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North West Jess

slow living & mindful parenting on the pnw coast

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About Me

I’m a t-shirt and jeans kinda mama raising my babies in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. I feel passionate about mindful parenting and sustainable living and aim to cultivate an authentic space where parents can come together and feel less isolated in their experiences.

Come introduce yourself on Instagram!

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Wanna hear something CRAZY? • We planned to name Hennie Stevie. Throughout my whole pregnancy we called her Stevie but when I was almost due we had a change of heart and decided we liked the name Hennie so much better (it’s one of my Oma’s names!). • I know that kids always seem to suit the name they’re given but Hennie girl just doesn’t seem like she would have suited being a Stevie! Plus then we wouldn’t have gotten to call her Little Red Hen during her colic days 😏🐓 • I’m SO curious to know - did you have a different name in mind for your kiddo before you chose the one you ended up going with? What was it? I bet you can’t imagine them as anyone else but who they are! • • • • #babynames #pnwmom #pnwlife #slowparenting #realmotherhood #authenticmotherhood #momblogger #momoftwo #preschoolmom #toddlermom #kidsnames #sinkplay #waterplay #montessoriathome

Mamas did you looooove the newborn stage? There’s something so vulnerable about those first few weeks - the grunts and sighs they make when they’re sleeping, the “us against the world” mentality when you’re up in the wee hours with your spouse, the sweaty weight of a newborn head snoozing against your chest, the way their little fist grips your finger. And yet... • ...the newborn phase is still my least favourite 🤷🏼‍♀️ I love SO many aspects of it but it just doesn’t compare to watching them come alive with personality as they grow up, the seemingly random hobbies they take interest in out of nowhere, their funny little dance moves, the sayings they pick up from kids at preschool, the look of pride when they master a new skill, their genuine awe at seeing something new, their sweet uncontrollable giggles, their ability to sleep. through. the. night. 😂🙏🏼 Even with the meltdowns and the big, big emotions I still think toddler and preschooler antics are far superior to newborn cuddles. • Do you agree? If you HAD to choose to be stuck in one phase of your kid’s childhood (😳) which one would it be? Maybe they’re all so sweet because they’re so fleeting. • • • • 📸 by @folkfotos #newbornstage #toddlerlife #momoftwo #preschoolerlife #coastmom #sunshinecoastbc #pnwmom #authenticmotherhood #pnwlife #mindfulmama #mindfulmotherhood #slowparenting #montessorimama #fridayvibes #momblogger #simplemotherhood #simplemamahood #momswithcameras #momswithtattoos #discoverunder5k #discoverunder10k

LOL at PNW moms trying to dress their kids for snow days. We own a whole whack of amazing rain coats and exactly zero snowsuits. Hennie hasn’t worn gloves yet a day in her life 🤷🏼‍♀️ • The cold snap we’re experiencing this week is uncommon in these parts with overnight temps dropping to -14! (that’s about 6 degrees F for my US friends) and since our windows are single pane and we don’t have insulation in our floors it’s pretty drafty even during the day when the fire is roarin’! • I compiled a list of Things to Do With Your Kids When Your House is Cold and hopefully you don’t need it but I know there’s gotta be some other Cold House Mamas out there somewhere! • 🌨 first off all, kick your partner out of bed an hour before wake up to run down the hall, turn the fireplace on, and run back to bed 😅🙏🏼 🌨get your oven goin’! Bake muffins together, bake cookies, roast some potatoes, make nachoes... whatever their little tums desire, whip it up! Every bit of heat helps. 🌨 watch Frozen, obvi! Bonus points if while it’s on you... 🌨 fold warm laundry! I know, chores aren’t much fun but I love folding warm laundry and have the fondest memories of my mom burying me in a pile of towels fresh out of the dryer on a cold day. Sooo cozy! 🌨 do a yoga video with your kids: no better way to warm up your body than by warming up those muscles! My kids really, really love working out with me (I bought them their own tiny dumbbells) and Hennie likes making up “new moves” 🤸🏼‍♀️ 🌨 have a fire: maybe you don’t have a fire pit in your back yard but if you do, sipping some hot chocolate and roasting some weiners for lunch is a great way to stay warm and get fresh air! 🌨 theme bath: pick a colour and then make your kids run around the house grabbing toys of that colour. Chuck ‘em all in the tub with a single drop of food colouring, fill it up, and throw in the kids! Bonus: steam is a great decongestant for little stuffy noses! • Have any ideas to add? I’d love to hear em! • • • • #coldweatheractivities #coldweatherkids #snowday #pnwmom #pnwmama #mindfulmama #rainyday #mymotherhood #noonansyndrome #realmotherhood #activitiesforkids #montessoriactivities

Hands up if you agree that when we omit the inevitable dark, ugly, angry, or messy times from our conversations about motherhood (and our feeds!) we run the risk of sending the message to new mamas that those times don’t exist at all and that it’s wrong to not be enjoying every minute of motherhood 🙋🏼‍♀️🙋🏼‍♀️🙋🏼‍♀️ • As 2019 was wrapping up I thought a lot about this space. What was the purpose of North West Jess? Am I trying to be a Momfluencer? (Lol, NOPE!) I’m not interested in buying followers (yes, that’s a thing you can do!) or trading likes for likes so I can sell you fruit snacks or whatever (though free shit is sometimes nice). I’m not interested in making money by perpetuating a false image of motherhood and posting only picture-perfect poses of my children on their best days. What I AM interested in is building community and connection, and finding common ground. • This space was born in 2016 when I was in the throes of colic with Hennie and I desperately longed for a way out of the isolation I was feeling as a new mom. I searched colic hashtags in the middle of the night through my tears but couldn’t find many others who were being open about their struggles. I saw an opportunity to be the type of account I was looking for and started posting about all of my honest realities, the hardest parts of the journey from FunJess to MomJess (I wasn’t fun for a really long time after I had my first kid. I likely am still not fun 😅) • I wrote a little bit about my hopes and dreams for this little NWJ community and I’d love for you to read it, if you wanna! Then tell me something you wish you saw more of on Instagram these days 📲 • • • • 📷 by the incomparable @folkfotos #pnwmama #momoftwo #mamasboy #mamasgirl #mindfulmama #momfluencer #colicmama #colicbaby #colicbabysurvivor #noonansyndrome #momswhowrite #momswithcameras #authenticmotherhood #realmotherhood #candidmotherhood #rawmotherhood #twoundertwo #momentsinmamahood #motherhoodthroughinstagram #simplemamahood #discoverunder10k #thisismotherhood #momsofinstagram #postpartumanxiety

Noonan Syndrome

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