From the moment your first bundle of joy arrives self care starts taking a back seat. Becoming a new mom can be a daunting and overwhelming experience, even if you don't have postnatal depression added to the mix. People are incredibly generous with baby presents after a birth, but often the new mama gets forgotten in a sea of cute babygros and brightly coloured toys. Roll on a few years (sleepless of course) and add another kid or two into the mix and many women have simply forgotten to include looking after themselves on the never ending to do list.
I created Mama Moments to remind mothers that we are important too.
That we cannot pour from an empty cup and that self care is an important part of looking after our mental health. Self care is not a luxury, but a necessity, and it's a lot easier to keep all the balls in the air and be there for the people we love if we've allowed ourselves even 5 minutes with a cup of tea to recharge.
I also wanted to take the opportunity to support the amazing, independent businesses being run by mamas all over Ireland. Mama Moments boxes include wonderful, unique products created by Irish mamas running small businesses.
So please, subscribe and treat yourself to a wonderful surprise every two months, or treat someone else who you know needs to make some time for herself.
Above all, remember to mind yourself.
Sarah
Founder of Mama Moments
I’m Sarah Ryan and I started Mama Moments in 2018. I have two children, age 10 and 7, and live in Dublin with them and my husband.
Myself and my husband have been together since we were 16 and are married 15 years. We did a lot of travelling and lived in a couple of different countries before buying our house and starting a family.
I had hyperemesis (a severe form of pregnancy sickness) on both my pregnancies and suffered with postnatal ptsd, depression, and anxiety after my eldest was born.
I think I thought because myself and my husband had been together so long, knew each other so well and had very deliberately planned to start a family that we would adjust to being parents relatively easily.
But a combination of the hyperemesis, breastfeeding issues, the hospital being shut down the week I was due to give birth (fun times!) and a lot of other ‘life’ things, that by themselves would have been fine, combined together to lead to a huge amount of stress which developed into a cocktail of mental health struggles.
It was only when I was pregnant the second time and speaking to a counsellor that I received an official diagnosis. Speaking with someone was incredibly cathartic for both myself and my husband and definitely helped in preparing for the arrival of our second.
But one of the most important shifts for me came when I finally started dedicating some time to self care on a daily basis. The difference in how I felt mentally and emotionally were huge. And it's what led me to found Mama Moments.
To be a small part of helping mothers prioritise their self care has been so amazing and I get lovely messages all the time from women thanking me for my part in their journey - it is such an honour and my heart squeezes every time I get one of those messages.
I am honoured to be part of so many women's journey. Whether that's through the self care gift boxes, the self care workshops or simply through my mailing list or social media. Being able to support mothers and help them live calmer, happier lives means everything.
