My life is so beautiful. My life is a total blessing. My life is busy, hectic, and often focused on meeting the needs of others. I am a mom. Like many of you, we work full-time to boot. I wake up every morning 40-minutes before everyone else so that I can shower, dress, get breakfast ready and have a conversation with my husband before Hudson wakes and I turn on “mommy” mode. When at work, I focus on the needs of my clients. I educate and fill their minds with knowledge on how to lead healthier, happier lives. When work is done, its time to circle back with family, clean up the house and prepare dinner. Before you know it we are off to sleep to wake up tomorrow and do it all over again. My life is so beautiful. My life is a total blessing. My life feels like it is often not about me. I am your typical woman in so many ways, feeling stretched thin, but no matter how crazy life may get, I do not let my own needs and wants disappear from my daily agenda. I consider self-care, no matter how small, to be as necessary to my health as the nourishing foods I eat and daily exercise. Finding time to take care of yourself is an absolute must, mama. Self-care is really a non-negotiable. As moms (working outside the home or not) our lives revolve around meeting the needs of others day in and day out. New to motherhood and I already understand the endless demands, rewards, sacrifices, sleepless nights and countless unscheduled interruptions and mostimportantly, what a beautiful gift it is to be a mom. Seriously, I don’t think there is anything better in this world than waking up every morning to my little boys smile and kisses, it is the best. Being a mom is my most important full-time job, and my favorite, but it can be draining. And we I am drained, I cannot be the best wife, mom, friend and coach I can be. Finding time to recharge and celebrate who I am as an individual SELF-CARE WILL MAKE YOU A HAPPIER INDIVIDUAL, WIFE, & MOTHER. Time spent caring for yourself should be considered as an investment in your long-term health. Before Hudson was born, I had an idea of what motherhood would be like, but I didn’t understand what motherhood would actually be like. Now I understand and cant stress enough to my fellow mamas, moms-to-be and moms-who-will-be how important it is to take care of yourself, and that means something different for everyone. What I can tell you though is that it needs to be a daily practice. Keeping it real, you may need to fight for this time to invest in yourself and make others understand why it is important to you. Your boss, kids, partner or other family members may not understand why it is so vital that you take 30 minutes to yourself to read your favorite book, or why you take the time every few weeks to get your hair done. They may not understand that these needs go far beyond wanting to look pretty. That is where it is crucial for you to stand up for your needs and believe that you are worth that sacred time of recharging. You deserve the same level of care that you spend most of your day ensuring everyone else has. Love yourself! When you make your self-care routine a priority in your crazy, hectic life, something amazing happens. You become the very best version of you. Yea, its true. You will be able to laugh with your kiddos rather than snap, and kiss your significant other rather than bark at them. You will smile more. You will enjoy the days more. Finding time for self-care in your busy life isn’t exactly simple or clear cut. Therefor, it is something that you have to plan for. Take time to plan and book yourself a mani/pedi or spa day. Self-care can also be as simple as getting up 20 minutes earlier and adding some sort of movement/exercise into your morning routine. Maybe you use that time to take a longer shower, dress and apply some make-up. Maybe self-care is doing a facemask and sipping a glass of wine. Maybe its 15 minutes where you can hide out in your room and do as you please, maybe read a book, scroll through Instagram, go for a walk, whatever you want. Just 15 minutes of uninterrupted time to yourself. New to self-care practices? Start small by just scheduling 15 minutes to yourself in your day. Being a mother is such a beautiful gift, but it is easy to lose yourself in the juggling act and forget that you are important! So take the time you need for you… and be that happy mama, for everyones sake. Share with me your go-to favorite self-care routines! New to self-care? Share with me what changes you are going to start tomorrow in order to take care of yourself. Xoxo
