As Mommies we love our children. Occasionally we find ourselves dragging along, doing nothing particularly well, with no one especially happy with us. This can be a signal that there is a need for some “Mommy Time!”
What is Mommy Time? Mommy time is a regularly scheduled (as much as is possible) daily time when we put our child in his/her room (you might want to schedule this around a normal naptime), make sure all of the child’s needs are met (food, drink, diaper change, pain meds if teething, you’ve already had snuggle time, reading time, playing time, etc. warmth, coolness, whatever!), explain to the child that this is Mommy’s hour that she really needs, and close the door. ”Let not thy soul spare for his crying.” You will be a better Mommy if you can get this break. Turn on some soothing music or work music or whatever you need, and get what you need done (cleaning, studying, sleep, etc.).
We may feel this is unkind to the child, but what is really unkind is to allow ourselves to become so drained that we are easily angered or are physically unable to meet anyone’s needs well. It is also unkind to the child to raise him/her and turn them out into the world in a few years still believing that the entire universe was made to serve him/her. He/she must realize that there are others in the world who also have needs and he/she must learn to wait patiently.
It is appropriate to check on the child at regular intervals and whenever anything unusual occurs, such as an unusual noise, or when you get that feeling that mommies sometimes get.
Yes, give of yourself intensely; but schedule the needed time to regroup.
Go mommies! You’re awesome!
3 Responses
Good advice!
And relieving advice! I tried this for the first time with Trey and Addison yesterday…only for half an hour, but that was all I needed. I was able to completely clean the house up, except for a load of laundry that needed to be folded. 
Trey fussed a little, but Addy actually seemed to enjoy it! And somehow this calmed them both down for nap-time, which Trey has been skipping altogether lately! They both took nice naps, and woke up in good moods! Also, I felt much less stressed having all of my housework done, so when they woke up from naps, I could focus completely on them!
I’ll never be a mommy, but I love getting tips like this from someone that I respect very much, and who has proven that they know what they’re talking about.
Mrs. Corbett….THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS BLOG!!!!!!!! I look to you alot for advice and it is so awesome to hear your input in this area. Some times I get so tired that by the end of the day I am exhausted and have no engery left….but yet I feel like a bad mom if I feel like I need a break. Some of our children take naps but others are too old….quiet time reading or doing something is a great idea so that mommy gets some mommy time.