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14 Self Care Tips for Moms
The one thing nobody tells you about, especially if you are a new mom, is that pregnancy discomfort doesn’t end with the arrival of your beautiful bundle. There is that short phase, where you will go through some pain and a lot of discomforts.
Your body has just gone through a grueling process and if you are like me that sustained a little cut (episiotomy), then you would be needing some self-care to get back in shape.
These self-care tips will be immensely beneficial to you in that you won’t just feel better physically and mentally, but you will also be a much better mom to your little baby.
That said, here are fourteen self care tips for moms should know
14 Self Care Tips for Moms
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1) Take Your Sleep Serious
The first thing every new mom comes to realize after the birth of her child is that your sleep pattern as you knew it would be gone. If you used to sleep eight hours each night, prepare to catch about half that time, if you are lucky and most of this in fits.
Babies sleep a lot (up to 18 hours for the first few weeks), however, their irregular sleeping hours can take some getting used to.
Before I had my daughter, I’d read a lot about babies and knew a lot of what to expect (or so I thought). I knew she would sleep for most of the day. However, nothing prepared me for the unusualness of it all; she would sleep during the day and in fits at night.
Just when I thought I would go crazy from the lack of quality sleep, I got a recommendation that saved my life, which was to go with my baby’s timetable and not try to fit her into mine.
I got to understand that as tiny as she was, she called the shot, and if I wanted to stay sane, I needed to sleep when she did.
2) Ask for Help
Thankfully, there are always people around who would think nothing of helping you, especially in those first few weeks.
Take advantage of ALL the help you are offered while you give your body enough time to rest and heal. Soon, this kind-heartedness will start to fade as people return to their own lives and you will be faced with the full force of being a mom.
Yes, some help might linger, but a loot of it won’t and you will miss it.
3) Take Your Medications Religiously
After your vagina heals, it would be easy to believe you are strong enough and therefore do not need those meds.
According to familydoctor website, postpartum recovery can take months. Beyond that, your body just went through an ordeal, and healthwise, it takes up to two years for the spot where the placenta was implanted to fully heal. Taking your medications religiously, eating right, and taking in enough water, should speed things up.
4) Go Easy on the Chores
No one expects to see a house looking spic and span, especially when you have no one assisting you, so you should go easy on the chores.
During my postpartum recovery, I did the best I could and left the rest. I felt, if anyone expected an extremely neat house beyond what I could do, they could come give me a hand. Lol.
You shouldn’t try to get back to your previous work schedule. Again while you might feel like your energy levels have fully returned, they haven’t, and doing too much at once can set you back some in your recovery.
5) Carve Out Your Own Space
Anna, a dear friend of mine, found keeping up with her baby’s food needs challenging during the first few weeks. He wanted to be fed round the clock and it didn’t help she had previously agreed with her partner to go exclusive for the first six months.
To stay sane, she started escaping to the restroom for some 10-20 minutes respite. It took breaking the exclusive feeding agreement and introducing mixed feeding to get her back on the sanity track.
You want to find a schedule or method that keeps you sane. There will be so much to be done at this moment and while as a mom your instinct would be to give your best, no one would expect you to break in two while doing so or blame you for seeking out easy ways to get things done.
6) Go for Some Fresh Air
Staying cooped up in the house all day can start to get to you, making you feel isolated and blue.
To beat this, choose to go for a 10 to 20 minutes walk daily or every other day. When you do this, you will see life as it is outside the wall of your house again, which can be an instant mood booster.
You don’t have to go far if your strength isn’t up to it. A short walk around your neighborhood will still do a world of good.
7) Take Care of Your Body
Take care of your body as best you can. Besides eating healthy, and taking lots of water, you want to ensure you carry out your sitz bath if needed. You also want to apply hot water to your perineal area to ease the pain, get enough sleep while wearing a comfortable sleep bra, or use a sturdy breast pad to keep your breast milk from soaking through.
8) Exercise
Exercising is another self-care to every new mom will find beneficial.
Getting even ten minutes of exercise daily will release serotonin (the feel-good hormone) which can put postpartum depression at bay.
You want to be careful here though and check with a doctor before going on an exercise regime.
If you are unsure of the best exercise to do at this time, then a low-intensity exercise like walking is the best to go.
9) Get Some Sun Rays
The sun is a good source of vitamin D. Besides boosting your serotonin production and improving your mood, this vitamin D also gets passed on to your baby while been breastfed.
Get this much-needed vitamin when you take a walk, or just by spending a few minutes at a time basking in the sun.
10) Watch a Movie or Something
You might discover that even though you are supposed to catch some shut-eye when your baby naps, there will be those few times sleep will elude you. At such times, you can engage in some relaxing and fun activities like watching a movie, reading a book, or practicing some light yoga moves.
Watching your favourite movie or a fin series on YouTube, Netflix, and any other video-sharing platform can be a fun and thrilling way to relax and pass the time.
11) Eat That Dinner You’ve Been Craving
You also should give yourself a treat every time you can. You are a supermom and deserve every warm delight you can possibly come up with.
12) Take a Warm Bath
Pamper your body when your baby is asleep or being cared for by someone else by taking a long, luxurious soak using an aromatherapy bath soap. Not only will this leave you relaxed, but you also will feel rejuvenated.
13) Keep a Journal
Yeah, keeping a journal of all your thoughts and feelings will help keep things organized and in focus. A journal can be your best friend and listening companion. You will be able to pour out your thoughts, fears, and wishes anytime you feel like without the nagging fear your listener will get tired of your tales.
Besides, you will go through the journal a year or a few years from now and smile at the beautiful memories.
There are also a few journaling ideas you could try out:
- A journal sorely on your thoughts
- One detailing your baby’s growing moments and milestones.
- Or a combination of both.
Times without number, these journals have been gifted to the child years later and it can be fun going through those moments together with your child.
14) Scream every time You Feel Like
Yeah, even though you are putting measures in place to guard against this, there will be those few times, when you will feel overwhelmed by it all.
At these times, you should lock yourself in a room scream out the frustrations and you will feel good afterward, and if anyone looks at you funny while you’re at it, just blame it all on the pregnancy hormones that are yet to fully return to normal.
Recommended Reading
How Long Should I Breastfeed My Baby For? What Experts Say
Postpartum Body Odor. 11 Quick Remedies for It
7 Top Sleep Aids for Breastfeeding Moms
Tag: self care tips for moms, relaxing self care tips for moms
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