I have had an epiphany. The last few days, I've been thinking that I needed to get an emergency appointment to get my thyroid levels checked and possibly have my meds adjusted. I wasn't feeling suicidal or like hurting anyone but I was feeling so incredibly frustrated and overwhelmed by everything that's been going on, as well as being tired from having trouble sleeping, I felt like I just couldn't cope. Between YumYum not feeling well, Lizzie-bear being whiny and rebellious, tripping over boxes that I feel like will NEVER finish getting unpacked, and all the frustration and stress from the craziness of dealing with the movers from San Antonio and the JPPSO office there, as well as throwing in a little dash of homesickness and some family stuff just to spice things up a little, I was sure that PostPartum Depression or Anxiety had kicked in, my thyroid levels were off, something.
Happily, that does not seem to be the case. I have a monthly membership at Massage Envy and it's been a few months since I was able to go in, I finally called and scheduled an appointment. For a whole hour, it was about ME. No baby crying wanting to be fed, nobody saying "Mommy lap? More grapes? Piiiiizaaaa!!!" and throwing temper tantrums. I came out of there feeling so much better physically that it was amazing. I even felt less tired AND was interested in having sex!
What I needed wasn't a dosage adjustment. What I needed was, partly, some physical relief from muscle pain and sciatica, but even beyond that, I needed to take care of myself. I needed to be pampered. Why do we let ourselves forget how important this is? For some reason, it's almost like as soon as a baby pops out, there's this switch that gets triggered that says "I have to take care of everyone else, and there's no time for taking care of me. It's selfish to focus on myself when I should be focusing on my kids. They have to come first.". That's not true. While it is correct that we have to put our kids first in many ways, sometimes to put them first we have to put ourselves first. We have to take care of ourselves to be able to take care of anyone else and far too often we lose sight of that. I remembered while driving home that my therapist (during my bout with PPD after Lizzie-bear was born) had told me that part of getting better would be doing things to take care of myself.
If you're reading this and you're a mom, make sure to do something to pamper yourself or take care of yourself on a regular basis. Whether that's a massage, yoga, a new book, a pedicure, mimosas on the beach, or coffee with a girlfriend, don't fall into the trap of "There's no time for me, it's not important". In the space of an hour, some pampering changed my entire attitude and outlook on life. Do you. You can't afford not to.
Happily, that does not seem to be the case. I have a monthly membership at Massage Envy and it's been a few months since I was able to go in, I finally called and scheduled an appointment. For a whole hour, it was about ME. No baby crying wanting to be fed, nobody saying "Mommy lap? More grapes? Piiiiizaaaa!!!" and throwing temper tantrums. I came out of there feeling so much better physically that it was amazing. I even felt less tired AND was interested in having sex!
What I needed wasn't a dosage adjustment. What I needed was, partly, some physical relief from muscle pain and sciatica, but even beyond that, I needed to take care of myself. I needed to be pampered. Why do we let ourselves forget how important this is? For some reason, it's almost like as soon as a baby pops out, there's this switch that gets triggered that says "I have to take care of everyone else, and there's no time for taking care of me. It's selfish to focus on myself when I should be focusing on my kids. They have to come first.". That's not true. While it is correct that we have to put our kids first in many ways, sometimes to put them first we have to put ourselves first. We have to take care of ourselves to be able to take care of anyone else and far too often we lose sight of that. I remembered while driving home that my therapist (during my bout with PPD after Lizzie-bear was born) had told me that part of getting better would be doing things to take care of myself.
If you're reading this and you're a mom, make sure to do something to pamper yourself or take care of yourself on a regular basis. Whether that's a massage, yoga, a new book, a pedicure, mimosas on the beach, or coffee with a girlfriend, don't fall into the trap of "There's no time for me, it's not important". In the space of an hour, some pampering changed my entire attitude and outlook on life. Do you. You can't afford not to.
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