Self-care is more than a buzzword embraced by the health and wellness industry. It’s a way of life and something that many women have yet to explore entirely. Now that you’ve given birth and gotten used to having a little one around full-time, taking the time to listen to your needs as a person, mother, and woman is imperative to good health. It promotes a greater sense of self which can be reassuring to other people, too.
If you’ve put your needs on the back burner long enough, it’s time to do something about that for good. Self-care isn’t selfish. It’s vital to your overall well-being. It can improve your life significantly and make you a better parent.
Five self-care ideas to add to your daily routine as a new mom include:
- Practice mindfulness. It’s easy to be on autopilot, especially now that you have someone else to look after. Mindfulness brings you back to center by grounding you. It allows you to move slowly through your day and notice the things going on in and around you. Children grow up way too fast. In a blink of an eye, your baby will be a toddler. Enjoy the precious fleeting moments of parenting an infant.
- Express gratitude for your blessings and experiences. Being grateful has its advantages. It allows you to see the good in your life mindfully. It helps you recognize all of the blessings and positive experiences you’ve had to date. Cultivating an attitude of gratitude makes it possible for you to usher more good things into your life. You can express thankfulness out loud or record it in a gratitude journal that you look back at throughout the years.
- Treat your body with TLC. A lack of sleep, poor nutritional habits, and limited stress relief take their toll on you physically. Give your body the time and attention it deserves by scheduling time away from your little one. It doesn’t need to be hours or days to be effective. Even 10 minutes of me-time can be highly beneficial for new moms like you.
- Learn to ask for help with your baby. You can give up some control by asking trusted adults for assistance. They can provide you with a much-needed break when you need one the most. When you ask family and friends to watch your child while you take a bath or run an errand, you’re learning that it’s ok to do so. You can ask for assistance, take care of your needs, and care for your little one better.
- Rest whenever you can. Naps are hard to come by when you’re nursing or waking up to comfort a crying baby. Still, you should sleep while you have the chance. You must be well-rested because if you aren’t, you could fall asleep while driving or taking care of your child. When you have someone you trust to assist you with caring for your infant, use the time to catch some zzzs.
It may be challenging to put your needs ahead of your child’s, especially when they’re 100 percent dependent on you. That doesn’t mean that you can’t overcome the physical and emotional challenge of it, though. The better you take care of yourself, the more capable you are of providing excellent care to others. It applies to your child, too.
Being of sound mind and body means that you’ve tuned into your needs and are able to take care of them in every way possible. The list above serves as a starting point for your self-care routine. As you become more comfortable with the idea of caring for yourself and your baby, you can start adding more ideas to your to-do list. That way, you’re never without ideas that benefit you physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, financially, creatively, and socially.