Because I'm not Superwoman

There are days when being a Mom is just plain exhausting. Who am I kidding...everyday as a Mom is exhausting. Rewarding and so wonderful, oh yes. But also exhausting. There are never enough hours in the day to do everything. I have my work to do list, then I have my home to do list. There are meals to be prepped, dishes to be washed, baby clothes to be folded, cats to be fed, a husband to encourage and love on, sippy cup parts to be cleaned, phone calls to return, bills to pay...the list goes on and on and no matter how hard I try, I can never get everything done.

I am also the queen of multitasking and love crossing things of my to-do list. So when I have my list ready to go and I cross off absolutely nothing all day, it could be very discouraging.

Wake up, try to get things done, FAIL miserably, repeat.

But you can't view every day like that. It's not healthy and I am not superwoman, I'm something else. Something better. I am Aiden's Mom.

"All of the sudden, what's valuable is not the multitasking, but the single task...being with him, only him, doing nothing else." -Shauna Niequist

So on the days when I start to feel bad about the piles of laundry I haven't done, or the meals I haven't cooked, I look at my son, who I managed to get out of his pajamas, feed and entertain and I have to remind myself, Good job Mama. You may not have done everything today, but you are taking care of your son and that's a big deal. You made him waffles for breakfast, played Peekaboo, sang to him, rocked him, read him all his favorite books, snuggled him, loved on him and that's enough for today.

That is the sunshine in my pocket...What I pull out when I'm discouraged.

So when you feel overwhelmed about all the things you aren't doing, simply stop, give yourself some grace and remind yourself of the things that you are doing. I promise you are doing more than you think.

You know you're a new mom when...

As a new mom there are things you have to figure out pretty quickly. It's crazy how your motherly instincts kick in and things you think you'd never do, you do because you just love your squishy newborn so dang much. So here is a list of things that scream "I'm a new mom!"

You know where all the creaky spots are in the house and you know how to move like a Ninja to avoid them.

You can eat one handed while nursing and making a to-do list all at once.

You can change a diaper at record speed in the dark.

You've mastered the swaddle.

You are often covered in pee or spit up that's not your own.

You cry hearing songs or watching commercials about being a mom.

You could stare at your baby all.day.long.

You start keeping track and become an expert on information like how many ounces of milk you produce each day and how many times your baby has peed or pooped.

Your brain is mush and you often forget or lose things like your car keys. Oops.

You take baby and Mommy selfies just because.

You find yourself sharing pictures and stats of your baby to anyone who will listen.

Your baby's bodily functions are a normal topic at dinner.

You have exposed your breasts in public places (under a cover of course).

You find your baby's "poop face" the most hilarious thing ever.

You find yourself humming tunes and then realize they are from one of your baby's toys.

You find a wet spot on your clothes and immediately wonder one of three things...
Is this pee? Is this spit up? Am I leaking?

You feel like a huge part of you is missing when you go out without your baby.

Jewelry with your child's name on it may have been on your most recent Christmas list.

You thank God daily for giving you such an amazing and precious gift!

Your voice automatically goes up 5 notches when talking to your baby and now it happens when you are having normal conversations as well. You just can't help it.

You have gone back and looked up lyrics of nursery rhymes you forgot.

"Daddy's home!" is your new favorite phrase.

You have 1,000 plus pictures of your baby on your phone and they are all way too cute to delete.

You melt when your baby stares at you.

You have moments when you think "Hey, I've got this Mom thing down" only to quickly be followed by "What the heck am I doing?"

You feel a sense of success when you have sucked boogers out of your child's nose and you may have even given in and purchased a NoseFrida, which you swore you'd never ever do because EW.

You have never gotten so little sleep, yet been so happy in your entire life.

Being a new mom is an adventure. It's part crazy, part hilarious, part terrifying, but mostly pure joy!

New mamas out there...what else would you add to this list?