Welcome!

Welcome to my blog. Let me first start by saying, I would not consider myself a "blogger" and have never "blogged" (is that even a real verb?) before. My goal with starting this blog is to provide all you mamas with an inside view on what this messy, emotional, yet wonderful journey of motherhood is like for me. Why? So you don't feel alone in your struggles. So you don't feel silly celebrating the small things in life. You just cooked dinner for the first time "solo" with a newborn and a toddler? That's huge! You were able to shower this week more than two or three times? That must feel amazing!

And so you don't feel guilty, or bad about feeling. Feeling what? Feeling deflated and exhausted at the end of your day. Feeling the heart ache of leaving your baby for the first time even though you know you need and deserve a break. Feeling frustrated with your partner because...well you just do? Feeling sad because you miss the person you were, but feeling so in love with the new version of yourself who continues to grow and become stronger every day. The list of feels goes on and on my friends.

Before I go any further, let me actually introduce myself. My name is Heather McCarthy. I am the face behind Keep Dreaming, LLC. I'm both a Physical Therapist and a Certified Sleep Consultant. I'm from a small town in Wisconsin and I'm the mother of these two munchkins! William is my oldest, he recently just turned 2 years old.

When he was about 8 months old, I found out I was pregnant with Claire (I knew women could get pregnant while breastfeeding, but it wouldn't happen to me right?). That means my kiddos are just about 18 months apart. As I like to say now, hands full, heart fuller. At the time, I was honestly terrified of having 2 kiddos under 2. I was often by myself due to my husband traveling frequently for work. Some nights this was really a struggle with just one kiddo! At a younger age, William was difficult to handle. It was hard to keep him in a good mood and hard to keep him entertained. He was always one step ahead of himself with a fire lite under his a**. On top of that, he was, and still is, a huge mama's boy (stage 5 clinger alert). How was I supposed to show him the love and attention he deserved while bonding and taking care of a newborn? I soon found out that God knew what he was doing.

Enter Claire. Claire has been the sweetest, most unexpected surprise. She balances out the tornado in William with her calm demeanor, and will make you feel like the funniest, most important person in the room with her constant giggles and grins. Her easy going attitude made the transition from 1 to 2 that much easier! And while it was obviously still an adjustment for William, and the entire household, he now has nothing but love for his little sister. He is her protector at daycare, her pacifier fetcher at home, and her greeter every morning during the week. I have LOVED watching him grow into his new role.

So now that you know more about myself, lets get back on track. Like I said, this blog will be geared towards all things motherhood, real-life examples of my struggles with my kiddo's sleep habits, interviews with some experts related to physical development, breast feeding, etc. and more. I hope this blog is both informative and comforting in the fact that if you choose to hire me as a sleep consultant, you will know that I will be listening to your story and current struggles from a place of understanding and not judgement. Because mama, I've been there and I know some days you just have to survive. Stay tuned for more!