Advice for New Moms
If you are seeking advice for new moms, you’ve come to the right place! MomLife Organizer is THE place for getting prepared for mom life. I have a whole series, aptly called, the Preparation Series you can check out.
In this post, I’m going to share with you my 5 wishes for before I became a mom and how you can use this information to help you now and as your motherhood journey continues.
My Wish Came True
When you read those, What I Wish I Knew posts, something magical happens. You see through the eyes of wisdom. I mean, if the person is being truthful, you are getting insider knowledge about a life you haven’t lived yet. The blessing is, now you can go forward and live stronger, better lives. And yet, even in this stronger better life, you will still encounter problems. Maybe not as many but still. That’s actually a good thing.
One thing I wanted from when I was quite young is to live my life for Christ. Yes, I’m a Christian, but stick with me. I wanted badly to serve Him and live like Him. I mean, He is all giving, loving, powerful, and kind. He has compassion on many and merciful beyond measure.
Why wouldn’t I want to be like that? I love people. My fault in this thinking was that that meant easy-street.
Nope, actually, to be like Christ means some amount of rejection and suffering in order to be transformed into that giving, loving, merciful person. I can’t just get there, I must be shaped into it. I know God shaped me through all of these trials. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to write a blog post about what YOU should know.
The advice I’m giving to moms in this post is founded upon hard times and falling tears. But, nevertheless, I am thankful that my wish has come true. Now I can truly show compassion and have true wisdom in the ways of motherhood.
Let me stop yammering and impart that to you now.
5 Tips for New Moms
#1 New Identity
The first tip I wish I had before motherhood was that motherhood changes you. Tune back in y’all! I know you’ve heard this and I did too but I missed it. This advice for new moms is so casually spoken that it’s easy to miss. Let me say it this way, motherhood not only changes you but it gives you literally a new identity. Think of James Bond, Bourne Identity or some other spy-like movie. You know who you are but everyone around you suddenly doesn’t.
You have been given a new id card, hairstyle, function of life. It pays to find out everything you can about your new identity. Reading posts like this is a great start. Go over to my menu link, Mom Identity and you’ll learn much more.
#2 The Importance of a Tribe and How to Find One
Motherhood cannot be conquered alone. Now that you have a new identity, you also need people that also identify with you.
You need young ones and older ones, new ones and seasoned ones. You need mothers that have more time than those at your own stage, so they can step in and help you.
Seriously get help for your one (or more) babies. The tendency is for others to think that once you get past post-partum (with the FIRST baby), you no longer need help or that you will figure it out. Don’t fall into that trap. Even if it’s a breast-feeding group, go and make mommy friends. Don’t overlook the importance of a tribe and find out how to find them asap. You might want to read, Loneliness in Motherhood.
#3 Dure Need for Preparation (beyond money-matters)
This is another misconception of motherhood. It’s mentioned that you need to get money matters straight before having a kid.
No one mentions other things that you probably would do best to figure out before kids. Yes, get your finances organized and some savings put away (if you are thinking of being a SAHM, you need to create a detailed plan).
But beyond money, do you know how to cook? Do you know what kind of formula you’ll feed baby? Have you any idea what breastfeeding is like? Do you know the price of diapers and how many a baby goes through? Did you solidify a babysitter? There are tons of questions and it’ll be best to know the answer to as many as possible. You can easily search Pinterest to get answers.
#4 Learn How to Take Care of Yourself
I thought I was in decent shape and ate fairly well before I had kids. Now I realize I was nowhere near where I would have wanted to be. The actual act of having a baby is hard, hard work on the body. Recovering can be made easier through exercise BEFORE pregnancy.
Even after baby #1 and #2, I did more exercise and it helped. Especially when it comes to weight management. It’s better to have these in place upfront. Don’t wait, putting it off due to laziness or busyness. Sleep also has a huge impact on motherhood life. If you actually learn about how this all works, how your body works internally, hormones, chemistry, your inner biome, you will feel better and do better.
#5 Perfection Cannot Be Achieved and That’s Okay!
I pressured myself so much with getting things “right” and having the perfect ‘mom at home’ house. Even though this is fifth, the most shared advice for new moms that I give is don’t worry about it. Moms mention things to me and I simply tell them, “It’s okay, everyone else is going through that too.”. The truth is, everyone’s house is messy, everyone’s kid freaks out and makes a scene, every mom is wondering how other moms look so good and they don’t. Yes, even the moms that look so good!
If you are still feeling guilty about how your mom life looks, read 16 Things It’s Ok to Do in Motherhood.
Bonus Tip: The Best Advice for New Moms
That was probably plenty to get you sailing through motherhood, especially if you act on those things before you have a baby! I know if I had known these things, the depth of them, it would have transformed who I am. But there is one more thing that will make this road significantly easier. That is my free e-course, Roadmap for Moms.
In this course, I walk you through simple steps that give you a real taste of motherhood. I once called this course, the 10 tasks moms NEED to be prepared for (clunky I know). This new, condensed course, Roadmap for Moms, will get you knowledgable for the main things moms do. This is your first step in being prepared for motherhood. Join today!
