I think mental wellness often gets pushed to the back burner when we are parenting, especially when we have a new addition to the family. It’s easy to find yourself slipping into a depression when you should be enjoying the little miracle that is now a part of your life. The lack of routine and organization, something I had a great deal of when I worked an office job, has been getting me kind of down. I’ve been talking with other moms about what they do to keep themselves organized and feeling good and here are a few things that have been a commonality among many I have talked to. Below are five essential tips on how to get yourself together and keep your psyche in check. 

1. Shower
   I heard from a few other mothers that getting up and taking a shower first thing in the morning, before doing anything else for anyone else is a great way to create routine and to keep feeling good about yourself. My biggest challenge with that is I feel like I”m always torn between having a piping hot coffee in peace versus a shower. Most times I choose the coffee. For the past couple of weeks, I have been making an effort to prioritize taking a shower as soon as I get up; currently I haven’t showered and I’m sitting here spilling my emotions over a piping hot cup of coffee. Sounds great, huh? It is actually because as soon as my son wakes up its show time. 
   
2. Get Dressed
   The first few weeks after Parker was born I wore the same thing everyday. Leggings, a nursing top and flannel shirt. It was comfortable and efficient. As a new mom, that’s all I could manage at the time. Or so I thought. Getting dressed each day really doesn’t require much effort but its these little things that make a difference in getting your day started as best as possible. No need to get dressed up per se, but put on clean undergarments, a clean shirt and a fresh pair of pants.
    
3. Do your makeup / hair
   This one sounds crazy to me. Like seriously, WHO has time to think about looking good when you have a small child pulling at your pants most of the day and who wants to be held? It’s not a top priority of mine but I’ve heard many women testify to making this a part of their morning routine even if they aren’t leaving the house. My mother use to do this to. She’d come downstairs on a Saturday morning with a full face of makeup and I’d ask,”Where are you going?” She’d tell me nowhere to which I’d reply,”Then why do you have on a makeup?” Then she’d say, “Just to feel good about myself. Sometimes you just have to do things for you. Look nice for yourself even if you aren’t going anywhere” I still had a hard time grasping that one even after I became a mother until one day I made time to do my makeup while my son slept. It was like an “A-ha!” moment. Stay at home dads, go ahead and tidy up that beard or tousle your hair. Do what you need to do to look good for yourself. 
   
4. Create Routine
   Setting the tone for the day, I think, will be the key to getting out of this funk. There are sooo many things that I want to do but where does the time go! Everyone’s routine is different of course. Parker James use to sleep in until about 8:30 or 9:00 a.m. so getting up at 7:30 a.m. was plenty of time for me to have a coffee, clean his toys and tidy up the living room. These days, he’s begun to wake up shortly after me causing my anxiety when I’ve half way through my coffee and loading the washer with the first load of laundry and here him chatting to himself. Creating a morning routine is a good start for anyone. I know what I would like mine to be, I think I just need to get up an hour earlier to execute said routine. Coffee, shower, hair/make up, start on housework. 
   
5. Let It go
   Us moms, and stay at home dads too, try to do everything. It’s great to be ambitious but that will also drive you crazy. It was driving me crazy and I was taking it out on Brian which isn’t fair. If something doesn’t get done today, it’s okay. Accept that and add it to your list for the next day. What’s more important that fretting about what didn’t get done is giving yourself a credit for what did get done. This is a practice I have been incorporating for the past few weeks and my anxiety has gone done a lot. No matter what is going on it is important that we have a positive environment for our son; we can’t do that if we are sweating the small stuff and neither can you.

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