Hey mamas! Welcome to the thirty-sixth post in my Honest Birth series! I’m excited to share another real mama’s birth story, because I think it’s so important to share our childbirth experiences with each other. My goal with this series is to provide a place for women to share their birth stories without holding anything back, as well as compile stories for pregnant mamas to read in preparation for their own childbirth experiences. Every mama is different and every birth is different, and I believe that when we share our stories we help each other.

Today I am featuring my sister’s friend Amy Balaich. Amy is 25 years old, and she and her husband have been married for almost three years. Amy graduated from BYU with a degree in Elementary Education and her husband is working on a degree in Chemical Engineering. Today Amy is sharing the birth story of her first baby, who was born in August during the coronavirus pandemic. If you’re currently pregnant and wondering what birth is going to be like in the middle of a pandemic, this is a great story to read!

Read to read her daughter’s birth story? Here we go!

The Birth Story of Juliet Balaich

I elected to be induced at 39 weeks and 5 days. My other option would have been to wait to be induced at 40 weeks and 4 days if I didn’t go into labor on my own. However, that day also happened to be the first day of a new semester for my husband, who is a full-time student. Given my mom’s and sisters’ histories of going past their due dates, I figured that I was unlikely to go into labor on my own anyway, so I decided to go with the earlier induction and I am SO glad I did! 

They had us check in to the hospital at 6:30 pm on Tuesday, August 25. As we left our house that night, it was pretty surreal to think that the next time we came home would be with our baby. At the hospital, we were put in a super spacious room that we stayed in for labor, delivery, and recovery, which was so convenient. The nurse came and talked to us and then put Cervidil up near my cervix. Cervidil is like a small tampon impregnated with medicine that would stay there overnight to ripen my cervix. She also drew some of my blood, put an IV into my left hand, and hooked up external heartbeat and contraction monitors on my belly. I got a few hours of sleep from about 11 pm-2 am. Between the discomfort of having to carry all the monitors with me to go to the bathroom, and the nervousness that started kicking in, I didn’t sleep as soundly after 2 am. It was fun to watch the contraction monitor because it helped me start to recognize when they were happening. When I would start to feel my belly getting tight, I’d look at the monitor and sure enough, the numbers were rising rapidly. I had felt a mild version of that sensation a few times while pregnant, but never recognized it as a contraction! When the nurse came in and asked me how I was doing, she seemed shocked that I wasn’t feeling pain and had been able to sleep because she said I was having some pretty strong ones. 

Around 6:20 am, the new nurse took out my Cervidil. She was in touch with my OB and said he wanted to start me on Pitocin, so she went to get it and started me on 4 milliunits through my IV. She said they would increase that by 4 every half hour up to 20 milliunits, as long as the baby was tolerating it. My OB came in around 7:45 am, checked my cervix and said it was dilated to a 2.5 or a tight 3. He also used a hook to break my water, which was super uncomfortable having him reach up inside me and then to feel the gush of warm fluid coming out. Then he had to reach up there again to attach a heartbeat monitor to the top of the baby’s head, and another monitor to more accurately measure the intensity of the contractions than the external one I had on overnight. That encounter was honestly one of the most painful parts of the whole labor experience. Cervical checks are quite uncomfortable and that one was especially so because it was so much longer and more intense. I was happy when that was all over. 

However, by that point, my Pitocin was up to about 16 milliunits, plus my water was now broken. Contractions became so painful all of a sudden. Whereas they were at most uncomfortable during the night and even during the early doses of Pitocin, the pain suddenly hit like a ton of bricks. I think I tolerated the contractions for about a half hour before deciding that I might as well get the epidural – if I was going to get it, why wait and put myself through more pain? I told my nurse and she came back with the anesthesiologist maybe 20 or 30 minutes later. He explained everything and then had me sit up and hang my legs off the side of my hospital bed. The nurse and my husband both came and stood in front of me to help support me. He had me kind of slouch and arch my back out, like an angry Halloween cat (his words). I could feel small stings as he numbed me locally, and then I felt a little pressure when he was putting in the epidural needle. He could tell right away that it wasn’t quite placed right, so he had to take it out and do that process all over again. Hearing that something had gone wrong (even though it wasn’t anything major) must have freaked me out a little bit because I got really sweaty and a little nauseous. The nurse brought me a barf bag and held it by my mouth, but I took some deep breaths and the feeling passed. He numbed me and then replaced it and put in the tube. I laid back down and my legs started to feel warm and tingly, then gradually went more and more numb, though they continued to have a slight tingle throughout my whole labor. By then it was about 10:15 am and I was dilated to a 4.

Even though it was weird to be totally numb in the legs and unable to move much, I was so happy to have the epidural in and felt much more at ease. My husband and I got to relax and watch some TV. The nurse checked me again around 11 am and I was at 6 centimeters. Sometime after that, I started noticing that I was feeling the pain of the contractions again, though not as much as before the epidural. I was still on the same fairly low dose that the anesthesiologist had started me on, so I called my nurse and she told me to press the green button that would give me some more epidural anesthesia. She told me that I could press that button as often as every 10 minutes or so if I needed relief. 

Then at 12:30 pm, the nurse came back in and checked me, and said “Wow, the baby’s head is right there.” She felt around a bit more and said “Okay, you are at a 10!” I was honestly so shocked that some tears sprang to my eyes. I couldn’t believe it! I felt like she had just barely checked me at a 6, and I expected it to take so much longer! It made sense why I had been feeling contraction pain through the epidural though; things were progressing so quickly and my contractions must have been really intense! The nurse said she was going to notify my OB and that a bunch of other nurses and people would be coming in and out of our room to get things ready for me to push about 10 minutes later. 

Around 12:55 pm, everything had been set up in the room and my OB gave my nurse the go-ahead to have me start pushing even though he wasn’t there yet. She and my husband helped me prop my legs up, and they each stood on one side of the bed to hold them up since they felt like dead weight to me. She explained that each time a contraction came, she would have me take a deep breath and then hold my breath and push while she counted to 10. We would do that 3 times in quick succession on each contraction, then take a break until the next one. Pushing was really hard at first because I was very numb and really couldn’t feel what I was doing. 

