I wish it could be Mother’s Day every day

As part of our Mother’s Day campaign, we asked blogger, Emma, to tell us how she recognises her self-worth as a mum every day, with some tips we can all follow. 

As a mum I put myself last 99% of the time and every day we achieve so much that goes unnoticed by everyone but ourselves.

Between nappy changes, little hands that need wiping, food to cook, a house that never seems to be fully clean, mountains of washing… It can be so easy to lose ourselves amongst all this never-ending work without a please or thank you, or a simple “are you ok?”. How amazing as mums are we to consistently put ourselves at the bottom of the to do list?

However, I’ve realised while raising four young children that we can’t pour from an empty cup; that there are only a few special days of the year like Mother’s Day or birthdays where we let go of the mum guilt and run ourselves that bath or have that extra ten minutes in bed over sticking a load of washing in the machine, where on those special days we expect some recognition from others, some thank you’s and appreciation for all the hours we put in daily. That’s wrong, it’s so wrong.

It’s no surprise to me why so many mums burn out, suffer with depression or anxiety because every day we are forgetting our worth. We are so very busy caring and meeting everyone else’s needs and demands that it’s easy to keep putting ourselves to the bottom of the pile and it quickly becomes a vicious cycle. I’m learning to love my role as a mother all the menial, boring jobs (because let’s face it most of the time it’s not glamorous), but it’s so worth it for those first smiles, first day at school… the pride of knowing you raised that child and you did your best. We’ve been conditioned to think that self-care is selfish. It’s not.

Here are my tips for recognising my worth every day:

• Treat myself as if I would on Mother’s Day with the recognition I truly deserve for being an amazing mama day in and out.
• Thank my body for carrying a child, for giving me strength to lift that buggy in and out the car by fuelling it and nourishing myself.
• Give myself that ten minutes of self-care in the morning by having a shower without carrying the guilt that I’m having some “me” time with no child hanging around your ankles.
• Allow myself to feel and soak in the moments of pure joy throughout the day and if I feel stressed or as though I can’t manage without asking for help, no one will think any less of me.

Recognise every single day the wonderful, beautiful, strong and empowered mama and woman I am… teaching my children to know their worth by showing them I know mine because we as mums matter every single day.

How do you recognise your self worth every day? Let us know on Instagram @mumandyou