I’m six months pregnant, and my husband and I are renovating a house! I’m also in the beginning stages of preparing to take my maternity leave, a leave that’s, of course, longer than I’ve ever taken away from the Chamber of Commerce job I’ve had for nearly 7 years. While my husband is still spending a portion of his time writing music in Nashville. I guess it’s safe to say a lot is going on. 🤪
Although I’m so blessed to have felt great throughout my pregnancy and all of these changes, my energy levels and my physical capacity to do BIG renovation work are limited and ever-waning. I’m constantly reading about how growing a human takes about the same metabolic energy as running a marathon EACH DAY. That’s a lot of energy each day; no wonder I’m always hungry!
It’s super important to keep stress levels down, so whether you’re in a similar boat to mine, taking notes for the future, or just wanting to take a peek behind the curated Insta-Curtain, this is how I’m performing this Baby Balancing Act: Navigating a Full Plate with Gratitude and Grace! Spoiler Alert: You'll want to have a planner for this post.
1. My planner is FULL of notes. Because my “pregnancy brain” is in full swing, I’m making a habit of taking notes of things that need handling, doing, buying, or scheduling. A majority of my job is sales and retention, so I make lots of notes of contact information, reasons for reaching out, and ALL DETAILS of meetings I have coming up. I do not assume that I’ll remember anything. Once I complete the action item, there is such a sweet relief in checking that thing off.
2. I’m scheduling rest. Of course, This time of the year, there’s a lot to get done. When I’m not painting the house, I’m at an after-hours work event. I’ve said to Shawn before, “This chapter of our lives is a marathon, not a sprint. We have to prioritize rest.” I truly schedule time in my calendar to rest, mentally or physically. If there’s a stretch where a lot needs to be done, I pick a reward at the end of the “sprint”.
3. Another Planner Tip: I Plan Out My Week, Energy-Wise. I’ve been the world’s worst, in planners-past, to over-fill my schedule. I love to idealize my weeks, assuming that I’ll be the “most productive” version of myself at all times. That’s just not reality. In this chapter, I try to limit the Big Tasks I put on my calendar each day. Nowadays, I even put the rooms I’m going to paint on the calendar.
4. I Take Actual Mental Notes. From noting when it’s time to call daycares and get on lists, reach out to friends, or start researching best practices for preparing for the most Natural Birth I can, I schedule it all out. When people ask me questions I can’t think about yet because those thoughts are scheduled for another week. Everything is figure-out-able— just not all at once, you know? My brain is learning a lot of new things between baby research and home reno research, I can’t think about everything all at once. So I don’t. Which brings me to my next point.
5. I Maintain My Boundaries By Vocalizing What’s Priority. This is a little tough to do, but this chapter of my life is a little less social. I have a little less time to read. I have a little less time to do the things I would, honestly, prefer to be doing that are a little more self-care intensive. When I struggle with maintaining these boundaries, I speak out loud (to myself) what my priorities are and WHY I’m holding these boundaries true right now.
These are the top 5 ways that I stay sane during this particular chapter. I’m so thankful for all that’s going on in my life. The fullest chapters in life are full of small moments of gratitude and sweet moments that make me thankful to be in this life. By implementing these 5 little tips into my planner and my mental state, I’m able to take smaller bites of tasks and chapter changes with full confidence that everything will get done on time!