Overall, pushing went really smoothly and I didn’t feel any pain at all. It was tiring to strain so hard and hold my breath on the pushes, but being numb from the epidural and having breaks in between each contraction made it totally manageable. My OB arrived around 2 pm, after an hour of pushing. He was super energetic and loudly encouraged me on each push with chants of “Keep pushing! Push harder! Give it everything you’ve got!” which was actually incredibly motivating. I had no sense of where things were at and expected to be pushing for much longer, but my OB said the head was right there but a little too big for the outlet, so he wanted to make a small episiotomy to guide the tear that was already starting to happen down low. He asked if that was okay and since I trust my OB, I agreed, even though I have mixed feelings about episiotomies.

I kept pushing on each contraction, being cheered on by my OB and my husband, and my baby girl was born at 2:24 pm. After her head came out, the rest of her came right out really quickly. I was so shocked when I opened my eyes and saw my OB holding her and heard her first little cries. I immediately started crying because I couldn’t believe she was finally here. My OB said, “This is a big baby!” They took her to do some tests, while my OB quickly delivered my placenta and said, “Well, you’re officially no longer pregnant!” Then he had to press down really hard on my belly and it was so painful for some reason. The nurses and people doing the tests on my baby and wiping her off announced that she weighed 9 pounds even. I was shocked that I had just delivered such a big baby! My OB began stitching me up, and my husband stood by me and told me what a great job I did. They brought her to me while he was finishing up stitching, and I got to hold her on my chest. That made tears stream down my face all over again. The emotion of holding her for the first time was overwhelming. While I was pregnant, I had this irrational worry that I wouldn’t love her right away, but I loved her the second they laid her on me and I saw her beautiful, tiny face. I felt so proud of myself in that moment for everything my body had accomplished. We named her Juliet and she is the perfect addition to our family. 

I was absolutely TERRIFIED of giving birth for most of my life, and although I have always wanted to be a mom, I had always questioned whether I would be strong and brave enough to do something that scary. People kept telling me that I was stronger than I thought and that birth would be surprisingly natural, and they were actually right. It was not nearly as scary as I had always imagined. For me personally, having an epidural was 100% the right choice because it made the task of delivering a baby so much less daunting. Everything went so smoothly and I felt incredibly blessed! My little Juliet is even more perfect and beautiful than I ever hoped or imagined, and every part of the labor process was absolutely worth it to bring her into the world. ♥ 

*Note about delivering during COVID-19 pandemic: I was allowed 2 visitors, but only one at a time, meaning that if someone else came to visit me, my husband would have to leave temporarily. I didn’t like that idea, so I had my husband stay with me the whole time and didn’t have anyone else visit. My husband was free to come and go from the hospital as he pleased. The hospital policy asked us to wear masks whenever a hospital staff member entered our room, but all of our nurses were super understanding and told us we didn’t need to worry. We still tried to adhere to the policy most of the time, but I definitely didn’t wear a mask while I was pushing!! 

Wasn’t that great? Amy gave such great details, and I could really feel her emotion when her daughter was born! Thanks so much to Amy for sharing her story on the Honest Birth series! If you want to reach out to her, you can follow her on Instagram at @amy.balaich. I’ve got a few more coronavirus birth stories on deck, so keep checking back!

The post Honest Birth #36 featuring Amy Balaich appeared first on Life With My Littles.

When you’ve got kids, being stuck at home is hard. Emotions run high, you can burn out easily, and it’s easy to let yourself hide in the bathroom and eat OREOs.

We’re over a month into being stuck at home (six weeks, actually) and we’ve definitely had our ups and downs. And regardless of if you’ve got young kids who need constant attention or older kids in school who are now going to school online, life is hard for everyone right now.

We’re still trying to solidify a daily schedule that works for us, but over the last few weeks, I’ve noticed a few things that really make a difference in how our day goes. These five simple things have a big impact on the overall mood of the day, and when we do them, I feel a lot more calm, in control, and like we’re actually accomplishing things each day.

Regardless of if you feel like you’re trying to survive one day at a time, or if you’re just looking for a way to make things feel more normal, here are five things to do to make your day go well while you’re stuck at home.

5 Simple Things to Do to Make Your Day Go Well

Get dressed

Even if you’re just switching from sleeping leggings to around-the-house leggings, get dressed. Put on something different that’s at least a little more put together. It can still be comfortable, but just get dressed. And make your kids all get dressed, too. The first two weeks of social distancing my kids wore their pajamas all day and it made life feel more chaotic and crazy.

Make beds

Make your bed and have your kids make their beds (or help them make it). Your house will feel more put together, and getting it done in the morning really helps your day get off on the right foot. Plus it won’t be an eyesore every time you walk past a bedroom! And who doesn’t love getting into a made bed every night?

Make a list of three things to do that day

I’ve tried doing longer lists, or just making lists for the week, but I get overwhelmed and burn out quickly and then nothing gets done, or everything gets done in one day and everyone’s grumpy. So pick three things that you either have to do that day, or that you just want to do, and write them down somewhere so you can see them and then cross them off when they’re done. You’ll have a loose plan for the day and you’ll feel accomplished at night when you know you got things done that day!

Go outside

Unless it’s raining or snowing or it’s freezing outside (it snowed in Minnesota last week!), get yourself outside! Go for a walk or a bike ride in the park or around your neighborhood. You can even just play in the backyard, draw on the driveway with chalk, or let your kids ride their bikes around in front of your house while you sit and do nothing. Going outside is a great way to break up the day and get some fresh air, and it has improved our days every time we’ve gone outside!

Have alone time or quiet time

This is important when life is normal, and it’s imperative when life is crazy, like right now! I love my kids and it’s nice to spend so much time with them right now, but if I don’t get a break in the middle of the day, I lose my mind. So let them watch TV for an hour, make them read books or play in their rooms, or take advantage of nap time if your kids still nap. Just make sure you are getting some time to yourself every single day. Waking up before your kids doesn’t count, and neither does time between their bedtime and yours.

I wish we knew when this was all going to end, but since there’s really no way to tell right now, we just have to make the best of it. This pandemic is crazy and social distancing is hard, but it won’t last forever and life will eventually go back to normal.

