Making The Most Of Me Time + Your Chance To Win An Amazon Tablet!

When you become a parent, it's all too easy to become so wrapped up in caring for your children and running your household that caring for yourself falls low on your list of priorities.

As important as it is to meet our childrens needs, it's so important to look after yourself too - particularly in those newborn days when your body and mind are recovering from the strenuous pregnancy and birth process.

With that in mind, here are my Top 5 Me Time Activities

1. Dedicate an hour to pampering yourself

It's easy to recommend a pamper evening with the girls or treating yourself to a spa day, we'd all love that wouldn't we?! But sadly it's not always affordable and it's not always feasible with small children around - childcare can be an issue and even pampering at home can often be interrupted when babies need feeding or children won't settle.

One of my favourite ways to unwind is to run myself a bubble bath and have a nice 20 minute soak with a face mask on, exfoliate and moisturise, give myself a mini mani & pedi & pluck my eyebrows  - an hour later it's remarkable how lifted I feel! A little pampering and preening can go a long way to improving your state of mind.

2. Pamper Your Mind

It's not just our bodies that need looking after, stress can have a detrimental effect on our over-all wellbeing and there are so many things we can do from home to restore some calm and balance.

I've mentioned before that I like to use relaxation apps to relieve anxiety & stresses - calm.com is a favourite of mine, you can also download relaxing music CDs or guided meditations if thats more your thing - you might think it all sounds a bit daft but until you try it you won't know how big a help it might be - anything that helps us to feel calmer has to be worth a try right?!

3. Indulge yourself

Ok so you've got a million things on your to do list, you're trying to shift the baby weight - a treat night doesn't seem like such a great idea? But we all need a little down time every now and then, and the occasional pick me up isn't going to hurt.

Parenthood can be tough - some say it's the toughest "job" in the world - in any job you get the occasional reward for working hard right? A staff meal out, a little thank you gift at Christmas and so on - so why not give yourself that little hard-earned pat on the back once a week?

Whatever it is you enjoy doing - watching a movie with a glass of wine and a bar of chocolate the size of your baby? Go for it! Curling up with a book and a massive hot chocolate with extra cream? Why not!!  Curling up with your iPad and playing Diep-io game? Go for it!
Whatever your favourite indulgent pastime is, just let go of any associated guilt and enjoy it one evening per week - the housework will still be there tomorrow, and you'll feel so much better for it!

4. Make Use Of Help & Get Out Of The House

If you're lucky enough to have any willing babysitters around and can manage an hour or so away from the house every now and then - DO IT! But don't use the time for grocery shopping which can be done online when the kids are in bed or visiting old Aunt Ethel...do something just for you every once in a while. Go for a swim (Oh to go swimming without chasing a toddler around in a soggy swim nappy!), have a quiet coffee or lunch somewhere non-child friendly that you wouldn't usually be able to go, or nip to the beauty salon for a spray tan or wash & blow dry - do something to make yourself feel recharged and fighting fit!

5. Soft Play Is Your Friend!

If you're having a particularly frazzled day, there's nobody around to help and time to yourself just isn't an option - check out the local childrens amenities in your area where the kids will be entertained and out of your hair, and you can have a coffee and 2 minutes to yourself - ok you'll be keeping an eye on them and possibly getting dragged through multi-coloured tunnels of doom too - but that few quiet sips of coffee as you watch your child go crazy in a ball pond from afar is worth it!

COMPETITION

To give you a little helping hand in taking time for yourself as a Mum, the lovely people at Poki.com are offering one of my readers the chance to win an Amazon Tablet of your very own - one that you can keep hidden away from the kids - no sticky fingers on the screen or endless Topsy & Tim episodes to watch on it - this is all for you! 

To be in with a chance of winning, just complete the Rafflecopter form below - Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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