Survival Strategies

Are you getting tired of hearing about how I just had a baby and it's making me sorta crazy?  No?  Lucky you because here's some of my make it through the day ideas.  And while this is written as a postpartum woman I think it applies to everyone.  Well, probably not the nursing part...

Exercise  I love it.  I really do.  It keeps me sane.  It makes me feel good.  It reminds my body that it's good for more than just dairy production.  My doctor has only given me the okay to walk so that's what I do early most mornings.  My treadmill, my iPod and I spend a quality 30 minutes together.  I make sure to turn up the music really loud so that if all hell breaks loose I can't actually hear it.  I mean what's the worst that could happen in 30 minutes before dawn when the kids are asleep?  Don't answer that question.  As frustrated as I am with this after baby body, I'm not exercising to change my shape.  I'm really just treadmilling it to keep my mental health sorta under control.

Breast feed  Now I know this is controversial so just take a chill pill (I get a thrill of out saying that) everyone.  FOR ME nursing is just easier.  I couldn't handle the bottles and the formula and the refrigeration and umm, whatever else you have to do.  It's much easier FOR ME to just whip out one of the girls and take care of business.

Menu Planning I'm no Food Nanny but I do believe family dinner is pretty important and I've actually tried changing the clocks so that the kids don't know it's dinner time but they always figure me out.  So if I know what I'm making for dinner in advance I can get everything ready in the morning (if I'm on my game) or my better half can read the menu and take care of things.  Makes life easier.  Try it.

Simplify I took the fall semester off.  I knew that trying to balance school, even part time would just be more than I could handle.  It's been a relief to not have to worry about class and homework and good grades.  I've also let the other non essentials slide like weekly trips to the library, not even.  Homemade muffins/ waffles/ whatever for breakfast, hardly.  You get the idea.  Cut it out if it's not essential to your sanity.  Which brings us to

Staying Busy When I'm feeling in a funk of some making or another my cure is to do something productive.  That means not wasting the day away reading a book or watching tv.  I need to be moving and active and I need to have something to look back on that reminds me that I am a little bit productive.  Even if that's only moving the laundry basket from the basement to the bedroom.

Eat Healthy Okay maybe that should read healthyish because I am pretty fond of the cookies.  But I try to not live on the butter sugar food group.  I feel better if my body gets what it needs in the form of healthy food and right now in my present lumpy state I could use all the feel good I can get.

Be Kind To yourself.  To your family.  To that nosy lady at the store (yes, they are all mine, yes it's busy, thanks...).  When I'm nice to other people I feel better about myself.  So really I'm not trying to be kind to help them feel good, it's all about me.

The final one should be Sleep when you can so see ya!