I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for Beech-Nut. I received a free coupon to facilitate my review as well as a promotional item to thank me for my participation.
The first time I became a mother, in April 2012, I was sure everything that would touch my child would be of the purest form. She would have the best from the start. I would be supermom.
This is a hard thing to be… to come by supermom powers, I was sure I had to do everything myself and buy very little already done things for her- often this stretched from food to hand altering clothes. I became stressed- to the max- making sure I’d fully driven myself crazy to validate my parenting skills. Surly being insane meant I was also Supermom. No?
Well… No. The answer is “no”. Being a supermom is about parenting your children as they need to be parented and also maintaining some form of sanity:
noun: sanity
-
the ability to think and behave in a normal and rational manner; sound mental health.“I began to doubt my own sanity”
synonyms: mental health, faculties, reason, rationality, saneness, stability, lucidity; More
And so when Camille was born, I vowed to take care of myself and pass some of the mothering off where I could. And this gave me more strength. This made me feel like a better mother, a more powerful, better equipped supermom! Oddly, it all began with a shower.
I’ve also relinquished my super powers when it comes to working out. While I love taking care of my body, I’m not getting paid to run races, or even having the race paid for for me to run. This being the case, I’m ok when my daily workout is actually a tickle fight on the lawn, or a 1/4 mile walk with Millie on my back, Carter on the leash and Addie at my side. I’ve got curves where I once had chisel, but I also have fulfillment where I once had blackness. Being supermom is about balance, even when we feel like balance is the last thing we have.
Loving new #organic @BeechnutFoods! #realfoodforbabies #CamilleThea #IC #sponsored pic.twitter.com/Qw1UaZHLRF
— Michelle Martinka (@martinkadelux) May 10, 2015
When Addie was just starting solids, I made all of her food… but baby #2 is different for most families, and we are no different from most. As I walked the aisles of Babies ‘r’ Us, a gift card for Addie’s birthday burning a hole in my pocket, I saw Beech-Nut‘s new organic baby food. Included in the display were awesome gift boxes offering a variety of foods. Kale with cucumber, raspberries, squash, sweet corn… the list goes on and the foods sounded delicious, so I added them to our cart… and something in me felt lighter. 
These were the same foods I’d make at home when I had the time- flavor combinations that would give her the benefits of wonderful foods, but in a texture she was ready for and with flavors she already loved (like avocado!). It meant that the sweet potatoes I’d had ready to bake, then individually scoop and freeze could wait. The momming that was needed could be spread to more outdoor play and even extra time to rinse the conditioner from my hair. And Millie? She loves the food (yes, I too tasted it, and it’s delicious). Each jar is perfect for 2 meals, as she is still breastfeeding before eating, and gives her the right amount of texture to help her enjoy first solids, assist in feeding herself, and because it’s not over processed- still falls in line with my desire to incorporate baby-led weaning to food. The mess she makes is so enjoyable at night because we are all enjoying mealtime a bit more.
Beec-Nut accomplished what I try to when I make my foods- use whole, organic ingredients. No added salts or sugars or colors. The Beech-Nut organic (non-GMO) line uses a unique just gentle cooking™ process which doesn’t add any excess water or artificial preservatives and won’t cook the nutrients away. 
Sanity restored. So in the end, it’s still just the beginning. Each day we wake up to make choices about how we will define being supermom that day. How we can take care of us and our babies and give them the best, whether they are 8 months or 18 years. It’s a struggle, the balance- of superpowers and momming… but I feel very fortunate to have my girls, have the opportunity to choose where to relinquish some hold, and the courage and support around me to do so. 
To learn more about Beech-Nut’s new line of organic baby foods and give #realfoodtobabies, head over to the website HERE, or check them out on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and IG! And stop into your local Kroger, Babies “R” Us, Wegmans, Price Chopper, Wakefern, Walmart.com, Winn-Dixie, BI-LO, Stop & Shop, Giant Carlisle, A&P, Pathmark, Albertsons, Hannaford, Raley’s, Meijer, Nugget Market, Diapers.com, Harris Teeter, Shaw’s, ACME, Shoppers Food or Cub Foods to pick up some of your own! Enter to win a free Beech-Nut product coupon below!
Contest entrants are only eligible to win once per sweepstake, per household as part of a campaign sponsored by Influence Central and must reside in the United States.
How do you take care of you, or help the mamas around you? Share your stories in the comments!
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