March 18, 2025 • 30 mins
Wellness looks different in every season of motherhood. In this empowering episode, we uncover the authentic health journeys of three mothers at distinctly different stages of parenthood, proving there's no single "right way" to take care of yourself while raising children.
Nicki, a mother of six ranging from 11 to 24, shares her balanced approach to wellness that includes daily walks, strength training, and purposeful nutrition that supports her changing body through perimenopause. Her thoughtful morning and evening routines provide structure while acknowledging imperfection.
Connect with Nicki on Instagram @review.momma
Listen to Nicki's previous episode
Emilee reveals her remarkable transformation from struggling with postpartum immobility after her fourth child to now training for the Boston Marathon. Her journey wasn't overnight but built through small, consistent actions over five years. Her disciplined 5am "Miracle Morning" routine gives her purpose and control before her four children (ages 4-11) wake up.
Connect with Emilee on Instagram @emileeroberts11
Listen to Emilee's previous episode
Then there's Alexis, deep in the trenches with two children under two, who bravely discusses her postpartum depression and the wellness routine centered on therapy, medication, and scheduled alone time that keeps her mental health a priority.
The conversation explores how wellness evolves through different life stages and circumstances. These mothers demonstrate that whether you're measuring success through cottage cheese recipes, marathon training, or simply making it through the day with your mental health intact, the "right" wellness routine is whatever works for you.
Take one small step today for your health—whether physical, mental, or emotional. What's your wellness routine look like right now? Text me through the link in the show notes or follow me on Instagram @ConfidentlyBeautifulPodcast to join the conversation!
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Visit saprea.org to learn more about hope and healing from child sexual abuse
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Connect with Ciera on Instagram @confidentlybeautifulpodcast
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Ciera (00:03):
You're listening to Confidently Beautiful with Ciera
, a podcast to help you stayconfidently beautiful, because
we all have confidence inside us.
We just need to bring it outand I'm here to show you how
Body image, dreams, parenting,style, personality and more here
we cover it all.
Get ready to stay confidentlybeautiful.
Hello, and welcome back toanother episode.
(00:26):
I am so happy you are herejoining in and listening.
Thank you for taking some timeto spend some time with me as we
talk.
All things confidence.
My goal is to hopefully inspireand uplift you to become a more
confident person in whateverstage in life you are, and I am
so excited for today's episode.
Today I am going to be sharinga panel that I did with three
(00:47):
special moms and they are threemoms that are in different
stages in motherhood, and we'regoing to be talking all things
health and exercise, wellnessand we're going to be talking
about how there is no right orwrong way to do something.
Did you know that?
I finally did it?
I finally have an emailnewsletter and I'm so excited.
(01:08):
I have put together a brand newwebsite,
confidentlybeautifulwithciera.
com C-I-E-R-A.
com, and you can sign up for mynewsletter there.
I will have a newsletter fullof my favorite things, podcast
episodes that maybe you havemissed.
Anything beauty and self-carerelated is going to be there.
It's going to be full of thingsthat I hope bring some value to
(01:31):
you.
So if this is something thatyou are interested in signing up
for, head on to my websiteconfidentlybeautifulwithciera.
com and sign up for thenewsletter, or you can click the
link in my bio or in the shownotes and it will take you
directly there, and I can't waitto be in your inbox.
All right, and we're back.
There are so many things outthere on the social media world,
(01:52):
on TV shows, on moviesEverything can tell us how a
certain health or wellnessroutine should look.
Influencers, celebritiesthey're always sharing their
health and wellness routines, soit can be really overwhelming
on which one is the right one.
It can also be very shaming onoh, I'm not doing enough or I
should be doing this.
I should be waking up earlier.
(02:13):
There's a lot of pressure tofeel like we're doing what is
right or enough I'm saying thosein quotation marks what really
is the right routine orsomething that is enough for you
?
Everyone is in different stagesof life, everyone is in
different stages of motherhood,and there is no one size fits
all approach.
When I wanted to do this episode, I really wanted to talk about
(02:35):
how there are different stagesin life where we can do
different things for our healthand wellness.
Our health and wellness journeyis about taking care of
ourselves and not followingsomeone else's blueprint.
So I'm going to be sharing alittle from three special moms,
all in different stages ofmotherhood, and they're going to
share their unique perspectiveson health and wellness.
(02:56):
Progress is better thanperfection.
Something is always better thannothing.
Find what works for you andbuild on that.
The first mom that we're goingto hear from is Nikki.
Nikki is actually someone whohas been on the podcast before.
She is someone who I reallyadmire.
She is in definitely a verydifferent stage of motherhood
than I am.
(03:16):
She has six kids and shedefinitely knows a lot about how
to mother in all the stages.
I can learn a lot from her.
I always love her advice.
She did a back to schoolepisode with me a long time ago
and she always has really goodthings to share.
Here is Nikki's advice forhealth and wellness.
Nicki (03:36):
Hi, my name is Nicki Wintch.
I have six children and theyrange in age from 11 to 24.
I have three boys and threegirls.
We live 25 miles from town, somy kids need to leave for school
by about 7 15.
(03:57):
So we get up at six.
They don't like a big breakfast, but we usually do cinnamon
toast or maybe some cereal orsome yogurt.
They're big enough that theyall can get themselves dressed
and hair combed and ready to goand out the door.
After that I take my vitamins.
(04:17):
I take a liquid collagensupplement, I try to drink a
couple glasses of water and thenI go walk on the treadmill in
my basement or, if it's nice, Iwalk outside.
I try to drink a protein drinkevery morning and then I try to
focus on eating high proteinmeals throughout the day.
(04:39):
Nighttime I'm a bit of a nightowl, so I struggle with getting
to bed at a decent time.
Nighttime I'm a bit of a nightowl, so I struggle with getting
to bed at a decent time.
But the older I'm getting, themore inclined I am to go to bed
at a good time.
My kids are usually headed tobed before 9, even if they're
just in their rooms reading orsomething.
I try to get them all to theirbeds at least by 9.
(05:02):
And then I usually try to startgetting ready for bed.
My bedtime routine is extensive.
I take a lot of vitamins andsupplements at night.
I have an extensive skincareroutine brushing my teeth,
flossing my teeth, I lotion myhands and feet, I put stuff on
my lips.
It's quite a routine, but I tryto start doing that around nine
(05:26):
so that hopefully by about 10,I'm actually ready to go to bed
and then hopefully be asleep byabout 1030.
Perimenopause has made it harderto fall asleep and stay asleep,
so it's a bit of a struggle,but I feel like starting earlier
gives me a better chance atactually falling asleep at a
decent time and getting a goodnight's sleep.
I feel like that makes a bigdifference in what the next day
(05:49):
looks like for me if I get agood night's sleep.
I try to walk 30 minutes everysingle day.
Well, at least five days a weekI do some free weights.
