4 Tips to Keep Mom Energized!

Keeping up with a one year old is no small task!

I swear on most days it feels like Bodhi has more energy than me.

In order to keep up with him, and not over caffeinate, I’ve come up with 4 fool proof ways to keep myself energized and ready for a day of exploring with my little babe.

4 Tips to Keep Mom Energized!

1. Hydrate! Water is key, and essential for every cell of our body. We are so similar to plants, and some times when we are feel fatigued we simply just need a glass of water. My goal is to drink 100 oz of plain water every day.

2. Don’t skip a meal. I see so many Mamas simply eating their kids leftovers or scraps, and that simply will not provide us with enough energy to keep up with these little babes. We need to make sure that we are fueling our body and healthy nutrient dense meals. When I know that we have a busy day ahead, I plan out my meals and snacks. For instance, I’ll stop at Crisp & Green and grab a protein shake on the way to our next adventure, or stock up on their bowls or salads so I’m ready for the next day (keep the dressing on the side so it stays fresh!).

3. Fresh air & Vitamin D. Sometimes simply stepping outside, going for a walk, or a swim in our pool help both of us reset and energize. The sun is incredibly energizing, and being indoors all day can really zap your energy. So mix it up and take your littles ones outside for nature’s cure!

4. Chorella, one of my absolute favorite supplements, and a true energy booster! It’s packed with incredible nutrients, plus it binds to heavy metals and helps your body naturally detox (detox = more energy). The benefits of chorella are endless, this is my favorite one right now CHORELLA. As always please check with your Doctor, Naturopath or Certified Nutritionist before beginning as new supplement regimen.

As Mamas we spend so much time making sure our babies and our families are taken care of, but we need to make sure that we are taking care of ourselves. We can’t serve from an empty cup (or stomach for that matter!).

Food is energy and what we eat matters.

These are 4 tools that help me on a daily and weekly basis stay energized and fueled up! I’d love to hear how you keep your energy up with a little one, comment below and let me know!

I receive a small commission for links in this blog post which help to keep my business running, and allow me to share more nutrition and wellness tips and tricks with you! As always all opinions, thoughts, and words are entirely my own.

#ad Crisp & Green Ambassador

3 Tips to Building Your Mom Community

Coffee has gotten me through the last 10 months postpartum, but not how you may think...

I only knew a handful of people with babies when I had Bodhi, and most were not local, so we were really on our own in the beginning. The first few weeks, okay months, of postpartum were so lonely. I wasn’t allowed to drive for 8 weeks, and couldn’t pick up my baby in his car seat until after 6 weeks…so outings on our own were simply out of the question.

This was totally fine for the first 4 weeks while my husband was home on paternity leave, but then it all hit when he went back to work. It was just me, a new mom healing from giving birth, and my newborn. We were getting to know each other and getting to know the 4 walls of our home verryyyy well.

Luckily I met some incredible new mama friends pretty quickly and these ladies have made my postpartum journey so much better. I met most of my mom friends at coffee shops or at my mommy & me events which eventually led to coffee.

Coffee has literally got me through the last 10 months… but really it’s the ladies I met over coffee that have gotten me through! Support, connection and community are essential during postpartum.

I am so grateful for my tribe of mama and I love raising our babes alongside one another. There are certain things that only postpartum mamas and new moms can understand and relate to. It’s also been incredible to have women to bounce breastfeeding, food feeding, sleep and so many other questions off of - because we are all in it together. All of our babes are about the same age and I’m so excited to see them grow up together.

I can not recommend this enough to new mamas…build yourself a mom community, the support is incredible and there will be days when you really need them and they will need you.

3 Tips to Building Your Mom Community

1. Attend Mommy & Me events with your little one, and open up and talk to the moms there. No one understands what you are going through more than other new mamas.

2. If you see a mama out, at coffee, the grocery store, anywhere really, strike up a conversation… you never know where it might lead! (this is how I met two of my good mama friends!)

3. Go to story time or music class! Most libraries offer story time for free, and many cities have a variety of music classes for various age groups. This is a great place to meet like minded mamas.

Since having Bodhi I found that I have become more outgoing and willing to strike up conversation with other mamas and little ones, you never know who you may meet!

Would love to know how you met your mama friends! Comment below and lmk! xx

Photo BY jontel chere

3 Tips for a More Balanced Life

I feel like balance is something we all strive for, but many of us continue to fall short.

Balance is almost like the infamous carrot dangling in front of us, so close but always just out of reach.

Many people (esp on social media) appear to have it figured out, but I always wonder if they actually have it all together IRL??

