This is SO good! Thank you for giving words to something I experienced with all three littles but felt so much shame over. It’s hard to feel isolated and social media can feel like a window into the world outside. Yet, I resonate so much with the feeling of unrest after being on social media regularly. I love your suggestions for more life-giving alternatives for those sweet, slow moments with young ones.
Thank you so much, Kelli! I absolutely agree that at first look, social media can feel like the answer to the isolation many of us feel in early motherhood. Unfortunately, it ends up leaving us feeling even MORE alone and confused about who we are as a mother. So glad this post resonated with you and happy to have you here!
Yes yes! I took a phone and computer sabbatical years ago and realized these "margins of time" (a phrase I have coined) when all is well but if filled with phone and computer left me feeling drained at the end of the day. I began to fill my margins with connection, authentic true connection. And by end of the day I felt rejuvenated! By the end of my month-long sabbatical I had a new practice for my margins.
Love this series. I'm all about intentional motherhood !
Wow! I was nodding my head the entire time reading this. Thank you for validating all my feelings and making me feel less “weird” for taking a huge social media step back in motherhood. It’s felt so off and different and now I have the words as to why. Here’s to letting the real life in again ✨
I loved your ideas! I have recently replaced scrolling with reading (actual books). I love reading but struggled to find the time after my third kid was born. It seems obvious, I’m not sure why it took me so long to make the swap!
I read the whole of Proust that way when my youngest was a baby - sitting on the floor, joggling the pram, waiting outside school for the older ones, almost all snatched moments. It was lovely.
So good! I’ve recently loved the Opal app for setting up better/more personalized screen limits on my phone that allow me to use apps like Substack and YouTube with intention (“Hey mom what’s a coral reef? Hey mom did you know there’s a plane called a hurricane?) while also making it difficult to impossible to just scroll.
Really appreciated this read. Felt very affirming and relatable as I also deleted social media 6 months ago. I feel less compelled to take photos (double sided coin, good and bad) and can just sit outside without my phone. It’s felt so freeing!
I love this perspective so much! I, too, have felt conflicted about the photos. I'm making a habit of taking out the "big" camera when I can, but it is also so freeing to just be in the moment!
I needed this reminder 🩷 I've been feeling so bogged down that I honestly just didn't want to think about or figure out what else I could do to fill the space, despite feeling that social media is not benefiting me. This was a breath of fresh air. Such great suggestions, thank you! 😊
Thank you so much, Barbara. Those are such sweet words. We all have felt a sense of dread around social media without truly understanding what we can do about it. It is everywhere, and it takes so much intention to choose differently, but just your yearning to find something different will get you so far.
This is such an incredibly important message. I’ve been seeking this in the past little while and made some big changes to my habits which have had huge positive impacts on me and my family. I hope more and more mums find this path. You have written about it really really well. Thank you!
So many helpful tips!!! We are all guilty and in this modern motherhood era, we have to be intentional and mindful! Wonderful read full of ideas! Thank you ❤️
LOVE this reminder!! I’ve felt that same feeling of my intuition being there all along, just speaking too quietly to be heard amidst all of the noise. Thank you for sharing 🤍
Thank you for this! I gave birth to our daughter just over a month ago and am definitely guilty of the scroll while nursing. Sometimes when I am "stuck" in a nursing position and notice that my phone is too far away for me to reach, I almost get antsy. But why? I can also just stare at my daughter or look out the window and watch the clouds go by.
Filling the gaps, numbing and disconnecting. I love everything you've shared here. I see myself slipping back into bad habits recently as I wanted to revive my social media accounts, which I have done, I've found the elusive consistency I thought I didn't have the ability to use..but now I'm slipping into bad phone habits again and it needs to shift. Thank you for sharing this, for it popping up for me at the right time ❤️❤️
I love this, thank you for articulating so well at a similar subject that I posted about just a day before you. But where I feel like I missed the mark somewhat on what I was trying to convey (motherhood, mindful ways of spending downtime) you beautifully captured the experience many of us are truly feeling these days. Thank you. I’m so glad you popped up on my feed ☺️
This is SO good! Thank you for giving words to something I experienced with all three littles but felt so much shame over. It’s hard to feel isolated and social media can feel like a window into the world outside. Yet, I resonate so much with the feeling of unrest after being on social media regularly. I love your suggestions for more life-giving alternatives for those sweet, slow moments with young ones.
