this mama gets credit for turning me onto two things: Zuzii headbands & Motherlove nipple cream!
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gretchen
Since the moment we found out our sweet Jemma was on her way – I’ve been a mama makin’ it work! Through long nights, new mama emotions, and juggling the responsibilities of life I’ve tried to keep my focus on the season of motherhood I’m presently in.
In the last 2 years I’ve covered quite a bit of mama ground, here’s a little summary of each season I’ve experienced makin’ it work as a mama:
PREGNANCY
It all started when we saw those 2 lines confirming our pregnancy. The first tinge of motherhood overwhelmed me; it was mixed with laughter, fear, and excitment for all God had in store. I worked full-time through my pregnancy – 10 hour days with the height (or should I say width) of my pregnancy occuring during the summer months. My inital guess date was September 30th and I notified work of my plans to work up until then. Sure enough, my water broke the evening of the 30th shortly after I got home from work!
MATERNITY LEAVE
These precious days will be remembered like no other. Milk drenched clothes followed by snuggly naps with my girl. Tearful calls to my husband to pick up take-out because my greatest success of the day was getting dressed, not making a warm meal. When we decided I would return to work I chose to cherish every moment with Jemma – dishes, laundry, and other chores fell by the wayside. They were no longer important. Bonding with Jemma was my new job, my favorite job.
FULL-TIME WORK
Just as we established a great home routine I returned to work. I prioritized life to a T – fitting in only the essentials. We ate more take-out and freezer meals than I’d like to admit and our social life disappeared. A bi-monthly housecleaner was hired and I learned how to make a messy bun appear office appropriate. We were in survival mode! And survive we did :) By focusing inward on our family of three for a season we grew immensely in our faith, our marriage, as parents, and individuals.
WORKING FROM HOME
Currently, I am transitioning to a very flexible, part time, at home position. It has always been our dream to have me at home caring for our family. It hasn’t been easy reaching this point, but I doubt coordinating naptimes with phone calls and emails will be a piece of cake either! I’m excited to make this new season work, because really, isn’t that what being a mama is all about?
We’re all in the same boat (or similiar ones), makin’ it work the very best we can.
I wish you the very best as you move through your own seasons of motherhood – feel free to keep up on my journey over athttp://thatmamagretchen.blogspot.com/!
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don’t forget to email me if you wanna be
featured as a Mama Makin’ It Work!
2 Comments
I completely empathize with the difficulty of going back to work after having a baby. I spent my entire maternity leave worrying about going back, which certainly made it harder to enjoy the time I did have with my girls. Now that I’m a stay-at-home mom, I remind myself every single day that I need to be part of my daughters’ world and that time with them is more important than any chores.
gretchen is such a sweetheart! i love her blog. :)