Improving Patience
I always took pride in how patient I was with my daughter. I felt like I had a good balance between being silly with my her and teaching her how to be respectful. She is generally well-behaved…we followed a pretty tight schedule, which gave her predictably. Last month we welcomed our sweet baby boy and with his arrival has brought many changes. Life has become more hectic and we are all adjusting to our new normal. I found my “patience tank” has been running on empty. I’ve been overwhelmed a lot of the time…blame it on the sleep deprivation, figuring out a new balancing act or just growing pains of having a strong-willed toddler. It doesn’t matter. What matters is, I’ve had to learn how to be better at being patient and learn it fast!
Here are some tips that have helped me refuel my “Patience Tank”:
Develop a (flexible) schedule – I’m a firm believe in routine and schedules. I also think that’s why my toddler’s coo coo came out of her clock. Since the schedule she and I had was obsolete, I had to develop a new framework for our day. This has helped tremendously. It gives her some structure and expectation of our day.
One on one time with the kids – if there’s something as new and life changing as bringing home a new baby, it’s stressful for the entire household! Everything about my littler girls world has been rocked. My little lady stopped sleeping through the night, became very clingy and would only eat yogurt throughout the day. The longest 2 weeks of my life. Once our schedule balanced out and she had her Mommy and Me time back, everything fell back into place.
Try a distraction for your child – Favorite book? Favorite song? Time to break it out. Whether you are home or in aisle 5 at Publix, try a little restart after a 5 minute distraction!
Count to 10 or give yourself a time out – if the distraction doesn’t work and you feel like you’re just being tested, take a minute…or 10. Know your limits. Know when to take a breather. It doesn’t make you a bad parent, it makes you human.
Be good to yourself/rest when you can – this piggybacks off of the point above, but I cannot reiterate it enough, self-care is key and it may be different for everyone. In this constant juggling act we call parenthood, we are always putting ourselves last. Take the time to shower; the laundry can wait 20 minutes.
Forgive yourself – We are all human with our own flaws. Everyday is a learning opportunity and chance to grow and be better. After all, isn’t that what we are trying to teach our kids, be a human that does some good out there.
Hope these tips help you! How do you refuel your “Patience Tank?”
Hi! I’m Vanessa! I am a former pediatric nurse and recently transitioned into being a stay at home mom to two little ones. I will share my story on motherhood, raising toddlers, raising two children under the age of two, DIY projects, bouncing back after a baby, overcoming toddler speech delay and so much more!