Balance has never been more difficult to obtain than it has the last several months as a new mama. My husband and I went into parenthood with a loose idea of what we wanted it to look like and what our roles would be, and thank goodness it was a loose idea because it has shifted so much. I’m grateful that we have been able to be so flexible and listen to our intuition on what has felt right for us, and what continues to feel right for us moving forward.

I have decided to be a full time SAHM (stay at home mama) and run my business on the side (like during naps and any free moment I have). I don’t want to miss out on anything with Bodhi and love taking him to his music class and playdates, seeing his development and watching our bond grow has just been the best. That being said I don’t want to give up my business, I’ve worked so hard to build this brand over the last (almost) 8 years and feel so passionate about my mission. So…how do I find the balance?!?

Truthfully, balance is only something that I started to figure out in the last few months (and failed miserably at initially). I started my postpartum journey with a 3 month maternity leave, that quickly turned into 4 months and 6 months before I actually returned… thank goodness I run my own business! Now that Bodhi is 10 months old I feel like I’m finding my groove and discovering a new balance for my life.

I absolutely believe that balance is possible - for everyone.

That being said it’s going to look different for each individual. Our priorities really drive our energy and our focus, and it’s important to be super clear on these first before working towards a balanced life.

A balanced life is going to shift and evolve as you shift and evolve, we aren’t meant to be stagnant (trees, IYKYK). So your balanced life today will probably look very different than your balanced life 5 years ago.

For years I over worked as an escape, leading me into a very high stress and unbalanced life. (Totally do not recommend, lol.) It took years of unlearning and tapping into my purpose, and what I really wanted out of life. Many of us are taught certain ways of being and it’s up to each of us to decide if we want to keep those beliefs or make up our own new set of rules for our life.

Stepping into motherhood has been the absolute best blessing and has allowed me to continue shifting my focus, my beliefs about life, and create a whole new set of rules with my husband as to what we want out of life. It’s been a beautiful experience.

Finding balance in an ever changing world can be difficult, but if you are able to be flexible and allow yourself to go with the flow and follow your own set of rules I truly believe that balance is possible for everyone.

A balanced life for me means family first always, taking time for myself every single day, not only for self care but to breathe and just be, taking time for my work, time for movement, and taking time for community (friends, family, events).

To be honest, some days are tougher than others but if I allow myself to let go of my grasp and allow myself to go with the flow of my life rather than hold on so tightly I have found that balance (and joy) are much easier to come by.

My 3 quick tips to creating a life of balance:

1. Discover what sparks joy for you…and commit a good chunk of your energy there

2. Make sure that each area on your wheel of life is being met

3. Take time for yourself everyday, just to be

Photo by JOntel chere

* newborn Bodhi ♥

My Top 5 Breastfeeding Tips

This was certainly never a blog post I thought I would write! Motherhood has broken me down, cracked me wide open and change me down to my core {in the best way possible of course}.

I have received so many questions about my breastfeeding journey {7.5 months and counting!} so I thought I would share the top 5 things that have helped me on this journey.

1. Hydration! It feels like I am always thirsty, breastfeeding requires us to stay extra hydrated. I notice a big difference in my supply when I am behind in my fluids.. My goal is 100 oz of plain water each day.

2. Oatmeal, if you follow me on Instagram you know how much I swear by this one! I love One Degree oatmeal because it is clean and glyphosate free. Oats help my body to produce more milk for my baby, so I try to eat oatmeal about 5 days a week.

3. Limit stress. This one may not seem to have anything to do with breastmilk supply, but I promise when I am stressed or overdone breastfeeding not only becomes more work but I notice a drop in my supply. I have to admit that over the last year my stress has dropped considerably. Pre-baby I would say that I felt stressed multiple times per week and now I rarely feel stressed {perhaps I should share this is in another blog soon!}. Daily meditation and walks outside help me to manage stress, tension and any thing else that pops up.

4. Silverettes. I swear just buy them. A girlfriend mentioned these to me when I was pregnant, and I wasn’t convinced but bought them anyways…and it was the single best purchase I made for this journey. Silverettes are made out of .925 sterling silver and you wear them inside your bra, under your nursing pads to help heal and protect your nipples. They have made my breastfeeding journey a much more enjoyable experience!

5. Listen to your body. This is probably the biggest thing that has worked for me. It can be tough to tune out the noise and suggestions from everyone else, but do your best, tune into your body and your baby and allow your intuition to guide you. Breastfeeding is one of the hardest things I have ever learned to do {yes learned, it’s not always innate} but it is hands down the most rewarding. Before each feeding session take a few deep breathes, let your day melt away, put away distractions, and allow this to purely be about connecting with your babe.

These are 5 things that have truly helped me on this journey and made breastfeeding an enjoyable experience! That being said I do not know how long I will breastfeed for. I have chosen not to put any limits or expectations on myself, and have done my best to tune out the thoughts and opinions of others in regard to this. I plan on breastfeeding for as long as feels right for me and for my son, and that’s it. I trust that we will know when it is time to stop.

