Since becoming a mom so many things about my daily life have changed. Some were expected and welcomed adjustments while some were not necessarily expected and/or as welcomed. One of those adjustments that has been a bit hard for me, as silly as it may sound, is adjusting to not having as much time to get myself ready for each day. Now of course I expected this to some degree but as my child has grown and as I think about how our lives and routines will change with 2 children this has become more difficult. However, I have made adjustments. I have learned over the past year some little tips/tricks that have made this time a little more "normal" or like it used to be.
Now most of you know I enjoy fashion, I care about appearance and how I present myself, and I actually thoroughly enjoy getting myself ready for the day - whatever that day may look like, which has also changed a lot since becoming a mom :) So while some of the tips are just not things other people care about, I do care about them and it's important for me to take time to myself and to spend some time on my appearance.
#1: I pick out my clothes, shoes and accessories the night before. No matter what I am doing the next day - I think it through and plan accordingly. If I'm going to the gym in the morning then something in the afternoon with a friend and/or out for dinner that night then I plan for the whole day. I set out my gym clothes as well as the outfit/s I will be wearing throughout the day. This is a big one for me. It can take me a LONG time to find an outfit I like, feel good in, have accessories for, etc. etc. so by spending the time the night before, while my child is sleeping, it makes it that much easier come morning.
#2: On the same note I now take my showers at night or during naptime. If I'm not going to the gym in the morning than it's fine to shower at night and get up ready to go. However, when I hit the gym in the morning I do need to allow some time during nap for a shower. This eliminates any crying fits while I'm in the shower or having anxiety while showering because you aren't positive what your little one is up to.
#3: I get up before my child/ren. I haven't always done this but recently have gotten a lot better at it. My child is busy and she loves to take any and everything out of drawers so I have learned it creates a lot less work and stress for me to just get myself up and ready before she even wakes up.
#4: Optimize nap time. Lily takes a pretty good and predictable afternoon nap. She lays down just after lunch and sleeps for at least 2 hours every day. During this time I figure out what my most important to-do's for the day are and make sure I get them done. Some days it's unloading the dishwasher, doing laundry, catching up on email, writing a blog, wrapping birthday gifts, making grocery list, paying bills, etc. These are things I try to do during nap so that while she's awake I can spend my time playing and interacting with her. Now of course errands are one thing you can't do while they are napping - unless someone else is there to watch them - but really anything else I try to do during that nap time or when Jimmy is home to play with her too.
While those are just 4 things they are 4 things that have made a huge impact on my daily life and our normal routine. Of course now that we have it "mastered" we will mix things up by adding one more child but hey, change is exciting and keeps life interesting, right?! Although my goal is to maintain these things no matter how many children we have because they really are important to me. Hope you find at least one of them helpful :)
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