Taking time for yourself : Finding balance in the ‘mumzone’

As we can all probably testify, no-one can prepare you for becoming a mum. It is the most extraordinary, fulfilling, rewarding job but also the most challenging job with a pretty intense job description.

A job description that could read something like this…

Fragile, cute, needy infant requires a caring, patient, intuitive, adaptable, resilient, strong, kind woman with the ability to:
– perform whilst sleep deprived;
– multitask;
– forward plan;
– troubleshoot;
– keep calm under pressure;
– carry multiple things at once; and
– do so much more as time goes on
Hours: 24/7, 365 days a year.
Remuneration: Unconditional love and joy beyond measure
Holiday entitlement: Nil
To apply:
(1) convince your other half that you are ready to have your world flipped upside down and (2) commence following the instructions explained during the ‘birds and the bees' talk!”

Finding Balance

On a serious note, with so much to do with and for our little ones, finding the balance between being a mummy and maintaining your individual identity can be pretty tough right?!

I recently watched a clip of an interview with Jada Pinkett Smith ( Will Smith's wife). In the interview she explains how important it was for her, as a mother to learn that in addition to being there for her family she needed to make sure that she invested time in looking after herself.

According to Jada, in order for a mother to give the way she needs to and care the way she is wired to, she needs to remember to care for herself and keep herself “topped up” with energy, self-love and happiness. I couldn't agree with her more! Taking time for ourselves as busy mums is oh so important.

You can watch the video here

Pause and reset

When we transition from being a professional woman to being a mother, a shift takes place. Our needs seem less important than those of the little human we have co-created. Sometimes we can get lost in the haze of the new demands of baby care and we keep running the mummy marathon without stopping to catch our breath.

Stop now…for a moment and consider whether you are taking enough care of you? Are you pursuing any personal goals? Are you able you live in the moment?

If you are not doing it already, make sure you set time aside to reflect on how you can make looking after you a priority; whether that be physically (exercise), emotionally (socialising) or spiritually (praying). Often we say we don't have time to spend on ourselves. When we say we don't have time, what we are really saying is that we don't think that spending time on ourselves is a priority. So get prioritising! Remember that a happy mama = a happy baby!

Do you have any tips for maintaining balance in motherhood? Please share in the comments below.

Janine xo

Janine is a mother of an 8-month-old baby boy called Eli. She is a transitions life coach who works with professional women who are in a time of transition and especially enjoys working with new mums navigating their way through the ‘mumzone'.

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