The Mother Lode

It’s tough being pregnant! Commiserate with two moms who have been there through all the feels from nerves to excitement and back to nerves again!

SLEEP: We all want more of it as moms! Marty and Priscilla talk about routines, toddler excuses for getting out of bed, and the fact that sometimes, the kids just won’t sleep no matter what you do! 

Marty and Priscilla discuss “the mental load” and “emotional labor” as they pertain to motherhood and relationships. Just having defined terms relating to these two things help keep us grounded! 

Newborns don’t sleep.

Everyone knows this. Once you’re pregnant everyone and their mother not-so-jokingly tells you how much newborn babies don’t sleep. Even those rude people who don’t have children remind you of this fact.

What they don’t tell you is that lack-of-sleep is just a part of parenthood, no matter your children’s ages.

They also don’t tell you getting a 4-year-old dresses is akin to negotiating with a terrorist.

They don’t tell you that your dining area will never be clean and you will clean what used to be a week’s worth of crumbs off the floor after every meal.

They don’t tell you that even once your child is potty-trained you’ll still be responsible for monitoring their bowel movements and wiping their little butts for years. Years.

They don’t tell you that you will likely never eat a hot meal again, as you will spend all of your time convincing your child to eat.

They don’t tell you that even if you lose all of the baby weight your body will never be the same again. It will function differently, it will function poorly, and it will be squishy.

They don’t tell you that you will question your sanity ever waking minute.

They don’t tell you that you will struggle to remember why you ever thought you were busy before you had children.

 

They don’t tell you, because they can’t tell you, that your love for them will be so consuming, so pure, so innate, that you won’t remember life without them.

Marty and Priscilla discuss the day to day differences between being a WM and a SAHM. Listen to us laugh about the insanity that is life with little kids! 

So I just went on a nighttime grocery run without the kids. I always switch back and forth between being a warrior who takes three little ones to the grocery store by myself and a wimp who goes alone after they are asleep. Since I didn’t have the small ones with me, I noticed some of the “back to school” signage and it was frustrating. By that I mean that it showed a picture of a kids lunch with all organic items and fancy cut fresh items and it said “good to go.” Moms see pressure everywhere to basically provide perfection for their families.

My message is: YOU BE YOU.

Not everyone is skilled at/interested in the same things. I accept that I will be sending a regular ole banana or a sugary granola bar in my son’s snack bag for preschool this year. I also am the kind of mom who will make all kinds of decorations for whatever theme we decide upon for his birthday party coming up. I make their Halloween costumes. We haven’t yet taken them to the movies. We rarely enjoy a restaurant dinner and I think the kids have been given time to learn to ride bikes maybe 3 times. Every mom is different and I think we tend to see other moms doing cool stuff and feel guilty for not doing the same thing. NO MORE! If I see another mom doing something interesting or impressive and I WANT to, then maybe I’ll incorporate it into my mom life. I also might just think, “What a neato mom! I like to do something different and that’s good, too!”

Kids’ birthday parties can be a big source of stress in a mom’s life. Marty and Priscilla talk about being true to whatever way your family wants to celebrate milestones. Be creative! Be frugal! Be wild! Be basic! BE YOU! 

Marty and Priscilla give suggestions for getting outside with the kids. They discuss some old favorites like taking a walk and new ideas like using “loose parts” in the yard. Listen to our chat and comment with your own outside play ideas! 

Marty and Priscilla ask each other the tough questions about kids with food allergies. This talk is long, but it does have some great information about what to expect as a food allergy mom or how you can help the food allergy mom in your life.