Most days I try to do it likethree to four times a week and
it's a pretty basic weightsroutine that I do just to work
every muscle group you know.
And then I just recently addeda vibration plate to my workout.
(06:13):
I do that at the end while Ikind of cool down, and it just
helps with bone density, ithelps with muscle tone, it helps
with lymphatic drainage, whichI feel like is rough when you're
in perimenopause.
So by the time all is said anddone, I'm usually downstairs for
about an hour.
Now that it's getting warm, I'mlooking forward to walking
outside again, though that issomething that I feel like is so
(06:36):
crucial to my mental health isgetting outside in nature,
feeling the sunshine on my face,breathing in the fresh air.
It does wonders for me to getoutside, and I've really missed
that this winter.
So I'm excited to start gettingoutside again.
It just helps me clear my head,and walking is such an
(06:57):
underrated form of exercisewhether you're on a treadmill or
outside, I feel like it's just.
It's so great for your entirebody, it's great for your heart,
it's great for your lung.
It doesn't have to be crazyintense cardio, but I do, you
know, try to get my heart rateup.
Eating healthy is something thatwe really try to do with our
(07:17):
kids.
We try to eat a lot of homecooked meals.
We do live far from everywhere,so anytime we have to go
somewhere.
Meals.
We do live far from everywhere,so anytime we have to go
somewhere, it seems like we doeat out, but for the most part
during the week, when we're homeand the kids are in school, I
cook.
I try to make almost everythingfrom scratch.
We try to always have avegetable or a salad with dinner
(07:38):
and then, like I said, mepersonally, I try to really
focus on eating high protein atevery meal and getting a lot of
protein.
That's so important for womenand it's so important the older
we get, once you're in your 30sand your 40s, you start to lose
muscle mass.
It just starts to basicallydissolve, and so it's important
(07:59):
to eat high protein meals to tryto maintain that muscle mass.
So some of my favorite thingsto do to take care of myself
mentally, physically,emotionally walking for sure is
good.
Usually in the morning, after Ifinish my exercise, I sit down
and have a good breakfast anddrink my perk energy drink,
(08:21):
which is just a great part of myroutine that I look forward to.
That's usually when I try to dosome scripture study and learn
more about, you know, jesusChrist and the church that I
belong to, and it's quiet in myhouse because my kids are all
gone to school, my husband'susually outside working on the
ranch, and I feel like thatgives me a lot of time to just
(08:42):
reflect, not necessarilymeditate, but just time to that
quiet time.
I feel like that gives me a lotof time to just reflect, not
necessarily meditate, but justtime to that quiet time I feel
like is so important for moms,and it's hard when your kids are
little, but having just even afew minutes of time to ponder
and pray and think and meditatejust sort of reconnects us with
our spirit, and for me it justkind of reminds me to slow down
(09:07):
and think about what's important.
It's not social media, it's not, you know, making a lot of
money, it's not things, it'sfamily and it's my relationship
with my savior.
And those things are come to mymind when I take the time to
just sit quietly and think.
So, doing that, walking, andthen doing something that I love
(09:31):
, which is, uh, reading,traveling, cooking, all of those
things which I didn't do, a lotof things that I loved when I
had little kids.
It was hard because therewasn't a lot of time, and so
it's been sort of fun torediscover the things that I
enjoy now that my kids arebigger and to make time for
(09:52):
those things to sort of feed mysoul in another way.
A favorite thing that I wouldlove to share I hope people are
into cottage cheese as much as Iam.
I don't know how cottage cheeseis having its moment, but I'm
telling you what I go through somuch cottage cheese.
I like cottage cheese just onits own, but, man, I make you
(10:13):
blend that stuff.
You can make so much stuff withit.
I have a delicious ranch dipthat I mean.
Then it's creamy and but it'shigh in protein and you can dip
your vegetables in it orcrackers in it or put it on top
of stuff.
Um, you can bake with cottagecheese.
I make a, a really great, likea thin, uh, hamburger bun type
(10:35):
thing, or bagels with cottagecheese.
I mean, cottage cheese is justreally having a moment and and I
love sharing that witheverybody the cottage cheese
bagels I started making and mysisters were like that sounds
disgusting and I talked them allinto baking it and every one of
them were like these areamazing.
So that's what I would sharewith anyone that asked is some
(10:56):
of my cottage cheese recipes,because it's it's really.
It's really living its bestlife right now.
Anyway, I'm not perfect, I'mnever going to be perfect, and I
think the older I get, I'velearned to just be grateful for
the body I have.
It's far from perfect, but it'sbrought me six beautiful kids
(11:18):
and it's helped me workalongside my husband on our
cattle ranch, and it's healthyand it's healthy.
I'm learning to just lovemyself for who I am and what I
am even if that's not perfect.
Ciera (11:34):
Next we're going to hear from Emilee.
Emilee is also a previouspodcast interview guest.
Emilee is out of the baby stageof motherhood and she has four
awesome kids and I loveeverything that she has.
She's very motivational.
She actually talks a lot abouthealth and wellness on her
Instagram.
So if you want to go and checkout her Instagram, then you will
definitely be uplifted andmotivated there for your health
and your wellness.
(11:54):
So let's hear what Emily has tosay.
Emilee (11:57):
My name is Emilee Roberts.
I have four kids.
My oldest is 11 and the next isnine, six and four.
They keep me very busy, but Ilove that and they are really
one of the reasons that Istarted to become more active in
my everyday life and changingsome of my habits.
I, when my fourth baby was born,I had this moment where I
(12:18):
finally started feeling like mybody was was given back to me,
because at the end of thepregnancy that I had with my
fourth baby, I really becamequite immobile.
I couldn't move without hurtingand aching and my body just
felt so foreign to me.
And several weeks after he wasborn, I just had this moment
where I realized my body I meanit wasn't back by any means, but
(12:41):
in a way my body was backbecause it was my own again and
I started getting some of mymobility back and a desire to
move.
And that desire started withjust taking little walks and
when I say little I'm meaning tothe stop sign back, just to
like have five minutes outsidein the sunshine where I was
(13:02):
moving just a little bit, andeventually that grew into a
little bit more.
And I was moving just a littlebit and eventually that grew
into a little bit more.
And eventually that grew into alittle bit more.
Eventually those walks changedinto high fitness.
I have a really good friend intown who started teaching high
fitness and I wanted to go tryand I went and I would jump and
I would pee my pants everysingle time.
I was pretty newly postpartumand it was horrible but also
(13:27):
wonderful because I really kindof embraced the idea of this
group fitness mentality whereeverybody was there having fun,
looking silly, not caring abouthow the other people looked, and
so I realized nobody cared howI looked, I wasn't worried about
them, they weren't worriedabout me and it was.
We were all just there to havefun and have a good time
together.
And that became a very fun wayfor me to move my body, for me
(13:50):
to get out of my house and to bearound friends and people and
to laugh and to have some adultinteraction.
