Olivia Jeanette

One of the biggest adjustments I have had to make since Sebastian was born is changing my daily schedule. I’m not a creature of habit and I invite change, but I have found it difficult to find balance between him, Matt, work, and myself. There is so much to do in a day and we have so little time to get everything done we would like. That being said, it has been absolutely amazing having Sebastian and taking care of him. Any worries or other distractions I may have, it all goes away when I look at him. But like all of us, we need to make time to spend with our significant others, time with work, and time for ourselves. Finding that balance has been trying but there are a few things that have helped me get on track.

Asking for help

This is easily one of the hardest things for me to do. I find it so hard to ask for help, even when people offer it up. It’s a little bit of the midwest in me who doesn’t want to ever inconvenience people. This weekend was a perfect example. My wonderful in-laws were in town and they wanted to help me and Matt out in anyway that they could. “You guys just relax and not worry about the baby for a while, we’ll take care of him.” They didn’t mind helping change his diapers, grab me water, run down to the store for certain things, etc. I know they are family and maybe we expect that, but it’s a good reminder that the people in our lives are willing to help out when in need. Sometimes all we need to do is ask.

Prioritizing

If I could attend every event, meet up for every girl’s night out and answer every text, I probably would. However, I have needed to scale back significantly and find myself prioritizing even more now what I do and where I go. It has actually been a a huge blessing, because I have created even more time to spend at home. Plus, with feeding Sebastian and everything else that goes along with raising a newborn, I have been able to devote my energy to what’s most important.

Automate

Whenever possible, I try and automate the process. Most recently I started to shoot with my photographer, Lydia, again. She was my blog photographer for years. Instead of Matt taking the photos and then me editing the photos, which typically can take anywhere from 1-2 hours, depending on several different factors, I’ve cut down my photos to 20-30 minutes. Of course Matt and I still shoot together, but when I have a lot of things due, it’s easiest to automate this process. Plus, Matt is able to stay at home with Sebastian and he loves playing the Daddy daycare role.

There are some other things I’m working on to further assist in finding more balance that I hope to implement here soon. I’d love to learn some of the things you have done to help you find balance in your life. Yes, this is me pushing through and asking for help. Hehe. See, I’m already implementing one of my changes!

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xo, Olivia

Photos by Lydia Hudgens