Sunscreen Hacks, Postpartum Workouts, and Recent Product Faves
Issue #15: A midsummer update from my mom-brain to yours, ft. poop in the garbage can and a transition to daycare
Welcome to The Motherload, a somewhat regular publication where I share hacks and tips for parenthood, recent recs in basically any category, plus anything else that’s on my mind. Thank you for being here!
Hey friends, happy summer! It’s been a TIME over here, let me tell you.
The other day, K pooped in the garbage can. I guess I should have known that she was up to no good when she called out “don’t come in here!” from the bathroom… but alas. She thought it was hilarious and couldn’t quite understand why Moshe and I didn’t find it as funny. I guess I get the confusion: poopy diapers go in the garbage, why can’t poop? Trying to explain the concept of biohazards to a 3 year old is totally something I would do, but sticking to the “poop goes in the toilet ONLY” script seems to be working for now.
Here’s another hilarious K moment recently:
In other news, little L started daycare recently — two months earlier than we had planned. This switch came due to sudden scheduling changes with our nanny, and although it always feels overwhelming to go through childcare transitions, I’m so grateful to have childcare and that we got a spot for her in the same daycare K goes to. It was a hard few days, but we’re all doing better now and I’ve finally started to receive some pics of her smiling, which is healing me. Yeesh — starting daycare can be so emotional for the baby and the parent. If you’re navigating this transition, I see you! I will say though, a nice side effect from this shift is now that I’m no longer hosting a nanny share in my apartment all day while also working from home, I get to have my space back to myself.
Besides for our shift in childcare, the other exciting news in our home is that Moshe officially started his third and final year of residency! (Though after residency he’ll do a three-year fellowship, but who’s counting?)
Anyways. This newsletter always brings me such joy to write and share out, and I’ve loved the community I’m building here on Substack as well as the connections I’m deepening in my life around this work. This week alone, two friends reached out with two different recommendation requests, and since they were highly relatable topics, I thought I’d share them here!
The toddler sunscreen conundrum
You know one of my favorite things to do is to give you unhinged ideas for getting your toddler to do things (and eat things!). So, here are some product recs and quick ideas for getting sunscreen on resistant kids:
Call it makeup! And better yet — use a special brush to apply it
Let your toddler put sunscreen on you in exchange for you putting on her
This mineral sunscreen stick is great, and my 3yo BEGS to use it. (I frequently remind her that we don’t need sunscreen before the bath or before bed because of how much she loves applying it)
Also in our rotation: a mineral roll-on option
I’m intrigued by this sunscreen applicator — I can’t vouch for it personally since I’ve never tried it but if you can, please let me know!
I’ve been using and loving the classic Trader Joe’s face sunscreen for a while now — they also have a new mineral option that’s great as well
This is either the best idea ever or the worst idea ever — but if you tried all the above and your kid just isn’t going for it, consider adding something like this unicorn snot (what a name, right?!) into your routine — tell your child that the sunscreen is the “glue” and then put a small amount of shimmery body glitter on top to really hit it home. (FWIW I just came up with this idea as I was writing this, but I feel like my toddler would definitely go for it.)
Have another idea? Leave a comment on this post!
Postpartum workout programs/routines
I actually have so much to say on this topic, despite the fact that I’m the farthest thing from a gym girl and exercise is not something that has historically been exciting or motivating for me. However, I’ve worked very hard to figure out what kind of movement feels attainable for me at this point, so I’m excited to share some ideas on this:
The Sculpt Society has a great postpartum program — I did this for about a month starting when I was 6 weeks postpartum with L. I liked the calmness of the videos to help me ease into movement again, and they also had some great videos on the foundations of core and pelvic floor recovery.
Peloton: I love the Peloton app — the thing that makes this so great is that you can filter workouts based on a whole bunch of variables like class type, duration, instructor, and my favorite filter: music genre. I LOVE their curated playlists — they have some that are artist based (“30 min Selena Gomez barre”, for example) or even decade (“early 2000s pop pilates”). For me, the music is the motivating piece of the workout so Peloton is great for this, plus I like that you can easily find a 5 or 10 minute workout on days where you don’t have a lot of time or capacity. (They do have some postpartum specific core workouts that you can find by searching “postnatal” in the search bar.)
Ladder is a strength-training focused app — I can’t speak to this one personally as I haven’t tried it myself but I’ve heard great things about it. It’s not specific for postpartum, but strength-training is great at any stage of life.
Every Mother: This one is focused on core recovery and healing diastasis recti at any stage postpartum. I gave this one a shot and really liked it actually — the actual core workouts are super short (like 10 min max) and get you into the practice of discovering your ab muscles and learning how to engage them properly on a path towards healing.
Perhaps the most successful method I’ve found for myself has been aiming for 7.5-10k steps a day. Overall just making movement a non-negotiable for myself! I LOVE walking and I walk almost every morning on the same path near my kids’ school. I love being outside and there’s always such interesting things to see when you’re out in nature. When I can’t get outside, I try to use my walking pad during the workday when I can.
Side note: my goal for the near future is to level up my walking game with a weighted vest. If you have one that you like, let me know!
(^ A note I posted on Substack this week. How cute are these active little guys!?)
Do you have other postpartum fitness programs or routines you’d recommend? Let’s help each other out — leave a comment on this post with your ideas!
Do you have a question or recommendation request for me to answer if a future issue?
I’d love to hear from you! Reply to this email or send me a message :)
I know so far this whole post has been recommendations but here are a few more across other categories:
Wearing:
Recently got this skort and I LOVE. It’s so cute and I feel chic wearing white even though I am a mom of two and may come to regret this decision later
The skort! I recently realized that the only full zip up sweater I had was a swag item from my company, so I’ve been on the lookout for something else. I am kind of obsessed with this find from Old Navy (another win for them!) — the material is so soft and I like the oversized look. [P.S. it’s currently 50% off!]
Current product favorites:
Now that camp is in full swing, we’ve been utilizing these wet bags for the kids water play stuff. These bags are also great for taking pump parts on the go!
This is so niche but maybe girl moms will relate: I found the perfect hair accessory organizer for my kids’ bathroom! It feels so good to me to get chaotic corners of my home under control, so this find was a win
Reading (on Substack):
These two pieces really resonated and frankly I haven’t stopped thinking about them since.
Psst: This post features some affiliate links — if you buy something, I might earn a small commission (at no cost to you!). Thank you for your support!
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💜 Rachel
I've tried so many postpartum and pregnancy workout programs. Your list includes most of my favorites, but also adding in Mother Strong. She has quick 15 minute classes that are easy to fit in and the Nourish Move Love postpartum classes which are free and on YouTube.
'The Bump Plan' has TCC, pregnancy and postpartum workouts which I can vouch for! Just trying to find the time to do them is so hard!