I was so sure that i was having a boy, and we welcomed our daughter this May. Becoming a parent is wild, and my best advice is to remember that your baby is individual and how they act, learn, and grow is individual to them. So many things about how babies should be at certain ages is thrown at you, and it's easy to get caught up and frustrated about it. Good luck, and spring babies are wonderful 😊
It’s so crazy how I’ve watched you for years and now we’re on the same journey with parenthood. In terms of maternity leave, I recently saw Hannah Louise Poston (another RU-vidr) go on maternity leave by reposting her old content as compilations. Her contents are usually long-form already, so the audience base tend to enjoy long-form content anyway. I still watch those compilations as a way to support her channel, and it’s also entertaining since I usually watch RU-vid in the background when doing something else, so I don’t need things to be up-to-date. She got 2 months of maternity leave while her channel was thriving because of this strategy. Maybe this is something you can consider for your channel? I will definitely support your channel if you decide to do this, and I’m sure there will be others who do too 😊
So exciting to follow your pregnancy! You had a miscarriage about a month before me and your video was really helpful. But now I am a month behind you again! and this pregnancy is going well. This is also our first (earth-sided) baby, such a blessing. I hope you will have a wonderful pregnancy.
I hardly ever comment on RU-vid videos. I just wanted say that I love how positive you are. It is very refreshing and energizing. All the best you and Christopher on this journey!
I am so happy and excited for your journey. I don’t know why because I know you do those pack with me videos so like maybe in the future, can I see like you doing like pack for baby and me? We’re going on a trip video that sounds like such a good idea because I know so many people bring their babies with them or their kids with them on vacation, and it could be very overwhelming to pack with children.
For me the quickening felt like a goldfish but I love the page turning analogy! Highly recommend the book Labor with Hope by Gloria Furman, it's one of the only books I read during pregnancy -- it focuses on the spiritual aspect of pregnancy, motherhood and how the gospel shines in these experiences. All the best to you Christopher and baby ❤🎉
I’m due around beginning to mid May! This is baby #3 for us. It’s fun going through pregnancy with someone you follow on RU-vid 😊 wishing you all the best
It’s nice hearing someone else say that the woman in the relationship wasn’t as ready to have kids as the male, that’s where my husband and I are at! I mean if I was going to be a dad I’d probably be more ready 😂
I don't normally comment but here it goes. ^^ Firstly: congratulations! 🎉😊 I will also give birth in early-mid April! It's gonna be my second child though. The best thing I did in my first pregnancy was to NOT have a birth plan. 😅 I knew which hospital I wanted to go to, but that was it. I intentionally didn't read or watch any birth stories and I didn't decide beforehand whether to have an epidural or not etc. And it was honestly the best thing. I was able to just let go and trust the hospital staff and listen to what my body needed in that moment. Because let's be honest, you can't plan a birth, there's just so many things that influence it that we have no control over. My sister in law also works as a gyn in a hospital and says the least prepared moms have the smoothest births ^^ so i guess what i wanna say is: don't be hard on yourself if you don't have it all figured out beforehand. You got this, regardless! 😊
I went with a group of drs from my ob office and I am really glad I did! It was nice to have had an appointment or two with each of them so that I knew them a little better on my delivery date. That said, there was one dr I was hoping would not be the one to deliver me--spoiler, he was on call that night! It actually ended up being so great and even though I didn't totally click with him during appointments, he was exactly what I needed during my delivery. Also, I was set on gooing all natural, and ended up doing it, But was also prepared to call for an epidural at any point. My advice is to prepare for unmedicated, so that if it goes too fast then you are prepared! But give yourself grace to be able to say that it is time for a epidural. Some research I had done prior was that natural births tended to have less postpartum depression (which was a big concern of mine) and I also did not want to have to pay for an epidural if it didn't work 🤣 Wishing you all the best!
Bridget Teyler has great pregnancy/birth content. I started watching her while pregnant with baby #3 (of 4) and still got a lot of value from her, especially birth positions.
A woodland/forest sounds like a lovely theme! 😍 Thank you for sharing your pregnancy journey with us, I know we're all anticipating that day baby arrives!
Good call on holding the name loosely! We had two names in mind for our first son but couldn't decide. When he was born it was so clear he was Daniel! We ended up hanging on to the other name and using it for our second son, too!
