Make time to do small things that you enjoy in the midst of your life with a baby or toddler

What small things can you do, just for yourself, which bring enjoyment into your days with your small child?

If you are the primary carer, and predominantly spending your days in the presence of your baby or toddler, let alone older children, you may have almost no time alone. That in itself is something you might decide you need to change, setting up childcare or bringing in other loving adults to take your little one, so that you can rely upon some regular time-out scheduled into your week.

Here, I'd like to reflect upon little ways in which you can do something loving for yourself, in the midst of such busy-ness. You'll notice they invite enjoyment of the senses - sight, scent, taste, touch, hearing. These are small things which remind me of life's beauty, and I hope you'll like them too.

• A cup of tea or coffee

• Picking a blossom from the garden and placing it in a little water

• Inhaling the scent of a flower or herb or crushed leaf

• Rubbing scented lotion into your hands

• Playing a favourite piece of music

• Finding a work of art that you really like (a photo of it, or an original). Place it somewhere that you pass often, pausing for a second to enjoy it each time you go by

• Allowing the sunlight to fall on your arms and face.

We could make an endless list - of how to open up our senses in the middle of a busy day, just to lavish care upon ourselves for a moment, honouring our own precious mind, body and soul as if we are worth it.

Which we are.

Recommended resources, acknowledgements, and selected references for the articles in the Caring for you section of The Possums Sleep Program are found here, including selected research evaluations of both Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Compassion-focused Therapy in the perinatal period.