Chasing the Dream: Balancing Life as a Mom and Designer + Pampers Giveaway

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Thank you to Pampers for sponsoring this post.

I’ve been chasing the dream of motherhood for many years. March 2009 brought our first miracle and March 2015 we were surprised with our second. We fought through infertility and the loss of several children to get here and these moments often feel surreal even a year later. That’s why the sleepless nights and exhausting days are worth the joy this new little life brings.

Even if that means they’re wiiiiiide awake at 2 a.m.

As moms we all make the choices we feel are best for our children whether that’s using cloth or disposable diapers; or using formula, nursing or both. Then there’s the ever-stressful choice of working full-time, part-time, or being a stay at home mom. For our family, these choices look like this:Pampers disposable diapers; full-time stay at home mom/part-time freelance designer; nursing through the first year with formula supplementing as-needed.

The diapers choice started the day our girls were born where our hospital used Pampers. They’ve always been the best fit for our babies without leaks or gaps in my daughter’s tiny legs. We love how soft the Pampers Swaddlers are, the ease of crawling in the Pampers Cruisers and we’ve found our girls have slept longer with the overnight protection of Pampers Baby Dry Extra Protection. When baby sleeps – so does momma!

I always hoped I could nurse my babies but my first daughter had a complicated start to life being born at 36 weeks and breastfeeding was something we had to fight to master. Ultimately we made it 8 months and it became a joy. Our newest little girl was a pro from the start and we enjoyed nursing for just over a year. My milk supply was never great, so we supplemented with formula as they got older. We found the combination that worked best for our girls as every mom does.

My career choice has always been mom first, designer second. When my oldest daughter was born I quit my job as full-time art director for a local magazine and pursued life as a freelance designer. This choice meant I could stay home with the baby we fought so hard to have. I’ve been grateful to have been able to make this work for our family.

Those moments of blissful sleep are sweet and most often when I pursue my other dream as freelance graphic designer. I work in 1-2 hour blocks of time at nap time or after bedtime and have the world’s most understanding clients when it comes to putting my girls needs first.

Pampers recognizes the dreams and accomplishments of so many moms and is partnering with swimmer Dana Vollmer, for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, her first Olympic Games since giving birth to her son, Arlen, last March (making him the same age as my youngest daughter).

A good night’s sleep for baby means a good night’s sleep for mommy and daddy. When everyone wakes up well-rested they can more easily pursue their dreams, no matter what they might be. For Dana, the love and encouragement of her family led her back to the pool. Her goal of winning gold at this year’s Olympic Games in Rio is not just her dream – but her family’s as well.

Dana followed her dream of swimming in the Olympic games, in hopes of inspiring her baby son, Arlen, to recognize the importance of hard work. She hopes following her dreams as a competitive swimmer will inspire Arlen’s own goals for success in life.

Pampers will continue their celebration of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games on their social channels throughout the Rio 2016 competitions. #PampersDreams

Pampers believes that the dreams of babies and their parents start with a good night’s sleep, which is why they’ve created products designed with outstanding overnight protection to help little ones sleep comfortably.

#PampersDreams Instagram Contest Details:

Be sure to enter the #PampersDreams Instagram Contest will take place from June 20^th to June 30^th. The winner will receive a $400 AMEX gift card!

Rules:

1. Post a picture of your little one sleeping and caption it with a big dream that either they have or that you have for them using #PampersDreams
2. Follow Pampers on Instagram

That’s it!

Pampers on Social Media

You can follow Pampers on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

Giveaway Details:

Enter to win a #PampersDreams prize package, which will include:

• $50 Babies R Us Gift Card
• Pampers Diapers

Note: Entrants are only eligible to win one #PampersDreams prize package from participating bloggers.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: This post and giveaway were made possible by iConnect and Pampers. I was compensated for my participation in this campaign, but all opinions are 100% my own.

Update: Due to a database error, my site had to be restored with a backup.  All entries in this giveaway will be counted since I use Rafflecopter for entries, however all mandatory comments left the first two days this post was live are now gone. Any entries submitted during this time which required a comment will be given the benefit of the doubt when the winner is pulled. So sorry for any inconvenience or confusion.