Tips to survive the first 2 months

With Gabe being almost 7 weeks, i'm just about to finish my 2 month mark as a mommy. I officially know how it feels to be away from civilization and feel like i'm in my own little world. My nights turned into days, and my days into nights. My pj's became my choice of apparel 24 hours a day. But to ensure your sanity and your inner goddess, you cannot do this -which i soon came to realize.


Dressing up, even just to stay at home, does wonders for your esteem. This along with other tips, reminds you of who you are as a person within your home, and as a person in this massive world.

A happy mommy means a happy baby, as they say.

So, here's what i learned to stay sane:


1) stare at your baby everyday and thank God for your blessings. Babies are such miracles and truly a gift to our lives. Remember how lucky we are. Also don't forget how fast time flies and how fast babies grow. Cherish every moment.


2) take a shower everyday and dress up. i'm not saying you have to wear an evening gown. But wear something other than pj's or sweats. even if it means wearing a long single strand necklace with your v neck tee or even a funky cocktail ring that you can stare at every time you hold your baby, play with them, change their diaper, or anything else you do with your baby. Remind yourself of who you are.


3) Get a new mommy haircut. You don't have to do anything drastic, but even just trimming the split ends improves the appearance and luster of your hair. Plus its nice to be pampered for a bit- especially getting that nice head massage :).


4) Do your nails. You probably feel like you don't have time to do this, but with all the hand sanitizing, washing baby bottles, washing hands after changing diapers, your hands turn out to be a mess. Make the time to do it. Moisturize your hands regularly. Paint your nails a happy color. Make it your favorite color or even the color of the season. Plus, i'm sure you've been taking a lot of pictures of you holding baby so wouldn't it be nice to have nice hands in the picture?


5) take advantage of friends and family. If people offer to help, whether its to cook you dinner, clean, babysit, or whatever - take advantage of it. Its easy to not want to bother people, but trust me, people really want to help -it makes them feel important in your life.


6) sleep - of course the thought of a good 8 hour sleep is out the door, but sleep when your baby sleeps. Its easy to do chores, go on the computer, watch tv while your baby is down. But none of these are as important to your well-being as sleep. This will help prevent you from being a zombie the whole day.


7) Get out of the house. Don't let yourself get cooped up. You and your baby need fresh air. Whether its for a stroll in your neighborhood or even going to dinner with outdoor seating. You'll feel a hundred times better seeing people and being around people. Obviously baby is still young so you can't go to the mall/grocery/anywhere congested with people. But open air places like the park are great places for a mini-getaway from home. Getting that exercise will make you feel better too.


8) catch up with your girlfriends. Have them come over, or in my case, have a nice long chat with them on the phone if they live far away. Hearing that familiar voice and laughing over stupid things will make you happy


9) Make sure you and your husband/partner share a minimum of a 5 minutes hugging. Sometimes its just nice to be in each others arms, feeling protected, instead of being the "protector" all the time