Mommy Tips

If You’re An Overwhelmed Mom- Welcome Here!

I always knew there was something a little, er, crazy creative about me. I changed schools 3 times and only graduated because there was a shortened GED program at the last school I attended.

I moved out when I was 16 and things got a little wild. They stayed wild until I met my husband at age 21. We got pregnant less than a year later and I had my daughter.

Having a baby really changed things because never was I supposed to take care of anyone but myself.

Now, suddenly I was responsible for 2 people.

I really, truly didn’t understand how other moms were doing what they were doing.

The never ending list of things to remember (doctors appointments, dentist appointments, family get togethers, baby and me classes) were an absolute fucking nightmare.

If I made plans or appointments there was a good chance I would bail simply because I said yes to everything but in reality I just couldn’t do it (or I genuinely forgot…).

Losing my keys and being so frantic trying to find them to leave the house was stressful BEFORE a baby- now I had to try to track down my keys, stuff a screaming baby into a car seat AND make sure a diaper bag was packed.

Keeping my house clean, my kids alive and my sanity felt like an impossible dream. (Want to get control of your disgusting house? Click here.)

By the time my third baby was born, things were getting bad. I felt like I was in a never ending downward spiral of shame.

What’s wrong with me? I would ask this every day, every night.

Why can’t I stay on top of things? Why am I SO unhappy? I have it all- loving husband, 3 beautiful kids, but I feel like I’m drowning.

I would google things like:

I can’t get through the day with my kids.

I’m frustrated all the time.

Having kids is overwhelming.

I’m tired of being a mom.

And then I would cry in shame that I felt this way about my beautiful life.

A Conversation About ADHD

When my third child was just over a year old, I went for lunch with a friend. I asked how she was and she said she had never felt better and then sheepishly admitted she was on medication,

I was so intrigued- what medication? What does it do?

She said it’s for ADHD and it completely changed her life:

• She was able to complete a task without stopping 20 times and never actually finishing it.
• She can remember appointments.
• Having a conversation is actually possible because she can FOCUS on what is being said- even if there are other people around and it’s loud.
• Work doesn’t feel overwhelming anymore.

After hearing this I’m almost in tears and full of wonder- THAT’S what ADHD is?

But of course, I don’t have it- right? Like, ADHD isn’t actually a thing, right?

What Is ADHD? And What Does It Look Like In Women?

See, when I thought of ADHD in the past, what came to mind was this:

A super energetic little boy in grade school, bouncing around like a maniac, causing a ruckus and talking incessantly.

That’s ONE form of ADHD. There’s actually 3. And it turns out that one of them doesn’t even have hyperactivity as part of the symptoms.

Surprised?

Me too.

There is Hyperactive, Inattentive and a combination of the two.

Because the symptoms are so different from men, women and girls often get overlooked.

Some symptoms like feeling overwhelmed or exhausted, psychological distress, feelings of inadequacy and chronic stress are common to both males and females.

But there are some symptoms that play out in women differently.

Symptoms Of ADHD In Women

• Do you feel overwhelmed in stores, at the office, or at parties? Is it impossible for you to shut out sounds and distractions that don’t bother others?
• Is time, money, paper, or “stuff” dominating your life and hampering your ability to achieve your goals?
• Do you often shut down in the middle of the day, feeling assaulted? Do requests for “one more thing” put you over the top emotionally?
• Are you spending most of your time coping, looking for things, catching up, or covering up? Do you avoid people because of this?
• Have you stopped having people over to your house because you’re ashamed of the mess?
• Do you have trouble balancing your checkbook?
• Do you often feel as if life is out of control, and that it’s impossible to meet demands?
• Do you feel like you’re always at one end of a deregulated activity spectrum — either a couch potato or a tornado?
• Do you feel that you have better ideas than other people but are unable to organize them or act on them?
• Do you start each day determined to get organized, and end each day feeling defeated?
• Have you watched others of equal intelligence and education pass you by?
• Do you despair of ever fulfilling your potential and meeting your goals?
• Have you ever been thought of as selfish because you don’t write thank-you notes or send birthday cards?
• Are you clueless as to how others manage to lead consistent, regular lives?
• Are you called “a slob” or “spacey?” Are you “passing for normal?” Do you feel as if you are an impostor?
• Is all your time and energy taken up with coping, staying organized, and holding it together, with no time for fun or relaxation?

If you’re nodding yes to most of the questions above, I strongly suggest you head to their website and take the self test.

Being An ADHD Mom

When I came home from this lunch with my friend, I obsessively googled everything I could about ADHD, ADD and eventually ADHD in women specifically.

Having kids and being ADHD is not for the faint of heart.

I found myself struggling every. single. day. with simple routines and tasks. Remembering and actually doing all these things that kids need (feeding, bathing, brushing teeth, making sure they get enough water and just straight up keeping them alive) was already too much for me.

Factor in the appointments, the play dates, the get togethers with family- I was angry.

So angry all the time but I couldn’t tell you why.

Scrambling around looking for my keys, trying to make sure everyone had socks, shoes, coats, hats and usually being asked a million questions or having a baby crying on top of it meant that I would have a meltdown almost every single time we left the house.

My poor children- they did not deserve such an angry mom.

Even after I took countless online ADHD tests, read article after article and, finally, actually got a diagnoses with my doctor– I STILL couldn’t accept that I might have this disorder.

I didn’t start medication right away- I wanted to try to ‘fix’ it myself. So I grabbed two books and binged them as fast as I could.

One was called “Women With ADHD” by Sari Solden.

The other one was “You Mean I’m Not Lazy, Crazy Or Stupid?” by Kate Kelly.

If you’re wondering if you have ADHD- I highly recommend those books.

I decided to try medication after reading these books and learning that ADHD is an actual neurological imbalance in your brain. The books and my doctor all assured me that when you have ADHD and you start meds- you will KNOW.

