“But I have chores to do when the baby sleeps otherwise I don’t get any of the housework done”

Of course we need to do the housework but not at the expense of our sanity. Instead of always doing the chores or never doing the chores (all or nothing) have you thought about allocating some time to yourself and some time to the chores?

My baby was a catnapper and would only ever sleep for 30 minutes at a time. By the time I had put on a load of washing, done some dishes and then finally sat down for a cuppa he would wake up. When this happened I would find myself feeling quite resentful that he hadn’t slept longer. In my desperation to find some much needed time for myself I tried splitting the 30 minutes in half and using the first 15 minutes for having a hot cup of coffee and then during the second 15 minutes I’d do my chores. That way when my baby woke up from his nap he was interrupting doing the dishes, which I didn’t mind so much. This resulted in my frame of mind being more positive, which stopped me from being unfairly grumpy with my baby when he woke up. Happier mummy and happier baby.

You can prioritise yourself in many other situations, for example on a day off from work do something you enjoy first and then do your errands. Can you think of any other examples?