And after I kind of got intohigh fitness I started getting
into a little bit more ofwalking, just a little bit
further, and eventually that ledinto a little bit of, I want to
say running, but it was alsokind of like run, walk, run,
(14:11):
walk, run, walk and eventuallythat built into a little bit
more running.
Sometime later it happened tobe weightlifting and it just all
kind of built on itself, but itreally happened very gradually
over time.
I started making these changesin my life almost five years ago
.
My baby will be five in May andI didn't really start doing any
(14:32):
of these things until probablythe July after he was born.
So almost five years into theselifestyle and habit changes,
I've really come to rely on mymorning routine.
These lifestyle and habitchanges, I've really come to
rely on my morning routine.
My morning routine is the thingthat sets the tone for the rest
of my day.
(14:52):
It gets my attitude right.
It gets my mindset right.
It helps me to really align myperspective with who I want to
be the mother.
I want to be the wife.
I want to be the business owner.
I want to be the person, theindividual, emily, that I want
to be really kind of startsfirst thing in the morning.
Um, I've learned for me that itneeds to start before my kids
get going.
(15:12):
I want to be in control of howmy day starts.
I don't want my kids to startmy day for me.
So that means my alarm goes offat 5am.
Um, I get up, I hurry like brushmy teeth.
Um, I get up, I hurry likebrush my teeth, splash, splash
some cold water on my face, andthen I go into a little bit of a
morning routine that followsthe basic outline from the book
(15:33):
called Miracle Morning, and thisMiracle Morning goes over the
lifesavers S-A-V-E-R-S.
It starts with S for silence, afor affirmations, v for
visualization, e for exercise, rfor read and S for scribe.
Now, I do kind of my ownversion of all of those things,
but I don't do it in that order.
(15:54):
I will start by, you know, justgetting up, getting dressed.
I will spend some time on myknees just talking to my father
in heaven where I'm praying, andthen I come into my office,
where I still have a good quietspace, and I in heaven where I'm
praying, and then I come intomy office, where I still have a
good quiet space, and I willread where I like to study my
scriptures.
Um, I will go through somepositive and personal
affirmations.
I will visualize some of thethings that I'm really wanting
(16:15):
to make happen, the goals thatI'm working on and focusing on
at that time.
Um, and and I just really tryto think about what version of
me needs to show up today inorder for me to get closer to
the life that I am envisioningfor my family.
And then I will sit and writein my gratitude journal, and
most of the time that's just mejotting down three things that
(16:35):
I'm grateful for.
It could be Diet Coke, it couldbe protein ice cream, which I
might tell you about later, itcould be just a hug from my kids
, and I repeat those things thatI'm grateful for all the time,
but it really does help me tokeep more of a glass half full
perspective, um.
And then I will go and finishthat all up with some exercise,
(16:56):
which sometimes I'm liftingweights, sometimes I'm running,
sometimes I'm doing both in in aday, um, but when I wake up at
that 5 AM time I'm running.
Sometimes I'm doing both in aday, but when I wake up at that
5 am time, I'm good to starthelping my kids get ready for
school by 7 o'clock so that Ican get them out the door and
where they need to be on time.
In order for my morning routineto work out the way that I want
(17:17):
it to, it really needs to startwith me prioritizing my
nighttime routine.
So at nighttime I, you know, Ido all of my skincare, my self
care.
I wash my face, I put on myfavorite pajamas, I will get
into bed and when I'm in bed Iput my phone away.
If my screen is in my face, Inever go to bed, so that that is
a rule that I have for myself.
(17:38):
My phone has to be plugged inaway from my bed Well like
farther than my arm can reach.
I also put it on sleep mode sothat I'm not getting.
You know, my interest isn'tbeing peaked by notifications or
my sleep isn't disrupted bynotifications at night.
It's on sleep mode and it'saway from my bed.
I do allow myself to read atnight and I will have my Kindle
(17:59):
and I set like a time for thatand I make sure that I'm setting
it down at a reasonable time sothat I can go to sleep, because
I can't perform as a mom theway I want to and, dare I say,
as an athlete, the way that Iwant to, unless I'm getting
adequate amount of sleep everynight.
So I do have time limits onthat.
(18:20):
My kids are pretty goodsleepers and that helps me to
have a good, solid andconsistent nighttime routine and
I know that as I embrace thatand as I prioritize it, the rest
of my day is so much betterbecause I'm able to start my day
the next day with my morningroutine the way I want to.
I did start just by going forwalks.
(18:40):
That that's kind of how myphysical activities just started
, and right now I am in themiddle of training to race my
first Boston Marathon and that'sreally cool and I sometimes
will get emotional, even now,when I think about like how far
I've come from just walking tothat stop sign and back to now I
(19:00):
am training to run the BostonMarathon.
And it's not just a marathon,like I had to qualify by getting
fast enough in order to beeligible to run there and and
that's really cool.
Now I did not go just one dayovernight like walking to
marathoning, but that isabsolutely not how it happened.
So I just really would want tomake it clear that you don't
(19:24):
have to change your whole lifein a day.
You know it.
That's not how it works.
It happens in baby steps, ithappens over time and as you can
do like small things, small andsimple things over time,
consistently, that's enough.
That is enough.
Because, as I started walking,it turned eventually into high
fitness, which turned intorunning, turned eventually into
high fitness, which turned intorunning, which turned into
(19:46):
weightlifting, which turned intowow, I'm stronger than I ever
knew that I was, I'm faster thanI ever knew I could be, and.
And not just that, but Irealized I could still get more
if I continued to show up andwork for it.
So those are the things I havefound that I love.
They're the things that bringme joy.
It I feel confident when I ammoving my body, and not because
(20:08):
I'm winning races, because I'mnot, not because I'm lifting the
heaviest of anybody in theworld, because I am not, but
it's because I am doing what Isaid I was going to do.
And I'm staying.
Um, I'm keeping integrity tomyself because I'm staying true
to the word that I gave me.
I am having self integrity, andthat boosts my confidence.
(20:28):
So I've come to love running.
Yes, I've come to love liftingweights yes, they bring me joy.
They they fill me with, withthis sense of of enoughness,
because it allows me to kind ofdisconnect from the things that
are stressing me out and embracethe things that help me to feel
confident, help me to feel likeI'm progressing as an
(20:51):
individual, so that I have thecapacity to also progress as a
mom, which is one of the thingsthat's most important to me.
Something that's helped me tomake these lifestyle switches
and these lifestyle shifts is tokind of create systems that are
quite simple, that all I haveto do is plug into them each day
.
So, for example, I I eat kindof boring sometimes, like my
(21:14):
breakfasts, lunches and snacks.
I will often repeat the samething for a couple of weeks, or
maybe I'll have like two orthree options for breakfast,
lunch and snacks that I kind ofrotate through for a few weeks.
