Happy Motherhood to You.

Pregnancy is a wonderful time in a woman’s life as she enters the experience of becoming a mother for the first time in her life. She is excited when she feels that a new life is going to be coming out soon from her belly. The process from conception till birth is a tough but an enjoyable and happy journey for a woman as she experiences a lot of changes in her body and mind and needs the constant support of her family and especially her husband. When a woman gets the right amount of support and advice from a good obstetrician and gynecologist, she experiences a happy and fruitful birth. Counseling and regularity to one’s gynecologist is essential in all 9 months of pregnancy as it helps doctors keep track of how the pregnancy is progressing and whether the baby is showing any abnormal developmental symptoms in the womb. A woman also experiences a lot of mood swings during her pregnancy as her hormones are in a haywire state and these hormones can also affect the woman’s cravings for weird foods that she can constantly ask for throughout her pregnancy. It is essential that a woman’s needs be met during pregnancy so that she can remain in a peaceful, relaxed and happy state. As the time for labor and birth arrives, women usually retreat into a nesting phase where they start planning for the arrival of the baby and purchase all baby essentials in advance so that there is no need to purchase them in case of emergency. Let’s now have a look at some of the pointers that a woman needs to keep in mind after her pregnancy is over. Tips for a new mother for postpartum care Some of the tips are as follows-

1. It is quite a scary situation for some women who become new mothers as they feel quite anxious about taking care of another human being. This can sometimes depress and give anxiety attacks to the mother. The best way to deal with such a situation is to seek help from your family and spouse and even your doctor. Your family and doctor can help you and your spouse in determining the best way to take care of your newborn baby in the best ways possible. When this is settled, try to get some rest while your family and spouse take care of your baby as rest for a woman after pregnancy is highly essential to get her energy levels back.

2. When you have sufficiently recovered from your postpartum period, you must then think about losing that extra pregnancy fat to get your body back in shape. Hit the gym or do simple, light exercises at home to lose pregnancy fat as recommended by your obstetrician. Start slow and then take up the pace of your exercises once your body becomes comfortable in the starting pace. This will help you in losing 10-15 pounds easily and help you reach your pre-pregnancy body goals as well.

3. It is a well-known and researched fact that breastfeeding can significantly help reduce your calories. But, you also need to have a good diet in order to produce a constant flow of breast milk for your baby. Mother’s breast milk helps the baby in fending off illnesses and offers them the early nutrition that they need right from the start. Breastfeeding also reduces chances of breast cancer and ovarian cancer in women. To produce a good amount of breast milk, a mother needs to have 300 calories a day which can be easily supplemented by fruits and yogurt. Just make sure you’re not overdoing it when it comes to your diet.

4. After pregnancy, a woman’s core becomes saggy and lax which can be quite a pain and look flabby if not worked out properly. Thus, on the advice of your doctor, you should have an exercise plan that focuses on rebuilding your core strength and also gives you great flexibility. Also be sure to include some cardiovascular exercises in your exercise regime.

5. Make sure you are taking your prenatal vitamins on a daily basis because your body is still in the repair process and needs as much nutrition as it can muster to keep you healthy and fight off infections and diseases. You can consult your doctor on which vitamins you should have but mostly your doctors will ask you to continue with your prenatal vitamins only. These vitamins also play an important role during your breastfeeding process. Additionally, your doctor may advise you on taking an iron and Vitamin C supplement after your pregnancy.

6. To help shape and strengthen your pelvic floor muscles, do kegels which can significantly improve them. After pregnancy, women may still experience leaking bladders although usually the symptom dies down on its own after some time. But, in case it doesn’t, you can start with kegels to help keep your pelvic floor muscles in shape.

7. Use retinol based creams and oils to reduce the appearance of stretch marks that were present during your pregnancy. You can even use these oils and creams during pregnancy to reduce the marks. Women can still develop pink or purplish lines after pregnancy so this should not cause you much worry as it is quite normal. Use of retinoid creams based from Vitamin A can help you in reducing previous and new stretch marks when applied on a daily basis. 8. After your vagina has healed up from childbirth, you can resume your sex life with your spouse when you get the go-ahead from your doctor. 9. Finally, enjoy your new role as a mother to your baby and happily adjust to your new role as a parent. It may take some time getting used to but in the end, you will get the hang of it and start enjoying more and more time with your newborn. So, these are some of the postpartum care tips that a mother needs to keep in mind when raising her newborn. Let’s now take a look at some of the books that we have in our Bookpal library for newborns and toddlers that you can enjoy with them as a new parent. Books for Newborns and toddler from our Bookpal Library Some of the books that we recommend are as follows

1. Goodnight Little Moon by Ricky Rabbit

2. Whose Bottom? By Fiona Phillipson

3. Amazing Ants by Sue Whiting & Stuart Martin

4. Two Little Witches: A Counting Story by Harriet Ziefert

5. Llama Llama Nighty-Night by Anna Dewdney

6. The Tale of Tom Kitten by Beatrix Potter So, these are some fun books for you and your new baby which you can enjoy with them again and again. Lastly, let us have a look at how new mothers can take care of their newborns in an effective, healthy and safe manner. Tips on taking care of your infant after pregnancy Some of the tips are as follows:

1. Firstly, make sure that you are feeding your newborn at proper intervals of time. This will allow your baby to digest the milk properly and also will discourage you and your baby from overfeeding. Make sure your baby is latched properly onto your nipple as this will cause less discomfort to the mother. Your breast should feel less full once your baby finishes feeding. If you are not able to produce enough breast milk, then you can always feed your baby a doctor recommended baby formula to make up for the lack of breast milk.

2. The second important thing after feeding is burping. This ensures that the baby does not feel constipated or gassy. Burping allows the baby to pass off the extra air, aiding in digestion of the milk and prevents colic pain in babies. Make sure to hold your baby close to your chest while resting his/her chin on your shoulder and then gently stroke or pat the baby’s back until he/she gives out a burp.

3. Thirdly, it is very important to hold your baby in the correct position. Make sure you keep your hand as support behind the baby’s neck as the baby’s neck muscles and backbone are still in the developing stage and will not be able to support him/her on its own. The baby’s head gets full support of its own by the age of 3 months.

4. It is also important to take care of the umbilical cord stump once your baby is born. Make sure to give your baby a bath with lukewarm water 2-6 hours after birth. Also keep the area around the navel clean and dry. Do not pull up the diaper till the navel area, keep it rolled down and away from the navel area so that it can dry up. If the baby’s umbilical cord stump area shows any signs of infection such as redness, swelling, smelly discharge or pus, immediately take your baby to a pediatrician.

5. Diaper changing is an essential part when taking care of a newborn baby. You will have to constantly change diapers as soon as your baby dirties it. When a baby gets a sufficient amount of breast milk or milk formula, he/she tends to dirty their diaper almost 6-8 times daily. Make sure to change the diaper quickly whenever you feel that it is full. This prevents the baby from getting UTI. Also use baby wipes to clean your baby’s bottom as they are made of soft cloth and do not harm or cause rashes. So, these and many more tips are available on the internet about which you can read and apply them in your life when taking care of your newborn infant. You can also keep in constant touch with your pediatrician about ways in handling your newborn in a proper way.

Hope you enjoyed reading this detailed article. If you want to explore more books for your newborn, head straight away to bookpallibrary.com and enjoy a wide variety of our books for your little ones. Happy reading and happy motherhood to you.