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5 Ways to Nurture Yourself as a Mom

As moms, we are on the go all day, every day. My youngest is the first up in the morning and my oldest is the last down at night, and in between those two events, I am getting kids dressed, fetching snacks and drinks, trying to get them to clean up their toys, doing the household chores, teaching school, running errands, managing my blog, and trying to keep my sanity.

I’ve come to realize that it’s okay to stop and nurture myself as a mom throughout the day. So much depends on me and my calm, and if I’m getting frazzled, nothing good happens!

5 ways to nurture yourself as a mom.

 

So here are a few small ways to nurture yourself as a mom.

1. Make a cup of tea or coffee.

Whether you need refreshment or rejuvenation, a hot cup of tea or coffee can do the job. Make your morning cuppa even more special with Amoda Tea Boxes—specialty teas delivered right to your door every month.

February's tea box from Amoda Teas

Each box includes a selection of herbal and black teas, perfect for either that caffeine-boost you need in the morning or for winding down in the evening. When I’m having black tea, I also like making myself steamed milk to turn it into a tea latte.

Check out my unboxing video to see what it’s like to get a box of tea in the mail!!! (Hint: pretty exciting!)

2. Establish a good bedtime routine.

My girls have a short, quick bedtime routine: jammies, potty, brush teeth and hair, story or prayers, goodnight. I joke that “Mommy clocks out at 7 pm” so they need to be in bed. Then I have a couple hours either to myself or to spend with my husband.

I know bedtimes can be tricky for a variety of reasons, but I believe that bedtime routine is important for the girls as well as for me.  I need that quiet time at the end of the day.

An important way to nurture yourself as a mom is to have your own bedtime! I turn into a monster when I don’t have enough sleep—and then I get sick. I can directly relate both my mood and that tickle at the back of my throat that signals a cold coming on to how much (or how little) sleep I got the night before.

So both for myself and my family, I need to make sure that I get into bed at a reasonable time (as tempting as it is to stay up all night reading a book or writing another blog post!).

3. Have a quiet time.

When I had just Sunshine, I read The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky while nursing her.

When I had Lily, I read more often to Sunshine while nursing.

With Jade, however, I’ve gone back to reading while nursing. Lily and Sunshine often play together when Jade needs me for five or ten minutes. Those quiet moments mid-day or before bed are treasured moments for us to snuggle and for me to read, whether I’m picking up some new fiction, inspirational nonfiction for moms or wives, or my Bible.

4. Do a hobby.

When I was a teenager, I had multiple creative hobbies. Now, I just write. And that’s enough. Most of my mom friends also have one thing they do to be creative and nurture themselves, whether it’s knitting, baking, photography, sewing, beading, or something else.

You might have to be creative in finding time to fit in your hobby. My friend who knits can do that while watching her kids play at the park, which if I tried would just end up in a mess of tangled yarn! I write while the girls are playing behind me, which makes proofreading a necessity at times.

Even if you only have five or ten minutes in which to pick up your camera or paint brush, take those five or ten minutes. They will add up sooner or later into something you can be proud to have finished!

5. Call a friend.

I am terrible at phoning people. I’m much more likely to send a message via email or Facebook—but that lacks the personal touch and responsiveness of a greeting.

Even just five minutes on the phone with a friend to say “Hey, let’s plan a playdate” or “I was thinking of you” often leaves me smiling and feeling better as a mom (especially if we’re both trying to get our kids to be quiet and stop asking us questions for two minutes so we can talk!). Likely, your friend needs just as much help to nurture herself as a mom as you do!

How do you nurture yourself as a mom?

I received this tea box courtesy of Amoda for this review; all opinions expressed are my own.

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11 Comments

  1. Rebecca April 12, 2015
  2. Bonnie April 8, 2015
    • Bonnie Way April 10, 2015
  3. Ladena April 7, 2015
  4. Monica April 7, 2015
  5. Randa @ TBK April 7, 2015
  6. dani@lifeovereasy April 6, 2015
  7. Little Miss Kate April 6, 2015
    • Bonnie Way April 7, 2015
  8. Christy Johnson April 6, 2015
    • Bonnie Way April 6, 2015

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