Balancing act

Before I got married, I worked out 5-days a week. I was that girl who seemed to do it all. I balanced my career and life effortlessly and was always able to get at least 8-hours of sleep. The gym was my best friend and I thoroughly enjoyed the workout and friendships I cultivated while there. Till this day, I am still friends with some of the ladies I met at the gym.

However, this post is not about my workout regime. It is about balancing life. I distinctly remember one incident where I ran into a new mom I hadn't seen in a long time. I asked her why she stopped coming to the gym and she said "I just haven't had the time!" I smiled and we chatted for a few minutes. I walked away thinking "who doesn't have 30-minutes in a day to workout?" I mean EVERYONE has those 30-minutes of idle time in a day right?

I carried those thoughts into motherhood and quickly understood what my gym friend was talking about. In the first few months of having my first daughter, I had NO time! My husband and I were new parents. My daughter never really latched on for long periods of time so I ended up exclusively pumping for her. This meant pumping 8 times...yes 8-times a day for 20 - 25 minutes for each session to ensure a good milk supply. I did this for 10.5 months and was able to get my daughter to her first birthday using milk I stored over time. Score 1 for mom!

However, during that time, I only visited the gym a handful of times. I was forced to cancel my gym membership. There was no use in wasting $40/month for something I didn't use. I promised myself that even though I wasn't going to the gym anymore, I would do my best to do some form of exercise during my new found non-pumping "free" time.

Not so fast...turns out 1 year olds are quite needy and often get into things they aren't supposed to. I was getting up at 5:20am week day mornings to be at work by 7am and I getting home at 5pm to get my daughter. By the time I got home at 5pm, I had to play with her, bath her, make dinner for the baby (I'm the preferred chef) and for ourselves (I often let my husband handle this). By the time all was said and done, it was often close to 8pm. We would get ready for bed and get the baby to sleep to start the cycle all over again.

I should add that my daughter woke up TWICE each night for food. And yes, people say "let them cry it out." But when you have a child who hardly eats during the day, is only in the 25th percentile and who still sleeps in your room, crying it out is not an option. We all need sleep!!!

Be sure to come back next week for more on my balancing act. In the meantime, takes some time to browse through our shop for an item that's sure to please.