Reality Based Structure and Systems (for the win!)
We’ve all heard or read about the new mom who jumped right back into normal life, and her normal jeans right after leaving the hospital. Have you felt jealous of her? My younger, less experienced self sure did!
Now that I’ve had many more children, and am sitting pretty in my mid-thirties, I realize how foolish I was not to allow my body to make a strong recovery after birth.
My first baby was a total dream and convinced me that at the tender age of 21, I was a parenting prodigy. It couldn’t possibly be that I had an easy-going baby. It was me and my amazing skills.
He nursed like a champ, he quickly and effortlessly fell into a predictable schedule, I got him to sleep through the night by 8 weeks, he reached all of his milestones on time or ahead of schedule.
He was perfect. Or I was perfect. Or maybe we were both perfect?
My second baby was born just two years later, and because I was such a perfect parent, I was really thrown for a loop when my second baby wasn’t at all like the first.
He was cranky, constantly wanted to be held, had a sensitive tummy, so I had to be super careful about what I ate. He rarely slept, and when he did, it was only for 45 minutes at a time.
I was exhausted, he was exhausted. We were both exhausted. But I realized something very important. I wasn’t a perfect parent, I just lucked out with my first.
Or maybe it wasn’t all luck. My methods were also different.
The one question I get asked more than any other by overwhelmed moms is…how can I create my best daily routine? What does it need to include? How early do I need to get up for in the morning? Will it actually work for me?
Having a flexible daily routine may actually change your life. The key is to set up your routine properly, making sure to include the right things and exclude the wrong things.
A flexible routine is worth its weight in gold, so let’s get started building yours!
In the infamous words of Coco Chanel, “A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous.” And I couldn’t agree more.
But what does classy and fabulous look like for the stay at home mom with a few young children?
What does classy and fabulous look like for the mom whose days are filled with diapers, spit up, breast or bottle feeding, baby food, stepped on Cheerios, and mountains of laundry?
I’ll let you in on a little secret. Being classy and fabulous is 90% your own mindset and 10% action.
Let’s dive into the topic so that I can explain exactly what I mean!
Parenting is such hard work. I know that every mother who is reading this wants to be a better parent. *I* want to be a better parent! Sometime it’s so difficult though to know how to do just that.
We all know the effects of good parenting (happier, better adjusted children), the problem though is knowing how to get there.
Instead of just giving you more good parenting principles though, I am going to give you five effective parenting tips that are actionable steps that you can take right now that will actually get you moving in the right direction, instead of wondering how to implement.
Let’s get started!
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