The Messy Millennial Mom

Just another mom navigating the no man's land of my 30s. Trying to juggle early motherhood, a career, marriage, and still carve out a little time for myself.

What are your Pointers for Prioritizing your Self-Care?

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Messy Millennial Mom

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Self-care is hard for just about everyone. Life is busy and there are so many things that come up daily and at the last minute.

I have found it to be particularly challenging since becoming a mother. For me, this is usually finding time for my exercise routine. Although, I’ll want to throw in an occasional spa day or massage. But it really applies to whatever your favorite form of self-care is.

I am definitely still trying to figure out my routine, but honestly, most days and weeks can’t and won’t have the same routine, no matter how hard I try. And what works I find, changes during different stages of life and ages and stages of children.

What I found to work when I had just one that was infant age to about 1 year old, is drastically different from what worked as she got older and/or there were two kids.

Not everything that works for me will work for everyone. Here’s some of what I’ve tried:

  1. While on maternity leave (or if you are a SAHM), utilizing nap time is huge! Most of the time you can incorporate a lot of the housework into kids awake time. I’ll make a priority list of what I want to do during nap time and first is usually getting in a quick workout, even if it’s only 10-15 minutes.
  2. Incorporate the kid(s) into workout time. At home this can look like having a baby in a carrier and doing squats, lunges, etc or teaching your toddler how to do pushups, squats, or yoga positions.
  3. Find a kid friendly gym. I have a CrossFit gym that I attend that is very welcoming. Of course, the feasibility of this depends on the age of the child and their temperament.
  4. Workout during your lunch hour at work. I am famous for dry shampoo and deodorant 😀.
  5. Take the kids out for a jog or a hike! It also gives everyone some great fresh air.
  6. Trade off with your significant other or if it’s in your budget, get a babysitter occasionally.

It definitely can be challenging, but we choose what we work to prioritize and health and self-care should be pretty high up there on that list. What are your go-to tricks to squeeze in self-care?