Health For New Moms

New mothers need to take special care of their health, along with attending to the needs of the new born. Since they have also gone through a lot during their pregnancy and delivery, physically as well as emotionally, it is important to give ample attention to the health front, so that recovery is quick and you are back to your normal healthy shape in just a matter of some days. Keeping hale and hearty is essential as a new baby can exhaust you very soon, making your feel tired and jaded. The article brings some very useful health tips for new moms. Read on to know how to be a healthy mother.

Breastfeeding

Motherhood is one of the most important events in a woman's life. Breastfeeding is one of the finest things that you can give your child. With our busy lifestyle today mothers are too busy to breastfeed their child, they are extremely tired. Some mothers buy milk and do not breastfeed their kids. Breastfeeding is recommended as it has a number of advantages for both mother and child.

Breast milk contains a great deal of nutrients and antibodies and is very essential for the healthy growth of the baby. It helps to improve the immune system of the child. It prevents your baby from developing allergies and infections. A breastfed baby does not get sick very easily. It is a natural way to guard your baby against illnesses. It is helpful for the physical and mental growth of the baby. Also it helps to strengthen the relationship between mother and child.

Breastfeeding is not only essential for the baby; it is also good for your body. Studies have shown that breastfeeding helps to reduce heart diseases. It also brings down the risk of contracting ovarian, endometrial, osteoporosis and breast cancer. If you have decided to breastfeed you baby, here are some important tips that are listed below.

Your breasts might feel swollen after delivery. The remedy to this problem is to breast feed your baby.

It is important that you know how to hold your baby. You must ensure that both of you are comfortable in the position that you adopt to breastfeed your baby.

Expecting Mother

Some of the best moments of a woman are when she becomes a mother. When a woman conceives and is due to deliver in nine months there are a number of anticipations and worries along with happiness and excitement in one's mind. Every pregnant woman wants to have a healthy child. Taking good care of yourself and your child during pregnancy is of utmost importance.

Mother Care for Children

All mothers always have special feelings and attention for their children – of course! They carried their child nine months in their womb and did so much sacrifice on the growth and development of their children. What more could a mother wish for with their children than for their children to grow up healthy and be away from physical and emotional sickness.

It is very important that mothers must learn ways on how to keep their children healthy. A healthy child would not only mean that they are free from sickness. Health in children would include developing and achieving their optimum potentials since a child is growing and its body, mind and personality are developing all the time.

Prenatal Care Planning a Pregnancy

Planning a pregnancy soon?  There are several steps you can take before trying to get pregnant to get you and your baby off to a healthy start:

    * Begin taking a prenatal vitamin with at least 400 mcg of folic acid daily several months before you plan to get pregnant.  Folic acid lowers the risk of some birth defects of the brain and spine.  There is some evidence that taking higher doses of folic acid (800 mcg) may be beneficial, but this is not totally clear.

Care for Mothers

Breastfeeding is a wonderful feeling that a woman can experience. It is beneficial for both the baby and the mother in several ways. But breast care is equally important. This will not only give a hygienic supply of milk to the baby but also help mother to maintain the shape and the firmness of her breasts.

This assumes that it is solely a lactating mother's outlook to sustain a good and healthy diet for her breastfeeding child. A mother who gives birth to a large baby that grows fast may experience difficulties in producing and sustaining enough quantities of milk. This is because the fat reserves she had during the pregnancy period can be lost soon after childbirth and eating well enough might become a problem for her.

Culture and Mother Care

Charlotte Mason advises the homeschool Mom to make Mother Culture a priority.  Mother Culture is living a life of learning, of filling your mind with new thoughts and new experiences:   reading quality literature and non-fiction, exploring poetry, enjoying music, and studying God’s Creation.  Taking time to fill our minds with beautiful things, and enjoying the beauty of God’s world, helps keep our minds active, alert, and creative.  It inspires and encourages us, which better enables us to serve our children and teach them.  Just half an hour each day, or even 15 minutes, helps to brighten our minds and our spirits.


