Does Balance Even Exist in Parenthood?
[This is also an episode of Friday Free Talk on The Tranquility Tribe Podcast on iTunes. Listen here.]
Hey Tranquility Tribe! Welcome to the second episode of the
Influencer Moms series! Today, Hehe
spoke to the incredibly inspiring Amber Dalton, a mother of five and the owner
of a rapidly expanding business. Her
outlook on life and the way in which she juggles her many responsibilities as
gracefully as she does are the reasons that she is our next featured momma!
All about Amber
Amber lives in Mississippi with
her husband and four kids, ages six, four, two, and four months. Thanks to the many experiences that she has
had with her children, Amber has a wide range of knowledge about the birth
world. She had planned for a home birth
with her first child, but after 24 hours of painful labor she decided to go to
the hospital for morphine and some extra pairs of hands to help with her
delivery. Her second child was
successfully born at home with no medication and Amber was hoping to do the
same with her third, but after learning that he had spina bifida she scheduled
a C-section instead. Because of the
risks of a vaginal birth after a C-section, Amber decided to have her fifth
child in the hospital. In addition to
her variety of births, Amber shared that she also had a miscarriage; she holds
a special place in her heart and her family for her fifth tiny human and trusts
that they are waiting for her in heaven.
How did Amber’s business get started?
In addition to being a full-time
mommy, Amber is the founder of Mom After God’s Own Heart, a business “for the
mommas, the babies, and the birth workers.”
Amber started her business about two years ago after receiving a vinyl
cutting machine as a gift. She had
always had an interest in graphic design, and when she obtained the resources
that she needed she decided to pursue her passion by creating decals for a
variety of apparel and accessories.
Because she values her faith highly, her original goal was to share her
faith through her business so she started by producing scripture-based
decals.
After Amber’s sister-in-law, who
recently earned her doula certification, worked with Amber for her fifth
child’s birth, Amber decided to thank her with birth world-related
apparel. Amber’s followers were very
excited about the new designs and since then, her target market has expanded to
include the birth field. Although she
was not originally planning on becoming involved in the birth work field, her
background makes it a very fitting place for her to be!
When speaking about how she
manages to handle her business and her duties as a busy mom, Amber says that
she is still trying to find the perfect balance. As the demand for her products has increased,
she has had to adapt to her changing responsibilities. Amber found that trying to get her work done throughout
the day was getting in the way of her ability to stay on top of her role as a
mom and a wife. In an effort to reaffirm
her priorities, she now focuses on caring for and homeschooling her kids during
the day and works on her business after her kids go to sleep, often staying up
until one or two in the morning.
Although she is always busy, she says that she doesn’t mind because she
is doing what she loves. And in those
moments when she does feel overwhelmed, stressed, or anxious, she draws from
her faith and trusts that she will find the time and the strength to accomplish
what she needs to get done.
Amber’s advice
Amber shares that the biggest
lesson she has learned so far is to not let her business become a burden. Energized by her passion, she realizes that
the fact that she gets to do what she loves is a blessing and she strives to
focus on the positives. For those of you
who are considering starting your own business, Amber says make sure that you
are clear about your priorities and are pursuing something that you enjoy, and then
go for it! Keep in mind that if you are
doing something that you are passionate about, it shouldn’t be draining;
although owning a business requires time and energy, at the end of the day your
accomplishments should be a reward that makes up for the work.
In addition to her tips for
budding business owners, Amber also has some advice for parents – embrace the
relationship that you get to form with your kids! Observing a tiny human’s outlook on life is a
blessing, and Amber shares a story about her third child to prove it. When she learned that her new baby had spina
bifida, a condition in which the spinal cord does not develop properly, she was
told that he may never walk. However,
after multiple surgeries and months of physical therapy, her son Ezekiel (which
appropriately means “God will strengthen”) has been walking unassisted for
about a month and a half. Amber’s
experiences as a mom have taught her about the incredible resilience of tiny
humans; each day that you get to see a tiny humans grow is a gift!
If you want to learn more about
Amber’s business and check out her products, you can find her at www.facebook.com/momaftergodsownheart. She
is open for orders every couple of weeks.
And if you have design ideas or want to offer feedback and support,
visit her VIP Facebook page!
Don’t
forget to join our private Facebook, The
Tranquility Tribe Podcast, and follow us on Instagram at @tranquilitybyhehe!
"Welcome to the Tranquility Tribe"
Written by our Guest Blogger, Kyra Shreeve. She is a Biochemistry, Health Policy, and Music student at Brandeis University.
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