What helps me balance motherhood and my personal life is

[Kiana]

I love my journaling time. Working on the Japanese language. Allowing a chaos of a mess occasionally haha. Watching my husband be a dad. Building things in preparation for the new little. Having matcha (yay pumpkin cold foam lol). Participating in rock painting for a family in our community who used this rock garden as a creative outlet while fighting breast cancer. Creating toys for my son. Watching my son be silly. Playing with bubbles.

What helps me balance motherhood and my personal life is organizing, getting fresh air, some sunshine, and a little socialization .

I currently use around 3 journals. 1 for our life, 1 to track my pregnancy, and 1 junk journal. Our life journal helps us plan our our week, prioritizing what we need to do, give us a gist of the meals we will be having to limit how many times we go out to eat or grocery shop. We talk about what areas around the house needs tending to the most and maybe appointments that week. My pregnancy journal helps remind me of ensuring to reflect and jot down how this pregnancy has been! It’ll be nice to look back on and I use it to track that I took my prenatal. I also use it to basically remind myself that I need to rest!!! Then the junk journal is just occasional usage lol.

The areas I’ve been ~working~ on trying to balance motherhood and my own interests and goals consist of reminders to just be present. Sometimes I find myself needing to always be doing something, then I feel guilty about not spending time with my little or resting for my pregnancy. I am currently trying to crochet our own play balls (I didn’t want to buy anything) because I wanted to get busy with my hands while not doom-scrolling on my phone, while practicing a skill. A goal my husband and I have are working on learning Japanese, and it has been great working on that!

Sometimes when I feel overwhelmed, I do just need to get outside of the house, so we go to the park, play with bubbles, or go for a walk!

My pregnancy has been so different this 2nd time around especially since I have our first kiddo to watch!!! What I am looking most forward to is seeing our son be the best big brother ever! I am so excited for this next phase of our lives.

The momcozy community, my momcozy pregnancy pillow, the momcozy prime day sale coming up (hehe), hydrating, having my daily matcha, and park time, are all things that have been so great throughout my motherhood journey. I wish more moms had support in slowing down. It might not make sense, but sometimes society, social media, the overwhelming list of what you may need for your expecting baby and current toddler can be a lot! Sometimes we really truly just need that reminder to slow down (even when it seems impossible), rest, and reflect on the life we have with our kiddos because time flies by way too fast.

Side-note: I’ve been in a conundrum of wanting to complete a scrapbook for my sons first 2 years of life, but I feel like if I do put time aside to work on it, I’m like not being present with my son! It really is just needing reminders of time-management skills, prioritizing things, making a schedule, and truly finding a routine that works best for us!

momandmore HelloCozyMom

[Odalis]

I really like your picture collage. It is so cool.

Wow, that is really cool that you’re learning Japanese. I’m learning Mandarin I think learning languages is really fun and can also be a little difficult.

I also really like how you have a journal for different things. I think that is very smart sometimes we can get overwhelmed or stressed and having a journal can help.

[Jen]

Thank you for sharing such a thoughtful, honest glimpse into your life. The way you’re making room for journaling, Japanese practice, creativity, fresh air, family time, and even a little “chaos of a mess” feels so real—and so beautifully balanced in its own way.

Your three-journal system sounds wonderful: one for keeping family life moving, one for honoring and documenting this pregnancy, and one simply for whatever your heart needs in the moment. We especially love that your pregnancy journal reminds you to rest, too—such an important thing to remember when you’re caring for a little one while preparing for another baby.

Crocheting play balls, making toys for your son, learning Japanese with your husband, painting rocks for a meaningful community garden, and sharing bubbles and park time together are all such sweet ways to stay present. Your son is already so lucky to have parents who are preparing for this next chapter with so much love, and he’s going to make an amazing big brother.

And please give yourself grace about the scrapbook. Creating it is not taking away from being present with your son—it is another way of celebrating and preserving the beautiful little moments you’re living together. Even a few pages at a time, whenever it feels right, will become something precious.

We’re so glad the Momcozy community, your pregnancy pillow, daily matcha, hydration, and gentle reminders to slow down have supported you along the way. You’re absolutely right: motherhood doesn’t need to be perfectly productive to be meaningful. Sometimes rest, a walk, sunshine, and watching your child be silly are more than enough.

[Jessica2]

Journaling is such a FANTASTIC IDEA!!! wow!!! I’m going to start this now