What new mums really want, to be spoiled for Mother’s Day
What new mums really want, to be spoiled for Mother’s Day
A precious baby has arrived into the world and you are plotting how to spoil the new mum.
Department stores beckon you with the latest gadgets and nursery items. Surely this is what every new mum wants?
The truth may surprise you. Be warned: you will never look at those stores the same way again.
What we don’t often hear is that not only has a baby been born but also a mother. She has done an enormous job of carrying, nurturing and birthing this baby into the world. Whichever way her labour went, it took enormous courage and strength.
So rather than getting carried away with all the nursery items you can get your hands on, consider the road less travelled and spoil the new mum instead. After all her hard work, surely she deserves it!
The American Academy or Pediatrics says babies should sleep in their parents’ room – but not in the same bed – for at least the first six months, ideally for the whole year to reduce risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) by 50% so you can pretty much forget about the nursery for a while.
When you think about it, the baby has no awareness of how pretty her nursery looks. All she wants is to be close to mum and get basic needs met. For nine months, baby’s nursery has been mother’s womb so her priorities are vastly different than ours.
A healthy, whole, happy mother translates into a happy, calm baby who feels safe in the world so better to invest in the mother and help everybody involved.
So what does a new mother really need?
I asked those that really matter – the new mums themselves. If someone could wave a magic wand, this is what they really want…
“I could have done with a nap to be honest. Had my third child six months ago and I didn’t get a single nap during the day. I wish someone I trusted could have walked him for an hour when he was a newborn.
“Time! People bothering to make time to see me and my baby.”
It would cost nothing to visit or take baby for a scenic walk.
Never underestimate the power of good food to feel nourished, rebuild strength and stamina as well as having good milk supply for baby.
“Definitely meals! But healthy meals and not a bunch of junk that makes you feel sick to your belly! A pitcher of fruit infused water would be fun to help stay hydrated while nursing.”
“A steady stream of healthy and nutritious meals and snacks as well as someone to clean and do laundry for a week or two. That would really speak my language!”
“Meals! My mom cleaned out and stocked my fridge; such a beautiful thing. Freezer meals. Foot massage or back rub or manicure. My doula brought me a breastfeeding basket that I carried from room to room and it was such a blessing.”
“Someone to text in the morning saying, “don’t worry about dinner tonight, I’ve got this” and to turn up with dinner for our family. We live out of town and our neighbour did this! Now it’s my ‘Go To’ when my friends have children.”
“Someone to come to my house and sit with the baby while I get to take a long shower, eat a decent meal. Then they can do my dishes for me… throw in a load of laundry.”
“A post birth massage, a cleaner to mop my floors, someone to take my older kids out or help with meal prepping – getting quick meals stored in the freezer to save time. But even a simple breakfast in bed with loads of love and snuggles and a hot bath afterwards would be amazing too.”
“A postpartum doula!” A doula helps a new family in those first days and weeks. This could also be part of a tradition which lasts up to 40 days, when a new mum rests and avoids physical work, while being cared for so she can focus on baby.
“A day of self-care – whatever I need to feel good about myself. I think we submerge ourselves so much in the care of others that we don’t make time for ourselves. So a day when someone says, ‘don’t worry about your kids, I’ve got them today and you go do your thing’ is such a great gift.
May every mother be spoiled in a meaningful way this Mother’s Day.
By Katrina Zaslavsky, Birth Goddess
Birth Goddess offers private coaching services to transform fears, doubts or anxiety into calm, clarity and confidence for the journey into birth and motherhood.
Discover empowering birth products including inspirational birth books, affirmation cards decks, audios for pregnancy and labour and magazines (pre-conception through to early motherhood) which make great self-help tools or beautiful gifts for new & expecting mums. See more on her website: http://www.birthgoddess.com.au/
