Free Time For Mom
A new mother will initially notice is that there is not very much downtime. As a stay at home mom, free time is something that must be optimized in order to get the most of those few minutes that your baby is self-entertaining or those few hours that he or she is sleeping.
There are two thoughts that come to mind when a mom has free time: personal upkeep and house chores. You simply cannot take a relaxing bath with your baby awake, nor can you make a good meal with the help of a screaming baby in the background. With that in mind, you must prioritize what you plan to do during these very few and precious moments.
There is an old saying 'if momma isn't happy; no one is happy.' This rings true especially for a new mother. If mother does not feel good, then more than likely the baby is going to be grumpy as well. That being the case, you must focus on yourself before getting any of the housework out of the way. Here is a checklist of things that should perk you up when you are feeling a little less than the best:
- take a soothing bubble bath
- polish your finger nails and toe nails
- take a nap
- curl up to a good book
- call a friend
- enjoy a quiet meal by yourself
- fix your hair
- put on some makeup
- pop in a workout or a yoga session
Anything that you can do for yourself that will take the focus off of your baby for a little while and put the focus on you, will make you feel a little bit better. Sometimes new mothers get so use to focusing on their new baby that they forget to focus on themselves. This can lead to feelings of sadness or it can make you feel overlooked.
After you have focused on yourself, then you can focus on what needs to be done around the house. While your baby is napping or focused on something else besides you, there is a golden opportunity to do some chores around the house that do not cause much noise such as:
- sweeping the floors
- mopping the floors
- putting dinner together
- washing clothes
- folding clothes
- ironing
As a new mother, it is good to keep things in perspective. If all of the housework is not finished at the end of the day, it is okay to tell yourself that you can do it tomorrow. Your goal for the day should always be to care for your baby and for yourself. Everything else will fall into place eventually. By keeping this in mind, you can avoid becoming overwhelmed or the possibility of suffering from postpartum depression. If feelings of sadness or overwhelming thoughts begin to cross your mind, contact your healthcare professional.