"Mothers should cultivate their souls, so that in turn they may cultivate the souls of their children."  Rev. Billy Graham.

Living with Your Parents (Mother)

Moving back home is an economic necessity for many single mothers. However, one of the major issues cited by women who have moved back with their parents is that of being treated like a child again by one or both of them.

Some mothers were raised to believe that a woman’s success was measured by how long she could hold a family together and not so much by how she felt about herself or her ability to create her own life. So these moms often feel responsible for what they see as their daughter’s failed
 relationship or marriage. If you try and see things more from your mother’s perspective and understand where it comes from, you will cope more effectively with your current living arrangements.

New mother care Reveo3

“Congratulations on becoming a new mother!”

This is one compliment that you will hear time and again after you give birth to your little bundle of joy. Then it is all about completing the necessary formalities to get discharged from hospital and head home.Once you are home, you soon discover that apart from bringing you immense joy and excitement, your newborn has also brought you the everyday challenges of taking care of yourself as a new mother.

In your endeavor to provide the best care to your baby, you may end up neglecting yourself. Remember, only a healthy mother can ensure a healthy baby. Adhering to some simple steps can bring you a load of benefits and relieve you from the stress and strain of being a new mother.
  

Here are some basic tips:

Make healthy lifestyle changes: It is vitally important that you take good care of yourself after childbirth. Eat a healthy, balanced diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables. Avoid cigarettes, alcohol and beverages that contain Caffeine. Make sure to drink at least 8 glasses of water everyday. Good habits will help you gain and maintain the energy you need to take care of your newborn.

Sleep: Get enough of it. There is no way a tired mother can take care of her newborn. Your baby may keep you up all night, so grab some sleep when your baby sleeps. You can also consider the option of asking your partner to attend to your baby, while you catch up on your missed sleep.

Schedule guest visits: It is great when friends and relatives come to shower you with compliments. But it can also be an extremely tiresome routine, exchanging pleasantries for hours together. Be open and convey the fact that you need rest. On the other hand, some close friends or relatives may offer help to make you more comfortable—accept them. You can show them how to hold the baby or seek help in folding the laundry or other household chores.


Take it easy: Do not rush things. You cannot become a great mother in a matter of days. It takes practice and plenty of patience. Give yourself sufficient time everyday, whether it is nursing your baby, putting your baby to bed or dealing with his or her intermittent crying spells. Avoid outings or travel as far as possible. If you must travel, pack adequate supplies and do not forget to take extra diapers.

Mood swings: Mood swings are quite common during this time. You may adore your child, but on occasions you may lament the lack of independence that your newborn has brought about. On occasions you may worry whether you are a worthy mother or possess the necessary skills to be one. Expect these emotions and know that they are only passing clouds—you will soon grow out of it. Talk to friends and experienced mothers to get a better understanding of your situation.


Postpartum blues: Mood swings are common after childbirth. This minute you are elated, sad the next. You may feel a little depressed, have difficulty concentrating, lose your appetite or find that they cannot sleep well even when the baby is asleep. These symptoms usually start about 3–4 days after delivery and may last several days.
   

If you are a new mother and have any of these symptoms, you have whatare called the baby blues. The baby blues are considered a normal partof early motherhood and usually go away within 10 days after delivery.But if you have more severe symptoms that last longer than a few days,you may be suffering from what is known as Postpartum Depression. Medical intervention then becomes necessary

Talk: Bringing up a child is no easy task and you may feel the emotional, psychological, physiological or financial burden of it. If you feel stressed due to something specific, talk to your partner or friends and share your feelings and concerns with them. This can help cheer you up.

Get out, get going: Go for frequent walks with your baby. This can be of immense help to relax you. Besides, getting fresh air is absolutely necessary for you and your baby. It is also a good idea to ask your partner or friend to accompany you so that they can help you with your baby.


