Life is busy. If you’re a mom, life is busier.
There is ALWAYS something else to do, and it seems that we are constantly meeting someone’s needs, but how are we doing with meeting our own needs?
On an airplane the stewardess tells you to place the oxygen mask on your own face first, then on your child’s. Why? If you pass out you can’t help your child or yourself.
So how can you put the oxygen mask on your everyday life? Put yourself first. It may sound selfish, but you must schedule time for yourself or you cannot take care of everyone else.
I am definitely a morning person. My preferred “me” time is early before anyone gets up. I enjoy walking or reading, and I definitely notice when I don’t get my time alone.
I also go on regular dates with my husband to maintain our relationship apart from the children. We love our children very much and talk about them a lot, but on a date we try to talk about anything BUT the children!
What are the activities that you enjoy? Are you making time for them? Do you enjoy painting, going to concerts, scrapbooking, gardening, bubble baths? Do you have a special place that you like to visit?
There will always be something else to do, but we need to make ourselves a priority or eventually we will run out of oxygen. Make sure that you are putting that mask on yourself first!
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This is one thing I do not get enough of. We have a three month old so for the last year my life has been devoted to him. I have loved every minute of it but it is time to get back to me. Will have to start making time for myself and my soon-to-be husband.
It is even more important to make a little time for yourself when you have a baby.
This is so true, but can be so unrealistic. I myself am exremely frustrated with this whole “make time for yourself” concept. We have 2 young children, a baby on the way, and also live on a very tight one income budget. So how am I supposed to pay for a babysitter at $10 an hour for a date night? My husband leaves the house at 5:30 AM and doesn’t get home until 7PM at night. How am I supposed to find time away from my kids for a hobby or to do something for myself? This is very difficult for people that don’t have huge support systems or family members to watch their kids. Any advice?
That can be very frustrating Sarah. I had 4 children under the age of 5 and one thing that really helped was to get my children on a similar nap schedule. I then had 30 min. To an hour of “me time”.
When they outgrew naptime, they still had quiet time in their rooms with a set of toys that were only taken out for that time of day. I scheduled the toys so that Mon. they had Duplo blocks, Tuesday they played with action figures, Wed. cars, etc. The toys were placed in small bins at the top of their closet so they could only access them when I took them down for them.
I also traded babysitting with a friend, and bartered with a homeschool mom to teach her children a class in exchange for her teenage daughter watching my children for a couple of hours. You may try a local church or references from friends to find someone you can trust. Many churches also offer inexpensive Mother’s Morning Out programs.
Being a mom of little ones is a consuming season if life, but with a little work, you can find some ways to get some alone time. 🙂