Category: Healthy as Heck Momma

Mom Tip Mondays – Stomach Bug Edition

Posted on by kristinheck
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It clearly isn’t Monday, I know, but I wanted to start this today while it was fresh in my mind. Every other Monday from here on out, I will be posting a “Mom Tip.” These may be from me or they may be advice from fellow Mom’s I know, love, and respect immensely… but either way, they will be short little tips to make life less stressful for all the new mommies (or seasoned mommy’s too!) out there. The inspiration for this came when the stomach bug hit our house this week. As a stepmom, I’ve seen the stomach bug before… BUT I’ve 1. only seen the stomach bug in a kid that already knew how to throw-up in a toilet and/or a garbage can and 2. often been the co-pilot as my amazing hubby takes the lead with my stepson. So, this was the first time I walked into my toddler’s room to find her covered in puke and screaming bloody murder and had to quickly assess the situation and respond.

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Healthy as Heck 2018 Gift Guide

Posted on by kristinheck

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Oh, it’s that time of year again!  Anyone else feel lost trying to find the perfect gift for each person on your list every year?  This girl does! 

Below you’ll find my ‘favorite things’ list for both babies and their Mommas!  If you are like me and find yourself wandering around stores having no idea what to pick up, I hope this list will help give you a little direction.

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The Comparison Game

Posted on by kristinheck


I was looking at my Christmas Tree today and realized something…  If you look at it, you’ll notice my tree looks pretty good until you get to the star at the top.  That poor little guy is lopsided and half falling off.  And that, my friends, is a perfect metaphor for my life.  Mostly put together, with a little dose of sideways and upside down to keep it interesting.

I could have fixed that star and THEN posted the picture, but I thought… nahhh (For the record, it will probably never get fixed!).  I think we need more pictures and images of life’s imperfect, sideways, and upside-down moments.  So, here it is, in all its oddly positioned glory…

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Newborn Books – The Good and The Bad

Posted on by kristinheck

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I recently had a long talk with one of my closest friends who just had her third baby. She and I have both struggled with newborns who were/are intolerant to certain foods and know all too well the mayhem that creates. I don’t envy my friend – trying to juggle a newborn along with two other beautiful but rambunctious little ones running around the house. It’s a lot.

She’s a Rockstar mom. Like, seriously, she’s an amazing Momma who seems to have all this parenting stuff down pat.

So, I was surprised when our convo turned to feeling stressed because she wasn’t following the newborn book script to a T. And then I remembered feeling that way when my little lady was new too. In fact, I believe I called her and tearfully had almost the same discussion with her, but roles were reversed. In fact, I’ve had this conversation with multiple moms and I have come to realize that newborn books can be great, but they can also be detrimental for new mom mental health if they aren’t put in the proper perspective.

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Mental Health and Motherhood

Posted on by kristinheck


Yesterday was ‘World Mental Health Day’ and although I had a different post in the works, I felt this was a more important topic to address.
Paying attention to your mental health is important for everyone.

But today, I really want to talk to my Moms. More specifically, my brand-new Mom’s. If you are feeling overwhelmed, tired, sad, stressed, or any other form of these words… then this post is for you.

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Our Adventure with Aquatic Survival Instruction

Posted on by kristinheck

Friday was a big day in the Heck household!!  This little lady graduated from Aquatic Survival Instruction (ASI) (and earned her very first trophy!)

I decided to enroll her in this program for two reasons:

  1. I saw my best friend’s kids go through the program and loved their results. Her 2-year-old son (at the time) was so confident in water and could find his float easily.  This was a big draw for me.
  2. All the recent drowning stories I’ve heard. Did you hear about Bode Miller’s daughter?  If you didn’t, click here.  This is so heartbreaking.  I can’t imagine having to cope with such a devastating loss… especially if I knew there was a way to prevent it.

With swim classes and these stories of drowning on my mind, I took a deeper look at this issue. What I found out was hard to believe:

According to the CDC, drowning is responsible for more deaths in children aged 1-4 than any other cause outside of birth defects.  In those same aged children, drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related death behind car crashes (See complete fact sheet here).

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First Birthday Luau Fun!

Posted on by kristinheck

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Hey Y’all!  I’m sure there will be another, more sappy, post coming about how my little girl is growing up, because she is… sniffle.

But before I get there, can we just talk about how much planning goes into a first birthday party?!

I mean, seriously, I called my Mom and said… when did I stop planning a birthday and start planning a wedding?!?! Honestly, that’s how it felt the whole time!
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My Fav Core Workout

Posted on by kristinheck

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I am, as of yesterday, officially 8 months postpartum… say what?!  Time moves SO DARN FAST, doesn’t it?  I remember being just a month postpartum and wondering how I was ever going to get my core to work like it used to.  I mean, someone literally cut through my abdominal wall and took a human out!  I didn’t foresee strong abs anywhere in my near future.

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Birth Story

Posted on by kristinheck

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As I began to think about what this section of the blog would cover, I got really overwhelmed thinking of the hundreds of topics all of us moms could talk about.  But then I realized that it probably means nothing if you don’t know a little about my personal pregnancy and birth story.  So, here it is!

My little love’s birth story is anything but straightforward.  It was mostly controlled chaos, which I think is perfect, because that is sort of what life has been like with her since!

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