Parenthood Self Care Strategies…
After a long day, a great way to unwind is to switch off from the world! Don’t get me wrong lounging about watching tv can be a great way to switch off but you aren’t really giving yourself space to relax and switch off, something which I think we all need. Even if it’s just once a week make time for a little bit of self-care.
1. Parenthood Self Care
A nice long hot bath
Psychologist Neil Morris states that having a bath can help diminish feelings of depression and pessimism because “Baths give you…a wonderful combination of isolation, quiet, and comfort.” Having a bit of you time is so important for your mental wellbeing.
‘’A hot bath can also stimulate circulation and cell movement, and the water pressure helps to relieve organs, enabling us to relax more easily.’’
Epson Salts are great to add into a bath as they:
• Stimulate circulation
• Help to relieve muscle tension
• Nourishes the body with magnesium, calcium and potassium.
2. Parenthood Self Care
Go for a walk in nature...
Switch off from the hustle and bustle of every day life. You can do this with your baby too, in a sling or pushchair. There are also walking groups for mothers with babies, do a search and see what is on in your local area. In Exeter there is a local NCT group which do monthly walks, please note that you don’t need to be a member of the NCT to join this group. Find out more about the Exeter group and search their events here.
‘’ Walking provides a significant benefit because it helps to relieve stress. Brisk walking boosts endorphins, the feel-good hormones that improve your mood and lower stress and mild depression. Walking gives you more energy, which also improves your positive feelings’’ – psychology today
3. Parenthood Self Care
Write a gratitude journal
Having a baby is exhausting and it can be far to easy to compare your baby to others; I am talking about sleep here! Keeping a gratitude journal allows us to keep focus on the positive aspects of life. It helps boost positivity and our self-esteem alongside increasing our happiness and improve our sleep as you will go to bed with a clear mind.
4. Parenthood Self Care
Exercise
Exercise in wonderful but sometimes getting out of the house can be a battle. When times are like that, I turned to Youtube. It helped me to feel better about myself both mentally and physically. However, getting to a class is always great as you can have a bit of you space. Make time once a week to try and do this and it will help:
• Improve your mood and lower the chances of post-natal depression.
• Improve your cardiovascular fitness and restore muscle strength
• Help restore and strengthen your body
You can go to post-natal classes and meet other mothers. We did baby yoga which was amazing for both of us and I would say that it strengthened our bond.
Alternatively you could go for a:
• Walk
• Swim
• Cycle
Once a month it would be lovely to make time to be together as a couple. Communication is key to any relationship, so try to go for lunch or dinner if you can.
5. Parenthood Self Care
Meditation
Headspace is an amazing app. Whilst I am sure there are plenty of other choices out there, this was my saviour! Mediation has sooo many benefits to your overall health, here are a few:
• Mediation grows your brain in volume and thickness. Yep that’s true. How do you benefit from this? It increases your memory, attention, self-control and awareness.
• Mediation reduces cortisol production – so it will help you to feel less stressed, anxious, nervous or unsettled for no reason.
• Mediation increases the production of serotonin and dopamine. These two neurotransmitters play a huge role in our overall mood; by increasing them we should find our selves in much better moods.
• Mediation increase your sense of purpose. You begin to understand yourself a lot more and realise the things that you like and don’t like. It helps give clarity and a sense of confidence in life decisions.
These a just a very small handful as to why meditation is great.
For further reading, check this article out from Forbes.
Parenthood Self Care Strategies
Miss books? Two great options ...
Firstly…
Find a podcast that you love listening too. It can feel like a long day when your partner is at work and you are looking after your baby. Podcast are a way for to feel connected to the world and educated without too much drama from a tv screen.
Your second option is Audible
I lovvveee, love, love Audible. With a great variety of books and a really easy app to use; it’s a great way to listen to books on the go. There are certainly other providers out there but Audible has always been my preference. Using Audible. you pay monthly and you then own the book. Other services let you pay a monthly subscription costs which allows you to rent books rather than buy. Audible is great as you can cancel at anytime.
Here is ourmust listen too list:
Brain Rules – John medina
Brain rules for baby – John Medina
The code of the extraordinary mind – Vishen Lakhiani
How to be human – the manual – by Ruby Wax
Podcasts and Audible are great things to listen to when cooking or having some down time.
We hope you have found this post useful. If you have any other suggestions to add please let us know!
Wishing you Health + Happiness
Soapfullness
Soapfullness Wax Melt Shop
No posts found!