I change my dinners we eatsomething different for dinner
every night but those systemsjust kind of helped me to stay
on track with my nutrition, withthe things making sure I'm
(21:35):
getting enough protein, makingsure that I am eating well and
I'm getting enough likemicronutrients on top of the
right balance of macronutrientsthat I enjoy.
Just plugging into systems,that really has helped me.
Um, the systems are where myhabits have been built.
I I've been able to maintainand to build on more healthy
(21:56):
habits because I have systems tofall back on.
So a lot of times, you know,when I have a really stressful
week or my family and my kidsand I have a lot going on at a
certain time, I I'm kind of ableto put myself on autopilot and
I just plug into the systemsbecause I know these are the
things that keep me sane, theseare the things that keep my
wheels turning, and all I haveto do is plug in every day and
(22:19):
if I just keep putting one footin front of the other, doing the
things that I know work for me,everything will work.
Some of my favorite productsand things that have helped my
health and fitness journey to bemore enjoyable Number one MFF,
which stands for macro-friendlyfoods.
It's my recipe subscription thatI, um, I purchase every month.
(22:41):
I actually have mine set upquarterly.
So it I get new recipes everymonth.
It comes with dinners, snacks,lunches, breakfast treats,
desserts, side dishes, all ofthose things and and I get new
recipes from it every month.
It has a meal planningweb-based app so that I'm able
to go and plan my meals.
(23:02):
I do that every Sunday.
That's another one of my simplesystems that I just plug into
every week.
So macro-friendly foods it's.
It's delicious.
My whole family loves it.
I do not make multiple dinnersfor all of the people in my
household.
I make one thing for me and foreverybody else, so it's family
friendly, it's budget friendly,it's delicious.
(23:23):
It's like normal food.
It's pasta and casseroles andand like the normal stuff that
my mom grew up, or I grew upwith my mom making for me, but
it's just tweaked so that it'smore macro friendly and more
balanced in the nutrition andthe ingredients that are being
used inside these dishes.
Another thing that I love everysingle day I am obsessed with
(23:46):
perk energy.
It is like a warm drink.
You can get it caffeinated orwithout caffeine.
It has collagen, it has proteinand they call it hug in a mug
because like it is it just it'sthis whole experience that
allows me to kind of slow down.
It goes back to my gratitude.
I have a moment to reflect.
It's this quiet, peacefulmoment that I give myself every
(24:07):
day.
I love it so much and it's alsojust one of those things that
I'm like oh hey, I'm alsogetting protein in with this.
And one more thing is my NinjaCreamy Machine.
I did not think I needed one.
In fact, I resisted it for along time because I did not want
another thing on my counter.
It is now one of my favoriteand most used kitchen appliances
(24:28):
in my entire house.
I love it.
I am able to make high proteinice cream that is low calorie.
I eat the whole pint.
I do not share.
I don't share, it's it's I,it's when I make it, it's just
for me I.
It tastes delicious.
You know I I'll make them withlike 30 to 40 grams of protein
per pint.
I have recipes on my Instagrampage that you're welcome to come
(24:51):
and look at.
Um, I have a highlight bubblethere.
In fact, all of my Instagramhas stuff for macro friendly
foods and stuff for perk andstuff for my ninja creamies and
and just other meals and recipesthat I have found that I love,
that are high in protein thatsupport my nutrition and support
my fitness and support my, myracing, my lifting and all of
these things my recovery, butalso feeds and fuels my family.
(25:15):
So those are some of the thingsthat I have learned that I love
, that have made this processand this journey much more
enjoyable for me.
Ciera (25:24):
And the third mom that wanted to share something is
Alexis.
Alexis is a warrior because sheis in the thick of it.
She has two kids, I believethey are both under the age of
two, so she is in with all thediapers, all the sleepless
nights, all the nap timeschedules and she is in with a
lot of it.
I loved what Alexis had to saywhen she gave her two cents on
(25:47):
being in the thick of motherhoodbut also taking care of her
health and her wellness.
She says postpartum depressionhas hit harder.
With this pregnancy I was insuch a dark place.
It took creating a routinewhich included therapy,
medication and alone time doingwhatever it is I wanted or
needed to that week to help mekeep my sanity in those first
(26:08):
few months.
It's still something I do now,seven months postpartum with my
son, and I'll probably continuewith it, hopefully without
medication, to make sure myemotions and mental health are
at their best so I can be mybest for my babies.
I love that because we talkedback and forth a little bit
about how we feel like mentalhealth needs to be talked about
(26:30):
more openly, especially withpostpartum mental health, and I
think as moms, we feel like wejust want to like bounce back to
what we were before.
We want to be able to feel likewe can just do things without
being tired.
We want to feel like we,physically, can do things.
We want to feel like ouremotions are leveled out and
that we aren't anxious ordepressed and can just live life
(26:52):
and sometimes it can be really,really tricky with those
hormones and everything thatcomes along with postpartum.
So I loved what she had to sayand I loved that she talked
about having alone time doingwhatever it is that she wanted
to do or sometimes what sheneeded to do.
Being alone, like as a mom, cansometimes be very needed to do.
Being alone, like as a mom, cansometimes be very difficult to
(27:13):
achieve, but it can have a hugebenefit on your well-being and
your wellness.
So I loved everything that shesaid, the therapy and medication
, everything that she is doing,and I am so glad that it is
working for her.
I love the reminder that it isokay to just focus on more of
the mental and emotional side ofwellness and it doesn't
(27:36):
necessarily have to be all thephysical.
I think a lot of times when wethink of health and wellness and
improving our health andwellness, we immediately go to
exercise, but I think there is ahuge benefit of taking care of
our emotional and mental healthas well.
I hope you can find somethingfrom all of these different
perspectives of health andwellness that you can take and
put into your life, depending onwhat season you are in.
(27:58):
Wellness is personal.
It evolves as life andmotherhood changes.
What I am doing today is notwhat I was doing when I before I
had kids, or even when I onlyhad two kids.
It is going to change as you goon, and it's not even dependent
on your child's situation, butsometimes just your life
situation, the weather whereyou're living, what your
(28:19):
finances are like and whatyou're able to do.
Maybe you love to go to the gym, but maybe you're not able to
go to the gym for a while, soit's going to be switched around
to taking a walk instead, and Ithink that it is important to
know that we don't have tofollow the script of what other
people are doing.
Ditch your comparison and focuson what works for you.
(28:39):
Do one small thing today foryour health, whether it's a
short walk, a glass of water,stretching before bed, calling
and making that doctor'sappointment that you've been
putting off.
Just try and do something thatis for you and to better your
mental and physical or emotionalhealth.
I would love to hear your ownroutines on Instagram.
Dm me on Instagram atConfidently Beautiful Podcast.
(29:00):
I'd love to hear your routines.
It's always interesting to meto hear other people's routines
and it inspires me to changethings up and maybe what's not
working for me to be able to trysomething that is working for
someone else and see if it willwork for me.
