Life is often a whirlwind when your bundle of joy arrives and, as a new mom, all of your focus and energy goes into feeding and caring for your little one. It is wonderful to throw yourself into motherhood but also essential not to neglect yourself while caring for your newborn.
It all comes down to the old age, you can’t pour from an empty cup. Prioritizing self-care as a young mom is for your family’s benefit, not to their detriment so you should never feel guilty making time for yourself.
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Here are our top tips for looking after yourself in happy chaos of the newborn phase:
Go to bed early
Don’t hold yourself to impossible standards like “sleep when the baby sleeps”. If you can, what a bonus. Most young moms, however, don’t have this luxury because baby’s daytime naps are often your only opportunity to do anything productive with your day. One thing you do have control of is what time you go to bed. Avoid the temptation to get stuck scrolling on your phone and try get to bed even 30 minutes earlier if you can.
Exercise
Move a little every day. Not to help your body bounce back. Not to meet any external expectations. But move a little every day to promote circulation, to encourage deep breathing, to improve mood and reduce depression and anxiety. No gym membership? No problem. Strap baby into a carrier and just take a slow walk. Your body will that you for it, and your baby will probably have a great nap.
Drink lots of water
Do yourself a favour and carry a water bottle around with you to sip through the day. It’s especially important to have water on a little table in the area where you breastfeed. Inevitably, when your baby latches to start drinking you feel instantly thirsty but can’t move! Make your life easier by having water close at hand.
Eat well
Your body will prioritize your baby’s needs over your own and deplete your own energy reserves producing milk. This makes it even more important to ensure that you are nourishing yourself with good, clean nutrition to give your body the building blocks it needs to heal after childbirth and give you the energy you need to care for your little one. Collagen supplementation is believed to help with improved wound healing, improved sleep, reduced hair loss and increased muscle mass.
Ask for help when you need it
Whether that’s in the form of medical intervention, a meal for your freezer or just a nap. It takes a village, so lean on yours for support and don’t be too proud to communicate when you are not coping.
You are doing a phenomenal job and are the best mom your little one has ever had, but you don’t have to do it alone and you do still need to look after yourself first.
