Being pregnant and having a baby is the dream of many women all over the world, and it’s not just because of societal pressure to jump on the baby bandwagon. At some point, maternal instincts kick in, and you can start taking your first steps towards becoming a mother.
Your pregnancy, just like mine, will have its highs and its lows, but after giving birth, you expect everything to return to normal. The thing is, though, things will never be ‘normal’ again, but this isn’t a bad thing; it’s merely a new chapter in your life.
A lot of women struggle with coming to terms with this, though. After having a baby, you might feel strange, a little off, not yourself. It’s easy to worry about this, but you don’t need to. Here are a few ways to get back to feeling like yourself after pregnancy that helped me a lot when I had George. I plan on implementing them for round 2! Remember every woman will be different in how she recovers!
Deal with the Stretch Marks
Over 90% of women will experience stretch marks after pregnancy, and while some of them will wear them like a badge of pride, others want to get rid of them as soon as they can.
New mothers can check out The 11 Best Ways To Heal Pregnancy Stretch Marks After Giving Birth, to give them a safe and secure solution. Doing this can help boost your confidence and get you back to feeling like your body is yours once again.
However, if you are not concerned with your stretch marks, then that’s okay too. Maybe you want to own them, and even if you aren’t going around showing them off, it’s a sign that you are a mother who has worked hard for their baby.
Take a Date Night
Becoming parents means that you pretty much lose all privacy and time for yourselves, and this can put a strain on your relationship with your partner. Because of this, it’s essential to make sure you find time for one another.
One way to do this is to take a date night once the dust has settled. Date night gives you both the chance to reconnect with one another and enjoy precious time together that you’ve missed out on recently.
Tensions may be high at home with a lack of sleep and an abundance of stress, but taking each other out for dinner, watching a movie, or catching a show will help put everything back into perspective.
Get Back to the Gym
Pregnancy runs roughshod on your body, and unless you’re an alien or celebrity with on-hand personal trainers the moment you leave the hospital, you won’t look like you did before getting pregnant. But this is okay; it happens to everyone.
Still, if you want to get back to how you were before, then getting back (or merely joining) the gym and embracing the benefits of exercise is a fantastic way to do so.
Exercise will flood your body with positive chemicals that improve your mood, make you happier, and also give you the energy you need for those sleepless nights when your baby can’t get to sleep.
Talk to Somebody
No one can do motherhood alone, and this is why it’s okay, encouraged, even, to ask for help whenever you need it. You can get advice from online or local mothering communities, you can talk to friends about your and their experiences, and you can seek support from your partner.
There will be a lot of conflicting advice pushed your way, and you’re under no obligation to follow all of it. Instead, consider what is best for your baby and you. You don’t need to follow any advice at all, and often just being able to talk about your experiences is enough to take a load off your mind. With this being said, you will most definitely get a lot of unsolicited advice as well! 🙂
Forget the Guilt
Many new mothers will feel guilty that they are not able to be there for their child all of the time. They will think that everything they do is wrong and that they are a terrible mother. They will feel guilty for not being good enough and as if they don’t deserve motherhood.
You must understand this is not true.
If you want to be the best mother you can, you must let go of and forget the guilt, as this will only wreak havoc on your mental wellbeing and your ability to be a parent. If you are ever overwhelmed, don’t be afraid to delegate parenting tasks to others, too, and don’t feel guilty about it! One part of motherhood I felt guilty about was supplementing formula. This time around I am vowing to myself not to give in to those feelings! Fed is best regardless of how you choose to feed your little one.
Treasure the Precious Moments
Everything happens so fast after having a baby that it can be challenging to slow down and enjoy the moment. From the moment you give birth, though, there will be hundreds of firsts every day. There will be the first laugh, the first diaper change, the first wide-eyed amazement when you play your baby your favorite song.
It’s crucial to treasure these moments, whether it’s through taking pictures or videos or making notes of them in a baby scrapbook. Some moments may be hard, but if you keep up with what you’re grateful for about motherhood, you’ll manage to enjoy it much more. One thing my husband did after George was born was to create a separate email account that we could send all of G’s photos and videos to just to make sure we always have them!
Don’t Rush Anything
If you plan on being a working mother, you may be itching to get back to work and help contribute to your new family, but returning to work too soon isn’t always beneficial, and it’s something you might regret more than you expect. I’m so glad I took 3 months off work when I had George before I started blogging and teaching again. Those are 3 months I will never get back and I have fond memories of them.
Rushing back to your life before motherhood means you risk missing out on those precious firsts, and even if you think you’re ready, you may find yourself missing your child in more extreme ways than you first thought. The early weeks and months of your baby’s life are crucial to their development, so wouldn’t you rather be there with them to ensure everything goes smoothly.
A New and Improved You
Feeling yourself after pregnancy is never a quick fix. It takes time to start feeling good again. Giving birth and the early weeks and months of parenthood can be a challenge, but you must manage to balance your newfound motherhood with enough self-care to help you get back to being yourself in no time so that you can love and care for your child for many years to come.
