Mama Health: Semi-weekly- Occasionally

I’ve been writing a series on the importance of Moms caring for themselves so that they are able to be healthy enough to care for their children.

This post is about the self care stuff that takes a bit more planning. You know, the things you have to be intentional about. I have to admit, I haven’t really gotten good at doing the things that require planning ahead.

Here are some of my ideas for things that I would love to try out, and possibly fit into my life on a consistent basis:

Time alone I’m an introvert, so I relish having time by myself. It really doesn’t happen all that often though, since I also love to be with my husband and my kids! Maybe this will be something that gets easier with time.

Hobby For me, this is writing. I love to do other little projects with my photos and sewing, but for now my writing/blogging is what I spend my hobby time on.

Individual time with my husband This the other one that makes it to my “list”. I cannot tell you how much I love hanging out with my husband. Since our kids are young, we get to put them to bed early in the evening and then it’s just us. Whether we are watching a rental movie, reading, discussing, or working on a project together, it is always time well spent.

Individual time with kids This doesn’t happen as much as I’d like, but I think the main thing holding me back is my excessive expectations, meaning time alone with a child doesn’t have to be a several hour outing in order to be special. I hope to bring this into the weekly routine in a bigger way.

Exercise Um, this one doesn’t really happen at all right now. I was doing pretty good a year ago, but then I fell off the wagon and never got back on. I love how I feel when I am consistently exercising, but I hate working out. I’m still working to find a good way to fit this into my life.

Showers Yes, showers require planning when you have several toddlers. I don’t expect this to be a daily event for me, but they still don’t happen as often as I’d like. Kind of embarrassing to admit, but I tend to put off showers because although I enjoy feeling clean, I hate dragging myself to the shower and “wasting” 25 minutes and then having to deal with wet hair for several hours afterwards (my hair is so thick!). So I am still working on making this happen consistently every other day.

Longer devotional time This is a nice idea in theory, but I just don’t think that I’m ready for it at this point in my life. Reading to much Christian stuff (including the bible) still tends to make me depressed. Maybe this will be more possible at a later point in life.

Date night Date nights are really nice. We have to pay a babysitter, so they end up being fairly expensive. For now we have a date night out every couple months or so. If we didn’t have our nightly “hanging out” time, I think this would have to be more frequent.

Overnight date night We had one of these 2 years ago. Sheer heaven, but wow do they take alot of planning!

Manicure or Pedicure I’ve never had a professional pedicure, but my husband does them for me every so often 🙂

Haircut Again, I’ve had these rarely, but it is so nice to get a new look every now and again.

Massage I’m dying to try one of these someday!

I’d love to get better at some of these ideas, but for now I’m just proud of myself for taking care of my body, fighting the perfectionism that gets me down, and fitting in the little daily things that help to keep me recharged. Since this is the last post I’m writing on this topic for awhile, I thought I’d share a few websites and articles that I’ve found helpful or encouraging.

This is a cool website called The WellGrounded Life. She shares ideas on helping busy moms take care of themselves.

Another website called momrenewal.

Great blogpost on losing weight and keeping self -worth.

Another great blogpost on Mommy guilt and self-worth.

And a blog carnival with many contributers offering their ideas for creating “me-time” for mom.