A person who doesn’t have ADD that takes a stimulant will have a very different reaction than a person who does.

Taking a stimulant when you have ADHD calms you down.

To be clear, I really didn’t want to take medication. There is such a stigma around it and especially around stimulants. And there is the whole idea that these ADHD medications are being over prescribed and abused- they’re called ‘smart drugs’ and college students are taking them to study longer, harder and get better grades.

I really did feel weird deciding to try it but my doctor did reassure me that:

1. I would KNOW within 2 days of taking the meds if I did indeed have ADHD.
2. The meds wouldn’t change who I WAS as a person.

The second point was really important to me.

I felt like I was turning my back on something that made me who I was – what if taking medication took away some vital part of me? One that got me to where I am today?

What Does ADHD Medication Do?

The morning I took my medication for the first time (it was Concerta- a slow release cousin to Ritalin), I cried.

I cried because everything got… quiet. Calm.

There was no background steady stream of thought babbling through my head that I literally couldn’t turn off.

I could decide to do something and DO it.

It felt like my emotions were dialed down- in a GOOD way. Like I still felt the same things but so much less intensely.

I thought to myself, “Is this how normal people think? Is this what normal is?”

My kids fighting and being loud still annoyed me but it felt manageable.

Getting my kids dressed and out the door suddenly became something I could do without breaking down in tears of frustration.

The way I describe what medication has done for me is like this:

Medication is the missing ingredient to who I am as a person. It’s like trying to make a recipe but missing one key ingredient- it might work okay without it but it’s not great.

Medication has given me the chance to be the person I always KNEW I was already. Kind, patient and able to slow down.

It’s not the answer to all my problems– not by a long shot. But it’s shown me a different way of being is POSSIBLE.

My kids deserve me getting this extra help. I deserve it too.

This isn’t an advertisement preaching about medication. It’s a realistic look at what it can do for people (but moms especially) with ADHD. If you’re struggling right now- please contact me via the comment section or email me: [email protected]

I’d love to connect with you❤

ADHD and Parenting

I don’t know how many times I told people that I wasn’t a ‘runner.’

It was just something I said, along with ‘I could never do that.’

I still say that sometimes and I loathe saying it. It’s such a bullshit excuse.

The truth is, you can be a runner.

Even if you’re slower than a herd of turtles running up hill in molasses.. What’s that metaphor?

But seriously, you can. You can do anything you set your mind to. All you need is a little bit of grit and determination.  

This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosure at the bottom of the page.

START WITH 60 SECONDS- THAT’S IT

You can do anything for a minute.That’s what my favorite trainer, Autumn, from the Beachbody app is fond of saying. So, keep that in mind when you first hit the pavement (or treadmill or trail).

Run for one minute, walk for five to start. Do that for 3 days the first week and the next bump up the time you run and cut down the time you are walking.

It took me a while to realize that I didn’t need to run 7 days a week. In fact, that may hurt you.

You need to give your body time to rest and recover in between runs so that you can maximize the the effect running is having on your body. Even when training for a marathon, the most I ever ran in a week was 4 days. Some people might be able to do more but that was the sweet spot for me where I wasn’t getting injured from over training.

The couch to 5k app is an awesome one to start with and helped me a lot with motivation and sticking with it. It’s also helpful to have something concrete to follow so you can track your progress opposed to just going out and trying to run as long as you can.  

DON’T WORRY ABOUT DISTANCE AT THE BEGINNING 

Start with time and build up until you can run about 30 minutes comfortably. After that start going for distance. It’s a freaking awesome feeling to realize you are counting your runs in kilometers opposed to minutes. Awesome.

Once you have mastered being able to jog comfortably for about 30 minutes, then it’s time to start incorporating long runs (if you want to progress further). What worked really well for me was 2 short runs and one long run on the weekend. A general rule is to increase your total weekly mileage by 10 percent.

So, if you are running 10km in a week total, add one km the next week. But, that is a general rule. If you are feeling great and want to do a bit of a bigger jump, go for it. As long it’s realistic, you will be fine!  

RELATED: How To Work Out (when you have small kids)

GET A JOGGING STROLLER 

If you have a jogging stroller, nothing is holding you back from running with kids! And, it’s actually AWESOME to push kids while running because you will get SO strong!

And once you get strong and run with your kids regularly, running without them will feel almost too easy.

We lucked out by finding this stroller right at the beginning. 6 years and 3 kids later this stroller is STILL going strong- it looks a little ratty but still works great! I recommend this jogging stroller to everyone- even people that dont run. It’s just such a good price and held up so well.

GET EXCITED ABOUT RACES TO KEEP YOU MOTIVATED

Races are soooooo good for you to go to because it can be very motivating and very humbling at the same time. You will realize that you will always be ahead of some people and behind others. Also, it’s incredibly motivating to go to a race and realize that “runners” aren’t just a bunch of amazingly fit or skinny people.

Runners consist of all body types and ages. I have been absolutely killed in races by 70 year old’s wearing no shoes (true story) or people I would describe as bigger. Absolutely annihilated by these people and I loved it!

They taught me an extremely valuable life lesson- don’t judge anyone based on looks, they’ll probably kick your butt in a race!  

INVEST IN A GOOD PAIR OF SHOES

I wouldn’t skip this step. Honestly, a good pair of running shoes makes a world of difference. I didn’t realize until after I went out and invested in a pair.

These running shoes are legit the BEST running shoes I’ve ever tried- and I’ve been running since 2014! Don’t let the price fool you- they seem too cheap to be awesome running shoes but they aren’t! I’ll buy the exact same pair again when mine wear out.

