Being a mom is awesome, scary, challenging, rewarding, and character-building. I have had a tendency in the past though, to forget to fuel myself so that I could do my mama job well. Mom self-care is important. I know I’m not the only one who has let this slide before!
As a homeschooling mom, sometimes I can finish one school year and then jump right into planning mode for the next year. While this isn’t bad, I realized that I need to take some time to refuel, evaluate where I am emotionally, physically, and spiritually— and rework daily routines to help make my day run smoother before busying myself with school preparations. In a nutshell– I need to take care of me!
Mom self-care is not selfish. Self-care is stewardship. It is critical to functioning well as a mom. But self-care isn’t only manicures, time-away and coffee-shop dates. It’s developing daily habits and routines that nourish you, that help you function well and foster joy in your motherhood journey.
Areas to Refuel
While there are many ways to refuel and care for ourselves, I have found that there are 7 key areas I make sure are never on empty.
- Evening routines and sleep.
Sleep is not a luxury! Fight for your sleep Mama! If you are struggling— work on the source. Is it the season you’re in with babies and young children? Is it hormones? Is it thinking about stressful stuff before bed? Don’t settle in this area. Sleep deficiency will catch up with you. It affects your mental clarity, your emotions and your energy levels. Do all you can to get adequate sleep. And Mamas of young children— you do not have to get all the things done during this season! If nursing and sleeping are all you do— that is good! Some things have to slide when you have littles needing so much of you— but please make sleep a priority. - Morning routines and waking up with intention.
Make your routines work for you. If you’re not in a season of nursing and caring for littles— get up before your kids. If you wake up with the kids or after the kids (like I used to do) you will feel behind all day. You need time to set up some good routines that fuel you!
Chocolate Chia Seed Parfaits - Fueling my body— eating with awareness and food that helps nourish, give energy and support mental clarity.
Yeah, I used to eat for emotional support, reward myself for making it through the day or because I was stressed. I’ve had to learn to eat with awareness. Why am I grabbing those chips? Is this going to cause me to have a sugar crash? Am I supporting my mental clarity and energy with what I eat? This is not about diets. This is about eating foods that nourish you, help you think and give you energy. We need this as moms! - Time with friends.
We need time with friends. We also need the right friends in our life. Search for goalmates — people moving in the same direction as you. And carve out some time to keep in touch– whether it is a playdate, a video chat/message, a card or Girls Night Out. - Fun.
I can be a task master and forget to add fun into my day/week/month! For me, I have to be intentional about adding in spotenaity and fun. And it’s not only for me, but fun outings with my family. It doesn’t have to be elaborate or expensive either. It can be eating dinner on the fancy china, playing a video game with my kids, going to the park etc.
- Thoughts, scripts and proclamations.
This is a big one. And this little blurb does not even touch all that I can say on this subject. We need to know what we are thinking. We need to listen to those little recordings going on in our head that say, “You’re not a good enough mom, ” “If you would just be like her, then your home would run efficiently,” “You’re not smart enough” “You don’t deserve this” etc. What we think matters. For me, I need to figure out what I’m thinking and see if it lines up with the Word of God. - Growing skills.
Being a mom is a profession. We’ve got to have skills. Any other job gives you training and job shadowing. Moms— well, when we gave birth, those skills weren’t automatically downloaded into our brains (I wish!) We’ve got to keep on learning. We’ve got to seek out other wise moms who have learned a thing or two. If we’re struggling in an area, look for moms who have those skills. I’m so thankful for my mom mentors!
Mom Self-Care Tips to Help Avoid Burnout
This video about emotions and self-care was part of a online series I did. There are great nuggets there! I have experienced total burn-out and it is not fun! I don’t want you, mama, to go through it.
I go in more depth on these 7 areas listed in a 7 day Mom Reset challenge. You can get it right from your inbox! To get the challenges sent to you, fill out the information here:
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