The Young Mummy Blog

Lately I’ve been embracing the concept of ‘me time’. My son is 8 months old now and I realised a couple of weeks ago that in that 8 months I’ve never been away from him for more than an hour and that’s probably only happened a handful of times. And when I have left those few times he’s only ever been left with his father, and I’ve gone out to do jobs or grocery shopping etc... In 8 whole months I’ve not done a single ‘enjoyable’ thing by myself! Don’t get me wrong I love and cherish every single moment that I spend with my baby boy, I love being a stay at home mum. But I’ve learned that sometimes it is good to get out on your own and do something you enjoy and clear your head as it can make you feel so refreshed and make you a better mummy. I guess in a way I haven’t had that much desire to be away from my son, but in other ways I think that it has something to do with the way society seems to frown upon young mothers who leave their children. But why is it so bad for a younger mother to leave their child occasionally? I’m not talking about every day of the week but why would it be so bad to have some alone time once or twice a month if you have a trusted person to care for the child such as grandparents or their father? Parenting is a 24/7 job and I think that all mothers and fathers of every age need some time to rejuvenate. I have lots of mummy friends of all different ages and situations and sometimes it seems like its ok for other mummies to have a break every so often but as soon as a younger person does it turns into a debate about us young mothers not wanting to care for our own children. Everyone deserves support and everyone deserves a break sometimes- parenting is hard work! We don’t have any family where we live and my partner works long days so it makes it even harder to get some ‘me time’. I’ve started off by taking a walk a few nights a week when my partner gets in from work and even got adventurous enough on the weekend to go get my hair done! I feel totally refreshed and even better the boys have been enjoying more time on their own. I was worried about what people would think of me having time by myself but now that I’ve done it I’m not worried at all- I can’t be expected to be supermum all the time, I am my own person too. If anyone comments on me being out on my own I just think to myself that I know how hard I work, I deserve it! It’s amazing what even just a 15 minute walk alone will do. I enjoyed it so much that I’ve booked my hair again for another 6 weeks and I think I will make it a regular thing. I think mums having some time out is so beneficial for dads too, I’ve seen how much the boys enjoyed having time to themselves... I’m now getting myself prepared for October when Nana and Gramps will babysit ds for the 1st time while dp and I have some alone time at a concert! Looking forward to it, but nervous at the same time... will let you know how we go progressing from ‘me time’ to ‘us time’ :yes: