Lockdown. It's becoming a global thing right now, what with COVID-19 creeping its way around the world. We all know that viruses don't travel - but we do. We travel, and that's what has spread this virus. So, the answer is to stop moving and let it run its course, and lockdown is the best possible solution here. In we go and in we stay until the powers that be deem otherwise.
The thing is, lockdown is - quite frankly - boring as hell. We are not adapting well to being told to stay indoors and not travel or go anywhere other than a quick walk or run per day. We're only allowed out to get the essentials, from the household groceries to the vape shop on the corner. However, with all the negativity that comes with lockdown, did you know that it's possible to put a positive spin on it? You've finished everything you had lined up on Netflix, and you've read every book in the Game of Thrones series - you're bored, and yet here you are still waiting to do something more productive. Let's take a look at things that you could do to be more positive and productive while the word has hit pause.
Get Rid Of Bad Habits
Start with you. If there is one excuse we all use when it comes to bad habits, it's that we don't have time to work on them. Well, now you're in lockdown. It's the perfect time to learn to live without a vice you've relied on. Give up cigarettes, quit the weekly wine bottles or simply stop shovelling down junk food - and you'll come out of lockdown healthier than ever!
Learn A Language
This is the time you have now to learn something new, and a language is the best thing that you could learn right now. It takes time to get to grips with the syntax and pronunciation of a new and exotic language, and you have the time to do it. A language is complicated to learn, but with the patience and the timing, you can come out of a locked-down society with a new skill under your belt!
Declutter The House
The amount of times you've put off this particular job is likely to add up. Locking down means that you'll be taking time in your home, among the mess and the clutter. You may not be able to get out to the dump, but you can certainly create a pile of things to go to the dump and sort through everything in the closets through the house. It's time!
Adopt Healthy Eating
With the absence of the gym, you need to figure out a way to work out anyway. Your home workouts can be one thing, but the best way to look after your health is to start eating healthier at home. Choose better meals and ensure that you are not snacking to excess - which is hard enough to do in lockdown! Focus on better habits for a healthier future.
This is a collaborative post*
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If you do not focus on your health and fitness, you can leave your body struggling and looking a little worse for wear. Do you feel like you want a new fresh start when it comes to health and wellbeing? We have all been there, and the feeling of wanting to change and give your body a full MOT is one of the best things you can do! This article will guide you through some of the best tips to get your entire body in shape!
Natural Products are the Best for your Skin
This is a must. Many products out on the market are actually quite harsh and harmful to your skin. Some products use alcohol and other chemicals as a base ingredient, and in time these chemicals will actually dry and age your skin, so they are not the best. Products that have a natural base of ingredients are far better for your skin, and due to the rise in popularity and the demand high for natural products they no longer need to break your bank! Some of the best formulas that help hydrate and soothe your skin are in the form of body butter. They are often very affordable and can be anywhere, but they work wonders on the skin! You can get them with citrus scents and more, and they are just all-round luxury!
Give a Little Love to your Smile
Something we sometimes forget when it comes to perfecting our looks is our smile! If your smile is something you are not very confident about, you are not alone. Do your teeth need cosmetic work? Maybe a dental crown procedure is the best route to go down. Perhaps a dental hygienist or seeing if braces are the best option? These are some good ways to keep your teeth squeaky clean and keep that smile shining! A smile exudes a lot more than meets the eye. It is a sign of confidence and a sign of happiness to smile, so making sure you are confident about it should be of top priority!
The Eyes are the Windows to the Soul, so keep them in Shape Too!
Everything on this list is important for your health, but your eyes are one of the key senses that needs looking after. Have you got glasses? Are you up to date on your eye tests? Have you got the right glasses, do you need new ones? Even if you do not have glasses, the eye can deteriorate over time, so it is best to keep up to date on eye tests to make sure you are doing what you can to keep your sight tip top. If not, you run the risks of things such as cataracts and blindness in older age. If you are already starting to develop something like Cataracts, you can be seen by a Leading Cataract Surgery Specialist who can help you, but sooner is always better than later.
Don’t forget your posture
Something often forgotten is posture. In today’s world, working at the desk, the counter, the office. All of this sitting and hunching over computers and keyboards does not do wonders for posture. After all, the skeleton and our bones are the foundations of our body, without them, we would be very sad indeed. Many people often refer to having aches and pains in the Lower Back, and many people who have this type of pain can rectify with some posture control. But sometimes, more action may be needed if it is painful, go and see a doctor to determine exactly where the pain is coming from. So, just like diets and going outside, the posture needs love too.