Here’s a pro tip I got while sitting next to someone in the shoe store- if you love the shoes you have now, keep one on while you put a new shoe on the other foot. When you find one you like better than the old one, you struck gold! It was really encouraging for me to get a new pair of shoes after running a race.

Tell yourself that once you complete the 10k (or half-marathon or marathon) that you get to go out and by an awesome new pair of shoes. You deserve it!  

 IT’S LIKE RIDING A BIKE

You never forget how to run once you’ve been doing it for a while. That’s what I learned with running while having 3 pregnancies in between. I started running after my first baby was six months old. I ran up to a certain point in both my pregnancies after that.

Each time I was so worried I’d forget or be so out of shape and not get back into it. That wasn’t the case at all. It’s like a muscle memory, your body remembers and even though you aren’t at the same fitness level, you still know how to breathe and run.  

RUNNING WILL SAVE YOUR SANITY

Something I’ve learned with having 3 children under 5- you MUST do things for yourself and your SELF– only. My first run after giving birth is always one of rediscovery and self -connection. I usually cry. With joy, with bittersweet despair and awe of where my body is at.

When I leave my house and kids behind and it’s just me, pushing through a hard run feeling connected to myself, I realize I haven’t lost who I am. I am still someone who perseveres and isn’t just ‘mom.’ This can be applied to any situation.

If you work a stressful job, are insanely busy all the time or maybe are just searching for something more… Running can bring you back to yourself.  

RELATED: A SAHM Schedule That Can Save Your Sanity

IT’S NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART

Learning to run and seeing what you’re capable of is such a crazy journey of self-discovery. You never forget the first time you crush a 10k or get a runners high.

Running is like meditating with your whole body. You’ll learn things about yourself that you may never have if you didn’t start running. Running is something that you can always improve at and you’ll be surprised at how much you’ll improve quickly.

I remember literally running out of my clothes when the weight started falling off and feeling so strong. Suddenly you’re not timing how long you can run for, you are crushing 10 k’s and seeing how fast you can do it.

I was overweight, had never worked out and had a 6 month old baby when I started running. If you are here, reading this post, then you are already well on your way to being a runner.

Congrats!

Now get out the door and start this new chapter, one of health, vitality and self discovery.  

 

Best Jobs For Stay At Home Moms With No Experience

This article contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosure at the bottom of the page.

Are you looking for stay at home mom jobs that actually make money from home?

When I came home from the hospital with my first baby I remember thinking “I want to stay home with my baby.”

I did for the first year (I live in Canada and our maternity leave is 1 year- I’m so thankful for that) but then I went back to work because that’s what we needed at the time. With my second baby, I had the same thought but I STILL went back to work because I just didn’t know that I could make money from home as a stay at home mom.

I thought that was for special, qualified people- not for me! After the birth of my third baby I thought “That’s IT. I’m staying home with my kids and I’m staying home for GOOD.”

I think that’s all you need if you want to make money working from home- a little bit of grit and determination to make it happen!

And a mindset where you BELIEVE in YOURSELF. No one else is going to do that for you- that’s not their job. That’s your job- to have a dream and believe in IT and YOURSELF.

You CAN do this. You CAN stay home with your sweet babies and MAKE MONEY.

There are no surveys on this list. I really really really do not like telling people about surveys as a way to make (serious) money. They’re kinda BS. How much is your time worth? A lot of those companies require you to put in a serious chunk of time before you make any money. And even when you do, it’s not much.

However-

I DO think there is a time and place for surveys. Are you wanting to try some while you’re sitting on the couch in the evening? Or what about when you’re putting kids to sleep? Survey Junkie pays you via Paypal which is nice- their surveys are easy and quick. Inbox Dollars gives you a free $5 sign up bonus- claim it here.

Best Ways To Make Money As A Stay At Home Mom:

Child Care

Have you ever considered offering child care or daycare from your home? Running a daycare from your house means you get to stay home with your kids while having them interact with other kids! 

You’d need to look into laws and licensing based on where you live. 

This is such a cool option though because you can take as few kids as you want- some parents may even prefer that!

It does take planning though and it’s not an easy job- you will be looking after, entertaining and feeding small kids for 8+ hours per day.

Blogging

Let’s make something clear with blogging-

It is NOT a get rich quick scheme. 

It takes time, perseverance and dedication to start seeing an income. 

If you’re interested in seeing if blogging might be for you you can check out this comprehensive free how to start a blog guide by Carly Campbell. 

She’s been blogging for 3 or 4 years and started making a full time income in less than a year! Now she makes 10-15 THOUSAND dollars a month with her mom blog!

I’m being dead serious when I say blogging is not for the faint of heart.

But, if you stick with it, you can start to see money coming in and that’s the best feeling in the world- to start making money from something YOU created from scratch.

You can grab Carly’s free blogging course here.

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate Marketing is pretty crazy awesome. You can sell anything (that you one hundred percent believe in and trust) to people online. 

Affiliate marketing simply means to be affiliated with a product or company so that when you recommend that product or company to someone and they buy something- you get a percentage of the sale!

Think about every time you go online to search something-

Best running shoes for winter

How to get wine out of a white carpet

Washing machine on sale

Those are keywords, and everyone else searches for stuff like that too- every single day! And what are those people and you searching for? 

Answers to questions. Solutions to problems. 

If you can answer those questions and find solutions to people’s problems, they will be so happy that they’ll make a purchase and you will make an affiliate sale which puts money into your pocket!

Carly also offers a course on affiliate marketing that is helpful but I’d definitely only recommend taking it if you’ve already read her free blogging course or have a blog.

Update- I have PERSONALLY taken Carly’s affiliate marketing course and it is a GOLDMINE of information. I’ve taken at least 3 other affiliate marketing courses and this one has tips I’ve NEVER seen before!

Freelance Writing

Freelance writing is an amazing and lucrative work at home job that ANYONE can do. You do NOT need a creative writing degree, a journalism degree or anything like that!

