Mumma self care and mental health

Mumma self care is something that I have been thinking a lot about recently, and something I always discuss passionately about with my clients. As I have recently (you may know more if you have been following my blog) begun a weight loss journey, where the motto is: eat less and move more, to be successful on my journey, I need to exercise. Yes, it is possible to exercise with your baby, and I do add her to my workout plan, but, that time to run alone is imperative. Headphones in, music turned up, fresh air, feeling the burn. The rush of adrenaline that you feel as your heart rate races, you get closer to your goal, it is so healing and refreshing.

I spend a lot of time with my little mini me, I adore her, she is like an extra limb. Talking to her does often feel like talking to myself (she is slowly getting more animated) but I still definitely need adult conversation... Between Harper and the dogs, there is only so much gooing and gaahing you can do! Spending every minute waiting on little one, food, toys, more food, micro nap (of course, I'm not allowed baby free time she thinks!) etc. etc. It does become draining and you do end up a little bit of a zombie who spends their days singing baby shark.

Needing time alone away from your baby does not mean that you do not love your baby.

Turn back the clock a few months, to I think it was about the 3 month stage. Harper was particularly needy one day, crying but no signs of why, constantly needing attention, I couldn't even shower. My partner was at work, it was just me and Harper. It was like nothing I could do was helping, she was not having any of it. The hours went by and I worked myself up so much, that by the time my partner did return, I was a sobbing, shaking mess. Then he took little Harper and uttered those magic words...

(Possibly my favourite photo that I have taken of me and little Harper!)

Shall we get a takeaway?

This was music to my ears! The thought of not having to cook was so refreshing, a weight was lifted off of my shoulders. We dined on the finest Chinese takeaway that night, and the rest was forgotten...

From here, I knew that I needed to take some time for myself. Time where I think of myself, as opposed to obsessing about what Harper needed. Luckily, I had already begun pumping and filling the freezer with the gold dust that is pumped breast milk. I started going back to the gym.

Quite possibly my favourite alone time (this is going to sound very sad) is showering alone, followed by fully blow drying my hair. For some reason, it just feels lush to be able to take your time pampering. As you can imagine... Harper got to a difficult fussy stage, and the gym stopped.

So, to cut a long story short, alone time is key to good mental health following having your bubba. Shower, go for a walk, get pampered in a salon, just do something for you!

I have found that through a child's life, it is quite regularly the mother who remains behind the camera, rarely appearing in photos. My own mother appears sparsely in photographs from my past, I do remember her grouping us in front of various monuments for family photos. Only when we collared a random stranger, did we get a family photograph- my dad was pretty useless at taking photos. I would like to appear in photos with my bubba, capturing as many mummy and baby photos as possible! I didn't feel physically great in the days following birth, but I still made sure to be in the photos with her!

Mother's day is coming! To celebrate all of the mother's, I'm holding mummy and me mini sessions! It is so important for you to be present in photos, let your children see the memories! To start with, I'm only going to have 1 day- April 7th 2019 (an extra day may be added, depending on the demand). This is so as to allow the giving of gift cards on mother's day! Mother's day mini sessions will be £149 and include 3 edited digital images, there will also be the option of a 5 digital package for £199. Mini sessions are for up to 4 children with their mumma. To book, a £50 deposit is required, for gift vouchers, the balance is required in full and a gift card will be supplied for you to give to your loved one on Mother's day.