I struggled for probably the first two years of my son’s life to find my balance as a new mom, wife, and educator.
I still don’t think it’s 100% now, but it’s a healthier balance for my mental and emotional well being. Yesterday, my mom and I talked about prioritizing parenting. She was recalling a conversation with another mom who was seemingly overwhelmed with all of her many responsibilities.
Prioritizing my parenting was something that took time. I had to find my rhythm with myself and my child. Sometimes I would wake up 2 hours earlier to get a workout in uninterrupted, to pray, or to have alone time with my husband. I was always behind on tv shows because watching them when my son was awake was not something I felt comfortable doing. This is the same now with two children. If a third comes along it will likely be the same.
There is enough time in the day for everything. It’s how we prioritize it that determines if we check off our entire to-do list. Sometimes we add too much to our to-do list for one day. We have to stop doing this. It adds unnecessary stress and anxiety. Sometimes you have to use a sick day at work to take a day off for yourself or spend the day with your child. Sometimes you have to ask for help from a grandparent or trusted family member. Prioritize your parenting with what is important with your mental health and emotional health in mind.
What helps me now with two kids and prioritizing my parenting is: following my cleaning checklist for a sanitized home. (Kids= not always tidy, but it’s always sanitized), giving God some time in my day (I aim for mornings) and praying throughout the day..nothing formal just talking to him, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit throughout the day, writing goals or ideas into a planner, using an alarm for reminders including our business callbacks, emails, etc, saying “no” or rescheduling as necessary.
You will notice that I didn’t include my husband into all of this because I like to keep it as real as possible with y’all. My husband is a great dad, but our kids will walk past him and find me every time. He makes them leave me alone when they try to wake up early and interrupt my time. That’s just what kids do. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
