One thing to remember after baby is born when it comes to your body. Your body needs 12-18 months to heal. I've heard many mom's say that after every baby it took 2 years before their bodies seems to get back to "normal." So do not rush your body. And you're going to drop a lot of weight after baby is born. 2 weeks after he was born I lost 25lbs. But that was baby and water weight. I've been told you can't exercise for the first 6weeks post partum. At my 6 week appointment my dr gave me the go ahead. But I honestly could not ride our exercise bike for a bit longer. Healing and all. No pain, but discomfort by then. So it really depends on your body. It is a time where you're hyper focused on baby, but you have to forgive yourself, you have to allow yourself to let things go. You'll get back to those things in time. But really, after I had my little guy, I could have cared less if my hair was curled or if I was covered in spit up. Haha! I did expect that by the time I was approved to return to work that my body would just be back to normal and that's not the case. I had the added quarantine happen just after my maternity leave, so I gained back a lot of that weight because I wasn't working and climbing up to 20 flights of stairs a day like I normally would be. (I work on the second floor, some of my work is in the basement) One thing I've learned is to not feel rushed. And to also embrace what happens to your body in pregnancy and postpartum. Meaning society likes to be down on women for stretch marks or a bit of extra in the belly area. That extra in my belly is because my body grew a baby. And those stretch marks are beauty marks from the time I carried him. And so on. It's hard. But you have to also forgive yourself and not judge yourself harshly. It sounds like you're gonna do great.
Yes! First time moms a lot of times can get depressed with the after baby body, I know for me the extra weight went away pretty fast but my body never looked the same, also my hips didn’t go back until around 8-9 months, but with each baby it took longer and longer to drop the weight, now I’m 35 with 4 kids almost 14, 10,7 & 1 1/2, I definitely don’t gave the same body as I did at 21 and I’m still about 15lb from my goal pre baby weight
This was so nice to read I’m a first time mom I’m 2 and half weeks postpartum right now I’ve already lost 30lbs and I’m under my pre pregnancy weight but my body does not look anything like it did pregnancy and I feel like I need to do all these things to look the way society says we should after having a baby but all I want to do is cuddle my babygirl and let my body figure itself out eventually I’ll get back to look the way I really want to(hopefully).
@@Ruby1Dimas don't rush yourself. Focus on that baby and spending time with her. Those first 3 months fly by so fast that you'll forget what baby was like if you don't take tons of videos and photos. This time of your life is most precious. Try not to spend it being hard on you. Your body needs time to heal itself. Also, it takes the 6 weeks for your uterus to return to it's regular size. Let it do it's thing. Remember you grew a baby. That's a super power. It also means you need to love your body more right now. You're doing great Mama. Congratulations!!! 🥰
i'm childfree by choice, but why the fuck does it seem like moms are getting judged for literally anything they do or what they look like, even how they breathe?! you grew a fucking human inside, or took it upon yourself to raise one, and that does NOT look easy at all!! have some respect or at least be polite if you don't agree with something they do!!!
My husband (whose only watched the millennium falcon video) walked in and heard the vlog playing in the kitchen. He then asked if Steven is going to make another Lego vlog. So here's an official request. WE NEED AN AT-AT BUILD VLOG PLEASE!!!;
I second this request. I haven’t played legos outside of playing with my niece and nephew a decade ago, and yet I’m fascinated and loved the millennium falcon build. Probably the Star Wars nerd in me, but I’m also fascinated by the legos.
When Sierra said she'll have a 7 month old next new years really made me emotional🥺 you're gonna be such a good mommy and Stephen is gonna be such a good dad, I cant wait!
With the acne patches, I think they work best when the pimples have a head formed (kinda gross but it happens haha) because they suck and drain the pimple. Whereas benzoyl peroxide cream and salicylic acid work to prevent the pimple from fully forming. That's how I tend to interchange them, I hope that made sense!
it's true, most derms say the pimple patches only work if the zit has been punctured so theres a hole for the gunk to be sucked out. It's not great for under-the-skin pimples or hormonal breakouts
So as far as I know the patches really only work to suck the juice out of your zit if there is an opening or puncture in the spot where the zit is (they’re a type of bandaid that suck up liquid), but the zit cream works by drying out the zit instead - if you want to try another brand of patches the best I’ve found are mighty patch but they are pricey for sure
Doing “yoga with Adrienne” on RU-vid might be a good way to ease back into movement after baby... you could modify as you need - but just listening to her messages are always really helpful for keeping a good headspace, being kind to your body, etc...