Because, again, we're nottrying to be like that someone
else, but we're just trying tofind what works for us.
You can also text me.
There is a link at the top ofthe show notes description and
(29:25):
you can just click on that andit is an actual text message.
It will text me and you cantell me your routines.
You can give me feedback on anypodcast episodes.
You can ask for requests onwhat you want to hear.
Just, I would love to hear fromyou.
So, yeah, make sure you clickon that link and text me.
Thank you for joining and thankyou to the three moms that
shared their experiences, and Ihope that you can find them
(29:46):
helpful.
Remember to subscribe, leave areview and follow along for more
confidence boosting content,and I will talk to you next week
.
Stay confidently beautiful.
Thanks for listening.
Connect with me on Instagram atconfidently beautiful podcast
and share this episode withsomeone in your life who could
use a little reminder of justhow amazing they already are.
(30:06):
Stay confidently beautiful.
You're listening to Confidently Beautiful with Ciera
, a podcast to help you stayconfidently beautiful, because
we all have confidence inside us.
We just need to bring it outand I'm here to show you how
Body image, dreams, parenting,style, personality and more here
we cover it all.
Get ready to stay confidentlybeautiful.
Hello, and welcome back toanother episode.
(00:26):
I am so happy you are herejoining in and listening.
Thank you for taking some timeto spend some time with me as we
talk.
All things confidence.
My goal is to hopefully inspireand uplift you to become a more
confident person in whateverstage in life you are, and I am
so excited for today's episode.
Today I am going to be sharinga panel that I did with three
(00:47):
special moms and they are threemoms that are in different
stages in motherhood, and we'regoing to be talking all things
health and exercise, wellnessand we're going to be talking
about how there is no right orwrong way to do something.
Did you know that?
I finally did it?
I finally have an emailnewsletter and I'm so excited.
(01:08):
I have put together a brand newwebsite,
confidentlybeautifulwithciera.
com C-I-E-R-A.
com, and you can sign up for mynewsletter there.
I will have a newsletter fullof my favorite things, podcast
episodes that maybe you havemissed.
Anything beauty and self-carerelated is going to be there.
It's going to be full of thingsthat I hope bring some value to
(01:31):
you.
So if this is something thatyou are interested in signing up
for, head on to my websiteconfidentlybeautifulwithciera.
com and sign up for thenewsletter, or you can click the
link in my bio or in the shownotes and it will take you
directly there, and I can't waitto be in your inbox.
All right, and we're back.
There are so many things outthere on the social media world,
(01:52):
on TV shows, on moviesEverything can tell us how a
certain health or wellnessroutine should look.
Influencers, celebritiesthey're always sharing their
health and wellness routines, soit can be really overwhelming
on which one is the right one.
It can also be very shaming onoh, I'm not doing enough or I
should be doing this.
I should be waking up earlier.
(02:13):
There's a lot of pressure tofeel like we're doing what is
right or enough I'm saying thosein quotation marks what really
is the right routine orsomething that is enough for you
?
Everyone is in different stagesof life, everyone is in
different stages of motherhood,and there is no one size fits
all approach.
When I wanted to do this episode, I really wanted to talk about
(02:35):
how there are different stagesin life where we can do
different things for our healthand wellness.
Our health and wellness journeyis about taking care of
ourselves and not followingsomeone else's blueprint.
So I'm going to be sharing alittle from three special moms,
all in different stages ofmotherhood, and they're going to
share their unique perspectiveson health and wellness.
(02:56):
Progress is better thanperfection.
Something is always better thannothing.
Find what works for you andbuild on that.
The first mom that we're goingto hear from is Nikki.
Nikki is actually someone whohas been on the podcast before.
She is someone who I reallyadmire.
She is in definitely a verydifferent stage of motherhood
than I am.
(03:16):
She has six kids and shedefinitely knows a lot about how
to mother in all the stages.
I can learn a lot from her.
I always love her advice.
She did a back to schoolepisode with me a long time ago
and she always has really goodthings to share.
Here is Nikki's advice forhealth and wellness.
Nicki (03:36):
Hi, my name is Nicki Wintch.
I have six children and theyrange in age from 11 to 24.
I have three boys and threegirls.
We live 25 miles from town, somy kids need to leave for school
by about 7 15.
(03:57):
So we get up at six.
They don't like a big breakfast, but we usually do cinnamon
toast or maybe some cereal orsome yogurt.
They're big enough that theyall can get themselves dressed
and hair combed and ready to goand out the door.
After that I take my vitamins.
(04:17):
I take a liquid collagensupplement, I try to drink a
couple glasses of water and thenI go walk on the treadmill in
my basement or, if it's nice, Iwalk outside.
I try to drink a protein drinkevery morning and then I try to
focus on eating high proteinmeals throughout the day.
(04:39):
Nighttime I'm a bit of a nightowl, so I struggle with getting
to bed at a decent time.
Nighttime I'm a bit of a nightowl, so I struggle with getting
to bed at a decent time.
But the older I'm getting, themore inclined I am to go to bed
at a good time.
My kids are usually headed tobed before 9, even if they're
just in their rooms reading orsomething.
I try to get them all to theirbeds at least by 9.
(05:02):
And then I usually try to startgetting ready for bed.
My bedtime routine is extensive.
I take a lot of vitamins andsupplements at night.
I have an extensive skincareroutine brushing my teeth,
flossing my teeth, I lotion myhands and feet, I put stuff on
my lips.
It's quite a routine, but I tryto start doing that around nine
(05:26):
so that hopefully by about 10,I'm actually ready to go to bed
and then hopefully be asleep byabout 1030.
Perimenopause has made it harderto fall asleep and stay asleep,
so it's a bit of a struggle,but I feel like starting earlier
gives me a better chance atactually falling asleep at a
decent time and getting a goodnight's sleep.
I feel like that makes a bigdifference in what the next day
(05:49):
looks like for me if I get agood night's sleep.
I try to walk 30 minutes everysingle day.
Well, at least five days a weekI do some free weights.
Most days I try to do it likethree to four times a week and
it's a pretty basic weightsroutine that I do just to work
every muscle group you know.
And then I just recently addeda vibration plate to my workout.
(06:13):
I do that at the end while Ikind of cool down, and it just
helps with bone density, ithelps with muscle tone, it helps
with lymphatic drainage, whichI feel like is rough when you're
in perimenopause.
So by the time all is said anddone, I'm usually downstairs for
about an hour.
Now that it's getting warm, I'mlooking forward to walking
outside again, though that issomething that I feel like is so
(06:36):
crucial to my mental health isgetting outside in nature,
feeling the sunshine on my face,breathing in the fresh air.
It does wonders for me to getoutside, and I've really missed
that this winter.
So I'm excited to start gettingoutside again.
It just helps me clear my head,and walking is such an
(06:57):
underrated form of exercisewhether you're on a treadmill or
outside, I feel like it's just.