Do what you feel is best for you
After hearing all the advice above, the best and most tried solution is simply trial and error and finding what works best for yourself. What works for someone may not work the best for someone else, and visa versa. Health is extremely important, and it should always be treated with the most care, so try what is mentioned in this article, and see how it works. Never do anything that you cannot do, as if you push something that isn’t working, this could be hindering your health in the long run.
This concludes this post, how many of these tips will you take into real life after reading them? A new year and a new decade is a great reason to get behind wellbeing and health, as your body should be your top priority when it comes to checking it and keeping it healthy! You will take your car for an MOT, so will you start giving your body an MOT every now and then?
*This is a collaborative post*
Something that is super important for women after having a baby, is keeping themselves healthy and also keeping their baby healthy. There are multiple ways in which you can keep yourself healthy after the miracle of giving birth and bringing a new baby into the world, and this article houses some tips for those new mums!
How to Breastfeed in the Best Way
One of the main parts of being a new mother is being able to breastfeed. Some women are unable, which is ok as there are many formula milks out there that can help you feed the baby without needing to breastfeed. However, it is always best to breastfeed if you can. But, there are certain tips and techniques that you can do to optimise your breastfeeding and also protect your body and your baby whilst doing so.
One tip is to pre-emptively know if your baby is hungry. Babies often have some characteristics and traits that they exhibit if they are hungry before they cry for their feed. If you see your baby raise their head up repeatedly or open and close their mouth this can tend to mean they are hungry. Also if they suck on anything like their fist, toys and more can be another sign that they are hungry. So, if you catch them in this time the process of breastfeeding will be much calmer and the experience you and the baby will be much nicer overall.
Another thing you need to consider is comfort. Sometimes a baby can feed for a while, so starting the process in an uncomfortable position and then changing it midway through the feed can interrupt the process and be upsetting for yourself and the baby. A position that has been considered the best when it comes to comfort for both the mother and baby, is by laying on your side and sitting in a reclined position with the baby laying on top of you. So, whenever you begin breastfeeding make sure you are comfortable as it makes the experience for you and the baby much nicer!
Benefits of Breastfeeding
When it comes to breastfeeding, there are many benefits that come with it, for both the baby and for you. With the baby, breastfeeding provides it with the natural nutrients and minerals that your body has to offer for the baby. It also helps prevent and protect your baby from infections, as it is rich with germ-killing antibodies that help fight stomach bugs, diarrhoea, colds and chest infections. Another benefit of breast-milk is that it reduces the risk of diseases such as childhood leukaemia, and also reduces the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), or something commonly referred to as cot death.
Breastfeeding also sets up the child to have generally better health in the future, with less likelihood of developing diabetes and becoming overweight. Any amount of breastfeeding is beneficial, however exclusive breastfeeding for six months offers much more protection over the above diseases and offers more of the health benefits that have also been mentioned above.
Breastfeeding is also beneficial for you as a mother! One of the benefits it has is the more you can breastfeed, the faster it helps your uterus to reduce back to the normal size it was pre-pregnancy. It gets smaller anyway naturally day by day, but this process is sped up drastically with the event of breastfeeding. It also offered precious bonding time with you and your baby. It can be such a soothing time to connect with the baby and provide that all-important skin to skin contact with their mother. Nothing is more beautiful and natural than being a mother, and nursing a child, so savour these tender moments with your children!
Along with all the amazing health benefits it has for baby, there are also amazing health benefits for mothers too. The more you breastfeed the less risk of you having breast cancer in the future, thus also reducing the risk of ovarian cancer too. Other health benefits also include reduction of the risk of developing osteoporosis (which is weak bones later in life), diabetes also, cardiovascular diseases. It also burns off a lot of calories which will be music to any mother’s ears! If you exclusively breastfeed, it can help burn 300 calories alone!
So, it can be seen that there are many benefits to breastfeeding, but as said before some women just can’t, and that is ok! There are amazing formula options out there that are very credible alternatives to breastmilk!
Formula or Breast?
There have been many breast milk benefits listed within this article, but there are a collection of benefits for using formula milk also. As said previously if you are personally unable to breastfeed, it is a credible and ok alternative to natural breast milk.
If you are out and about, it can be very flexible and easy to quickly make formula milk, with water and the powder, you can have a full bottle of milk very quickly. You can also get many different formulas, from anti-sickness and more there are many different variations and specially formulated kinds of milk out there that you can use for your baby. You also do not need to worry about what you eat when it comes to formula, as with breast milk because it is coming from your body you need to watch what you eat. Whereas when it comes to formula, it is not coming from your body, so what you eat and drink does not have any effect on the milk at all.
