So I just lost 3 pounds…by getting a spray tan. Swear to God, I think that when you’re going for your infant’s seven month check up, the public health nurse should wrap up the appointment by sliding a voucher across the table and whispering “Well done on getting this far, baby is still alive! Now here’s a little something to make you feel like a new woman”.
By now, anyone who had a baby at the start of the year, is hopefully getting into her groove, starting to recognise the familiar (yet fatigued) face in the mirror and getting a bit more sleep at night. So it’s a lovely time to treat yourself.
For me, a mist of sticky syrupy fake tan does the job. My face could do with sleeping for a hundred years and I’m thinking of getting my fringe back just to hide the trenches in my forehead. But hose me down at 7pm and by 7am I’m looking at my love handles, marvelling at how much nicer they look when they’re the colour of chocolate.
My husband used to slag me and say I’d have the most pedicured feet in the country. Pre baby, I maybe went for a pedicure every 2 months, and then it was really only to pay someone to do a job he was useless at, i.e. rubbing my feet. So obviously it’s less now. And what’s rare is wonderful. It’s my hobby I tell him. He plays football twice a week. I get cuticle work done once every 8 weeks. He’s still winning.
It could be anything. For you, it may be a spin class, an hour with Netflix, coffee and cake with a girlfriend, crayons not allowed. As mums, we give so much of ourselves to our children. We can’t help ourselves. But if we’re to nurture them, we must nurture ourselves too. We’re not gonna get far if the tank is well and truly empty.
So while my first post baby pedi had me feeling like a pampered princess, now I park the guilt. This is a big job us mums have got, our bosses need us around the clock. But just every so often, it’s imperative that we clock out. So treat yourself, however you can. Remember the old you? She was cool! And she’s just around the corner! We just need to coax her out with the right treat. Think of it as chocolate buttons for the soul 😋
