Being a mother is a full time, 24 hour job, as we all know. It takes constant energy, commitment, patience, planning and perseverance. It’s not easy. Even daily tasks like cooking dinner, doing laundry and cleaning the house can seem overwhelming at times.
Motherhood can take its toll on you because of factors like lack of sleep, changing schedules and increasing stress levels.
Even the best moms in the world have to take time out to relax and take care of themselves. Why? Because taking care of yourself is a critical and essential part of motherhood, and one I have learned the hard way- through experience. If you take better care of yourself, you will be more capable of being a good mom and taking care of your children.
Here are some tips on making sure you do the things needed to survive the daily demands of being a mother:
1- Get Your Daily Rest The first and foremost thing you should do for yourself and your family, is to make sure you get enough daily rest. Especially if you are a new mother, because it takes almost a full year for your body to recover from the physical changes involved in child birth. If you make it a point to go to bed at the same time, it will help. You can also do things to relax before bed like taking a hot bath, doing yoga or getting a massage. There are also sound therapy products that help you relax and get to sleep. You can hang some sound devices in your baby’s crib that have nature sounds to help infants sleep.
2- Take Short Breaks The next thing I recommend is to make sure you take short breaks. Many moms get overly ambitious when trying to keep up the pace of household chores and family activities. A short break can mean you just sit down for 5 or 10 minutes. Just make it something simple, like stepping outside for a breath of fresh air, or even going to your bedroom and lying down for 5 minutes. Find a quiet corner to escape. The world is not going to end if you do that. If you need to relax and take care of yourself, there are easy ways to take short breaks.
3- Develop a Hobby One of the best things any mom can do is develop a hobby. Find something you enjoy doing, like crafting, baking, or scrapbooking. Use your time away from the children to work on your hobby. It can be anything at all. Learn something new, like crocheting or sewing. The list of hobbies is endless. If you like photography, there are so many ways to be creative with pictures that will bring you enjoyment and allow you to step away, even briefly from all the demands of being a mom.
4- Do Get Away This may sound too simple, but it is very important to get out of the house. Taking time off from your duties as a mom, will give you a necessary sense of having the room to be yourself. Just getting out and away from your children, will make you a better mom. You will discover that you can handle the daily demands better because you have been away from it. Try going out with a girlfriend for lunch, or visiting your parents once a week. You will be amazed at how good it feels.
5- Confide in Someone
Every mom needs someone to confide it. We all struggle with various kinds of stress from being a mother. There are some things you just don’t feel like talking about with your partner, so you need to find someone to talk to about your everyday problems. No mother is problem free, so reach out and find others you can connect to. Maybe you can join a parenting group, or blog about your feelings at an online community. Talking to others about your needs and emotions will help you figure out what to do when problems arise. We all need this support throughout life.
6- Make Time to Exercise Exercise is another majorly important thing to do, to take better care of yourself. It is easy to let your role of being a mother take up all your time. If you have someone to leave your children with, you can schedule time for workouts. Joining a health club is one option. Or, you can just plan to take short runs or bike rides around the neighborhood. Even walking a few blocks every day will do amazing things for your health. Exercise keeps you healthy because it builds up your immune system, and also improves your moods because of increased feel-good hormones.
If you remember to make these steps part of your daily routine, then being a mother will seem less overwhelming and more of a joy. You can reduce your daily stress and be more capable of being the super mom you want to be.