In the meantime, hopefully these five simple things to do to make your day go better will in fact, help make your days go better! Good luck, mamas!

Check out the other posts in my Stuck at Home series here:

• 36 Things to Do With Kids
• 35 Things to Cook With Kids
• Working From Home With Kids
• 10 Things to Watch With Kids
• 7 Ways to Stay Connected With Friends and Family

The post Stuck at Home: 5 Things to Do to Make Your Day Go Well appeared first on Life With My Littles.

It wasn’t until the last few years that I’ve realized how much I enjoy connection with other people.

I used to think of myself as very introverted, and I am, but I’ve discovered that talking to friends frequently and feeling the bonds of sisterhood really bring me joy (as cheesy as that sounds).

Of course right after I’ve embraced this about myself, this whole pandemic happens and hanging out with friends becomes forbidden.

Luckily, there are still ways to stay connected with friends and family when you’re stuck at home. If you’re struggling to feel connection with other adults like I have been the last month, here are some ideas to help:

Ways to Stay Connected When You’re Stuck at Home

One-on-One Video Chat

FaceTime, Google Duo, or Skype are all great ways to video chat with friends when you can’t see them in person. I’ve called a few friends on FaceTime and it’s been great to see their faces and check in on them!

Phone Games

I don’t usually play games on my phone, but I do like ones where you can play with people you actually know. My sister and I play the game called Draw Something, kind of like pictionary, and it helps us feel connected even though we’re far away.

Netflix Party

Have you heard of the Netflix Party? You can watch synchronized Netflix shows and movies with people in your own homes! There’s a group chat so you can talk about what you’re watching, host long-distance movie nights, and binge shows together! If you normally get together regularly and watching things, this is a way you sort of still can!

Marco Polo

Marco Polo is an app that my family tried to get me to download for a few years, but I didn’t until we got stuck at home last month. Basically you send short videos back and forth, you can watch them in real time, and you can add filters or change your voice. It’s kind of like a video chat but you can watch the videos at your leisure so you can have conversations all day long and actually see your friends’ faces!

Google Hangout or Zoom Meetings

If you want to talk to multiple people at once (like your family or a group of friends), try using Google Hangouts or Zoom meetings! You can even use a virtual background if you have a plain background or a green screen behind you. I’ve done this a few times with friends from church, and even though we were having meetings, it was still so good to chat with each other!

Drive By and Say Hi in the Car

Just because you can’t get closer than six feet doesn’t mean you can’t still see each other in person! So hop in your car and drive to their house or to a park or something and just chat in your cars! You can even have a car picnic and eat lunch in your own car while talking!

Mail Letters

I know this takes a little longer, but getting handwritten letters is so fun! Decide to become temporary pen pals with someone and send letters back and forth! It’ll brighten your day when you get their responses and help you feel connected!

There are lots of ways to stay connected with friends and family, even if you can’t be closer than 6 feet away! It’s a bummer and it’s definitely weird to not be able to get closer than that, but it’s not going to be forever!

If you’ve been feeling isolated and lonely, try one or two of these ways to stay connected and reach out to your friends. I bet they’re feeling the same way!

Check out the other posts in my Stuck at Home series here:

• 36 Things to Do With Kids
• 35 Things to Cook With Kids
• 10 Things to Watch with Kids
• Working From Home With Kids

The post Stuck at Home: 7 Ways to Stay Connected With Friends and Family appeared first on Life With My Littles.

This whole distance learning combined with social distancing and staying home thing has been kicking my butt.

I meant to get a bunch of posts up in this “Stuck at Home” series before we moved, but like I said, things have been complicated lately.

But today I’m finally posting another resource (better late than never!) full of fun things to watch at home with your kids while you’re stuck there. Sometimes it can get repetitive watching the same TV shows or movies over and over, and these videos are a great way to mix things up while we’re all confined to our houses!

Live Videos

The author of Pete the Cat, James Dean, does Instagram Live videos every weekday, and they are so fun! He teaches kids to draw characters from his books, talks about art, and reads one of his books. He’s affectionately nicknamed his following the “Pete the Cat Club” and we love it!

The Cincinnati Zoo hosts home safaris on their Facebook Lives every day at 3pm EDT. They highlight one of their animals in the videos, and then suggest a fun activity for you to do at home!

Ocean’s Initiative has been hosting a Virtual Marine Biology Camp on Facebook Live twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays at 2pm EDT. They’ve done episodes about seals, dolphins, whales, and even sounds in the ocean! If your child is interested in marine life, it’s a great educational resource!

YouTube Videos

National Geographic Kids has an awesome channel with a few different video series. They have series like “Weird, but True,” “Explorer Academy,” “Destination World,” “Best Job Ever,” and “Are We There Yet.” If you are in the mood to learn something new, check out NatGeo Kids!

Dude Perfect isn’t an educational channel, but my kids LOVE their videos! They’re a bunch of guys who started off doing crazy trick shots and now they have all kinds of fun videos, including funny stereotypes (that are always spot on), battles, and a show called “Overtime.”

DoleTube is one of my new favorites because we’ve been able to learn about some of our favorite fruits, how they grow, and how they make it to our stores! I wouldn’t recommend all the videos, but the ones about bananas are so cool!

Exercise Videos

You may be living under a rock if you’ve never heard of Cosmic Kids Yoga. The videos feature yoga, mindfulness, and guided relaxation, and are designed specially for kids aged 3 and up. My kids’ favorite is the Frozen yoga video. She goes through the story and they do yoga moves along with her! A lot better than sitting on the couch!

Disney Family has a series of exercise videos on YouTube called “Get Moving with Disney Family” where, similar to Cosmic Kids yoga videos, you do exercises that go along with different Disney movies. There’s Peter Pan, Moana, The Jungle Book, The Incredibles, The Lion King, and Mulan.

Little Sports is another channel that has a bunch of exercise videos for kids. They’re animated, and not all of them are great, but they have them for all body types and they can keep your kiddos active while at home!

Okay, so KidzBop isn’t necessarily “exercise” but their channel has tons of dance-along videos for kids to watch and dance along to! They also have “Daily Dance Breaks” every day at 3pm EDT.

