Mommy Maintenance

I think it is so important to not forget about yourself once you become a mom.

I mean, of course, once the baby gets here she/he comes first. You make sure the baby is bathed first, sometimes you don't even have time to properly bathe yourself..(only in the beginning because a nap may actually be more important than the shower you long for while the baby is napping), you make sure you feed the baby, and sometimes you forget to feed yourself!

Side Note: Try really hard not to forget to feed yourself, you can't help baby if you pass out from hunger! Not to mention, if you're breast feeding, you eating will allow your milk to fill up to pass on to the baby--I forgot to eat once when Kiyah was maybe a week old, and milk was not flowing the way it should have so I had to use formula to make sure she was getting an adequate amount of nutrients.

Anyway, once things have calmed down a bit, and you realize you haven't straitened your hair in months, your nails are horrid, and you have more hair on your body than your boyfriend, you probably also realized in that same moment that going to the hair salon, nail shop or getting a full body wax is no longer in your budget. Which is completely understandable, especially if you are a single parent. BUT! That does NOT mean that you need to walk around looking a HOT MESS just because you're busy being a great mom!

Now that you've become accustomed to not sleeping, or getting less sleep, spare one of your mommy/baby naps, and let baby have this one solo. Take that time to wash, deep condition and style your hair however you feel makes you pretty. Great hair makes for an even better day! Also, once you finally get back into the groove of doing your hair, it will encourage you to do it more often, making it a part of your regular routine. Obvi, doing your own hair saves you at least a guilt free $40 a month.

Next we can attack those nails, depending on your budget, you can do this all at once, or bit by bit each month--buy nail polish, nail polish remover, cotton balls, q-tips, pedicure/manicure sets and anything else you think you may need to achieve a presentable mani/pedi. If you're used to getting your nails done by a professional it will definitely take a few practice runs of doing your nails on your own before you get good at it, BUT, in the end it's so worth it! Your mani/pedi kits will probably be the most expensive thing, but no more than 10 bucks and they will last quite a while. Your cotton balls, q-tips, remover, emery boards etc. can all be purchased and your local Target or Dollar Tree for about $1. As for your nail polish, each paycheck, go to Target, grab a couple different brands so that you know which brand you like best and then once you figure that out you can go buy a few colors each time you visit Target or each time you get paid..whichever fits your budget best. Again--this will have to sacrifice one of your nap times, but it is worth it.

About that body hair..buy NAIR! Works great and it doesn't smell bad like it did when it first hit the market lol. It's about $5 a bottle but that will last you a couple months and is way less expensive than getting waxed. I will say that you should spend the $10 to get your brows done professionally, though. No one takes a woman serious when her brows are bad...sorry.

Maintaining your sexy even after baby has arrived is important for you, in my opinion. It makes you feel like you haven't exactly lost yourself in all the chaos and it keeps your mans attention. A real man will find so much appeal in his woman who is not only being an amazing mom, but also keeping herself up. Feeling good on the inside is the most important of course, but feeling good on the outside will definitely help!