It's so great for your entirebody, it's great for your heart,
it's great for your lung.
It doesn't have to be crazyintense cardio, but I do, you
know, try to get my heart rateup.
Eating healthy is something thatwe really try to do with our
(07:17):
kids.
We try to eat a lot of homecooked meals.
We do live far from everywhere,so anytime we have to go
somewhere.
Meals.
We do live far from everywhere,so anytime we have to go
somewhere, it seems like we doeat out, but for the most part
during the week, when we're homeand the kids are in school, I
cook.
I try to make almost everythingfrom scratch.
We try to always have avegetable or a salad with dinner
(07:38):
and then, like I said, mepersonally, I try to really
focus on eating high protein atevery meal and getting a lot of
protein.
That's so important for womenand it's so important the older
we get, once you're in your 30sand your 40s, you start to lose
muscle mass.
It just starts to basicallydissolve, and so it's important
(07:59):
to eat high protein meals to tryto maintain that muscle mass.
So some of my favorite thingsto do to take care of myself
mentally, physically,emotionally walking for sure is
good.
Usually in the morning, after Ifinish my exercise, I sit down
and have a good breakfast anddrink my perk energy drink,
(08:21):
which is just a great part of myroutine that I look forward to.
That's usually when I try to dosome scripture study and learn
more about, you know, jesusChrist and the church that I
belong to, and it's quiet in myhouse because my kids are all
gone to school, my husband'susually outside working on the
ranch, and I feel like thatgives me a lot of time to just
(08:42):
reflect, not necessarilymeditate, but just time to that
quiet time.
I feel like that gives me a lotof time to just reflect, not
necessarily meditate, but justtime to that quiet time I feel
like is so important for moms,and it's hard when your kids are
little, but having just even afew minutes of time to ponder
and pray and think and meditatejust sort of reconnects us with
our spirit, and for me it justkind of reminds me to slow down
(09:07):
and think about what's important.
It's not social media, it's not, you know, making a lot of
money, it's not things, it'sfamily and it's my relationship
with my savior.
And those things are come to mymind when I take the time to
just sit quietly and think.
So, doing that, walking, andthen doing something that I love
(09:31):
, which is, uh, reading,traveling, cooking, all of those
things which I didn't do, a lotof things that I loved when I
had little kids.
It was hard because therewasn't a lot of time, and so
it's been sort of fun torediscover the things that I
enjoy now that my kids arebigger and to make time for
(09:52):
those things to sort of feed mysoul in another way.
A favorite thing that I wouldlove to share I hope people are
into cottage cheese as much as Iam.
I don't know how cottage cheeseis having its moment, but I'm
telling you what I go through somuch cottage cheese.
I like cottage cheese just onits own, but, man, I make you
(10:13):
blend that stuff.
You can make so much stuff withit.
I have a delicious ranch dipthat I mean.
Then it's creamy and but it'shigh in protein and you can dip
your vegetables in it orcrackers in it or put it on top
of stuff.
Um, you can bake with cottagecheese.
I make a, a really great, likea thin, uh, hamburger bun type
(10:35):
thing, or bagels with cottagecheese.
I mean, cottage cheese is justreally having a moment and and I
love sharing that witheverybody the cottage cheese
bagels I started making and mysisters were like that sounds
disgusting and I talked them allinto baking it and every one of
them were like these areamazing.
So that's what I would sharewith anyone that asked is some
(10:56):
of my cottage cheese recipes,because it's it's really.
It's really living its bestlife right now.
Anyway, I'm not perfect, I'mnever going to be perfect, and I
think the older I get, I'velearned to just be grateful for
the body I have.
It's far from perfect, but it'sbrought me six beautiful kids
(11:18):
and it's helped me workalongside my husband on our
cattle ranch, and it's healthyand it's healthy.
I'm learning to just lovemyself for who I am and what I
am even if that's not perfect.
Ciera (11:34):
Next we're going to hear from Emilee.
Emilee is also a previouspodcast interview guest.
Emilee is out of the baby stageof motherhood and she has four
awesome kids and I loveeverything that she has.
She's very motivational.
She actually talks a lot abouthealth and wellness on her
Instagram.
So if you want to go and checkout her Instagram, then you will
definitely be uplifted andmotivated there for your health
and your wellness.
(11:54):
So let's hear what Emily has tosay.
Emilee (11:57):
My name is Emilee Roberts.
I have four kids.
My oldest is 11 and the next isnine, six and four.
They keep me very busy, but Ilove that and they are really
one of the reasons that Istarted to become more active in
my everyday life and changingsome of my habits.
I, when my fourth baby was born,I had this moment where I
(12:18):
finally started feeling like mybody was was given back to me,
because at the end of thepregnancy that I had with my
fourth baby, I really becamequite immobile.
I couldn't move without hurtingand aching and my body just
felt so foreign to me.
And several weeks after he wasborn, I just had this moment
where I realized my body I meanit wasn't back by any means, but
(12:41):
in a way my body was backbecause it was my own again and
I started getting some of mymobility back and a desire to
move.
And that desire started withjust taking little walks and
when I say little I'm meaning tothe stop sign back, just to
like have five minutes outsidein the sunshine where I was
(13:02):
moving just a little bit, andeventually that grew into a
little bit more.
And I was moving just a littlebit and eventually that grew
into a little bit more.
And eventually that grew into alittle bit more.
Eventually those walks changedinto high fitness.
I have a really good friend intown who started teaching high
fitness and I wanted to go tryand I went and I would jump and
I would pee my pants everysingle time.
I was pretty newly postpartumand it was horrible but also
(13:27):
wonderful because I really kindof embraced the idea of this
group fitness mentality whereeverybody was there having fun,
looking silly, not caring abouthow the other people looked, and
so I realized nobody cared howI looked, I wasn't worried about
them, they weren't worriedabout me and it was.
We were all just there to havefun and have a good time
together.
And that became a very fun wayfor me to move my body, for me
(13:50):
to get out of my house and to bearound friends and people and
to laugh and to have some adultinteraction.
And after I kind of got intohigh fitness I started getting
into a little bit more ofwalking, just a little bit
further, and eventually that ledinto a little bit of, I want to
say running, but it was alsokind of like run, walk, run,
(14:11):
walk, run, walk and eventuallythat built into a little bit
more running.
Sometime later it happened tobe weightlifting and it just all
kind of built on itself, but itreally happened very gradually
over time.
I started making these changesin my life almost five years ago
.
My baby will be five in May andI didn't really start doing any
(14:32):
of these things until probablythe July after he was born.
So almost five years into theselifestyle and habit changes,
I've really come to rely on mymorning routine.
These lifestyle and habitchanges, I've really come to
rely on my morning routine.
My morning routine is the thingthat sets the tone for the rest
of my day.
(14:52):
It gets my attitude right.
It gets my mindset right.
It helps me to really align myperspective with who I want to
be the mother.
