Hi mama! Today I want to share with you some practical tools that helped me stay sane during the first months of motherhood.

Because having a newborn very often feels exhausting, overwhelming and sometimes unmanageable.

The physical and mental exhaustion we endure is unbelievable, the stress levels, the sleepless nights, the not knowing what to do, the huge responsibility of caring for a tiny person who can’t express themselves other than through crying…

Tell me, mama:

– When was the last time you had a meal in peace?

– How often do you shower for as long as you would like to?

– How often do you wake up feeling refreshed and energised?

– How many times have you felt like crying but you don’t even have time for that!

We just carry on because we have to, and we get used to living in a zombie state.

But this is not free, if you don’t take care of yourself and make your emotional well-being a priority, your health will suffer badly for all this stress and exhaustion.

So today I want to share with you some tools that really helped me stay sane and release stress when I thought I was about to go crazy:

– Emotional Freedom Technqiue (also known as tapping) is an incredibly effective tool to decompress and release unpleasant emotions and stress.

You just tap on a few points of the body while you describe how you are feeling. It is similar to acupuncture but tapping with your fingers and focusing on one emotion.

Once you learn the points and how to do it, you can notice results in just a few minutes.

This is a 12 minute video that explains how it works and teaches how to do it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jhRysNuCz0

– Breathing.

Every time our baby cries, we switch to fight or flight mode.

Have you noticed that when the baby wakes you up in the middle of the night your heart beats really quickly?

That is the stress response kicking in. It is a natural mechanism to make sure we response to our little baby’s needs.

But once in fight or flight, with adrenaline and cortisol flooding our body, it is difficult to go back to sleep, you can’t think properly, and the body pays the toll.

The beauty of breathing is that it is an automatic function in the body (you still breath while you sleep), but you can also decide how fast or deeply you breath. Convenient!

By breathing out for a longer count that you breathe in, you are activating the parasympathetic nervous system, which gives your body the signal that it is safe to go back to the very much needed resting and repairing mode.

It is very easy, just breath in for a count of 3, and breath out for a count of 6. (Or extend the counts as it feels comfortable maintaining the 1:2 ratio).

In this video I explain more about how it works and I guide you through a round of few breaths:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UukH4OAjbI4

– If you are struggling to wind down before bed and even when the baby sleeps you are so wired that it takes forever to fall asleep, this guided meditation is perfect for you.

Meditation Before Sleep – Let Go of The Day + Gratitude

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMLeM6zTxHs

– Journaling.

We experience so many intense emotions the first few months after giving birth.

Not only you are processing the fact that your life will never be the same again, you are being tortured with sleep deprivation and your hormones are all ove the place. But fear not mama, it will pass!

Writing about your emotions is a very healthy way to let them out, understand yourself and process all the overwhelming changes you are experiencing.

Forget about the grammar, just write whatever comes to mind. Even if it is ugly. Especially if it is ugly, you need to let it out!

If you don’t want to keep it, rip it apart and throw it in the bin.

OK mama, that was a lot for today, but I hope you will find these resources useful.

If you have any questions please do reach out, I will be happy to help

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