The last thing on your mind, when you have a newborn—is yourself. There is a whole new world that you have to transition into, and a spa day doesn’t quite make the cut just yet.
There are feedings, cries, dirty diapers, and a baby you have at the forefront of your mind.
But the thing is, the more you fill your cup, the more you will be able to give to others too.
The most important thing as a new mom is to remember that you need some time for yourself too.
It might not be easy and it can get a little messy between multitasking and asking for help, but I encourage you to make this time for yourself—every single day.
Try to fit it in, whenever you can. Whether it’s early in the morning, nap time, or when your baby goes to sleep at night—ask your spouse, loved one, a family member, or friend for an hour break. It’s vital for your physical, mental, and emotional health.
What Is Postpartum Self-Care?
Self-care is a proactive practice we perform in order to take care of our mental, emotional, and physical health. It doesn’t have to be extensive, expensive, or even a time-consuming process. You have to find different actions and habits that help you maintain a healthy relationship with yourself, which helps to support better moods, positive emotions, increased confidence, and self-esteem.
Why Is Postpartum Self-Care Important?
I’m someone who often struggles with putting myself first, so I understand the resistance you may feel to accepting the importance of self-care and taking time for yourself. But I have to share how much my life changed from the inside out when I started loving myself and leaning into taking care of myself first and foremost!
This is for you. Not your children. Not your family. For you. Because you, my dear mama friend, are worth it! You are enough.
And you are the person you were created to be, to birth your babies, and to have relationships full of love. But it starts with filling yourself up from the inside out.
10 Best Postpartum Self-Care Ideas
These simple, but powerful practices can help you find yourself during the beautiful, messy, and chaotic journey of motherhood.
Try to practice whatever you can daily. And if these don’t resonate with you, do a little digging until you find some self-care practices that do.
1. Daily Me Time
Do one thing for yourself every day, and try to do it alone.
I know this might not be easy with a newborn and in the busyness of life, but schedule time every day just for you. Even if it’s just for 5 minutes.
Fill yourself up so you can give love to others. What can you do for yourself today that will make you feel special and ignite your inner joy?
2. Move Your Body
My number one reason I exercise is for my inner health and to reduce stress. My workouts are my stress and anxiety relief. They’ve transformed my life and have become a part of my daily routine. I work out with my kids because they love to be involved, but if working out while your child naps is that special time for you, get it, mama!
Just be careful during postpartum recovery because you only want to engage in light exercises (if at all) in the months after birth. Stretching and gentle yoga is your best bet to stay safe. Always refer to a certified professional for postpartum exercising techniques and guidance.
3. Practice Mindful Nutrition and Drink Water
Taking care of your holistic health and wellness helps to increase energy levels, improve mental health and mood, and enhance preventative health. Exercise, eating well, and good water intake are vital for good holistic health.
Try to aim to drink half your body weight in ounces every day. Bring more attention to mindful eating. Eat when you are hungry and stop when you are full. Focus on a spectrum of food groups, and think about veggies the most!
A clinical study notes that during the postpartum period, women should adequately rest whilst also eating nutritious food and extra supplementation to aid healing.¹
4. Delegate Tasks
It really does take a village, mama. If you try to do it all, you are setting yourself up for burnout, resentment, and frustration. If possible, ask your spouse or a family member for half an hour alone a day while they play with the baby.
Create a chore schedule with your family and designate tasks for each person in the household.
Ask a loved one to prepare a couple of meals that you can put in your freezer for those days that you just need a quick meal without fuss and preparation.
Choose those tasks that you really can avoid or neglect, and find a way to delegate them to those who are willing to help.
If you’d like to learn more time-saving tips and productivity hacks, read my blog post here.
And if you’d like to learn more about the signs of motherhood burnout and recovery tips, then check out my blog article here.
5. Ground Yourself
Gratitude: First thing in the morning or right before bed, try to journal 3 things that you are grateful for. Gratitude helps you focus on what is going well in life and leads you back to loving kindness, and abundance, whilst helping to increase overall happiness.
Positive Affirmations: Your thoughts are yours and you have the power to change them. Write down your favorite positive affirmations onto post-it notes and put them in important places around your home.
Meditation: You have 6000-8000 thoughts a day. And on top of that, the world is a busy place with everything trying to steal your focus and attention. Try to take at least 5 minutes a day to breathe, decompress, and meditate. You can also use this time to pray if it resonates.
Personal Development: Reading books on personal growth or listening to personal development podcasts can help to shift your mindset and align your frequency to abundance.
6. Sleep
If you are mentally exhausted, running on empty, on edge, or feeling foggy, you may need a day to choose sleep over everything else. And that’s ok!
Honor your body’s need for sleep—the cleaning, laundry, texts, emails, and cooking can wait.
A clinical study shows that women with postpartum depression are likely to experience disturbed sleep.² So, if you’re experiencing postpartum depression or postpartum anxiety, don’t hesitate to reach out to your trusted medical healthcare professional for guidance and support.
7. Let Go
Begin your journey of letting go of any pain, hurt, anger, or trauma that you’re holding onto. Start your own personal healing journey. Ignore the expectations, opinions, and things that you can’t control.
8. Power Down Your Electronics
Have time throughout the day (or an entire part of your day) free from electronics.
Bring yourself into the present moment and allow yourself to think without all the white noise clouding your thoughts and mind.
9. Take An Extra 5-Er In The Bathroom
I love taking sneaky 5-ers in the bathroom! Sometimes I feel like being in the bathroom is one of the only places where I can escape the noise from the rest of my house. If you need to, take some time for you in the bathroom to breathe.
10. Start A Journal
Journalling is such a great practice to help clear your mind and organize your thoughts. You can journal your strengths, weaknesses, wins, and challenges. If you need some tips and journaling prompts, be sure to download my freebie below.
Conclusion
What are your favorite postpartum self-care practices? Are there any that I missed? Let me know in the comments!
*Affiliate Disclaimer: I only ever endorse products or programs that I have personally used and benefited from. This post may contain affiliate links which means I’d receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase using my links. If you do make a purchase – thank you for helping to support my family through my blog!
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