Waking up with postpartum

I have never been a morning person. When my Bodhi alarm wakes me up at 6am I wish with all my heart that I could just hit the snooze button. But unfortunately toddlers don't have one. Postpartum makes the morning especially hard. Some days I found it hard to get out of bed, let alone make breakfast for my son. As I have learned to cope with postpartum I have discovered a few techniques to get me going in the morning.

1.   Start a routine and stick to it! The first week was painful but I am so glad I suffered through it because my morning routine is the only thing that gets me going in the morning. I like to start by cleaning the dishes from the night before. That may seem gross to some of you, but they are only the dinner dishes for three people. I police the kitchen a bit and sweep the floors. The last thing I do is vacuum my living room because that is where we spend the majority of our time during the day. Not only does this routine help me start my day, more importantly it takes care of the areas in my house that caused me the most stress and anxiety and made the rest of my day so difficult to get through. The whole thing takes about twenty minutes and once it's done I feel relaxed and ready to tackle the rest of the day.



I mix the dry ingredients together and put them in an airtight container so that I can mix everything together the next morning without having to measure tons of ingredients.

 2.   Prep breakfast the night/week before! My son likes pancakes so I found a healthier recipe for pancakes and french toast (to get him to eat eggs) and on Sunday night I prepare all the ingredients so that Monday morning I have little to do to make enough pancakes and french toast for the week. Once I make them all I freeze them. Every morning I get one out of the freezer, microwave it for a few seconds and it's ready to go. I like Bodhi to have lots of fruit as well so I chop that up on Sunday as well and put it in serving size containers with a little lime juice/water to keep them from browning. This takes the stress level down several points by reducing the cooking and cleaning time every morning.

3.  Take a walk! Get out of the house, even for 15 or 20 minutes. It's refreshing and you get to see your child run around outside and laugh and have fun. It is good for your soul, mind and body!

4. Take a nap! Some days are more difficult to get through than others are, and that is completely normal! Drink some coffee, have some oatmeal and ride out your child's energy streak until he or she is ready to go down for a nap. Once you put your baby down, go to sleep! Wear comfy pajamas, wrap yourself up in your blanket and crank up your baby monitor. Sometimes the best thing you can do for yourself is give yourself a break.

TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR ABOUT POSTPARTUM!!!!!
None of these suggestions are able to replace the help a doctor can give you in regards to postpartum depression. It took me 7 months to admit to myself that I needed help. Once I spoke with my doctor and started a regimen I was angry that I went so long without getting help. I was embarrassed, like I know a lot of women are. But please believe me when I tell you that there is nothing to be embarrassed about. You are NOT a bad mother. You have to be your own advocate because no one else knows how you feel better than you do. Let people help you. I felt that if I couldn't do everything myself I was a bad mom. NOT TRUE! We need to be in touch with ourselves and our bodies enough to know that something is not right. Be fare to yourself and get the help you need because you will feel better once you do.

Day 1-Applesauce Bran Muffins

I have always wanted to start a blog but I have never been good at following through with anything. However, since the birth of my son, Bodhi, I have been thrown into situations that have forced me to change my ways. Now that I have finally adapted to staying at home instead of working, and I have learned how to deal with my postpartum, I decided that I want to continue this journey in an effort to become a better mom, healthier person, and a more dependable friend.

Cooking has never been my strong suit but I want Bodhi to be healthy so I tried making his baby food and now I experiment with recipes trying to find something he will eat. This kid hates everything. It is suprising that he is so big and so healthy. His female cousin, same age and half the size, eats her body weight at least in food every day. My son eats nothing and grows like a weed. Today I found a recipe on another mom's blog and thought I would give it a try. Low and behold he eats it with gusto. It's a healthy snack that I can give him when he finaly decides that he wants to eat. If you want to check out these Applesauce Bran Muffins here is the link, http://www.squidoo.com/healthy-toddler-finger-foods-recipes. These are insanely easy to make and require ingredients that most people already have in their kitchens. Happy baking!