I used to be pretty decent at self care before having Riley. I wasn’t perfect with it and sometimes I would forget to really stop and take care of myself but it was WAY easier then to take a pause on life and engage in some self care. Typically it would be pretty indulgent and luxurious because I had ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD…even at my most busy. I look at all the time I had pre-baby and I’m like OMG HOW DID I NOT DO ALL THE THINGS WITH ALL THAT TIME I HAD? *cries about all the squandered time I would kill for now* But life has changed and I’ve had to figure out ways to practice self care and I’d love to share these easy self care ideas for new moms like me!

 

When I was at my lowest with the PPD I would find that, unless Will or his mom were around to remind me, I was NOT taking good care of myself — I wasn’t sleeping when I could, I wasn’t eating or drinking nearly enough, I wasn’t taking any time to recharge my own batteries which probably wasn’t helping anything. As I got better, I vowed to myself that even when I felt like I had no time (which feels like 99% of the time) I would find really simple ways to practice self-care as a new mom.

It’s important, as a mom, that I replenish and recharge my own self so I can at my absolute BEST for her. I learned that the hard way with my PPD/PPA…my friend Anna said it in such plain terms and it stuck with me — I have to put my own oxygen mask on before I can put on hers. I won’t be able to be the best for her if I don’t take care of myself. I really wish I would have had a list of easy self care ideas for new moms BEFORE I became a mom and scheduled it for myself day one.

What is my self care might not be your self care, for sure, but I just wanted to share some simple self-care practices I engage in on a daily or almost daily basis as a new mom. I think my view on self care definitely resembles this article — sometimes self care does mean bath bombs and manicures but sometimes it looks super practical and not very Instagrammable. And honestly these self care ideas for new moms PROBABLY aren’t going to make everyon ooh and ah but they ARE easy and something you CAN accomplish in this season of your life.

 

Self Care Ideas For New Moms – tip #1

 

Drink water

 

When I added this to my simple self-care ideas for new moms list it seemed stupid obvious that I almost felt like it was ridiculous to put on my list as something that qualifies as self-care. But let me tell you…by the time I get up and our day starts moving like a whirlwind (ESPECIALLY on days I nanny so I’m putting the need of 3 kids before my own) it can end up being late afternoon before I realize, “holy crap I haven’t had anything to drink all day.” The one day that put me to my breaking point with this I felt TERRIBLE. I thought I was getting sick and I went through my whole day and realized it was 9pm and I hadn’t even had any water (only a coffee that particular day). I never feel great when I’m not hydrated.

So I decided I HAD to be intentional about drinking water and the best way to do this, for me, was in the morning when I fed Finn and fed Riley I would also grab a larger water bottle and fill it up with water from our Brita (I can’t live without that thing…we save so much money not buying bottled water because I hate the taste of tap water) and bring it wherever we were. I realized I did better when it had the ounces on the side of it so I could physically SEE a numerical value of how much I drank but I only have one of those kind and plus it’s so huge that I like to bring a smaller one with me if I’m out of the house instead of the huge mammoth one I have for the days we are at home. Sometimes when I’m feeling bored of water I use my infuser water bottle and put some cut up fruit in it!

 

My favorite water bottles:

BKR 32 ounce water bottle: I really love glass water bottles and this one is the best one I’ve gotten though I do really love my Life Factory water bottle too which is also glass.

Sip S’well Water Bottle: I am OBSESSED with these. After my Hydro-flask (which I loved) had to be tossed (couldn’t find the lid!) I saw these at Target one day when I was supposed to be going in for ONE THING AND ONE THING ONLY. I’m obsessed with all the colors and designs they have. This one is stainless steel. Pretty much most of my water bottles are stainless steel or glass.

Water Intake Water Bottle: I can’t find the exact one I have (I think I found it at Marshall’s forever ago) but mine is similar to this one. I want to get another one because I really find that I do well when I can see the tracker thing so I might snag this one if I can’t find another one I like (anyone have one of these types you really like??)

 

 

Self Care Ideas For New Moms – tip #2

 

Shower ALONE

 

Two times a week I make sure I can get a LONG shower when Will is home and I will do a hair mask or a face mask or both! I typically do one on the weeknight and one on the weekend. There is just something about the shower that is super relaxing and mind-clearing for me and I really miss taking showers that don’t include peeking out at Riley in her chair I have in the bathroom and trying to sing, play peek-a-boo with the shower curtain and entertain her enough to get a shower before she decides she’s bored mid-shampoo. I hate rushing through my shower so I make sure to do this two times a week and I can’t even tell you what it does for my mental state. Plus my face and hair need some major lovin!