   
Relax: Household chores like dusting or cleaning can always wait. Occasionally it is okay to have a cold dinner; so do not run to the kitchen to make dinner or to put it into the micro oven for heating.


Spare time for others: Having a newborn in the house does not mean you attend to him or her round the clock. Spare time for your partner, friends and your own entertainment. Go to a movie or meet a friend for lunch. This can keep you relaxed and remove stress.
   
In conclusion
Being a new mother is never too easy. You are not born with motherhood skills—you acquire them with time, practice and patience. Good parenting is a learned skill and knowing to handle the stress related with it can be rewarding indeed. If you are depressed or you are having trouble adjusting to life with a newborn, talk to your doctor. Remember, your newborn is not going to remain that way forever. He or she is soon going to grow up. So, despite the difficulties, turmoil, sleeplessness and fatigue savor the moments that you spend with your little baby—those times will never come back.

Tips for New Mothers

Soon after the baby arrives, all your energy and attention will be focused on caring for the baby and making him/her comfortable. You may consciously want to focus on the baby and not pay much attention to taking care of yourself. In spite of your busy schedule, you will have to take time out to take care of yourself. Your health, both physical and psychological, is undergoing a healing process after delivery and you will have to pay attention to it. Once the baby has arrived, all your family and friends will want to visit you and your newborn baby. Having too many visitors just after delivery and with the new baby can be very stressful and extremely difficult to handle, whether in the hospital or at home.

During the initial weeks after delivery, it is best to accept all the help you can get in doing the various chores around the house. It would be ideal if you could get your mother, mother-in-law, any relative or friend to stay with you, at least, for the first month. This will definitely ease the pressure off you and will help you get used to having the baby as part of your routine. The first few weeks can be overwhelming and some new mothers just cannot cope with the pressures of having a new baby. This is also the reason why they become irritable and crabby. As much as the newborn requires care and comfort, so do the new mother. Read through our related sections to find valuable tips and advice for the new mother.

Post Delivery Stitches
When asked about their experience of delivering a baby, most women will tell you that it was like rebirth. There is no doubt about the fact that having a baby is one of the most exhilarating experiences in the world. But there is as much pain, as there is joy in this experience and a lot of people overlook this fact. A new mother not only has to care for her newborn baby, but also has to take care of herself to ensure that she heals well.

Postnatal Depression
Postnatal depression, or postpartum depression, is a form of clinical depression which can affect both men and women after child birth. However, it is very less frequent in men as compared to women, in whom the prevalence rate may vary from 5% to 25%. If a new mother in your family is suffering from postnatal depression, it is difficult to deal with her as she may not even want to admit that she is depressed.

Postnatal Exercises
Childbirth and care of the newborn are both physically exhausting tasks. Most new mothers' find that they do not have the same energy level, which they had before their baby was born. In the first few months, the mother's night sleep is disturbed and this adds to the exhaustion. The pressures of taking care of a newborn and managing the house leaves the mother mentally and physically drained.

Postnatal Period
A woman's body undergoes tremendous and several changes during pregnancy. As soon as the baby is out of womb, the body begins its physical healing process, so as to restore its pre-pregnancy state. The uterus, which contains four-and-half liters of water during pregnancy, begins to reduce in size almost immediately after delivery.

Postpartum Depression
There is an enormous feeling of relief and gratitude, once the delivery is over. After months of waiting and apprehension, when the child is born healthy, the sense of fulfillment is immense. But the first few weeks, even months after childbirth, with the baby can be confusing and emotionally draining. There maybe other reasons for distress as well.