Thank you so much, Kelli! I absolutely agree that at first look, social media can feel like the answer to the isolation many of us feel in early motherhood. Unfortunately, it ends up leaving us feeling even MORE alone and confused about who we are as a mother. So glad this post resonated with you and happy to have you here!
Yes yes! I took a phone and computer sabbatical years ago and realized these "margins of time" (a phrase I have coined) when all is well but if filled with phone and computer left me feeling drained at the end of the day. I began to fill my margins with connection, authentic true connection. And by end of the day I felt rejuvenated! By the end of my month-long sabbatical I had a new practice for my margins.
Love this series. I'm all about intentional motherhood !
🧶🧲☎️🌶️🎈🍒🪆🎠🖇️🪞
Absolute gem of an article. thank you :)
Thank you, thank you!! ❤️❤️
Wow! I was nodding my head the entire time reading this. Thank you for validating all my feelings and making me feel less “weird” for taking a huge social media step back in motherhood. It’s felt so off and different and now I have the words as to why. Here’s to letting the real life in again ✨
I think more and more of us are realizing the void that social media has brought on in our lives. So glad you’ve found peace with opting out, too ❤️
I loved your ideas! I have recently replaced scrolling with reading (actual books). I love reading but struggled to find the time after my third kid was born. It seems obvious, I’m not sure why it took me so long to make the swap!
It is the perfect swap!!
I read the whole of Proust that way when my youngest was a baby - sitting on the floor, joggling the pram, waiting outside school for the older ones, almost all snatched moments. It was lovely.
So good! I’ve recently loved the Opal app for setting up better/more personalized screen limits on my phone that allow me to use apps like Substack and YouTube with intention (“Hey mom what’s a coral reef? Hey mom did you know there’s a plane called a hurricane?) while also making it difficult to impossible to just scroll.
Really appreciated this read. Felt very affirming and relatable as I also deleted social media 6 months ago. I feel less compelled to take photos (double sided coin, good and bad) and can just sit outside without my phone. It’s felt so freeing!
I love this perspective so much! I, too, have felt conflicted about the photos. I'm making a habit of taking out the "big" camera when I can, but it is also so freeing to just be in the moment!
I needed this reminder 🩷 I've been feeling so bogged down that I honestly just didn't want to think about or figure out what else I could do to fill the space, despite feeling that social media is not benefiting me. This was a breath of fresh air. Such great suggestions, thank you! 😊
Thank you so much, Barbara. Those are such sweet words. We all have felt a sense of dread around social media without truly understanding what we can do about it. It is everywhere, and it takes so much intention to choose differently, but just your yearning to find something different will get you so far.
This is such an incredibly important message. I’ve been seeking this in the past little while and made some big changes to my habits which have had huge positive impacts on me and my family. I hope more and more mums find this path. You have written about it really really well. Thank you!
So many helpful tips!!! We are all guilty and in this modern motherhood era, we have to be intentional and mindful! Wonderful read full of ideas! Thank you ❤️
LOVE this reminder!! I’ve felt that same feeling of my intuition being there all along, just speaking too quietly to be heard amidst all of the noise. Thank you for sharing 🤍
Just finished Expiration Dates and loved it!
Thank you for this! I gave birth to our daughter just over a month ago and am definitely guilty of the scroll while nursing. Sometimes when I am "stuck" in a nursing position and notice that my phone is too far away for me to reach, I almost get antsy. But why? I can also just stare at my daughter or look out the window and watch the clouds go by.
Filling the gaps, numbing and disconnecting. I love everything you've shared here. I see myself slipping back into bad habits recently as I wanted to revive my social media accounts, which I have done, I've found the elusive consistency I thought I didn't have the ability to use..but now I'm slipping into bad phone habits again and it needs to shift. Thank you for sharing this, for it popping up for me at the right time ❤️❤️
I love this, thank you for articulating so well at a similar subject that I posted about just a day before you. But where I feel like I missed the mark somewhat on what I was trying to convey (motherhood, mindful ways of spending downtime) you beautifully captured the experience many of us are truly feeling these days. Thank you. I’m so glad you popped up on my feed ☺️