Mommyhood is hard.

  

    Mommyhood has gotten the best of me.  Never feeling like I've had enough sleep, stress, body aches, crying and all over fatigue is what I feel each morning and it all hits me again at 3 pm.  I got focused this week on trying to feel GOOD, to calm myself, to take things easy and treat my body and mind right.  Although I've started counting Weight Watchers Points again, my concern over weight loss has to take a back seat to getting through the day with a smile.

     I spent some time at Yogaworks where I took a Therapeutics 2 class.  I wasn't sure this was the right class for me since I'm not suffering from any specific injury, just stress and all over body pain.  But I'm really glad I went.  I found the moves to be gentle but they help me align myself and feel stronger.  We used a chair, a bolster, blankets and bands to stretch and pull and bend my body back into alignment. It felt really good.  I followed that up with lunch at the Veggie Grill - a salad full of plant based protein that tastes amazing.

     I took Yogaworks' Yoga Blend I class on Tuesday which is fairly gentle as well but man, it works and my body felt so much stronger and leaner the morning after the class.  I followed that up the next day with a trip to the gym.  I eased into my cardio session with 10 minutes on the bike and jumped on the treadmill.  Even though I had NO energy I was determined to run my heart out.  "I HAVE to feel better, I have to get endorphins pumping and get my body moving, something has to work" is all I thought as I slowly walked to the treadmill.  I completed a mile in 12 minutes and 19 seconds (down from a lousy 17 minutes) and then walked for the other 18.  It sounds like I'm lazy but that's giving it my all.  My body is just too tired to function as it should.

     I got the babysitter to help me for an extra day last week and this week and it made a big difference in how overwhelmed I felt.  I called in recruits, my family and friends who don't have kids but enjoy being with mine and we booked "dates" for them to spend time together so I could catch a break.  My girlfriends and I are planning to meet up to talk and to do some yoga together.  It's truly amazing how much your mental health can affect your physical health and vice versa.  Today I got a massage at Just Massage, an inexpensive remedy to easing body pain.   This all sounds very frivolous, I know,  and I feel a lot of guilt about that.  I can't believe I need to do half of this stuff to feel good - it's shocking to me because I used to run myself ragged traveling for business and pleasure and going out at night.  Times have changed.  I have to look at things like I'm the foundation of the family and if I can't function, then I can't take care of anyone else.  I have to think of these tactics as having medicinal values.

     For all of you coping with stress whether it's family or work or kids -- what do you do to calm yourself to make yourself feel better?