“CELEBRATE THE MOMMY MILESTONES”

Words

Underlee Nelson

The early days of motherhood are a whirlwind of sleepless nights, everchanging routines and baby milestones. Lanelle Vasichek’s new book, “Celebrating The Mommy Milestones” urges moms to celebrate a different kind of milestone – their own.

"I think we focus so much on others, we sort of forget about all the accomplishments we experience along the way,” said Vasichek. “I think we have our ideas of what we consider ‘celebration worthy,’ but if we wait for those scarce birthday parties and anniversaries to celebrate (which most of the time we are the ones planning), we are losing out on a whole lot of opportunities to find ‘best day ever’ moments that are worthy.”

From taking the baby out of the house for the first time to retiring the maternity clothes to the first post-baby date night, Vasichek encourages moms to celebrate the little victories and transitions that can get lost in the shuffle of everyday life. Busy moms know that some days even just the act of getting out of pajamas and into the shower feels like it deserves a blue ribbon – and Vasichek is here to give it. (Literally – there’s a cheerful blue ribbon pictured by each Mommy Milestone in the book. And scheduling time for showering is one of them.)

“So often moms are the hub of the household and keep things running smooth, keep everyone fed, keeping track of the last time anyone had a bath,” said Vasichek. “Those activities don’t seem to make it on a ‘celebration’ list, but[…]we should realize that what we do every day counts and that’s pretty awesome.”

This is the book Vasichek wished she received as a gift when she was a new mom. The experiential marketing contractor and firsttime author was a busy professional when she had her two kids, Michael (now nine) and Katelyn (now seven.) Like so many moms, she was excited to start her parenting journey. She read, she researched and she worked hard to create the best possible environment for her little ones.

Despite her preparation, the transition wasn’t easy. “The demands of a new little person surprised me,” said Vasichek. “Becoming a mom was definitely amazing, but so exhausting at the same time. I really hope that anyone who reads the book feels like they are not alone in all the crazy moments of motherhood – new moms and seasoned moms alike.”

“Celebrate The Mommy Milestones,” with its whimsical illustrations, breezy tone and super short sections (perfect for a busy mama with just a few moments of free time at any given moment) is a fun, feel-good read. Vasichek’s voice rings through the pages, as chatty and real as a friend across the kitchen table. Her anecdotal stories about her adventures with the Boss (baby, of course) and frank discussion of everything from the herculean effort of a trip to Target to the complicated emotions that follow getting the “all clear” to resume the adult activities that created baby in the first place will have moms of all ages nodding along.

The book is available at Evereve and Shannalee in Fargo, on amazon.com and on Vasichek’s website, mommymilestones.com. Vasichek is also developing a line of cards to promote the oftenoverlooked milestones in a mother’s life, which will be available on the website soon. These milestones include a woman’s Mommaversary, a term Vasichek coined to celebrate the anniversary of the day a woman becomes a mom. Women can register the date they became a mother and submit their own Mommy Milestones on mommymilestones.com.

Celebrating the little moments and honoring the accomplishments of mothers is Vasichek’s mission. And the first step, she explained, is for women to be kind to themselves.

“No one is perfect and life is messy and busy and sometimes sticky and that is ok,” she said. “If we could laugh a little bit at ourselves or our situation, I think we all become a little more realistic, not be so hard on ourselves and enjoy everything a little more. We all have so much good going on in our lives that if we could all just take a moment and really look at our days, we will realize how amazing we already are.” [AWM]