Lastly, I understand how blessed I am to have a good supply {correction a great supply} and be able to feed my son as long as I have. It is not easy, and I know many Mamas who have not been able to breastfeed this long - or at all. There should never be any shame towards parents for how they choose to feed and nourish their children. I am simply sharing my authentic experience and the tools that have worked for me.

I would love to hear your breastfeeding stories and what has worked for you!

Please comment below and LMK!

I hope you'll forgive me...

Hi friends! It feels so good to connect with you again in this format. I’ve truly missed writing and the connection to my Lean and Green Body® family!

As I sat down to write this I noticed that it’s my first blog post since April 6?!? This has been the longest I have ever gone between blogs…ever!

I started my blog just over seven years ago, and it has been such a fun way to build a community, share recipes, wellness tips and so much more. There has been a ton of change and incredible pivots on my end (hello, baby Bodhi!) and I can’t wait to share it all with you!

Since it’s been a minute…more like 5 months… I thought it would be best to use this first blog post and update you on my life lately!

When I was pregnant with Bodhi I imagined sharing my postpartum journey in a real and raw way, and slowly transitioning that as he grew and sharing our mother son journey. While this is still my intention, and I will be sharing some fun things with Bodhi soon; becoming a Mother changed me. I have been incredibly open about so many parts of my life (painful and joyous) and this transition into Motherhood has been somewhat unexpected. I have wanted to keep many parts of my new Mama journey offline and private, not because they are bad - quite the opposite in fact. The past (nearly) 6 months have been so good and incredibly life changing that I have wanted to soak in every second and be as present of a mother and wife as I could be.

Stepping into my motherhood journey has been a beautiful (and let’s be real exhausting) time. It has transformed me in ways that I didn’t even realize were possible, and has opened up parts of me that I thought had been closed for good.

Bodhi has brought new meaning to my life and has allowed me to view my life, and my work, in a whole new way. I only have so much time and energy each day, and I have been very intentional about how I spend those currencies.

Bodhi is a Sanskrit name meaning enlightenment or awakening; and his birth has truly has been a time of awakening for me.

I hope you’ll forgive me for not been as present with all of you online (it’s been terrible for my SEO and engagement rate) but I have needed these past few months to just be.

Stepping into my new role has been a big transition for me, even though I have waited for this moment my entire life, there is only so much you can understand until you’re actually in it. Moving from full time entrepreneur, founder and boss to full time mama and part time boss babe has been huge.

I have welcomed these changes and done my best to find some sort of balance with it all…but does balance really exists??

Thank you for giving me space to adjust, grow and learn. I am ready to rejoin this community, and I can not thank you enough for sticking around - grateful doesn’t even begin to describe how I feel.

There is so much I want to share with you this Fall, from mom-life, recipes (for baby too!), wellness and self care hacks and tips, and so much more!

I also have some fun collaborations and new brands I have discovered over the past few months that I can’t wait to share!.

Comment below and let me know what you want to see!

It's Time to Put Yourself First - Here's How!

For years I put everyone else’s needs above mine. I thought it was “right” or would make me a better person if I took care of everyone else first…but it didn’t. In fact, it left me so drained that I rarely had time to take care of myself. For years my self care was non-existent, and I noticed my health and well-being were taking a big hit.

My hope in sharing this is that you don’t make the same mistake. It can be so easy, especially as women, to put everyones needs above our own. It’s engrained in us from the time we are born, but it’s not healthy. If we do not take care of ourselves, how on earth are we supossed to take care of everyone and everything else? We simply can’t!

The phrase “you can not pour from an empty cup” is so accurate! Trust me I tried…for years. It’s not possible.

When we take time to put ourselves first, and even just taking 10 minutes a day for some much needed self care to pause and breathe it can shift everything. When we take care of ourselves we are better able to handle everything around us with more ease and grace.

In the last year I have implemented a tool for myself that has been a total game changer.

Are you ready for it?!?

Every single day I have a list in my planner (yes I still use a paper planner) of everything I would like to get done that day, and on the top of the list - ABOVE everything else if a list of 4 things I do every single for myself. They are not big things, but every single day these are my most important items on my list. Putting myself first, and ensuring that these 4 items get checked off daily has been a game changer for my personal life and especially my business.

I would encourage you to try this! Create a list of 2-4 items that you would like to do daily just for you. Select items that will help to enhance your mental health, your well being, and allow you to create a calm in the chaos of the week. For my busy Moms, perhaps taking a shower (alone)…or dream big a bath (alone) is on your list?? Select items that honor you and fill your cup up.

Photo By Jontel Chere