"I need to fill my cup with my soulmates." Zoe Marshall says seeing her friends is self-care.

There’s nothing like having a baby to reduce your opportunities for a social life, and that’s something that Zoe Marshall knows all too well.

But the 32-year-old, who shares one-year-old Fox with her NRL player husband Benji Marshall, said on Mamamia‘s podcast The Baby Bubble this week that while it’s not easy, making time to see her friends is part of her self-care.

“I need to fill my cup with my soulmates,” she told co-host Sean Szeps, when he congratulated her for prioritising friendships, as evidenced by a recent Instagram post of lunch with her friends.

LISTEN: Zoe Marshall talks about how she manages to see her friends when she has a baby. Post continues after.

“[I see my friends] at my house, in their pyjamas, eating pizza, watching Married at First Sight together,” Marshall explained, adding that sometimes it’s just “for an hour and a half out of the house to have a fantastic dinner.”

“I try and do that once a fortnight at least,” the mum-of-one revealed.

But Marshall also shared that making friendship a priority wasn’t always an easy task, so no one should be fooled by her seemingly carefree socialising on Instagram.

“In saying that, there’s so much no. There’s so many other of my friends I haven’t seen.

“I’ve got ‘this’ much time in the day. I’m so restricted with my son.”

Marshall further explained that to fit in her even small social life means concessions elsewhere.

“Seeing my friends, something’s gotta give. That means I’m not getting a great night’s sleep that night. That means I maybe lose two hours of that sleep. It’s all a tricky balance.”

 

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I love you girls @manditauber @livhurrell and I love eating @tottisbondi so today was very great. Happy early birthday lunch for my mouse @livhurrell

A post shared by Zoe Marshall (@zoebmarshall) on Mar 26, 2019 at 2:42am PDT

Marshall also said sometimes the concession is she can’t see her husband for dinner that night.

“There’s always something that’s going by the wayside.”

Marshall shared that she knew some people find it “obnoxious” when “you only do things on your schedule,” but that ultimately, she was the one having to sacrifice, for example, Fox’s sleep, which impacts her own sleep.

Szeps, who has 16-month-old twins Stella and Cooper, with husband Josh, agreed that the politics of parenting whilst trying to maintain relationships was new and challenging territory.

“There’s no logistical fairy that grants wishes,” Marshall added.

“Everything is a bloody shit show. So don’t be jealous of me. I’m spinning 15 plates up here just to get to McDonalds.”

What are your tips for getting time off from the kids? Tell us in the comments section below.

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If you’d like to hear me talk in more, listen to the full Episode 8 of The Baby Bubble podcast.