April Favorites: Toddler travel tips & social media boundaries
Hey there, I’m Kayla! I’m a licensed therapist in Minnesota as well as a mom of an almost-three year old. Here are some of the activities, items, and resources that I’ve been enjoying this past month!
Please note that some of the items may include affiliate links, meaning I get a small commission if you use the link to purchase the item yourself. Know that I’m only recommending items that I actually use and love!
Mental Health
A Spring Break: Last week, I went out to Arizona with my family to spend some time with our extended family and get a nice spring break. I typically don’t take a spring vacation (in fact, this is the first time we’ve flown somewhere in over 5 years!), but wow was it a good reminder how nice a spring break was. Even if I don’t have the opportunity to take an actual vacation, I’m putting in a reminder to self on how needed a week off is at this time of year! I typically love a little re-set of energy in the spring, and some time away from everything allowed my reset to feel a bit more focused and intentional.
Self-Help Books: This month I read (listened to!) the current popular self-help book: Let Them, by Mel Robbins. It is such a good read for folks working on feeling more comfortable in their relationships, navigating boundaries, and connecting to what they’re truly needing right now. Definitely give it a read if you’ve been curious! You can find a list of my top mental health book recommendations here, these are the ones that I find myself recommending to clients over and over again!
Increased Boundaries with Social Media: For many, including myself, social media has become even more so a source of stress, self-doubt, and comparison mindset. Sometimes, I love social media! It’s a great way to stay connected with folks and engage in my business. And, other times (like now), I notice it triggers my anxiety and even some existential dread. Lately, it’s been more on the draining side, so I’ve backed off of it a little bit. I took a few days completely off it to remind my brain that I don’t have to always be clicking those apps on my phone, and now am just engaging with it here and there when it serves me. It’s felt super refreshing! When I am in a season of using social media less, I find it helpful to focus on what I’m doing instead. To replace the urge to scroll when I have downtime, I’ve been crocheting, reading, or using other apps that feel okay for me (right now that’s been Duolingo or Pinterest!).
Parenthood
This month, we’ve mostly been focused on prepping for vacation and then enjoying said vacation, as this was our first time flying or even having a full vacation with our toddler! Here are a few things that we found helpful:
Make the plane ride seem fun and exciting! We talked a lot about planes ahead of time so that she would know what to expect and to help get her in the mode for looking forward to it. At nearly 3 years old, this wasn’t too challenging, and she actually loved the plane ride! While bringing coloring books and some of her favorite books was helpful, the biggest support for the plane ride was snacks. Lots of snacks!
Ergo Baby Carrier: Omni/360: This baby carrier as come in clutch for years! We of course used this frequently when our daughter was a baby, and it as still come in handy in toddlerhood. This carrier says that it can be used up to 4 years and 45 pounds- and let me assure you that my nearly 3 year old was as comfortable as could be in this carrier at the airport! While she walked around a lot by our gate and such, I put her in this carrier while we went through the air bus to get from our drop off area, through security, and through the long walks to our gate. We didn’t need a stroller for our trip- so this was a great way to get her around! A bonus was that right after we landed back home at about 10 pm, she fell asleep in the carrier- which was great as it took over an hour to get our bags and a shuttle back to our car. This was great!
Accept that routines and bed times are going to be a bit of a mess. While we tried to bring in some routines- such as doing our regular bedtime routine, trying to call it a night with events early (which was tricky with the time change!), and being home for a bit in the middle of the day to attempt a midday rest or nap- it was also important for us to just accept that the schedule was going to be a bit off. We did our best to go with the flow, support our kiddo when needed, and to let go of strict schedules or expectations.
Included in a buffer day after our trip. This is something we have always liked to do for trips even before becoming parents. Nothing is worse than coming back from a vacation only to have to head back into work and the regular routines the following day. We love at least one buffer day to get back into our routines, unpack and do laundry, and just refresh.
Lifestyle
Clothes: I added a couple new staples to my wardrobe- and have been loving some more Spring items that have been in my closet for a while. Here are a few faves:
My Kiziks- these are those tennis shoes that you can slip into that you’ve probably seen ads for online. I got the lima tennis shoe a couple years ago as an easy shoe to slip into when I’m also carrying my toddler and I still love them! I brought them as my airport shoe which was perfect as they are comfy and easy to slip in and out of for security. I’ve also been loving my brisbane tennis shoe as it’s been so cute in this spring transition!
Cozy clothes for home! I got a set from old navy of wide leg sweat pants and a half zip pull over and they are SO COMFY. After tons of use and several washes (because I am literally wearing them every day at home) I can attest that unlike so many other clothing items these days- theses ones stay super soft and don’t pill.
Brixley Crescent Bag: I recently got this new bag- because as much as I love having a simple fanny pack as my purse, I need a little extra room to hold toddler snacks and an emergency pull up. Being real, I’ll do anything to not have to bring a diaper bag or any extra bags with me- but also hate having a big purse! This crescent bag is the perfect size! It’s small enough that it doesn’t feel bulky, but is big enough to fit the toddler essentials- AND has all the perfect compartments to keep things organized. I’ve been looking around for probably half a year for just the right fit, so had to share (and, thank you to my therapy friend for sharing about this brand with me in consult group!).
Gardening: I’ve always enjoyed adding plants to my yard, but these past couple of years have gotten into gardening actual veggies and herbs and it’s been fun! I highly recommend it if you, like me, absolutely hate the very beginning of spring- because while everything is still gross and brown, you can be planning your garden bed! This year, I added a couple more garden beds and have just started to plant a few items that are ready. I’m so excited to spend a lot of time out in the yard this spring and summer!
Looking for more recommendations?
I’ve got a list of several of my favorite items for mental health, parenthood, and lifestyle over at my ShopMy account. Again, a few (not all) of these are affiliate links, but they’re all my tried and true recommendations!