This blog is for all the mum’s out there juggling the demands of motherhood, putting the needs of others first and find no time for their own self care needs! As a busy mum, finding time to look after yourself is not always easy; especially those mum’s that carry most or if not the entire parenting load. You might be a single mum, or your partner works away a lot, or you don’t live near family. You put the needs of others first, and neglect your own self care, risking mum burnout. It’s accepted that feeling tired and overwhelmed is just a normal part of being a mum! It doesn’t have to be that way. Running on empty doesn’t help anybody. Taking care of yourself isn’t selfish, and it doesn’t have to mean putting you before your kids. It means me too. We need simple self care practices that can fit around motherhood, our busy schedules, and can easily be done from home (our out and about) at low or no cost!
Self Care in Motherhood
l know from personal experience, finding time to care for my own needs whilst taking care of everything else is hard and some days it just feels impossible. I’m a stay at home mum, and like a lot of mum’s l live away from my family. I solely rely on my partner for support with childcare. I started my self care journey before l became a mum, and oh my… how my routine has changed. BUT, l know that l have to look after my own wellbeing to be the mum l want to be. Trust me, if l don’t look after my own needs, l find myself snapping at my daughter, l’m tired, everything gets to me and l can’t engage with my daughter properly. Since becoming a mum, l’ve had to change my self care practices. l used to love exercising at the gym and going for runs outside. At my stage of motherhood this isn’t possible, and if i’m honest the gym doesn’t draw me in anymore. I still love to exercise and l know how important it is for my physical and mental wellbeing. I’ve found exercises that l love, that can be done at home or out and about with my daughter. I have a number of self care practices that I’ve introduced since becoming a mum, but they differ day to day based on my energy levels and mood! On the days where l know l’m going to be really busy, or when my morning hasn’t got off to the best start, l know l have a set of practices that l can still do (listed below). It’s so important that l have practices that l can do at home or outside whilst being with my daughter.
5 Daily Self Care Practices for Busy Mum’s
- Stay hydrated How many of us are so busy making sure the kids have everything they need, that we forgot to drink during the day? Drinking water is essential to maintain our bodily functions. Without it your body will preserve its energy and you will end up feeling really tired, sleepy and maybe have headaches. Make it easy for yourself. Place a glass of water by your bed in the evening and drink it whenever you wake in the morning. And fill up a bottle of water and sip on it throughout the day.
- Natural light (especially in the morning) One of the first things l do in the morning, is stand in my garden for 5 minutes. Sunlight in the morning has many health benefits. It can help improve mood and productivity and much more. Light exposure regulates our internal body clock and can help promote better sleep patterns too. Get outside with the kids in the day time too. Being in nature is so good for your health, and it can be fun for both you and the kids. It can improve your physical health, your mood, reduce feelings of stress and much more.
- Nourish your body with nutritious food How many mum’s skip meals because they are so overwhelmed and feel like they don’t have time to eat? Can you remember the last time you sat down with a plate of healthy food? The food that we eat has such an impact on how we feel, and skipping meals means missing out on essential nutrients for our body to function properly. When we are busy and are feeling exhausted, it’s so easy to skip meals or reach for highly processed snacks. Processed snacks can give us that instant energy boost, but it’s short lived. They can play havoc with our blood sugar levels, making you feel even more exhausted and hungry! Start by making small adjustments to your daily nutrition habits (start to include a veg with your lunch, or swap your usual snacks for a piece of fruit). It doesn’t have to take lots of time to eat healthy. Over time you really will feel the difference. Check out my free food swap guide below.
- Stay off your phone for the first hour of the day Immediately checking your phone when you wake up can really effect your mood for the day. We are often bombarded with messages, emails, social media posts…this can leave us feeling stressed and overwhelmed and can often put us in a negative mood for the day. On the occasions where l have had to look at my phone, l can instantly feel my mood changing!
- Deep slow breathing This is one practice that can be done anywhere and at anytime of the day, and can move you from a stressed state to a feeling of calm in a short amount of time. There are many different breathing techniques that you could try and find the one that works for you. I do the 4-7-8 breathing technique every morning, and throughout the day if I’m feeling overwhelmed, it always calms me down.
Do what’s right for YOU
We need to be kind to ourselves and do whats right for us as individuals. It’s a reminder to us all, that there is no benefit in comparing our lives to others. It’s so easy to get caught up with what other mum’s are doing. We are all at different life/motherhood stages, have different support networks and have our own family circumstances. These will all determine which self care practices we can realistically do. Is there one self care practice that you can select that focuses on YOU, and run with it for a week and see how you feel? Have you been neglecting your own self care needs? Are you ready to make some positive changes to your lifestyle, but have no idea where to start? Check out my coaching packages or book a free discovery call to see how we could work together. Kerry x