Do you suffer from Frazzled Mom brain?
When I was pregnant, I remember everyone telling me that it was perfectly normal to forget stuff. In fact it was almost expected that I should be suffering from baby brain. But what people failed to mention was that baby brain morphs into frazzled mom brain.
The first year is unbelievably exhausting, overwhelmingly beautiful and incredibly rewarding. If you’re one of the lucky moms, you get to transition into motherhood while enjoying a full year on maternity leave. And then BANG! Just as you think you’ve gotten the hang of it, it’s time to send your kid to daycare to go back to work. All the time and energy you spent scheduling and planning are suddenly irrelevant and you join the league of frazzled working moms – mothers who are juggling motherhood and careers.
So how do moms find a successful work life balance when time is limited, patience runs thin, and exhaustion is imminent? Aside from coffee, chocolate or sugar of any kind and a glass or two of wine after the kids go to bed, the first thing to remember is that you’re doing the best that you can and you’re not alone. Thanks to my Facebook mom friends, here are a few ways other moms have combated frazzled mom brain.
Jen attributes her family’s happiness to giving up her commuting job to stay home for awhile to realign priorities.
The most important thing for Barb is to establish a work life balance. She leaves work at work and focuses on her family when at home. It may not always be easy, but she would rather look back and remember all the great times spent with her family, opposed to time spent working.
Prioritizing and honouring those priorities is at the top of Charlene’s list. Ask yourself – when I say yes, what am I saying no to?
Jenny constantly reminds herself what her priorities are and saying no to people and things that aren’t priorities. She takes time every day – no matter how chaotic – to remember one shiny moment. Take shortcuts – combine homemade with store bought for dinner, make large batches of anything that is freezable and don’t forget to breath!
Kelly suggests focusing on what you are doing in the moment – focus on work at work and kids when at home. Don’t coddle your kids – make them responsible for age appropriate things like cooking and cleaning. Often moms have a hard time saying no, but you’re not doing yourself any favours.
Megan prepares the night before – making lunches, setting out clothes, filling water bottles. As a firm believer in routines, she prioritizes and reassesses those priorities – laundry can wait, dishes can wait, bath night can wait – kids come first.
