Do you ever feel like you work and work and work only to feel like you’re a rat on a spinning wheel and the joke is on you–heads up, you’re not going anywhere? Like, you haven’t sat down or really taken a break in….hold on, days?! That even when the naps happen (do they really keep getting shorter??), there is always something to be done? Yeah, I’m coming to understand and embrace this mom-sane lifestyle.
Making a List, Checking it Thrice
You rise to feed your child, to play with the toys, to clean up the toys, to make the grocery list, to buy the groceries, to cook the dinners, to clean the dishes after the dinner, to squeeze in a shower, to feed Baby Boy (again), to spend time with your husband, to try to go to bed at a reasonable hour, all to wake up before the sun rises so you can begin again. It’s mom-sane!
And if you don’t throw in a “fun” or “different” outing, your life begins to squish together like the pea you squeeze between your finger and thumb to “baby-led wean.” You forget what day it is, forget what you did last weekend, forget what you might be doing this coming weekend, forget what you even ate last night. Forget what day it is…wait, did I already say that? SMH
You realize being “mom-sane” is a legitimate ailment, and you’ve been bit by the bug.
It’s in these early months that you begin to realize why moms are so exhausted, and you want to go and hug your own mom (heck, ALL the moms!) for all of her sacrifices (I don’t do it often enough!!).
Rubber Meets the Road
I think I am coming to understand that as a mom. That no matter what I do or where I go, I am always “on call.” Any cry in the night or afternoon, I am rushing to my son’s room, trying to determine what I should do. Get him up? Let him cry it out? Is he really scared or did he just wake fitfully, only to fall back asleep? Does he have enough “engaging” toys? Should I be reading to him hours a day? Have I signed him up for all the right classes?
But I’ve reached the point where I’m realizing, “Ok, this is my life. This is my life of cleaning up after someone, feeding someone, really taking care of someone and having someone depend heavily on me. I can’t escape it…no matter what.” And before I let myself go crazy, there are a few ways I cope with this “on-call” mentality.
Staying Mom-Sane in the Membrane
First, I begin and end the day in Thanksgiving, remembering that it is not me who is “in control” but God. He is the one who continues to make our little world spin. And recognizing I have a large and in charge God takes the pressure and focus off of me.
Second, I tell myself I cannot do it all, and it’s ok to let someone else help me. It’s hard for me not to just “do” everything. But when this happens of me trying to do it all, I become bitter and passive-aggressive. So instead, I let those around me help me.
Third, I take an afternoon (while Baby Boy is napping) or an evening (when someone else can watch my son) and do something for me. I turn off my phone and connect with those around me. It’s so fun to pound brownies and ice cream with other like-minded mamas. haha!
Fourth, I hug the people around me. I am so thankful for the husband, mom and dad, in-laws, other mamas, outlaws (wait, what?), and everyday people who make my little world go round. Momming is a community in which God has blessed me with a tribe!
Here are some great gratitude journals for new moms!
Grateful for You: A Mothers Journal to Write Letters to My Baby Keepsake
Good Days Start With Gratitude: A 52 Week Guide To Cultivate An Attitude Of Gratitude
Life’s Little Blessings: 12 Week Gratitude Journal For Moms After Giving Birth
And the deal with being mom-sane is that I get to love whole-heartedly this little human I made. I get to make the silliest faces and come up with the crazies games because…I’m head over heels for my little man. And when people ask me when we’re having the next one…I tell them I’m not THAT mom-sane. Hee hee.