I want to be the wife.
I want to be the business owner.
I want to be the person, theindividual, emily, that I want
to be really kind of startsfirst thing in the morning.
Um, I've learned for me that itneeds to start before my kids
get going.
(15:12):
I want to be in control of howmy day starts.
I don't want my kids to startmy day for me.
So that means my alarm goes offat 5am.
Um, I get up, I hurry like brushmy teeth.
Um, I get up, I hurry likebrush my teeth, splash, splash
some cold water on my face, andthen I go into a little bit of a
morning routine that followsthe basic outline from the book
(15:33):
called Miracle Morning, and thisMiracle Morning goes over the
lifesavers S-A-V-E-R-S.
It starts with S for silence, afor affirmations, v for
visualization, e for exercise, rfor read and S for scribe.
Now, I do kind of my ownversion of all of those things,
but I don't do it in that order.
(15:54):
I will start by, you know, justgetting up, getting dressed.
I will spend some time on myknees just talking to my father
in heaven where I'm praying, andthen I come into my office,
where I still have a good quietspace, and I in heaven where I'm
praying, and then I come intomy office, where I still have a
good quiet space, and I willread where I like to study my
scriptures.
Um, I will go through somepositive and personal
affirmations.
I will visualize some of thethings that I'm really wanting
(16:15):
to make happen, the goals thatI'm working on and focusing on
at that time.
Um, and and I just really tryto think about what version of
me needs to show up today inorder for me to get closer to
the life that I am envisioningfor my family.
And then I will sit and writein my gratitude journal, and
most of the time that's just mejotting down three things that
(16:35):
I'm grateful for.
It could be Diet Coke, it couldbe protein ice cream, which I
might tell you about later, itcould be just a hug from my kids
, and I repeat those things thatI'm grateful for all the time,
but it really does help me tokeep more of a glass half full
perspective, um.
And then I will go and finishthat all up with some exercise,
(16:56):
which sometimes I'm liftingweights, sometimes I'm running,
sometimes I'm doing both in in aday, um, but when I wake up at
that 5 AM time I'm running.
Sometimes I'm doing both in aday, but when I wake up at that
5 am time, I'm good to starthelping my kids get ready for
school by 7 o'clock so that Ican get them out the door and
where they need to be on time.
In order for my morning routineto work out the way that I want
(17:17):
it to, it really needs to startwith me prioritizing my
nighttime routine.
So at nighttime I, you know, Ido all of my skincare, my self
care.
I wash my face, I put on myfavorite pajamas, I will get
into bed and when I'm in bed Iput my phone away.
If my screen is in my face, Inever go to bed, so that that is
a rule that I have for myself.
(17:38):
My phone has to be plugged inaway from my bed Well like
farther than my arm can reach.
I also put it on sleep mode sothat I'm not getting.
You know, my interest isn'tbeing peaked by notifications or
my sleep isn't disrupted bynotifications at night.
It's on sleep mode and it'saway from my bed.
I do allow myself to read atnight and I will have my Kindle
(17:59):
and I set like a time for thatand I make sure that I'm setting
it down at a reasonable time sothat I can go to sleep, because
I can't perform as a mom theway I want to and, dare I say,
as an athlete, the way that Iwant to, unless I'm getting
adequate amount of sleep everynight.
So I do have time limits onthat.
(18:20):
My kids are pretty goodsleepers and that helps me to
have a good, solid andconsistent nighttime routine and
I know that as I embrace thatand as I prioritize it, the rest
of my day is so much betterbecause I'm able to start my day
the next day with my morningroutine the way I want to.
I did start just by going forwalks.
(18:40):
That that's kind of how myphysical activities just started
, and right now I am in themiddle of training to race my
first Boston Marathon and that'sreally cool and I sometimes
will get emotional, even now,when I think about like how far
I've come from just walking tothat stop sign and back to now I
(19:00):
am training to run the BostonMarathon.
And it's not just a marathon,like I had to qualify by getting
fast enough in order to beeligible to run there and and
that's really cool.
Now I did not go just one dayovernight like walking to
marathoning, but that isabsolutely not how it happened.
So I just really would want tomake it clear that you don't
(19:24):
have to change your whole lifein a day.
You know it.
That's not how it works.
It happens in baby steps, ithappens over time and as you can
do like small things, small andsimple things over time,
consistently, that's enough.
That is enough.
Because, as I started walking,it turned eventually into high
fitness, which turned intorunning, turned eventually into
high fitness, which turned intorunning, which turned into
(19:46):
weightlifting, which turned intowow, I'm stronger than I ever
knew that I was, I'm faster thanI ever knew I could be, and.
And not just that, but Irealized I could still get more
if I continued to show up andwork for it.
So those are the things I havefound that I love.
They're the things that bringme joy.
It I feel confident when I ammoving my body, and not because
(20:08):
I'm winning races, because I'mnot, not because I'm lifting the
heaviest of anybody in theworld, because I am not, but
it's because I am doing what Isaid I was going to do.
And I'm staying.
Um, I'm keeping integrity tomyself because I'm staying true
to the word that I gave me.
I am having self integrity, andthat boosts my confidence.
(20:28):
So I've come to love running.
Yes, I've come to love liftingweights yes, they bring me joy.
They they fill me with, withthis sense of of enoughness,
because it allows me to kind ofdisconnect from the things that
are stressing me out and embracethe things that help me to feel
confident, help me to feel likeI'm progressing as an
(20:51):
individual, so that I have thecapacity to also progress as a
mom, which is one of the thingsthat's most important to me.
Something that's helped me tomake these lifestyle switches
and these lifestyle shifts is tokind of create systems that are
quite simple, that all I haveto do is plug into them each day
.
So, for example, I I eat kindof boring sometimes, like my
(21:14):
breakfasts, lunches and snacks.
I will often repeat the samething for a couple of weeks, or
maybe I'll have like two orthree options for breakfast,
lunch and snacks that I kind ofrotate through for a few weeks.
I change my dinners we eatsomething different for dinner
every night but those systemsjust kind of helped me to stay
on track with my nutrition, withthe things making sure I'm
(21:35):
getting enough protein, makingsure that I am eating well and
I'm getting enough likemicronutrients on top of the
right balance of macronutrientsthat I enjoy.
Just plugging into systems,that really has helped me.
Um, the systems are where myhabits have been built.
I I've been able to maintainand to build on more healthy
(21:56):
habits because I have systems tofall back on.
So a lot of times, you know,when I have a really stressful
week or my family and my kidsand I have a lot going on at a
certain time, I I'm kind of ableto put myself on autopilot and
I just plug into the systemsbecause I know these are the
things that keep me sane, theseare the things that keep my
wheels turning, and all I haveto do is plug in every day and
(22:19):
if I just keep putting one footin front of the other, doing the
things that I know work for me,everything will work.
Some of my favorite productsand things that have helped my
health and fitness journey to bemore enjoyable Number one MFF,
which stands for macro-friendlyfoods.
