What to Do in the Quiet Moments of Motherhood (Instead of Scrolling)

Simple swaps for doom scrolling and other soul-filling offline things

Hi, and welcome to Nurture Notes! I’m Cadence, a mama and a writer who cares deeply about intentional motherhood and building a more purposeful, connected life with our kids.

When I say “intentional motherhood,” I just mean making choices on purpose, not out of habit, pressure, or autopilot. It’s about slowing down long enough to ask, “Is this working for us?”—and being brave enough to do things differently when it’s not.

I’m so glad you’re here.

A quiet moment of motherhood

There are so many tiny, slow windows in motherhood: rocking a baby to sleep, nursing, waiting in the car while your toddler naps, sitting on the floor as they crawl around, or spending long stretches in contact naps during those early years. Later, it might look like two precious hours during Mother’s Morning Out to squeeze in a week’s worth of errands—and maybe a sliver of “me” time, too.

These moments seem small, but they quietly stack up to make up a vast portion of our days as mothers.

And more often than not, they get filled with social media.

We’ve all done it—sit down to nurse, and out comes the phone. You’re in the car, and suddenly you’re watching someone else’s Target haul (those are weirdly addicting, right?). Sure, you might come across a helpful tip or two. But to get one good one, you scroll through a lot of noise. Sometimes you’re just refreshing, hoping the algorithm will finally give you the answer to why your baby’s waking up at 3 a.m.

(Spoiler: there is no secret answer. It’s normal.)

It feels like something just for you—a little escape, a way to stay connected to the outside world. Maybe you even convince yourself it’s productive: I’m just looking for ideas. I’ll only be on for a minute. I need a break.

But more often than not, it’s not restful. It’s numbing.

Instead of feeling recharged, you walk away even more overstimulated (if that’s even possible). You’ve seen twelve different takes on infant sleep, a reel of someone’s picture-perfect playroom, and a handful of tips you didn’t ask for but now feel weirdly obligated to implement. All you wanted was a moment of quiet, and now you feel more scattered than when you started.

In these tender, often exhausting moments, we open ourselves up to a flood of other people’s lives, parenting styles, and opinions. What looks like a little “me time” can quietly chip away at your mental health—and your trust in yourself and your baby.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

I’ve found that these quiet moments can be reclaimed. The scroll can be replaced with small, nourishing offline choices—things that fill me up instead of draining me further. These slow pockets of time have become some of the most grounding parts of my days. They’ve helped me return to presence, peace, and the motherhood I want to build—connected, purposeful, and real.

Things to Do (Instead of Reaching for Your Phone)

Audiobooks & Podcasts

Audiobooks are a gift during the quiet (and sometimes painfully slow) hours of motherhood. They offer a soft escape, a fresh thought to chew on, or just a steady voice in the background. I especially love nonfiction that stretches my thinking, helps me feel sharp, and reminds me that I’m still me—outside of motherhood, too.

I’m drawn to health-focused books that keep my wellness journey top of mind, and I often listen to parenting books this way, too. Choose topics that spark your curiosity, lift your energy, or simply make you feel more like yourself.

And if you start a book and don’t love it? Let it go. No guilt. Move on to the next one.

Parenting favorites

Read

Put down the phone. Pick up a book.

Read on a Kindle during one-handed nursing sessions, or grab a paperback while your toddler builds Magnatiles next to you. It doesn’t have to be deep or life-changing—read a rom-com, a mystery, fantasy, whatever pulls you in. These moments are made for fun, easy, nourishing reads that feel like a warm hug.

And when your kids see you choosing a book over a screen, that matters. You’re showing them what presence looks like—and modeling a habit they’ll carry with them, too. (More on that here.)

a few unique, nourishing reads

The best of rom-com

Headspace Meditations

The Headspace app offers short, gentle meditations made for moms and families. Just a few minutes of guided breathing or quiet focus can reset your nervous system and give you the rest you actually need.

Don’t underestimate what five intentional minutes can do—it can shift your day from “running on empty” to grounded and present. We all need a perspective check sometimes. Taking a few minutes to pause and reset helps us lead with joy, patience, and clarity. For ourselves, and for our families.

