A Secret to Success as a Working Mom: Turn Burn Out Into Bliss and Embrace Joy

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Last weekend my youngest was committed to going to the "Water Steps" a man-made water fall in Pittsburgh by the rivers. (Fun Fact: Three rivers converge in Pittsburgh--The Ohio River, The Monongahela River, and the Allegheny River.)  He kept asking. I knew he was serious when he said, "If you won't take me, I'll ask  daddy!" Given that it was highly unlikely that would happen on an unscheduled day, I relented. So, we went. It wasn’t planned in the way most things in my life are. No calendar block. No checklist. No “productive” purpose attached. And, so in some respects it was uncomfortable. And yet, it seemed necessary. It was the idea of my 8-year-old—offered with the kind of urgency only children possess when something is profoundly important to them.
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The Power of the Belly...

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When I first started taking prenatal yoga I swore that I wouldn’t be one of those pregnant women who kept her hand on her belly staring off with a far away look in her eyes, looking completely disconnected from the world around her. But that was about twenty weeks ago, at the beginning of my second trimester. It was before I had a real belly to speak of. It was before the baby started noticeably burping, moving, and kicking. It was before I could feel the life inside of me. After I began feelng something  everything changed.


Now that I am in my third trimester, nearly full term at 36.5 weeks of pregnancy, it is different. The movement in my belly is amazingly reassuring. It reminds me that everything is OK. I am incredibly fascinated by all things going on inside of me.

Pregnancy is this amazing journey. There are so many significant things going on in my body at the same time, but none of them are visible. Feeling my baby kick is how I know that everything is on schedule. It’s like my baby is sending messages to me like, “Hi Mommy!”, “I’m hungry Mommy!” and “Mommy, I love you!”.

Those messages allay my fears and renew my hope. I bought a prenatal heart monitor, but because of the baby’s position I can’t hear the heart beat. So the kicks are the only consistent communication that I have with the baby. And I cherish it. They make me believe that everything is alright.

Now I have become an expectant mother who constantly touches her stomach and has a far away look in her eye. At times, I am completely disconnected from the world around me, and completely in tune with my baby. And I understand that completely.


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