If you’re a mom, you know there is no such thing as a “day off” from parenting. Your kids are your first priority which means you probably put everything else on the back burner, including taking care of yourself. The holidays, with all the preparation, parties and traveling, can add even more stress. As a mom, you have to make time to put yourself first with by doing some self-care.
- Get enough sleep. For a mother with young children, sleep may seem like a sweet, distant memory but it needs to be a priority. Just think about how cranky your toddler is when they don’t get a nap; adults need sleep just as much. And, even though long stretches of uninterrupted slumber is best (seven hours a night), any way you can get rest helps.
- Drink plenty of water. How many days have you realized you didn’t drink one glass of water? Either you were too busy or simply downed cups of coffee to keep you going. Drinking water helps keeps you healthy. According to the CDC, water helps keep your body temperature normal, lubricates and cushions your joints, protects your spinal cord and gets rid of wastes.
- Take time to exercise. It seems contradictory to add one more obligation to an already jam-packed day but taking time to exercise, even if it is at 5 in the morning, is one of the best ways to take care of yourself. Having a couple of hours a week just to yourself does wonders for your body and mind, like improving your mood, boosting energy and improving your sleep.
- Give yourself ‘Me’ time. Even though your children are the center of your world, you still need a break from them. Can you imagine if you never left your desk job? Never took a break? You’d eventually start to crack. Finding ‘me’ time can be as small as locking the bathroom door for a bath to going away for the weekend for a girls’ trip.
- Stop feeling guilty about doing nothing. PsychCentral states that we tend to link our productivity to our self-worth, so when we do nothing, we feel guilty, even if it is much-needed relaxation. Remind yourself that “wasting time” is also productive.
- Keep all your well-woman appointments. You brought your children to every milestone appointment like clockwork, afford yourself the same care. Well-woman appointments allow you to not only speak to your physician about physical issues but your mental state as well, like stress, mood swings or depression.
If you haven’t had a well-woman exam in a while, go online and make an on-demand appointment with any of our physicians at any one of our five locations.