember, I have wrestled with the idea of having children. I’ve never felt that urge or tug on my heart to become a mother until after we got married. And when all of our friends started having children, something changed for me.

There is nothing better than a yummy mocktail. Whether you are trying to drink less, pregnant, or just looking for drinks to enjoy anytime of the day, there is a recipe for you here! I started looking at mocktail recipes for Dry January, but I plan to make this all year long. Cheers to drinking and feeling extra healthy!

Never before in history have women had such control over the decision to prevent pregnancy. This is a completely new choice we are facing. And while we navigate the landscape of making that choice, there are also so many other beautiful stories of motherhood. I strive to share the deepest darkest parts of my heart here, but I know that my story is only one perspective. That’s why I wanted to bring in other amazing, strong women with stories to tell and experiences to share.

It’s absolutely beautiful, which is why I think it creates this huge hole in my heart. This massive fear of missing out. I’ve never felt so distant and disconnected with others in a similar life stage.