Today I would like to dedicate a long-time-coming post about staying healthy not only as a mom but as a special needs mom. From school finishing out (I am a teacher if you didn't know), continuous transition meetings, continuing with services/therapies, and the vast amount of doctor's appointments we have been to, writing has been placed on the back burner. So, today I would like to share some health strategies that I am going to incorporate into our daily lives for the summer that will hopefully stick.
Understanding Our Health is Important Too
Special needs mothers are a different breed. Not only do we have the same responsibilities as all the other beautiful mothers but we also have additional therapies, practices, strategies, and worries that occur during our parenting.
As a special needs mama, the stress is intensified due to safety precautions, diets, new trends, therapy strategies, and meetings that we forget about ourselves. With this month dedicated to mental health, I would like to dive deep into different strategies that I currently am doing or that I would like to implement.
5 Things I am Doing to Stay Healthy as a Mom
Take time for me and ask for help. This is a tough one for any mom, especially a mom with several children, a working husband, etc. However, as many moms and therapists have said to me YOU NEED TIME FOR YOU. You cannot lead the pack if you're suffering. Therefore, this summer I have decided to as for help and not feel bad about it. In the past I have always felt awful about asking for help, have you? I had my children and I should be the one taking care of them was my mentality but the reality is that we all need a break. A break to recharge, reboot, and revamp. Therefore, I have decided to do just that.
Making a workout schedule. Whether you like to work out or not, you need to move. The benefits of physical activity are tremendous. Endorphins produce a crazy high that is all-natural and beneficial to the mind, body, and soul. With that being said, I am a schedule girl therefore I sat down and asked myself what I really wanted out of a workout and my thoughts surprised me. The "old" Erica would have scheduled a workout for physical, aesthetic reasons not for her mental health or well-being. I decided that 2-3 days of strength, 2 days of cardio, and three days of yoga were where I needed to be with my journey. Obviously, the cardio is mixed in with the yoga and strength but the cardio has nothing to do with anything but a release. I find it super-releasing to hop on the spin bike and jam out to songs. Strength training makes me feel strong and yoga makes me feel connected. It just works.
Focus on our nutrition. This is for myself and for my kids. We all have started taking supplements like vitamin B, probiotics, and greens as well as eating as many whole foods as possible. I have taken my kids to farmers markets and they absolutely love going. Ellis has done amazing with all the outings!
Getting out more. With 2 little kids, this is really difficult, but we have been doing it! We try to go to farmers' markets, the pool walks, and the mall any chance we get. Ellis loves adventures and does really well out and about so I figure why not! It's really nice to get out of the house and take in different sights.
Get organized. Lastly, the organization has made a huge difference. Since the beginning of May, we have just been organizing the house and decluttering what we can. It has felt so good to get rid of the unnecessary and have a sense of knowing where everything is.
If I am being honest the list did not come to me at once and for some of these items I actually had to do them before I realized how important they actually were to my mental health. Maybe that is what you will need to go through and then develop your list of health steps to make your summer the best. Hopefully, this can be a start to that journey. If you have any you want to add to the list then let us know!
Xo, Erica
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