You need the right mindset, a healthy dose of enthusiasm and a thick (ish) skin! 

To freelance simply means to work on a self-employed basis. 

So to be a freelance writer means that you are pitching your writing skills to blogs, magazines, businesses or websites and getting paid on a per assignment basis.

The beauty of this is that you control when you work, how often you work and eventually you can negotiate your rate as you get more experienced!

Check out The First Step To Be A Freelance Writer– it’s free and will give you a better understanding of what you’re in for! Make sure you sign up for the 6 day freelance writing email course- SO MUCH info, also for free.

Print on Demand

Print on Demand has to be one the absolute coolest things I’ve ever learned about. 

What is Print on Demand? 

Print-on-demand, or POD for short, is a printing process where you outsource all the production and shipping to a third-party fulfillment center.

It costs slightly more than a wholesale concept because you don’t have to order a certain quantity of inventory, you just place an order once a customer makes a sale and pay for the product’s base price.

You create all your own designs, then upload them to your POD supplier (Like Printed Mint or Printful), add the design to a t-shirt, mug, poster, and whatever else you want it on, and then sync them to your Etsy shop.

Printful makes it super easy by syncing to Etsy, Shopify, Amazon, and other marketplaces, so your orders will automatically go to Printful when someone makes a purchase.

It’s almost entirely automated, so you spend less time printing the products and standing in line at the post office, and more time creating new designs and marketing your products.

I had the honor of interviewing Mandy from A Girl’s Gotta Eat where she tells us exactly how she makes $1500-$6000 dollars a month with her Print on Demand stores (that’s $1500-$6000 per STORE!). You can read the interview here.

Bookkeeper

A bookkeeper sometimes gets confused with an accountant- they’re not the same at all! Being an accountant requires you to have a degree- a bookkeeper does not.

Bookkeeper are responsible for things like:

• Updating financial records
• Paying bills
• Collecting payments on invoices
• Checking records for accuracy
• and more!

In short- a bookkeeper is a person who is responsible for recording all financial transactions- money coming in and money going out.

The average bookkeeper makes anywhere from $38,000 to $48,000 according to salary.com.

However-

That’s for bookkeepers employed by companies working for an hourly wage.

When you freelance, set your own wage, your own hours and work for multiple clients- you can make more. A LOT more.

How to become a bookkeeper:

• Search for jobs on Indeed, FlexJobs or Upwork.
• Freelance and start your own business. I’d recommend reading this book first- she tells you the exact steps and what to avoid when starting your own bookkeeping business.
• Take a free bookkeeping course like this one to see if it’s something you want to pursue!

Proofreader

You do NOT need a degree or any special certificate to be a proofreader.

All you need is the ability to pay attention to detail and a willingness to learn!

What is a proofreader?

A proofreader is someone who ensures a piece of content is free from grammatical, spelling, punctuation and formatting errors.

As you can see in the screenshot above from Upwork, specialties can range wildly.

When you’re first starting out, aim to get 3 clients who give you a full 5 star rating. Sometimes that means getting paid less than what you want but in the end that will bring you bigger returns when you get social proof that you’re good at what you do!

Also try to get small jobs with a quick turn-around time that you know you can do well- I call these ‘easy wins.’

How to become a proofreader:

• Search for jobs on Indeed, FlexJobs or Upwork.
• Create your own proofreading business! Proofread Anywhere is offering a free webinar if you’re interested in starting your own proofreading business.

Life Coach

Do you have incredible enthusiasm and a passion for cheering other people on (while still able to give them a dose of healthy metaphorical butt kicking when they need it?)

I’d recommend reading this book to see if Life Coaching is for you. I think you can even get it free if you sign up for the free Audible trial! (I usually sign up to listen to an audiobook and then cancel before 30 days.)

If you’re serious about becoming a Life Coach, you don’t have to get certified but you might have an easier time finding clients if you can talk about your certification.

Flipping Items To Sell on Ebay/Etsy/Facebook/Craigslist

This is honestly one of THE coolest jobs I’ve ever seen! You find items in garage sales, yard sales, flea markets, liquidation stores- wherever you can find a RIDICULOUSLY good deal on something.

Once you find a good deal and figure out what that item is actually worth- you can sell it at a higher price on Ebay, Etsy or Craigslist.

Vintage finds do really well on Etsy and Ebay.

But you can also find super random things at garage sales or flea markets like a commercial pizza dough roller- the owners of Flea Market Flipper picked one up for $100 and resold for $1750! Or an air purifier they found for $15 and sold for $150!

This is actually a lot of fun too if you enjoy looking for things. The people behind Flea Market Flipper make over $120,000 a YEAR doing this- and they have such a great time!

They’re offering a free webinar on how to do exactly what they do which you can sign up for here.

Printables

Printables are GREAT. You can use them as a freebie for your email list (give something valuable away in return for an email address) on your blog or you can sell them!

The awesome thing about printables is that you DO NOT need a blog to sell them! You can sell printables on Etsy or Shopify- but I’d highly recommend Etsy because it’s a lot less expensive.

Creating printables can seem daunting at first- don’t you need like a graphic design degree or something?

NOPE!

All you need is a free design platform (like Canva or Powerpoint) and some enthusiasm for learning.

Some ideas for things you could make:

• Beautiful cards for different occasions
• Planner/Tracker/Journal
• Small clip art designs for scrapbookers
• Letter templates to Santa
• Calendars
• Checklists
• Kids activity pages

Here are some examples of free printables Suzi has for people to download in exchange for their email address.

Suzi has a free video on how to create freebies and printables– it is so eye opening and beginner friendly.

If you do decide to make printables, she also offers a free user guide for Picmonkey. Picmonkey is a paid design platform but they offer a free 7 day trial if you want to check it out.