Books Being Read by Authors and Celebrities

Storylineonline.net is a website with a bunch of videos of celebrities reading books out loud. There are TONS of books to listen to, and even one with the child actors from This Is Us! Adorable!

The Instagram account @savewithstories has more videos of celebrities reading books. The best part is that there’s a great mission behind the account, too! In partnership with Save the Children and No Kid Hungry, they offering stories to provide fun and education to kids and parents stuck at home during the coronavirus outbreak. It’s free, but you can also donate to help make sure schools and community programs have the support they need to keep brains and bellies full. You’re also supporting our important work to meet the health, education and nutrition needs of kids in other countries impacted by coronavirus. How cool is that?!

The hashtag #operationstorytime also has lots of videos on Instagram of authors and other celebrities reading books. Maybe you can find your child’s favorite book!

Cooking Shows

There are lots of great shows about cooking, both that you can just watch and enjoy, and that you can cook along with at home. My kids love Kids’ Baking Championship, Cupcake Wars, and Girl Scout Cookie Championship. Taste Buds Kitchen started a free at-home cooking club you can sign up for that features videos of easy recipes with simple ingredients you probably already have, every Tuesday and Thursday at 2pm EST. And for every sign up, they donate $1 to No Kid Hungry!

GoNoodle

GoNoodle is an app, a website, and a YouTube channel, but I’m giving it its own category because it offers so many different things. Your child likely has had experience with GoNoodle in their classroom, so they can probably tell you about it! They have lots of different options for active screen time, from dance parties, yoga sessions, mindfulness activities, and game sessions. We have the app on our Roku and the kids love doing the videos!

Competition Shows

I know I already had two competition shows listed in my cooking show section, but I have more to tell you about! LEGO Masters is one my first-grader especially loves, and of course American Ninja Warrior is always fun to watch!

Your Favorite Movies and TV Shows From When You Were a Kid

Now I can’t promise they’ll all be as good as you remember, or that they’ll all be as innocent as you remember, and there’s a chance your kids won’t like every movie or TV show you show them, but now’s the time to watch those classics you’ve always wanted to show your kids! If you don’t have a subscription to a streaming service that features a lot of old movies and shows (like Disney+ or Amazon Prime), you can usually rent movies and TV shows online for a few dollars!

Drawing Videos

Mo Willems, author of the Elephant and Piggie series, is the Education Artist-in-Residence at the Kennedy Center, and for three weeks he hosted “Lunch Doodles” where he showed kids how to draw! There are 15 episodes and you can watch them all on the Kennedy Center website.

Joe Wos is a cartoonist who has a YouTube channel called “How To Toon” where he shares all kinds of video tutorials to teach kids how to draw cartoons! He’s been doing daily live streams that you can check out on his channel. If your kid likes to draw, they might enjoy his videos!

My kids also love Art for Kids Hub on YouTube. They have hundreds of drawing videos, from preschool-level to advanced.

Animal Shows

Disneynature has some great animal movies. We just watched Dolphin Reef, and are in the middle of Diving with Dolphins. There’s also Elephants, Penguins, Bears, Chimpanzee, African Cats, and several others. They are fun to watch because the footage is incredible and you get to learn about animals!

The series Planet Earth is great for learning about animals, too! If you don’t have a copy, you can watch it on Discovery!

Our Planet is a show similar to Planet Earth that’s available on Netflix and is narrated by the same person as Planet Earth. It’s like, the streamable version of Planet Earth!

If you’re burned out from watching too many episodes of My Little Pony or Mickey and the Roadster Racers, hopefully you can turn to one of these fun things to watch with kids while you’re stuck at home!

Remember, this social distancing madness won’t last forever, and things will go back to normal. If you’re spending a lot of time in front of the TV, don’t feel too guilty about it. We’re all just in survival mode right now, and doing what we have to to make it through the day! You’ve got this, mama!

Check out the other posts in my Stuck at Home series here:

• 36 Things to Do With Kids
• 35 Things to Cook With Kids
• Working From Home With Kids
• 7 Ways to Stay Connected With Friends and Family

The post Stuck at Home: 10 Things to Watch with Kids appeared first on Life With My Littles.

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We’ve been stuck at home for almost three weeks now, and things are getting kind of boring. Sure, we’re also in the middle of moving and we’re trying to learn how to do distance learning, but when we aren’t busy with that, I often hear “I’m bored!”

I’m going to guess that you’re in a similar boat. Let’s name the boat USS Social Distancing Survival. Because for reals, we’re all just on survival mode right now!

And since everything I do with Life With My Littles is to help other moms not only survive motherhood, but enjoy it, I really wanted to put together a few posts to help out! That’s how this “Stuck at Home” series was born!

I’ve got a few posts coming your way (hopefully soon, but again, we move in two days!) that will give you lots of ideas of things to do, cook, watch, and learn with your kids. I tried to keep them simple and make pick things that I’d actually want to do, too, so I’m hoping that all you mama friends out there will want to do them, too!

Let’s jump right in (because I know the real reason you’re here) and kick off this series!

36 Things to do with Kids at Home

1. Scavenger hunts
2. Puzzles
3. Read aloud or audio books
4. LEGO challenges (build the tallest tower, the fastest car, etc.)
5. Bake or cook with your kids
6. Play card games or board games
7. Make cards for people in nursing homes
8. Go through toys and clothes and pick things to donate
9. Build a fort
10. Karaoke
11. Camp indoors (set up your tent, toast marshmallows over the stove)
12. Let your kids do YOUR hair and makeup
13. Sensory bin
14. Paper airplane contest
15. Paint pet rocks
16. Obstacle course
17. Draw portraits of each other
18. Perler beads
19. Let your kids have a fashion show with your clothes
20. Make sock puppets or paper bag puppets and put on a puppet show
21. Tape up a big piece of butcher paper (or the back of wrapping paper) and let your kids create a mural
22. DIY laser maze
23. Create a masking tape car track on the carpet or sofa
24. Write inspirational messages on sidewalks, trails, or driveways
25. Watch family videos or a photo slideshow
26. Indoor fishing
27. Make something out of a cardboard box
28. Play with water beads
29. Melt down broken crayons to make new ones using silicone molds
30. Dress up fancy and have a photoshoot
31. Make an indoor volcano
32. Try to learn a magic trick
33. Stack cups
34. Make a toy car wash
35. Make a DIY no-sew crash mat
36. Homemade playdough

There are so many things you can do at home, but it can be hard to come up with ideas when you’re burned out because you’ve already been stuck at home for weeks. I hope this list of things to do with kids while you’re stuck at home will help you out! We’re all in this together, mama!

