Is Parenting a Baby is a Whole Bunch of Hurrying??
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I had this thought the other day while I was shoving food in my mouth to try to finish my meal before I picked up my crying baby.
“Wow, parenting a baby is a whole bunch of hurrying…”
Hear me out…
I hurry to get work done while she’s napping.
I hurry to get my workout done so I can get her back inside from the garage. (We have a heater in there, don’t worry I’m not freezing her!)
I hurry to get back home from a quick run to the store to get back to her. (Again, don’t worry, I’m not leaving her alone!)
I hurry to cook dinner so she doesn’t have to sit in her little kitchen chair anymore.
I hurry to eat my meal so I can pick her up if she’s upset.
On the one hand, sometimes this is nice as it keeps me on track with work because I know I have a finite amount of time to get things done, and am not mindlessly scrolling or wasting time on something else.
But, sometimes I’m trying to do something and then Baby Girl has needs at the same time. Now, for the record, I don’t pick her up every time she makes a little noise. Nor am I holding her all the time. I also have help from her Dad, so don’t mean to make it sound like I don’t, but he’s also trying to get work done.
If you have a kid, or have ever babysat, or been around kids, I imagine you know what I mean. Sometimes they have needs and you’re in the middle of doing something at the same time and have to rush to finish.
Now, how does this connect to nutrition and health?
I think for many of us, we sacrifice our tasks and priorities, or let things go because we’re needed, or rush through our needs to get back to our kids.
I imagine that no one wants to leave a baby crying or upset or sitting alone for an extended period of time. So we skip a workout. Or we eat their leftover mac and cheese instead of the heartier meal we had planned for ourselves. Or we stay up late to clean the house, because we didn’t get to during the day, and sacrifice our sleep. You see what I’m getting at here.
I’m not sure there’s a clear solution to this situation. We can’t just not care for our babes and we also have other responsibilities. But, I also don’t want adults to forego caring for themselves because their kids have needs.
Does this make sense??
Anyone have suggestions??
For me, currently, I take baby with me a lot. We go for walks together. She comes to the garage to work out with me. I hold her for as much of cooking dinner as I can. But, I’m also not willing to NOT do those things. To me, it’s okay if we aren’t always doing baby-centered things for those moments when mom has needs.
Forgive me if this post is a little bit all over the place and a lot of me thinking “out loud”. I just talk to a lot of parents who find themselves in need of re-centering themselves in their own lives. I imagine it’s natural and necessary to redirect a lot of our attention to our kids, especially when they’re young. At the same time, they need us to be healthy, strong, and fit, too.
We need to strike a reasonable balance and not hurry through things that are important to us.
Does this resonate with anyone else or is it just my crazy new mom ramblings?? Please share your thoughts in the comments or send me an email at sara@nutritionforlifeproject.com!
As always,
Thank you for reading,
xoxo,
Sara