It’s Mother’s Day today – maybe even your first! I hope you’ll be treated to something special or will receive a gift thanking you for all your hard work.
In life it is natural to reward ourselves for our achievements, but with motherhood the effort is ongoing and we tend not to acknowledge our accomplishments and consider our needs.
So my question today is do you appreciate yourself? Being a mother is rewarding and joyful but in equal measures challenging and exhausting. It’s very easy when you have a baby or more than one child to prioritise everyone else’s needs and neglect your own.
Having worked with new mums for twenty years, and being a mum to two myself, I know how important it is to support yourself and recharge your batteries whenever you can, so you can be there for everyone else. I call this the ‘aeroplane analogy’ where you are asked to put on your own oxygen mask before helping a child with theirs.
When we do reward ourselves it is often with a glass of wine, some chocolate or cake as these are easy and accessible (and very nice!) but on a daily basis these may not help us to have more lasting energy to cope with the demands of motherhood.
Acknowledge the wonderful job you’re doing and choose some restorative ways to reward yourself on a monthly, weekly and even daily basis! Buy yourself some beautiful spring flowers, have a relaxing bath with an aromatherapy oil blend (ask your partner to take over the childcare so you can have this time undisturbed), go to a yoga class (not with your baby) or meet a friend, snuggle up on the sofa and read a book or take ten minutes a day to keep a daily journal (a lovely memento to look back on too). It will be time well spent.
Make sure you’re valued on more than one day a year. You deserve it!
Have a very Happy Mother’s Day.
Jayne Russell has over twenty years of experience as a pre’ and postnatal massage and nutritional therapist and is the founder of Nom Nom – award winning, certified organic pregnancy and baby skincare. Sign up for your free skincare guide “10 Steps to Super Healthy Baby Skin” at nomnomskincare.com