Finding a balance

My son is one week shy of his first birthday. It's a little surreal! I can't even begin to sum up what this year has taught me... the lessons are immeasurable. I can't put into words the joy my son has brought to my life.... the love is infinite.  My beliefs have been tested and questioned, and my strength and courage is unshakable. My role as a mother is one of the hardest yet most rewarding jobs I've ever had, and yet I feel a sense of fulfillment and pride I've never known before. As I reflect on a year that has brought so much change, emotion, growth, and fulfillment, I see my happy, healthy, vibrant son, who is an absolute pleasure to be around! I feel grateful!

It's been challenging, to say the least, to try and find a balance between work and family, since starting my practice last fall.  I've been spoiled with the amount of time I've had to watch my son grow up and bond with him. Over the past few months, I've realized it is very difficult to be productive when I'm with him! He's in the phase where he likes to have someone in the same room as him at ALL times. So, if I want to sit at the kitchen table and get some work done, he sits in his high chair, throwing cheerios and fruit puffs at the dog for about 20 minutes until he gets bored and starts to whine! Or, if I even attempt to leave him in the gated family room, where he can CLEARLY see me, about 5 feet away, sitting at the table, he may be able to entertain himself for about 20 minutes before he crawls over to the mesh gate and shrieks while shaking it like he's trying to break out of prison! Never mind the endless amount of toys he has to play with. Mommy is the BEST form of entertainment! He has yet to nap in his crib during the day, and if we attempt this, we get a baby and mama who don't do well with "CIO"!!  We've graduated to naps in the stroller, after a walk outside, or driving around until he falls asleep and hoping we can transfer him to our bed before waking. Basically we've created a monster! This makes accomplishing any work near impossible. With his birthday coming up fast, we're going to have to figure out something different for his naps!

My goals in the coming weeks and months are to work VERY hard on becoming more productive and efficient during the times I am baby-free. I struggle daily to keep things and life in order! The first step is admitting you have a problem, right?!

Aside from the challenges that arise from the distractions of mommyhood, I have accomplished a lot! I really feel like I'm finding my place in my community. I am so grateful for all of the wonderful people and businesses I've made connections with, who are either supporters of me and my practice or have taken that leap and begun their own chiropractic care! I can only hope that with my continued hard work and dedication, I will be able to educate as many people as possible about the positive benefits of chiropractic and share my story with lots and lots of families!

The adventures of this chiro mom have only just begun :) I can't wait to look back on these first few years of Ryder's life and the first few years of my practice and smile, knowing how many challenges I overcame and how my love for my family AND chiropractic conquered every hardship, every crappy day, and every obstacle thrown my way!

I really enjoy sharing my journey with you and hope I can inspire others to make a positive impact in their communities as well!