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| Kristen and Andrew |
Kristen Klabin is a former middle school counselor and preschool teacher living in New York City. Here's what this new mother had to say:
“You have got to be joking right? Hmmmm, taking care of myself...healthy ways...does periodically, verbally abusing your husband count as a way to let out frustration? I see a “shrink” every couple of weeks, does that count? I binge on dark chocolate M&Ms after not eating a regular meal all day. I just bought my husband Alex a snore reduction pillow for $129.00 in hopes of getting even a second of sleep. (My son sleeps through the night but I don't.) In my free time I run errands.
On a serious note, I don’t drink or smoke. I walk around NYC a lot—and fast. When I have the opportunity to take a real shower, I spend the first five minutes quickly cleaning myself and then I just stand there in the hot, hot, hot water. I take millions of pictures of my son Andrew—in lieu of cooking or going to the gym. I do have a babysitter, so I can get the occasional manicure/pedicure or massage. In a moment of chaos I take myself way too seriously, but within a few hours I can usually laugh at myself. I pray daily (for both strength and to say thanks). I love my husband and son beyond words and I have amazing parents (that also get my moods). Luckily, I also have very cool, down to earth friends. Honestly, I don’t spend a lot of time on myself right now. I trust that it will come back in time, but for now I am just enjoying what I have.” |
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| Kelly and Connor |
Kelly Scotti is THE FAMILY GROOVE's holistic nutrition expert and the founder and director of Flying Dragon Wellness (www.flyingdragonwellness.com) in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Here's what this mom of one young son has to say:
“As a health and nutrition counselor, I work with a lot of amazing people on a variety of issues, many of them related to self care and self love. Despite that, I often find myself not heeding my own suggestions, and spend way too much time working. Over the past six months, my exercise regimen went from sometimes to not at all. To jump start my body, I decided to sign up for a triathlon in August, only leaving myself a minimal training period in order to ensure that I step up my workouts. It worked and I'm now up to working out five days a week. I feel great—I've signed up for three more events for the rest of the year to keep me motivated. Setting a goal you're passionate about is a great way to keep you motivated about doing a task you might otherwise not do.
I also recently attended a hypnosis certification course to learn how to take myself from stressed to ultimate relaxation in no time flat. As an added bonus, hypnosis is a tool I can use with my clients and family. I love to learn and signing up for classes is one way I exercise my mind, learn a new skill and have a wonderful time.” |
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| Lori's boys, Chase and Jake |
Lori Sawyer is the founder of Mommy-Moves (www.mommy-moves) in Monmouth County, New Jersey. Mommy-Moves, a one hour cardiovascular, strength and flexibility training class. She also founded the recently birthed Kids Move along with Mommy Runs and Beach Boot Camp. Here's what THE FAMILY GROOVE's fitness expert and mother of two had to say:
“Being a mom who works the fitness industry, I see both ends of the spectrum. I see the moms who kept in shape during their pregnancy and continued post-pregnancy and I see the moms who didn’t and still struggle. Helping both ends of the spectrum has truly been an amazing job. I also see the childhood obesity problem in this country. I want my children to learn about the importance of fitness and health at a young age, so I need to stay on track and teach them all the benefits of being fit and healthy. Working and being a mom to two young children has been hectic and an emotional roller coaster. I have learned to pre-plan my meals, drink tons of water and take a break when I need it. I make sure I exercise as much as I can. When I exercise, I feel better, I am much more productive. My kids benefit from having an active mother. We run together and I can chase after them on the beach and not be tired. Taking care of myself physically has helped me mentally and emotionally be a better person and a mom. Being fit carries over into every aspect of your life and I am proud to say I will always preach health, fitness and fun to my kids…with a cupcake for sanity every once in a while!” |
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Dori Rhoades is the co-owner of Conception Showroom, specializing in maternity fashion.
Here's what this Los Angeles mom of two has to say:
“Life is busy these days with two kids, two dogs and a continually growing business. I can’t afford not to be mentally, physically and emotionally prepared for all the demands of life.
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| Dori's Oliver and Hannah |
Mentally – let’s face it – all moms need some time to themselves to refuel. It’s all about carving out a little niche of time for yourself, whether it be daily or, at a minimum, weekly. That said, I have certain rituals that I haven’t given up like going for a manicure and pedicure. It makes me feel well-pampered but only takes up an hour of time.
