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!
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.
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.
11 Comments
Ah Bonnie Way, one of my favorite bloggers 🙂 Once again, I so enjoyed reading this post! I JUST posted on my page what kind of tea do people drink, I am looking for a new looseleaf one, I love that this one delivers, not sure they will where we are going but I will be checking them out!
I am going to pin this for my readers and am so glad you linked up at #favoritethingsfriday! Make sure to add a backlink or button to be eligible to be featured and I hope to see you again this Friday (if you are like me and forget, I made a special newsletter reminder, just a weekly shout out to remember to link up on thursdays, its under the post if you are interested)
I struggle with your 2nd point. Hubby is a night owl and I’m not….and it’s hard for us to find a good balance. I’m like you though…..I get a lot of colds from not enough sleep and I can definitely tell when it’s starting! I’ve been trying to get better about getting the sleep I need.
Bonnie – we’re the same; he’s a night owl and I’m not. That’s been a struggle for most of our marriage, but he’s gotten better at understanding that I NEED to be in bed between 9 and 10 pm. He often stays up to watch his favourite TV shows or check email and Facebook while I go to bed. It helps if we make sure to spend some time together after the girls go to bed and before I crash. 🙂
These are really great tips and reminders on how moms need to take care of themselves Bonnie! Thanks for that. I agree with all your points. I think calling a friend IS so important. In today’s world it’s easier to text or email but there is still nothing like a phone call. I’m going to make a plan to call my best friend tonight.
It is so important to take time for yourself, it doesn’t have to be hours at the spa…lol. Just a few quiet moments is sometimes all we need to feel rejuvenated and ready for the next challenge.
I’m horrible at phoning people as well, but my best girlfriend and I make time to do a phone call at least twice a month. We end up getting a lot of venting out haha. It’s therapeutic.
These are great things to keep in mind. I’ve raised two girls, and it has left me more than a little drained. Looking back, I realize I fell into the common trap of not taking care of myself properly. I think this is great advice for newer moms.
I struggle with this right now, with 3 kids under 5 life is BUSY! But grabbing a cup of tea and the iPad and taking 5 minutes to myself works wonders.
I hear ya! Little ones sure take a lot of energy to chase – so take those five minutes to restore your energy! 🙂
I was just drinking my afternoon cuppa (Alberta Sasaktoon Tea from Acquired Taste Tea in Edmonton) when I read this! Yes!
With a four-year-old, two-and-a-half-year-old, and eleven-month-old, life gets busy at home! Taking a few moments while the kiddos are resting in the afternoon to have a cup of tea and read a little bit has helped me so much!
I’m trying to get back into a little quilting. It takes way longer than it used to, what with all the “interruptions”, but I’ve just finished the top to a table runner and I found it so refreshing. I also love to doodle and am working on a little calligraphy, and I find time to do that with the kids while they colour or draw.
I need to call up friends more often. I love it when people just invite themselves over!
Also, exercise has made a huge difference for me! I used to be able to just pop the kids in our double jogging stroller and go for a good run/walk when there was just two, but it’s much harder with three. So, for the last few months I’ve been working out inside with DVDs and it has made such a difference. After a few weeks of intense workouts I felt like a new person! Now, five months later, I still find that the workouts really boost my mood and energy. It’s still hard to get to it sometimes, but I’m always glad I did. (FYI, I’m doing Lindsay Brin’s Moms Into Fitness DVDs – awesome!)
And, I’m going to look into Amoda tea. My husband has a coffee subscription and it’s so fun for him to get curated coffee every month. I prefer tea to coffee, and it would be fun to get surprised every month with something new to try!
Christy – thanks so much for your comments! I totally agree with you. I should’ve added exercise to this list – it’s something that I’m trying to get into daily as well (but am not so good at yet!). It’s definitely harder with more kids but I’ve been doing at-home DVDs too. You’ll have to see if Amoda ships to the States – they are a local Vancouver company so you might be able to find something closer to you but it’s also a small box so it might go across the border just fine. 🙂 Thanks for dropping by!