Self-care is something that is not easy to come by when we become mothers. In this post, I am going to explain how to make self-care practical while living this crazy, awesome, chaos we call mom life.
All our time and energy goes into taking care of everyone else and putting our needs at the bottom of the list. It’s not our fault, though. Society has conditioned us to think that the more we sacrifice, the better moms we are.
That is so untrue for so many reasons. One of the big problems with that is that the list of our family’s needs will never end. There will always be something else we have to do. In the end, the only thing that will lead to is a mom who is running on empty, who will eventually be so affected mentally and physically she is unable to take care of herself OR her family.
What we should be doing instead is finding a way to fit our needs in as well. It’s like I say, putting my needs on the list of priorities isn’t putting my family’s needs further down… it is adding myself to the list.
Adding yourself to your list of priorities doesn’t make you a bad or neglectful mother.
Self-care is what keeps our cups full so that we can nurture everyone around us. The problem is most times we feel we don’t have the time to practice self-care. The thing is it doesn’t have to take a long time or be something that costs a lot of money. Self-care doesn’t have to be spa appointments and hour-long bubble baths.
Self-care can be practiced in 10 minutes while you sit at school pickup waiting for your child and choose to enjoy the silence instead of checking your work email.
It can be planning to order delivery for dinner that night and watching a show you want to watch while your baby naps and your toddler plays instead of cooking.
It’s asking for help from your spouse, friend, family member, or sitter so you can go for a walk, or run, or rest.
It also looks like speaking up about how you are feeling and seeking help when needed.
Self-care can take as long or as little time as you like. Let me rephrase that, as long or as little time as you have! It’s hard to carve out the time for an exercise class when you have a toddler at home. I get that. And really who has time for a massage when they have 100 errands to run?
Find self-care in everyday moments.
I find it when I happen to wake up before everyone in the house and can have my coffee when it’s warm.
When I realize my to-do list has things that can wait until later, so I take time to sit out in the Miami sunshine.
I find it when I make time to call a friend and talk about what is going on in our lives.
The trick is finding what can work as self-care for you. It’s finding those moments of peace and calm in our days surrounded by chaos. Going to workout for an hour or getting a massage are incredible forms of self-care, and when you can do it, do it! But again I know having that kind of time is so difficult when we have young children.
Whatever refreshes you, whatever helps calm and reset our mind is self-care. I have mentioned some examples above, but everyone has different circumstances and different needs. Find things that work best for you.
I hope this post reminds you that you matter, you are enough, and you are doing an amazing job mama! May it also remind you that you are worthy of the same care and compassion you give all those around you.
I challenge you to look at your week and do two things. After reading this, find where you can practice self-care, and what kind of self-care works best for you based on your lifestyle. Feel free to drop comments below with your favorite practical self-care tactics, and how you made your self-care part of your list of priorities.
Thank you for sharing this Rachelle! I always feel refreshed after washing and blow drying my hair. My other favorite self care which is probably not surprising is taking time in my garden. Either observing or playing with the dirt, weeding, or all of the above. It’s my moment of zen.
Loved reading this post!
Thank so much Ana-Sofia!!! Yesss I feel like as a mom the simplest things can be the biggest forms of self-care! I loveee that being in your garden is your moment of zen, studies actually show there are incredible mental health benefits to connecting with the earth through our senses.
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