This May, we’re honouring motherhood by chatting with some of our favourite mom bloggers, influencers and content creators about the highs, the lows and the many moments in-between. —Vita Daily
Hi Jen! Tell us a little bit about you and what do you do!?
I wear a few hats these days. I am the owner and founder of Peaceful Sleepers Consulting, working as a certified infant and child sleep consultant. I use holistic and responsive approaches to resolving family sleep issues, which focus on making changes to family sleep routines with respect and connection in mind. Through this work I aim to educate, empower and support young parents as they work toward bringing harmony, peace (and of course sleep!) back into their home. Because of my lifelong love for young children, I have held onto my teaching career, teaching three-and-four-year-olds part time at a Montessori preschool. And finally, when I am not teaching or supporting families with their personal sleep challenges, I spend my days at home with my little babes Kohen (4) and Oakland (2).
How do you use your platform to impact other moms—and parents—who follow you?
For the most part I use my platform to share tips, tricks and resources that hopefully inform and educate my followers on healthy sleep, establishing flexible but consistent routines and ways to make changes to sleep while deepening the baby/parent connection. Instagram is an awesome place to share my knowledge and expertise with my followers. I try to be pretty transparent on how I present myself as a parent with young children. I like to share my real world, as well as my own personal struggles with motherhood and parenting. I think if you follow me you know that I am not the perfect “Instagram mom” and I don’t have Pinterest-inspired photos all over my feed (not that there is anything wrong with that!) but I try to use my platform to portray my “real” life because I want my followers to feel a sense of authenticity in the content that I share. Motherhood is filled with so much joy and beauty but it’s also pretty wild and chaotic! I’ll be the first to admit that I am learning as I go and I love to share my experiences as a mom with my followers. Some of what I share might look pretty or glamourous, but I try to show a balanced and realistic view of parenting—this includes the good, the bad and the funny.
What’s your personal style/beauty mantra?
My husband always says “health is wealth” and I guess that’s kind of our family “beauty” mantra that we subscribe to. Believing that our health is our greatest wealth motivates us to live a healthy lifestyle. Nutrition, exercise, emotional well-being/self-care, sleep are all a huge priority in our home. Generally, it’s when I prioritize myself and lead a healthy lifestyle that I feel the most energized, motivated and confident. I believe that when you take care of your mind, body and soul, radiance shines from the inside out. That, to me, is beauty.
What would the Mother’s Day of your fantasies be? And what, in reality, does Mother’s Day usually look like at your house?
To be honest, I am a pretty spoiled and appreciated mama on Mothers Day! My husband does a very good job of turning my Mother’s Day Fantasy into a reality. It’s nothing fancy, but it sure is special. The past few years Mother’s Day has looked something like this: I sleep in while my husband gets up with the kids and makes a big brunch. Once I am up (around 9 a.m., and if you’re a parent you know that 9 a.m. is one heck of a sleep in!), if it’s warm enough, we will sit together out on the back deck in our backyard and eat eggs, toast, bacon, coffee, mimosas, you name it! I usually get a beautiful hand-written card or letter from the kids and if I’ve given enough hints leading up to the day, I will also get a special piece of jewelry from my hubby. It’s heavenly. Mother’s Day is one of my favourite celebrations (you can probably see why).
Did motherhood come easy to you, or were there challenges (if so, any in particular you’d like to share)?
No, it did not! As much as I wanted to love the transition into motherhood, it was a difficult time for me. Somehow, despite my years of experience working with young children and my strong desire to become a mother my whole life, I felt completely unprepared. In the early days I felt tremendously overwhelmed and anxious with this new sense of responsibility. It took time to adjust to the identity shift that took place as I transformed from “young woman” to “mother”. With the support of my husband and my dear mama tribe, I’ve been able to work through these feelings and become comfortable with my new, multifaceted identity. It has taken some time to get here, but I’ve actually never felt more confident or empowered as I do now.
The hardest thing about being a mom? The best thing?
For me, it’s that permanent state of exhaustion that never fully goes away. Even if you get sleep, nothing really shakes that lingering feeling of exhausting. The best thing about being a mom is the unconditional, unbreakable love you share with your kids. The way they say, “Mommy, I need you,” or “I love you, Mommy,” or the way they wrap their tiny arms around your neck for a cuddle; the way they become instantly soothed and calmed once you pull them in close. I don’t think there are words that accurately describe that unwavering love a mom has for her children, but I guess it’s that love that cracks your heart wide open everyday, that makes motherhood worth every second.
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