Looking After Mum – and some gifts to do it with!

This give away has now closed and the winner was Kim! Thanks for visiting Planning With Kids!

The Mum Who Roared

This is the last post in the Motherhood series and it is from Christie Nicholas, a mother of 2, author of The Mum Who Roared and head of Kids Business, a specialist communications agency connecting companies with mums. Kids Business hosts the popular “Bloggers Brunch” series of inspirational, motivational, national events exclusively for influential mums who blog and companies that want to connect with them. You can find Kids Business on facebook and twitter.

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The Mum Who Roared is a complete A-Z guide to loving your mind, body and attitude after baby. It’s all about feeling great about yourself as a woman, while you tackle head-on all the demands of motherhood. You can purchase the book from: www.themumwhoroared.com. And for a fresh burst of motivation join the Mum Who Roared facebook community.

Today I will share my top 10 favourite tips from the book on how mums can look after their inner and outer health….

1.Positive Thinking

When you are sleep deprived and not really sure what you are doing, it’s very easy to doubt yourself and what you are capable of. But don’t let circumstances dictate your mood. Believe in yourself and what you are capable of and persevere after a setback. Replace negative thoughts with positive thoughts and believe that if you think positive, you will feel confident, happy and motivated. Being positive is great for your mental health.

2. Goal Setting

When you are ready, start setting yourself some short and long terms goals as goal setting helps you organise your life – especially with kids in tow. It is a way to define what you want to accomplish and provides a sense of purpose. Goals should be specific, realistic and measurable. Write down your goals for the day and keep them visible to remind you when you get distracted and embark on a different job. It’s a wonderful sense of accomplishment when you achieve what you set out to do.

3. Friendships

When you become a mum, your lifestyle, routine and needs will change and evolve – and sometimes, so can friendships. You will make new friends and find yourself move away from others. It’s great to nurture some key friendships with others who relate to your journey and can provide support and encouragement. If you feel a little isolated and want to open your circle there are lots of different community activities and online resources that can help you make new, genuine friendships to brighten the good and bad days.

4. Exercise

As busy as we are in the role of mum, we shouldn’t neglect the benefits regular exercise has on our mind and body. Exercise improves your mental and physical health. Before you start, get the all clear from a doctor and start slow. You can make exercise a part of your lifestyle by walking as much as possible in place of driving, catching up with a friend for a walk instead of sit down visit and joining mums and bubs exercise groups that give you a chance to socialise and do something productive for your health at the same time.

5. Identity

It is all too easy to neglect your needs as an individual when you become mum and new demands take over your life if you let them. It is important for your mental health to invest the extra effort to prioritise your needs too. Some of the ways you can do this include finding a passion, spending time away from daily motherhood demands, modify your routine, and chat to others to see what works for them. You should make time to value who you are as a person, not just what you do as a mum.

6. Self esteem

Self-esteem is the opinion you have about yourself. When you couple a high self-esteem with self confidence you are more likely to be successful with what you want to do. It’s self-esteem that affects your ability to realise your dreams. So, it makes sense, that if you work on yourself , show yourself some kindness and feel better about who you are you will think more highly of who you are as a person and as a mum.

7. Nurture yourself

Sleepless nights and too many demands by day can easily equate to less time for yourself and as a result, you are left feeling rather depleted. It makes sense that in order to better care for others you should show yourself a little TLC. Do this by listening to what your body wants. Try to work at having balance in life, including time for you. You can nurture yourself with pampering, a little me time, treats and fewer commitments. For example, every Thursday when baby has gone to bed night give yourself a beauty treatment, complete with bubble bath, facial and pedicure. Otherwise, if you are really exhausted, go to bed when the baby does to rest, read in bed instead of doing more jobs that will never end anyway. Do what would make you feel ‘replenished’.

8. Ask for help

Try not to feel pressured or proud to do everything on your own. The mother doing it all is a very new, modern day concept. In the beginning of motherhood, or even later when things are just ‘too much’ put your hand up for some help and practice saying ‘Yes’ if someone offers. Don’t feel guilty about relying on others because those who love you will want to help. If you don’t have that much support, learn to let go of unnecessary tasks. All this will relieve some stress you may experience from having too much on your plate.

9. Nutrition

Eating well affects how you feel and function. It’s worth learning about your nutritional requirements so you know a bit more about what your body really needs to function at its best. You can make eating well a little easier to do while juggling kids if you prepare and organise your meals in advance and even identify a reward (not food) to motivate you to eat well and implement some healthy eating habits.

10. Review values

Unless you have an endless stream of support and super powers, motherhood shouldn’t be about feeling pressure to do it all and have it all, because this is just not a realistic notion for everyone. Instead, focus on values that would make the most positive difference to your inner and outer health and let go of everything else. Your values can change and evolve as your needs and family needs change, and that’s ok too.

About the Book:
The Mum Who Roared is your starting point to having a greater love and respect for your mind, body and attitude. It’s a friendly, real and practical guide to adjusting to your role as a mother, while still holding onto your identity and everything that once made you you. It is not a parenting guide. Instead, this motivating resource provides simple and effective tips so that you can genuinely enjoy this next chapter in your life, feel in control, and stay in touch with your core needs and values.

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And you can see more about the book, in this interview Christie did this week on The Circle!

Give Away!

Christie has kindly put together a gift pack for a mum valued at $100 and includes:
Looking After MumLooking after mum

  • Goji Skin Cleanser and Goji Moisturiser as pictured above
  • Bebe Minihaha toy
  • $40 Coles Online voucher

To enter you need to:

  • Leave a comment below, sharing a way you look after yourself.
  • The giveaway is open to Australian residents only.
  • You may only enter once.
  • Entries close at 5pm ADST Friday 14th October 2011.
  • The winner will be drawn randomly and announced on this post later on Friday 14th October.
  • Winners will be notified by email. If I don’t receive a response within 3 days, another winner will be drawn.
  • Good luck!