How to Make Time for Yourself as a New Mom

As a new mom, you will probably feel overwhelmed from constantly focusing on your baby. In order to refresh and entertain yourself, you need to do some adult thing, and also have some time to yourself. The following tips will help you make time for yourself as a new mom as well as make taking care of the baby a little more stimulating for you.

Multitask. While it's great to focus on your baby and play with him or her, you will be bored doing baby things all day. Try to mix in an adult activity while playing with your baby. Use errands as outings to entertain your baby. Take your baby for a walk in the stroller or dance together to music and burn some calories. Look up some exercises or yoga moves you can do while holding your baby. And don't feel bad about turning on Oprah. If you can't make time for yourself as a new mom, do things you like to do with your baby.

Utilize baby's feeding time. Once you have established a feeding routine with your baby, you will have at least one hand free to multitask. If you are breastfeeding your baby this is easier, but it is still possible to multitask while feeding your baby a bottle. Using a nursing pillow such as a Boppy, and a stool or ottoman will help free up your hands. .If you like to read, this is a great time to catch up on reading. A small book or magazine which is easy to hold with one hand will give you something to do as well as make you feel like an adult again. If you are able to prop your baby with your pillow while breastfeeding, you can have two hands free to work on a crossword puzzle or Sudoku or write a letter or a grocery list. Make sure to always have something to do next to the place where you feed your baby. Also, it is a good idea to tuck your book in the chair when switching sides or burping your baby. Otherwise it could tumble to the floor and be frustratingly out of reach. Utilizing your baby's feeding time to do an adult activity is a great way to make time for yourself as a new mom.

Use naptime wisely. While it is always a good idea to sleep while your baby sleeps, you will be very tempted to accomplish other things. It's very hard to stop yourself, but if you're not going to rest, baby's naptime is not the time to clean the house or catch up on laundry. Naptime is the perfect opportunity to make time for yourself as a new mom. Use this time to do something for yourself that you can't do with a baby in one arm. Write in your journal, exercise or stretch, or work on a hobby such as scrapbooking or writing. Make sure that when naptime ends you feel more like yourself than you did when it started.

Enlist your spouse. Even if your spouse or partner is working fulltime, he can (and should) take charge of the baby for a while each evening to help you make time for yourself as a new mom. This will give you time to refresh and maybe actually accomplish one or two of the things you started to do all day. You may be surprised at how good it feels to do the dishes when you haven't been able to work on them all day. Once a week you should try to get out of the house without the baby. Meet with some girlfriends or do the grocery shopping in peace. Even if you are exclusively breastfeeding, you should be able to sneak away for an hour.

Enjoy your shower. Get up early enough to take good care of your hair, body and face. Or do it after the baby is in bed each night. You'll feel better about yourself if you've showered and actually gotten dressed. A shower can be very refreshing. Take your time and enjoy being by yourself. If you like baths, try to get one in occasionally. A bath also gives you an opportunity to read a book or magazine if you like.