Some days are slow for us, and some days are busy. I love the slow life and I don't like me or bella to ever feel rushed. But at the same time, I do like keeping myself busy. I heard an old woman on tv recently talking about the depression rates during the pandemic and she said 'busyness is medicine'. I thought there was some truth to that, as long as you're not over-doing yourself, or hard-wiring your child’s brain to always seek busyness. More on this below. But first, here's a look at one of our busy days, and how I juggle being a full time stay at home mom while still trying to grow my business:
-7:30am Bella wakes up
-eat breakfast together - sometimes at the table, sometimes on the couch watching tv.
-10 play at park
-10:30 teach kid’s yoga, Bella roams around/participates some/plays with the other kids/runs away/climbs on me
-11:30 come home and nap! During bella's nap, I will tidy up, work on my computer, make lunch, or some days just lay down or hold her the entire time because I'm pregnant and need to rest!
-2pm Bella wakes up, I feed her, and pack up to go back to park to teach another kid‘s yoga class
-3pm teach in park with bella
-4:30pm daddy takes over with bella so I can make dinner, work, work out, or do whatever I need to do.
-6:30 eat dinner as a family at the table *this is super important to me, that we sit and eat as a family most nights of the week, without our phones or tv on* but some nights it’s just Bella and dad/me/grandma while the other person is at gym etc
-7 bella takes a bath, either by me or dad, we try to alternate every other night doing her bath and bedtime. Grandma does one night per week while me and dad workout and go to in n out together (our “date night”)
-7:30pm bella goes to sleep! We still rock her to sleep with a bottle, so it takes at least 30 minutes to make sure she's fully out before we put her in the crib. If we transfer her to the crib too soon, she wakes up and wants us to keep holding her. *Whichever person is not doing bella's bath and bed, will walk the dogs, do the dishes/clean up kitchen, then usually just relax before going to sleep.
Once she's out, she will usually stay sleeping in her crib for a good amount of time. Once we go to bed anywhere between 9-11pm, we bring her in our bed with us for the rest of the night. This is what we enjoy and works best for all of us. We all wake up super happy each morning this way, which is important to us. We haven't tried having her sleep in her crib alone all night in a long time, if at all ever. For now, this works.
Some things that help me get through busy days like this:
-meal prep!
-grab and go protein packed snacks - ONE bars are my long time favorite. Lots of yummy flavors, high protein, low sugar.
-water
-having everything prepped the night before. This includes class outlines and coloring sheets for my yoga students, snacks for bella, an 'entertainment' basket for bella to play with while I teach, and meals too if possible.
This is not how our every day routine goes, and on these ”busy days,” not everything goes as planned. I like to balance these full days with days where we stay home a lot and don’t do much. The constant rushing of going here and there is not good for the kids’ mental and emotional state, the same as it gives anxiety to adults. I don’t want Bella’s brain and body to be wired with anxious feelings from an early age, because I believe it has a life-long lasting affect on what her sense of “normal” will be. I realize it is a privilege that I get to balance my busy days with slow, non-working days, and that many families have no choice other than to feel rushed or take their kids to daycare every day. My only hope for these families would be that you spend as much quality, connected family time together on the evenings and weekends as you can. I’ve seen so many of my students being rushed around and in so many activities. Time and time again they tell me they just want to relax at home with their parents. I also can see how it affects their behavior in a negative way - whether it’s attention seeking behavior or trouble focusing because their brains are used to being rushed. I’m so grateful to have this perspective and first hand experience working with so many kids and families, so I can have a clear perspective for what I do and don’t want for my own children.
One other thing I want to note is that this “busy day” is tied to a time schedule. One thing I’ve been learning from the Waldorf philosophy is that it’s great to have a predictable “rhythm” to your child’s day, but it does not necessarily have to be set to a strict time schedule. So on our slower days, we try to stick to the same predictable rhythm day-to-day, but aren’t so concerned with exact times. The predictability gives the kids a sense of security and comfort, knowing what to expect next. If every day were different and chaotic, don’t you think it would make your child feel chaotic and uneasy inside?
Here‘s Bella enjoying a chill day at home. Eating at her special spot, testing out the new chair, and kissing her Buddha statue that she is so mysteriously drawn to. ✨
And here’s Bella enjoying a “busy” day teaching with mama. We get to wear matching outfits, socialize with other kids, and she loves unrolling the yoga mat and passing out coloring pages to the other kids.
Even though the day may feel busy bringing her to teach with me, I really want her to be exposed to yoga and seeing me do something outside the home. Both are important to me, so even though it may seem counter-intuitive to me at times, rushing around to go to yoga, which is supposed to be a calm thing, I think our specific busy days are worth it.
🤍