We get it. Your children are your world. Your reason for living. Some may even say their purpose in life. But this post is here to tell you that it is ok if your little sunshine gets on your nerves sometimes and makes you want to get as far away from them as possible. Although that vacay would be nice, many great moms will feel guilt. Which is perfectly normal!

But you know what should be normal? Prioritizing yourself and not feeling guilty about it! So here are my list of self-care habits you should start doing because you, mama, hold it all together for your family! Take care of you for your kids and importantly, for yourself.

1) Sleep, rest, & relax

When I was close to my due date, a lot of experienced moms gave me the advice to “sleep when baby sleeps”. There’s a reason for that. As soon as your baby goes to sleep, Rest! Relax! Or sleep if you can! Leave the mess in the kitchen. Don’t fold your laundry. Whatever it is that you have to do, it can wait! Sleep can do so much for you, especially for those new moms out there. Sleep can improve your mood and mental health. It’s hard to even think about napping in the face of everything that you need to do but sleep needs to come first.

2) Continue your hygiene. Take that shower!

I don’t care how tired you are. Get in that shower! You will feel 100% better after a bath. Have someone watch your child or shower during their nap time. If that isn’t an option then have your baby take a shower with you! Take your baby’s tub in with you. You and your little one can both get clean. Of course, after your shower complete your routine with brushing your hair, putting on lotion, etc.

Brush your teeth & wash your face. A lot of new moms can get cavities for the first time due to your little one stealing your calcium. What parasites! am I right?! Totally kidding. Anyway, These little hygiene habits can make a big difference and get you through the day.

3) Hydrate and eat right

You will be surprised at how much energy and overall wellness hydration can make you feel. If you’re like me and need reminding me to drink enough water throughout the day, keep a water bottle nearby and set an alarm to drink a certain amount. Diet is just as important. When my daughter was a newborn, my diet was a challenge for me. I was tempted to eat junk, I would skip meals, and even go some days without eating. That left me feeling weak and sluggish. Keep healthy snacks around you. Trust me, that bag of chips may make you feel good at the moment but a healthier option will have a better effect for you in the long run.

4) Get out of those pj’s and get dressed

Get dressed in the morning even when you aren’t going anywhere. This action alone can trick your brain to get into work mode. Your mood in the morning sets the tone for the rest of your day. Not only does getting ready change your mindset, it makes you feel good. Feeling prepared for the day is one of those small self care tips you can practice.

5) Get some sun!

Strap your child in that stroller and go for a nice stroll in the sun because the sun can help improve your mental health! I mean, it makes sense since there is just this correlation between all things happy and sunshine. According to this article, the sun has a big part in our circadian rhythm. The circadian rhythm is responsible for our “iternal clocks”. When it’s dark out, our bodies will release melatonin preparing us to sleep but when the sun comes up, we feel awake and alert. The circadian rhythm can help stablize bodily functions and put our hormones in check. So you can only imagine what staying indoors all day can do. Throwing off your circadian rhythm can affect your mental health. Luckily, we have Mr. Sun to help us correct our hormone imbalances. If you’re feeling dark and sad, go outside!

Prioritize Yourself ♥

There is room for you in your priorities. So don’t feel guilty when you just need time to yourself. You’re human. Take some time off, recollect yourself, then go back to being super mom. You will still be loved by your family and most importantly, you will love you.

I found out I was pregnant with my daughter when I was just 20 years old. Of course, the first feeling I felt was fear but some reassurance from family members put me at ease. It wasn’t until I went through my pregnancy journey, I realized that being pregnant was one of the most challenging moments of my life so far. Pregnancy really took a toll on me physically, emotionally, and mentally. At the same time, I was a full-time student and worked a part-time job until I gave birth. Here is my journey

Disclaimer: All pregnancy journey’s are different. Although some have harder pregnancies than others, all pregnancy journey’s are a joyful challenge.

Emotionally

When we think of how pregnancy will affect someone, we instantly know that their emotions are going to be through the roof. In my opinion, being pregnant is a perfect time for a woman to change her mood from psycho to sweetheart all within the same minute. Pregnancy gets you a free pass card on being cranky! In my case, I leaned more towards anger and nothing but anger…*shoutout to my patient boyfriend! I owe ya!*

Everything was his fault. If I had left my phone at home, it was his fault. If I was starving, it was his fault. If I was late to a class it was somehow his fault. It was like I made it my daily goal to connect him back to my problems and not try to think of a logical explanation to my mistakes. It was honestly very exhausting being angry all the time. Dang hormones! Looking back on those times, I am so thankful that my boyfriend continued to stay patient with me!

It is safe to say that excessive crying happens to a majority of pregnant women. I cried over the smallest things. Every morning I would eat avocado toast for breakfast. Well one morning, I cried because halfway through, I got full and couldn’t finish the rest. I felt so bad for wasting my breakfast. Not one of my proud moments to be crying over avocado toast.

Mentally

Before I was pregnant, I have always had anxiety. When I became pregnant, my anxiety got even worse. I was anxious about a lot of things. Because I was working and going to school, I was anxious about judgment from my peers. Being young and pregnant while living in the Bay Area, where a majority of people my age wouldn’t even think about starting a family at 21. I know I have been seen as a failure to some. People would ask me if I was expecting and when I would share the news the first thing they would say was not “congratulations” but “I’m sorry”. The rude comments got to me. The rudest comments I remember were “Oh my god you’re pregnant?! Is the father still around?” and “I can’t believe she’s pregnant. What a waste!”. Yeah, dealing with this for 9 months messed with me.

Physically

Whew! Where can I even start with this subject!? I would hurt in places that I didn’t even know could hurt. During my first trimester, I had the worst breakouts and was nauseas throughout the whole 9 months. Notice how I didn’t say morning sickness because my sickness did not only take place in the morning! I could not keep anything down. The only thing I ate, because I craved it, was frozen fruits. Especially Taco Bell’s Mountain Dew Baja Blast Freeze…very specific. Certain foods that I could not stomach was meat. If I saw or smelled the scent of meat cooking, I would go running to the bathroom. I found this diet change interesting considering the fact that I was 90% a carnivore before I became pregnant. This was of course one of the few physical experiences I went through.

I had pain everywhere. In my back, stomach, and heart. My heartburn was triggered by everything I ate. Sometimes even ice cream depending on the flavor i.e. chocolate. My mom told me that the more heartburn I had, it meant hair growth and that my daughter is going to come out with a lot of hair. I guess that old wives tale was true because she in fact did come out with a full head of hair! Glad to know my pain paid off.

I was also really restless and tired everyday due to my daughter’s foot being in my ribs every night. It’s a really sharp pain that hurts bad enough to make you cry. I certainly did. On top of the pregnancy gain, there was swelling in my feet and randomly, in my gums. Although this was common, it was annoying because the pain made it hard to eat.

Takeaway

Like I mentioned before, every pregnancy is different and in its own way, beautiful. Mine was a challenge. A challenge that I will forever cherish and be thankful for. If there was one takeaway that I hope you got from this, is not fear but that this is raw motherhood. To the soon to be mothers, I am excited for you. Excited for you to realize that you are stronger than you think. You can handle more than you know. I am so excited for you to see what being a mom is about!

I would love to hear about how your pregnancy was like! So please leave a comment below 🙂