{"id":557,"date":"2025-09-30T10:57:17","date_gmt":"2025-09-30T10:57:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lifeuphealthcoaching.com\/blogs\/?p=557"},"modified":"2026-01-06T10:28:00","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T10:28:00","slug":"how-i-stopped-losing-my-mind-during-bedtime-routines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lifeuphealthcoaching.com\/blogs\/how-i-stopped-losing-my-mind-during-bedtime-routines\/","title":{"rendered":"How I Stopped Losing My Mind During Bedtime Routines"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"How<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Last Tuesday, I was trying to get Sophie ready for bed while Caius screamed in his high chair because I gave him the wrong color sippy cup. My phone was buzzing with work emails, the dishwasher was beeping, and I could hear Joslyn upstairs dealing with a client crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In that moment, I had two choices: completely lose it, or remember what I’d been learning about mindfulness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I chose option three: I hid in the pantry for 30 seconds and ate a granola bar while questioning my life choices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But then I tried the mindfulness thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mindfulness isn’t about being zen\u2014it’s about not losing your shit<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I used to think mindfulness was for people who had time to sit cross-legged and hum. But it’s actually just paying attention to what’s happening right now instead of spiraling about everything that’s wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research shows that mindfulness reduces stress and actually makes you more productive. For parents, this translates to: less yelling, more patience, and the ability to find your keys without having a panic attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to practice mindfulness when your life is chaos<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Take 10 minutes for yourself (yes, really)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I know, I know. “Take time for yourself” is the most useless advice when you have tiny humans demanding snacks every 12 minutes. But here’s the thing: you don’t need to meditate in silence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I do my 10 minutes while my coffee brews in the morning. I just stand there, feel my feet on the ground, notice what I can hear and smell. Sometimes Caius is babbling in his high chair, sometimes the dog is barking. That’s fine. I’m not trying to create silence\u2014I’m just trying to be present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Practice gratitude (even when everything sucks)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When Sophie is having a meltdown about wearing pants and Caius is refusing to eat anything that isn’t goldfish crackers, it’s hard to feel grateful. But mindfulness isn’t about toxic positivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of thinking “I’m grateful for my beautiful children” (while internally screaming), I try smaller things: “I’m grateful this tantrum is happening at home and not at Target.” Or “I’m grateful we have goldfish crackers to fall back on.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes I’m just grateful that bedtime exists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be consciously present<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This one sounds fancy, but it just means paying attention to what you’re actually doing instead of running on autopilot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I’m reading to Sophie, I focus on the story instead of mentally planning tomorrow’s meals. When I’m feeding Caius, I notice his little hands grabbing the spoon instead of scrolling my phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s harder than it sounds because parent brains are always three steps ahead, but when I manage it, these moments actually become enjoyable instead of just items to check off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stop multitasking (or at least try)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Multitasking feels productive when you’re juggling kids, work, and household management. But studies show it actually makes you less efficient and more stressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’ve started doing one thing at a time, even if it’s something small. When I’m making lunch, I just make lunch. When I’m answering emails, I just answer emails. When Caius wants to show me his block tower for the 47th time, I actually look at the block tower.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My brain fights this because it wants to optimize everything, but single-tasking makes me feel calmer and more in control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Accept what you can’t change<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Some days, the house is a disaster, dinner is cereal, and everyone’s wearing yesterday’s clothes. Mindfulness means accepting that this is just life with small kids sometimes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I used to waste so much energy beating myself up for not being the perfect parent. Now I try to accept that I’m doing my best with what I have today. Some days my best is elaborate meal prep and educational activities. Other days my best is keeping everyone alive and fed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both are okay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adopt a growth mindset<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I’m not naturally patient. I’m not naturally calm. But mindfulness has taught me that these aren’t fixed traits\u2014they’re skills I can develop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I lose my temper over spilled milk (literally), I don’t write myself off as a “bad parent.” I notice what happened, figure out what triggered me, and try to handle it better next time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Progress, not perfection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The real goal of mindfulness<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Mindfulness isn’t about becoming a zen master or never getting stressed. It’s about noticing your thoughts and feelings without immediately reacting to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Sophie is testing every boundary and Caius is overtired and cranky, mindfulness helps me pause for a beat before responding. Sometimes that pause is the difference between a calm conversation and a full family meltdown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bottom line<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Parenting is overwhelming. Your brain is constantly spinning with mental to-do lists, worst-case scenarios, and logistics. Mindfulness doesn’t make any of that go away, but it helps you handle it without completely losing yourself in the chaos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And when you do lose it (because you will), mindfulness helps you find your way back faster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plus, your kids are watching. When they see you take a deep breath instead of immediately exploding, they’re learning that emotions are manageable. That’s a gift that will serve them their whole lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Derek<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To your health!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Derek Opperman
Chief Wellness Officer at LifeUP<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI help parents reclaim their energy \u2014 not just physically, but emotionally too. Because when you feel better, everything in your life lights up: your parenting, your patience, your purpose. My approach is about small changes that ripple out into big transformation.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last Tuesday, I was trying to get Sophie ready for bed while Caius screamed in his high chair because I gave him the wrong color sippy cup. My phone was buzzing with work emails, the dishwasher was beeping, and I could hear Joslyn upstairs dealing with a client crisis. In that moment, I had two […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":847,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-557","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeuphealthcoaching.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/557","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeuphealthcoaching.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeuphealthcoaching.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeuphealthcoaching.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeuphealthcoaching.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=557"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lifeuphealthcoaching.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/557\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1278,"href":"https:\/\/lifeuphealthcoaching.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/557\/revisions\/1278"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeuphealthcoaching.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/847"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeuphealthcoaching.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=557"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeuphealthcoaching.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=557"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeuphealthcoaching.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=557"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}