It’s hard to fully prepare yourself for parenthood. No matter how many books you read or people you seek advice from, there’s literally nothing that can get you ready for your parenting journey for one simple reason. We are all so different. Our children are all so different. Personalities, schedules, emotions, eating habits, cleaning habits, etc. etc. etc. As diverse as you are, what makes you think you can read a book or listen to someone else’s story and that it’ll properly prepare you for your own. But that’s what we do.
Early on, after the babies came home, I was desperately craving some normalcy and routine. It felt like every day was just a repeat of feeding, diapering, baby naps. I am a creative person and I need to do grown-up work as well as my crafting/diy projects. Losing the time to do my daily routines was the absolute hardest thing for me about becoming a parent.
I follow a blogger named Ashley Brooke and she also happened to have a baby right around the same time our babies were born. So it’s felt a little like some parallels were happening in our stories. She mentioned that she was adding one thing back into her routine each month. Or maybe she was adding one per week, I don’t remember precisely. But when I heard her say it, the concept really resonated with me and I’ve been adding back in one thing per month. I thought I would share the idea, along with my list of goals for each month.
Monthly Goals Completed and Future
June: Washing my face, morning and night
July: A relaxing bath 3 nights a week (I was a 7 night a week bath taker prior to the babies!)
August: Reading for pleasure every day
September: Meal planning, cooking dinner & drinking all the water + a daily walk
October: Blogging
November: Crafting or projects 2 X per week
December: Tiding up one part of the house every day (we have a lot of boxes leftover from our move that need organized)
That will take me through the end of the year for my goals. It’s really been a great way to gravitate back to my old self, despite all the change in our household. And honestly, I think it’s probably a wonderful way to add new habits into your life, not just the old ones back in!