Maintaining Your Sanity or "How to Avoid Becoming a Mombie" {Featuring DockATot}

I received this product compliments of DockATot.  

I get asked all the time how I look like I have it all together so soon after giving birth to Chloe. The truth is, I live and die by the phrase, "Fake it till you make it." Sometimes, I really do feel like I am a zombie - or mombie, if you will. The first couple of weeks I am usually just getting by, scraping together every ounce of will in me to climb out of bed and feel like a functioning, if not productive, human being. This time around especially, I have Caleb to worry about, so "sleep when the baby sleeps" isn't really an option all the time. 

I am very lucky in the sense that my body bounces back from pregnancy really quickly. I know that not everyone is so fortunate, but the tips I'm going to give you don't require you to be someone who bounces back quickly. They're simply things that will make you feel like you have some semblance of normalcy while you adjust to your new normal. 

The first thing is to figure out what works for you and your baby. While it would be amazing to snuggle all day every day, and you certainly can on days when you feel like it, some days, you just want to feel human again. So figure out what works for your baby. Figure out their calmest hours, figure out what safe place they like to sleep in, and USE IT!

For Chloe, I have figured out that she is calmest in the morning. She eats, sleeps, poops, and falls asleep again once she is comfortable. And where is she comfortable? Right now, she loves her DockATot.  The DockATot is a multi-functional lounger and co-sleeper. It's 100% cotton and tested for breathability. I know I can leave her in the DockATot on the bed or on the floor and she is safe and comfortable. And because it envelops them on the sides, it creates a micro climate for them that keeps them even more comfortable. 

Once you have figured out what works for you, and what keeps your baby calm and happy, then you can take a little time to take care of yourself! 

Sleep When You Can - With Caleb, I used to sleep in after our morning feeding. Once he was a little sturdier, I would put him in bed next to me and we would both sleep really well. Those extra two hours in the morning would help me make up the hours I had lost during nighttime feedings. With Chloe it hasn't exactly worked the same way, but she also gives me longer stretches at night than Caleb did, so my sleep is a little less fractured.

Get Out of Your PJs - You don't have to dress up. But change out of your PJs. If you're anything like me, those postpartum/breastfeeding hormones are doing a number on you. I spend the night sweating. Add to that leaking milk on my PJs, the last thing that makes me feel good is staying in my jammies. Putting on clean clothes, even if it's leggings and a tee, makes me feel a thousand times better.

Shower When You Can - Again, hormones, leaky milk, and postpartum bleeding. A shower always makes me feel like a brand new human, especially when I can wash my hair. On that note...

Do Your Hair - If you normally dye your hair, get it done a couple weeks after delivery. You'll feel like a unicorn mom. When you wash your hair, dry it or style it. For me, that makes it last a couple days longer, and even if I have it picked up in a ponytail, my hair doesn't look messy. Bonus points and extra days without washing if I manage to curl it, too!

Take Care of Your Skin & Slap On a Little Makeup - I'm not saying a full face. But you'd be AMAZED at what some moisturizer and undereye concealer will do for you and how much better it will make you feel.

Get Outside - The four walls of your house can make you feel really lonely. If you're not yet comfortable going places, driving around, etc., at the very least, go for a walk outside. Put the baby in the stroller or carry them in their carrier. The walk will make you feel good because you're stretching your legs. You increase your chances of having human interaction with someone who can speak to you, and the fresh air will do you wonders!

Find Friends Who Get You - Some days, you just need to complain about how tired you are, or how much your nipples hurt. Find friends or other moms in your area who get you. I have found that my child-free friends don't get it when I comment about stuff like that. But any woman who has had a baby in the history of ever will understand what you're feeling - unless they are some kind of freaks and didn't experience it the way the rest of us do.

Utilize Other Caretakers - We are very fortunate that our kids have four living grandparents who live in the same city as us and who basically fight to take care of them (not literally but almost lol). We also have a few other family members who are willing to help out. And we have a babysitter we trust and use as well. Sometimes I leave the kids with Dad and go do what I need to do, and a couple weeks ago, Eddie’s Mom stayed with both the kids while we ran out to enjoy a nice kid-free dinner together.

Don’t Worry About Doing It All - You know all those “super moms” out there that look like they have it all together? Their houses are perfect, they cook dinner every night, so adorable crafts with their kids, and they look perfect themselves? If that’s what works for them, that’s amazing. But don’t let yourself feel bad because you can’t maintain that in your home. Some days I manage to get dinner cooked for everyone, other days we eat leftovers, or sandwiches, or we order out. And the clean laundry typically sits in my bedroom for a week or so before it gets put away. And then it’s time for the next batch of clean laundry. I typically try to empty my sink each night, but sometimes a shower and slee are more important to me that having clean dishes. Do what you can, the rest can wait.

And there you have it. How I manage to maintain some semblance of sanity as a stay at home/work from home mom. What else would you add to this?

Want to try the DockATot for your little one? Follow this link for $10 off your purchase! (Your purchase through this link helps me earn a little something to keep the blog going.)

xoxo, 

​Jenise