The Yummy Mummy’s Guide To Restoring Your Confidence After You Have A Baby
Your mind and body go through a lot during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. After all, you have made a whole new person! Of course, all these changes often mean that new mums can suffer in the confidence department. Although, the good news is there are plenty of steps you can take to get you back to feeling like your old self. Read on to find out what they are.
Gentle exercise
One of the best ways to restore confidence in your body after having a baby is to take up some mindful, gentle exercise like yoga. The great thing about yoga is that it helps you to stay rooted in the experience of your body on the day and moment you are practicing and not worry about comparing yourself to what you could do in the past. Indeed, this is of particular use for women that have given birth, because it encourages you to work and embrace the changes in your body, not fight against them.
Then there are all the other benefits of establishing a yoga practice including increased flexibility, balance, and muscle tone, not to mention the mental health advantages that all moms can do with. Just be sure to check with your medical team before exercising after giving birth to make sure it's safe for you and your body.
Focus on your favorite attributes
Focusing on some of your favorite attributes can also be a very beneficial way of regaining some confidence postpartum. After all, instead of zeroing in on and maximizing the things that have changed, remaining ourselves of the things we love that haven’t can be a much more healthy way of boosting our confidence.
Of course, whatever part of your body you choose is up to you. For example, if you love your eyes you could invest in a new eyeshadow pallet and some brushes and give yourself a bit of time to do your eye makeup each morning.
If you’ve always been proud of your smile, you could treat yourself to a new lipstick and liner, and even some teeth whitening treatments. Then you’ll know that whenever you grin at your new baby or anyone else in your life you will truly feel at your best!
Body acceptance
Another tactic that you can use to help you reach a more confident place after giving birth is a body-acceptance approach. This strategy is less about working hard to regain your pre-pregnancy body and ‘snap back’ and more about accepting the reality of what happens to the body as it carries and nourishes a child.
Indeed, the great thing about this approach is that it can help you to be so much more compassionate to yourself and your body. Something that in turn can help switch focus from negative comparison to what your body used to be like, to an appreciation for all the amazing things it has done and continues to do for you and your child on a daily basis.