A Year In Review #UnstoppableMoms

I wrote this post as part of my participation in a blog tour for The Motherhood on behalf of the makers of Children’s MOTRIN® and received compensation to thank me for taking the time to participate. However, all opinions expressed are my own.

We’ve had a very blessed year. Since last year, we’ve watched our 2 little girls grow up a lot. Maggie turned into a little girl, and started writing letters and learned to swim. Alex grew out of her crib and diapers, and left every last bit of being a toddler long behind her. The two of them really started to play together every day. I watched them start to play pretend, sing songs together and put on daily “shows” for me in their favorite costumes. We had a chance to take them to Disney World for the first time and traveled to few other places as well. We enjoyed a lot of time as a family and prepared for our family to grow. Our final, and most important blessing of 2014 arrived a few weeks ago: our new little baby, Tommy. We became a family of 5 and head into the holiday season with full hearts. 

I started to get very nervous about having a third child right around when we returned from Disney World in February. We have traveled a lot since the girls were babies, and this was the first trip that was truly “easy”. They didn’t need to nap, no more bottles or diaper bags. We could just enjoy the day and the experience as it came to us. It seemed like the stress of planning each day around a baby/toddler schedule was behind us. Then I remembered we were about to start it all over again when our third arrived. This led me into thinking about all of the other things that would be so much harder with 3. I started to panic. 

Then I started to look more at my friends with 3 children, and how they managed each day. I looked at the ways it was different than having 2, but more manageable then my panicked self was thinking. I’ve faced many challenges as a mother of 1 child, and then new challenges as a mother of 2. I got through them all, learned a lot, and knew in my heart I was ready for the challenges that would come with becoming a mother of 3. I’ve always wanted a big family, and my fears soon turned to excitement as we got closer to the arrival of our new baby. 

Moms are unstoppable. I knew I had to keep reminding myself of that as I geared up for our new addition, sleepless nights, and managing our growing family. I’m only a month in, but I’ve had quite a few moments already, that made me think of how unstoppable moms can be. Tommy has brought so much joy to our family in 1 month. It’s important to focus on the joy and sweet moments watching the girls with their new brother. It’s these special moments that help us stay unstoppable. If I focus on the overwhelming piles of laundry, 2 hours of sleep and being stuck inside these winter months, I’d go crazy! I think that’s the key for me: take a few minutes each day to think of the joy of motherhood. I spend a whole lot of the day frustrated and with very little patience, but I make sure to take time to focus on the joy too. That’s what helps me stay unstoppable. 

Right now, the makers of Children’s MOTRIN® have a great campaign going on, focused on #UnstoppableMoms. Head over to the MOTRIN® Facebook page to share your tips on what makes you unstoppable. You can read other mom’s tips too. Every tip shared triggers $1 donation to Safe Kids. You can also enter the #UnstoppableMoms sweepstakes for a chance to win their weekly drawings for $100 gift cards. 

*NO PURCHASE NECESSARY, OPEN TO LEGAL RESIDENTS OF THE 50 UNITED STATES & D.C., 18 AND OLDER. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. Promotion ends 11:59p.m. ET 12/28/14.  Sponsor will donate $1 for each approved Submission made as part of the promotion, with a minimum donation of $30,000 and a maximum donation of $50,000.  For Official Rules, and complete details, visit www.unstoppablemoms.com. Sponsor: McNeil Consumer Healthcare Division of McNEIL-PPC, Inc.  To learn more about Safe Kids Worldwide visit safekids.org.