I had an idea for you 😍 I love your "recreating celebrities photos" -series and you could do one video of recreating celebrity maternity photoshoots if you'd think it could be fun memory of your pregnancy for you ❤️
The hydrocolloid zit stickers aren't super different between brands, so go with the cheapest option on Amazon! I've actually done benzoyl peroxide UNDER the sticker and then kept it on overnight, just so it doesn't rub off overnight. I think the biggest draw with those stickers is that it takes away the impulse to pick/pop.
If you want to go for an even cheaper option that’s not quite as thin and discreet: buy the giant hydrocolloid bandages on Amazon and then cut them up into little squares and it’s literally the same thing and way way cheaper
Also, from what I understand those stickers work best once the zit is like "exposed" (naturally) if that makes sense because then the material has something to draw out...the science behind them is pretty cool if you ever wanna skincare geek out!
I actually found that the patches on Amazon didn't work well for me at all, then I tried the Alba Botanica Acne Dotes and those actually worked! So, it's worthwhile to try out a few brands and see if one works better for you.
As a high school English teacher, I love your book resolution! A fun way to find new books might be to talk about what you like on Instagram and then ask for suggestions!
Ok so I live in Finland and we haven't seen the sun here for almost three months (always overcast) so I cannot express my jealousy over the sun shining bright through your windows :')
Everything Stephen said about New Year’s Eve 2020 and doing the East coast ball drop - yes! That was me and my husband 100%. I was ready for bed and falling asleep at 930 and didn’t care. I didn’t feel the need to stay up to see the new year change at all. 😆
i relate to stephen about task management.. if it’s not written down somewhere accessible the task is forgotten forever! i use little notebook at my desk to write down every single thing I need to do and it’s satisfying to cross each one out
Stephen: sounds like a bullet journal would be awesome for 2021 for you! Sierra: A great way to be in the present, especially with a baby, is to write down ONE good thing each day. Where I live, maternity leave usually is 18 months, so don't stress about coming back too soon. There is no way to know how you feel after delivery. Try to not think too much about how it is gonna be and take it one day at a time. I will say though that trying to keep active as long as possible during pregnancy is a very positive thing that makes delivery and recovery easier on you.
Hey Stephen, in terms of task management: one thing that helps me is to have a notebook or pad that is dedicated to just writing those lists in. And you have to commit to writing your list at the end of each work day. It can be very redundant, but the items that stay on the list for a while show you what you're slacking on or what you need to refocus on.
My boyfriend and I didn’t stay up for the ball drop either lol So excited for your 2021 👶🏻 and praying things get better for us all throughout the new year. Also, take your break girl! Get to know your baby and live your life. We will always be here waiting for an update! 😄
Task management ideas..1 outlook calendar put all tasks on it and set notifications for the tasks.....2 get a desk calendar keep it under you keyboard and jot your tasks in the big date boxes...
Something to consider for your 2021 goals: having a newborn is all-consuming. There may be days, a lot of days, where you can’t get off the couch because your baby wants to eat, or she is crying for hours and you’ve tried everything but she won’t stop, or you were up all night and haven’t slept and you have just enough energy to eat and feed your baby. Don’t expect too much from yourself during this time. Focus on taking care of yourself and your baby and let that be enough.
instead of a dedicated pimple patch, i always use an advanced healing / hydrocolloid bandaid. you can cut it to fit the size of the pimple and it works just as well (best for the deep under the skin ones or something you've popped)
Like Stephen, I loathe digital task organization. After losing one too many sticky notes, I started using an agenda for work and appointment schedules and a bullet journal for task organization. I love bullet journals; you can organize it the way you want it.
After you have your baby you just have to remember that you grew a human inside you, I had a whole new appreciation for my body after I had babies and breastfed.
I'm so so glad you're going to make less videos in 2021 in a way that gives you more grace in your life and with your new little girl. we love you and want your happiness and health so much more than a video every week!
