Are you an "angry mom"?

Full disclosure, I've been really super irritable lately. I've been impatient with Olivia and my husband, Gil. But I haven't been able to put my finger on what's causing it! It feels kind of like I felt before I was diagnosed with postpartum depression and got on Zoloft. Do I need to up my dose? I'm not opposed to that, but I'd love to try some other things first.

Something got me thinking, though. I was scrolling Instagram (surprise, surprise) and I saw this little graphic from @mombrain.therapist.



WOW, right?? I don't know about you, mama, but I could probably circle 5 or 6 things on this list of unmet needs. I realized that I'm really not taking care of myself very well. I'm a huge proponent of self-care but I've been slacking on that lately. I need to prioritize it. For example, I have been reading the same book since November! It's not even a long book!! I couldn't tell you the last time I worked out. I haven't been out alone with friends since Olivia was born (almost 11 months ago!) and Gil and I have only been on 3 dates since I gave birth. I never drink enough water and I'm always scrambling around to clean and tidy while Olivia is napping instead of doing something for myself. I told myself it wouldn't get to this point and that I wouldn't lose sight of how important it is to take care of myself and relax, but I'm in dire need of some TLC now.

I'm making the commitment to sit down and plan strategic "me time" every week. We are the MAMAS. We take care of people all day and if you're a nursing, co-sleeping mama like I am, all night, as well. :P So, will you make that commitment with me? To take care of yourself, whatever that looks like for you? It's really important, because I think as moms, we frequently convince ourselves that anything we do for ourselves is less important. But we have to fill ourselves up to pour out into others.

I'm going to make sure I take at least 6 hours a week for myself. I'm going to go blog at Starbucks with a tasty frappuccino or roam Home Goods aimlessly and see what kind of trouble I can get into. I'm going to drink a lot of water and eat nutritious snacks. I'm going to snuggle my sweet daughter and not feel guilty about needing time alone. I'm going to thank my hubby for keeping the baby occupied while I take a nice hot shower and it's all going to make me a better mama. How are you going to commit to taking care of yourself? Let me know in the comments below.

xoxo- Rachel




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