Tips on How to Stay Sane During the Newborn Stage

Pregnancy changes your body physically, mentally, and emotionally. You have hormones coursing through your body and hormones will remain strong even after you deliver your baby. There are so many emotions you will feel from the very first moment you meet your bundle of joy to bringing your little baby home for the first time but what expecting mamas tend to overlook (I know I did) is the postpartum period and all the emotions you will go through mentally. It is a beautiful, surreal experience meeting your little one and holding them for the first time but then all the other thoughts surface when you realize you’ll be bringing your baby home where there will be no nurses and no instruction manual of how to care for your little human being. You will have moments of pure joy as you look into your baby’s eyes and you will have moments of complete despair because you do not know if you are doing anything right. But rest assured mama, you will figure it out. Only you know your baby so well and you will naturally know what to do in time. Through my experience of the complete whirlwind that is bringing your baby home and taking care of him or her while dealing with all the emotions, I learned some pretty wonderful tips that helped me survive through the first month and my hope is to have it help you so that way you have one less thing to figure out.

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Don’t Be Afraid to Ask For Help:

I have always been horrible at asking for help. I’m super stubborn and would rather just try to get through things myself. But having a baby is such a life changing event and when you are dealing with hormones, recovery from birth, and your mental health it can be too much to take on all by yourself. So allow your loved ones who offer to help, help. Let your in laws or parents bring you over meals and hold your baby while you sleep. Let your husband focus on the house chores while you bond with your baby especially if you are establishing your breastfeeding relationship. It will give you the rest your body needs and give your mind a break so you can be at your happiest for your little baby. You are not any less of a super mama because you asked for help! A happy mama means a happy baby!

Find Little Moments in your day to do something for yourself:

Before you were a mama, you were your own person. It’s easy to get so caught up in your new role that you tend to forget to take care of your soul. Becoming a mama is a beautiful extension of who you are, it is not ALL you are. I have to remind myself this ALL the time. It’s not easy but makes all the difference and will keep you being the best you AND mama.  So whether it be when your husband or another loved one is holding your baby, go shower or put some make up on and do your hair (always felt nice to not have a mom bun and going on two days without showering ) or when baby is napping spend some time watching your favorite show or reading a book. Whatever makes you feel good, do it every day even if it’s for a minute or at least a few times a week.

Let yourself be okay with not accomplishing anything:

I always am hard on myself when I feel like I couldn’t accomplish anything like the laundry or dishes or simple things like showering, haha. But truth is, during those first few weeks you will have days where nothing is done but catering to your baby and that is OKAY. For some reason, I had the mentality since I was on maternity leave I will have all this time to take care of baby and get things done around the house. I wanted to be the best mama and the best house wife. But what is the most important is taking care of your baby and establishing that bond especially if you are going back to work. So focus on nursing (if you plan on breastfeeding) because there will be days where all you do is nurse, snuggle your baby if it’s just one of those days where you cannot set them down (your baby needs you), and soak up every moment even the hard ones with your little one because time goes by so fast. It is okay to not do a thing but cater to your little one because even though the days feel long, the years are short. And even though you may feel like you weren’t productive, you are raising your baby and that is the most important task!

Call your baby’s pediatrician if you have any concerns regarding baby’s health:

We are all guilty of turning to Google first when it comes to anything health related but Dr. Google will not provide you with the peace of mind that you need. I have learned this the hard way time and time again. You will have constant checkups in the beginning so make sure you write down any concerns you have and bring it to your baby’s appointment because if you don’t, you will forget since you’ll be running on no sleep haha. Also, usually the nurse line is available 24 hours so there is always someone to talk to and ask for help! They understand first time mom fears and will give you such a peace of mind even if it’s something minor. I was guilty of spending so much time on the internet trying to figure out if what Luke was doing was normal where I could have saved so much time and energy just calling to ask.

Take a SITZ bath:

I cannot recommend this enough. Not only is a SITZ bath beneficial to postpartum recovery (I plan on writing a future post about this) but it also soothes the soul. It’s relaxing and great quality mama alone time that is needed in those first very exhausting weeks. Find some candles, turn the lights off, and listen to some soothing music and I promise you it will do wonders for your mind and body.  I also always bathe with Dr. Teal’s Pure Epsom Salt Soaking Solution (they have lavender and eucalyptus) and it is AMAZING.

Let go of expectations:

By now, I am sure you have been all over the internet reading up on what to expect with a newborn and all the stages your baby will go through. Also, your internet search will continue once baby arrives because you will have so many questions. The difficult thing with the internet is we tend to assume that our baby will behave the same way or what works for one baby will work for mine but truth is every baby is different and has their own little personality. When I stopped searching for answers and focused on Luke’s individual needs, I was less hard on myself and things started to fall into place. There will be moments of what the heck am I doing but ultimately you know your baby best. Your mama instinct will take over but once you let go of any expectations and embrace what is, it will get easier mentally and physically!

Eat and Drink Plenty of Water:

You probably are thinking that’s a given but trust me when you have a newborn to take care of, basic needs like eating gets put on the back burner. But you HAVE to make time. I was notorious for this. The first few weeks I think I only had dinner some days with snacks here and there. Make sure you always have quick snacks to grab and always have a water bottle nearby especially if you are nursing! One thing I wish I would have done before Luke arrived was meal prepped so I would highly recommend that. I am going to try and do this before our second man comes this June. But trust me; a little food here and there will make all the difference. Let your significant other or loved ones come over and make you dinner!

Sleep when you can:

They always say to sleep when baby sleeps but lets’ face it; this is so hard to do with a newborn. I needed to make sure Luke was breathing at all times and so I never could allow myself to get into a deep sleep. Every little noise he made, I was up and alert anyways (yes, mama ears is a sixth sense lol). It does get better and eventually you will let your guard down and you will be able to sleep. But in those early weeks, I would catch up on sleep when my husband was home and watching Luke or his parents were over watching him. So find some time to rest when you can and feel comfortable. Because believe me, with all the hormones postpartum and being exhausted on top of it is not a good combination.

These are the things that really got me through those beautiful yet tough weeks and I hope it can do the same for you. Just remember mamas, we are the world to our babies’ and they have such forgiveness so give yourself grace during those tough days and just know you are doing the best you can. <3

Related Posts: Pop on over to read my post on Postpartum Essentials: What I Didn’t Know I needed which goes over in detail about all the essentials you’ll need for your postpartum recovery.