I get my acne stickers from Walmart. You get way more and its much cheaper. They also work great. They are called blemish patch in a pink and blue package. You get 36 for 2.50
I use the CosRX patches and like them fine. Most patches don't actually have any anti-acne medicine, they're just a hydrocolloid bandage. So if you have a popped pimple that you want to heal, then use them to keep it clean and heal faster, but they don't actually help acne that is still under the surface.
Yes give yourself grace with postpartum. It is hard work growing a baby, giving birth, and learning new parent life. I hope you both have a great week!
Highly recommend Trello as a project management or task management tool. It’s online, but you create sticky notes that can include many details, task lists etc. I’ve used it for years (but still standby my handwritten notes in my notebook).
I like to put on the salicylic acid, drying lotion, etc on and the acne patch over it. It acts like a barrier for the treatment to stay on overnight, and you get the benefit of the patch. I personally like the Hanhoo Blemish Acne Spot Patch from Walmart. They are inexpensive but effective. I use them by themselves and with the treatment underneath it.
I’m a mom of 2 and I definitely had some body dysmorphia and issues with loving my body postpartum. I had to remind myself that my body just did an amazing thing that took 9 months and that I have to give myself time and grace to heal. I had c-sections with both kiddos which I feel brings a whole other level of mind challenges because it adds on healing from abdominal surgery and the inability to do things on your own. I will keep you in my prayers and I know you will have a wonderful support team that will remind you of just how beautiful you are even when you might not feel that way.
Your new year's eve is Our mood!!! My husband and I spent it relaxed, no plans, alone in our home and had a great time!!! ❤️ Happy New Year, Sierra and Stephen!!! 😍
To help you set your baby mindset postpartum - you need to have additional 500 calories to be able to breastfeed, decreasing your calories will cause issues on your supply. Just remember this is the time you need to focus on your baby and once you are regulated or baby starts solids you will have a lot of time to “bounce back” .excited to be part of your mom journey!
My favorite blemish patches aka zit stickers are called Hanhoo Blemish Patches that I buy from Walmart or Amazon. You get a 72 count for $7.73 on Amazon! I’ve used these for several years and tried more expensive ones but nothing has beat these. They literally just suck all the gunk out and soothe your skin at the same time. Wearing them during the day has also helped me to stop picking at my skin. I’ve given them to so many of my friends and gotten them hooked too!
For work I use a white board and sticky notes and have them set up like a kanban board based on priority. Regular home tasks, I have a small notebook that is the size of my phone that I can keep with me. I also have an app called Check this that I transpose the home tasks onto and any to-do lists like what I need to remember to take when leaving the house with kiddos.
I hear you with your resolutions! I’m about to give birth next week 😁 and totally feel you around prioritizing workload and being present with each upcoming stage!
Alba Botanica acne dots are EVERYTHING. I tried other brands before it and didn't have any luck, but the Alba Botanica ones work SO well. They generally work better when a zit is above the skin; however, I've found that even if I have a raised bump without a white head, they actually pull the zit into a white head and help me heal faster. The only downside is the packaging is a pain. Oh, and they come in a pack of 40 for about $8, so not a bad deal either!
Right after I gave birth I took my daughter for a walk every day. It got movement into my day and the fresh air was good for her acclimatization too her new environment. It wasn't about the weight loss, it was about time spent together.
i use mighty patch! i find the acne dots only really work well when its a white head because it really sucks out all the gunk. if it isnt a white head i find that a cream spot treatment works better
Ratatouille was AMAZING! I got a ticket as a joke, but ended up loving it. The only things that I would want to change, is in anyone can cook when the ensemble came in, the blend was off(but definitely that’s just me being a choir kid) and at times Ashley park was hard to understand. But Andrew was perfectly casted along with the hades town guy (I am the worst at names). In addition for zits the thing that I have found to be better that any acne cream is just spot treating with a tube of clay mask. I leave it on there for 20 minutes (the longest amount of time recommended) and they are gone so fast.
I love the COSRX pimple patches! They are cheaper and better (kind of the first brand that actually did this in Korean skincare/ skincare over all) and it’s really made not for over night spot treatment but rather for making sure the pimple doesn’t get infected during the day, under your mask, and other day to day activities is when it works best
I'M SO EXCITED FOR THE ASOS REVIEW !!! I love ASOS but sometimes things arent amazing quality or they come shipped wrong. But seriously, I've been waiting for you to make an ASOS review for like forever !!
