When the hubby and I decided that it was time to add kids to our twosome, I never realized that I was preparing my body and mind for the Motherhood of Olympics. My body ached, stretched in areas unmentionable, all to receive the ultimate medal of them all…a beautiful boy…not once but, twice. Yep, I am a two-time gold medal winner. So if you are ready to commit your body and mind to long sleepless nights, you may have the mindset of the next great Mompian. Since you’re already dreaming of that medal, why wait any longer? Let’s go!
So while I sit here and watch my two favorite tennis pros battle it out for the gold, I couldn’t help but realize that as a Mom I too am battling for that “provisory” gold. Know that it’s a long, arduous path, but it will be nothing short of worth it. So here’s what you need to know:
1. Assess Your Physical Fitness: An Olympian has to prepare day in and day out as just like any women preparing their body for pregnancy. The body changes so much during pregnancy and many important developments take place in the first month. By having a healthy diet that is rich in certain nutrients and low in toxins, you may be able to reduce the risk of birth defects and complications. Not only is a good diet important to the fetus, it is also good for the mother, who will be healthier. Changing your diet to prepare for pregnancy will help you establish good eating habits to carry through the pregnancy, getting your body ready to supply nutrients to the baby and providing your body the best chance of taking care of itself.
2. Let Go Of Your Social Life. Ok look, I am not telling you to say goodbye to your debaucheries its just that your Friday nights may not be quite the same. You can go back to drinking boxed wine and watching bad movies once the kids are asleep (or while they are up, no judgement).
3. Monitor your life 24/7. You’re not training a few hours a day — you’re training 24/7. Everything you do as a mom takes diligence, perseverance, patience, mental stability, and discipline.
4. Set Goals. If you’re feeling like you’re not really getting anywhere, never really finishing anything, and going to bed only to wake up and put out the same fires again the next day, may I encourage you to consider setting goals? Try these out for size:
- I’m going to exercise for 15 minutes twice this week.
- I’m going to text my husband a flirty message at least three times this week.
- I’m going to read to my children for 15 minutes every week day this week.
- I’m going to spend 5 minutes four times this week working on cleaning out my messy closet.
- I’m going to write down at least one blessing every day.
If you know where you started, you know where you’ve gone — and where you can go.
5. Passion. Realistically enjoy being a mom. To know if you’re made of Olympic-quality stuff you gotta realistically look at your kids. If your kids are smiling and happy then all is good in the world.
Related post: How to Be a Happy Mom 24-7
6. Get Use To Traveling. Between playdates, mommy meet up groups, after school clubs, tutoring, parties, carpooling, you name it, moms have been there and done that. You will be traveling all the time as a mom, just like our fellow Olympians. Granted it may not be your ticket to Rio, but you do get to meet some wonderful moms friends and your child in turn share some wonderful memories with new friends. Talk about exciting!
7. Sacrifice. The real thing that surprised me about motherhood was that overnight, I had become a superhero. I could stay awake for 24 hours straight and was still sane enough to do the daily chores. I could fly from my room to my child’s room if I heard him cry. I became invisible when he was sleeping, as I wanted him to have a good night’s sleep. I spit fire if anyone tried to hurt my child. I became the protector and the body guard for this little creature. As a mother, I lost all shame and sense of embarrassment and was willing to make a fool of myself in front of people if it would make my child happy. I could walk around with vomit on my clothes without feeling any shame. Never did I realize that a clean diaper could give me so much joy.
So congrats moms or soon to be moms, you have now received your medal of motherhood!