We just had our second a couple weeks ago. We had a list of names, and after seeing him, we realized none of them fit and we had to start from scratch! I had always been on team “it’s a baby, it will look like a baby, just pick a name and go with it,” so my husband definitely had a little “I told you so” moment when I admitted our baby didn’t look like any of the names on our list 😂
I was going to say I would recommend *not* sharing the baby's name ahead, because you'll inevitably have people judging/criticizing it and making you second-guess. And actually, I was the last of 6 children - and the only girl. My mom told family the girl names she picked (not knowing she'd have 5 boys first...) and relatives stole those names. So, when she was pregnant with me, she didn't tell my potential name ahead of time 😉- she had found my name in a book she was reading 🥰
Also paid time off isnt guaranteed.. most have to bank vacation and sick leave plus saving lots.. i definitely love minimalist baby and pregnancy prep.. we are bombarded with stuff we need to have so its nice to see the difference
That’s true!! I’m definitely in the savings camp, because I don’t get vacation/sick leave either. 😉 And yes! Totally with you on that! The question I keep trying to ask is “what do I NEED”, because some of these pregnancy websites make it seem like you need so much!!
Love your updates! Just a heads up for your birth plan: don't get hung up too much on what you plan. It won't always follow your plan. I was the same as you, wanted to go to the hospital and have a epidural if I was in too much pain. In the end my delivery was so quick, I didn't leave the house in the end, which was great too :)
I did a woodland theme with my first baby too!! It’s so fun! And you can totally stay minimal even as your family grows! By baby #2 I def knew what I would use and what I wouldn’t. So it’s also okay to get something and decide later that it really doesn’t serve you or your family. Like for example, I thought I needed a swing or an exercaucer (sp?) and realized baby does much better with tummy time or play time on a blanket on the floor, so much simpler and cheaper too! But other moms claim those are essentials so you may just learn as you go! I’m so excited to follow along on your pregnancy journey and motherhood journey! Such exciting times! ❤
If you want a new 4 moms bassinet, plus 2 sheets, for 0-4 ish months for by you bed while breast feeding, and/ or the 4 moms momaroo seat, and 2 covers. Both are still in the box. We are almost done with the adoption of our daughter who just turned 3 and we were waiting forever for her brother to join us. He just got to us, and has just turned a year old. We never got to use either of them. And we live in Cabarrus County NC. I would love to know they would go to someone I know, even if only paparadoxically. Not to be weird I'm just not on FB or insta, I know it's weird to drop in the comments....lemme know by the end of the month and we can drop at a neutral location, otherwise I'll try to sell them...I just would love to skip all that and feel like I got to contribute to ur "shower" haha
So super happy for you both! A spring baby in a woodland themed nursery sounds perfect. Not only does it feel like nature, but also not overly done. I know what ever you choose will be perfect and beautiful. ❤️
I really think you have a honest and positive RU-vid channel. Your voice is calm and relaxing. Because you and your huisbrand were talking about babynames in Ireland. I would think for a boy or girl the name Ira sounder really nice. Thank you for your content.
I am taking a surprise stab at what you picked before you reveal it so I did watch your gender reveal so i know its a boy and I pick the name "Trey", I love that one ❤
You have such a lovely big backyard - could you build an office for Christopher in the yard as a separate office space? Would free up a room in the home for future kids or a guest bedroom 😊
Hey girl thank you for this video I am soo excited for you and congratulations again! I am due end of march with my first child and super excited! It's actually super cool that many of the RU-vidrs I regularly watch (5) are pregnant right now. So I personally can't wait for more baby/pregnancy content if you chose to do so :) I hope you are doing great! Big hugs from Germany ❤
I love the names James, Roman, Jonah, and Henry. I have one boy and three girls. My lists for names were long. I like to pass them along now. Haha😊 (I feel your first born will be a boy.)
Trust me, trying to mentally prepare for labour and delivery of a newborn baby can definitely be scary and intimidating because yes it’s a beautiful, painful and chaotic experience, especially for your first child but just remember, us women are capable and made to have children! Our bodies know exactly what to do and we need to trust the process when the time comes, focus on your breathing, stay motivated and it’s even better if you have your loved ones or family members to help you in the process! I have given birth 3 times now, all natural deliveries and I wouldn’t change a thing ❤ not to mention though I was always too scared to opt for an epidural, I always believed it was not for me to mask the pain but embrace it as it is, crazy haha
I just am so happy to be able to hear everything you have to talk about. It’s such an exciting time in your life and you should be able to express all the joy you and Christopher are feeling. My son got married this year after finally meeting the right girl. He had been engaged before and also had several other heartbreaks. His dream has always been to have a family and thankfully my daughter-in-law feels exactly the same. My husband and I are so looking forward to becoming grandparents in the future. I imagine your parents and in-laws must be ecstatic.🥰🙏
From the moment I knew I was pregnant we both said boy and we ended up being right :) so you guys could very well be right with having a girl! Sometimes you just know😌💕
Love the idea of finding out baby gender with your families on Thanksgiving is a great celebration. I've heard from other u tubers in the US a brand for baby and toddler toys called love avery. They send toys suitable for your child's age. Thanks for sharing. Would you do a video about setting up the nursery. ❤
My husband and I were SO SURE we were having a boy, we never even talked girl names, and surprise surprise, we have a little girl coming in a few weeks! We were so shocked! As long as you mentally prepare yourself a little bit for a boy you should be good 😂
All the best for your beautiful family you are building, my only wish would be to not over share your child. That is something that puts me off and as a mom of two myself, I believe that their personal space should be respected. My children have 0 presence on social media, I dont even own a Facebook account or Instagram. Take care and all the blessings for you, you're such a lovely person!
