THIS IS REALLY HARD // stay at home mom vlog, taking down Christmas, current favorites, home updates

[@juliannamcdowell2179]

I am a "seasoned" mama, and my daughter was always a great sleeper. I vaguely remember both my kiddos struggling around the 2/3 year mark with sleep. What helped us was making their bed really comfortable. We bought an egg crate topper for them and new pillows. I wonder if it is time for Jordan to have a big girl bed. Good luck! Sleep is everything!

[@sarahtrach]

Hahah I have the same problem with remembering how I decorated spaced before Christmas. I now take pictures of my decor before and after I decorate for Christmas and keep them in a separate album on my phone and it makes it so much easier! 😊 thank you for sharing about the toddler pillow…I definitely am going to get one for Molly! I hope Jordan starts sleeping better 🙏🏻💗

[@shelbydriscoll2360]

My advice as a momma of a 2.5 year old who has gone through something similar is consider getting rid of her sound machine. I thought it was crazy but we did it and replaced it with a fan and she is so much more settled. We also got rid of the night light bc in our situation it was the shadows that made her imagination run wild vs the dark itself. I still rock with her for a little bit before bed at night just to help settle her which she loves. I hope this maybe helps.

[@emmagracejoens]

I have heard of that!! We might need to try

[@madelinekiefer]

My last few days have been wayyyy not what I was expecting and really heavy, just when I was starting to feel like I was hitting a good stride. Thank you for not sugar coating this -it reminds us that we are not alone..and you are not alone! Excited for the home reno projects and happy birthday to Ellie 😊😊

[@ritabarnes2440]

Happy Birthday to Ellie, I love dogs! I love seeing and hearing Jordan. The bathroom mirror is perfect. The light is okay but I understand about different hardware. The snow is beautiful but I might get tired of it all the time. I live in west TN not far from MS River and we are getting snow tonight and tomorrow. We get very excited as we get one or two in a winter. Rural area so school will likely be out all week.

[@alexhuffines7907]

We got our son a star light projector and he has a nightlight in his sound machine. Turn the sound machine down a little bit. We also do check ins until he falls asleep. Going in after 1 min, 3 min, 5 min, 8 min, and then 10 min. He knows that we are coming back in just a little bit so he feels safer and is comfortable enough to relax and fall asleep.

[@beans4853]

I started sitting in once i realized he slept better if I was there until he fell asleep. Huge difference, from waking every hour to not waking up even once. I do come and go as needed (there are 2 more kids going to sleep in the next room) but he knows I'll be back and is calmer

[@dani0363]

5 kids- all 5 hit the 2 year sleep regression. She’s probably sensing a lot change as well. Have her help you pick out a new nightlight or sound machine. My kids did not want their doors latched. I also did frequent checks on them and I’d wait with them to fall asleep. It took SOOOOOO much time. Bedtime would last 45 minutes to an hour and a half, but it was the only way to securely get them sleeping through the night. Lots of cuddles before bed. Make sure their belly is full, and spend that one on one time with them until they are comfortable enough to fall asleep. It was soooo hard and it lasted about 4-6 months. But now, they just walk upstairs and put themselves to bed (ages 7 and 5). My husband did not agree with me staying with them to fall asleep, but eventually he saw the difference in the waking up in the night vs. sleeping through the night! 🤍 good luck momma! Baby #2 is almost here and you’re already exhausted. Give yourself some grace!

[@emmagracejoens]

That’s so helpful to hear, thank you!

[@beans4853]

That's so true! It took a few weeks for me to realize that he slept better if I sat in his room while he fell asleep. While spending up to an hour doing that is hard, waking up every hour in the night is way harder.

[@Crystal-ie2mb]

Hi Emma! I have an 11 year old girl and almost 9 yr old boy and I used a sound machine with them when they were babies/toddlers. My daughter also liked soothing music too so that would help her fall asleep and stay asleep. I do recall both my kids slept with us maybe around 3yrs or 4 yrs old for a while, we caved in. Please no judgements.

[@mrs_katie_in_elementary]

We are cup twins!! Have the same Simple Modern in the same mauve color 😊

[@christinavarozza3791]

Hey Emma, I was just scrolling through KZbin and I saw your video and I can’t believe you’re pregnant again I’m so happy and I’m so excited for you and congrats on being pregnant. I can’t wait to meet Baby and hear the name it’s probably gonna be so cute. March 2024

[@michellepoe761]

I guess you’d say I’m a seasoned mom. My kids are now 21, 17, and 12. My kids were always good sleepers unless they were sick but I vaguely remember sometimes getting them to get in bed was hard. We would let them sleep with a favorite stuffed animal. My son loved to feel the tag of a little receiving blanket on his face, my one daughter slept with a soft inch worm that would light up and play a soft soothing song or her little Dora doll that sang happy birthday in Spanish lol, and my youngest daughter slept with her froggie which had silkie on the inside of it and had a little rattle inside its soft head. I believe also at one point one of them had a hard time falling asleep so we bought a light that projected on the ceiling and it moved, like jumping sheep or something, so we told them to count each item on the ceiling which didn’t take long before they fell asleep. 💜

[@justplainpeachy9352]

Watching you with Jordan makes me so happy. That’s what being a stay at home mom is all about. It makes me”rolling with the punches” like poor sleep so much easier. I am so proud of you! Love the content you produce!

