Thursday, July 20, 2017

5 Self Care Tips For Mums


Taking care of ourselves...


When you become a Mum, you instantly dedicate your life pretty much completely to your kids and so we should. The only issue though at times is that we do neglect our own needs, particularly when it comes to our health and well being. It's hard to prioritise your own needs when someone so precious and small has needs far greater than your own.

Actually though, our children need us to be healthy too. If we're not healthy, we won’t be able to do our best for them and it's so important to make your health a priority in your life too, as much as you do theirs.




If you find it hard to look after your own health when you have so many other balls to juggle too, check out these 5 simple ways you can introduce self care and keep your own health in check.

Start Meal Planning


If you usually find yourself picking at the kids’ plates and topping up with snacks to keep you going, it’s time to get serious about your own diet. Usually, when you aren’t eating as healthily as you maybe should, it’s because you don’t have the time. If you start planning your meals, this will no longer be a problem and can take just a few minutes from your busy week. Take out a sheet of paper, split it into seven days and three meals, and then start writing down what you would like to eat for each meal each day. Determine, which ingredients you need and, when it’s time for your weekly shop buy everything you need, you may save money too. That way, you’ll only have good food on hand and you’ll be able to batch cook in advance to save more time. Batch cooking is a total life saver! You can pick up takeaway style tubs in Poundland that are perfect for dishing out your portions for the week.




Sign Up to an Online Doctor


If you find it impossible to fit in seeing the doctor with the rest of your responsibilities, seeing an online Dr could ensure that you get the treatment you need and don’t live with issues for longer than you should. If you have a smartphone, laptop or tablet, you can have face to face consultations with a qualified doctor over the internet within minutes of booking, and they will even send your medication through the post for extra convenience if necessary. I only discovered this recently and considering I will happily cancel an appointment as opposed to sitting in that busy waiting room with two kids in tow, this could be a great option for me!

Step up with an Activity Tracker


If you’re otherwise healthy but you don’t take much exercise, getting a good activity tracker like the Fitbit, is a great way of monitoring your movement and encouraging you to do more. Because it mainly monitors steps taken, you can easily increase your activity by walking up the stairs instead of taking the lift or walking the kids to the park for a run around more often.

Take vitamins


Taking a multivitamin each day is a good insurance policy to help boost your energy and keep your nutrient levels up at those times when you really are run off your feet, stressed and unable of doing all of the other things that keep you in good health. I always figured that even if I had the worst food day, at least my body would get what it needs, leaving me less susceptible to getting run down and catching bugs.




Have Some 'Me Time'


Scheduling 'me time' away from the kids doesn’t make you a bad mama, in fact, it could make you a better one by lowering your stress levels, decreasing your depression risk and ensuring that you have your own interests. Sometimes, just a few minutes away can be a great mood booster and I sometimes think the kids are better off missing an hour or two while I recharge, than have me constantly feeling stressed and busy. As well as me time, give yourself some much needed couple time with your other half. If you feel you need some extra help, then have some extra date nights or even have a touch of couples counselling if needed. Any special alone or together time can work wonders for yourself, your relationship and your family unit.


Do you struggle to make time for you and your health?



*collaborative post