As a busy mom, I don’t have very much time to exercise. But I’ve found that the even the smallest efforts make a big impact on how I feel both physically and mentally. Since my seven-month-old daughter always wakes up before my three-year-old son, I find this quiet time of the morning great to do my sit-ups and stretching with my baby by my side. It’s fun for both me and her. Also, during the long days of summer, we take nice long walks after dinner with our two dogs. It’s quite a circus with our son on his bike, my husband running after him with the dogs and me trying to keep up with Hanna in the stroller. But by the end of the walk, everyone is relaxed and the kids are ready to go to bed—perfect!
I find that I’m emotionally best prepared for the busy demands of life when I’m in tune with my family. That means setting aside at least two nights a week to re-connect with my husband—even if it’s just taking an hour out of the evening to eg out and watch TV together or just talk after the kids go to bed. I pick up my son Oliver from preschool every Friday afternoon at 4PM. I spend two hours alone with him doing whatever he wants to do—going to the mall for a pretzel, sitting at the park or enjoying an ice cream cone. It’s really not about what we’re doing; it’s just physically being together and talking. It’s helps get me in the mindset to relax and spend quality time with my family.” |
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| Julie and Aisley |
Julie Khoury is full-time working mother of one living in Los Angeles, California. Here's what this co-owner of Conception Showroom had to say:
“Balancing the needs of my family and the needs of my business is a continually challenging, but rewarding task. I’ve found that keeping a schedule during the week is key to keeping the entire family feeling well. My daughter Aisley appreciates it, feels better and stays healthy—which makes us all happy.
Eating light and healthy during the week keeps my energy up and taking early morning walks or evening strolls after dinner help me to feel healthy and clear my mind. Waking up before the entire family is a nice way to get centered before the day starts and this allows me to take more time in getting organized. As for the evening walks, it’s always nice to be out in the evening air and walk off dinner—plus it’s a good way to spend more quality time with my daughter and husband.
On weekends, we make sure to get additional exercise in as a family by walking and running and playing at the beach. We let our schedules go a bit to be able to fit in additional activities together. Occasionally, my husband and I will take a nap at the same time our daughter takes her and I find this helps us to feel much more rested.
It’s important for every mother to take a bit of time just for herself. I find time for a quick manicure and pedicure twice a month. It’s nice to have some quiet time and also feel like I’m taking care of myself. This enables me to take better care of my daughter. As tough as it can be to balance home and work life at once, I highly recommend it for a rich and fulfilling life.” |
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Christine Koh spent a decade as an academic (she has a Ph.D. in music and brain science) before leaving the field last year to pursue greener professional pastures. She’s now the founder and publisher of Boston Mamas (www.bostonmamas.com), the designer behind Posh Peacock (www.poshpeacock.com) and a freelance editor and writer. Here's what this mother of one had to say:
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| Christine and Laurel |
“It’s not uncommon for new parenthood to knock fitness down on the priority totem pole, but as it turned out, around the time of my daughter’s birth I was forced to think of health from a holistic perspective. In addition to dealing with postpartum physical issues, I had mental and emotional health issues to contend with as my husband (and thereby the two of us) struggled with the adjustment to parenthood, and my father was diagnosed with lymphoma.
As difficult as that period of time was, I learned valuable self-care lessons. Physically, after experimenting with different fitness options and feeling frustrated by not being able to devote time as I used to (pre-parenthood I was extremely active via swimming, walking, yoga, and Pilates), I realized that I had to shift my mindset and not be so hard on myself. I decided to just focus and infuse small bits of physical self-care into my daily routine, whether it was walking instead of driving for errands or taking my daughter to school, taking periodic breaks through the work day to hold yoga poses for a few minutes at a time or just stretching and breathing mindfully while hanging out playing on the floor with my daughter.
Mentally and emotionally, the importance of seeking help and building/maintaining personal connections has been critical. With baby in tow, my husband and I visited a therapist to work through our new parenting issues, and I also see this therapist alone when I need personal tune ups; having this outside perspective has been enormously helpful and our family has become stronger for it. And taking the time to connect with family and friends is another means of self-care for me. As fate would have it, my father’s diagnosis came the week before I was supposed to start back full time at my research job (which I was dreading returning to). I decided to go back part-time initially so my daughter Laurel and I could visit my parents frequently through the week and it was the best decision I ever made. My father died six months later and I always will treasure the growth of our relationship during that time, as well as having been able to bring the joy of new life to him, even if he didn’t have the strength to hold Laurel in the final stretch. Taking care of yourself can seem challenging in the face of family demands, but the little things—a 10 minute walk alone to the corner store, an hour with a professional focused exclusively on you (be it a mental health practitioner, massage therapist, or manicurist), or dinner out with a girlfriend—do wonders for the body and soul.” |
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