Check out the other posts in my Stuck at Home series:

• 35 Things to Cook with Kids
• 10 Things to Watch With Kids
• Working From Home With Kids
• 7 Ways to Stay Connected With Friends and Family

The post Stuck at Home: 36 Things to Do with Kids appeared first on Life With My Littles.

Before I even get started with this post, I want to explain what I mean by “spirituality,” because it can mean a lot of different things. Spirituality, in terms of this post, refers to connection to something bigger than ourselves.

For some spirituality can mean feeling connected to God, a higher being, the universe, or nature. Spirituality includes the beliefs and values that guide you, finding meaning in your life, and having inner peace. It’s not going to be exactly the same for anyone because we all have different life experiences that shape us.

I’m including spirituality in my self-care series because I think there are lots of self-care ideas that relate to spirituality. I also think that it’s important to take care of our spirits, because when we don’t, we can feel lost and like we don’t have direction in our lives. Nobody wants that!

I also wanted to make sure that the self-care ideas I included for taking care of our spiritual selves fit for people of all beliefs. I’m a religious person, but I know that many people aren’t, and I wanted to include all mamas, regardless of what they believe.

Here are 10 self-care ideas for spirituality to help moms feel connected to something bigger than themselves.

Self-Care Ideas for Spirituality

Meditate

There is very little peace and quiet in a mother’s life, and sometimes that’s exactly what we need to feel calm and know what we’re supposed to do with out lives. So after your kids are in bed, while they’re napping or at school, or in the morning before you get out of bed, just sit in silence for a while. Take deep breaths, focus on your breathing, and try to clear your mind. It might feel weird at first, but if you keep it up, you’ll notice a difference in your spiritual well-being.

Practice mindfulness

I almost didn’t even want to use the word “mindfulness” because it’s so overused, but being intentional and mindful of what’s going on in your life, around you, and inside you is important. It can help you appreciate and recognize all that you have, and help you stay calm when things start to get chaotic. This podcast episode from Awesome with Alison is a good place to get started if you have no idea what I’m talking about.

Read something inspiring

What you read is totally up to you. It might be an uplifting book, scripture, a powerful talk or sermon, or a self-help book. Reading always helps me think bigger and is a great way to expose yourself to new perspectives and ideas.

Go for a walk

The key here is that you go by yourself, without headphones, so you can pay attention to what you hear, see, and even smell. Not only will you feel better just because you’re moving your body, but you’ll be able to clear your mind, think, and enjoy nature.

Get together with people who have similar beliefs

The most common way to do this is going to church, but if you aren’t religious, you can still find a local group with similar beliefs that you can meet up with. I love listening to people with the same beliefs as I do and hearing their stories and their perspectives on different things. It’s so eye-opening and inspiring.

Pray

Traditionally, people pray to God, but if you don’t believe in God, you can pray to whatever you believe in! Pray in a quiet place either out loud or in your head. Prayer is a great way to reflect on what you have as well as what you might need help with, and communicate those thoughts to the higher being you believe in. I know people who “pray” simply by asking the Universe for what they want! It really doesn’t have to be a big formal thing if you don’t want it to be.

Be grateful

Being aware of all the good things in your life and having gratitude for them is a great way to take care of yourself spiritually because it helps open your eyes to all that you have, which then lifts your spirits! Look around you at all that you have, big and little. You can even take it one step further and start writing in a gratitude journal. Even just sitting down to write one thing a day can help you see all that you have in your life.

Plant something and tend to it

It’s hard to match the fulfillment I have felt standing in my garden smelling the soil and eating fresh vegetables. There’s just something so unique about growing plants. Watching them grow really brings you a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction! Sure, so does raising a kid, but unlike kids, plants don’t talk back.

Watch a sunrise or sunset

Want to feel connected to something bigger than yourself? It’s pretty much impossible not to feel that when you’re watching a beautiful sunrise or sunset. One of my friends recently shared that she’s been trying to catch the sunrise every morning and how it’s changed the way she starts her day. Now every time it’s clear enough to see the sunrise, I take a moment to really stand there and appreciate it. It’s such a simple thing to do for self-care, and it’s hard to describe why it makes me feel good, but it really helps me start my day with a feeling that I am not alone in the universe.

Sing

I’ve never been a great singer, and I don’t like singing in choirs or big groups, but singing hymns at church and at home is my one big exception. There’s so much power that can come from singing, especially when it’s about or directed towards a higher being. Song lyrics can be so emotional and heartfelt, and I love the feeling I get when I sing hymns. And again, if you don’t believe in God, the songs you sing to lift you up don’t have to be religious!

Being a mama is draining in all areas of our lives, and that definitely includes our spirits. Taking care of our spirituality can help guide us and help us find direction, meaning, and purpose in our lives. The times in my life when I’ve taken care of my spirit are the times in my life when I’ve been the strongest, even when hard things were happening around me. We need all the strength we can get in motherhood, no matter what we believe in.

Check out the other posts in the Self-Care for Moms series:

• Self-Care for Moms – A Six-Part Series
• Self-Care for Moms – Physical Health
• Self-Care for Moms – Mental Health
• Self-Care for Moms – Finding Yourself
• Self-Care for Moms – Connection

The post Self-Care for Moms – Spirituality appeared first on Life With My Littles.

When we have kids, motherhood often becomes what we identify with. Our kids become our whole world, and it makes sense that our #1 roles are as mothers. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.

But after a while, we can begin to lose ourselves in all the diapers and crustless sandwiches. We don’t set aside time for our own interests or our own learning. Part of being a mom involves putting others’ needs before ours, and we get so good at it that after a while, we don’t even know what our own needs are anymore. Who you used to be before having kids might not be who you are now, and that’s okay.

