The essentials of self-care for new mums
Becoming a mum for the first time is one of the single biggest changes you’ll experience in your life. You realise just what ‘busy’ actually means and experience a love truly like no other.
When a woman becomes a mother, the focus is on the baby. Everyone wants to have a newborn snuggle and ask how the baby is sleeping and feeding. But what about mum?
Self-care for new mums is something that most don’t think about until they're on the edge of burnout. Or when they’re out of the newborn phase and into the next stage of motherhood, when their babies are now big kids and more self-sufficient.
But any mum will tell you that taking time out for yourself, even if it’s just a bath on a Saturday night, is one of the best things you can do for yourself and your baby. We share our tips for mum self-care to help you take the time you need to look after yourself while you’re looking after your baby.
A shower can be self-care
Yes, self-care can be weekly massages and facials. But it can also be a shower or a cup of tea in the garden by yourself.
Does a shower recharge your batteries? Does it make you feel like you’re ready to face another sleepless night?
New mums know that sometimes showers are hard to come by in those early days and weeks. But if a shower ticks all your mother self-care boxes then go for it. Likewise if it’s an afternoon walk or a cup of tea that you actually get to drink while it’s still hot.
What you do for self-care in the newborn phase will likely look very different to your motherhood self-care at other stages. And that’s completely ok.
Accept offers of help
One of the biggest barriers that gets in the way of self-care for new mums? Speaking from experience, it’s accepting offers of help.
If a friend visits and offers to hang out your washing or do the dishes, let them. If someone asks you if there’s anything they can do to help, give them a job. People don’t offer to help if they don’t mean it and if you say no, the offers will dry up very quickly.
Your friends who are mums will remember what it’s like to be so desperately tired but still needing to function as a human being. They probably wish someone had offered to do their dishes or laundry… or regret saying no when they did.
Take the help. You’ll be so grateful you did.
Set yourself up for success
The nursery chair you buy for your baby’s nursery isn’t actually for your baby. It’s for you.
Your nursery chair is to help make feeding and rocking your baby to sleep a more comfortable experience for you. Even something like a CoZee Breeze Co-sleeping Bassinet is about making your life easier. With baby in arm’s reach during the night, you don’t need to even step foot out of bed for feeds.
Many mums love the convenience of an electric recliner, such as the Chelsea Electric Recliner Glider Chair. It has all the features of a traditional nursing chair, with the mod cons of push button recline. It also features an in-built USB port so your devices never run out of battery while you’re buried under a sleeping baby.
A glider chair, like the Quinn Recliner Glider offers the same comfort with spring-loaded recline. This means you can easily move between reclining and sitting positions without needing to use your abdominal muscles.
Motherhood self-care is about the whole picture. Not just the indulgent moments of free time to feel like yourself again. Invest in yourself and your back will thank you later!
Here for mums
At iL Tutto, we’re deeply committed to supporting mums in their journey. Whether it’s self-care for mums, sharing your breastfeeding stories or tips for co-sleeping, we want you to feel supported.
That support extends to our nursery chairs, all designed with the needs of new mums in mind. Designed in Australia and loved by parents around the world, iL Tutto is helping new mums care for themselves, one feed at a time.
Explore the range and discover products that will care for you while you care for your baby.