How to beat the winter blahs!

02/06/2017

Hibernation is for the bears: Get outside!

When the sun hasn’t shined in a few days, heck maybe weeks, and the wind only blows cold air and snowflakes, you might have them: the Winter Blahs.

Being stuck in the house going a little stir crazy with a baby, or maybe a toddler, or maybe both, is the leading cause of the dreaded seasonal affliction. It’s so much easier staying inside your warm cozy house and not having to bundle the kids in twenty layers just to run to the store. However, getting out there and springing yourself into action (see what I did there?) will go a long way to making you feel better!

Embrace the Weather

Yes, easier said than done, but your little one makes a great companion (and excuse) for this. Get outside and go sledding. Strap on some ice skates and hit the ice. Sure it’s cold but that just means you need to move faster! Plus it makes you feel like a kid again. And the best thing about being in the cold outdoors is coming back inside and drinking hot cocoa!

Freshen up Your Look

Once you have kids your own style and beauty routine often goes belly up. Your kids might look like Gap models, but you’re not sure when your last haircut was and your jeans might still have the telltale stretch of maternity pants. So, get yourself to the mall. The unadulterated consumerism, soothing generic pop music and smells of the food court will lull you into a sense of forgetfulness.

Get some D

Vitamin D, that is. Studies have proven how good Vitamin D is for your whole body. You might still be dosing your infant with drops daily but forgetting about yourself. Most healthy adults need 600 IU daily. If you eat healthy, think fortified beverages, fatty fish, and eggs, you might be getting enough already. But check with your doctor to see if your diet is meeting your needs or if you need to supplement.

Find your Tribe

Sometimes you just need friends. You need to gossip, vent about your baby’s erratic sleep schedule, and swap sanity-saving parenting tips. Luckily, there are a plethora of free drop-in programs where you can meet other like-minded parents. Try one of London’s indoor playgrounds (Adventures on Wonderland and Playaway) as well. They are a great way to tire out your kids while catching up on your Facebook feed or drinking a coffee in (relative) peace.

Either way the winter will end. But in the meantime embrace the snow and cold, because in a few short months everyone will be complaining about how hot it is!

• Erin DeCoste —
  

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