It's my recipe subscription thatI, um, I purchase every month.
(22:41):
I actually have mine set upquarterly.
So it I get new recipes everymonth.
It comes with dinners, snacks,lunches, breakfast treats,
desserts, side dishes, all ofthose things and and I get new
recipes from it every month.
It has a meal planningweb-based app so that I'm able
to go and plan my meals.
(23:02):
I do that every Sunday.
That's another one of my simplesystems that I just plug into
every week.
So macro-friendly foods it's.
It's delicious.
My whole family loves it.
I do not make multiple dinnersfor all of the people in my
household.
I make one thing for me and foreverybody else, so it's family
friendly, it's budget friendly,it's delicious.
(23:23):
It's like normal food.
It's pasta and casseroles andand like the normal stuff that
my mom grew up, or I grew upwith my mom making for me, but
it's just tweaked so that it'smore macro friendly and more
balanced in the nutrition andthe ingredients that are being
used inside these dishes.
Another thing that I love everysingle day I am obsessed with
(23:46):
perk energy.
It is like a warm drink.
You can get it caffeinated orwithout caffeine.
It has collagen, it has proteinand they call it hug in a mug
because like it is it just it'sthis whole experience that
allows me to kind of slow down.
It goes back to my gratitude.
I have a moment to reflect.
It's this quiet, peacefulmoment that I give myself every
(24:07):
day.
I love it so much and it's alsojust one of those things that
I'm like oh hey, I'm alsogetting protein in with this.
And one more thing is my NinjaCreamy Machine.
I did not think I needed one.
In fact, I resisted it for along time because I did not want
another thing on my counter.
It is now one of my favoriteand most used kitchen appliances
(24:28):
in my entire house.
I love it.
I am able to make high proteinice cream that is low calorie.
I eat the whole pint.
I do not share.
I don't share, it's it's I,it's when I make it, it's just
for me I.
It tastes delicious.
You know I I'll make them withlike 30 to 40 grams of protein
per pint.
I have recipes on my Instagrampage that you're welcome to come
(24:51):
and look at.
Um, I have a highlight bubblethere.
In fact, all of my Instagramhas stuff for macro friendly
foods and stuff for perk andstuff for my ninja creamies and
and just other meals and recipesthat I have found that I love,
that are high in protein thatsupport my nutrition and support
my fitness and support my, myracing, my lifting and all of
these things my recovery, butalso feeds and fuels my family.
(25:15):
So those are some of the thingsthat I have learned that I love
, that have made this processand this journey much more
enjoyable for me.
Ciera (25:24):
And the third mom that wanted to share something is
Alexis.
Alexis is a warrior because sheis in the thick of it.
She has two kids, I believethey are both under the age of
two, so she is in with all thediapers, all the sleepless
nights, all the nap timeschedules and she is in with a
lot of it.
I loved what Alexis had to saywhen she gave her two cents on
(25:47):
being in the thick of motherhoodbut also taking care of her
health and her wellness.
She says postpartum depressionhas hit harder.
With this pregnancy I was insuch a dark place.
It took creating a routinewhich included therapy,
medication and alone time doingwhatever it is I wanted or
needed to that week to help mekeep my sanity in those first
(26:08):
few months.
It's still something I do now,seven months postpartum with my
son, and I'll probably continuewith it, hopefully without
medication, to make sure myemotions and mental health are
at their best so I can be mybest for my babies.
I love that because we talkedback and forth a little bit
about how we feel like mentalhealth needs to be talked about
(26:30):
more openly, especially withpostpartum mental health, and I
think as moms, we feel like wejust want to like bounce back to
what we were before.
We want to be able to feel likewe can just do things without
being tired.
We want to feel like we,physically, can do things.
We want to feel like ouremotions are leveled out and
that we aren't anxious ordepressed and can just live life
(26:52):
and sometimes it can be really,really tricky with those
hormones and everything thatcomes along with postpartum.
So I loved what she had to sayand I loved that she talked
about having alone time doingwhatever it is that she wanted
to do or sometimes what sheneeded to do.
Being alone, like as a mom, cansometimes be very needed to do.
Being alone, like as a mom, cansometimes be very difficult to
(27:13):
achieve, but it can have a hugebenefit on your well-being and
your wellness.
So I loved everything that shesaid, the therapy and medication
, everything that she is doing,and I am so glad that it is
working for her.
I love the reminder that it isokay to just focus on more of
the mental and emotional side ofwellness and it doesn't
(27:36):
necessarily have to be all thephysical.
I think a lot of times when wethink of health and wellness and
improving our health andwellness, we immediately go to
exercise, but I think there is ahuge benefit of taking care of
our emotional and mental healthas well.
I hope you can find somethingfrom all of these different
perspectives of health andwellness that you can take and
put into your life, depending onwhat season you are in.
(27:58):
Wellness is personal.
It evolves as life andmotherhood changes.
What I am doing today is notwhat I was doing when I before I
had kids, or even when I onlyhad two kids.
It is going to change as you goon, and it's not even dependent
on your child's situation, butsometimes just your life
situation, the weather whereyou're living, what your
(28:19):
finances are like and whatyou're able to do.
Maybe you love to go to the gym, but maybe you're not able to
go to the gym for a while, soit's going to be switched around
to taking a walk instead, and Ithink that it is important to
know that we don't have tofollow the script of what other
people are doing.
Ditch your comparison and focuson what works for you.
(28:39):
Do one small thing today foryour health, whether it's a
short walk, a glass of water,stretching before bed, calling
and making that doctor'sappointment that you've been
putting off.
Just try and do something thatis for you and to better your
mental and physical or emotionalhealth.
I would love to hear your ownroutines on Instagram.
Dm me on Instagram atConfidently Beautiful Podcast.
(29:00):
I'd love to hear your routines.
It's always interesting to meto hear other people's routines
and it inspires me to changethings up and maybe what's not
working for me to be able to trysomething that is working for
someone else and see if it willwork for me.
Because, again, we're nottrying to be like that someone
else, but we're just trying tofind what works for us.
You can also text me.
There is a link at the top ofthe show notes description and
(29:25):
you can just click on that andit is an actual text message.
It will text me and you cantell me your routines.
You can give me feedback on anypodcast episodes.
You can ask for requests onwhat you want to hear.
Just, I would love to hear fromyou.
So, yeah, make sure you clickon that link and text me.
Thank you for joining and thankyou to the three moms that
shared their experiences, and Ihope that you can find them
(29:46):
helpful.
Remember to subscribe, leave areview and follow along for more
confidence boosting content,and I will talk to you next week
.
Stay confidently beautiful.
Thanks for listening.
Connect with me on Instagram atconfidently beautiful podcast
and share this episode withsomeone in your life who could
use a little reminder of justhow amazing they already are.
(30:06):
Stay confidently beautiful.
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