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Hey
it’s Alice from Baby and Toddlerville (http://www.babyandtoddlerville.com).
If you’ve been following along with my Baby Talk Radio segments I hope you
are starting to have more time for yourself, feeling more refreshed, happier
and even a more effective mom. Hopefully you have given, as we talked
about, some more of the nurturing duties to daddy and taking a break now and
then. If you’ve done it – awesome, if not – please please tell me what you
are waiting for. You know you really don’t want to come a victim of new mom
burnout.
A mom
who is burnt out can not be as effective a mother as she could be. If you
are tired or feel like you can’t come up for air it’s extremely stressful
and trust me all of us moms have been there. As days go by without you
brushing your hair or having a shower you really might be on your way to mom
burnout. If you haven’t seen your friends for weeks again you are probably
on your way to mom burnout. You need to take time to take care of yourself
so that you can take better care of your family.
It
sounds so simple and yeah yeah I’ve heard this before, Alice keeps saying
this, but you know if you don’t try you aren’t going to know just how
effective it’s going to be. Last week I suggested that daddy take on some
more of the duties in taking care of baby not just household things because
we need to give dad time with the baby and that gives you the opportunity to
take care of yourself a bit more to. If that’s not possible or if you would
like, the whole idea is to get more time for yourself, that’s what I would
like to talk about this week.
And
yes the first two are painfully obvious but if you don’t do them you are not
going to get the break that you deserve and need. Ask your parents, ask
your friends, Carrie Lauth who often speaks on Baby Talk Radio also talks
about how she has, and I believe she has or she suggests that people find a
local teenager who is experienced with babies and not that you are leaving
them to babysit the child they can take care of things while you take a rest
or even take a shower even while you are in the home, but just someone that
can come by, shouldn’t be expensive and you know give you just a little bit
of a break.
Take
your baby to a play group. Look in your local community services guide and
you might find groups, courses or playtimes for babies. Yes you are still
going to have to attend, you aren’t going to send baby off to school all by
herself but you will be able to have some fun and get out of the house and
you will be able to interact with other adults, it’s amazing. Do a
babysitting swap with a friend. Watch her kids while she goes out for a bit
and have her return the favor. Purchase a baby swing. This is a must have
in my house.
When
I put baby into the swing he was content enough that I could cook dinner
which isn’t so much fun but if I brought it to the bathroom, outside the
bathroom door or into the bathroom I could also brush my hair, teeth and be
clean like a normal human being. The baby swing, I don’t know what it is
about it, they just love it, they are sitting up, they can see around, the
motion probably keeps them calm. You can see the baby swing that I used if
you go to
http://www.babyandtoddlerville.com/swing.html. Kelly has the two links
that I’m going to mention in this recording on the main page of Baby Talk
Radio.
Also
go for a car ride as long as you like driving. I know some people don’t
like driving but personally I find it relaxing. Even now that the boys are
a little bit older I’ll still put them in the back seat, drive out to the
beach and just drive around enjoying the scenery. Babies often fall asleep
on car rides so take a ride, listen to some music and enjoy the peace.
Also
another thing that my kids absolutely loved is the baby Einstein DVD’s. I
don’t really know what it was about them specifically but from a very very
young age my babies loved to watch these DVD’s and would be mesmerized when
I turned these on. The classical music also encourages cognitive
development; there is other learning opportunity with the DVD’s and you can
actually learn more about them by going to
http://www.babyandtoddlerville.com/babyeinstein.html. That link is also
on the Baby Talk Radio website.
These
are just a few ideas to get you going, even if it’s just 10 minutes of peace
and quiet with the baby in the swing, or watching a DVD, or putting the baby
in the swing to watch the DVD they really like that, but just remember
that. My baby, both my babies actually wanted to be carried all the time
and it made it really tough. I didn’t get to wash my hair all the time; I
didn’t get to brush my teeth all the time so those things were definitely
life savers. Having people help out, having little extra tools to keep baby
happy. So now you have no more excuses, I’d like to see you get a little
bit more relaxation for you and to take care of yourself. Until next time
meet at
http://www.momstalkforum.com.
