Stress

Congratulations! You might be pregnant or have just had a baby. If you have time to read this, you’re lucky! There’s nothing more amazing than having just given birth. Then why don’t you always feel great?

Well, even the best things in life come with some stress. Everyone is excited to have a child. You’ve had a lot of customers almost since the moment you opened. If you’re a first-time mom, hospitals don’t give you much help or advice. Instead, they send you home with a new baby who has a lot of different needs that you have to figure out. And kids don’t sleep much at first. At least not long enough for you to get the rest you need.

Add to that the fact that your body’s hormones are changing, and you have a recipe for stress. Sometimes you feel like you’ll never sleep through the night again. Most likely, not until the baby gets into a routine.

Here are some tips to help you get at least a little more sleep during those first few weeks and months.

Don’t try to be a “supermom” first. Take a short nap when the baby goes down for a nap. Both the clothes and the dishes can wait. You don’t have to have the best house in the world. All of that will happen in its own time, so take a break whenever you can.

If you have a good friend or family member who can help you out for an afternoon, you should definitely take advantage of that. If Grandma could have the baby all to herself for a few hours, she would probably jump at the chance.

Take some time to calm down and unwind after you put the baby to bed for the night. This will help you fall asleep faster. Take a lavender-scented bath, put on some soft music, and be a little gentle with yourself. Even without a new baby, it can be hard to fall asleep right away. There are a lot of new things to learn.