Several times when I’ve asked what people want to read about on my blog, I’ve gotten responses related to not losing yourself in motherhood and how to feel fulfilled in areas outside of motherhood. It’s pretty common that once we become moms, the person we once were fades into the background (but she doesn’t disappear!).

So how do you find yourself? And why am I including that in my self-care series?

I think finding yourself involves getting to know yourself again. I think it means taking time for yourself and remembering that you’re more than a mom. Being a mom is amazing, but it’s okay to want to be more, too.

I also think that doing things outside of motherhood is self-care because it truly involves taking care of yourself as a person. It’s you focusing on you, and that’s the basis of self-care.

You might be thinking that you don’t have time to find yourself right now. You might have a needy baby or a whiny toddler. Maybe you have a few kids at home and just don’t feel like you can spend time on yourself until all your kids are in school, which might be years away.

I promise that you don’t have to wait to rediscover who you are. You don’t even necessarily have to have time apart from your kids. You can find yourself whether you’re a stay-at-home mom or a working mom or whatever kind of mom you identify with. You can do it!

I will say that finding yourself isn’t something that just happens. Finding yourself requires extra effort and you do have to consciously work at it.

So, are you ready to put in the work? Are you ready to find yourself? Yes? Awesome! Here are a few self-care ideas for finding yourself.

Self-Care Ideas for Finding Yourself

If you have any interest in something, try it

Always wanted to learn to watercolor? Buy some paints and brushes and try it out. You can learn lots of things from watching YouTube videos. Have a secret desire to grow your own food? Start with a small patio garden and go from there.

If you have even just a small interest in trying something, just do it. Read a book, watch a video, listen to a podcast, or take a class. You may have a hidden talent just waiting to be discovered! And even if you end up not liking something, you’ll have learned a little more about who you are and what you like!

Make a plan to work towards your dreams

Your dream can be anything you want it to be, but if you don’t actually take steps to achieve it, your dream will always just be a dream. If you want something, take steps towards making it happen! Even if your plan just has a few steps, sit down and write it out. You’ll have more clarity and know what you need to do to accomplish your dream.

Think about what you’re good at and what you’re bad at

Then work on both things! Work on improving your skill level in things you’re good at and try to get better at things you’re bad at. Of course, if the things you’re bad at aren’t things you enjoy, don’t do them. But if they’re things you’d like to improve on, practice!

Plan something for yourself without worrying if your kids will like it

Too often as moms we plan our days around our kids. We go to playgrounds and McDonald’s and kids’ movies. So plan something for yourself! Regardless of if your kids will be in tow, pick something that you’re going to enjoy. Go to an art or history museum, see a play or a concert, make yourself lunch that involves more than just crusts from your child’s sandwich. Even if they don’t like what you do or prepare, you will, and that’s what matters when you’re trying to take care of the woman who is more than a mother.

Say yes to things you want to do

Another thing we do as moms is say no to things because we have kids, even if it’s something we want to do. So start saying yes! If you want to go see a movie with your friends after your kids are in bed, do it! Find a babysitter if your spouse won’t be home to sit with them while they sleep. Stop finding reasons not to do things and start living your life outside of motherhood!

Get your kids interested in things you’re interested in

One of the things I’m proudest of is that my kids like things that I like. Being a mom hasn’t taken away my love of Harry Potter or dinosaurs, and I’ve transferred that love to my kids now! Who cares if the things you like aren’t necessarily “kid things.” Kids can like things you like, too, as long as they’re not inappropriate. You don’t have to put your interests on hold or in the closet just because you have kids!

The whole point of this self-care for moms series is to remind you and motivate you to take care of yourself as an individual. You have needs and dreams and interests, and it’s just as important to satisfy those things now as it was before you became a mother.

If you’ve lost yourself along the way, that’s okay. It happens to the best of us. But decide today to start taking back what you’ve lost. Decide to find yourself again. Find joy, find fulfillment, find out who you are right now, and enjoy being that person! You’re amazing, mamas!

Check out the other posts in the Self-Care for Moms series:

• Self-Care for Moms – A Six-Part Series
• Self-Care for Moms – Physical Health
• Self-Care for Moms – Mental Health
• Self-Care for Moms – Spirituality
• Self-Care for Moms – Connection

The post Self-Care for Moms – Finding Yourself appeared first on Life With My Littles.

I’d like to argue that mental health is the most important part of self-care for moms.

We can take care of our bodies and feel like we have things going on outside of motherhood, have mom friends and feel spiritually fed, but if we aren’t taking care of our mental health, none of that is going to make a difference.

When we feel stressed or anxious or depressed or overwhelmed or hopeless, even if it’s just for a little bit, it impacts our ability to function and impacts the people around us.

We aren’t supposed to be stressed or sad or down all the time. Sure, it’s normal to have a bad day, but if you’re having bad days every day, something might be wrong!

Mental health can get in the way of doing everyday activities. It can prevent you from feeling up to getting out of bed, packing lunches, doing laundry, running errands, visiting with friends, and playing with your kids. That can be a problem!

Just like any other part of our bodies, our minds can get sick. It doesn’t mean you’re being punished or you did something wrong, it’s not a weakness, and it’s not your fault. Mental illness can happen to anyone.

One of the most important things to remember is that it’s okay to ask for help. In fact, sometimes things won’t get better unless you do. Mental illnesses also affect moms long after the postpartum period has ended. So don’t feel like just because you didn’t have a baby recently you can’t ask for help. You can.

I know it’s hard for moms to seek out mental health care. It took me months to finally go to the doctor for my PMDD. But one more day of suffering is one more day of suffering, and if you put it off, you’ll just keep suffering and feeling pain! The hardest part of getting help is taking the first step, whether that’s telling someone how you feel, scheduling an appointment for yourself, or even acknowledging that something isn’t right.

The only way things are going to get easier is to open up and talk about them. And not only can opening up help you, but it can also help others who are dealing with the same things.

Now I know that not everybody suffers from mental illness. And even if you don’t struggle with depression or anxiety or any mental illness that can be diagnosed, it’s still important to take care of your mental health!

