Every year I like to make a many New Year's resolutions, they're fun and festive and really get you motivated to have your "best year yet". But I feel like I do them a bit differently than most. I like to make a mixture of incredibly easy to incredibly hard to accomplish resolutions, that way even if I don't accomplish as much as I hoped, I at least crossed some things off the list. With this in mind, here are my resolutions for 2017.

#1. Have this baby!

Because no one wants to be pregnant forever.

#2. Breastfeed for (at least) 6 Months

I can't wait to experience this for both me and our little boy. It's something I had very little time to do with Audrey (approx. 10 days of exclusive pumping followed by 2 failed days of exclusively breastfeeding) so I'm excited to experience another breastfeeding journey. One that hopefully turns out a bit easier.

#3. Lose (most of) the Baby Weight

This might seem like a big one to most people, but I tend to shed about 50% of my baby weight passively within a couple weeks after labor and delivery. Please don't hate me, I just gain a lot of water weight and have big babies. With that being said, I think losing 15-20 pounds over 9 months (after the baby is born) isn't that unrealistic when you count in breastfeeding and the next resolution I'll be sharing with you. 

#4. Eat Cleaner with More Fruits and Veggies

They say about 80% of your body's overall health is attributed to the type of food and amount of which you eat. I'll admit, I find it very hard to work out while pregnant (I'm at once about every two weeks at the moment) and I know it's going to be even harder once the baby comes. The more research I did, the more strongly I felt that I could make a huge difference in my overall health without "trying to workout more" (because we all know that probably isn't going to happen) and by putting a lot of effort into eating better instead. 

#5. Be More Present When I'm With My Kid(s)

This is something I especially struggle with while attempting to be a work at home mom. I feel like so many days go by that I know I spent time parenting Audrey but most of the time I was on my phone, iPad or laptop and not actually "there" with her. As I'm writing this even, she's running around me watching Sofia the First and eating Cheerios. I really want to focus on setting down all of the technology more while I'm with her and actually spending quality time with her. Worrying less about whether or not she's simply safe where she is but more about if she also has someone there to engage with and is actually having fun.

#6. Find a Better Work/Life Balance

This may seem like it contradicts the last resolution I made, but let me explain. Right now I feel like I'm in a constant state of multitasking. I feel like I spend the whole day half watching Audrey/half working on my YouTube and blog. It's making me feel like I'm only half-a**ing both, to be honest with you. I'm not sure exactly how I'm going to execute this yet, but I really want my time during the day to become more clearly definitely. I want to sit down and put time and effort solely into my work and then put it all away and focus solely on being a great mom. Like I said, I have not fully worked out a plan behind this yet. It may include me doing more work after Audrey goes to bed, my husband helping out more, us going back to having a babysitter a day or two a week or a mixture of all of the above. All I know is, I really want everyone to get more time dedicated solely to them.

#7. Drink More Water

Doesn't everyone always want that?

#8. Date My Husband More Often
Not to brag, but I feel like "dating your spouse" is already something my husband and I aren't too shabby at. But like anything, it could use some improvement. Right now we aim for about 1-2 dates a month and the dates have become shorter and shorter over the last few months (usually becoming a short trip to Starbucks instead of the dinner or movie night we had planned). This year, I really want to get back to the once a week date nights we were so great with even this time last year and aim for actual dates, not just little trips out we try to justify as such. Both of us believe that our relationship is the basis for our whole family and with our next little baby's due date quickly approaching, some quality time together could do us good.


What are your New Year's resolutions for 2017? What are some of your goals? I wish you all a better year coming than the one before! I for one, am welcoming 2017 with open arms.