I really like the Hero Cosmetics Mighty Acne Patch Micropoint for Blemishes! it's the turquoise packaging! I also find that they don't work all the time, sometimes you have to either use a couple, or wait until the zit is more prominent. Also these are kind of pricey, so I try not to use them often!
GCP Grey has a video on yearly themes that I think might interest you. It’s more about thinking about a theme for your year based on what you want to focus on, rather than resolutions that can fail if life takes a different turn.
Sierra!! girl this is weird for me I never comment on people's youtube videos looool, but I just wanted to tell you that I think we would be friends in real life and as I have been barely making it through some CRAZY shit this year I've been watching your vlogs and you have brought me some consistent joy!! i am a pretty jaded cynic and it's like a breath of fresh air to hear your peppy voice n' watch you go about your this n' that. thanks for sharing your spirit & joy xoxo
Sierra I would literally die if I could have your animal crossing island dream code! You should post it so we can all come see your island, and I’m sure you know this already but with dream cones no one can mess anything up, it’s sort of just like a preview of your island! 😍😍😍
I've tried Zitsticka which is specifically for cystic acne. You're supposed to put it when you feel a cystic zit just starting. And if you manage to catch it really early it really prevents the zit from getting bigger and so you get a much nicer, smaller, less painful zit. But it doesn't work that great for me because a lot of my cystic acne pops during the night and I fall asleep not really realising anything is coming up and I just wake up with a massive blob on my face. So at that point it's too late for the sticker to work. But yeah depending on your skin and your acne and if you're able to catch nasty cystic zits early I'd say it's worth it. Though pretty pricey too.
My husband is a very busy trial attorney he loves his post it notes when he go to me he got a white board that he organizes all his post it’s on. Sometimes I see him standing in front of the board contemplating his sticky notes, so zen.
This year my library (actually it was state wide) organised the "Autumn book binge". In Australia, Autumn starts in March, lockdown meant it didn't officially happen. I still did it. I read a book from each of the nine categories. Nine books I wouldn't have considered before, but glad I read.
Nexcare has those acne spot treatments for pretty cheap, I’m a skin picker, so they help me a lot. I have also found that you can buy the bigger bandages that are the same kind of stickiness as the round patches and just cut them down to fit the pimple, I just get the store brand kind and it ends up lasting me awhile and I think they actually work a little better than the spot specific patches, but I also keep a supply of at least one kind of the small round ones too. I think it just depends on your needs, if the topical treatments work better, use those, if the little round acne patches work better use those.
After I had all 4 of my kids it took a good 2-3 weeks even up to 5 weeks with 1 of my babies to be able to walk comfortably and with lack of sleep I wanted to nap when baby did and not worry about working out but once you can walk comfortably you can start with walks around the neighborhood and bushing the stroller
My ob made me stop using all acne fighting products during my pregnancy. A lot have not been tested enough... some are proven to not be good during pregnancy :) so happy for you! Sorry to be that person saying that... not my thang to preach... just wanted you to be aware!!! I’m sure you looked into it already!!!
I use the ZitSticka patches and they work great! They are expensive, but all I have to do is put a patch on before bed, and in the morning the pimple is gone! So to me, definitely worth it ;) just be sure to press it in so it can penetrate the area
To get better at reading NEW books, try Book of the Month! It’s a subscription service where you choose from 5 suggested books each month! Super easy to skip a month if you don’t like any of the choices too! I did this for my resolution in 2019 and 2020 to read at least one book each month!
Happy New Year to you all!!! Don't worry about the sticky notes, Stephen. I'm a fan too. ;) And Sierra, I'm so glad to hear you'll be taking a kind and sensible post partum care approach to your exercising. Best thing you can do! :D Good luck!
Your acne could just be pregnancy related. I had horrible skin with both my girls but it was fine with my son. Went away about 6 month pp. Also, do not apologize for wanting to appreciate your pregnancy and newborn. You've wanted this for so long. Take all the time you need because it's true what they say, babies grow up so so fast.
I find pimple patches are mainly good for nasty whiteheads that have fully erupted - I use them to absorb all the nastiness and keep me from picking. Otherwise I would do spot cream.
There is this one acne sticker pack from Walmart. It’s purple and pink packaging and ranges from $2 - $3 depending on location and it has like 32 stickers in it. I SWEAR by them!!! I buy multiple packs at a time because I use them so fast