 

The hair masks and face masks I’ve been enjoying lately:

Self Care Ideas For New Moms – tip #3

 

 

Limit my consumption of mom & baby-related boards/groups/websites/books

 

I have the tendency…to obsess over things. And compare. And to worry. So I’ve realized for my own self-care I need to limit how often I’m looking at mom groups or message boards about baby sleep or trying to “fix” any sleep problems. I think I have far of a better attitude when I’m just being confident in my own mom skills and not try to fix everything because really not everything is a problem. Riley is an awesome baby — she sleeps pretty well, developmentally she’s right on target and sometimes ahead and she’s super happy. But when I peruse these types of things I start to feel like I’m doing everything wrong and things could be better. This one has been CRUCIAL to me. I look up and crowd-source the things I NEED to but I’m relying more on myself to figure things out. Too much noise in an overwhelming time isn’t helpful and is such a crucial and easy self idea for new moms that I PROMISE will make you feel loads better.

Self Care Ideas For New Moms – tip #4

 

 

Make Connections

 

Sometimes being a mom can feel super isolating I’ve learned…at least this young.  I make it a point to either text a friend or my sister to have SOME connection throughout the day or I’ll walk up to our leasing office and chat with the ladies up there for a little bit or I’ll go to a storytime or something else. I don’t always FEEL like leaving the house (especially in the cold) but I found that I get real bummed, as someone who used to have a pretty busy social life, because I don’t feel like I SEE people enough. Honestly though even just texting a friend about what they’ve been up to or about the latest episode of a show we both love is super helpful for me so I’ve been trying to be super intentional about reaching out. When I am alone TOO much I don’t like the places my brain goes (especially when I’m exhausted and mentally drained) so making sure I practice self care in this way as a new mom is important for me.

Self Care Ideas For New Moms – Tip #5

 

Get dressed 95% of the time

 

On the days I stay home I mostly always force myself out of my pajamas. When I was on maternity leave I felt like I was always in my pajamas and it really bummed me out. I LOVE a good stay-in-my-pajamas day once in a while but I have found for myself it’s such a simple act of self-care to feel like a HUMAN with real clothes. I mean, I’m not dressing up or anything but just to feel a LITTLE put together makes a world of difference. My staples are comfy leggings and, right now at least, a sweater or a baggy t-shirt. I plan to make a separate post about my “mom uniform” at some point so stay tuned for that!

 

My staples lately:

My favorite sweater from Target is on sale (sob I paid so much more for it!!) and I have these Express leggings that are my ACTUAL FAVORITES EVER (and also on sale!!) but I have them in the silver gray below (with the Target sweater on). I’m always loving comfy (and cheap) tees from Old Navy to be around the house or throw a cardigan over.

Self Care Ideas For New Moms – tip #6

 

 

Do something my pre-baby self would have been done for at least 20 minutes every day

 

I have found that in the midst of this new role as mom and this new life I find myself in that I need to take care of myself by feeling grounded in some of the things I enjoyed pre-Riley. In the early days I felt like I couldn’t do anything…I was just so exhausted and mentally drained and my whole brain was consumed by baby stuff (also PPD/PPA was a huge factor in this). I remember one evening when Riley was finally asleep, instead of laying like zombies on the couch, we put on an episode of Fixer Upper and it was instantly such a mental relief. Now that she is sleeping better and we aren’t the newborn survival days (check out my newborn survival guide) I’ve found instead of getting caught up in all the mom things I carve out some time to read or to blog or watch a show. It’s not always easy because I’m exhausted (and sleep is totally self-care) but I personally need to take time for hobbies and things I enjoyed. When I came back to the blog after a few months of being “off” from having Riley it was EXACTLY what my soul and my mind needed. It did more for my mental health than I can even explain.

 

 

It’s not super luxurious or beautiful but these are my most essential self-care practices as a new mom and I feel like I have felt infinitely better as a result of being intentional about taking care of myself even in small ways. Easy self care ideas  for new moms are a dime a dozen so you need to brainstorm and figure out what would be self care for YOU.

 

Talk To Me

What does self-care look like for you? Tell me some of your small ways you practice self care as a new mom! What easy self care ideas for new moms made a difference for you if you are a mom?

 

[Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links which means that if you click on a link and purchase something I’ve talked about or recommended, I’ll receive a very small percentage of the sale. Please see my disclosure policy for more info.

 

P.S. Check out my newborn survival guide chock full of tips and the ESSENTIAL baby gear you need // Still feeling like a mess in mid January? You can still plan for the rest of this year to be great!

 

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