There is one thing I learned during the chaos known to most as December 2014. I need to be better at taking the time to take care of myself. It took me the entire month to figure that one out. When I ended up in the doctor’s office for a strange issue (that they still don’t know what it is) and GI issues that were so severe, they felt like something more, my doctor told me that besides the few medications he was giving me, I was to find a way to de-stress. I needed to rest.
I thought I was doing pretty good then a few days ago I was feeling off and weird. A couple glasses of water and a complete lunch and I felt remarkably better. I had been doing better at taking some time to rest but I still wasn’t taking care of myself.
As a mom, it is so easy to take care of everyone else and forget about myself. I was eating, sure, but not enough. And not eating well enough either. I wasn’t taking my vitamins as regularly as I should have been either. Drinking enough water? Ha!
So I started focusing more on my health and taking care of me. Here’s what I did.
Eating well and eating enough
It seems silly and simple but when you are dealing with a sick child, especially one that has other medical issues at the time, takes a lot of energy and time. Grabbing something to eat and calling it good, isn’t good enough. Don’t ignore hunger. Also don’t feed that hunger junk. Make it something good for you.
Stay hydrated
It sounds so cliche but it’s true. Even if you don’t feel dehydrated, you might be anyway. I drink my water from a 16oz refillable bottle. I had only been having one or two of these a day. My first goal is to get to three of them but my overall goal is four. That gets me to the recommended 64oz of water a day.
Rest and relax
Also, sounds simple. But easier said than done. Even with orders to fill, I have been taking time off from crocheting in the evenings to read. I even checked two books out of the library this week, just for me! Find that thing you enjoy doing that helps you relax, or even rejuvenates you, and make the time to do it. As I was reading last night, I noticed some toys that never got cleaned up and a toddler sweatshirt on the floor. I made the decision to ignore it all and just lay on the sofa with my book. Those things could wait. Taking some rest time needed to be priority.
Take your vitamins and a probiotic
Taking your vitamins is pretty self-explanatory. Run down mamas make sick mamas. Mamas who aren’t eating overly well aren’t getting the nutrients their body needs. Take those vitamins to help your body! As for the probiotic, stress tends to affect one’s digestive system to one extreme to the other. The probiotic helps keep both from happening.
Have fun!
This one kind of goes with rest and relax. It’s so easy to get wrapped up in the “laundry, dinner, childcare, repeat” cycle that sometimes we forget to have fun. Laughter and fun are important to your well-being. So whatever it is you do for fun, do it! Sometimes just family silly time is all you need.
I hope you don’t end up in the cycle I did last month. Taking the time to take care of yourself is time well spent. Stress can cause some crazy health issues, even when you think you are managing the stress. These tips are helping me manage that stress better. I hope they help you as well.
jennifer h says
These are wonderful reminders. I need to do this more often!