My Mama Wellness Checklist

I posted recently about how I've been grumpy and mentioned I had some plans to turn things around. I've realized that I need to not blame myself for my grumpiness and recognize that my moods are my body's way of telling me something is amiss. So here I'll elaborate on the grumpiness and the symptoms and outline my plan of action. Because, honestly, enough is enough. There will be future posts about how this plan works out.  

Here are my symptoms
1. Exhaustion- fatigue has always been a bit of a factor for me. But recently it's in full force. I am winded going up the stairs our out for a walk. I wake up tired, have to drag myself out of bed and have been relying heavily on coffee which I'm sure only exacerbates the situation. 
2. Appetite- (or lack thereof). I am always hungry (largely due to breastfeeding, I'm sure). But I just don't have much of an appetite for anything, no food really sounds worth eating to me. 
3. Irritability- despite the joy that our little guy brings to our lives, this first year of parenthood has been stressful due to some hurdles in our family life. These, combined with the postpartum emotional roller of motherhood has really given me a short fuse. I hate this. I've always tried to be an optimistic, grateful person so when I hear negativity and bitter words come out of my mouth I feel like someone else has taken over my usually cheery disposition. 
4. Tummy Trouble- discomfort, gassiness and constipation. Just, not fun.
5. Brain Fog- My short-term memory has really taken a hit. I'm often forgetting what I was going to say or do. My attention span is minimal- I can barely concentrate through a whole movie, let alone attempt to read a book. Bummer, I enjoy reading. 

So, any one of these things might be tolerable for a short time. But these combined factors over a matter of months has really called me to do something about it. 

Here's the plan:
1. B Vitamins and Fish Oil- I've been sporadic about taking these for years. But I've decided to be diligent about it again at least for the next 6-8 weeks and see if it makes a difference. After doing some reading about adrenal fatigue, I'm sure this is part of the problem and these supplements are said to help.
2. Diet- My friend, Lisa at The Milk Maven posted a recipe recently including all the innards of a chicken that is also supposed to be good for adrenal function. This is on my list of things to try. I'm always trying to incorporate whole (real) foods and eliminate artificial and processed (aren't we all?)
3. Acupuncture- I have my first session tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to it and posting about the results. I've been treating my hypothyroidism with medication for several years but I've recently been symptomatic (obviously) and I'm curious about this alternative method to treat it along with other conditions. 
4. Sleep- this may seem like an obvious solution for exhaustion but it's sometimes easier said than done. I'm going to really try going to bed earlier for a few weeks. The other part of the scenario though is disturbed sleep. We co-sleep but I'm sure I still don't sleep as well as I should with Brady latching on periodically through the night. He's just getting over a stomach bug so we didn't want to impose anything then. But we're going to give Dr. Jay Gordon's night weaning technique a try soon. 
5. Yoga and Meditation- these are always on my "I really should" list, along with other forms of exercise. It's just hard to actually do them even though I know it would help. It just is. That's all. 

Ok. So that's the plan. I'm putting it in writing partly to solidify my plans in my own head and also for accountability's sake. 

I'll post as I go along about the results I experience (or don't experience) from these strategies. 

I'd love to hear your thoughts on wellness and self-care. What have you found useful for getting back on track when your body says, "Slow down!"?