1. Eating overnight oats
I love overnight oats. I make them before bed, pop them in the fridge and they are waiting for me first thing in the morning. And as I am breastfeeding, I always wake up hungry! I make mine with oats, soy milk, chia seeds, soy yoghurt, slithered almonds and frozen raspberries. I make a mini bowl for Emerson too.
2. Cutting back on alcohol and soft drink
I love a glass of wine with dinner, or a soft drink with lots of ice on hot days, but I have cut back on both and now they are weekend treats.
3. Seeing an endocrinologist (thyroid specialist)
My overactive thyroid was actually been well behaved during my pregnancy with Oscar and has continued to behave since his birth. But given it's history, I am keeping up to date with my six weekly blood tests and specialist appointments (despite the fact that it is no fun sitting in a hospital waiting room with a baby and a toddler.)
4. Napping
My four and a half month old is still feeding at least two times a night, so once a week or so I listen to my body and take a nap. I do so love a nice nap, but more often than not there just seems too much to do to have a nap. Weekend naps feel more guilt free than week day naps...
5. Growing my own
My veggie patch is not as fully stocked as it was before I had Oscar, as it's harder to spend as much time as I used to in the garden with a baby. But I am growing tomatoes, asparagus, chilli, herbs, baby spinach, lettuce, shallots, sweet potatoes and mulberries, which are all free of chemicals.
6. Cooking from scratch
I have a sensitive tummy at the best of times, I can't eat dairy and I don't eat red meat (though I do eat chicken and fish), so eating out is often tricky. I feel better when I meal plan, cook from scratch and am mindful of what I eat. My favourite meal is Singapore noodles - a little curry, a little garlic, vermicilli noodles, chicken, prawns and lots of veggies like mushrooms, snow peas, shallots and onion. Yum!
7. Writing
Writing is great for my mental health. A brain dump in ones diary is second only to a deep and meaningful (D&M) over wine with your best friend (or twin sister.)
8. Stopping for tea
I have the tendency to just keep going. And I love tea. I make tea and bring it with me while I do my chores. It sits on top of the washing machine while I load it with clothes, it sits on my bedside table while I sort the clean laundry on my bed, it sits on the vanity while I have a shower before the school run. So once a day I try to actually stop and just sit with a cup of tea. No tidying. No working. Just five minutes to rest, reflect and enjoy my tea.
9. Wearing a safety mask
I am a good girl when it comes to workshop safety and despite the fact that my glasses often fog up while doing so, I always wear my safety mask when polishing jewellery. Breathing in lots of polishing compound it not good for my insides.
10. Yoga
I want to do yoga daily, but as I mentioned before, my baby still feeds twice a night, and I have a five and two year old to run around after. Walking to school, wearing Oscar in a sling and rolling metal are all good forms of exercise for me on a daily basis, and I squeeze in yoga when I can. But once I am sleeping through the night again, I have high hopes of returning to doing yoga each morning again, before the children wake up.
