Allison Cooper

I’m not going to lie or sugarcoat my feelings right now — I’m nervous about going from a mom of one to a mom of two. My son is seven, so he, my husband, and I have had seven years of time as “just the three of us.”

When I brought my son into the world, I thought that he would be an awful lot like me. He had to be, right? He grew inside me; I nourished him; I was the one home with him day in and day out during those very impressionable years, while my husband worked a grueling military schedule — yet there are few similarities to be found.

There is no way around it, whenever you find yourself in a fashion rut, it’s pretty difficult to get out of. A fashion rut puts us in a place of comfort, where it’s very difficult to break free and expose ourselves to any newness that might be out there in the fashion world to explore — because we are too content with where we are.

... there is no joy in the season when mom is locking herself in the bathroom to pull her hair out — don’t let that be you!

[CN: mention of suicide] It’s not all real. We don’t live curated lives that are built around purposeful omissions of reality...

I got married young and had my first child young.

Family travel helped me see what I'd been missing out on.

The last thing you want to do is turn baby-making into work. At least for the first three to six months, make this a special time with you and your partner before you become obsessed with ovulation kits and the numerous gadgets and such on the market.

Clear the country bumpkin idea out of your head, because that’s not what I’m referring to here. A great plaid button down shirt can be just what you need to update your wardrobe this fall.

So you have made it all the way up to the end of the finish line? Congratulations!