Here is a 30-day free guest pass from Headspace if you’re interested!

Write!

A journal entry, a single thought, a gratitude list, or just how motherhood feels right now.

Jot down what you’re feeling, what’s been on your mind, or what you want to remember or come back to later. It doesn’t have to be a full journal session. The Notes app works. A scrap of paper works.

And if writing feels like something you want more of?

Start a Substack. It doesn’t have to be for anyone but you, or maybe it turns into something more.

Watch a Movie

Especially in the newborn phase, watching a movie can feel so much more restful than scrolling. It gives your mind one story to follow, instead of a hundred tiny distractions.

It settles your nervous system (unless you’re watching something scary—which I do not recommend in motherhood, lol).

No guilt here. Sometimes a good movie is exactly what you need to unwind and recharge your battery.

Practice Breathing Exercises

Take three slow, restorative breaths.

In through your nose for five counts… hold…

Out through your mouth for five counts.

This rescue breath gently reminds your body that you’re not in danger—that you’re not, in fact, being chased by a mountain lion.

You may be carrying a truckload of mental and physical responsibilities right now, but the more you can remind your body to stay out of fight-or-flight mode, the better.

A few deep breaths can shift everything. Breathwork and meditation really do help.

Long-Form Content over Mindless Scrolling

If you’re craving a scroll (we all have those days), try long-form content instead of TikTok or reels. Articles, blog posts, essays, and digital courses give your brain something to focus on, one idea at a time, rather than social media's disjointed, rapid-fire noise.

Long-form content helps rebuild your attention span, gives you space to think, and actually fills your mind with something useful or inspiring.

Look for things that replenish you, not just distract you.

What I’ve Gained by Going Offline in the Margins of Motherhood

Since I left social media as a mini-influencer in 2024 (you can read more on that here), I’ve seen a remarkable shift in my overall happiness and well-being as a mother.

Social media used to be my beacon, as a creator, but also a consumer—it called to me constantly, day and night, quietly eroding the connection and joy I felt in my real life. I didn’t realize how much mental energy and attention I was giving away, just trying to “catch up” on how other people were doing motherhood.

Now, I’ve started to hear myself again.

Not in some big, dramatic way, but in the small, quiet nudges. The ones that say, You’re doing fine. You don’t need another opinion. You already know.

When you’re constantly absorbing other people’s routines, advice, and thoughts, it’s easy to lose track of your own. Once I cleared the noise, I realized my voice had been there all along, just buried under too much input.

I’ve found more presence. More patience. Not perfectly, not always—but more.

It’s easier to stay grounded when you’re not subconsciously comparing yourself to a dozen curated versions of motherhood. It’s easier to enjoy a slow afternoon when you’re not trying to multitask rest and productivity simultaneously.

I feel more available to my own life.

Available to the small details I used to miss while scrolling—my son’s silent “are you watching me?” look, the way light pours into the playroom when we’re building blocks, the exact weight of his sleeping body on my chest (which is getting pretty heavy, honestly. Any other co-sleepers of preschoolers here?).

These are the things I used to post about. Now, I just notice them. And that’s enough.

I’ve also reclaimed the ability to be bored—and to let my kids be bored, too.

Not every moment needs filling, not every pause needs fixing. Letting the quiet moments stay quiet has grounded me in motherhood more than any parenting tip ever has.

Going offline didn’t make me more productive. It made me more present. And in this season, that’s exactly what I needed.

A Note to Carry With You

You don’t need a system or a perfect plan to reclaim these quiet windows of motherhood.

You need to notice them. Choose something that brings you back to yourself, even for a minute.

Whether it’s a book, a breath, or a silent moment staring out the window, what matters is that you get to choose what fills the space. Not the algorithm.

These small choices may not seem like much from the outside, but they shape the rhythm of your days and how you feel inside your own life.

Start small. Let it be imperfect. But try putting the phone down the next time you reach for it. See what else is there.

You might be surprised what you find in the margins of motherhood.

Thanks for reading,

P.S. If you read this instead of scrolling Instagram, I hope it felt like a win.

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I’m Cadence, and Nurture Notes is where I share ideas for intentional motherhood, low-screen living, and building a connected family culture.