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Guest Blog Article by Jenna Sherman of Parent Leaders
Breastfeeding Mamas have so much on their plate. While it provides opportunities for Mamas to bond with their babies, it is of hard work. To produce the milk your baby needs to stay healthy and strong, you need to take good care of yourself. Finding the time to do so when you are also getting used to life as a new mom can be stressful, but keeping these self-care tips from Band of Mamas in mind can help.
Be Kind and Compassionate to Yourself
The life of any new mom can be so challenging, but adjusting to motherhood is enough to leave anyone feeling over-stressed and overwhelmed. Compassion and patience can go a long way in preserving your health and well-being.
Getting dressed in comfortable and soft clothing can be a perfect way to show yourself a little more compassion and love. Consider options that will also make it easy to breastfeed. You can find nursing bras to keep you comfy at home and leggings to help you look your best if you do venture out in public.
Another way to lower your stress level is to keep an organized and clean home. Decluttering can relieve tension and make you feel more positive. You can hire a cleaning service or professional organizer to help.
Know That It’s Okay to Ask for Support
Another essential part of exercising self-compassion is knowing when to ask for help from your network of support and the community. You can also look for tips and advice from online breastfeeding support groups. There are quite a few popular groups you can join. You’ll find priceless hacks for everything from helping your baby latch to exercising your rights to pump at work. These groups can also be useful when you need a little self-esteem boost or pep talk to get through the day.
Don’t Over Stress About Diet Choices
Be mindful as you enter support groups. Without question, you will run into a million different tips on what you should and shouldn’t be eating while breastfeeding. If it feels overwhelming, put your phone down! Honestly, though, keeping your diet balanced is what’s most important and there are only a handful of food rules you should follow to keep yourself and your baby healthy. Staying hydrated and understanding limits around alcohol consumption top the list.
You will want to include plenty of nourishing veggies and, of course, comfort foods while you heal from delivery. It is normal to deal with the stress of nursing. Additionally, using simple recipes to whip up batches of stews and soups is can nourish your body.
Be Gentle With Your Healing Body
Many new mothers also stress about diet while breastfeeding. The stigma surrounds weight gain and immediate loss; however, your body is healing from an intense process. So while some gentle movements can give you more energy and reduce stress during those initial weeks and months, you may need to avoid heavy exercise for some time.
That’s okay though because breastfeeding does indeed burn calories! Many new moms will burn an additional 425 to 700 calories each day they breastfeed. There’s also some research that suggests breastfeeding releases hormones that can help tone abdominal muscles but try not to let yourself get overwhelmed by the changes in your body. Your body is doing so many amazing things, so be gentle with yourself as you heal.
Whether you breastfeed or not, taking care of yourself is just so important right now. After all, you can’t keep pouring the love and care your baby needs when your own self-care cup is empty. So make time to comfort and nourish your body and mind.
There is so much
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