After my last newsletter (COVID Immune Boosts & Quarantine Hacks), you may have thought I’m no longer on maternity leave. But I STILL AM! As you can imagine, my time off to welcome a baby boy to our family (which now numbers 6 of us, including Happy, the rescue rabbit!) has changed a bit!

I’m still having my Babysitter Blog series where my favorite health & wellness professionals will share something new with you all while I’m on maternity leave (and apparently now quarantine/isolation time!)

I have some seriously awesome, knowledgable, gifted, smart and and talented friends. From published authors to a vegan chef to a Food Network host and a pre/post natal fitness & yoga expert, you’ll hear from them all!

Today’s post is from my sweet & generous friend and fellow mama, Brandi! Due to the social distancing/quarantine, Brandi and I jumped on FaceTime the other day to chat. We each brought our baby boys (who are about 4 months apart), so I think that might have counted as my son’s first playdate! 🙂 We had a great talk and the time flew by. Before I knew it, 45 minutes had passed and we both had to jump off the call to make dinner. (The moral of that story is even though we are social distancing, make time to have virtual play dates, virtual happy hours, virtual mommy dates and FaceTime with family & friends. Continue to CONNECT.) 🙂 I can’t tell you how uplifted I felt after our chat!

I love Brandi’s post and it really resonates with me. I’m a HUGE believer and user of affirmations. I’ve been doing it for well over a decade now!

Check out her blog post to see if you can relate too, and for some simple but powerful mantras you can use daily!

xo,

Brandi Milloy: Momtras Every Mama Needs to Hear

When Abby asked me to guest post on her blog I was so excited! It’s an honor to meet all of you and bring our like-minded communities together. If you follow me on Instagram you already know that I’m a huge believer of affirmations and the power our words have over us, our children and our families. And even though many of us look like we have it together I’m here to tell you that no one does and everyone is just doing the best job they know how. In a way we’re all kind of winging it! Something that we talk a lot about on my podcast, MOMHOOD is the idea that Motherhood shouldn’t look like one specific thing-there are a million ways to mom! It’s an entirely personal journey and should be celebrated as such. The beautiful isms that make us unique as humans is exactly the things we should be proud of as
mothers. You are everything you child needs because you are their parent and how you “Mom” is the right way for you and your family.

#MomLife is not for the faint of heart. It tests you, teaches you and pushes you beyond your limits. One minute you’re patting yourself on the back thinking you’ve got this. The next you’re negotiating with your toddler and bribing them with goldfish. Things take you 10x longer than they should, you repeat yourself 100x over and bedtime never comes soon enough.

BUT during all of this—you are growing. Your child is growing. Neither of you are the same as yesterday and the challenges you face one day shift into something different the next. Tomorrow is a new day for both of you!

Do not doubt yourself Mama, you’ve got this! You’re doing amazing. Be proud of yourself. Give yourself some Grace. There’s no manual, no right way of mothering. Everyone is just doing their best and what works for one mama might not work for you and that’s ok.

Here’s the only thing you must remember: YOU, my friend are everything your child needs. YOU are their Mama and everything YOU are is everything they need. You already have it.

So give yourself some grace and repeat after me:

I am enough.
I am everything my child needs.
I am the most amazing Mama to my child(ren).
I am doing my best.
I am the most important teacher to my child(ren).
I am open to the lessons my child(ren) teach me.
I trust my instincts.
I can do this (even though I feel overwhelmed).
I give myself permission to slow down or say “no.”
I believe in myself.

Read it again. Now, more than ever I believe we need to support one another. We are living in unprecedented times. Everyone is doing things they never thought possible but we are doing it. You can do hard things. You can have less, do less and still have more than you ever realized before. Read that again too.

Now I encourage you to write some affirmations for your children. There is so much power in these words. Read them to your children before bed. I read once that the most important time you can spend with your child is the first 3 minutes they wake up and the last 3 minutes before they go to sleep. I like to use this time with them empowering them and loving on them. I believe the words our children hear us tell them are what they will become.

I invite you to make your own list of Momtras and keep them somewhere visible so you can read them everyday because you deserve someone encouraging and supporting you, mama. I know I am.

About Brandi

Brandi Milloy is a TV host, food reporter, lifestyle & parenting expert and an at-home cook known for her simple and fun approach to food.

She recently starred in the Food Network series, Let’s Eat, and frequently appears on the network as a judge on such shows as Guys Grocery Games and Chopped. She is the co-creator and co-host of MOMHOOD, the interview based podcast that explores different parenting perspectives and empowers parents to own their unique motherhood journey. Brandi also appears as a regular contributor on TODAY Show, Cooking Channel’s The Best Thing I Ever Ate, Home & Family, Access Hollywood LIVE and KTLA.

When she isn’t in front of the camera, she shares her recipes, family stories, and time (and money) saving hacks on her popular blog, BrandiMilloy.com.

Brandi loves spending time with her daughter, son and husband in Coastal Los Angeles. You can follow her on Youtube, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter as @BrandiMilloy