Welcome back to Feature Friday! Today we’d love to introduce you to Jessica who is a registered dietician. Again thank you, Jessica, for taking the time to answer our questions and for telling us all about you!
How do you help people?
As a pediatric registered dietitian, I focus on empowering parents with the tools and education to work on meeting the important nutrition requirements of children to promote healthy growth and development. My goal is to help inspire healthy families from the beginning with weaning and starting solids, navigating picky eating, allergies and help children to grow into the bodies they are intended to have!
What motivates you?
My motivation is to help parents establish a foundation for healthy eating and most importantly to set their children up for success by developing that healthy relationship with food. I started my private practice to help parents become better family feeders and to help answer questions, ease anxieties and make family meals fun (most of the time)!
What piece of advice would you give mothers?
To be honest I saw this quote on Facebook shared by the Daily Parent Collective and it perfectly describes how I feel about motherhood.
“Nothing makes me feel quite as overwhelmed as the words “enjoy every minute”. If I look back at myself, a brand new mama, I would not tell her to enjoy every minute. I’d tell her to just breathe, it’s all going to turn out fine. I’d tell her she seemed like a fantastic Mom. I’d tell her it’s okay to be overwhelmed sometimes, and that we all are. I’d tell her not to listen to the voices that question her every move (whether internal or external). I’d tell her to enjoy what she could and cry (or scream into a pillow) when she needed to. I’d tell her that motherhood is a constant state of becoming someone we didn’t use to be, and that transition can be hard as crap. I’d tell her it would be worth it and she was going to do great. – Jess Marie
I think every mom is resilient and has the skills and instincts to get through even the toughest challenges. We can’t compare our challenges to anyone else because what we are going through is the hardest for us. Most importantly please don’t compare your children to anyone else’s children. Every child is different and unlike any other child. Find the resources that can help you support your child by looking at your child as a whole.
What do you do to unwind after work?
I continue to struggle to find a work/life balance. I have come to the realization that it is not about finding balance, but in finding harmony or peace in accepting the struggles and challenges for what they are and enjoying all that is good. My workday usually ends with bus pick up and coming home to get dinner on the table for four hangry boys (husband included)! Sometimes dinner is planned ahead and sometimes I am winging it and then heading back out to see clients. I think my favourite time of the day is our bedtime routine. There was one point when putting all the kids to bed especially on my own was overwhelming and now I find spending at least 5 minutes with each of my little men talking about their day helps me just as much as them. Plus some great moments, stories and giggles always come during bedtime snuggles.
In saying that, I find moving my body to be essential in being a better mom and managing life’s challenges. I have my two nights a week that I have prearranged with my husband or a babysitter where I go to the gym for my weekly exercise classes, but my favourite is body pump. Weights and cardio combined in an hour class have proven to be a perfect combination for this multi-tasking mom!
If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?
If money was no object I would definitely want to go to Australia to visit a close friend and experience all the beauty that Australia has to offer and share the experience with the kids but the long plane ride makes me nervous. Kudos to those who have done those long plane rides with kids!
What was the hardest part about creating your business?
The hardest part about creating my business was in having the confidence to put myself out there, work through my anxiety and just take that first step to do it. I am especially grateful for my amazing fellow dietitians who have been cheering me on and mentoring me throughout this process. I honestly would not be where I am if it wasn’t for friends, family, and fellow moms asking me questions about pregnancy, breastfeeding, parenting and feeding their babies and children. Juggling a part-time job, a private practice, motherhood, family, and friends definitely has its challenges, but I have started to learn to let some things go and to prioritize my family needs and work obligations. Now to get all mushy but I really couldn’t do it without my husband because it means that we both have to be committed to managing this crazy joyous parenting journey.
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