My baby is 9 months old!! I can’t believe it. Time truly does fly by, especially when you have little ones!!
We’ve made it to the 9 month mark.
My boy is a wild one, he loves being on the move, army crawling for now. Loves to play, play, PLAY all day. He is one happy baby, always laughing and smiling at us. He’s loving eating, still mainly purees but trying to work on more solids. Sleep is still a challenge for us but two nights ago he slept 10 hours! Woo! Then the next night we were back up to waking every 2 (that’s teething for you). So for the moms/dads out there still not getting any sleep I feel you, I see you, we will be OK!
So many milestones, so much growth, I couldn’t be a prouder mama. Now if I sit and think back on the last 9 months there is SO MUCH I’ve learned that I want to share with you all. These are extremely simple tips but I feel like they need to be said and I hope that they bring you some peace. Here’s to feeling a little less alone <3 Send me the Linc.
Ok lets get into it…
1. You CAN’T do everything, I repeat you CAN’T do everything.
You can’t do everything. We are already spread so thin, new mama, working mama, step mama, wife, sister, aunt, co-worker, fitness girly, homemaker, house cleaner, personal chef…the list goes on and on we where so many hats in one single day. Its physically impossible to do it all and give everyone and everything your full time/attention/energy. So what have I learned? You have to PICK AND CHOOSE what gets your time/attention/energy. Right now, my number one priority is my family; their wellbeing/happiness. My house? It’s a mess, my 9-5 work? It’s OK I’m not overachieving or doing anything extra like I had in the past. But what I AM doing is spending quality time with my baby, taking him on walks, getting down on the floor playing with him, because these are the things that I WANT to prioritize. So think about what YOU specifically want to prioritize, your list might be different than mine but my advice is to be ok with something being put on the ‘back burner’ for now, we aren’t saying forever, we are just saying for this season.
2. The house can be messy
The house can be messy! It’s ok IT’S LIVED IN.
We see all these shiny new-build houses on social media without a single crumb on their counter tops and that’s just not reality for most people! If it is your reality great love that for you, if it’s your reality sometimes when you have the time, also great, but when you are overwhelmed, overworked, time is limited, a few dust bunnies here and there aren’t going to hurt anybody! We try to do a quick 10 min ‘shut the house down’ every night we aren’t deep cleaning we aren’t even putting laundry away necessarily, but we organize the chaos so its out of the way and a problem for another day. It goes back to social media being a HIGHLIGHT reel of a moment in time for someone else, maybe their housecleaners just left, maybe they had time off work so I get it, I compare and I will be disappointed in myself like why can’t I keep up with the house and all the other things at the same time? Why can’t I afford a housekeeper or at least an once-a-month cleaning? Those things aren’t realistic for me right now and THAT’S OK.
3. You have to ask for help, people don’t just assume & show up
In the beginning when you first come home from the hospital so many people will just drop food off for you, offer to tidy up your home, or to hold the baby while you take a shower. All very generous things. But then once time passes people stop checking in, which is totally normal and expected, everyone has their own lives to worry about. So if you need help ASK. Want to go on a date night with your partner? Text someone you trust to watch the baby for a couple hours. I hope everyone has a good support system, but if you don’t try to look on facebook or social media platforms there are so many mommy groups you can find in your area.
4. Be Present. Live in this Moment.
Time is seriously so precious. It’s the only thing we can’t control, the only thing we can’t get back. My boy will only be 9 months old once!!! I am soaking in every single moment of it, the rocking to sleep, the morning cuddles, the baby smell, bath time, his face when he tries a new food, his face when he’s proud of himself for turning the pages on his book, every little detail I am cherishing every single moment. It is so easy to rush around, try to rush through dinner, try to rush to get the baby down for the night because you have dishes to wash or an email to answer. Slow down, live in the moment, breathe, activate all your senses and just be. Here’s an example of something I started to do recently. Instead of rushing to get dinner started, I put the baby in his highchair in the kitchen, and I let him watch me prep dinner and we take our time and we laugh and I talk to him about what I’m doing even though he has NO CLUE what I’m saying. But it makes the simple day-to-day tasks so. much. better. Creating our own special moments.
5. Don’t be so hard on yourself
And lastly, don’t be so hard on yourself mama. We are doing our best. We have our baby’s best interest in mind. We want the best for them and our family. We care. We try. We do. You are enough for them, you are more than enough, you are exactly what your baby needs. You were chosen to be their mama for a reason. Give yourself grace, give your body grace, you birthed a beautiful being, you are taking care of that beautiful being while still trying to juggle everything else in this world. You are doing great.
Sending you love, sending you the Linc.
Xoxo,
Kaitlin
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