More Micro-Break Ideas

by tedgar | More from this Blogger

23 Sep 2009 12:01 AM

Are you still looking for a break? When you have a new baby, it can be hard to feel rested, refreshed, and centered. I can't help you with the sleep or the scattered brains, but there are ways to center yourself and have calmer, happier days with a baby.

Schedule down time

Life with a baby can seem busy, busy, busy. Even if it's just a morning a week, schedule time just to be at home and focus on your baby. Silence the bills, the chores, and the myriad of other things that need to happen and just be present in your home!

Do yoga and stretches with your baby

When I had a child who was pulling up on everything, I quickly realized that she could be a useful weight-lifting and stretching tool! My daughter loved to pull up on my legs while I sat and stretched on the exercise ball. I'd use her as a weight as well, flying her through the air as a stretch and a fun interlude in her walking experiments.

Socialize with other parents

When we leave work, sometimes it feels like we've left our social networks behind as well. Connect with other parents who share your parenting styles or have similar interests. You'll get the adult conversation you crave, and your babies can play.

Take a bath

What better way to relax? Take 20 minutes one evening a week and indulge yourself! Get fancy soaps and bubble bath and pretend you're at an expensive spa.

Go to the gym

If you're working, go to the gym once a week on your lunch hour. If you're at home and your baby is comfortable in child care, many gyms have child minding services. Take a short class and focus on your body and its well-being.

Register older children in a fun class

Sometimes it's nice to be able to spend some one on one time with a child. Register your older children in a class once a week so that you can go for a hike or a playgroup with your baby. Your brain will appreciate the fact that you're not multi-multi-multi tasking.

Have a book on the go

If you never have time to read, make 10 minutes a day. You'll get into your book and want more! A book is a relaxing distraction, even if it's only for a few minutes.

Do crosswords or Sudoku

It's easy to feel like your brain is a sieve rather than the steel trap that you had pre-baby. Condition your brain with a moment of crosswords or a sudoku.

A take up, put down hobby

I love to get engrossed in hobbies, but hobbies and babies do not always mix well. I wrote during naps: tiny bits of a novel. I knitted while my daughter played. A hobby that you can pick up and put down easily is ideal when you have a baby.

What are some ways that you center yourself and keep your mind and body active?

Learn more about tedgar

Tricia Edgar is a mom of one lovely daughter. Before her daughter was born, she decided to be guided by the needs of her child, and this led her to attachment parenting philosophies.

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