Mother’s Day 2021: What’s the Greatest Gift Motherhood has Given You?

Bloom’s Coaches Reflect on Motherhood and Share Their Tips for Self-Care

Once your baby comes into the world, wanting to workout isn’t enough anymore. You need to be able to find the time. And many days, that can feel impossible. To make sure you’re able to get some movement in every day, focus on what your body needs: a good stretch, a little cardio or a strength session? Ten minutes can be enough if you move with intention, and make every minute count. 

Knowing that self-care is important is one thing, and carving out the time is another. Every mama has a slightly different system for making it work, but there are some common themes and they all revolve around the mantra “self-care isn’t selfish, it’s essential.” When you treat self-care as a need instead of a want it’s easier to get creative in order to find a way to make it happen. 

In the spirit of celebrating motherhood and finding ways to lift one another up, we asked our coaches to answer two questions:

1. What is the greatest gift motherhood has given you?

2. What are your tips for finding balance when it comes to fitness and self-care?

Read on to see what our coaches had to say about motherhood and self-care.  

Madeline Souder:

1. Motherhood has brought so many wonderful things into my life, but I think something that I continually return to is that I’ve learned how to slow down. Focusing on my little guy and just letting everything else take a back seat is such a wonderful lesson for me.

2. My biggest tip is simply to move more! Go on walks, get on the floor and play with your littles! It can feel as though there is never time to care for yourself when you’re living the mom life, but if you can bring self-care into little moments here and there it can make all the difference. Also, ask for help. We were never meant to do it all ourselves!

Jemila Medley: 

1. Motherhood has gifted me a love like I’ve never known, newfound creativity, and more passion than ever before.

2. Work time into your pre-set schedule, whether that be 20-30 min/day or more, and rotate your schedule as different seasons in your life change (I.e., you may need to workout at night after kids go to bed rather than waking up earlier in the morning). The biggest thing is to ensure you’re not overexerting yourself to squeeze self-care or fitness in; instead, prioritize it in your schedule. So things like scrolling through Instagram, Facebook, & Pinterest before bed or when you wake up can be eliminated or consolidated to maximize your time and productivity!

Alysha Wilson

1. I was scared to lose myself when I became a mother; but without becoming a mother, I don’t think I would have ever truly found myself. That’s the gift motherhood gave me. 

2. Becoming a mom is the most important reason I ever had to take care of myself; taking care of me IS taking care of them! My tip is to get creative versus frustrated! Take the workout outside, make it part of your stroller walk- the best workout for you is always that one that you ACTUALLY do!

Kerry Audie

1. As a mom of three kiddos, motherhood has taught me to let things go. Staying in the moment is where I find my best self and it allows me to focus on what is important right that minute rather than stressing about the unknown future. The fleeting moments of tiny hugs, big smiles, and bigger emotions as my children navigate their world are special. I find myself looking at photos on my phone or reminiscing about the day just minutes after I put them to bed for the night. 

2. As a mom of three I know that when I feel my best and take care of myself, I am able to show up better for my kids and my family. Self-care is not selfish, it is essential. Here are my tips:

• Motivation is fleeting. Habits become reliable and eventually the habit of self-care or finding time to exercise becomes second nature and part of your routine. 

• It's hard to pour from an empty cup. Prioritizing yourself can be the opposite of selfish when taking care of yourself allows you to be more present for others.

Cathriona McGuire Fey

1. Motherhood has taught me to laugh more and to see the beauty in the chaos. To remember the fun that was had and the giggles that filled the room instead of the mess that was made. Each day with my girls, no matter how exciting or mundane, is a gift that I am continuously grateful for.   

2. My tips on finding balance when it comes to fitness and self-care: 

• Write it down: Plan ahead and visualize how that time for you will fit into the rest of your day. The best part, you get to cross it off after you make it happen!

• Do what you love: If it doesn’t make you smile or feel good after, it definitely isn’t filling your cup.

• Make that next appointment: After a haircut, manicure, personal training session, massage, whatever- when they ask if you would like to schedule your next appointment, do it! Future you will thank you 😉

Georgette Dunn

1. Motherhood has revealed to me how STRONG I truly am. It has become the greatest motivation and push for me to live a life filled with purpose and unabashed JOY. I want my kids to embody spirit, faith, and love - so then I must model that in my own self. How great a reminder is that!

2. The secret to me finding balance while juggling motherhood is making self-care deliberate and achievable in my calendar. I schedule it in, I place priority on it, I don't make excuses for needing it. Once I became firm with respecting boundaries; then everything else began to fall in place.

Charlene Smith

1. Motherhood has given me the gift of purpose. For years I was searching for myself, wondering what I could contribute to this small concept we call life. Although there may be a bigger answer, I can look at my babies and know that I am here for them.  Whether it is in a moment of laughter, fear, joy, anxiety, or tantrum, my purpose is to show up as their mom.

2. Finding balance means you've stumbled along the way. Don't get caught up in the stumble, the fun is always in the journey!

Amy Harris

1. Motherhood is initiation after initiation. Each new level has moved me into new levels of strength, mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. It has required I find within myself huge amounts of creativity, play, and fierce boundaries. It has also given me a new sense of solidarity with other women. Moms truly are superhuman. 

2. For me, it’s about priorities. I am a solo parent so I know that my whole self being healthy is key. My daughter is 5 now, so I have been through many iterations of my self-care routine. At some points, it was sleeping when she slept. Other times it was making sure I took a walk by myself once a week. In the early years, our needs were really connected and I let that be okay. Now, I have more space to differentiate. I always made sure to say “I love you” to myself as much as I say it to my child, rubbing my own feet, rubbing my heart, saying “you did a good job” to myself. All of that is potent self-care that can be done anytime. I also continually remind myself “I choose to be a mother.”

Donatella Fino

1. I am not a mother, but the gift my mother has given me regarding motherhood is the image of a strong woman. Her strength and determination has given me the confidence to pursue all of my dreams. 

2. When it comes to self-care and fitness the best advice I could give is: choose the workout that not only gets your body moving but one that you enjoy, instead of something you think you "should" be doing. This will not only feed the body, but the mind, and the soul.

Sophia Boedecker

1. Motherhood has taught me how strong I really am. 

2. My tips for self-care are to get up and move each day no matter what, even if it’s just rolling around on the floor on a yoga mat for 10 minutes. And never underestimate the power of a nice hot or freezing cold shower. What a blessing water is!

Chelsea Yoder

1. Motherhood has gifted me a strange sense of patience and calmness in situations that I never had before. 

2. My self-care routine is continually evolving. With one kid, it was keeping a schedule. Same times and days each week to workout. Finding the habit. As for self-care, similarly, was to schedule out specifically when I’d be gone in advance. Carve out the time. Planning “meetings” for me, made them harder to dismiss. With 2, it’s still about this scheduling technique. It’s gotten harder with Covid and limited family time, but we are getting there!

As part of your gift to yourself this year, commit to remembering the importance of honoring your body - wherever you’re at in the motherhood and fitness journey. Whether you’re currently growing a human being, or you’ve recently brought your baby earthside, remember to allow your body to have its own timeline for gaining strength or recovering postpartum. 

Follow us on Instagram to hear more stories on motherhood from our coaches and members during the month of May, as we celebrate all that motherhood is, what it means to each of us, and explore how we can do a better job of loving ourselves and lifting one another up.