Posted by Ideal Baby to
New Moms
After giving birth, a mother receives a lot of advice when it comes to raising their newborn baby. They are told which diapers they should use in order to avoid rashes, why breastmilk is better than formulas, or which milk formula is best if they can’t breastfeed, and so on.
But what about the mom?
Childbirth can be a very grueling endeavor for any mother, most especially for the first-time mom. Labor demands a lot of their physical, emotional, and psychological energy. Needless to say, it is crucial that they take extra care of themselves afterwards. But between feeding the baby, keeping the house in order, entertaining well-wishers, and being wife to her husband, she sometimes forgets to take care of herself.
Being sleep deprived is quite common for new mothers, especially with a baby that requires more of their time and attention. However, it is a fact that lack of sleep is detrimental to the recovery of the new mom, and can cause a variety of complications that puts the mother’s life at risk like heavy bleeding, breast infections, and postpartum depression. Enough sleep and proper rest can greatly help in keeping them physically and emotionally healthy so as to combat the issues that accompany childbirth.
It can be difficult to catch some shuteye especially with a new baby in house, considering all the crying that ensues after every few hours. Fortunately, this can be worked around with.
First is to get her husband’s cooperation. He, of all people should understand how much her wife needs to rest. She can ask him to commit to helping with the baby by taking turns when it comes to feeding and putting the baby to sleep. If both husband and wife find it hard to balance the responsibility of raising the child, perhaps they should consider to have their in-laws step in.
Then, she can always try to get some sleep once the baby falls asleep. It can be very tempting to put the baby in the crib and sit there watching the little angel snooze. This is quite normal since most new mothers are worried that they may not wake up when their baby does. But as a new mom, they are hardwired to hear the baby cry even when they’re asleep. Alternatively, a new mom can always use a baby monitor so she can hear her baby even if she’s in the bedroom.
It’s also tempting for the new mom to put the house in order and do some small tasks on the side while the baby is asleep. While some new mothers may manage to do this, it would be better for her to just let things be and drift into dreamland as her baby does. When she’s rested well (and not cranky), she’ll have more energy to spare to do the chores that needed doing when she wakes up again.