And regardless of whether or not you have a mental illness, there are things you can (and should!) do to help you stay on top of your mental health.

Self-Care for Moms: Ideas for Better Mental Health

Take time to breathe, reflect, and sit still

This one is definitely harder said than done when you’re a mom, but it’s important. Sometimes we’re going so fast all day long that we forget to be still. It can help you feel more calm (obviously) and present.

Find an outlet

There are several things that could help you release any tension or stress you feel. It might be meditation (the Motherhood Unstressed podcast is a great tool for this!), doing something creative like painting or knitting, reading (fiction or non-fiction!), or journaling (the Dive Thru app is a really cool journaling app that gives you guided journaling exercises to help you take charge of your mental wellbeing-even after one session I felt more clarity and direction!).

Acknowledge your feelings

It might be hard, but you have to acknowledge the feelings that you’re having, good or bad. You’re allowed to have all feelings, and you shouldn’t feel bad or ashamed or deny the feelings you have just because they aren’t “good” feelings. Acknowledge your feelings, feel them, and if you can, move on. If you can’t, do more of these ideas!

Talk about how you feel

Once you’ve acknowledged your feelings and maybe even written them down, you need to talk about them. It might be with a friend, your spouse, a parent, a therapist, a doctor, or even someone anonymous. Saying the words out loud is harder than writing them down, but it can help you start to heal. And chances are, you’re not the only one feeling those things, either!

Read or display affirmations

And I don’t just mean things like “you’re beautiful” and “you are loved,” which are great, and you should definitely read those, too. But I think there are better affirmations to help your mental health. Things like “you can do this,” “this will pass,” “they’ll grow out of it,” “no one has it all together,” “don’t compare yourself,” and “I can do this.” Say one of those to yourself when your feeling like a hot mess and it might help you feel more grounded and like you have a handle on things!

Take a break from screens

I love me some screen time (Disney+ is my FAVE), but it can really help clear your mind and help you refocus on what’s important when you take a break from screens. Try disconnecting one day a week and see how it can help your mental health. I stay off of social media every Sunday and it’s honestly refreshing! If my business wasn’t done primarily on social media, I would probably do it more often! It helps me be present and connect with my family and friends more (which is of course good for your mental health!).

Find a way to keep track of your thoughts and ideas

One thing I struggle with is feeling like I’m going to forget ideas that I have. It might be groceries I need to get, ideas for blog posts or my kids’ birthday parties, or something I want to do for a friend. I usually get these ideas at night and lay in bed for hours feeling anxious trying to keep all my thoughts straight. Something that helps me (a lot) is writing these late-night ideas in the reminders section of my phone. You may want to do something similar, or use a notebook or planner to keep track of things. Mamas are BUSY and have so much to manage, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed and feel anxious when you feel like you’re going to forget to do all the things you have to do!

Treat it

Sometimes doing these things isn’t enough. Sometimes, it’s not just a bout of sadness or a single panic attack. Sometimes, you need to treat your mental health. And when it comes to that, you can try natural remedies, therapy, or medication. Sometimes a combination of these things is what you might need. Everyone is different, so treatment looks different for everyone. And if you can’t afford therapy (because it is dang expensive), or you just want to do it from home, check out the app Bloom. It combines interactive video sessions with guided CBT journaling exercises to give users a new and affordable way to therapy and improve their mental well-being (even if you don’t have a mental illness, it’s great!).

Have a plan in place

Make a plan before things get bad, before you feel like you’re going to breakdown and lose it. Pick something you can do when you feel like things are getting too dark so when you get to that point, you’re not lost at what to do. It might be to call your mom or best friend, get outside for even just a few minutes to breathe, sit in your car and close your eyes, or go buy your favorite Starbucks drink and drive around for a while. Deciding beforehand what you’re going to do when you’re about to crack will make it easier when the time comes to do something positive instead of negative.

Whether you suffer from a mental illness or not, it’s important to take care of your mental health. Mamas, we need to take care of ourselves in order to take care of the people around us, and that absolutely includes taking care of our mental health. Fortunately, people are talking more about mental health these days, but there’s still so much more we can do. When we’re open and we share our struggles and successes, we can help not only ourselves, but others struggling with their own mental health, too.

Check out the other posts in the Self-Care for Moms series:

• Self-Care for Moms – A Six-Part Series
• Self-Care for Moms – Physical Health

Check out the other posts in the Self-Care for Moms series:

• Self-Care for Moms – A Six-Part Series
• Self-Care for Moms – Physical Health
• Self-Care for Moms – Finding Yourself
• Self-Care for Moms – Spirituality
• Self-Care for Moms – Connection

The post Self-Care for Moms – Mental Health appeared first on Life With My Littles.

Hey mamas! I’m so thrilled to kick off my self-care for moms series today with a post all about taking care of your physical health!

When I sat down and broke self-care down into five parts, the first one I wrote down was physical health.

Physical health is an important part of self-care for moms because it’s so critical to our overall well-being. If our bodies aren’t healthy and functioning at their best, we can’t take care of everything on our plates.

As moms we spend so much time taking care of everyone around us, but sometimes we neglect to take care of ourselves, especially our physical health. We make excuses that we don’t have time or we’re “too busy” or we have other priorities, but if our bodies aren’t healthy, we can’t do any of those things anyway!

I have a few self-care tips for physical health that I want to share today that are simple, but when implemented, can really make a big difference in your ability to function at your best. And yes, I know that some of these seem like “duh, of course that keeps you healthy,” but honestly, sometimes we just need to be reminded to do them!

Self-Care for Moms: Tips to Help you Keep Up on Your Physical Health

Go to the doctor

There are several appointments that we should be keeping up on in order to help our bodies function at their best. Think for a minute when the last time you had a physical was? What about a pap smear (unpleasant, but important)? When did you go to the dentist last or get an eye exam? Do you even remember?

It’s easy to schedule appointments for your kids, but so hard to schedule them for yourself because they often involve finding someone to watch your kids while you go. But if we don’t go to the doctor and make sure our bodies are functioning at their best, we may find out later on that something’s wrong and it might be too late to take care of it.

