It’s been a while since we’ve poured a cup of tea and chatted together, real life style. And for those of you that are new around here, every few months I give a real life update, just as if we were sitting together, sharing a pot of tea, cozy on the couch or in a cute coffee shop, catching up as friends do.
So here goes! The good, the bad, and the in between.
My baby is sleeping through the night!
This is the best Christmas present I got this year. We were waking up multiple times a night, feeding Cooper back to sleep for 10 longgg months in a row (it felt a lot longer than that). He was sick multiple times, he was jetlagged, he was hungry – I found all the excuses not to do sleep training. Until 10 months of interrupted sleep was enough. So we taught him how to sleep. And life is SO MUCH BETTER. Sure, he cried a bit the first few nights, and still cries a bit, but it’s for a minute or two, then he is fast asleep. I am slowly but surely catching up on some much needed sleep. (We used the method taught in The Sleepeasy Solution in case anyone needs some sleep too).
I invested in my health & wealth.
This year has been harder than I thought. I thought I would become a mother and just know what to do, love it so much, work when I wanted, and ya, there would be hard times, but they’d pass quickly and we’d get back to our groove. No one warned me that my life would get flipped upside down — the highs would be highest I’d ever felt, but the lows would also be the lowest I ever felt. I’ve felt off balance all year, trying to do what I used to do to get myself back to my normal self, but nothing was working. I didn’t have the signs of post-partum depression, but I just couldn’t get myself out of my funk, no matter how much healthy food I ate or yoga I did.
So I hired help!
I hired a life coach – specifically, a mom coach. I’m investing in myself. I believe in coaching as a coach and knew I needed support to figure out mom and entrepreneur life. She is helping me learn how to deal with the bad days when they come, count precious moments with my little guy instead of time, and find a new flow to my days that works with my new life. I have a wonderful husband, community of friends, and family, but there is not much like having a neutral party with whom I can dish it all out, and who can then coach me through how to handle this new life I have.
I also invested in a business group coaching program. If you’ve ever worked alone, you know — it’s hard! It’s hard to not be able to bounce ideas off of others, be able to get advice, know what to offer at what price. So, I again hired a coach. And it is making a huge difference in my mindset and business. I’m getting so excited for all that is to come in 2018 (and you should too)!
I feel 100% supported in all aspects of my life and it feels GOOD.
Cooper is the cutest.
I’ll gush a bit, just because. There has never been a doubt in my mind how much I love our little guy. He is so much fun and so darn cute. He has 7 teeth, he sits, he crawls all over, he stands himself up whenever he gets the chance, he puts everything in his mouth, and bites everything. He puts a toy in one hand, shakes both hands up and down, puts it down, and then does the same with the next toy. He loves our music class and music in general – he dances while he is sitting and his favorite toys are the ones that make noise. He doesn’t stop moving when he is awake and barely cuddles with us anymore — but — when he is tired and cuddly, it’s the best thing ever. He loves food so much that he yells between bites when I am not feeding him fast enough. We gave him a tiny bite of pizza recently and he loves it more than anything (makes sense why I ate so much pizza during pregnancy!). He really makes our lives more fun and we are lucky to have such a bubbly, healthy little boy.
I was restricting myself in a new way.
I have healed my relationship with food and do not restrict myself around it, but I recently learned (thanks, life coach!) that I’ve been restricting myself in other ways. I’ve been feeling like I “should” do self-care (journal/meditate/yoga) or I “should” work on my business during given times day (like nap time or daycare days), instead of allowing myself to do what works for me in the moment. By forcing one or the other, I was not enjoying either and not reaping the positive benefits of either. Now, I’m allowing myself to do what I want and feel like doing in the moment (when I have the freedom) and it is working much better. I am more productive when I do decide to work, and I feel great after my self-care when I decide to do that.
I write this as a reminder to myself and all of you – self-care isn’t as beneficial when you are forcing yourself to do it because it’s going to “make you feel better”. Self-care works when you figure out what you need in the moment and proceed to take the time to practice it. Just like forcing yourself to eat broccoli isn’t going to help anything if you don’t want to eat broccoli in that moment because you will end up eating something you do want later, or feel unsatisfied.
We are taking a solo vacation.
When Cooper was just a wee little one, we jokingly talked about taking a trip just us, as a celebration for being parents for a year. Well, with the help of Grandma and Grandpa, we turned it into a reality, and we are jet-setting to the Maldives after Cooper’s first birthday! I have to admit, as it gets closer, I’m getting more sad to leave him for so long, but at the same time, I think it’s important we continue to do things for ourselves as a couple. Plus, a week on the beach with no plans and no one to take care of sounds pretty amazing for anyone.
I’m loving Bullet Journaling.
I’ve posted about it a bit, but I bought myself a new journal and a new set of pens and I’m making a pretty bullet journal this year. I’ve missed being creative – feeling like I don’t have time to do so – and this is an easy way to add more creativity into my daily life with something I already spend time doing – planning. If you don’t know about it, watch this. From there, you can get lost in youtube of amazing bullet journalers. It’s a perfect escape for the mind and it’s something that I get lost in when I’m doing it – which is when I know it’s the right hobby for me!
That’s what I got for you today. Let’s pour another round, maybe even get crazy and make a turmeric latte (I seriously can’t get enough of them these days), and let me be the ears this time.
Tell me, what’s new and good with you? What are you struggling with? My ears are yours for letting it all out.
Lots of love,
Caitlin
