Journaling Through Motherhood: A Busy Mom's Toolkit

When this blog post was first published in 2021, it was the first blog post I wrote postpartum after having our baby girl. After over 12 hours of unmedicated labor, I officially became a mom to an amazing baby girl. My husband and I became a mommy and a daddy. Originally, this post was written as a way for new moms to talk about the role of journaling in the postpartum journey and newborn phase. Now, this post is more of an invitation to use journaling as a tool for lots of different aspects of motherhood. Motherhood is a remarkable journey filled with joy, laughter, and countless moments that you don’t want to miss. Yet, amidst the chaos, it's easy for busy moms to feel overwhelmed by the demands of nurturing a family, managing a variety of household items, and balancing work-related tasks. In the whirlwind of diapers, playdates, and bedtime routines, moms need to carve out moments for themselves, moments for reflection, and ultimately use journaling as an outlet for self-care. In this blog post, I invite you to explore practical tools for planning, goal-setting, continuous learning, and stress management. All by using a notebook or journal as your sidekick.

Motherhood, JournalingStephanie HamptonJanuary 8, 2024journaling, first time mom, FTM, motherhood, postpartumComment

Toddler Activities Ages 1-3: Colors

This week is all about the colors of the rainbow! Colors are everywhere. When I was planning for this week, I didn’t want to make it too complicated. We are going to do many of our routine activities for the week with the goal in mind to be purposeful when talking about colors. For example, we are adding on to a bank of two-word combinations

Black-Cat

Yellow-Banana

Orange-Hat

The goal is to be more mindful in the hustle and bustle of the day to talk about colors, label colors as we see them, and try to work in some silly games that we may not have had in the plans originally. Our little one knows her colors already, but I am learning that language is all about confidence when it comes to speaking. I want to build her assurance when it comes to speaking, and also add on to the knowledge that she already has been working on so far. This post includes book recommendations, day-to-day activities for the morning, and some links to music from YouTube to get you and your little one moving.

MotherhoodStephanie HamptonAugust 29, 2023colors, toddler, toddler activities, early literacyComment

Toddler Activities Ages 1-3: Feelings

What is one of the biggest lessons you have learned since becoming a parent or caregiver?

I would answer this question by saying: “I never expected to learn so much about myself and regulating my own emotions, reactions, and feelings in any given situation.”

While I am not quick to react to something, I do know that 13 years spent in a middle school classroom has made my default responses to things sarcastic and short. Now that we have a little one, I want to make sure she is raised understanding her feelings matter and are validated no matter what.

Feelings are a huge topic of conversation in all aspects of parenting. You will find this type of work almost everywhere in the multiverse that is mom blogging. This next week of activities focuses on a theme that holds immense importance in every conversation I have had so far that talks about motherhood– 'All About Feelings' activities for our little ones. From joyful giggles to big tears, this week will be about helping toddlers understand, express, and embrace their emotions. While some of the toddler tantrums are indeed “terrible,” some of the best words I have heard are that it isn’t a tantrum; they are not able to regulate their bodies, emotions, thoughts, or feelings. This idea of regulation made so much more sense to me because when we are upset, angry, or sad, often our own adult bodies seem like they are struggling for stability. Enter into the chat a 2-year-old with a limited vocabulary, shorter attention span, and increased need for control.

So, how do we help regulation?

I think the first step is by talking about what those feelings are and being able to label them as they come up. This post outlines some introduction activities you can use to start talking about feelings, labeling emotions, and making some ridiculous faces along the way.

MotherhoodStephanie HamptonAugust 21, 2023feelings, emotions, toddler, toddler activitiesComment

Toddler Activities Ages 1-3: All About Me & Affirmations

The first week of working in a more structured routine means that we HAVE to start with identity work. I would do this type of activity if the kids were toddlers or in high school, and it seems even more important that this little one is my own. Anything that we are learning has to start with her interests. This week’s theme is a heartwarming topic that's close to every parent's heart: All About Me and Affirmations. I wanted to include the activities that we were going to focus on for the week and how they connect to each other. The goal is to keep those tiny hands busy but also lay the foundation for a strong sense of self-confidence and positivity. This post includes an overview of morning activities for Monday-Thursday. So, grab a cup of your favorite beverage, get ready to dive into the world of imaginative play, and let's celebrate our toddlers as the incredible individuals they are!

MotherhoodStephanie HamptonAugust 14, 2023toddler, toddler activities, ages 1-3, motherhood, affirmationsComment

Work-from-Home Mama and Toddler Learning Routines

When I spent over a decade in the classroom, it never occurred to me that I would use those lesson-planning skills as a new mama. However, as our little one gets bigger and bigger, I can see my role as a teacher start to creep into the picture a bit more as we are moving to have more structured mornings in terms of activities and having some goals. Our little one is two, so we aren’t in a rush to get into a full-blown lesson schedule, but she really loves a schedule. I think her mama does, too.

