5 ways to deal with post baby sadness:
Having a baby can be a beautiful and joyous experience for women, but it can come with many unpleasant side effects. Hormones are all over the place, and so is sleep. There is a tiny new person who relies on you for everything, and life as you knew it is completely different. It will inevitably be a tough transition for most, but there are things you can do to make this time a little easier. (Seek medical help if you have ongoing feelings of sadness or depression.)
Accept help: Chances are that you have friends and family who have offered to help in some way. If they have, accept it. If they haven’t yet, ask them! Let people bring you meals so you don’t have to cook, or babysit so you can nap, or anything else to help make this time a little less overwhelming.
Move: The typical recommendation is that you cannot workout for 6-8 weeks after delivery. But, that does not mean that you can’t go for a walk or stretch or begin doing light exercises to rehab your body from pregnancy and prepare it to handle a workout when you’re able to. Start by deep breathing and contracting your ab muscles to pull them in as you exhale. Rehab your pelvic muscles by doing kegels.
Hydrate: This is a simple, yet often overlooked trick to improving mood, increasing energy, decreasing hunger, helping you lose weight and more. If you are breastfeeding it is absolutely vital to being able to do so successfully. You need much more water post-baby than you did before or during pregnancy.
Sleep: This may seem like wishful thinking, but the more sleep you can squeeze in the better. Sleep is when your body recovers physically, mentally, and emotionally. If you are running on empty the feelings of sadness will only intensive. Try to get even 15 minutes of rest when you can. Just like with exercise, every little bit counts with sleep too.
Give yourself a pep talk: “This too shall pass.” “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” “Fake it until you make it.” These became clichés for a reason. They’re true! Remind yourself of these or any others on a regular basis to help you make it through. When it feels all too much remind yourself that it’s temporary, and that it is all going to be ok.
Tatum Rebelle is a pregnancy and new mom fitness and nutrition expert. She founded of Total Mommy Fitness in 2005 after seeing an unnecessary trend of women opting out of exercise once they became pregnant and had young children. Learn more at www.TotalMommyFitness.com and www.FitPregnancyPlan.com.