Photography

Do you have a knack for taking photos? So many photography sites are looking for stock photo contributors.

That means you take photos and sell them to the stock sites. Then people who need stock photos sign up and you get a percentage of each photo sale!

Although you don’t need any special skills, signing up for a beginner photography class might be a good idea- even to learn about camera settings, angles and lights. There are a ton of cheap courses on Udemy for specific cameras or even iPhone cameras.

Websites to sell your photos to:

• Shutterstock
• iStock
• Adobe Stock Photos
• PhotoDune
• DepositPhotos

Cleaning Houses

This is a good idea if you are a stay at home mom with kids already in school.

Cleaning houses is an amazing job because YOU make your own hours, your own wage and the decision to accept a job or not – just saying, some jobs you might want to turn down. And you CAN.

For a while, I worked for a woman who owned a cleaning company. She charged $25 and hour and paid her staff $11 an hour. Smart for her, dumb for me! What was I thinking??

With the internet and free listing sites like Craigslist, you can market yourself and create your own business. And if you get lots of clients and are really good at your job- eventually you can be hiring people to work for you! (If you want that.)

Start with a promotion- your first 5 clients get the first 4 hours at a cheaper rate- like $15 an hour instead of $30. Go in, work your butt off and give them a reason to have you back and call their friends and tell you about them!

If you’re going to do this, please do some research on quick cleaning techniques and how to clean things efficiently.

When I applied for my cleaning job, the woman who hired me had me clean her bathroom as a test- I failed miserably because I spent an hour in there making things look perfect! She told me a bathroom should take 20-25 minutes TOPS. Just because you’re busy for an hour doesn’t mean you’re being productive. (Also… please don’t let someone clean your bathroom for an hour for an interview lol.)

Work At Home Jobs For Moms

If you’re a stay at home mom who would like to become a work at home mom- I hope this list helped you find something to make money from home!

You are capable of working from home. You are allowed to work from home. You can DO THIS!

More Tips For Working And Making Money From Home:

• Printable Work At Home Mom Schedule (+productivity tips from real WAHM’s)
• How To Work From Home With Kids
• Side Hustles To Bring In Money IMMEDIATELY
• How To Start A POD Store From Home (with no special skills)
• Should You Be A SAHM?

JOBS FOR STAY AT HOME MOMS WITH NO DEGREE

If you’re in the trenches right now at bedtime, I FEEL you. It’s a hard time when you’re spending 1, 2, 3+ hours trying to get your freaking kids to just SLEEP already! You’re wondering how to get your toddler to sleep alone.

I also want to reassure you that you’re making the right choice by even attempting to do this. My husband and I didn’t even TRY for so long because we felt guilty about it!

Aren’t you supposed to WANT to spend time with your children?

YEAH, absolutely.

But those hours before they sleep?

Those aren’t QUALITY hours.

Basically, you’re their crutch for falling asleep. It’s not fun for you, and really, it isn’t great for them because they aren’t learning to fall asleep on their own!

I am a huge advocate for co-sleeping. We’re the only culture that puts our babies away from us in another room for the night and it’s not good them. You can read more about that here.

However, there does come a time when you want your own bed back because your baby is now a toddler (or preschool age!) and they need to sleep on their own or with a sibling. The time I’m talking about in this post is basically the limbo where you’ve gotten them out of your bed or a crib (yay!) but they need you be in their new bed with them until they fall asleep (not yay.)

So, how do you get your toddler to sleep alone, without tears?

*Please note, this is what worked for OUR family. We’re not experts. We’re parents of 3 kids. We experimented and found something that worked. Hopefully, this can work for you too!

This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosure at the bottom of the page.

Ditch The Guilt

If you’re spending 2 hours every night lying in bed with your kid or kids and it looks something like this:

• Hopeful, at first, that they’ll just magically go to sleep and you can get out of there!
• The hope fades as minutes tick by in utter darkness with their writhing bodies pressing against you and you start whisper yelling “just go to SLEEP!”
• The hope is gone, you’re frustrated beyond belief because you cannot believe you spent all day either with them or working and now the last hours of the day that could be yours are spent in a hot, dark room and damn it- you’re falling asleep.
• You slip into sleep along with your kids and when you snap out of it you’re groggy, annoyed as hell and realize it’s 10pm.

So, what do you have to feel guilty about if you want to skip that shitshow every night? My husband and I finally realized that we weren’t spending beautiful quality time with them- we were spending 2 more hours just being annoyed and angry. What’s the point if they’re ready to sleep on their own?

It sets you up for a better day the next day because if you have 2 hours of freedom to reset and recharge, you wake up a lot happier to see them again.

Ditch the guilt of thinking you’re taking something away from them- you’re giving yourself and your kids a beautiful gift. Freedom for you and the gift of falling asleep on their own for your kids. That’s a great skill to be learning!

RELATED: Toddler Activities (to keep momma sane)

Let Go Of Your Expectations

If you’re expecting it to go a certain way, try not to. You never know how your child will react to change. It might go smoothly or it might not. Go in with a sense of curiosity.

Be ready to try different things until something works.

Stick With It

Make it happen, but in a kind way. You can be firm and let them know you mean business but still be kind.

Make it happen, because if you are stuck in bed with them every night for multiple hours, the benefits of getting through this are off. the. charts.

We now have from around 7-730 to whenever we go to bed to do whatever we want but didn’t even realize how badly we needed this until we got it.

We’re happier, have sex more and look forward to seeing our kids in the morning because there is no bad taste left over from the night before.

I truly hope this helps you my friend. Truly.

RELATED: SAHM Schedule To Save Your Sanity (free printable!)

