Healthy Chicks

When I became a mama 13 months ago, my greatest wish was fulfilled — I had my baby girl. But at the same time, I really struggled with my identity.

WHO AM I? IS “MOM” A JOB TITLE?

Taking on the new mom role (the hardest and most fulfilling job I’ve ever had), I naturally cut back on other things — taking on less freelance writing, dropping a few clients and skipping networking events in favor of baby snuggles. Yes I felt a little guilty, but that’s where my heart wanted to be: with my baby girl.

And I loved every minute of it. Sometimes I’d feel embarrassed or lazy for not “doing enough” for my business, and on the days I prioritized my work I’d feel tired or guilty for not being a “present” enough mom.

Now that we’re over a year in, I’m starting to get that itch again to get back in the groove with my business — I’m opening myself up to new freelance writing opportunities, going out of my comfort zone, teaching myself sales (in my own authentic way) and signing up for holiday vendor fairs while also being a mom.

Sometimes this means … Read More!

It takes a village. 

This phrase has never rang more true to me since becoming a mom.

For those who don’t know, two months ago my husband and I packed up our two-bedroom apartment, left Massachusetts (where we met, lived for the past 10 years, got pregnant and gave birth to Isabella) and moved back to Connecticut to live with my parents for the time being while we house-hunt.

The main reason we moved back home was to be closer to family — and once Isabella was born we knew we wanted to do it sooner than later. As a hybrid between a stay-at-home and work-from-home mom, I’ve been busy this past year taking care of our baby and taking care of business. It’s not perfect, and I’ve started to realize I can’t do everything 100%, 100% of the time. And that’s OK.

That said, it’s been difficult not having close family and friends nearby to lend a hand, cook a meal, or even just be there to remind you that you’ve got this or for some good ol’ fashioned adult conversation. For the most part it’s been me, myself and baby.

Since moving, the past month or so has … Read More!

Now that I’m approaching the one-year mark into this journey of motherhood (seriously, how?), I’ve been spending some time reflecting on the past year. Along with the joyous memories of baby coos, snuggles and those first giggles — which are seriously heart-melting — I can’t forget those challenging early days.

Being a mom is the most rewarding thing in the world, but taking care of a newborn is no joke!

While I was so overjoyed by my little bundle of joy finally being here in my arms, I was also overwhelmed with feelings of loneliness, confusion, doubt, and yes — sleep deprivation. This post from a week-and-a-half in sums up my feelings perfectly:

 

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Today was tough. Hubs went back to work this week, and little one has been cluster feeding during the day a.k.a. glued to the boob and nursing on the hour. 🤱 She screamed at the top of her lungs from 1-5pm unless I was holding her, and peed all over the changing table and her new outfit. I attempted to toast and reheat a waffle 3 times, which ended in one super burnt mess that I never got to eat

I mentioned before in this post that I have been making a conscious effort to cut back on social media use. And while I tried everything from putting my phone on “Airplane Mode” at night to deleting Instagram for a few days, nothing seemed to stick.

Try as I might, I somehow always ended up right back where I started — in a deep, dark hole of insta stalking.

It wasn’t until one evening putting our baby girl to bed that I realized this was a real problem and something had to change…like now. While nursing my sweetie during her bedtime routine, I caught myself once again mindlessly scrolling through other people’s lives on the gram (while my own life was happening right in front of me).

I had some serious FOMO, but this time it was fear of missing out on my own life. That’s when I decided to go on a weeklong social media detox — and get serious about it.

You can read all about my experience over on WELL Insiders, including how to set yourself up for success and my key takeaways. Spoiler alert: I became a much happier, better version of myself.… Read More!