Returning back to a normal family routine after being pregnant for ten months, giving birth and trying to catch up on lost sleep can be quite a challenge. It is not just a matter of simply returning back to life the way it was prior to the new little one coming into the world, and this is particularly true when there is the extra responsibility of breastfeeding.
I personally found this one of the hardest adjustments to make, but now having been faced with this challenge not once, twice but three times I have picked up a lot of tips that may help you if you are new mom facing this problem as well.
There is no going back to the old routine
I found the first mistake I made was in trying to put my original household routine back in place after giving birth to my son. What I was forgetting here is that there was something extra added to my daily life now, meaning I had a little one that needed to be breastfed every four hours and he was not going to be willing to wait while I finished the dishes or making the bed.
A new plan of action
My second mistake was thinking that everything was going to go exactly as I scheduled it. Being the innovative person I am, I simply sat down and did a daily chore list with the times that I would perform each piece of work that needed doing, and of course I slated in the twenty minutes every four hours that my little guy would demand to be breastfed. Feeling quite smug I figured I had it all under control. This lasted for about half a day, then when my baby slept an hour past his regular feeding time my whole time plan was completely shot, I once again became totally unorganized and the rest of my hard work of planning meant nothing.
A flexible plan of action
Enough of the mistakes, so after a few trial and errors I finally realized that no matter what routine I was going to establish it had to be flexible. After all breastfeeding is a very important time in both Mom’s life and the babies. I realized my frustrations were robbing me of some of this very special joy and bonding with my baby. So my first word of advice is “Lighten Up”. All those chores are always going to be there, but your opportunity to enjoy your baby’s first few months of life through breastfeeding will soon pass.
Fitting others into the breastfeeding routine
It is particularly difficult when you have toddlers demanding your attention and you have a newborn that wants to be fed. Always find some little chore that your toddler can participate in to help you during your breastfeeding times if the newborn is taking time away from the youngster. Perhaps the toddler could simply rub the baby’s back while you are feeding, or help you to prop the baby up in the feeding position.
Reschedule the tough chores
If you are simply faced with some chores that once you start you can’t leave, then be sure to schedule these for when there is someone that can perhaps bottle-feed the baby with breast milk that you have pumped. Or better yet, can do the chore for you.
This post was written by Lior who works for Milk Nursingwear, a company that sells nursing sundress, nursing camisoles and many more nursing wear clothes.
Photo source
http://publicdomainclip-art.blogspot.com/2007/05/mothers-day-mother-and-child.html
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