Along with this, keeping track of your medical appointments is important. Mommy brain is so real, and unless you write it down in a specific place, you probably aren’t going to remember when the last time you had all these things done was. So make a note in your phone, take a page in your planner, or draw a chart in your journal and use it to track appointments so you won’t get behind.

And if you can’t schedule out appointments months in advance, a good way to remember to schedule them is to put a sticky note in your planner or make a reminder on your phone when you need to schedule them. I use sticky notes and it always works for me!

Be aware of what you eat

Eating foods that are good for you is also important for your physical health and self-care because it can impact not only your energy level, but also how you feel. I’m not going to say to go on a diet or cut out sweets or anything, but just make smart choices, get the right nutrition, and listen to your body.

Get enough sleep

Are moms ever not tired? The jury’s still out on this one, but I know that when I get a good night’s sleep, I’m able to function so much better the next day. Obviously some stages of motherhood make it hard to get enough sleep (the baby stage, in particular!), but if you make an effort to go to bed at a certain time every night or wake up at a certain time in the morning, you’ll feel a difference!

Drink more water

It feels dumb to add this to the list, but drinking more water than soda or coffee is probably something we should aim for! Water helps your skin, energizes your muscles, keeps your organs functioning properly, help you feel more full (source), and prevents dehydration!

Exercise

Again, obviously this is going to improve your physical health, but have you ever thought of it as self-care? I have gone through periods in my life where I’ve exercised regularly and when exercise was non-existent, and guess when I felt better? Duh, when I’m exercising regularly! It not only helps me feel physically good, but also helps me clear my mind, take a break, and do something that’s 100% for myself.

I also recognize that exercise is hard if you aren’t already in a routine. The key to enjoying exercise is to find something you love to do or something you’re good at and do that. It might still be hard (I run 3x a week and it’s hard every time), but I guarantee you’ll feel good after it’s over! It might be pilates, yoga, cross fit, spin class, or even jazzercise, but whatever it is, figure it out and go for it!

Get ready for the day

Make sure you shower, get yourself ready (at least brush your teeth!), and do whatever you need to to feel “ready” for the day. For some this might include a whole makeup and hair routine, and for others, it might include dry shampoo and a top knot. Either way, just do you.

When you get yourself ready for the day, you’re not only taking care of yourself physically, but mentally prepping yourself for the day ahead. Shower (either before your kids wake up or after they go to bed), wash your face, brush your teeth, and get dressed (even if it’s just switching from your pajama leggings to your day leggings). It’s a small thing that can have a big impact.

Now you might be reading these six tips and be thinking that this post was not helpful, you already knew all of this information, and that it seems like a waste of time for me to type all of this out and for you to read it.

Sure, these things are all obvious things you can do (and should be doing). We get told to exercise and eat healthy every time we turn on the TV. But honestly, how many of these things are you doing? Are you really taking care of yourself physically? Have you gotten a physical in the last year? Been to the dentist? When was the last time you drank eight 8-oz glasses of water in a day? How often do you eat vegetables (my personal failure!)?

Yeah, it’s kind of silly that I wrote all these out, but these five things are the basics of physical self-care, and making sure we are taking care of our physical health is important even if you “seem healthy.”

So pick one of these things and work on it for a week. Don’t try and do them all at once, and don’t feel like you’re a failure if you’re not doing any of these things. Give yourself grace, recognize that we all have things we’re good at and things we need to work on, and decide to make a change! Prioritizing your physical health is an important part of self-care for moms!

Check out the other posts in the Self-Care for Moms series:

• Self-Care for Moms – A Six-Part Series
• Self-Care for Moms – Mental Health
• Self-Care for Moms – Finding Yourself
• Self-Care for Moms – Spirituality
• Self-Care for Moms – Connection

The post Self-Care for Moms – Physical Health appeared first on Life With My Littles.

Any time I ask my fellow mamas on Instagram what kinds of posts they want to see or what things they need help with, self-care is always one of most requested topics.

Last year when I wrote my “New Year, New Mama” series, self-care was one of the topics that people wanted to see, and while I touched on it, it was just a brief mention in a bigger post.

I’ve been blogging for six and a half years, and I’ve never written a post about self-care. Why?

I truly believe that taking care of yourself is important, especially as a mama. The reason I’ve never written about it before is because it’s such a big topic; I didn’t know how to do it justice!

Over the last two months, I’ve spent a lot of time trying to think of everything that self-care covers. I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s going to take more than one post to cover everything I want to say–six actually.

For the next few weeks, I’m going to be breaking down self-care into five parts: physical health, mental health, finding yourself, spirituality, and connection. There are so many parts of us to take care of that I want to really dive in deep and go through them!

One of the things I really feel passionate about is helping mamas enjoy their lives, and if we’re not taking care of ourselves, it’s hard to feel happy and fulfilled! This self-care series is really meant to help you figure out how to take care of yourself so you can feel like you’re at your best.

I do want to mention a few things before we start talking about everything self-care.

First, if you want to make a plan for yourself and work on improving your own self-care, start with one thing at a time. If you try and do everything at once, you’ll be overwhelmed and discouraged and possibly even give up. We definitely don’t want that!

Second, give yourself grace. You don’t need to strive for perfection because we can’t achieve perfection in this life. You shouldn’t compare yourself to others, because we all come from different backgrounds and have different trials, strengths, and weaknesses.

Last, self-care is not optional. It’s not something you “should” be doing or something that only some people do. Self-care is something you have to do. You can’t drive a car on empty with low oil and flat tires, and you can’t function at your best when you don’t take care of your own empty tank, low oil, and flat tires, either.

My goal with this series is to encourage every mama to recognize how simple self-care can be and to make it a part of their everyday lives. When we take care of ourselves in all the ways we need to, we’ll be ready to take on the good, the bad, and the oh-my-goodness-don’t-put-my-keys-in-the-toilet days.

You’ve got this, Mama! It’s time to focus on you!

Check out the other posts in the Self-Care for Moms series:

• Self-Care for Moms – Physical Health
• Self-Care for Moms – Mental Health
• Self-Care for Moms – Finding Yourself
• Self-Care for Moms – Spirituality
• Self-Care for Moms – Connection

The post Self-Care for Moms – A Six-Part Series appeared first on Life With My Littles.