Three Ways a Mother Can Rest

As a busy mom of three my moments of “rest” are few and far between.  It doesn’t come naturally to be still among the daily routine of preparing meals, cleaning up said meals, breaking up fights, consoling boo-boos and all the chaos that comes with a 7, 5 and 2 year old.  My need for rest is palpable at times.  I hit a wall almost everyday (usually around 1:00pm) and my ability to keeping going comes to a giant halt.  This is as much to do with my activity as it is my body’s sleep needs.  By nature, I can be a low-energy person.  Early on in motherhood I learned I would never get through the day without following the old adage of “sleep when the baby sleeps.”  Wiser words have never been spoken.   We mothers (and all humans no matter what your daily role) truly need to rest.  For our bodies and our minds.  For our significant others.  For our children.  Because as restful mothers we are so much more patient with those we love.  Consider the following ways you can find “rest” within your hectic lives:

1. Take a nap.  No, I’m not kidding.  Allowing yourself a 15 minute afternoon catnap can do wonders as you finish the day.  How?  Where?  As a ninja napper, let me explain:  Doze off while sitting on a patio chair while the kids run around the backyard.  Lay on the sofa with them as they watch an afternoon television show.  Hell, put your head down on the table (a practice I perfected in high school English Lit) while they work on homework.  Take a snooze in the car during soccer practice! And on the weekends never, ever feel guilty about a longer version nap.  My grandmother used to actually get in bed under the covers to accomplish this on Sunday afternoons.  That generation knew what was up.
2. Go to bed early.  Ha!  You say.  I agree this is much easier said than done but doable once you get in the habit.  I am a night owl so this one is particularly hard for me. Recently though I realized watching the 9:30 showing of Family Feud was not doing helpful in any way.  While its nice to unwind at the end of a long day with some mindless TV, it can become incredibly boring and why be bored when I can sleep?!  Set a “go to bed” alarm on your phone 60 minutes before you really intend to.  If you want to be in bed by 10PM set it for 9:00.  This reminds you to wash your face and do all that nightly stuff plus allows time for you to read or stretch before hitting the hay.
3. Sleep In.  Another toughie.  But if you have a husband, partner, even a babysitter that can be on kid-duty two Saturdays a month at wake-up time plan with them the night before so you can snooze away. When our oldest was born, my husband and I had an unofficial agreement of taking turns with him each morning.  This helped each of us know when we got to refill our sleep tank and offered one-on-one time with the baby.  As kids grow and more are born this isn’t as special its just plain work but still beneficial to the adults in charge.

I know these ideas of how to achieve more rest are fairly obvious but the main point is not to feel guilty about doing them.  Mothers tend to take on more than we should or even realize we are doing.  Our bodies have been through enough — give them a break!

Three Easy-To-Keep New Year’s Resolutions

Well here we are at the end of one year and start of another.  Just walking through Target gave me paranoia on what my New Year’s resolutions might be:  big displays of storage and organization, sales on athletic wear and point-of-purchase set ups showing off detox teas and protein shakes.  The new year typically brings a newfound interest in starting with a fresh, healthy slate.  However often times New Year’s resolutions are easy to state but hard to keep.  With that in mind I am sharing the three I have found to be simple yet effective!

DRINK WATER – simply put.  You’ll be surprised how much water you can drink when you start with a fun, cute water bottle and just keep it on your desk or in your car.  I love the Swell bottles for their pretty designs. Bonus points for adding flavor with lemon or lime slice!

WEAR SUNSCREEN –  another no-brainer.  These days we cannot afford to NOT wear sunscreen even on wintry days.  This is the easiest way to prevent a major type of cancer and not look older than you are (win, win!).  So many make-ups these days offer an SPF.  If you prefer a no makeup routine, a moisturizer with SPF will certainly do the trick.  My favorite by far for a bit of foundation coverage is IT Cosmetics Your Skin But Better CC+ Cream with SPF 50.  People have actually committed on my skin since I started wearing this product.  AH-MAZING.

STRETCH YOUR BODY – After having three children and not getting any younger my body has suffered a bit.  The most obvious toll has been in my lower back.  After 7+ years of picking up children, strollers and toys, my back has taken a beating.  Since monthly massages are not in the budget I find stretching helps tremendously.  Stretching comes naturally once you get in the habit of doing it and the benefits are amazing!  Better breathing, better posture and more strength just to name a few.  This is a simple resolution because it literally be done anywhere, anytime:  on the living room floor during The Real Housewives, watching your kids play at the park, or even sitting in traffic.  While this is pretty easy to learn some specific techniques are always helpful.  I recommend Stretching by Bob Anderson.  This book has been around for decades and is a go-to for trainers and massage therapists.  In fact an excellent massage therapist is the one who first told me about it!

If I can commit to these three simple resolutions I am certain you can to!  Cheers to a healthy, happy 2018.