Great idea!

When you get home from a tough day, chocolate and ice cream
are extremely comforting. Recognize and accept this! You know you're not going
to gain weight from one evening's indulgence, so stop acting like you will ‑-
and enjoy some comfort food. I think a bowl of cereal at night can be comfort
food. I also find pasta very soothing. Eat things you don't normally allow
yourself. I'll bring in goodies "for the kids," and it's extremely satisfying to
savor a bit of it myself!

When you get in the mood...

When you get into the mode of being mom and wife and businesswoman, friendships sometimes take a backseat. Well, there's nothing more fun than connecting with girlfriends. Meeting for coffee or drinks or dinner and a good gossip session can be incredibly indulgent. Try doing things you don't often get to do together. Or schedule things you need ‑- like your manicure and pedicure ‑- when your friends need them too. That way, you've taken care of an errand, had some fun and had a chance to cross something off your to-do list. List all of your fun chores, and get your gal pals to join you! -ivillage.com

Children take naps when they get cranky or sleepy-eyed. And that "night out with the boys" seems to do the men in our lives a world of good after a hard week. But what can busy moms do to reenergize?

"For me it is getting a massage -- it is such a wonderful treat and really
helps me recharge for days!"-- Jan
"Two girlfriends and I are
going to a spa overnight. We have already scheduled our massages and facials,
manicures and pedicures. We will enjoy meals that somebody else has cooked and
not have to wash the dishes or worry about cleaning up the spilled milk. We'll
drink a little wine, soak in a hot tub, catch up on girl talk and stay up late
if we want because we can sleep in the next morning!"-- Melissa

source- ivillage.com

Easy Indulgence

When your kids are young, it's hard to go away without them, but if you want to indulge in a mini vacation without really leaving home, try spending one night at a hotel in the city or town you live in. Hire a babysitter, grab your husband and book a room. You're just a phone call away, but you're still indulging yourself and experiencing that two-of-us time you rarely get at home.

Indulge in...

Indulgence: This one is tried and true, but I can't leave it out. If you're
at home and you need a break, take a long bath. For me, it's not about the
bubbles and the scents. The important part is the ability to lock the door and
relax. Also, getting a massage is one of my favorite indulgences. At the start
of my massage, my mind is usually racing with things that are bothering me. Five
or 10 minutes into it, I'm practically sleeping.

source: Liz Lange, ivillage.com

Breastfeeding: Soothes Baby And Mom

Moms, want to lower stress? Try breastfeeding. Newresearch from the McGill-affiliated Douglas Hospital Research Centre inMontreal shows mothers who breastfeed respond less to stressfulsituations than those who bottle-feed their children. These findingssuggest these mothers may be better able to care for their children.

"It has been well established that breast milk is the best source ofnutrition for infants - it is beneficial to their physical and mentaldevelopment," says Claire-Dominique Walker PhD, senior investigator anddirector of the Neuroscience Research Division at the Douglas HospitalResearch Centre. "Our work now shows that there is a reciprocal benefitof breastfeeding to the mothers -- they react less to stressfulsituations.

This means they will focus more on their children and havemore energy for activities such as attending to their infants andproducing milk -- this is an obvious gain for the children."
Walker and her team, including Sonia J. Lupien, PhD, directorof the Douglas' Centre for Studies on Human Stress and graduate studentMai Tu, studied the stress responses of 25 breastfeeding and 25bottle-feeding mothers, having either one baby or several otherchildren. The moms were exposed to different types of stressfulsituations ranging from those considered "emotional or relevant" --watching a video about hurt and lost children, to those considered"non-threatening or non-relevant" -- such as public speaking and mathproblems.

Stress was determined by measuring the levels of cortisol (astress hormone) in their saliva. The preliminary findings show that thebreastfeeding moms had reduced levels of cortisol (indicating lessstress) during the emotional and non-threatening stress situations.This effect also occurred in response to the relevant stressor, but itwas even more pronounced in experienced breastfeeding mothers (i.e.mothers with several children). This indicates an added potentialbenefit of breastfeeding after repeated deliveries."

"This difference in response to relevant and non-relevant stressors isvery interesting," says Tu. "It means that the experiencedbreastfeeding moms filter out the important stressor from theinsignificant one and that bottle-feeding mothers might be less able todo so. Our findings show some of the bottle-feeding moms to be morereactive to stress, which may lead to less than optimal care for theinfant."

"Our study may also have implications for women prone topost-partum depression," adds Walker. "Post-partum stress is a riskfactor for post-partum depression. If we can better understand how thebreastfeeding moms reduce their stress, by filtering daily lifechallenges we may be able to better treat the moms prone to post-partumdepression."

Affiliated to McGill University and the World Health Organisation, theDouglas Hospital Research Centre is one of the largest in the country,with a team of over 60 scientists and clinical researchers and 180post-graduate students. This team is devoted to understanding thecauses of mental disorders -- whether genetic, environmental, culturalor social -- as well as developing diagnostic tools, treatments andprevention methods.

Indulgence #1

Here's the scenario: You've come to the end of a high-stress day. You need to get out of the office and home to the kids. And you need to find time for yourself. What do you do, how do you do it and what's the result?
I think it's really important to get relief. And it can be easy and inexpensive ‑- and sometimes free ‑- to transition from the pressures of work to a relaxing evening at home.
Indulgence #1: Weather permitting, I find it really relaxing to walk home. Get out of the office, take a walk, let your mind wander, be free. Think about things that are in the present. Then think about something fun that's on the horizon. Push yourself to release the pressuring thoughts. Music really helps. After work, I grab my iPod, which is filled with songs that I enjoy. They might be uplifting, peaceful or relaxing. And if you can't walk home, you'll still find that it makes all the difference in the world to simply play some music in the car. It's extremely relaxing ‑- a great transition.
source- ivillage.com