Mother’s best beauty tips

Who better to give you beauty advice than your mother? So to celebrate Mother's Day, which falls on March 14 this year, we asked you for your best beauty tips from Mum.

mother and daughter at mirror

From the inside out

My mum swore by drinking hot water with lemon first thing every morning and her skin is still beautiful and she's 82. She still does it and it's something I've passed onto my daughter. Also, my mother-in-law's mother never washed her hair and it glowed with health. She used to have hair way past her waist, and brushed it over 100 times at bedtime. Donna



Olive oil trick

One tip my mum gave to me is to massage olive oil into hands and feet once a week to keep skin nice and soft. It works too! Pondlife



Beauty on a budget

My mum always said you didn't need expensive cleansers or moisturisers. She always used baby lotion as a night time moisturiser- and she doesn't look her 71 years.

Mum2one



Blemish control

My Mum has always said that plenty of sleep and drinking lots of water are the best tips for good skin and she definitely looks much younger than her 61 years. Another tip she told me was to put a dab of toothpaste on a spot at bedtime as this dries it up. I though she was mad when she first told me but it really does work!

Cathe



How to have shiny hair

My Mum always recommended adding a tablespoon of cider vinegar into cool water for a final rinse after shampooing hair to condition it and make hair shiny.  I often do this and, to my surprise, it also tends to make my hair more wavy. No more eating carrots .......

FlibGib



Secrets of soft skin

Moisturise, moisturise and moisturise. It doesn't have to be expensive but just do it. This is one I've also passed on to my daughter - and here's one from my gran, always take pride in your appearance.

Lilaclady



Vaseline tips

My grandmother told me to put a little Vaseline on my eyelashes at night. It makes them silky soft and lush.

Keeper



Making the shoe fit

My mother was very strict about making sure I had shoes that fitted correctly, as she suffered with bunions after wearing ‘fashion' shoes as a teenager. She was only little so used to wear high heels when she was young!

Yelir



Money-saving exfoliation

My mom would have been 100 this year had she been alive. She died at 88 with the complexion of a much younger lady. Exfoliating is something more popular nowadays, but back then once a week mom used to beat an egg and add coarse oatmeal to it and rub it over her face neck and hands. It really worked. I often use it but my skin's not as good as her's was.

Mageroo



Hair and skincare

My mum used to use butter wrappers on her arms and face.  She always used Oil of Ulay as a moisturiser and wore full make-up every day.  Without make-up her skin looked like alabaster.

As a hair conditioner she would put olive oil on her hair and wrap it in an old towel for 30 minutes before washing out. Her hair always shone and had great body.

Care of Your Mother-In-Law’s

Since you say that you have had your Sansevieria Trifasciata plant, commonly called Mother-In-Laws Tongue or Snake plant, for over 10 years, I doubt that you have a gold variety like`Vandal Gold`, a Sansevieria that I have read about but do not know where to buy.

And I am amazed that you have a plant or anything that hasn’t had any change in all that time. There is nothing in TheGardenLady’s house that hasn’t changed in 10 years- including TheGardenLady.

Are you sure that you haven’t been overwatering your plant by watering it too frequently or moved the plant to a different window? Change can be outdoors. Has a shrub in front of the window outdoors, but directly in front of the place you keep the plant, died and been chopped down so that more sun is coming through to shine on the plant?

About the first problem, overwatering: Sansevieria hates, hates, hates having wet roots. They can get a problem called root rot easily especially when they are kept indoors . TheGardenLady had a big pot of Sansevieria that a young artist admired. So TheGardenLady gave the pot to the artist who painted pictures of it. After a year, the plant started dying. TheGardenLady suspected root rot. She suspected that because the young artist watered her plants every week; in one year too much water had been given to the Sansevieria. Its roots never had a chance to dry out. These plants are so easy to care for because they love drought – love it. So if you forget to water it, when the plant is indoors, you will have a happy plant. I have read that you can forget to water it for 2 months during the winter. It wants its soil dry. TheGardenLady has found that, though Sansevieria can be grown in Sun or part shade, hers enjoy just light when it is indoors; and the less sun, the less water it needs.

