For me this was a hard one, especially when my kids were babies. Take care of myself, who has the time! Between dishes, laundry, feeding the family, nursing the baby and picking up the house my needs easily got pushed to the back burner.
I will be honest with you when I had 2 kids under 2, I didn't do much for myself in the taking care of myself department, for about 3 years I feel like I WORE MYSELF OUT!! Then I started to think, "what if I get sick, what will happen to the family then!" I don't have time for health problems and to feel worn out all the time. So, I started taking care of myself. Some of the things I did were to make sure I sit down and eat my meals (instead of using that time the kids were sitting still to unload the dishwasher) take vitamins, drink water throughout the day, exercise, sit down and read or nap for 30 min and NOT feel guilty about it.
Also make sure you are getting enough sleep. A sleep deprived mommy, is grumpy, short-tempered and easily agitated and NO ONE likes that. A few nights ago, I was exhausted, I still had laundry that needed folded and put away, ironing and dishes to wash. But, I left it all, knowing it will still be waiting for me the next day. I woke up the next morning and those daunting tasks, suddenly didn't seem so bad, since I was rested and felt good.
Once I made my health a priority, I started feeling so much better, less fatigue, less headaches, more energy. It is so important to make sure we are getting the things we need too, to feel our best and give our all to our family. Make a list of the things you do for your health benefit each day. If the list is sparse, make sure you make your well being a priority too!
This is part of a 31 day series, Creating Family Bliss, to read more click here.
I completely agree. Sometimes we just have to stop, breathe, and take care of ourselves first before we continue with the rest of our daily tasks. It's like the airplane announcement about putting the oxygen mask on yourself first before putting one on your child. We're better wives, mothers, friends, sisters, etc. when we take care of ourselves first.
ReplyDeleteI hear you about the laundry. I often decide to go to bed and deal with the folding in the morning. It's less daunting when I'm well-rested. :)
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