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Hi
moms this is Carrie Lauth from Natural Moms Talk Radio (http://www.naturalmomstalkradio.com).
I wanted to talk a little bit about getting help in your postpartum period.
We moms tend to be a little bit independent and we think that we are so
strong and we just don’t want to bother people, we want to be able to do it
all.
Well
let me tell ya, if you try to do it all postpartum you might set yourself up
for a breast infection, you might set yourself up for uterine infection, you
might increase your chances of suffering from postpartum depression and you
don’t need to complicate your life with those issues when you are trying to
enjoy your new baby and get to know each other.
So
here is my tip on accepting help: every time that you sit down to feed the
baby have a pad of paper and a pen nearby so that you can write down things
that you might need or things that need to be done around your home. When
someone calls up and says oh I want to come by and see the baby do you need
anything I want you to force yourself to pick up that notepad and look at
something on there and you can say you know what we’re really running low on
laundry detergent would you mind bringing me some?
You
know what if this person loves you and cares about you they will be happy to
do it and the cool thing about it is the next time that person needs some
help, the next time your friend is sick and needs a pot of chicken soup to
feed herself she’s not going to hesitate to call you because you have been
honest about your needs and reached out to her so please do that mom. Don’t
try to be a super woman.
You
might be running low on your supplies like let’s say you are running low on
your pads or whatever you don’t need to be going out to the store with a one
week old you need to be staying at home for awhile and letting your body
heal and enjoying your baby so don’t be afraid to ask people.
Another thing, if people are coming over to visit your baby that means that
they care about you so don’t feel bad and don’t feel guilty about asking for
some help. People love to help they really do and they are expecting you to
say oh no we don’t need anything but if you are really honest and tell them
something that they can do they are going to jump on it.
Make
sure that you do that – keep a list of things that you might be running low
on. The kids are running out of milk or if you are running low on toilet
paper by all means ask somebody. If there’s things that need to be done
around your house, I know that for some it might be embarrassing to have
someone else clean your home but it’s just not a big deal to say before you
leave would you mind making my toddler a peanut butter sandwich so you know
I can hopefully settle everybody down for a nap?
Trust
me they are going to love that you asked because when you ask someone to
help you it is a sign to them that you have a good relationship that that’s
your friend because you wouldn’t ask a perfect stranger but you would ask a
friend. So it’s kind of like it builds confidence in the person. Those are
my tips for accepting help postpartum. Have a great week and I’ll see you
at Natural Moms Talk Radio (http://www.naturalmomstalkradio.com).