Mother's tips for newborn care

Strapping our newborn daughter into her car seat for the first time was our wakeup call that we were indeed amateurs. After 10 minutes of struggling with the seat belt, we realized the infant carrier she was nestled in was facing the wrong direction. Fortunately, we came to this conclusion prior to driving off with our tiny, precious package. Four children later, we look back and laugh at that scenario. The first newborn many come in contact with is their own. Most have very little practice with newborn care. Babies actually are pretty resilient creatures. They have to be to put up with their new students. We learned more from trial and error than from anything else, simply due to the nature of children. Each little bundle has its own set of rules. Unbeknown to us, she would have needs that weren't in any of the baby books we had read. As far as diapering, umbilical cord care, circumcision care and feeding basics go, you'll find all of it in "How to care for your Newborn" or "Baby's first year" books. The lessons we were taught by our children and not by our pediatrician are the topics for this discussion.

Poop that goes from black, to green, to yellow - What? Yeah, the first time I saw black poop was in the hospital, when the nurse explained that our daughters "first few bowel movements" would be black due to the meconium in her intestines. That was her attempt to get a blank look from a new mother. Moving along to the green poop, this is when the meconium is mostly gone and your baby is beginning to digest breast milk. Watch out for the yellow poop, that stuff is like liquid missiles. Open the diaper at the wrong time and you'll decorate the nearest object, which could be yourself. This leads me to address your position while diapering. Always stand at baby's side, thus preventing the possibility of becoming a poop target. However, standing at the side poses its own risks, if you are diapering a baby boy. We learned this with the second, third and fourth. It is wise to have the new diaper open and placed over your sons fire hose, prior to opening the soiled diaper, complete the standard procedure for diaper changing, then slip the diaper under his bottom and secure without ever exposing him to cool air. In the event he get's diaper rash, going diaper less for 15 minutes after each diaper change will allow his skin to dry completely. However, always lay him on his front, unless of course you'd enjoy cleaning the ceiling. Baby poop will remain mustard yellow

New Mom Getting No Sleep?

As a new mommy it can be really hard to get the sleep you need.

Who cares if things get better when my baby is three months old? I will have died from lack of sleep by then!

That's really how I felt getting my first child. I was so exhausted!

Looking back now at my first time as a new mother, I didn't do much to improve the situation at that time. Why? I didn't know what to do!


"Sleep when the baby does also at daytime" was the only advice I had heard. Easy to say! Boring and hard to do.

I mean, you're not a robot as a new mummy; there's no off-button to press as soon as the baby falls asleep!

When I was home with our third child things were different. Tired - yes sometimes. Like when all kids wake up at night... But I was not exhausted, not at all actually. Why? Because I had learned how to help myself getting much more sleep.
These tips meant the world to me. Despite being a new mother, I didn't sleep and complain about being tired all day long, but instead I had enough energy to launch this website!

Lower your ambitions

I guess you've heard it before, but it is worth repeating. Lower your ambitions!
Don�t' have a perfect home, cook perfect food, do all the perfect things you planned to. Listen to your heart and prioritize. Skip all musts that aren't that necessary when you think again.
Enjoy being a new mother and have fun with your baby instead.
And don't think you have to show up a perfect life to be able to meet with your friends. Invite them home and ask them to bring a pizza instead of sweating in the kitchen for hours.
There will be plenty of time in the future to excel in all kinds of ways.
Being a new mother, now is the time to excel in being rather than doing!

New Mother, New Life!

 

Are you a new mother?

Congratulations and welcome to your new life of worries, guilt and exhaustion!

And of extraordinary love and happiness...

A friend of mine complained to her midwife about feeling so worried that something would go wrong during her pregnancy.

Her midwife looked at her, smiled and said:

"Well, this is just the beginning of a life-long worry for your child. Get used to it!"

Another friend told me that having a baby was not that great. "It's all about pain", she said. Being pregnant hurts, giving birth is extremely painful, breastfeeding hurts... Everything seems to hurt!

