Congratulations, Mama! Welcome to a love like you’ve never known before.
Becoming a mama is such a magical experience. But, don’t get us wrong, it can also be exhausting, isolating, messy and so, so hard. Here are our top five tips that we would have loved to hear as first time mamas:
- There is a reason that the saying ‘it takes a village’ exists. Find your village and lean on them! Accept the meals, take a nap while they snuggle your baby, and ask them to clean your bathroom for you. No one benefits from you trying to do this alone.
- For us, our fellow mama friends played a HUGE part in our postpartum journey. They were our shoulder to cry on, someone to bounce ideas and questions off (does this poo look normal to you?), and the person replying to our 3am messages so those feeds didn’t feel so lonely. Mamahood isn’t so isolating if you surround yourself with fellow mamas who are right there in the trenches with you. Join your local mamas’ group, reach out to people you know having a baby around the same time as you, or join an app like Peanut to make some new mama friends..
- Invest your money in ready to eat nourishing and nutritious food for those first few weeks at home with your new baby (money way better spent than the 20 swaddles and 50 newborn outfits that feel like such a necessity when you’re pregnant - we promise you won’t use them all!).
- Reach out for professional help when things get too hard and don’t try to tough it out. There’s a reason cabin crew tell you to put your own oxygen mask on first before assisting others.
- Educate yourself on all of your feeding options. Whether you choose to bottle feeding or breastfeeding some prior education can really help during those early days. Remember: breastfeeding is a learned skill and shouldn’t be painful! If your having trouble reach out to a IBCLC, some may even come to visit you in those early days.
We hope that some of these tips help you, Mama. Do you have any tips for first time mamas we might have missed? Help us share the love with our Dear Mamahood community by emailing us at hello@dearmamastore.com.
With love,
The Dear Mamas xx