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Never in a million years could I have ever truly understood what it would be like to be a “Mom.” I always knew I wanted kids, it was just something I knew from a very early age, but I never really knew what motherhood looked like until the day that Hudson was born and I held him in my arms in those first few moments of life outside utero. That day was quite the adventure in and of itself, and if you missed that post, you can read all about Hudson’s birth story here. As I sit down to write the much requested, “a day in the life”/schedule post, I can’t even remember what it was like to not be a “Mom.” Life is so funny like that, isn’t it? Hudson has hit the one-month mile marker, and while time does go quickly, I feel fortunate to have soaked up every moment we have shared together as Mother and Son. You know its funny, before I had Hudson, I thought moms truly spoke another language- Nose Fridas, Pack N’ Plays, Sophie the giraffe, cluster feeding… what? Who? I need what?! Hudson is certainly not lacking in the personality category, he makes being his Mama so, so fun. He is already rockin’ and rollin’ on our Baby Einstein Play Mat. He absolutely adores bath time and he loves when we read to him… (Moms personal favorite is, Giraffes Can’t Dance). His smile is contagious and we have gotten a laugh or two from him as well! So fun! Before I get into a day in our life, I just want to be clear that while we are getting into a groove and a schedule that works well for us, we certainly have days that don’t go according to plan (hello motherhood) and I also understand that schedules are not for everyone, but personally, we thrive off of some sort of consistency in our day to day lives. So, if you’re a mama who doesn’t love schedules, there is no pressure here, I am just sharing what is working well for us so far. A Day in the Life of Hudson and Mama 7:00 am: Hudson wakes up for the day. Sometimes I have to wake him up, but often he wakes up on his own right around this time. I feed him at this time. I have been waking myself up around 6:20 am so that I can have a few moments to get myself together (somewhat) before our day begins. 8:30- 10: Hudson typically falls asleep for his first nap of the day! 10:00: If he doesn’t wake up on his own, I wake him up and feed. Usually after this feeding he is ready to play, so if its nice we will go for a walk. 11:30 – 1:00pm: Second nap of day. This is usually the time when I will try to get some work done, or I will take a nap with Hudson if I am feeling like I need it! 1:00pm: Time to eat again! I will wake him up, feed him and then we usually play. Seeing a pattern here? ;) 3:00: Feed him again. He may or may not have fallen asleep between the last feeding and this one, it’s been different depending on the day and how well he has been sleeping. 3:30- 5:00: Last nap of the day 5:00-8:00: Hudson usually wakes up around five o’clock pretty hungry. Days that we are cluster feeding, it usually starts around this time. So that means that Hudson and mom get really comfortable on the couch and feed for the next five hours or so. But, if it’s a “normal” evening, I will feed Hudson, have bath time and read him a story or two. 8:00: We face time our big brother, Hawkins, I feed Hudson and off to bed her goes for the night. 12 am: Hudson usually wakes for his first night feeding. I do this one in our room and keep the lights very dim. He wakes, we change him and I will feed him, putting him right back down to bed when we are done. 4am: Hudson wakes to be fed. Again, wake, change, feed, and he will go back down til 7am when we start our day all over again! J Things We Have Found Essential 1: Sleep sheep and/or white noise maker: This is just essential. We use both often and sometimes at the same time. 2: Sleepsack – Ever since Hudson was born he really didn't enjoy being swaddled, because he wanted his arms available so he can self soothe if he wants with his fingers. Because of this, we have found that he really likes to be wrapped in his sleepsack like this one, the Halo sleepsack has been awesome! Sleeveless one is our favorite. 3:Ergo baby carrier: This mama is usually trying to multi-task, and this carrier has allowed me to do so. I can get work done on my computer, vacuum and walk the pups without worrying about Hudson with this hands free carrier! 4: Fisher Price Rock N' Glide Soother: This thing is amazing! Hudson loves to take his naps during the day in this soother. It has several speeds, several different sounds and the bed vibrates if you want. It also has a few fun toys hanging that Hudson loves to look at and focus on. Spring is here and that means… our family road trips! Timmy and I decided before Hudson even arrived that we were going to continue to travel and live our active lifestyle and just bring Hudson for the ride! After all, your children have to live with you… not the other way around. Last weekend we packed up the truck and headed north to Burke, Mtn. for our annual 42 mile, grueling, gravel bike race. Of course this year I took the role as a cheerleader with Hudson, but we made a family weekend out of it. I wasn’t sure how traveling with a newborn was going to go, especially with our breastfeeding schedule, but I was pleasantly surprised of how do-able it was with a little preparation. If you too are deciding to travel with your little one, I am so happy for you! Traveling as a family is such a wonderful bonding experience and babies, even when they are the littlest, love to see and be in new places. Plus, how fun will it be to tell your little one about all of the adventures you shared and show them pictures. Now, all that being said… being on the road with a baby while breastfeeding can present a few challenges, but with a little preparation, you will be all set. Here are some tips that I gathered after taking our first road trip to Burke, VT with our little one.
Have you and your family traveled with the newest member of your family? Would love to hear about your adventures! xo |
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