As a mom of two, I highly recommend a longer maternity leave than one month. The time following the birth of your child is precious, and also very exhausting. Your subscribers will keep supporting you, I matter how long you choose to take time away with your family. 😊
Congrats on your pregnancy! It’s a journey and your life will definitely change after the baby is born but it will be the better. I had to laugh when you mentioned paid maternity leave. My company gave me exactly 8 weeks and they were very unpaid. 😩 it was a small company and I was the first one to ever to be pregnant at their company so maybe they weren’t sure exactly how to handle it.
When expecting my twins I thought I was having a boy and a girl. Baby A arrived a boy and we named him Harrison (Harry). Baby B arrived - another boy and he looked more of a Harry so we switched and Baby A then was named Alex. So I do think keeping an open mind is a good idea 👍
You could have a baby naming day! When you don't know if the name suits your baby in Australia you have 60 days to try out and to register your baby's name then once you know the name. Traditionally a baby naming day, you have a party day for all friends and family to come visit an announce the name. It took me 4-5 days to name my dogs and cat naming a baby seems the most scary part 😂.
As a minimal mom, my recommendation is not to feel pressured to do what others do. I always try to see what my kids need and also let them lead on items that come in. Now that they are older they are also amazing at helping me declutter.
Such a fun video! I have a one month old grandson named Corbin Hunter Reid. When my kids said they were going to name him that. I was so in love with the name. Very unusual but so sweet. Good luck to you both, you’ll be great parents! 💝
Suggestion for maternity leave as I have seen other content creators do is either filming things ahead of time to cover that time and have someone else edit/upload it for you or just scheduled for that time or the month/months before and after slowing your schedule so it you do 2 videos a week just doing one but filming as if you are on your regular schedule so again you can put videos out consistently that were done earlier without having to increase production now. Also this is more a podcast thing but having guest posts/collars from people in your same niche. Smaller creators that can get a shoutout from your larger audience. Hope you find a balance for you and your channel that works.
So while you're on unpaid maternity leave... Does it help if we rewatch some of your previous videos? I'm not sure how payment works for creators, but if we watch videos that you've already posted, even if we've seen them before, would you get paid for that? If that would be helpful, I will sit and rewatch a bunch of your videos after your baby is born!
For your maternity leave could you film a few videos in advance to drop one weekly ....just to keep some income coming in. I'm self employed as well so I totally understand trying to take a break vs. trying to pay the bills :/
I thought you lived in the states? I’m asking because paid maternity leave is not a benefit that’s included under FMLA, so even with a traditional job paid leave isn’t something that’s a given.
That’s true! I think I was just comparing the experience of all my friends who’ve recently had kids or are pregnant and almost all of them had some amount of paid maternity leave. But yes, that’s not a given for sure. 🤍
Ooo we had a woodland theme for our baby girl. We used a fairly thin dark wooden bookcase as tree trunk in the corner then painted branches across the wall with leaves and cute owls etc painted on them. I wish we could have taken it when we moved house ❤.
Oh just want to add that further on in the pregnancy, Christopher will be able to hear the baby’s heart beat by putting his ear to your stomach. My husband did that and it was amazing!❤
Babys names definitely changed in the hospital for me. I was set on one my partner another. Lol then we were like no doesn't fit and we made a goodle list in the hospital before we got discharged
I hope you will blur baby Eaton's face on social media including this RU-vid channel. Most of the channels I follow on YT that had content creators who became mothers after establishing a career on the platform have done so. And it in no way detracts from their content, but absolutely boosts my willingness and comfort in being a subscriber. I think privacy and autonomy for children is very important in this digital age.
Of course do what you feel is best. I personally see no harm showing a child occasionally, especially when young because they change so quickly. I think it gets icky when kids are shown upset or in a bathing suit though.
That’s so exiting we are also due in April :) I’m so exited for all the baby contact that you’ll have in the future for this journey 💞💞 congratulations 🎉
