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Creative, Entrepreneurial Mamas just make my heart go pitter pat! This week’s Eight By Eva subject is a Mom I met while at work– doing a guest spot on her show, FABLife! Leah Ashley is the resident DIY Expert at FABLife, as well as a blogger, Youtube star, and new Mama of an adorable baby boy! She one of those people who immediately puts you at ease, and I so respect her mix of down-to-earth vibes and hustling working-Mom Swagger! Leah’s lifestyle blog, Living With Leah is absolutely lovely and she has no shortage of great DIY ideas! Today, Leah answers my eight favorite questions:
What is the best parenting advice you have received?
The one thing about parenting that I have come to realize is that EVERYONE HAS AN OPINION and NO ONE HAS THE ANSWER. Once I realized how true that statement actually is, I stopped comparing myself to other Moms and I stopped worrying if I was doing things correctly. I used to fret about things like, “Should I be teaching him baby sign language yet!?”, “Is he too young to sleep train?”, “Am I talking and engaging him enough?”… The list of questions are endless when you are a new Mom. And everyone has different opinions about every subject, which can be incredibly overwhelming. I really try to remember that every family is different and every baby is different. What works for one family might not work for us and vice versa. Remembering that has encouraged me to rely on my instincts which I think makes me a better parent.
What is the greatest challenge as a parent?
For us, it has been the incredible lifestyle shift that takes place immediately after giving birth. My husband and I were pretty selfish before baby. We stayed out too late, drank too much and loved to sleep in until noon on the weekends. All of that comes to a screeching halt once the baby comes! And even though we knew it would be different when he arrived, until it actually happens to you, you have no idea what it is really going to be like.
What is the latest with your kids?
Ford is getting ready to be 4 months old and we are utterly obsessed with him. He is getting so big so fast and developing a little personality right before our eyes. He is a Curious George SUPER FAN and even though we only let him watch TV for about 15 minutes a day, he loves that silly monkey! We are addicting to his big gummy smiles and try desperately to get him to giggle. He is almost there! He’s sleeping about 7 hours a night in his crib which is a blessing. But one of my favorite things to do with him is to get him from his crib around 6am and put him into bed with us where we all fall asleep together again for a few more hours.
What is your dream day as a family?
I think like most families, it would involve sleeping in! Then lazily getting up and having coffee in bed while we watch Curious George together. After that, we would get up and go to one of our favorite brunch spots in the neighborhood. From there, we would go on a hike with our dog Hank. At the end of the day we would probably grill out at home with friends and put the baby down by 7:30pm.
Kids items you can’t live without?
I LOVE the diapers that we use. They are called Andy Pandy. The diapers are made of bamboo so they are extra soft and they have the little colored stripe so you can easily tell when they baby is wet. They don’t have any of the chemicals found in the big brand diapers and they are biodegradable, which was a MUST for me when deciding on a diaper brand. They are a small company which I love supporting because a portion of their proceeds goes to St. Judes Children’s Hospital.
Favorite local Kids activity?
We aren’t quite there yet with Ford. He is stills so young. Our favorite activity is just being with him and trying to make him laugh.
How do you unwind?
My husband is a wonderful cook so I like to hang in the kitchen with him when he is cooking and enjoy a nice glass of wine and some adult conversation.
What are your favorite beauty products?
My go to beauty products are Skinceutical’s C&E Ferulic Serum in the morning before moisturizing and then Skin Medica’s TNS essential Serum before bedtime.
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