a water your toddler mama soul FAQ

Water Your Toddler Mama Soul begins next Wednesday, and today I want to share a quick FAQ:

What does "deep dive into self-care" mean?

I have to admit that I've been worried this phrase might be overwhelming to some. To me, a deep dive is a commitment to practicing something with your whole heart. So for these 10 days, my hope is that the mamas coming along will bring their hearts open to practicing self-care each day to see what it really feels like. However, the practices won't be intense. Quite the opposite really. They will be accessible and will take about 10-20 minutes each day (longer if you want them to). We will be taking photos and writing and getting outside to just breathe. And we will be supporting each other along the way. Also, I will be available by email and in the Facebook group for questions and support.

Why 10 days?

As a toddler mama, I know what it feels like to not have time for myself. But this is what I know: When I don’t take time for myself I’m not able to be really present for my life, for the everyday, for the beauty and the hard stuff. And I want to be present for all of it. 

And every time I’ve taken an ecourse since my daughter was born, I’ve never ever finished. Not once. And I like ecourses a lot. I like the community and the emails of wisdom in my inbox and the practices shared...all of it. But I seldom work through 4, 5, or 8 weeks of content.

Water Your Toddler Mama Soul gives you immediate accessible practices to reconnect with yourself in the midst of all that a day with a toddler or two or three brings. It gets right to it and gently pushes you to take care of yourself starting right now.

These are the practices I use each day, and when the class ends, you will be able to begin again, use the prompts that most resonated, and turn to the emails as often as you need to as a reminder that you are not alone. 

Do I have to be creative?

This isn't a class about being a creative mama or being creative with your kids. I do use the phrase "creative self-care" because many of the tools I use (photography, writing, and even meditation) fall under that category. There will be daily photography prompts that will be used as a tool to see your world and yourself. I can imagine that we will share ideas for ways to be creative with our toddlers in the Facebook group and look forward to those conversations.

Is this a class about parenting or about advice for parenting a toddler?

Nope. This class is about self-care for mamas. In the Facebook group, there could be threads started about parenting where someone asks for some tips, but that is not a focus of this class or of the Facebook group.

Can you define toddler mama? What if I’m not a toddler mama but this class speaks to my mama soul?

If you think you are a toddler mama, then you probably are! This class will focus on toddler moms and what they experience having a child between 1ish-4ish. I’ve heard someone call the newborn year “the longest shortest time.” This class will explore accessible self-care practices to support toddler mamas getting through that next stage that I think feels like a true continuation of that longest shortest time but with walking + talking + unexpectedness each day and so on. 

If your child is younger than 1 or older than 4 and this class speaks to you, send me an email and we can chat about it.

Tell me more about the Facebook group.

One of the reasons I want to create this class with a Facebook group that carries on after the class ends is because I think toddler mamas need a safe space to go where they can share how intense and gorgeous and crazy and beautiful the day to day is, and they will be held by a group of women who nod and get it and say, “me too, me too” because they are right there in it each day as well.

I deeply appreciate the perspective of moms of older children and turn to them for support. But sometimes these moms say things like, “Hold on to every moment.” and “Don’t wish this time away.” When what we really need to hear are other toddler mamas saying, “I hear this. This part of being a mom is hard for me too. You aren’t alone. I know you love your child, but of course this is intense. You are okay.” and so many other things that I believe only another toddler mama can feel in her body in this moment simply because she is in it too.

This first group of Water Your Toddler Mama Soul participants will help me to shape this Facebook group, and I can’t wait to dive in together.  

If you have any questions, please just send them over. 

Learn more and register here.