Having a baby has made me healthier

It might be surprising, but it's true. Having a baby has made me healthier.

One of the big changes I've noticed is that we rarely eat out. Before Sydney was born we ate at home most of the time, but would go out to eat 2 or 3 times on the weekend. Now, it's a lot more challenging to get out because of Sydney's nap and bedtime schedule.

Instead of feeling limited by this, I've been using it as an opportunity to save money, eat healthier, and get creative with my cooking. I've gotten into the habit of picking something new or a little more involved to cook on the weekend. This way we still get to enjoy a delicious meal and I don't feel deprived.

I've come to realize that in many cases I can cook food that tastes better than what we'd get at a casual restaurant. I'm often dissapointed when I eat out, though of course it's nice to get out and have someone serve you food and do the dishes. I still go out to eat, but it's much less often and when we do, I view it as a special opportunity and choose the restaurant carefully.

Some of the things I've cooked recently:
Fresh pasta with homemade bolognese sauce
Black eyed peas with collard greens
Black beans with bacon

Striving to be in the moment

As most of you know, I am a new mom. My beautiful daughter, Sydney, is now 4.5 months old. (You'll notice that many of my upcoming posts are going to be about my experience as a mom.)

I have to admit that before becoming a mom I often found it difficult to be "in the moment." I define being in the moment as being able to appreciate what you're doing, who you're with, you're enviroment, etc. without multi-tasking or thinking about what's next.

Having Sydney has made me very aware of how quickly time passes. She is changing every day and I don't want to miss fully experiencing all the stages of her development. I realized, early on, that if I wasn't careful I could easily miss out of fully enjoying time with her.

So I've made it a mission of mine to work on being in the moment more. For me, this means that I take time to do nothing but be with Sydney - watching her and playing with her. I have to resist the urge to put her on the playmat while I do work or cook dinner. Of course it would be impossible for me to pay attention to her 100% of the time. I'm not striving for that, but I am striving to have time every day when I thoroughly enjoy being a mom. This means reminding myself (in those moments) that there's no where I else I need to be and nothing else I need to be doing.

Being in the moment more has brought more joy and peacefulness into my life.

I wonder... how could you practice being in the moment more?