One thing that is big negative when it comes to formula milk, is its expense. Unlike breastmilk that is free, a tub of formula milk can be a huge expense and be very expensive for parents. There is luckily a range of different formulas you can choose from, however, it is still a huge expense to any parent out there. It is also very hard and near on impossible to reach the complexities of breast milk. Breast always offers the best and tailored milk for your baby, also formula does a great job at trying to match it, but it simply will never match pure breast milk when it comes to the complexities and the nutrients and the tailored touch it has.
Vitamins
Another and final way in you can keep the health of you and baby at tip-top condition is taking the right vitamins and minerals that you need. There are many on the market that are tailored to different women of different ages. If you are an ‘older’ mum, there are vitamins out there that better equip your body and sustain the chemicals it needs to work at its best. This is the same for all mothers out there. By taking supplements, you can make sure your body has the nutrients it has, whilst still eating what you normally would. Whilst it is always advised to eat a better and more balanced diet when looking after a baby, vitamins and more can help you keep up with the minerals you need to stay healthy.
This concludes this article. Becoming a new mum and new parent in general, for daddies as well, is something of a miracle. It can also be a daunting time, new challenges and a new baby to take care of, anyone will want the best for their baby and their partner, so hopefully, this article has given some great advice that you can take on into your day to day life.
*This is a collaborative post*
Being diagnosed with diabetes can be a massive shock and you might be finding it hard to come to terms with. It is important to know that whatever you feel is completely normal, and you are not alone.
In the weeks and months after your diabetes diagnosis, you and your loved ones will have a lot of concerns and questions about your condition and what it means for the future.
There is so much to think about and so many adjustments that you have to make to your lifestyle, you might find that you feel overwhelmed and need a little bit more support to come to terms with it.
When you have an appointment with a member of your health care team, the following steps may help you:
- Write down any questions or concerns that you have before your appointment
- Ask someone to accompany you to your appointment, and ask them to make notes so you do not have to worry about remembering all the details
- Be honest about your health, both physical and mental
- Do not be afraid to ask them to slow down or to repeat something when they are giving you information.
There are going to be lots of things to think about and do over the next few weeks and months, but taking it one step at a time and allowing yourself the time to process everything will make the diagnosis easier to cope with, and you can start to move forward. This infographic has some stats and figures to help you get to grips with your new lifestyle:
Infographic Design By Diabetes Life Insurance
*This is a collaborative post*
To my beautiful girls,
On most other days I would moan about doing the school run, if I wasn't whinging about the rain or the fact that I walk back and forth to that school 6 times on the days I'm not in work then I'd be moaning about the chaos that it always brings with it. The whole morning routine usually stresses me out. Getting the breakfasts, fighting with you both to get you dressed, doing your packed lunch, ensuring reading books etc are in the bag and then of course one of you won't be able to find something whether that's your shoes or coat as we rush to head out of the door. Today it was different. Today I knew I was doing it for the last time for probably a long time. Today the world changed again. Today you made history.
Ophelia you had already been off from school for 2 days due to the Corona virus but I had been in work so I was unaware of how emotional I would become when the reality sunk in.
Ophelia and I headed off to pick you up Eva, and as she scooted past her friends and shouted 'hi Holly' and practically squealed with delight when she saw Owen, tears started to form. I wondered how long you'd be away from your friends and whether those friendships and tidings of joy will be there when you return to school. Then the horrible feeling deep down in the pit of my stomach presented itself, I felt sick as my mind wondered. When will you actually return to school and how different will the world be? How different will the people be? Will you actually want to return and make the big jump into reception in September? How will all of this affect your beautiful, inquisitive, precious, vulnerable minds? How can I protect you from something we know nothing about?
I finally reach your classroom door and you wouldn't have seen it as I wouldn't want you to see my fear and upset over the situation but I was crying. I smiled and hugged you. As we walked past other parents I smiled at them. A forced smile through the sadness I was feeling inside. A forced smile from the tears I was desperately fighting back.
I realised that in years to come teachers will be educating our future generations about this time. About the time that the world changed. About the time that school was cancelled for the foreseeable. About the time that children had to miss exams. They'll teach it in History lessons, Science lessons and Sociology lessons. Today you made the history books but not for something positive but for something negative.
As I sit and wonder what life will be like over the next coming months, I am filled with dread. Not least because I work in healthcare (that comes with so many other worries and stresses right now) but because I need to give you both as much of a normal life as best I can. I need to educate you, play with you, keep you feeling positive and shelter you from the panic and grief around you.
One thing today has made me realise though, is I will never take these moments with you for granted. They are precious, they are to be treasured and remembered because it's all over too quickly.
Come rain or shine, bring on the next school run. If it's raining then I'll hold your hands and jump in the puddles with you. May I never think of something you enjoy so much, something that brings a smile to your beautiful little faces, as a burden again.
Love you to infinity and beyond,
Mum xxx
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