This woman is now the happy not so new mother of two wonderful boys.

Why do I say all this?

That becoming a mom is a huge changeover, particularly the first time. But also getting your second and third child is a big change. Less and less you time!

And your body changes too.

But... (there's always a but or this website would not exist...:-)

...but there are a lot of things that can be done to make mom feel better!

Check out our new-mommy-feel-a-lot-better tips below! 

Mother Nature holds the........

t is fascinating how cosmetics and skin care products evolve. The industry swings back and forth responding to what it considers as the consumer demand du jour.

Have you heard that the industry is now going green? It is starting primarily with packaging, but the ingredients used in products are also going greener. Skin care companies are now looking to Mother Nature to put results into facial rejuvenation treatments by focusing on formulations using the power of natural substances; embracing a more holistic and organic approach for treating aging skin issues.

Needless to say, natural skin care has made a huge comeback during the past decade. Now we are seeing companies turning back to Mother Nature for the answers to effectively address aging skin symptoms.

We’ve all hear the term cosmeticeuticals which introduced a treatment benefit into cosmetics and skin care products. Now the skin care industry is evolving to include "Neutraceuticals".

Neutraceuticals can be summarized as the use of natural substances that have medicinal properties to promote health benefits. These natural ingredients are selected for their attributes and properties that are used to treat or prevent a range of diseases, afflictions, or conditions.

As modern medicine has documented, Mother Nature does provide astonishing results.

It’s not surprising that clinical trials also substantiate that nature has a bountiful supply and an amazing array of natural substances that promote skin rejuvenation. (Wouldn’t the ancient civilizations who utilized ingredients such as dairy products, honey, and herbs as effective skin treatments be surprised by this revelation?)

The utilization of natural ingredients is now becoming the cornerstone of the skin care industry when formulating anti-aging skin care treatments. (It’s top secret so don’t tell anyone. Natural ingredients work to rejuvenate aging skin. Astonishing isn’t it?)

And guess what?

You can make your own natural anti-aging skin care treatments quite quickly and easily while saving tons of money in the process!

Here are three simple natural skin care tips to help get you started on your own natural anti-aging skin care routine:

• Choose natural ingredients that have healing and anti-aging properties for the best results
• Use fresh ingredients: Select the freshest ingredients available to extract the most benefit from the anti-aging attributes of the ingredients when making your own skin care treatments
• Select natural ingredients that are beneficial for your skin type

Any skin care routine can benefit from integrating homemade natural treatments. You can even use a duel approach by combining a natural approach to rejuvenating your skin with over-the-counter products.

Using the natural rejuvenating power that Mother Nature provides to enhance your routine will help you achieve visible results for your aging skin concerns. Among a huge list of benefits, natural ingredients provide essential nutrients to your skin which help it to protect and heal itself.

Your own skin care recipes can be used right along side your other skin treatments for younger, healthier looking skin by putting Mother Nature along with these three basic natural skin care tips to work for your skin.

Who doesn’t want to save money on their skin care treatments? Make your own!

Sue Dolan, facial rejuvenation expert (and close friend of Mother Nature), would love to teach you how with this quick and easy e-course on beginning your own. You can sign-up today and start mixing up your own natural rejuvenating skin care treatments in a matter of minutes!

Tips for Mothers

 How Mothers Can Nurture Themselves
Happy mom and child

By Amy Tiemann

There is a spark within each of us—I call it our "mojo"—that makes us special as individuals as well as mothers. That spark may simmer down to an ember during demanding phases of parenting, but it is essential to stay in touch with that ember, to protect it, and be prepared to build it back up into a bonfire when the opportunity presents itself. Here are some basic steps busy moms can take to keep that inner spark glowing.
Learn the first self-care tip for mothers.

Amy Tiemann, Ph.D., is the author of
"Mojo Mom: Nurturing Your Self While Raising a Family"

and founder of

Mother Care Tips

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