I’ve never been a huge believer in New Year’s resolutions. If you want to make a change, why wait?

But I’ve also never greeted a new year as a mother before, and I find myself mentally rattling off a list of resolutions like never before. They can all be boiled down to the following mantra:

Take better care of myself so that I can better care for my family.

I’ve spent the past six months doing what a lot of new mothers do: putting myself on the back burner. It certainly hasn’t been intentional, and it certainly hasn’t been in the name of becoming some martyred Mother of the Year. No one I know has a baby and says, “Okie doke! It’s not about me anymore, so I can completely let myself go!”

My bad habits have snowballed slowly: Leaving my contacts in for yet another night in the name of a few more minutes of sleep. Forgetting to brush my teeth because I’m starting Baby Y’s morning routine (gross, I know). Surfing the web instead of exercising during all-too-brief naps. Grabbing whatever food is convenient with absolutely no regard to whether it’s actually good for me. Forgetting to take my vitamins. Ignoring pleasure reading in favor of learning about the child-rearing topic du jour.

Basically, I haven’t been caring for me because it just seems beside the point after a long day of baby wrangling. But that’s a bit of a cop-out, because I know I can be a much better mother with a few simple changes.

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  1. I need to move my butt. Quite possibly the most unoriginal New Year’s resolution in the history of man, I know. But I always feel so much better about myself when I’m exercising regularly. Weight loss (though it would be welcome) would be a bonus.
  2. I need to watch what I eat. Second-most unoriginal resolution, yes? I’ve been eating a LOT of sugar. Half the time, I don’t even enjoy it. It’s simply because it’s there, and I’m too lazy to think of Plan B. Again, weight loss would be nice, but at this point, it’s more about general well-being.
  3. Before rushing to the baby in the morning or collapsing at night, I need to resuscitate my day/night routines. I wouldn’t be surprised if motherhood has given me my first cavities, and I think I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve remembered such a thing called moisturizer in the past few months. And yes, my contacts are extended-wear, but I’ve been pushing even that to the limit.
  4. Also, I need to remember that I’m married! It’s hard to carve out couple time when we’re the only ones around to care for Baby Y, especially when one or both of us have work to do. But it’s been dawning on me that I may smooch the kiddo dozens of times any given day, but the hubs is lucky to receive a peck on a cheek.

I may even think about instituting some formal system for “me time,” a la Mama Marbles’ personal pursuit days. Papa Y gives me breaks like any good hubby, but it’s often when I don’t expect it and haven’t planned for it, meaning I tend to fritter away that valuable time.

So, here’s to hoping that I can unearth the motivation to me a better me in 2012 … it will benefit all of us, I think!

What are your New Year’s resolutions?