Big thanks to American Girl® for partnering together for this post!
Becoming a mom of three has been the most insane roller coaster that I could have ever imagined. We have these amazing days where I feel like the most awesome mom and there’s days where I feel like I’ve failed everyone. One of the things that I’m really working hard on has making sure that my girls get quality mommy & me time. I don’t want them feeling replaced by our new addition and I want them to make sure that they know I value their place in our family.
Getting Mommy & Me Time In
It’s hard. I would be lying if I said that I was doing an excellent job at it. BC is 13 weeks old now and still quite dependent on me. And I’m back to work again which makes things more difficult. But when I put him down for naps, I try and get some one on one time with each of the girls. I’m learning that although self-sufficient, they still really need mommy.
One of my favorite dolls growing up was my Addy doll from American Girl®. My dad actually worked on the original advertisement for her. I loved her story and that she looked like me–representation matters. Now that Mini is old enough to respect her things, American Girl® and I gifted her the Gabriela doll–a doll that she was excited looked like her.
Incorporating American Girl® Into Our Time
It’s no news here that I’m a seamstress and if you follow me on social media then you know that Mini is a budding seamstress herself so we use this time to hang out. She’s made herself a couple of skirts in the past but this time I thought it would be fun to make Gabriela a dress to match a shirt that I had made her (that also matches one of my dresses). One of my favorite pattern groups Made for Mermaids just came out with the Catherine pattern that I had the pleasure of testing.
Sewing With My Girl
Let me say this, sewing clothes for myself is pretty easy and I though that it would be easy to make tiny clothes–I was wrong! Mini did a great job in cutting out the pattern and then piecing it together. Seeing her in this capacity shows me how much she’s really grown and it’s crazy to me that I have an almost 8 year old. I’m constantly in teacher mode courtesy of homeschooling but when we’re sewing I get the opportunity to be more of her friend.
Sewing is something that we both really enjoy and making clothes for Gabriela was pretty fun. I love taking an interest in the things that she enjoys and I can really see a difference in her behavior after we’ve had time together. Though I wish it were more time, our mutual love of American Girl® has made our mommy & me time quite fruitful!
Mama’s of multiples, how do you get your mommy & me time in?
