Six Ways To Boost Your Confidence Post-Pregnancy
/Before you get pregnant with your first child, it’s more common to envision the pretty baby that you’ll get to have to dress up and admire. A piece of yourself walking around alongside you; babies are a miracle. Here’s the thing though: most women forget to picture themselves with the baby. So, while they imagine themselves immaculately presented and ready for anything, they forget that they’re going to have a baby keeping them up all night. One that has left their body split and sore and stretched in ways that no one considers.
The baby is a wonderful addition to your life, of course, but feeling confident and back to yourself after a child is born? That’s as much of a miracle as the baby is. A lot of feeling confident as a parent comes from feeling well in yourself, which is why self-care after a baby is such a big deal. There are detox diet plans to get you out of the pregnancy ‘stuffing your face’ stage and into a healthier you, and there’s also ensuring that you do things that make you feel good. The happier and more confident that you are as a mother will mean that your baby is calm, happier and your relationship thrives in the midst of filthy nappies and night feeds. So, how can you get your confidence back as a new mother?
Be Kind. To yourself as well as others. You need to start your day, every day, with words of kindness to yourself. Remind yourself that you are a strong, fierce woman who birthed a child and survived. That alone should boost your mood.
Get Intimate. You’re tired, you have puke stains on your shoulder and you’ve had about three hours of sleep in as many days. But getting hold of your partner and reminding each other of your affections is a great way to boost your confidence.
Embrace Exhaustion. There is not going to be a day between now and the next eighteen years that you don’t feel tired. If you can own this and manage it instead of giving into it, you can push through your routines and feel healthy. Keep busy and stick to your usual health and beauty routines and you’ll stave off PND as well as up your confidence in yourself.
Not A Temple. Your body is not a temple. Temples can be torn down. Your body is a forest; it can regrow in thousands of ways, over and over again. Think of your body this way and you’ll be the embodiment of empowerment.
Gently Exercise. The last thing on your mind with a tiny baby is working out. Long walks with the pram, gentle workouts and any way that raises your heart rate can make you feel pumped and release happy hormones that give you new confidence.
Shop! When you’re really feeling low about your post-baby body, take yourself shopping. Bring the baby. Look at your body sans pregnancy and then smile in the mirror. Your body grew the living, breathing baby in the pram. It’s magic made real.
Confidence is the preference, but you should give yourself time to recover and embrace the new you.