Ever since the birth of our daughter last month, I’ve been doing some thinking. It hit me that our children grow up so quickly and how easily we can miss little special moments. Living in a world that is packed full of distractions (so much more so, I believe, than when we were children) moms today (including this one, here) need to be so careful to not let teachable moments, special moments, and bonding opportunities pass us by!
We, moms, have so many high expectations for ourselves. Besides raising tiny humans, we- more often than not- expect to manage homes, maintain health and fitness regimens, contribute to our family’s income, feed, clothe, keep our family clean, etc.! To be honest, I find it amazing that many of us still try to wear makeup; let alone try to pull off pink hair. Oh, wait. Just me?
ANYWAY, during these recent moments of reflection, I’ve thought of a few ways that mamas like us can carpe diem those special moments and not let them pass unnoticed!
Leave the phone in the other room.
I usually try to do one of two things: 1). I keep my phone on silent (but on me) that way I’m only checking it when I intend to, not every single time it vibrates. Being a blogger means I have several social media accounts, and if I checked my notifications every time I got a new one, I would never look away from my phone! And 2). I keep it in the other room, but with the ringer on, that way I know if I’m getting an important call, but I’m still focused on what I’m doing here and now.
Technology is great and there are so many ways to stay close to family using technology! But, by now it can probably go without saying that technology can be a huge distraction. I’ve found that by making so that I can forget about my phone, I’m WAY more likely to be living in the moment with my family rather than distracted from them.
Get your husband (or mom, or friend, or that stranger) to take candids of you with the kids.
And I’m not talking about Instagram or Snapchat “candids” where you ask your child twenty times to repeat that cute thing they just did. More often than not, it’s ok to just enjoy that cute thing and store it in your mind’s memory box. I sometimes catch myself trying to get my son to repeat that adorable thing he just said so I can save it to my Snapchat story and then download it to my phone, but then I realize that I’ve spent so much time looking at my son (and now daughter) through the lens of a camera instead of just looking at them.
But I still want to remember precious moments! So what’s a girl to do?
After my husband took that photo of me and my daughter (above), I realized that I want him to do a lot more of exactly that! Usually, I’m the one who is posting to Instagram or Snapchat, and while I’m not going to make him actually use his Instagram account (which only exists so I can tag him), I will ask him to take photos and share them with me at the very least. Same goes for my mom or friend or maybe even the occasional stranger!
Make the most of bedtime routines!
The more independent my son gets, the more his desperate need for a daily (if not hourly) bath time increases. I’ve also found that it’s a good form of wind-down playtime (i.e. not chasing the dog around the house with the noisy walker that he outgrew a long time ago). I love that Ivory Soap makes only pure and gentle products that are paraben free, pH balanced (so they don’t strip and dry out your skin!), and free of dyes!! I use Ivory Original Bar Soap or Ivory Aloe Body Wash during my son’s bath time because I know Ivory values families! To top it off, they haven’t changed their signature bar soap formula since it was created in 1879.
During my son’s bath time, I try to use those undistracted moments to have conversations with my son. As silly as our conversations get, I’m learning about who my son is and he is learning that I care about who he is, what he does, and what he cares about. After bath time, we usually read a story, pray together, turn on the nightlight that plays a tune that inevitably get stuck in mine and husband’s head, and then say our goodnights. I usually find bedtimes to be bittersweet. As I’m sure most mamas can relate, I feel relieved that I won’t be begged for another juice pack for the rest of the night, but I’m sad because he’s just so cute and I want to hug him forever.
Those are my suggestions to make the most of family time; but I’d love to know, what are yours?? What are ways you choose to make the most of small family moments? Leave your ideas in the comments below and remember to share with a mama this Mother’s Day!
For more great ideas or to stay in touch with Ivory, follow them on Instagram and Facebook.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Ivory. The opinions and text are all mine.
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Those pesky electronics are always getting in the way of family time. I love the idea of leaving them in the other room.
YES to candid photos of you with the kids! My new catchphrase is โQuick! Take our photo!โ
This is so cute and your baby is adorable! What a special time for mom and baby. Enjoy these moments.
Oh your babies are so precious. I know what you mean I miss those moments that I had with my children years ago but thank goodness that many years ago technology had an advance to where it is now. But if I could go back in time I wish I had a camera phone to just take pictures when I was maybe laying in bed and they were asleep on me .
I think this is such a sweet post. Family time is so important and must be treated so. I always make sure to spend some mommy and son time without phones for my son and I. He’s starting to enter the “teenage years” so I want to make sure I capture all the moments I can now!
I have always wanted to capture the moments. My daughter is 30 and I asked her about how she felt about the camera. At the time she said it was sometimes annoying, but now she is super super glad!
Technology is great but it does take us away from our lives. We’re so busy curating our perfect life online or capturing every moment that we can actually miss enjoying those moments.
Fmaily time can def be destroyed by technology! If there is one thing I am really trying to drive home it is to leave the phone/tablets etc. OFF, during dinner, during game time….just put them down and learn to TALK
Family time is my most favourite time. I sometimes forget to unplug during those times though, and need to remember to always. I do, love bath time for the kids though. We talk about their day, and they often tell me some fun stories. Those are the best times.
These are great ideas and your pictures are so sweet! Thank you for sharing your beautiful family ๐
These are great ideas! The phone can be so distracting! Sometimes I silence it and just leave it in my purse. I also make the most of the bedtime routine ๐
My husband and I both work so it’s hard to always have family time. We love making the most of the moments we have with our kids.
It’s really nice to take advantage of those little moments to spend some time with the family. It’s a great way to get to know our kids more and just have fun with them.
I so agree with leaving the phone in the other room, or at least put it down! I try to leave mine in my purse so out of sight out of mind!
Wow, this is a great post! I don’t have kids but this rally applies to all relationships. And I loved that you mentioned having someone get candids!!
I can totally relate to checking the phone all the time if itโs around me. I need to leave it in another room more often! And I completely agree about candids. Iโm hardly in any photos with my children because Iโm the family photographer, Haha! That photo of you two sleeping is so cute!!
That is such a great tip to ask your family to try to capture candids of you with your kids. I need to be in more shots!
This is such a great post. Itโs so important to put the phone down and pay attention to your family. Family time is NOT when everyone is sitting in the same room but on their phones.
I love this. I’ve been doing the phone thing during dinner time. I’m the worst during dinner. I will make the kids dinner and I keep working or getting stuff done.
Family time is very important, I don’t have kids yet but I do have my sisters and my nephews I do visit them once in a while. I also visit my parents too. Me and the Hubby have very different schedules so we really cherish our Saturday movie nights ๐
We love Ivory soap and bath time is definitely a great way to get quality family time. Silly conversations can be the best ones!
We have a rule about the phone and dinner. It is not allowed at the table. I think we have to make it a rule other places too.
Hi Chelsea,
I only just found you through Pinterest and so far I love everything about your site! We have so much in common, too, and not just the dependence on coffee (or the name)! I feel like you and I have similar bedtime routines with the kiddos between story time, a prayer, and a song. I’m glad you posted about Ivory, too – I stayed with my parents one night and didn’t bring baby’s soap; my dad had Ivory there, but I wasn’t sure if I could use it on a little one. Now I know!
Anyway, thanks for being so genuine in your writing. I hope that, as my blogging journey develops, I can have the same affect!