The Day I Found Out I Was Going To Be A Mom
It was the morning of February 26, 2020 when I got the first positive pregnancy test. My initial reaction was denial because my husband and I had only been trying to conceive for a few months at that point. That day we went to an event at Amalie Arena with the Vinik Sports Group as sponsors of the University of South Florida Bulls football and basketball teams. We ended the day with a happy hour where we got to meet coach Jon Cooper from the Tampa Bay Lightning. I was so excited that I wanted to celebrate with a beer, still in denial from my positive pregnancy test. I went home and bought 3 different kinds of pregnancy tests, much to my surprise, all of those tests came up positive as well. I immediately regretted drinking that beer! It finally hit me that this was real! I showed all the positive tests to my husband and I think we were both in shock. It was a moment that was hard to fully process at the time just how much this would change our lives forever.
The Gender Reveal and How We Picked a Name
I was extremely antsy to find out what the gender of baby Schlindwein was going to be so we did the blood test to find out as early as possible. This was all happening during the COVID-19 shutdown so everything took longer than it should’ve. When I finally got the call, I was at my in-laws house. I couldn’t hold it in so I told them all immediately after hanging up the phone! I’ll never forget how my husband’s eyes teared up when he heard that it was going to be a girl! We had already picked out one boy name and one girl name so once we found out it was a girl, we knew exactly what her name would be. We needed a short name because not much sounds good with a crazy last name like Schlindwein! I had scoured numerous lists of baby names online and somewhere along the line we came across the name Mia. We both didn’t know many people with the name which was good, you know how you can’t help but make associations with a name when you already know someone with that name? Mia just sounded like a nice sweet girl, which is exactly what we hoped our little girl would be.
About a week later, we hosted a Facebook live video to announce the gender to the rest of our friends and family since we couldn’t have an actual gender reveal due to covid. I couldn’t believe how loved and excited we could feel even through a computer screen! And then we began buying all things pink and sparkly for baby Mia!
My Name Necklace
I didn’t necessarily have an easy pregnancy, or maybe it was just a normal pregnancy but I was not able to make it look easy like some women seem to be able to do. I had some really rough days not only physically but emotionally as well. So I figured some jewelry would help lift my spirits! I had this vision of something unique and special that could help me feel connected to the crazy changes that my body was going through. I created this name necklace that I literally never took off during my entire pregnancy. I had it made in 14 karat yellow gold so that it would be durable and I decided to have the letters set sideways so that it wasn’t so obvious that it was a name. I loved when I would be talking with someone for a while and they would finally notice that my necklace had her name on it. It made me smile every time I saw it in the mirror, a beautiful reminder of the life growing inside my belly. I didn’t really plan for this but my necklace was finished right around Mother’s Day 2020 so it became my gift to myself! Mom’s: sometimes you gotta treat yo self!
Click here to start your custom initial/name necklace!
My Name Bracelet
This bracelet was actually a gift from my parents for Christmas but I thought this was such a cool idea that I had never heard of before. They gave me this adorable dainty gold bracelet with Mia’s name engraved on it in cursive. The cool thing about this bracelet is that it can easily be clasped on any of the links so I could wear it for now and once Mia was old enough, I could pass it down to her and she could grow into the bracelet. This bracelet could easily be stacked with other pieces as well. I have not taken it off since I got it and it’s such an easy everyday piece to wear. As a mom, you need something that doesn’t need to be taken on and off, because who has time for that? I literally exercise, shower and everything in this and it still looks great and hasn’t broken. I know it may seem redundant that I wear two pieces that have Mia's name on it but after going through the childbirth process I honestly feel like I could do anything! So wearing her name feels like a badge of honor representing the journey that I went through to bring this baby girl into the world. And I would do it all over again for her in a heartbeat.
Here’s some other examples of a bracelets similar to mine!
14K Engraveable Bolo Bracelet 
14K Engraveable Bolo Bracelet
My Biggest AHA Moment
Like most new parents, I was utterly unprepared for the challenges pregnancy, childbirth and caring for a newborn would bring. I had never even changed a diaper before Mia arrived so I was really clueless. You just really don’t know what to expect until you go through it! Night after night of waking up multiple times to feed, change and soothe a newborn and seeing hours on the clock that I hadn’t seen since college led me to my biggest AHA moment ever...this is what MY parents did for ME! This is how much my parents loved me! This is everything my parents sacrificed for me! I all of a sudden regretted every bratty and disrespectful thing I ever said/did to my parents. I’m sure I’ll get my pay back when Mia is a teenager but it’s given me a whole new appreciation for my parents.
Mia is my parent’s first grandchild and to say they are excited would be a huge understatement. I’m pretty sure my mom has been waiting for this day basically since my sister and I left the house! I wanted to do something really special for her for her 60th birthday and Mother’s day gift combined. We have all been going crazy trying to keep the secret of the new collection that is coming soon and we couldn’t wait to get our hands on it. I’m still not going to tell you what it is but I’m going to show you the piece that I was able to snag a little early for my mom. I got her this adorable 18 karat yellow gold disc initial necklace that has an “M” on it for Mia in diamonds. She got teary eyed when I gave it to her and it was a whole fiasco getting it in time for her birthday since the collection had not arrived at our store yet! Now she can have a little memento of her first grandchild and it will be so easy to add and layer more initials with later on down the road when/if more grandchildren come her way (hint hint to my sister haha)! To be notified of the new collection and when it officially arrives, sign up to receive text notifications here! 
Mother's Day Gift Ideas
Now that I'm a mom, I can speak with confidence that it's not about the price of the gift, it's about the meaning behind it. You really can't go wrong with anything sentimental when it comes to a Mother's Day gift. That's why we feel passionate about having gifts of all price ranges so anyone can afford to treat mom with a special piece of jewelry. Jewelry makes such a great gift because it's something you know mom will keep and cherish for years to come. Here are some other examples of sentimental jewelry for mom:
1. For The Mom With a Big Family - I love doing stackable gemstone rings or bracelets for the mom with multiple kids. We have stackables in all of the gemstones that make it easy to add to if she has more kids later as well. Here are some examples of our gemstone stackables:
14K Sapphire/September Stackable
John Hardy Citrine/November Stackable Bracelet
2. For The New Or Expecting Mom- I love our Juno Lucina - Proud Mom Collection for the new or expecting mom because these pieces are designed to mimic the beautiful curves of a woman's body when she is pregnant. It features a diamond that is cradled by gold, representing a mother's conditional love. It comes with a gorgeous box that tells the story of this piece as well so it makes it so easy to relay the meaningul message of this piece.
14K Juno Lucino Diamond Necklace
14K Juno Lucina Heart Diamond Necklace
3. For The Fur Baby Momma- Yes fur babies count too! We've got the perfect gifts for the fur baby momma also!
14K Diamond Paw Print Necklace
Sterling Silver Paw Print Earrings
Sterling Silver and CZ Paw Print Necklace
4. For The Mom That Has Everything- For that mom that has a full collection of jewelry or doesn't wear much jewelry, we have tons of other gift ideas! I love to suggest our Wolf Designs jewelry boxes and travel cases. The Wolf jewelry cases are not only pretty enough to carry as a hand bag, they also contain a special fabric that is treated with their patented LusterLoc technically to keep your jewelry from tarnishing! Storing your jewelry properly also keeps it from breaking and makes it last longer.
Still stumped on what to get mom? We sell gift cards of all amounts so you can send mom for a shopping spree! Click here to purchase a gift card
I hope you enjoyed reading about my first Mother's Day and maybe sparked some inspiration for your Mother's Day shopping! Happy Mother's Day to all my fellow mommas!