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Having a newborn can cause many emotions, from excitement to stress to happiness. Here are some ways you can reduce stress if you’re a new mom.
If you’re a new mom, and you’re feeling overwhelmed or stressed, you’re not alone. Many new moms feel overwhelmed. They often question everything, like whether they’re feeding their baby enough or whether their social life will change.
These feelings are normal, and you can take steps to help manage the stress of being a new mom. With a solid support system and a helping hand, you don’t have to go through this alone. Here are effective ways to reduce stress as a new mom.
Learn Your Signs of Stress
When times are overwhelming and stressful, we may notice our blood pressure rises and heart rate speeds up, or we may have migraines. Or stress can be more emotional and feel like anger or sadness.
You must learn to notice the physical and emotional signs of stress in your body. These signs are your body warning you. Once you notice your stress symptoms, you can calm yourself down before the feeling gets worse.
Exercise With Your Family
Pick an activity that you and your family enjoy doing. Make an effort to do something fun and enjoyable every day or every week. You can walk around the park or neighborhood, go jogging with the stroller, or take a dip in the pool. By doing these family activities, you can get out of the house and release stress physically.
Find a Good Support System
An effective way to reduce stress as a new mom is to surround yourself with love and support. Having a solid support system with people who have been through childbirth and raising a newborn can give you a better perspective, wisdom, and advice.
You want this group to be people you’re comfortable being vulnerable with so you can share your true feelings.
Take Time To Relax and Release
It may seem silly to think about relaxing at a time like this, but taking 5 to 10 minutes to yourself to cry, lay down, or sit in silence can help your situation.
Stress can be overwhelming and cause physical and mental health issues if not addressed. If you have a support system, ask someone you trust to help watch your baby while you take a self-care morning or afternoon.
During self-care, take the time to get a massage to relieve stress migraines, buy yourself a new top, and eat in peace—you deserve it.
A new baby is a wonderful and exciting thing, but it can also be overwhelming. You may notice that you’re more tired than you were before pregnancy, which can be frustrating since sleep deprivation isn’t exactly a welcome addition to your life.
Plus, there are many other factors at play when dealing with the stress of being a new mom—from figuring out how to balance work and baby care while still maintaining some semblance of self-care (and sanity) to getting used to having less alone time than ever before—that can make it difficult to balance everything in your life right now.
So what’s a new mom supposed to do about all this stress? The good news is that there are lots of ways to reduce your stress levels as a new parent! Here are some easy ways you can start taking care of yourself today:
Try to incorporate movement into your day
As a new mom, you’re likely going to be spending a lot of time sitting down. Whether it’s on your couch or in your car, chances are that you’re not moving around much.
To combat the effects of this sedentary lifestyle, try to incorporate some movement into your day. Go for a walk; get up and move around every once in a while (if it’s safe to do so).
Take time out for you each day
It may be tempting to throw yourself into your child’s life and forget about taking time out to care for yourself, but it’s important to set aside some time each day that is just for you.
Try going for a walk or doing something you enjoy, like reading or listening to music. You can also take a bath and relax with some candles or light-scented oils. Spending quality time with yourself will help reduce stress and make sure that you don’t burn out as a new mom!
Make sure you’re taking care of basic needs
It’s important to remember that you are still a person. You have basic needs, and it’s okay to take care of those.
Eat healthy foods and make sure you’re getting enough sleep. If your baby is sleeping for long periods of time, don’t feel guilty about giving yourself some time off from him or her. If he or she is nursing frequently (or feeding on demand), making sure that you get enough rest might be difficult—but it’s vital for both of your health!
Make sure you’re drinking plenty of water, too; dehydration can increase stress levels, which can in turn lead to other problems like headaches and nausea. Your body needs more fluids when pregnant and breastfeeding than at other times in order to help keep the baby healthy as well as yourself!
Breathe
Breathe. When you’re feeling stressed, your breath gets shorter and faster. This can exacerbate the problem because it causes your body to produce more adrenaline, which can lead to anxiety and insomnia if not controlled. To keep from spiraling out of control, take five minutes every hour or so to focus on your breathing. Breathe in for a count of five, hold for two counts, and breathe out for seven counts (the same as saying the word “one”). If this feels difficult at first—or if you’re an anxious person who has trouble focusing on anything besides your breathing—try doing it while putting one hand on top of another or closing your eyes so you have an easier time concentrating.
Take time outs throughout the day. If possible, try taking breaks away from home during each day—even if only for 15 minutes—to give yourself some relief from having constant responsibility over others’ lives (and yours).
During these breaks: walk around outside instead of sitting down; play music through headphones; go somewhere else where there are other people around; take a nap; drink some water; do something creative like painting or writing poetry in a journal like this; read something fun but not too serious.
Get support for yourself and your baby
Below are some ways to get support for yourself and your baby:
- Talk to your partner and family. They can help you figure out how to manage the stress of a new baby.
- Get a babysitter so that you and your partner can have time alone or go out together without having to worry about who is watching the baby. This may relieve some of your stress.
- Join a support group for new moms who are having trouble coping with the demands of parenting and being a new mom. You can meet other people in similar situations and talk about what works well for them, as well as share any problems they might have had that you can learn from too! Support groups are often run by doctors, therapists (counselors), nurses or other health professionals, so it’s also important to remember that finding them shouldn’t cost anything but might actually save money because going out less means spending less on entertainment activities like movies/concerts/etcetera…
Let go of perfectionism
Letting go of perfectionism is a great way to reduce stress as a new mom.
Perfectionism is often associated with high levels of anxiety and depression, and it can be especially damaging when you’re dealing with the challenges that come with parenting. A study published in the Journal of Counseling Psychology found that perfectionists who parent may be at a higher risk for postpartum depression compared to those who don’t have such rigid behavioral standards for themselves.
Another study from Notre Dame showed that mothers who identified as being highly conscientious about parenting were more likely to experience high levels of stress after their children were born than those who were less conscientious about their roles as moms.
However, if you want to reduce your stress level, letting go or minimizing your perfectionist tendencies might be one way to go about it. Here’s how:
There are easy ways to take care of yourself and reduce stress
Now that you’ve got a handle on the basic necessities and know how to take care of yourself, it’s time to focus on reducing stress.
There are plenty of ways to do this, from taking time out for yourself to making sure that you’re eating well. Here are some tips for handling the stresses of motherhood:
- Take time out for yourself. It can be difficult as a new mom, but try not to let work or household responsibilities be your only focus in life. Take time out for yourself every day—even if it’s just 20 minutes—and make sure that you’re doing things that make you happy!
- Make sure that your dietary needs are being met. Hunger can lead to crankiness and irritability, which will only increase your stress levels as a new mom! Make sure that meals don’t get skipped due to lack of planning—it may be helpful to plan ahead so there is always something ready when hunger strikes!
- Relax whenever possible; don’t overdo it though because then stress levels could potentially skyrocket even higher than before (which isn’t good)! This means taking care not just physically but emotionally too by allowing oneself enough downtime so they won’t feel overwhelmed by what’s going on around them all day long – especially since sleep deprivation tends occur quite often during those early stages after birth due mostly because newborns require constant attention plus feeding multiple times throughout each day throughout theirs lives thus causing fatigue even if one doesn’t intend too until later years at least anyway such as when their children reach school age
