The nine months of pregnancy can be tough on moms, as the body and mind changes constantly to prepare for the upcoming birth. Once the baby is born though, your system will try to change back to its former self, but unless you put in some conscious effort, that process of changing back will be slow and partial at best. Besides, you will also need to tend to a newborn now, which is more work than most first time moms are ever prepared for! That is not to say that having a baby isn’t rewarding of course, because motherhood is one of the most rewarding experiences in the world. Nevertheless, it can be hard to deal with everything at times.
Now, the question which most new moms wonder about is this; is it possible to get back to your former self after giving birth all while catering to the newborn’s needs through sleepless nights? Thankfully, the answer is yes, although you will need to know how that can be done, and take intelligent steps towards making it happen.
Beauty Sleep
Losing sleep is often the hardest part of being a new mother, but it is inevitable to a degree. However, since sleeping is absolutely necessary to regenerate both your mind and body, losing out on it for long stretches at a time is not an option if you don’t want to look ten years older than you actually are!
In fact, losing sleep is a huge reason why post-pregnancy recovery takes so much time and moms end up looking worse than they should. To make sure that you get your eight-hours in even when there’s a newborn crying all day and all night, try the following strategies:
- Sleep whenever you can and stop worrying about sleeping at odd times
- Babies sleep for as long as 16 – 17 hours a day, just not at a stretch; get used to taking short naps throughout the day like your baby
- Share some of the responsibilities with your partner so that he can feed and cradle the baby when you are sleeping
- Ask for help from family members, relatives, friends and neighbors, if you have the option to
- Hire help if you can’t find anyone to help you on some days
- If you are nursing, pump out extra breast milk in advance and before going to sleep so that someone else can feed the baby for you
- Swaddle your baby to help him/her sleep for longer stretches as they feel safer this way
- Keep the bassinet close to the bed and you will be able to do most of the work without having to step onto the cold floor at night
Once you start getting enough sleep every day, you will notice a positive change in as little a time as just three days to a week.
Get Back to Your Beauty Routine
It isn’t as easy to look so gorgeous all the time as people think it is, because it requires a maintenance routine that spans across everything from diet and exercise to regular trips to the beauty parlor.
The last few months of pregnancy probably interfered with your beauty maintenance routine quite a bit, but it is time to get back to that routine and help yourself change back to your former gorgeous self again. Of course, this is easier said than done, especially when you are having a hard time with even getting in your minimum quota of sleep every night!
To help minimize the frequency of the beauty parlor trips and save yourself the pain of waxing and plucking throughout your life, go for laser hair removal instead. A place like Laser4Less can help you to get rid of unwanted hair permanently via laser treatment, and without any pain whatsoever. Their services are actually not as costly as most other laser hair removal services in Toronto are, so it’s an economic option as well.
Do not let the economic and upfront pricing let you believe that the process is inferior in any way though, because Laser4Less uses 2018 Soprano Ice Lasers, which are the best laser hair removal machines in the entire business. Read more here on their official website about the process, the machines used, the benefits and the pricing details, as this could very well be a painless and lifelong solution to all your waxing needs. Besides, the lack of need to pay frequent visits is just so perfect for new moms because they have so little time on their hands to begin with.
Work Out a Diet
Although it should be easy to follow any of the many slimming diets that are available these days, since you are a mother now, you also need to think about the baby if you are nursing.
Therefore, the key lies in working out a diet that works both in your favor, as well as that of your baby. Do take the help of a professional dietician, rather than depending on Google entirely, although, searching on the internet is a great way to both find professional experts and experienced opinions on the subject. Keep the following points in mind for starters to prepare a diet chart that will help you slim down while keeping the breast milk rich in nutrients at the same time:
- Hydrate yourself with a gallon of water everyday
- Reduce your carb intake by lessening your portions of bread, rice, potatoes, corn, bakery items and sugar in general
- Increase your healthy fat intake by eating almonds, avocados, walnuts, fish, peanut butter, dark chocolate and other sources of healthy fats
- Depending on your tolerance of lactose and the advice of your dietician, dairy products can also be an option
- Cook your food in olive oil to get an extra dose of healthy fat and cut out vegetable oil; a prime cause of obesity
Aside from what we already discussed so far, do get back into an exercise routine as well. It is extremely important to remember that while you can get back to the gym after a few weeks (from the date of the birth), your body is not ready to take on a very hard slimming routine yet. Don’t do sit-ups, crunches or anything else that puts direct pressure on the core. Your body just went through a major ordeal weeks ago, so give it time to heal and settle with light forms of exercise like walking on the treadmill (or outside in the park), yoga, swimming and Pilates for now.