How To Get Your Toddler To Sleep Alone:

1. Go through your regular pre-bed routine (brush teeth, go to the bathroom, etc.) Make sure that your kids have a stuffy or something to snuggle.
2. Explain that tonight is going to be a bit different. Whether you read them a story or sing them a song, tell them you’ll still do that but after you’re not going to lie with them. You’ll sit on the edge of the bed for 10-20 minutes and then you’ll be leaving. Do this one more night.
3. On the third night, move to the floor after the story or song. Do this another night.
4. On the fifth night, let them know that after the story or song you’ll be leaving right after.
5. Please experiment with different times and repeat a certain step as much as you need. Our son was 3 when we attempted this and he had an older sibling to sleep with so what worked for us may be different for you if this is your first child and younger than 3.

Things Change

The one thing that you can always count on with kids is that you can’t count on anything. Just when you think you have it figured out, the phase ends or something changes and you’re wondering what the hell is going on again.

Our kids are now in a new phase, one where they’ve discovered how fun it is to sleep without mom or dad and they’ve become loud and wild.

So, now we’re figuring out this new phase and how to get them to be quiet. Once we figure it out, we’ll let you know ?

LOOKING FOR MORE PARENTING TIPS?

• What To Do After You Yell At Your Kids
• How To Exercise (with small kids)
• Ways To Beat Mom Burn Out
• Reasons To Have A Third Baby
• How To Be A Calmer Parent

Did you try this routine for how to get your toddler to sleep alone? Let me know how it went in the comments, I’d love to connect with you!

WHAT IS PRINT ON DEMAND?

This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosure at the bottom of the page.

Today I have a fun interview to share with you that will show you how to start a print on demand business with little to no start-up costs from the comfort of your home! I had the chance to interview Mandy from A Girl’s Gotta Eat, who explains how this can be a possibility for you.

Mandy has been working online since 2009 as a freelance writer. She also had been selling digital prints on Etsy but didn’t start taking it seriously till 2017.

She now has multiple shops offering digital prints and Print on Demand items that make her anywhere from $1500-$6000 per month, depending on the season. 

After dedicating a lot of time at the start, Mandy is now able to maintain her print on demand shops with just a few hours a week while seeing a steady income!

She has a free guide, How To Use Print On Demand To Start An Online Business, that will help you learn how to make money using Print on Demand as well!

If you are looking for a real work from home job or a way to start a legitimate online business that makes you an actual income- starting a Print on Demand store might be for you.

Here’s How To Start A Print On Demand Store:

1. Please give us a little background on yourself, how you started your own POD business and how POD is going for you right now.

I first started working for myself as a freelance writer back in 2009. In 2017, I knew that I needed more passive income to prevent burnout, so I started selling digital files of my photography on Etsy. I had been selling prints for years and the sales would trickle in, but I wanted to see if there was more of a market for digital products over physical. There definitely was, and I started making more sales on the digital files than on prints, so I started to take the digital shop more seriously. 

Eventually, I branched out from photography and added a few prints featuring quotes by my favorite feminists to my shop, and that’s when it really started to take off. Eventually, people were asking me if I could print for them instead of just selling them the digital, and that’s when I discovered print-on-demand (POD). I wanted to figure out how to keep my shop passive while also offering physical prints, and POD allowed me to do that. The supplier I was using also printed t-shirts, mugs, bags, and other products, so I decided to put my designs on some of those and see if people were interested in buying. It was like a whole new industry and way of making money opened up for me, and it made freelance writing so much less stressful. Most months I make more money from my shops than from my freelance clients.

2. Where do you sell the items you create?

I mainly sell on Etsy, but after about a year of growth, I also opened a Shopify store. I also have some of my designs for sale on Society6 and RedBubble because they’re even more low maintenance, but I don’t make as many sales or put in as much effort with those as I do with Etsy or Shopify.

3. What’s your best selling item on Etsy?

My Ruth Bader Ginsburg posters are consistently popular. One of the first non-photography products I listed was her quote “fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.” It’s one of my favorite quotes, so I’m always happy when someone else loves it enough to buy my print.

4. What exactly is Print on Demand? Can you explain what it is that you do?

Print-on-demand, or POD for short, is a printing process where you outsource all the production and shipping to a third-party fulfillment center. It costs slightly more than a wholesale concept because you don’t have to order a certain quantity of inventory, you just place an order once a customer makes a sale and pay for the product’s base price. 

I create all my own designs, then upload them to my POD supplier (I use Printful), add the design to a t-shirt, mug, poster, and whatever else I want it on, and then sync them to my Etsy shop. Printful makes it super easy by syncing to Etsy, Shopify, Amazon, and other marketplaces, so your orders will automatically go to Printful when someone makes a purchase. It’s almost entirely automated, so I spend less time printing the products and standing in line at the post office, and more time creating new designs and marketing my products.

5. How do you make a living through POD?

Create new designs consistently, add them to multiple products (you can easily make a dozen products with one design), research trends related to your niche, get REALLY GOOD at SEO, and be patient! It takes some trial and error to understand what’s worth your time and what types of designs are most likely to sell, so be adaptable. After a while, you’ll start to evolve your brand as you better understand what your customers are looking for, so it’s important to have patience, especially in the beginning!

6. What do you like about POD and selling on Etsy?

I love that I run an entire business from my couch! All I need is my laptop and an internet connection to create a brand selling products that people love enough to share on Instagram. I sell a lot of political stuff so people buy my shirts for protests, events, and things like that. It feels good to create things that reflect my values, and it’s even better knowing that people feel the same way and like my designs enough to give me money for them.

7. If you don’t mind sharing, how much do you make per month? How much can the average person expect to make on a full time or part-time basis?

My shops make anywhere from $1,500 to $6,000 a month, depending on the time of year. It’s impossible to say what anyone could potentially make as it depends on so many factors: the quality of your designs, the number of products in your shops, your niche and what people who are passionate about it, whether there’s a global pandemic going on… this is all why it’s important to research and be adaptable.

