I was so good at looking after myself last year. My four favourite things were given priority in my life - twice weekly Pilates, fortnightly shiatsu treatments, walking most days and writing regularly.
I knew I had to look after my physical and emotional health while I was pregnant. I declared that I wasn't going to be a martyr about it, and I wasn't.
Or was I?
The problem lay in my quest to look after myself for the sake of the baby, and so that I had energy to do things with Abbey. Hello, motherly martyrdom!
It's bloody hard post-birth. The time you really need to take extra care is the time it's most challenging. Walking has been my saviour, the one thing that makes me feel I'm doing something to look after myself. But everything else, well, it's too hard (oh yes, those words!) to book time away from home when a baby is dependent on you for nutrition.
Then I decided to go back to Pilates this term. Except that my amazing instructor has become so popular she's hard to get a session with now. She had saved my times from last year for my return - only they now clash with kindergarten pick ups, Steve's summer commitments, and the baby's bedtime.
A true case of me coming last, and I thought it was going to be impossible to go back. In the end, though, Steve offered to put his running on the backburner and I started stocking up some bottles for Iris. And then it all worked out - a later evening time came up and now we all get our way. Steve can run, I can feed the baby before I go out. Perfect.
But it highlighted how hard it can be as your family grows. More people to consider can easily equal more motherly martyrdom.
This week I'm making a comeback to both Pilates and shiatsu. And this time I'm doing it for ME.
Hopefully that helps me keep up this looking after myself thing long term.
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