Ready, set, go! Somehow that’s how it seems when you are preparing to be a mom. You spend 9 months getting ready, you plan, you prep and then you wait. And wait. And wait some more. And if you’re lucky your baby will be on time, or a few days early even. That’s when the fun really begins.

Once you hold that precious baby, all that prepping and planning seems to go out the window. You realize, along with the baby, you have been handed the title of “mom”. And let me tell you that there is no amount of planning that can prepare for this job.

For myself, I loved being a mom. It finally felt like me, the job I was made for. That being said, there were some hard days and long nights (or short, depending how you look at it). There were times when I ran the dishwasher at 3am after a feeding because that’s when I remembered it needed done!

There are some things that can help in those first few months when you feel overwhelmed. These are the tips I found helped me adjust to the new person I became.

Trust Yourself

This is something I read in the first few weeks and it helped me immensely. Take a deep breath, calm yourself down and trust your mom gut. You know your baby better than anyone. Reflect on what is going on and what you know will or will not work. Don’t allow yourself to panic, usually there is a solution to whatever is going on.

Do What You Can

You’ll have read this many times. Rest when you can, chores will get done eventually…. This frustrated me because some things pile up if you don’t do them everyday. I had a kid who went through 3-4 outfits, 15+ face cloths and multiple receiving blankets in a single day. This meant laundry. Every. Single. Day.

But you know what? I could do that. I could! I worked it into our daily routine so it got done. Same with vacuuming and cooking meals. When I started small, ensuring one task got done, then I could add other things as well until I was comfortable balancing the daily routine with my little one.

Drink Plenty of Water

When I was in the hospital after E was born, the nurse advised I drink 4L a day to ensure I kept up my milk supply. I made it my mission to ensure that I drank as much water as I could. I filled 3-4 water bottles every morning so they were ready to go and often refilled during the day.

By the summer I was drinking 5-6L a day. I kid you not. And no I wasn’t peeing every 30 minutes either. My body needed it, so I drank and drank and drank.

Staying hydrated is so important whether you’re nursing or not. Often we feel run down, tired and even hungry because we need fluids. So be sure to keep your water close by at all times!

Not Every Day is Good but There is Good in Every Day

I would say this to myself when we were having a rough day. And at the end of the day I would stop and reflect on the good things that happened. Sure E had a massive poopsplosion all over my pants but it missed the couch so, that’s a win! And so often that’s what it’s all about, focusing on the good things. They may be small but they are there and more than likely the next day is going to be a day of smooth sailing.

Finally, It’s Just a Stage

This one hits home a little hard. Sometimes I would get so frustrated with E, especially around bedtime. It could be an hour of singing and rocking to get him to sleep. But then I would watch as he did sleep, look at how peaceful and small he was and remember that one day in the not so distant future he wouldn’t need me to go to sleep.

The stages all come and go. Some we are glad to wave goodbye to and some we want to keep forever. That’s the joy of being a parent. So if you are struggling there is a light at the end of tunnel, it is a stage! But don’t forget that the newborn becomes a crawler and the crawler a walker and those stages go by way too fast.

Hopefully these tips have resonated with you, whether as an “aha” moment or you nodded your head in having experienced this! Being a new mom (first time or mom of multiples) has so many challenges. It’s a complex job that requires patience while surviving off minimal sleep and possibly no shower for the day. But fear not! You can do it!

As always there is support if you need it. Postpartum care and being a “mom” is as much about your baby as it is about you. You don’t have to do it alone. So reach out if you are feeling overwhelmed!

Thanks for reading – Little bit of Lavender