Tips to make new mummies feel fabulous
Exhausted and overwhelmed by the responsibility of your new baby? Life coach Alison Porter comes to the rescue
It's hard for a new mum to feel fabulous when you're short on sleep and have to be long on patience, but that doesn't mean you have to give up on the idea entirely! Here are four tips that will help you to juggle your new roles as mum, as well as get back to your stylish self:
Put yourself first
How you feel about yourself determines your life experience. If you're not willing to put yourself first, then the chances are no-one else will either. This leads to one of the greatest challenges you face when there's a new baby in the house: a feeling of guilt that time for you is time taken away from your child.
Try looking at it a little differently. If you totally exhaust yourself, exactly how much are you going to be able to give anyway? Isn't a more relaxed and joyful mum going to provide a more peaceful environment for baby than a stressed-out, tired one? When you realise an investment in yourself is going to pay off for others too, you can get past the guilt and start making choices that will support you all as a family.
Start as you mean to go on
If you don't want your children to grow up around even the slightest whiff of burning martyr, then your best bet is to take good care of yourself from day one. That doesn't mean taking on the idiotic celebrity obsession with returning to a stick-like figure within minutes of giving birth, but it does mean finding regular little bite-sized moments of 'me time' that remind you you're not just a mother, but a person in your own right.
Baby-free activities
New mums are time-poor, so you need to learn to adapt. Carve out short breathing spaces that can refuel you as you go. If you can't manage to get out for dinner with friends, then just make it for a cup of coffee. Get people to come to you and order takeaways. Stop for five minutes and listen to some chill-out music to calm yourself down and feel centred again. Buy a diary and make your own tea-break ritual where you write down how you feel, any plans for the future or creative ideas you'd like to develop. Writing things down keeps you focused and gives you an outlet for your deepest feelings.
Love your body
Spend a little time loving your body too. It's gone through a lot of changes and you need to accept it and feel comfortable in it. Do things that make you feel good about yourself - if you haven't got time for a massage, book a quick manicure or give yourself a facial. Have a little luxury routine that always makes you feel uplifted. Make sure you meet with a friend on that day too. Being out and about, connecting with others and giving yourself a treat will turbo-charge your self-esteem.
It's not difficult or expensive to find small ways to remind yourself who you are, but it does take some commitment and creativity. There will always be an excuse, always another reason why there's something else you should be doing, so choose wisely. Decide to take care of yourself and be fabulous!
Alison Porter's weekly I Am Fabulous chronicles are online at www.iamfabulous.co.uk.
As a life coach, her 'Coach Fabulous' specialty is helping people find their passion and create a fabulous life. For personal coaching, email coachfabulous@iamfabulous.co.uk or to subscribe to updates on the chronicles, email subscribe@iamfabulous.co.uk.
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