Episode 48: Gratitude Practices…for When You Can’t Even Pee By Yourself -Water & Sleep
What you’ll learn
Improving Your Life in the Hard Seasons (01:15)
Drink More Water (02:55)
Get More Sleep (10:00)
Recap (22:15)
Invitation (22:35)
This week we’re trying something new! This episode is part two of five ALL about gratitude (In a mom-friendly way). Today we’ll cover drinking more water and getting more sleep (and how to fit these in as a mom). Make sure to come back for parts three through five, when we’ll cover volunteering & savoring your experiences, writing to someone & visiting a friend (or going on a trip), and prayer (meditation) & mindset. Are you on our e-mail list yet? Each Monday we check in with our community of moms-and we want you there!
Improving Your Life in Hard Seasons (01:15)
Motherhood is hard. There are seasons of loss, job or loved ones, seasons of transition, new babies, toddlers, teenagers, or toddlers AND teenagers. When we look at the advice from the “experts” it can be difficult to transfer it to the daily reality for a mom.
Our goal for this week is to take the common advice for increasing gratitude and adapt it to fit into a mom’s life. We’ll talk about. . .
Journaling
Exercise
Drinking More Water
Getting More Sleep
Volunteering
Savoring Your Experiences
Write to Someone
Make a Visit or Go On a Trip
Meditation & Prayer
Notice Your Complaints & Reshape Your Mindset
These are all great suggestions, but the really smart people who made them may not have little kids at home.
Enter. . .us! I’ve lived in those seasons, and Britt is STILL in the busy season, and we know how to work these into the busy life of a mom!
Drink More Water (02:55)
Britt’s husband drinks water religiously! Unfortunately, water isn’t always a priority for her. I (personally) have at least one waterbottle a day.
Will drinking more water actually change anything? Yes!
Being dehydrated can cause. . .
exhaustion
headaches
early labor
dizziness
mental fog
slow metabolism
irritability & moodiness
How can being HYDRATED help you?
reduces dark circles & puffiness
decreases joint pain
increases energy & clarity
prevents kidney stones
promotes a healthier heart
reduces headaches
There is ONE big drawback to drinking more water though (particularly if you’re pregnant or have had a few kids). . .you will have to pee more.
How can you fit more water in (realistically)?
Britt sets an alarm. Our good friend Renee actually recommends getting in your water early. . .sha drinks 32 ounces right in the morning. (This didn’t work for Britt-she felt like she was drowning, and had to cut back to 16).
Our suggestion is to start small, with 4 ounces and drink it at every meal. Increase it a bit at a time. Make it accessible, keep a water bottle with you, and start small. Make it fun, get a nice water bottle, add some lemon, do whatever it takes. I always try to include my kids when I do things like this, because they are great at reminding me.
Finally, skip the sodas, the energy drinks, the wine, the coffee. . .and reach for a water instead. Drink your water first and let the other things be a treat.
Get More Sleep (10:00)
Britt sees this again and again, suggesting 7-10 hours of sleep per night, and her first thought is, “Are you kidding me?” Of course we all want more sleep, but there are night terrors, midnight feedings, bodily fluid clean-ups, sleep-walking. . .you get the point.
How does a mom do this?
I know that insomnia is a real thing, but for many moms, we are raising the cause of our insomnia. It isn’t always our choice to get more sleep, so we know that telling you to just “Get more” isn’t always possible.
Momma, there will be time for doing all the things when your kids get a little older. If you are in a stage where you need to sacrifice a little sleep time at night to decompress, it’s ok. Conversely, if you find that decompressing isn’t serving you-it may mean you need to cut back on that and just go to sleep a bit earlier.
Sometimes we can’t change how much sleep we’re getting, but we CAN change our mindset around it. I dreaded night time during my first year of motherhood. I worked full-time, I was already pregnant with my second, and things ONLY changed when I decided that if he was going to be up, then I would enjoy a midnight movie. It didn’t lead to more sleep, but it helped with the resentment and anger that accompanied my exhaustion.
Mommas-we’re tough! If you’re in a season of no sleep, just know that it’s a season (it may last a number of years), but it is a season. If sleep isn’t your thing right now, that’s ok too!
How can mommas get more sleep?
Get outdoors! Getting outdoors can align your internal clock (and your children’s).
Cutting back on “Yesses”! This goes for internal and external. . .know your capacity! It is better to choose one good yes and protect some time for yourself as well.
Protect your sleep at ALL costs! I don’t do sleepovers (although we’ve made an exception for birthday parties).
Ask your husband for a nap on the weekend! If you’re exhausted, ask your spouse! Then, offer to do the same for him! My husband and I actually fantasized (when we had 2 kids under 2) about bringing the kids to daycare and going back home to sleep. Britt has had the same thought!
Ask a friend to trade for a nap play date! Offer to watch their kids for a few hours while they nap (and trade)!
Protect the evening and bedtime routines. Consistency and expectations (firm boundaries) are vital for moms (and kids)! Setting a consistent bedtime, and holding fast to it are SO important!
Recap (22:15)
Drink more water. . .set an alarm, keep a cup close, and start small.
Get more sleep. . .naps count, do your best, and if all else fails, work on your mindset if you can.
Invitation (22:35)
Set a timer and drink 4 ounces of water every 30 minutes or every hour if you can! It’s just 1/2 cup, you can do it!
Come back tomorrow because we’ll be talking about volunteering and savoring your experiences.
