mother relaxing

If birds are trying to nest in your hair and even your dad admits you need a pedi, it’s time to claim back some much-needed me-time

A recent study found that the average Aussie mum gets just 17 minutes of me-time a day. When I read that, I thought, ‘SEVENTEEN WHOLE MINUTES!!!! Lucky b*tches. I must be doing something wrong.’

Most mums feel dazed and confused throughout the first year of their baby’s life due to a combination of sleep deprivation and low-lying anxiety caused by trying to keep a minuscule, screaming poop-machine alive day in and day out.

And the biggest mistake many of us make is to completely forget that we even exist at all. We suddenly think only about our child’s needs and forget that we too must eat, sleep, shower and see other humans lest we LOSE OUR MINDS.

I’m back from the brink of insanity, ladies, to help you avoid my mistakes. Here are my top tips to help you make the most out of those 17 luxurious minutes a day. (OK, some of these activities will require more time, but take it!)

1. Take 15 (or 17!) minutes every day to do something you enjoy and that relaxes you. Have a bubble bath while bubba is asleep, read a trashy gossip mag, or catch up on the news on your phone while you have a cuppa. It doesn’t matter what it is as long as it involves nobody else but you.

2. Plan daytime activities that are fun for you too. Meet up with a friend who has a baby for coffee, attend a play group or push the pram down to an oval and do a quick workout if that’s something you enjoy.

3. Make time for girlie nights and date nights. Leaving your baby at night might seem like torture at first (What if he/she wakes up and needs me? What if he/she won’t stop crying?), but taking a couple of hours to talk about something other than nap times and dirty nappies with your girlfriends or your partner does wonders for the soul. It’s like that L’Oréal ad says: because you’re worth it.