[@joymathwig9000]

I wish I was as happy as Jordan about Christmas being over!

[@matthewmok1575]

My sweet 8 year old daughter Sofia knows because of her sweet voice

[@christinavarozza3791]

Hey Emma I’m so excited for baby number two and I love your videos so much.

[@EsEdmonds]

Hi Emma. My cousin up north has a 2.5 year old. She recently let her “help” daddy shovel the snow. Which helped for a tired baby at nap time. I wonder if the time outside can help. But I get that it’s so cold!

[@ericapetre1422]

I’m glad I’m not the only one who has to reheat coffee a million times…Thought it was just me lol. Hang in there!! Happy Birthday, Ellie!

[@chrisoulalakkas8968]

You deserve to be happy. You deserve to live a life you are excited about. Don't let others make you forget that.

[@maggier6371]

I have taken my Christmas decorations down (last weekend) but my tree is still standing 😅 I like it. It will probably come down Monday (15th). We also get a real tree so I like to keep it around for a bit.

[@justplainpeachy9352]

I actually spray painted out bathroom light fixtures (gold to black). I did it over 15 years ago and they are holding up great. Such a cheap transformation. It was meant to just “get us through” but it has lasted so well we haven’t bothered changing it!

[@emmagracejoens]

What a great idea!

[@rachaelnuchols764]

We painted ours too❤

[@ArianneGray618]

I was going to suggest the same thing. Also, you said the lighting sucks, maybe try hanging the fixture upside-down...?

[@kaitlynshuler8128]

Being a SAHM to a toddler while pregnant is soooo hard. So grateful for it but dang it’s hard. I have a 16 month old and 38.5 weeks pregnant so I get where you’re at.

[@emmagracejoens]

🫶🫶🫶

[@teachloveinspire561]

I love Ellie! Happy Birthday sweet girl :)

[@megancox9549]

Thanks for this vlog, I'm hoping your pain during pregnancy has improved!

[@mrs_katie_in_elementary]

Also I can relate SO MUCH to shoving the Christmas tree back into the cardboard box that has been through it 😂

[@lauraf80]

Love the mirror

[@jess.elaine808]

Love Ellie's snow zoomies :)

[@caffeinated.chaos.848]

Try taking the sound machine off. It can put them into fight or flight in some kiddos.

[@Sunshine1986-d1e]

That toy sink is neat actual has water coming out woooow 😮😮😮 I really wish had all these neat stuff when I was little

[@tissosweet7606]

My tip as a mom of four is just to always be careful about what cartoons, books, commercials etc. your little one sees. There is so much junk out here that it only takes a minute for them to see or hear something scary and afterwards they will act fearful. I let one of my girls listen to an audiobook one time about a squirrel who was afraid of everything. Before I knew it, she was terrified of rain just like the squirrel!! I thought it was an innocent book, but it planted a seed of fear in her. It took a while for her to finally be okay with rain again. I have since learned to be so careful with all sources of entertainment.

[@emmagracejoens]

I’ve actually been thinking about that lately so it’s funny you bring it up! Thank you for sharing!!

[@eddiemartinez7555]

Awesome Emma 😊😅🎉🎉😂❤

[@thatcoffeeclassroom7239]

Emma, do you still use or recommended TULA?

[@emmagracejoens]

Yes!! I still use a handful of things from them often :)

[@TransparencyBodycam]

What is your height?

[@SunsettBeach14]

Hey Emma! Not sure if you've already got an email back from Tonies but I noticed the same thing happening to my kids Toniebox that I got them for Christmas too. I saw in the video that we have the same color but I did also send an email to Tonies and they actually ended up letting me keep the Toniebox I bought and let me pick out a whole new Toniebox to get off their website for free. I chose a different color and the new one they sent to me doesn't have any issue with playing off the charger so just wanted to pass along the information in case it is helpful to you! 🙂

[@emmagracejoens]

I actually just had the same thing happen! They’re sending us a new one!!

[@beans4853]

My toddler also wants his door open all of a sudden, he turned 2 last week. He sleeps so much better now that I realized he wants that and i leave it open. Super inconvenient, but better than waking up every hour in the night to calm him

[@emmagracejoens]

Oh so interesting it happened for you too!!

[@georginavallas2073]

Did Jordan get some new teeth maybe xx

[@athomewiththekids]

Hey, your child is sooo little. Let her sleep with you guys. It makes absolute sense that a little one this age gets scared at night or doesn't want to sleep alone. It really is unnatural to put the baby separate from you in a different room. All of our kids have slept better ever since they had someone so snuggle with or at least smell/hear us in the same room.

[@christinavarozza3791]

Hey Emma I’m so excited for baby number two and I love your videos so much