When you are trying for a baby and you get those all-important positive results when doing a test, you life changes right then. You become so much more aware of your body and the amazing things that it is doing. You read every book or subscribe to every application about pregnancy, and you track things week by week. Those scans are exciting, the preparation is all part of the fun, and then when your baby does arrive it changes you once more.
Those first few weeks and months can often feel like a blur. One day merging into the next as you soak up that newborn bubble. Family visit, friends text, but once the initial excitement has calmed down, you are left with the baby and trying to create this whole new life and routine based around having someone else’s needs to cater for. It can be overwhelming. This is why it is so important to raise awareness of your mental health during this time. Being a new mum, or even being a second or third timer, it is still isolating, and every baby is different. Becoming a mum changes you beyond what words can describe, but there are some major benefits that you can take advantage of. Here are some of them. Hopefully it will inspire you to make some great changes in your life and to bring your family along for the ride.
1 Change your career
One of the big questions that you may be faced with now that you are a mom is wondering whether or not your career was all it was cracked up to be. Some women only have a certain amount of maternity leave before they need to head back into the workplace. Is this right for you and your baby? Of course, some people don’t have a choice, but often being a mom changes the way you see things and you decide that perhaps now might be the time to do something different. Here are some of the things that you could consider to change your career and how being a mom may help you do it.
2 Work from home and start your own business
Not everyone has the desire to leave the home after they have had a baby, work long hours and then subsequently not get to spend anytime with their little ones. It can often be the case for successful professionals when they return to work. However, why not use the skills that you have developed in your current job to start your own business? Maybe you have had an idea for some time, or perhaps since becoming a mom you have spotted a gap in the market for a product or service. So many mothers use their maternity leave to start up something from home, and have it become a real possibility that they don’t have to return back to work as it becomes their jobs. Working from home can give you greater flexibility around your family, and can often be the dream position for many mothers. You could make it your reality.
3 Use your empathy skills to help
When you become a mom you develop empathy and caring feelings like no other, and so it might be great to use this to your advantage in terms of a career. Counselling or helping people through traumatic times could now become a career option for you as you learn to listen more and empathize with certain situations, especially with things like postnatal depression. This is when getting skills and knowledge such as taking on a bs psychology online degrees could work in your favor. This could definitely be a rewarding career change, and it may work around your family such as taking on part time hours, or even looking into things such as starting your own business in this field.
4 Help other women go through pregnancy and giving birth
Lastly, you may have absolutely loved giving birth and your whole pregnancy and might want to help others have a positive experience as well. So a career change could see you doing things such as training to be a nurse or midwife, or perhaps just being a doula who is present at the birth and becomes a birthing partner for a mother to be. It could be a very rewarding role and while it can be demanding, and often requires you to work shifts, it could certainly change your life and enable you to share in the positive experiences with others.
5 You learn to prioritize
Now that you are a new mom you certainly learn how to prioritize in different ways, and so it may be worth thinking about how this could be effective when it comes to your life day to day. Not only do you ensure that your child has a schedule and routine in place, but this can also work for you as a mom as well. So here are some of the ways that you can learn to prioritize and make some changes along the way.
6 Get a cleaning schedule going
When it comes to cleaning, it can often be put on the back burner when you become a mom, and for good reason. You have other things that you want to be doing instead. However, cleaning is something that you will still need to do, so it might be worth ensuring that you do all that you can to get yourself a schedule going on. Often little by little you can come up with a plan that enables you to stay on top of things, without it being a big deal to you. There are so many different methods you can follow online that could help you get something together yourself. Whether that is tackling a different room each day, or just doing specific jobs daily to keep on top of things. You will feel better for getting things in order.
7 Meal plan and batch cook
It might be time to start thinking about a meal plan and batch cooking. This can really help you out on those days where you feel lethargic, are running on low energy and need to concentrate on your little one. Having a home cooked meal already cooked and frozen makes things so much simple, and you know you are getting a nutritious meal. It might be worth ensuring that you can meal plan which helps you to be more aware of what it is you and the family are going to eat. It helps to avoid the temptation of convenience food or take away, and also enables you to save some money on your food shop. It makes it easier to do things such as online shopping, which frees up your time for other things.
8 Become strict with the finances
Of course, part of being on maternity means that you may not be bringing in as much money as you normally do, and while this can cause you a bit of stress and worry, there are also things you can do to help you take advantage and make things a bit easier. You can prioritize and become a little stricter with the finances. Meal planning is one of the ways but you can also do things such as ensure that work on things like electricity usage and shop around for the best deals within your budget.
9 You are still you
Finally, as a new mom you are still the same person as you were before you got pregnant. While things may have changed for you, and while you may be thinking about some of the other things that have become more important in life, it is still important to take care of yourself. Here are some of the things that you can do.
10 Give yourself time for self-care
Self-care is so important as a new mom and there are many ways that you can do it. It might be as simple as a hot bath or a chance to read a book, or it could be something like getting your hair done or your nails. It might seem like a small thing, but it can make the world of difference to your mindset and how you feel.
11 Work on your mindset
On the subject of your mindset, it is also very important for you to ensure that you work on your thought process and your outlook on life. It can be easy to feel negative and down in the dumps when you have just had a baby, and this is when you can be at your most vulnerable. So take some time to be more aware of your thoughts and try and actively be more positive.
12 Make your lifestyle a focus
Finally, make your lifestyle more of a focus for you. It can all be part of your self care, but if you can, be aware of your diet and the food that you eat, how much exercise you take and also ensuring that you drink plenty of water. These may be the basics, but combined they can help you to feel so much better in yourself.
Let’s hope these tips help you when it comes to the changes you feel as a new mom.