8. How does someone start a POD business?

You can start your own print-on-demand store by signing up for Printful and syncing it to an Etsy store. From there you can create a design, add it to as many products as you want, and start selling all those products in your shop right away.

9. How much time does it take to start and maintain a POD business?

The startup takes some dedicated upfront work as you decide on your niche, create some designs, and write quality SEO-friendly listing titles and descriptions. I’m not really sure how much time I spent on it in the beginning, I know I was obsessed with this process once I learned about it, so I probably slacked off on other work to play on Etsy. Once I had 100ish items in my shop I started seeing more consistent sales whether I was promoting and adding new products or not. I have several hundred items in my shop now so I make sales consistently and probably work on it a couple of hours a week, at most, while I focus on other projects. It’s also important to look at your stats regularly so you can make new designs based on what people are favoriting, buying, and searching for.

10. Who do you typically sell to?

Most of my products are in the feminist and political niche, so I mostly sell to women (of all ages) with similar values. The benefit of this niche is that it’s a VERY passionate audience (especially right now) and that’s key to getting people to say “OMG I need that hoodie immediately!” as they click the “add to cart” button. 

Politics is definitely not the only niche with a passionate fanbase, though. Think of anyone who loves their pets, or who loves coffee. Or beer. There are passionate niches to be found all over the place. Maybe you’re incredibly passionate about something specific that you’re thinking about right now. Chances are lots of other people are too.

11. How much does it cost to start a POD business and how much on a monthly basis to maintain it? Are there any other tips you have for someone who wants to start a POD business?

I started mine with only a paid subscription to Canva (it’s $12.95 per month) and the 20 cent Etsy listing fees. That’s really all you need to get started, but you can also outsource any part of the process if you’d rather spend money than time. There are lots of designers on Fiverr who would be happy to create some of your first designs. 

Are you interested in learning how to start a Print on Demand store to make money from home? Check out Mandy’s free guide: How To Use Print on Demand To Start An Online Business.

Other Work At Home Articles:

• The Best Work At Home Mom Schedule
• How To Work From Home (with kids)
• 12 Legit Jobs For SAHM’s (no degree required)
• 11 Things I Quit Buying To Save Money Every Month

Tips For A Work At Home Mom With Toddler

How do you be productive as a work at home mom with a toddler? Or a baby? It seems like it’s impossible but I’m telling you it is- IF you can change your perception of what equals being productive.

You will be interrupted. You will wonder if it’s worth it to even try- 

It is!

But you need to be willing to put in the time to figure out what works for you and your kids. It may be a lot different than what works for us!

My NUMBER ONE TIP for working at home with kids is to HAVE A SCHEDULE.

This is the work at home mom schedule I try to follow on a day to day basis. Sometimes it works great, other times we have to adjust accordingly.

Let’s walk through the schedule so you can get a feel for what might work better for your work at home mom schedule:

7-9 Breakfast/Freeplay/Work

Usually we wake up, I get the kids breakfast and then we all do a quick clean up of dishes, sweeping, toys, whatever needs to be tidied up.

After this it’s about 8am and I let the kids freeplay while I work for an hour. Sometimes this works out nicely and they play without fighting too much.

Other times, they are grumpy and fighting so I let them play games on the iPad or watch an educational show.

RELATED: 7 Reasons To Be A Stay At Home Mom (plus 7 reasons not to)

9-10:30 Exercise/Learning/Outside

Getting the kids moving first thing in the morning is KEY. We discovered Cosmic Kids on Youtube and the kids love it! It’s adventure style yoga and absolutely free 🙂

Sometimes we go outside or go for a walk instead of yoga. After that’s over we try to do some sort of basic math, reading or online educational video.

If it works out, I will work from 10-11.

10:30 Snack Time!

The only way I’m able to work from 10-11 if if I have a snack ready to go that they can grab or I let them grab something themselves.

11-12 Learning/Craft

We do SIMPLE crafts and SIMPLE learning stuff- sometimes it’s glueing pom poms on a paper plate for craft and adding up all the windows and door knobs for math.

Sometimes it’s worksheets- I discovered a bunch of free printable worksheets from Planes and Balloons– my kids LOVE these!

RELATED: 21 Toddler Activities (to keep mom from going nuts)

12-1 Lunchtime/Clean Up

Integrating clean up into the schedule is so awesome- for you and your kids. If it’s on the schedule, my kids don’t balk (usually…) about clean up! They bring their dishes to the sink and know they have to tidy their rooms or toys while I tidy the kitchen.

That said- there are days where we don’t clean up. Someone is grumpy, the sun is beckoning or we just plain don’t feel like it. The schedule isn’t mean to be a confinement- it’s meant to free you and your time!

1-3 Freeplay/Nap Times/ Quiet Time

This is when we do naps for my youngest- my older two don’t sleep anymore (soooo sad.) So by this point, I’m fine with them watching a show, coloring, playing, whatever- as long as it’s quiet. And it’s a great time to sneak some work in!

RELATED: Sensory Activities For Toddlers

3 Snack Time!

3:30-5:30 Free Play Till Supper!

This really could mean anything depending on the weather- outside play, inside play, getting out the play doh- whatever works!

7-10 Kid Free Work Time!

This is kind of a joke… you have kids right? How’s your bedtime routine?

Ours can be smooth or a total shit show. It’s really a coin toss as to which way it will go. I still feed my youngest to sleep… I wish I didn’t but I do. Sometimes I am ‘putting her to sleep’ from 7-8. Then I sneak out. Then she wakes up again around 8 or 9. My husband and I take turns putting her back to sleep.

I’m just saying- working around kids can be tough. But that’s why you need to try to keep positive and work when you can! Even if she does wake up I still usually get an hour or 2 for working.

