Hellobee Boards

@Foodnerd81: I don't think I am the average Mum. Ever since LO arrived I have always needed a fair bit of time to myself, just as I did before she came along. The first few months this would just be a couple of hours at a time on a weekend and I would go shopping or get a coffee. Most recently last weekend I left Dh with her from about 9am-6pm so I could go meet some friends a couple of hours away. I pumped a couple of times in my car when I was gone and it wasn't too bad. I still feel like I'm me first and a Mum second.

yep! I agree it's harder when you're EBF but DH insisted way back then and I would leave for a chunk of time on Sunday, even if it was just to read at the library. Now it's wayy easier at 14 months and I send THEM out so I can sew. If anything, I spend *more* time on hobbies than I did pre-baby.

@Foodnerd81: I used to do that same thing! What helped is planning to be gone whilst the next feed would be taking place so I knew there would be no opportunity to get back.

Yep. I know I have it easy right now because DS is in school and LO still has 7 more weeks. But when DS was little and when LO is here I'll have no problems letting my mom watch them so that I can get a little fun time in. And, actually, I enjoy taking ds to the museum and library and shopping and all that and I know I will with LO. DH knows I enjoy this stuff so he has no issues with me spending the money by taking them on fun outings. That's usually my "me" time. DH has his me time during football season. Most Sundays during the season he can be found at my inlaws watching a game with my fil.

I also have some crafty hobbies that I enjoy and dh supports.

If we both want to do something on the weekend that doesn't invol e ds we call our parents to watch him. No one is trapped.

Now that my LO is almost sixteen months and far less reliant on the boob, I'm aiming to get out and see more movies! We've just moved away from both our families so support is thin on the ground but I'm confident that DH can handle putting our wee booby monster down for the night every now and then

My other strategy for "me" time is to make sure I get all my chores done while Miss A is awake so I can use her nap time to relax and do whatever I choose!

ETA I'm not working so I'd also really like to do some volunteer work and some more extramural study.

I make a lot of time for myself! Before and after work, after bedtime and during the weekends when DH is around.

@Foodnerd81: haha we're living the dream aren't we?

My "me time" is similar to yours--I get a mani/pedi, a massage, etc. So I guess my hobby is getting pampered?! Not a bad hobby to have

That's pretty much it, though. I used to do hot yoga as a hobby, but it's expensive so it's not really in the budget anymore. I'd love to have a hobby that I could do at home while LO is napping or at nighttime.

I rarely get me time. DH is gone a lot but he works two jobs, and then goes and does things for his business he owns on top of that (which includes going to concerts, where he can bring friends and have some drinks), and he gets a lot of time with his friends while doing his side jobs if that makes sense. He also gets out after work sometimes but I'm usually in bed so it doesn't make a difference to me. I really would like to get out more but it's hard because my friends are moms too and it doesn't always work out and I don't have tons of money to do extras like pedis, massages etc...although, I wish! I get out with DH here and there though without LO, so that helps me stay sane. I need more hobbies apparently

Shopping! I never drag DH to go shopping with me, and I love to have some retail therapy. Or I do my nails, either at home or go out.

My me time changed in the first year with LO. I broke up with my yarn store, so I don't have my weekly time off. I stopped knitting for months and just got back into it. Me time is a lot less with LO. I'm finding new avenues of social time. DH and I spend a lot more time together now than before LO. That's taken some adjustment. We both crave me time. His friend circles were less effected and more supportive of LOs than mine are, so still finding the right group to fit into and have time to myself again.

@Foodnerd81: showers are the best me time ever. As a working mom, I like my quiet WFH days, just me at home!

My husband and I both get very little "me time" if I define that as time where someone else is watching LO and we don't have to be accountable for her.

We don't have any family closer than an 8 hour drive, and sitters here are super expensive so that leaves DH. He's totally willing and able, but it's tough right now with our schedules. I wake up at 5:30 am each week day for work, so by the time DH gets home from work at 7 pm, I'm usually too exhausted to go anywhere and I try to be in bed by 10 and have to pump, make and pack work pump bag and lunch, etc. weekends are spent grocery shopping, doing laundry, cleaning the house with DH.

Our 6 month kid still sleeps like a newborn so I think we are in survival mode. About once a month, DH goes to a work happy hour but is generally home by 8. I have a moms group that meets Thursdays at 5, sometimes I go but that's with LO.

For me, it's immensely helpful to have DH going through the same thing at the same time. It makes me feel like we are a team. I think once I stop EPing and whenever LO starts sleeping a bit better, he and I will both feel a bit more human and energetic enough to do things with friends once a month or so.

Of course, then we'll probably try for number 2!

We have a 4 day trip next weekend to our old city and we're already planning for DH to go out with his friends one night while I go out with my friends the next ( while the other watches LO). I'm looking forward to it, even if I will have to pump somewhere random at some point in the night!

My 'me time' is usually while DH and LO are home - having a LONG shower, or spending some guilt-free time baking or reading or Hellobee-ing.
I have gone out shopping on my own a few times, but I don't really get much alone time.

@mamamoose, totally agree! A lot of women feel so guilty about taking time for themselves. Why?! Why do we feel the need to do *everything* and put ourselves last?

I take time for myself. Being a mom is part of who I am--it is not 100% of me. I have to nurture all the pieces. I don't overdo it, but I work out and that is very important to me....and that's a good 6+ hours/week. My mood is much better and I feel better about myself. I also do girls nights with my friends and I feel SO refreshed from just a couple hours, I read, etc. He has his tv shows he watches, I have some that I watch without him. I knit, I sew, I make things for E. DH will go hang out with his buddies and stuff and we are always grateful to the other person for picking up the slack, so to speak. Dh also loves one on one time with her, so why should I feel guilty?! I don't

I use some of her nap time now for my me time, but I haven't been able to take very much in the evenings/weekends lately. DH works until well after DD is in bed, and the weather here has been brutal. I don't want to read at a coffee shop badly enough to dig out the car and fight the roads. In the summer I did a better job of just getting out for a walk on my own or some such.

Me time is kind of the reason I EP. DD has a rough time nursing, and I hate pushing it.

I can go 6 hours without a pump, and it's wonderful to have that time. Heck, it's great to hide in our bedroom to pump on the weekends

Once a week, I go to Barre class, and I'll sew once she's asleep. I'm hoping to start going twice a week soon.