Being a mother I am constantly surrounded by other moms.
We all talk about our children, how they are progressing, growing and behaving, but there is also a comparison on how we are doing as mothers.
Sometimes it's an obvious conversation and other times it's more subtle.
But it's there - do we measure up? Nowadays the media and internet are constantly bringing us information every day with something new we as mothers should or should not be doing to provide the best for our children.
Everyone wants to be a "good" mother, so we try to do everything we can to make sure our children have the best of everything.
The best nutrition, clothes, toys, preschools, experiences, enough quality family time, etc.
And we do this at any cost because if we didn't, what kind of mother would we be? Now I do not know about you, but it completely exhausts me trying to keep up with the latest do's and don'ts of motherhood.
One day it's fine to feed your baby from a plastic bottle, and then the next day you're informed it's OK as long as it's a certain type of plastic bottle.
After a while, this really starts to become an emotional trap because there is literally no way to encompass everything! We are bombarded from every angle; from our own parents, other parents, friends, spouses, colleagues,and people we don't even know.
They easily share their opinion on how they think we're doing.
This impacts how we see ourselves.
We start to feel guilty.
This constant guilt starts to effect us in many ways.
Some get physically sick while others might fall into depression.
Either way, this happens because we are so busy trying to measure up as a mother that we forget to take care of ourselves! We have to take care of ourselves or we will be of no good use to our children.
Of course then we struggle with the fine line of doing things for ourselves and being selfish.
I know I have been down this road myself.
I am a home business owner and mother of 2 under the age of 4.
Between starting and maintaining my business and caring for my family, there seemed to be little time for me.
I started having physical symptoms or illnesses which now I can see wasn't really from being stretched too thin, but rather not taking some time out for me.
This time is critical for us as mothers so that we can refocus and reenergize.
Because as we all know, it takes a lot of focus and tons of energy to get everything accomplished that we have to.
Take just 30 minutes to an hour each day to do something that benefits you.
This doesn't mean multi-tasking while you're doing it.
For example, if your 30 minutes is watching your favorite TV show, don't fold laundry or address party invitations while you're watching your show.
Even though I know you can do both, you are not really relaxing and taking time for yourself.
If you do allow some quality time each day for yourself, you will drastically see a change not only in yourself but in your family as well.
Our little ones are constantly watching us and learning from us.
They can feel our energy and when we are at our best, they are free to be at their best.
So go take care of yourselves mothers! Our children deserve it!