Meeting Your “New Mom” Needs

Integrating your baby in your life while meeting your “new mom” needs can be tricky. Everyone wants to be part of those first few weeks, but quickly lose interest after the first month. Check on your new mom friends after week four, and you’ll find some of them chomping at the bit to “feel normal again.” Incorporating that balance will take time.

Finding something that can help improve your new daily regimen AND keep your baby with you can be challenging. As a new mom, you’re always looking for a small window of opportunity to duck out and exercise, meet friends for lunch, groom at the hairdresser, read a book, run to the store or take a bath without 487 interruptions. It becomes especially important when your health could be suffering; physically or emotionally. We all need a little “me time” to keep the baby blues from enveloping us.

 Not everyone has enough supportive family or friends close by to watch the baby while you do what is needed to meet your “new mom” needs. There are a few creative ways to include the baby in your lunch, hairdresser, store run, book (you could read your adult book out loud), or bath, but exercise can be tricky. You could incorporate your routine around a sleeping baby, but that could backfire when you are finally feeling the benefits. It helps if you have an older child who is capable of watching the baby for an hour in another room. Alas, even that can be iffy when the sibling is having a rough day while trying to meet your “new mom” needs.

Mommy and Me to Meet Your Needs

 I highly recommend going to playgroups, mommy, and me, breastfeeding support groups, postpartum depression groups, or anything tangible in your area! You can bring the baby and talk to other moms who are in a similar situation. It’s evident that many of you are in online mom groups, but let’s be honest, these people could be robots for all you know. Getting out, having human interaction, and having your little one be around other children is a win-win for everyone.

Some of these groups could integrate exercise for adults as well. Imagine a place you could bring your baby and dance, swim, or exercise together? This setting has you both enjoying oxytocin (the feel-good hormone) while benefiting from feeling better about your body. Postnatal yoga is the perfect fit. You can’t go wrong with a class that incorporates a brand new mother and her newborn baby. Besides where else can you sit and breastfeed at any given moment, without concern. There is no pressure or rush to catch up with the other moms and everyone is equally exhausted in this group. If you’ve never done yoga before, relax, this is the least judgmental place to learn.

Postpartum Yoga for Balance

Curious but uncertain if yoga is for YOU? Maybe you’ve heard that it has a hippie vibe, it’s too spiritual, too witch crafty or too alternative? On the other hand, perhaps you’re a hardcore bodybuilder/gym rat/fitness buff/runner, and practicing yoga doesn’t look challenging enough. Whatever speculation you’ve had about this ancient practice put aside and open your mind. You are looking for a connection with your new body and this is a perfect fit to meet your “new mom” needs. As it stands now, yoga is trending and may come up in conversation. You may hear phrases that sound too good to be true, questioning, and doubting all the buildup to a physical fitness practice that appears wimpy in style. Also, wondering if this is the activity that will be good enough for you and your baby comfortably.

Disciplines

 This tradition is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual disciplines, breaking the barriers of all other types of conditioning. No additional training tests your mind, heart, and spirit the way a traditional yoga class can. Each style has different advantages for improving wellness. Be sure to check them all out: Hatha, Iyengar, Kundalini, Ashtanga, Vinyasa, Bikram, Yin, and Restorative, to name a few. Most of these can be adapted to fit a mom and baby in the group, but seeking an actual postpartum yoga class is most beneficial. Start with the basics and work your way up, or enjoy how good you feel after a class that you didn’t need to leave your baby to profit.

Benefits of postpartum (or anytime) yoga that you may find surprising:

Perhaps the most important and overlooked perk is the sense of community, building your mom tribe. When you leave your ego at the door and immerse yourself in deepening your yoga practice and mommy skills, with and without baby, it’s easy to find your tribe. Yogis are typically noble people who share the same goals: self-improvement, inside and out. So, the next time you’re considering between a postpartum yoga class or weight lifting, perchance, you’ll put all the rumors aside and remember that yogis can kick butt too: spiritually, mentally, and physically- even in the pre and postpartum realm.

Happy Parenting!