This article is all about self-care for moms.
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Self-care can take many forms. Moms go through a lot on a daily basis. We really are masters of crisis management. To continue to be able to lead our homes, we need to take time for ourselves.
Whether that means locking yourself in your room to eat cookies (which I definitely don’t do, I’m just saying someone might) or any other activity to unwind.
But I know what you’re thinking. With what time?
Self-care doesn’t have to take a lot of time, it doesn’t have to be expensive, and you can do it from home!
Here are some lesser-known ideas of self-care for moms that can easily fit into your daily routine.
1. A Skincare Routine
One of the easiest ways to practice self-care is to carve out time in the morning and at night to do a skincare routine.
And I’m not talking like wash your face and be done with it.
I’m talking full-on, bougie indulgent skincare routine.
I know most of us out there are not getting enough sleep as it is, but waking up a little bit earlier to do a skincare routine makes me feel much more alive than that extra 10 minutes of sleep would.
At night it makes me go to bed on time because I set a timer for 9:30 to do my skincare routine which means I’m in bed by 10.
If you’re like me then you’re probably overwhelmed by the sea of information on how to do a skincare routine.
If you haven’t seen them already, you have to watch Hailey Bieber’s skincare routines on YouTube. She has one for morning and one for before bed.
Following this routine has changed my life.
I think because the routines have so many steps, you just feel so relaxed afterward and so fresh and clean.
If you ain’t got time to watch videos, here is a rundown of the routine.
I didn’t copy her products exactly because some of them are really expensive. But I did some research and found products that are similar and help me feel just as relaxed.
Here are some of the products that people swear by…
Fresh Soy Facial Cleanser
Find it on Amazon.com
My friend told me about this product when I was suffering from cystic acne during my pregnancy and I don’t think I will ever switch cleansers, I love it so much.
It’s a teeny bit expensive upfront (at least in my opinion because I was used to buying drugstore cleansers), but one of these bottles lasts me 6 months because you only need a pea-sized amount so I feel like it pays off.
L’oreal Revitalift
Find it here.
La Roche Posay Tinted Sunscreen
Find it here.
artnaturals Vitamin C Serum
Find it at Target.com
Evian Facial Spray
Find it here. Or for much cheaper at TJ Maxx (more on this below).
The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid
Find it at Ulta.com
Where to Load Up on Self Care Goodies
If you haven’t gone to a store like Marshall’s or TJ Maxx recently, run don’t walk to their skincare section.
I was never really a big TJ maxx-er but they have sooo many skincare products and tools (rollers, brushes, etc) that are so cheap. I basically bought myself an entire spa for like $30 in there.
This brings me to my next point…
2. Ice Rolling
If you have never ice rolled your face. It is literally the best thing ever. This is the holy grain of self-care for moms.
Essentially it is a face roller with gel beads inside that you put into the freezer for a long period of time, like overnight, and then use the handle to roll your face.
It’s supposed to help blood circulation in your face or something?
But I don’t really do it for “health benefits” it just feels so diggity dang good.
It helps with so many things.
Tired? Ice roller.
Headache? Ice roller.
Stressed? Ice roller.
If you take nothing else away from this article, just know that you need an ice roller.
I got mine at TJ Maxx for like 10 bucks, but they sell ones like this on Amazon and elsewhere.
3. Turn Off Your Phone 30 minutes Before Bed
If you end up doing a nightly skincare routine, then you will automatically be doing this, otherwise, turn off or set aside your phone 30 minutes before your goal bedtime.
Everyone is guilty of late-night scrolling from time to time but there are many reasons why ditching this habit will help you feel better.
People are now realizing that exposure to blue light before bed makes it harder to fall asleep and affects the quality of your sleep.
This article from The Sleep Foundation says that blue light prevents melatonin (the sleep hormone) from being released.
Having poor quality sleep or not getting enough obviously makes us tired which isn’t fun but it can also affect our mental health.
If you have a newborn and you’re not getting enough sleep in general then check out my life-saving tip on how to actually get sleep with a newborn.
In short, giving up the phone before bed will help you sleep better and longer and will improve your mood and health overall.
4. A Long, Hot Shower
This one is pretty self-explanatory but there is nothing quite like locking the door (if you have toddlers you know what I’m talking about), turning on a super hot shower, and standing in there for like 20 minutes just staring at the wall.
Super easy. Super effective. Godspeed.
5. Use A Heating Pad At Night
Another thing that you can do that is really simple is use a shoulder heating pad while you’re doing whatever you do to unwind at night.
For my husband and me, it is typically watching a movie or a show. So it’s super simple to just plug-in a heating pad to relax while you’re already doing that thing.
Even if you have some chores to do at night, like folding and putting away laundry, you can use a heating pad while you’re doing that thing to add a little relaxation.
6. Wake Up Early to Drink Your Coffee ~Alone~
I don’t know about you, but upon awakening, I am actually horrible. Like the worst. Nobody should be subjected to interacting with me right when I’ve woken up.
Until I’ve had my coffee.
Once I have my coffee, everything is right and well with the world again and I can be a functional human being.
Waking up and then immediately having to tend to your children and get them out the door is so stressful and disorienting.
Also by then, your coffee is probably cold and you’ve probably skipped breakfast altogether.
Not fun.
If you wake up 15-20 minutes early you can enjoy a hot coffee and a yummy breakfast in peace.
This will make you more awake and prepared to take on your day while making you less stressed in general.
7. Schedule Who is “On Duty”
This is more intended for moms of newborns but could work for older kids as well for times that both spouses are home (like on weekends) and in need of time for themselves.
This tip worked especially well for my husband and me because he felt like he was the one holding the baby all time and I felt like I was holding the baby all the time.
First, we divided the night evenly for who is “on duty”. For example, one hour that my husband is on and one hour that I am on.
This made it so that we could plainly see that the responsibility was equally divided and it also guaranteed that we each had a moment to totally chill.
The person who is “on duty” had total authority during that time. So if the baby needs a diaper, needs to eat (pumped bottles for dad to feed), needs to be rocked, etc it is all up to them.
This is so sanity-saving because you know, every single day that you are going to have that allotted time.
8. Set a Timer For a Break
If you are ever planning to do a chore that is going to take a decent amount of time, set a timer to take a break throughout getting it done.
Examples of chores for which this may be helpful:
-cleaning the house
-cooking a lot to host a party
-a creative project like making a family photo album
-putting away laundry
Doing any one of these things can be exhausting, so it’s helpful to cut yourself some slack.
The ratio that I like to use is 5 minutes for every 30 minutes of work.
So if you’ve done a task for an hour that means you would set a timer for 10 minutes to just sit, relax, grab some water, and then continue working on whatever you’re doing.
I find that this makes accomplishing tasks more sustainable and also less intimidating.
Other Forms of Self Care For Moms
Above are the self-care tips that I wanted to break down in detail, but some other examples of self-care include:
-painting your nails
-lighting a candle
-taking a nap instead of cleaning
-going to target by yourself
-turning your phone off
-reading a book
-eating some chocolate
-buying a new fluffy blanket
-having a glass of wine
-ordering dinner instead of making
and in case you missed it…
-ice rolling 😉
Get your hygge on!
