This post is sponsored by and in partner with The Motherhood and Johnson & Johnson. All opinions are 100% my own.
I have had 4 babies. And you would think pregnancy and life with a baby would get easier each time since now I know what I’m doing and what to expect… Well yes and no. Yes I know what to expect and how my body typically reacts to pregnancy. I know I get nauseous in the first trimester and really tired in the third. I know after a baby comes that nights are pretty rough for a few months and that I’ll run on little sleep. I know that my older kids will love the baby a little too much (lots of tight squeezes and smothering with hugs) and that balancing time to nurse with the rest of my day will be a challenge. And I also know how important it is to take care of your body before and after pregnancy.
Exercising and calming your mind are so important in helping moms stay sane.
- Exercise: Your body works so hard to carry and grow your baby and then provide your baby food (if you’re nursing), that you need to exercise to give your body the strength it needs and exercise gives you energy. I’m trying to work out in the morning and I have more energy when I work out than when I don’t. It seems like it shouldn’t work that way, but it does!
- Mindfulness: There’s a lot of stress when you have a baby and you usually aren’t sleeping well (unless you’re one of the lucky ones!). Taking time for yourself is so important to help you be a good mom for your baby. Even just taking a few moments to think, focus, and visualize can help calm your mind and give you the boost you need for the day.
Taking time out of your day to connect with your mind and body helps moms stay sane. It allows you to be aware, to get your brain and body working, and to give you the energy you need to get through the day. Kids are great and bring so much to your life, but they’re also demanding and tiring. You need to take care of you in order to take care of your baby. But this can be so hard to remember!
I remember when I was a first time mom, I would often miss lunch because I was so busy feeding my baby, changing her, rocking her when she cried, holding her, etc. Or I wouldn’t shower until 4pm in the afternoon because that’s when I could finally fit it in, but that didn’t make me feel happy or motivated. I was tired and overwhelmed and my energy was zapped. It took me a long time to figure out what I needed to do to take care of myself and to help me feel happy and motivated so I could better take care of my daughter.
So what do you do to get the energy you need?
I have an excellent resource for you! The Johnson & Johnson 7 Minute Wellness for Expecting and New Moms™ App helps you manage and expand your energy so that you can take care of yourself and your baby.
I wish I had this app when I was pregnant because I am loving it as a mom with a new baby! It’s a simple, science-based wellness resource that’s important in helping mom achieve and maintain fitness and balance – in both mind and body.
And it’s personalized just for you: where you are in your pregnancy or postnatal phase and how you are feeling each day. When you open the app, it asks you if you want to energize your mind or body by doing a mind session or by working out. Then it asks you how your energy level is so that it can adjust to how you’re feeling that day. This is so great because some days you’ll have energy and some days you won’t. At all. But you need a boost, so it will help you get that boost you need. The customized sessions are guided by performance coach Jenn Lea to help ensure your experience meets your needs.
The mind sessions are so great – they give you daily tips on things that you are going through right now in your life with a new baby or while pregnant. My baby is 4 months old and today it was talking about routines with a new baby, like how to get your baby to fall asleep. I am at the stage where we can start implementing schedules so it was just what I had been thinking about! And then at the end of the mind session you can click on an article that gives you some more great tips and ideas. I have love these articles! They’re so helpful!
I love the exercise sessions as well. They are exercises that are great for pregnancy and after you’ve had a baby. I had been trying to do some other exercise apps and some things I just can’t do right now with my abs that are trying to heal, ligaments that are trying to tighten again, and my body trying to shift back into place. It’s frustrating to not be able to do the exercises you are asked to do. But this app has all of those things in mind. The fitness experts at Johnson & Johnson know what your body is going through and what stages you’re in. So the exercises are all doable and motivate you to keep going.
And if your kids are like mine, they like to exercise with you too. 🙂
Being a mom, you’re going to be tired and some days you aren’t sure if things will ever change. They can and they will, but often you have to do something about it. Doing this app is a step in the right direction. Be aware. Take care of yourself. Take baby steps. And give yourself a break. Hey, you just made a baby, and that’s pretty amazing.