However-

I usually save mindless work for this time. I don’t know about you but I’m usually brain dead after a full day with 3 kids- go figure.

RELATED: How To Work At Home With Kids (without going insane)

Tips For Working At Home From Real Work At Home Moms:

Work With The Rhythm Of Your Kids

 Work with the rhythm of your kids. Young kids aren’t exactly known for being the most flexible creatures! You know your own kids best, what time of the day they (usually!) listen best, what time of the day they are more out of control and might need some supervised time in the backyard, etc.

You’re going to be distracted by your little ones, but if you work around their energy levels, it will go much smoother! 

The Curious Frugal

Find Your Hours

Find your hours. Utilize your “golden hours” with kids. Make sure to connect fully with them when you are with them in their awake hours so they won’t feel the need to constantly interrupt when you’re trying to get them to independently play.

This Anxious Mum

Don’t Be Afraid Of Educational TV

Don’t be afraid to put on some educational TV for an hour or two per day when you really need to focus on work or have an important call. An educational will keep the kids sitting quietly and will teach them something in the meantime, so you don’t have to feel guilty about a little screen time.

Here are 12 educational shows that teach toddlers everything from math and language to nature, science, and feelings.

High Chair Chronicles

Break Down Your Tasks

Break your tasks and assignments down to smaller tasks, aiming for 10-20 minutes. Complete short tasks through the day, while caring for the kids. Save anything else for naptime/bedtime.

Living For The Sunshine

Have A Detailed Plan

Having a detailed plan of what I need to get done every day. Some days I find the time easily and sometimes it means I have to stay up after bedtime to get stuff done, but if I don’t have a plan and a checklist I don’t get enough done.

If I have to I’ll give my daughter projects, tv shows, or educational apps that she is able to do on her own so I can get what I need done.

I also find meal time to be gold – if I give her something to watch while she eats, she won’t need anything from me for a full hour sometimes.

Yum Vegan Lunch Ideas

Make Separate Checklists For Different Tasks

Make a separate checklist for different tasks that have multiple steps. That way if you walk away from your computer to take care of the kids, you know exactly where you left off when you return. 

The Pay At Home Parent

Utilize Time Blocking, Naps and Early Mornings

Learning to be productive while my toddlers have a nap and by getting up earlier has made a huge difference.

I use time blocking by staying focused solely on one task instead of multitasking all day and feeling like I get nothing done has made a massive difference in my work at home life as a homestead blogger and mom of 2 little boys.

Wandering Hoof Ranch

Use A Bullet Journal To Time Block Your Day

Using a bullet journal helps me remember things without keeping them in my head. It makes it easier to plan out my day, and focus on one thing at a time while I work.

Time blocking is great for moms working from home with their small children. You can block each hour of your day with tasks that must get done to increase your productivity and maximize your precious time.

For it to work best, be sure to schedule in one on one time with your kids, making lunches and independent activities so you can get work done uninterrupted.

Well Ella

Change Your Priorities

One of the biggest things I have had to do with this new way of working from home is to change my priorities.

Before homeschooling, I was able to work at my leisure and also spend a lot of good quality time with my children. With that mindset, it’s easy to tell your children to wait “just one minute” while you finish a thought.

However, now that my primary role is as a teacher, not a worker or a playmate, I need to adjust the way that I think about my time.

Saving Talents

Make A List And Stay Accountable To It

My number one way to stay productive when working from home is having a list and using time blocking to stay accountable to that list.

Farm Girl Reformed

Stop Caring About When You Work

Not caring when I have to work – I’ve tried scheduling my time but the selfish little humans I live with have zero respect for my blocks – so I escape to work whenever I can get them settled into a task.

Often, I’ll sit at the table where I can see them faffing with kinetic sand or puzzles or just playing together and work while keeping an eye. Or when they’re asleep in the evening – or before they wake up in the morning.

But I don’t worry any more if I’m not getting anything done because I know I’ll find a pocket of time somewhere.

Laptops And Nap Times

Lower Your Expectations

Lower your expectations and work on tasks in SMALL chunks. You’re not going to get more than probably 20 minutes of uninterrupted time, so chunk your work that way, and you won’t feel like you’re getting nowhere, and get frustrated.

Make Attainable Goals (and don’t worry if they don’t work out)

Working when they’re sleeping. I get up early and also work during my toddler’s nap time. My 4 year old does a good job keeping himself occupied, so I can usually do some work while he plays and the toddler naps.

Oh, and after they go to bed since my husband usually has schoolwork to do then anyway.

I’m also ok with going slow because my family is my biggest priority right now. So I make attainable goals for myself and work diligently with the time I have, but I try not to get worked up if it goes slower than I’d like.

Mommy Knows Tech

Being A Work At Home Mom Is Never Going To Be Easy

Whether your kids are babies, toddlers or school age- being a work at home mom comes with challenges. It’s never going to be a breeze but I truly believe if you keep trying to figure out what works best for you and your kids you will be rewarded!

Let go of worrying about things that just add extra stress- like following a ruthlessly rigid schedule or trying to cram a million things in to your day.

Pare your to-do list down to the bare minimum so that you actually have a hope of accomplishing it. Work smarter, not harder.

Being ‘busy’ doesn’t equal being productive.

Honor how you are feeling- parenting in itself is such a hard and draining job. If you’re tired as hell and you know you’re just going to sit down and stare blankly at your computer screen- step away, even if it’s ‘work time.’

Learn to allow your days to flow intuitively (you can do this with a schedule!)

MORE WAHM TIPS:

• How To Work From Home With Kids
• 12 Legit Jobs For SAHM’s
• How To Make $1500-$6000 Per Month (with print on demand)
• Does Your Messy House Give You Anxiety? (here’s what to do)

WORK AT HOME MOM ADVICE