Surviving as a New Military Mom

This is a sponsored conversation on behalf of The Breastfeeding Shop via SoFluential Media. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Being a Military Mom is a unique challenge because, in addition to the life-altering changes that having a new baby means for a family, you also tend to live far apart from the rest of your family, and your spouse may be away for long periods of time. Read some tips to help survive as a new military mom.

 

 

Find your Mom Tribe

The military lifestyle makes us more nomadic, which pulls us from our extended families and often plops us in new and unfamiliar places. This means we cannot always rely on Grandma or Auntie to come help with the baby or toddler, and often feel alone in motherhood.

This is where it is vital to connect with local moms and build our tribe, or even find like-minded moms in similar situations online via wonderful Facebook groups made just for moms like you.

Connecting with local moms can happen in many ways – from chatting up a fellow mom at the playground to forming a preschool parent phone tree or meeting up with colleagues at work.  Living on-post means every neighbor with kids is a fellow military spouse and mom. Living off-post or somewhat far from the base like we currently do creates challenges in connecting with fellow military mamas on a frequent basis. But with a Family Readiness Group or even family events within your spouse’s unit, you can make these connections and find other moms to support you, and, in turn, to support them.

The bottom line is we need support, and we need it most when our spouse is deployed.

 

 

 

Routine Routine Routine

We always hear that babies thrive on routine (and we always hear how important it is to have a good baby bedtime routine, for example). Well, when life is constantly changing around you, your organized routine is one thing you can rely on to have your back and help break up the day in manageable pieces of time.

Your routine could have many aspects to it. Some people get very specific with a morning routine, daily schedule, and evening routine, for work days and weekends.

If you have certain days you do a particular activity (a work meeting, a library event for baby bookworms, etc.) be sure to have it in your schedule and routine planner. You may like to go to the playground after naps on weekends, and that can become part of your family routine. When my husband is home on the weekends we like to go on a nature adventure – whether it’s riding bikes in the park, splashing in the local swimming hole, or walking the trails, that’s our family routine.

I love to put everything in my digital Google calendar so I can see it all at glance on my phone. Or you can use the lovely daily agenda printable I have prepared for you!

You know what else needs to be in your routine? That right self-care! Schedule in some time to unwind and de-stress after a stressful day or week as a busy mom, a military spouse, a working mom or stay at home mom – we all need to remember to take care of ourselves since we always focus on taking care of our families and are often in survival mode. The children get all our efforts, and there are a lot of things on our shoulders as a military spouse, so we tend to put ourselves last or not at all.

 

 

 

Take Advantage of Mom Hacks

Motherhood is hard, yes, we know. But there are so many tips and hacks out there to make life just a little bit easier, streamline our tasks, and help us save time and effort.

My favorite hack is to order everything you can online. Skip the store lines for shelf-stable goods you can have delivered. Set up auto-delivery with Amazon Prime if that fits your budget.

Have a perfectly packed bag for both yourself and each child, so you are always prepared for any diaper or potty mishaps wherever you may be. It’s a good idea to keep an emergency kit in your car, too.

If you’re breastfeeding, learn how to make breastfeeding transitions easier on-the-go, since you might have to move while caring for a young child.

Did you know that Tricare beneficiaries qualify for a NO COST breast pump via Tricare? My fellow Military Moms can get your breast pump through The Breastfeeding Shop.  All you have to do is upload your prescription to The Breastfeeding Shop and your $0 breast pump will be shipped to your home. Check it out!

 

You might also be interested in this new app I just learned about: Babies on the Homefront is a newly improved app designed to make deployments and time apart a little easier and less stressful for everyone in the family, especially your little ones! Send emojis, play games, share photos and videos, and securely stay connected as a family with fun activities and play ideas. The app even has resources for parents—learn more about your child’s development and find information and tips for self-care. Available in English and Spanish, Babies on the Homefront is the one-stop parenting app for active military and veteran families.

 

 

Over to you – what tips do you have for new military moms and new military spouses?