Welcome to Monarch Tides
Welcome to Monarch Tides! A space for motherhood, healing, wellness, fitness, mindfulness, and growth through every season of life. In my very first post, I’m sharing the story behind this blog, the meaning of Monarch Tides, and the journey that brought me here. From my coastal California roots to building a new life in the Pacific Northwest. Through motherhood, rebuilding, rediscovering myself, and learning to embrace life’s ever-changing tides, this space was created to bring comfort, inspiration, and connection. Whether you’re navigating motherhood, personal growth, relationships, wellness, or simply searching for community, I hope you feel at home here.
Steffani Baty
5/28/20264 min read
Welcome to monarch tides! A space created from the heart of motherhood, growth, wellness, and learning to embrace life through every changing season. Like the ocean tides and the journey of a monarch butterfly, life is constantly evolving, and so are we. This blog was born from my passion for mindful living, movement, nourishing food, family, fitness, and creating a life rooted in balance and intention. Whether you’re a busy mom, a partner, someone rebuilding yourself, or simply searching for inspiration and peace in the middle of everyday chaos, I hope this space feels comforting, empowering, and real.
My name is Steffani, and I’m a 33-year-old mom with many titles. I’m a homemaker, graduate student, working mom, meal maker, fitness lover, and partner! But like many women, I’m also someone trying to rediscover herself after motherhood. I feel caught in this strange in-between stage of getting older while still feeling young at heart. I’m learning what it means to grow into this version of myself and asking questions I think many women quietly ask themselves: Who am I outside of being a mom? And also, who am I because I became one?
Life is interesting in the most beautiful and chaotic ways. There are so many phases we move through as women. We have seasons of loss, rebuilding, transformation, joy, exhaustion, growth, and rediscovery. Much like the monarch butterfly, we are constantly evolving into new versions of ourselves. Motherhood can feel isolating at times because so much of our focus becomes centered around caring for everyone else. But I truly believe the best way we can show up for our families is by also learning to cultivate ourselves.
I grew up extremely close to my grandparents, and they shaped so much of who I am today. I had the privilege of witnessing a beautiful love story through them. The way they loved each other, their family, nature, and life itself. After my grandfather passed away, my grandmother filled the walls of her home with family photos and memories of joyful moments together. Their love created a sense of warmth and belonging that I always hoped to find in my own life someday.
My grandfather had a deep love for nature and worked near the monarch groves in Pismo Beach, California. Ever since I was little, I associated monarch butterflies with him. When he passed away, our family all got monarch butterfly tattoos in his honor. To me, monarchs symbolize resilience, transformation, family, and the beauty of becoming. Combined with my lifelong connection to the ocean and its tides, the name monarch tides was born.
I grew up in the small coastal town of San Luis Obispo, California, where our family home sat just steps away from the ocean. While growing up, I experienced many changes and difficult situations that shaped me in ways I’m still unpacking today. The ocean became my place of peace. Somewhere I could go to think, breathe, and reset. I used to watch the tide wash away footprints in the sand, leaving behind a clean slate ready for something new. There was always something healing about that to me.
Years later, life eventually led me to the Pacific Northwest, another place surrounded by nature and quiet beauty. Trading the California coastline for evergreen trees, rainy mornings, and slower rhythms became symbolic of a new chapter in my life. The Pacific Northwest has given me space to heal, grow, rediscover myself, and build a life rooted in intention, family, and peace.
I always dreamed of becoming a mother, and I was blessed with an incredible son who changed my life forever. But the picture-perfect image I once had of family quickly shattered when I realized I was in an abusive relationship. When my son was only eight days old, I made the terrifying decision to leave because I knew I couldn’t allow him to grow up in that environment. It was one of the hardest seasons of my life, but it was also the beginning of rebuilding.
During that time, I went back to school while raising my son and eventually transferred to UCLA, where I graduated with honors. Now, I have the incredible opportunity to continue my education through graduate school. My path has not been linear, and I’ve worn many hats along the way all of this is something I hope to share more openly here over time.
Two years ago, life surprised me in the best possible way when I met the partner I had always prayed for. The kindest man with the biggest heart. It took a lot of frogs to get here but it was well worth it. Along with him came two beautiful children, and for the first time in a long time, many of the dreams I thought were lost began to feel possible again. Life still isn’t perfect, and I don’t think it’s supposed to be. But it is full, meaningful, healing, and deeply beautiful.
Through this blog, I hope to share pieces of motherhood, wellness, fitness, healing, homemaking, mindfulness, nutrition, relationships, and the everyday realities of trying to build a meaningful life. More than anything, I hope monarch tides becomes a place of community. A place where women feel seen during one of the most transformative, exhausting, beautiful, and vulnerable seasons of life.
I hope you’ll stay for the laughs, the tears, the lessons, the recipes, the workouts, the honest conversations, and the reminder that you are allowed to grow and rediscover yourself at every stage of life.
Thank you for being here.