The main goal of our time together is always to play, be outside as much as possible, and have fun.

But, with her being home with me, my teacher brain also needs the outlet of doing lesson planning and looking at different activities for our little one. Part of what fuels teachers is the creative input and output of ideas surrounding learning. I wanted to focus on the morning time after breakfast when we got back from being outside and before lunch. If she were enrolled in a 2’s program, she would be attending a class 2-3 times a week that would work with her on a “get-ready-for-preschool” curriculum. This isn’t that.

This is more so open-ended learning with goals and themed activities to have some fun each week. This morning routine strikes the perfect balance between work commitments on my end and those precious moments with my little explorer. From storytimes that spark imagination to the sensory bins and water tables that ignite their curiosity, we'll journey through different creative crafts, drawing, baking, and grooving to music and movement throughout the week. I have figured out by now that each mama is different and each kid is different, but I am hoping to share our learning routines and journey along the way as we figure out how to work, play, and grow together!

MotherhoodStephanie HamptonAugust 13, 2023toddler, ages 1-3, toddler activities, work from home, wahmComment

Boost Your Toddler's Brainpower with Early Literacy Learning Bins: Discover 7 Fun and Educational Activities to Fuel Their Imagination!

After 13 years in secondary education, you start to feel like you know a thing or two about working with kids. You feel good about your strategies, you revise lessons that have already been made, and you hone in on your craft as an educator and a teacher of reading and writing. You have a pile of successes and losses that you can relate back to when you feel like you need direction. You understand the work that goes into helping students in grades 6-12 learn how to really care about reading and writing.

Then, you realize after having your own child that it is possible to start over. To be a beginner again. There is something amazing about starting at the beginning of something. The beauty in starting over is that you are humbled by the idea that you are a constant student of learning. I know I said this for years in my own classroom, but feeling like an utter beginner in many senses has been exciting, but also frustrating.

I have a toddler, like many toddlers, who loves all things sensory. She is sensory seeking in many ways. She loves books, but she is also on the go. I wanted to start introducing her to more ideas that were themed or grouped together to help her with learning her words and put ideas together. We also needed to insert something into our daily mama and daughter routine that we could look forward to each day either before lunch or after the nap.

Cue early literacy learning bins for our weekday unboxing during downtimes.

By incorporating sensory activities into her early literacy world, I can create a stimulating and engaging environment that enhances their cognitive, language, and motor skills. In this blog post, I present a 7-day overview of sensory early literacy learning bins tailored specifically for toddlers aged 1-3. Each day focuses on a different theme, allowing a little one to explore and discover various concepts while having fun. As always, take what you need from my ideas.

Let's dive in!

MotherhoodStephanie HamptonMay 29, 2023sensory bins, sensory, sensory seeking, toddler, early literacyComment

Find Inspiration in Motherhood with Creative Writing Prompts

Creative writing isn’t just for famous authors or story writers. One thing I have really noticed since becoming a mother is that imagination and play have such a huge role in our lives, and as we get older, the former methods of play kind of fall away. They seem not needed. Almost trivial. In the classroom, creativity and imagination in the form of free writing with limited rules are one of the most beloved activities that kids crave year after year. It is not because it works in every single classroom, it is because they can feel that imagination and be able to play is fun again. Learning should be fun. Also, life and having kids should be fun.

Mamas have all sorts of stories to tell.

Stories of when we were kids.

Stories of times before we had our own children.

Stories of giving birth and labor.

Stories of how we adjusted to parenthood.

Stories of raising little ones.

Stories about our fears and triumphs, our hurts, and our hearts that now walk outside of our bodies.

We keep these stories in important places. We carry them in our physical beings and in our minds. We take pictures to not forget these moments. We write down important moments. We teach our babies about the value of stories. The power of creative writing unlocks the ability to share the real stories that happen to form the memories in our lives, and it allows us to dive deeper into our imaginations. We teach our babies to think "outside of the box," and our writing allows us the same outlet for play. Creative writing allows us to be heard in some way. We get to be silly. We get to have fun. In many cases, we get to heal. If children learn about their worlds through exploration and play, we can learn about ourselves through the stories inside of us.

Mama, you are already a writer without putting one word down on the page. This post contains a free resource to download or preview, and anyone can pull from the creative writing prompts to find inspiration, fun, and play.

