{"id":56344,"date":"2016-08-08T06:31:46","date_gmt":"2016-08-08T13:31:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cookiesandclogs.com\/?p=56344"},"modified":"2016-08-07T08:40:10","modified_gmt":"2016-08-07T15:40:10","slug":"balance-motherhood-olympic-athlete-dana-vollmer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cookiesandclogs.com\/balance-motherhood-olympic-athlete-dana-vollmer\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Balance Motherhood & Work w\/ Olympic Athlete Dana Vollmer"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The trap of losing your identity is all too common during motherhood. You may have been an independent and successful woman but, these days, you\u2019re usually referred to as So-and-So\u2019s mom. Your top priority is this new little one and everything else is now in second place. That said, is it possible to balance motherhood while maintaining your own sense of worth? Yes!<\/p>\n

Maintaining Your Identity Through Motherhood<\/h3>\n

That is one of the main reasons I started blogging way back in 2010. I knew my role of caring for the family and homeschooling my daughter was important. Yet, something was missing. Being out of the workforce for nine years, I felt incapable of anything non-mom-related and found myself in a rut. Blogging was my means of self-validation. I found out that I had a voice again. I could make conference calls, handle myself professionally in person and online, and I unknowingly became an entrepreneur who runs two small businesses. It’s not easy, though.<\/p>\n

Knowing the struggle of wanting to be the best mom possible but still have a life, I was excited to attend an event with Dana Vollmer. Dana is a four-time Olympic gold-medalist swimmer who retired after having her first child. Yet, after bed rest during pregnancy and a year of motherhood, Dana found herself missing the sport. She decided to get in shape and aim for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. How does she balance motherhood and being an Olympic athlete in training? That was the burning question I couldn\u2019t wait to hear her answer to.<\/p>\n

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Interview with Dana Vollmer \u2014\u00a0Becoming a New Mother<\/h3>\n

Before we started our official interview, four other bloggers and I took a little tour with Dana. The event was held at the Babies R Us in Emeryville, CA. We started off in the diaper section. Dana is partnering with P&G and Pampers<\/a> for the games. As every mom knows, you can never have enough diapers those first few years so the relationship was a natural fit.<\/p>\n

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Her little man crawls, walks, and climbs over everything but they haven’t had a blowout yet. She also found how wipes are good for EVERYTHING. New parents can never have enough Pampers baby wipes.<\/p>\n

I never thought I\u2019d be one of those parents that talk about poop but, yeah, it\u2019s all about poop for a while.
\n\u2014 Dana Vollmer.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

She explained a bit about the baby registry<\/a> she used at Babies R Us. 10% of everything bought from that registry accrues in the form of credit for the registrant, you can try out the wide selection of products in person (comes in handy for car seats, strollers, and cribs), and you have up to one year after the baby\u2019s expected date for returns.<\/p>\n