Say you are a mom of two small kids, you have a full-time job and a husband/wife/partner who also has a full-time job and thus you work different shifts to be able to stay with the kids throughout the day. Do you know what you have? Zero time, that’s what you have! In my case, the only time I have “alone” is when both my two-year old son and my six-year old daughter sleep at noon and I can break free from the boob trap my son sets! Then I sit down on the floor in front of the couch he sleeps and knit, crochet or go down the hole that’s Instagram for a few minutes. But is this really self-care? Read on for some self - care tips for busy moms!
Self - care tips for busy moms
Prioritize nutrient balance in YOUR food
Your body has different needs than the one of your kids or your husband’s. Especially if you are pre-menopause, breastfeeding or have a health concern, you need to add some extra or special nutrients to your diet. Personally, as a vegetarian with a tendency to thyroid issues I added some herbs, vitamins and super foods to my diet while eating the same things (in vegetarian mode though) as my kids.
This post may contain affiliate links which means that if you click through and make a purchase, at no additional cost to you, I’ll get pocket money to go yarn shopping. So you are feeding my yarn addiction. I knew you’d be a bad influence!
This way, you don’t have to cook different meals all the time but you take care of your body’s needs and that is self-care. Eating your kid’s left – over’s isn’t!
Take pride in YOUR appearance
Free yourself from the magazine – perfect induced stress appearance and make a couple of smart changes to save time and feel nice! The next time you find a second, make a plan of clothes that go nicely together and place them in the same hanger in your closet. Then when you need to dress in a hurry, you won’t have to stress about where is what.
Do the same with your jewelry. Keep the ones that you like to wear together in a box or a cloth bag. Then when you need to wear them, you know where everything is!
Recently, something that improves my mood is to wear matching jewelry. I pair my ring and necklace from DaisyLondon and they fill me with happy thoughts. I am going to treat myself to some retail therapy again soon, since their shop is great for shopping gifts for you or for loved ones!
You don’t have to watch every YouTube video for how to make the perfect cat eye with eyeliner. You don’t have to wear any make up either if you don’t feel up to it. Find the make up routine that fits yourself and keep the tools and products you need in hand so that you won’t have to search everything you have in the bag.
Please note that regardless if it feels that way to you and me, taking a shower, brushing your teeth and flossing are must dos! Keeping a good personal hygiene is a must! These are not self-care acts, these are essential routines for living.
Take time to rest/nap/sleep
As I write this, I smirk at myself because I know how extremely difficult this is. Not just because people with small kids don’t have time to rest but because WHEN they do, they choose not to and do all the things they can’t do when their kids are awake, instead. Sounds familiar? Well, heck yes, I just described what I do when my kid sleeps instead of taking a nap beside him in the first paragraph of this article, lol!
However, making sure you get some rest out of your sleep is essential. You know the drill about monitors and blue light and how you should refrain from using it a couple of hours before sleep. I know from personal experience how hard this is, but we need to implement it if we want to feel better in the morning.
Self - care tips for busy moms
Do something YOU enjoy
This goes hand in hand with rest. To be honest, crafting is my way of resting and meditating. I used to say that crochet is my yoga and it’s not pretty far off.
As long as you do something that doesn’t add stress, rest can look like reading a book or crafting or gardening. The point is to remove stress triggers like reading/watching the news, spending too much time online etc.
Do something that makes you feel good. Is it taking a walk outside? Do that! Is it talking to a friend on the phone? Do that! Find what makes you happy and try to have it as much as you can. I know that sometimes it will be small doses, like only a couple of rows of your knitting, or only a few pages of your book, but find solace in knowing that it won’t always be like that!
Self - care tips for busy moms
Ask for time off
Whether you are a SHAM or a work away from hoem mom, whenever is possible take some time off! No work, no kids, just you! Have a spa day, a mini staycation or go to a friend’s house for dinner! Go to the movies, go dancing, treat yourself to whatever you like! This will help fill up your cup and take of some of the burn out load.
Go to therapy
This is self-explanatory and maybe the one that’s most difficult to implement. But, if one good thing came of the recent pandemic, are remote video calls! Find one hour per week and you won’t even have to leave the house!
I really hope you’ll find these self -care tips helpful. Let me know what’s your favorite self-care act in the comments!
