Milan Maternity Spotlight

Say hello to Brittney! She's a stay at home mother of 4 kids who are 6, 5, 2.5, and 6 months. And since that doesn't keep her busy enough, she is also a full time college student, taking classes online. She is only 8 classes away from getting her bachelors degree and already has her associates in psychology.

I had the opportunity to ask Brittney the questions everyone wants to know, and here's what she had to say.

The first time you were pregnant, was there anything about it that completely surprised you or that you wish you had know about being pregnant?

I think everything about it surprised me. I wish someone had told me about the blood work at 16 weeks that tell you what your odds are of having a baby with down-syndrome. My tests came out that I had 1 in 15 chances. It made my pregnancy much more stressful than it should have been. I couldn't really enjoy the pregnancy. I never had that test done again!

Have you announced your pregnancies to your husband or family members in any fun and memorable ways?

No. I really hated announcing that I was pregnant. I told my mom and my husband told his mom and we just let the gossip take it from there. LOL

Have you found any tricks that work really well for you with morning sickness?

I would suck on peppermint candies and keep gingersnaps and ginger ale always on hand! Also when that wouldn't work...I would take vitamin b6 and b12 every day. At night I would take b6 and a half a pill of Unisom. Worked fairly well. I would get it really bad for 7 months! and with the last pregnancy my doc suggested the vitamins and Unisom. I really wish I had known about that with the other 3 pregnancies!

What have you found to entertain and keep your kids busy when you've been too drained?

Disney movies. Thank heavens for Disney!!!

Is there anything you wish you had known about labor that you weren't prepared for?

The pain! Holy cow! No one really gets the point across how bad it is going to hurt! lol

I think every stay at home mom has one or two chores that they absolutely hate doing. What are those for you and have you found a way to do them that makes them a little more tolerable? My bedroom and the bathroom. I haven't found any way to do them that makes them a little more tolerable. I even tried to re-decorate them to see if that helped.....nope. So any ideas would be great! :)

What are some things you do with your older children to show them special attention now that there is a new little one in the house?

I have one on one time with them. I will take one and have them help cook dinner and the other one will help make cookies or a cake for desert.

With all of the responsibilities you have between family and school, what do you do to help balance it all out?

I take a two week break in between classes. I use those two weeks to really catch up on housework and some R&R.( My classes are 5 weeks long)

What are some of your children's favorite activities to do during the day?

My 2 oldest LOVE school. While they are at school I use that time to clean and play with my 2 year old and 6 month old. I have really enjoyed having some one on one time with them. When the older two come home we do home work and then we do chores until it is dinner time. After dinner we will then walk to the library and check out some books and then we will walk to the park and play for about an hour. My kids love being out doors.

As mothers we have some special moments with our children that we always remember and cherish. Do you mind sharing one or two of those experiences?

My kids are constantly making me laugh. One of my favorite memories is.... One day I had to go to the doc for one of my monthly pregnancy checkups. I had no one to watch the kids while I went, so I had to take my kids with me. While we were waiting in the waiting room my kids were playing in the kids corner and all of the sudden my 4 year old son started screaming. He came running over to me holding his pant leg. I thought he hurt his leg until he started screaming that a bug ran up his pants. I tug on his pant leg and he grabbed his pants higher and started screaming more. I took him into the bathroom and had his take off his pants. Sure enough a cockroach came out. I stepped on it and he put his pants on. I asked his older sister how the bug got in his pants. She said he tried to step on the bug and missed and it ran up his leg. My son was crying and he stopped and said "If I would have had my cowboy boots on that bug would have been dead!" He doesn't go any where without his good o'l cowboy boots now. I still giggle about that to this day! And my thought about that now is "there was a cockroach in the doctors office!? Yuck!"

When you are having a rough day, and counting down the hours until your husband gets home so you can get a break, what is it that you are looking forward to do as a stress reliever?

Sitting down with a good book. I love to read, read, and read. I sometimes like to sit down and play the piano. My kids do not let me do that at all and I love playing so much!

When we are pregnant or have kids, it seems like we get all sorts of advice, wanted or not, from all sorts of people. What is one of the best pieces of advice you have gotten?

Well....my aunt, that is freaking adorable, said that it took her 15 years to learn to take a chill pill. She told me to learn to take one while my kids are still young so I can enjoy them a lot more. She regrets not relaxing more when her kids were younger.

Have you ever had one of those moments where you felt like you just couldn't handle it, and what got you through that?

Oh yes, very often! Well to quote the movie chicken little..."today is a new day". I tell myself that all of the time. I constantly remind myself to take it one day at a time. And...I usually call my mom. lol She gets me through a lot of those moments too. She raised 7 kids so she is a pro!

When you are rushing to get yourself and your family out of the door to go somewhere and you only have a few minutes to actually get yourself ready, what do you do to pull your look together quickly?

Lip gloss and run my fingers through my hair. I don't go anywhere without my lip gloss. If you want good cheap lip gloss or makeup in general check out eyeslipsface.com!

What is the most rewarding thing about being a mother?

My 4 year old just gave me a hug and told me I'm the best mom in the whole world. It's moments like those that make being a mother the best thing in the world. I love my kids and seeing them happy and even more happy when they learn something new they can do, like ride a bike, or how to write their name...that's what makes it rewarding. My life would be so dull without my kids!