Someone suggests a bubble bath, and you have to stop yourself laughing out loud. With one child, self-care for mums advice like this was at least logistically possible. With a toddler who won’t leave you alone and a newborn who needs you every two hours (if you’re lucky), a locked bathroom door isn’t a luxury — it’s a fantasy.
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This post pairs with Episode 2 of the Breathe, Laugh, Parent – The Shine Om Podcast, “Micro Moments of Joy — The Secret to Sustainable Self-Care for Mums.”
Prefer audio? Listen to the full episode on Spotify, or read the original companion post.
Why the Old Self-Care Advice Stops Working
Most self-care advice assumes a block of uninterrupted time — twenty minutes, an hour, an evening. With two young children, those blocks mostly don’t exist yet, and waiting for them means waiting a very long time to feel like yourself. The shift that actually works is smaller: self-care measured in seconds and minutes, threaded through the day rather than scheduled around it.
What Micro Self-Care Actually Looks Like
- Three slow breaths before you pick up a crying baby, instead of rushing straight in
- Stepping outside for sixty seconds while someone else has the kids, even without a destination
- Naming one thing that felt good today, out loud, before bed — no journal required
- Letting a hug from your toddler count as a moment of nervous system regulation, not just a task to get through
If you want a clearer sense of where your own capacity is at right now, our free Nervous System Quiz takes three minutes and gives you a personalised starting point.
This Season Doesn’t Ask You to Wait
You don’t need to survive this season and get to self-care on the other side of it. Small, real moments of care count now, even inside the chaos — and they add up faster than you’d think. If you’d like more support finding these moments and rebuilding capacity through this stretched season, The Joyful Parenting Project is built for exactly this. Related read: Why Do I Feel So Touched Out as a Mum of Two?
