{"id":220,"date":"2022-09-12T00:53:03","date_gmt":"2022-09-12T00:53:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lifeisamother.space\/?p=220"},"modified":"2022-12-31T02:51:26","modified_gmt":"2022-12-31T02:51:26","slug":"mom-series-volume-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lifeisamother.space\/?p=220","title":{"rendered":"The Mom Series – Volume #1"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I can\u2019t post about this interview series without participating myself! So to kick off the <\/a>Mom<\/a> Series<\/a> – here are my answers. Just poured a glass of ros\u00e9 and I am ready to dive in! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am a 31 year old married mama of 2 boys. Ben is almost 4 and Noah just turned 1. As you all know, I\u2019m a family medicine physician – now 2 years into my practice after residency. <\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Mariah
photo credit<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Motherhood journey <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

My motherhood journey – at least getting to this point has been relatively easy. I feel extremely fortunate for that as I know it doesn\u2019t happen that way for everyone. My husband and I were able to conceive relatively quickly with both our kids – both pregnancies were planned. We did have a chemical pregnancy in between the boys that was unexpected. A chemical pregnancy<\/a> is a very early miscarriage – less than 5 weeks. A lot of women don\u2019t even realize they are having one – it could just look like a late, heavier than normal period. Unfortunately I knew what it was. And it was a difficult thing to go through even with it happening so early on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unexpected things since becoming a mom <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This may be an obvious thing to many of you, but for me I think the emotional component of being a mom has been unexpected. For example, the swing of emotions postpartum, the easy crying over sappy children’s books, and in general the intense love I have for my kids. The degree of these emotions I think is what’s been surprising to me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardest thing since becoming a mom<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Honestly, I think the hardest thing for me is the daily grind. As a working mom, I come home after a day of making hundreds of decisions and having many people depend on me; to two little boys who are also dependent on me (until bedtime anyway!). More often than not, I get to the end of a work day after their bedtimes and I just need a moment \/ a breather. I don\u2019t really feel like I unwind from the day until after 8pm. Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful to have this chaos – but that’s what it is, chaos! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Favorite thing about being a mom <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

My favorite thing about being a mom is being the safety net for my kids. I love being able to be their source of comfort. I love providing them a safe place when they are hurt, sick, upset or just at random when they need it. I love that I’m the person they seek out when they need that comfort. Ok, they find Dad sometimes too but still! I also just love watching them grow, learn and meet new milestones. Being in charge of another human is a truly amazing experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Favorite thing to do with your kids<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

My favorite thing to do with my kids is be outdoors. I love playing in our front yard with them or taking them for walks in the park. We have a great trail system near a couple playgrounds and this summer that has been my favorite activity with them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Favorite thing(s) to do without your kids<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

My favorite things to do without my kids include golfing, chatting with my husband uninterrupted, reading on my Kindle, spending time with my girlfriends, taking a yoga class and now working on this blog!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anything you miss about life pre-kids<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I would say I do sometimes miss flexibility. I miss traveling. And, I miss going out to nice restaurants. We keep our kids on pretty regimented sleep schedules – they are both amazing sleepers, but we lose the flexibility sometimes with plans and that is hard. Bryan and I used to travel more – we actually went on a couple big trips the year we decided to start trying for a family. I think at that point we felt like we had done enough. It’s a little ironic that I\u2019m saying I miss traveling now! I know we will start planning more trips as they get older – I am looking so forward to that. And, we still go out to eat with the boys, don\u2019t get me wrong – I just miss the date nights I think. Now, if we get a babysitter – we prioritize golf over dinners!<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Selfie
Case in point – we had a sitter last week so we could pack for the move<\/a> and instead…<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Anything you would tell your pre-kids self<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

 I think I would tell myself to just enjoy – enjoy the quiet, enjoy the lazy weekend mornings, enjoy the spontaneous plans. I would tell myself to try to be in the moment more and to not be in such a rush. Now, I\u2019m not just saying in a rush to motherhood. I spent most of my 20s in school and then in training. I think I always had the mindset of \u201cjust get to the next step, get to the next phase.\u201d I wish I would have enjoyed the journey for it all a little more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Favorite kid age so far<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

With my kids, again almost 4 and 1, my favorite age has been right around where Ben is now at 4, in preschool. His little mind is constantly working, he asks tons of questions and we are able to do so much with him now. Also, the no diapers thing is pretty great too! I have a feeling as the boys get older, I\u2019ll continue to enjoy the older ages more. Bryan and I both have decided we don\u2019t love the newborn \/ baby phases. We are feeling very confident in our decision to stop at two kids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A must have baby item<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I have a couple. I love our Eufy monitor,<\/a> it\u2019s super easy to use, we have 2 cameras, one for each boy and then one monitor that toggles between their rooms. The Hatch Sound Machine <\/a>is another item, it has so many settings – both different sounds and night light colors. It also has bluetooth capability so we can control it from our phones. Ben likes to have his on an \u201cocean\u201d sound with a blue light, and Noah\u2019s is white noise with no light. In the morning, when it\u2019s time to wake up, we switch their sound machines to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and then they know it\u2019s time to get up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, I wouldn’t consider it a “must have” but I really love our Veer wagon<\/a>. It’s a wagon that easily fits both boys, you can push or pull it. It has attachments like a basket, snack tray and sun shades. They love it and we love toting them around in it!<\/p>\n\n\n

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If you enjoyed reading through my answers and want to participate in the Mom Series yourself, sign up below! I’ll email you these questions and will share your responses here! <\/p>\n\n\n