Daycare Affirmations for the Next Drop Off

Daycare has proven to be one of the toughest hurdles so far in motherhood. I love the analogy for parenthood that our kids are our hearts walking around outside of our bodies. That about sums it up. I didn’t know how hard it was going to be to trust someone with my little heart. There are so many things to consider, research, and question when it comes to finding childcare and a daycare provider. Often, the availability of good daycare is so hard to find because of age, circumstances, or if they are full. The younger the child is the harder it seems to be. I have found daycares that weren’t a great fit for us as a family, and I have found daycares that put my mind at ease. This post is to help a mama’s mind during drop-off. Whatever your reason for needing and choosing a daycare, those reasons matter. Grab a notebook and pen and get ready to circle one of the following 25+ affirmations that stick out to you. If you need to, put it on a sticky note on your rearview mirror or take a glance at it before you start your engine.

MotherhoodStephanie HamptonJuly 27, 2022daycare, daily affirmations, affirmations, affirmation, quotesComment

Use Any Planner to Track Your Baby's Daily Schedule

After having our first little one this past year, I hit a learning curve with all of the things a new mom has to keep track of and record. Being a person who loves planning, I was obsessed with learning about schedules, wake windows, bottle timings, night wakings, and more. I found out immediately that schedules and sleep were linked. This caused me to become hyper-focused on how to get our little one on a schedule because sleep was the key to functioning again. I ran to a well-known app that worked perfectly for the first 8 months. An app on my phone was great because I could track feedings, pumping, diaper changes, and sleep patterns all in one spot. I also had a report that would come to my inbox weekly when we were updating our pediatrician on how things were going. Apps are amazing things, really.

Then, our little one started daycare, and it wasn’t feasible or practical to have the daycare use our tracking system, and it was too tedious to try to keep entering in the day’s information all at once. I was exhausted after work, and I didn’t want to feel like I had one more chore to do at the end of the day. I was also finally moving to a place where I was more “go with the flow” and didn’t feel the need to track every minute of our little one’s day. I have always been an analog person. I love the feel of paper when it comes to both journaling and reading books. I get why other people enjoy the other mediums, but when I was faced with how I keep track of our little girl’s schedule in a new way, I immediately ran back to paper. This post outlines how you can use any bullet journaling or planning system to keep track of your young one’s day. I go into detail about what I track, how I track those items and some setups that might work for you

MotherhoodStephanie HamptonOctober 12, 2021passion planner, planner, schedule, baby scheduleComment

The Big List of Motherhood Affirmations for Journaling and Life

Before having a baby, I loved to write down powerful sayings, save quotes on my social media feeds, or underline important phrases in books. After giving birth, I am realizing that affirmations really help you control the narrative of the daily conversations you have with yourself. The postpartum period right after giving birth is a time when you don’t have the time or energy to monitor what you are saying to yourself, but it is the most important time in those first few weeks that the things you say to yourself matter more than you can ever know. Keeping track of the inner conversation as a mama is part of the healing process. Whether you choose to write some of these affirmations down on a sticky note or grab your favorite journal, take what you need based on how you feel. This post is really like the postpartum affirmations buffet. Please help yourself to a serving of self-love and care. Then, when you are feeling frustrated, alone, tired, or discouraged, make sure you give yourself another serving if needed. This post has 100+ affirmations that aren’t fluff. Whether you are struggling with breastfeeding or feeling alone after giving birth, jot down a mantra or a saying that you can tell yourself over morning coffee or when you find one quiet moment in the bathroom.

MotherhoodStephanie HamptonMay 22, 2021affirmations, motherhood, postpartum, postpartum healing, mantras, quotesComment

Defunk! Find Postpartum Positivity Using Mindset Shifts in your Journal

Everyone can use mindset shifts, I try to use them all the time inside and outside of my classroom. While I am a huge advocate for trying to shift to a place of positivity, I didn’t realize how badly I needed the journal work of mindset shifts until I became a mom. Parenthood is overwhelming. Being the person and part of the unit of persons for a little being that you are still figuring out is exhausting. There is a rush of emotions that happens with wanting to keep the new little one safe, wanting to take care of yourself and your partner, and adjusting to a new life routine. Even if the new addition isn’t your first, new moms (of any kind) can benefit from mindset shift work. This post is for the new moms that need to work themselves out of the funk, and all they have is a notebook and a pen or pencil.

When I became a mother, I knew that the most important person talking to me was myself. However, it became impossible at times to feel positive because I was tired, discouraged, or lost in all of the new information. All while trying to keep a tiny baby alive and not dread going to the restroom with my peri-bottles and larger-than-life pads. I am a firm believer that we are the mindset we make each day. While it was easy to find joy in newborn snuggles, I think everyone can use a journal to make the postpartum period of life a bit more joyous on the inside as well as the outside. Everyone kept telling my husband and me: “Trust me, it gets better.” I am here to tell you, yes it gets better, but you can also use mindset shifts along the way to help your own sanity until little one gives you that first long sleeping stretch at night.

MotherhoodStephanie HamptonMarch 28, 2021postpartum, journaling, mindset shifts, mindset shift, negative self-talkComment

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