9 New Year’s Mommy Resolutions
For many of us, 2016 was a doozy, but we here at Brit + Co are ready to hit refresh in 2017! Follow our Hit Refresh series through January for new ideas, hacks and skills that will help you achieve (and maintain!) those New Year’s resolutions.
New Year, new mommy! You’ve resolved to do more ab workouts, read some books about fresh starts to inspire your own and stay motivated to exercise. But those aren’t the only New Year’s goals you’ve set: You’re all-in for a few parenting pledges as well. Or, at least, you want to be. If you’re not sure what the new-mama you will look like in the new year, check out these rad resolutions — parenting-style!
1. Spend time alone. You’ve been on baby duty 24/7. With the new year should come a new resolve to take care of yourself. This starts with setting aside some serious me-time, even if it’s just 15 minutes of uninterrupted coffee when your S.O. gets home from work. Any way you can get it, make the move to spend at least a few moments with yourself (on a completely un-baby-related activity) at least once a day.
2. Skip social media. Maybe a complete social media fast is going overboard. After all, how will you get the news if you don’t scan your FB feed every five minutes? What you can resolve to nix are snarky parenting comments, mom-shaming trolls and anything else that makes you feel like a subpar mama (even if that’s just ignoring your former first grade BFF’s picture-perfect-family IG posts).
3. Go out. You can’t remember the last time you walked into a restaurant and didn’t ask for a high chair. It’s clear that you need a night out without your kiddo. Get a sitter or have your other half stay home while you meet up with your girls. Put on something other than yoga pants and a spit-up-covered tee, let your hair down (literally — undo that mommy ponytail) and head to the nearest place that doesn’t hand out a four-pack of crayons with the menu.
4. Quit the baby talk. Their first smile, first coo, first everything. You’re all about your baby all the time and feel the need to share each and every story with anyone who’ll listen. Hey, that’s perfectly understandable: They’re the light of your life. But sometimes your friends, coworkers and even your S.O. need a break. Turn off the baby talk, at least for a few moments.
5. Stop stressing. You’ve spent nine months of pregnancy and countless hours after baby’s birth worrying. Is the baby soap organic enough? Should you have started speaking a second language to them in utero? These little stresses are just that — little. Let them go in the new year. Appreciating mommyhood means being more present than anxious.
6. Enjoy yourself. When your Aunt Ethel wrote “Enjoy this time; they grow up so fast” on your baby shower card, it was no joke. Before you can say, “Aww, they’re so sweet,” your baby will be a toddler. Then a preschooler, a kindergartner and — well, you get the picture. So appreciate the right-now.
7. Get a mom-friend. You’re all alone, and your only talking buddy is your baby. Something needs to change. If you find yourself wishfully watching the other mamas at the playground (from far away on your isolated little bench), you need to break loose, reach out and start chatting them up. Yes, this can be difficult, especially if you’re shy. Resolve to push yourself and get out into the mommy social scene.
8. Eat a meal. This doesn’t even cover the “go to a real restaurant” type of meal. Resolve to eat an actual, full, possibly one-course meal at home. Maybe you won’t get to it every day. But try to eat something more adult (and filling) than the two random chicken nuggets your toddler throws on the floor or the half-piece of string cheese they don’t want.
9. See a grown-up movie. No, not an “adult” movie. Go out (or stay in) and watch something, anything that doesn’t involve singing cartoon characters or Day-Glo puppets. Bonus points if it has someone gorgeous for you to do a little drooling over, for a change from your baby drooling on you.
What’s your New Year’s mommy resolution? Share your pick and tweet us @BritandCo!
(Photos via Getty)