Now that I’m a mom of FOUR (it’s crazy saying that out loud!), I’ve definitely experienced the ups and downs of motherhood. Well, at least the ups and downs of newborn life through the early kid years. But today, we’re just going to focus on the newborn stage. I love all of the stages - they’re all so beautiful and fun in their own perfect ways (and hard in their own special ways too) but gahhh I just love the newborn stage. My husband is more of an “18+ months old” stage lover and I know so many people agree with that. But either way, motherhood is hard. Yeah yeah yeah, we’ve all heard it a million times but just keep reading for a couple more minutes and I really think I’ve got some good advice coming your way (if you need it or want it)

3 Tips for New Moms [in the newborn stage]

And when I say “new moms” I’m referring to that newborn stage so I guess, here are my three best tips for the newborn stage of motherhood. And these aren’t your typical pieces of advice but I think they’re really good and they definitely have helped me:

1. Buy yourself jeans that fit you NOW.

3 Tips for New Moms [in the newborn stage]

Short and sweet and straight to the point —

Buy yourself a pair of jeans that fit you right now. Don’t aim slightly smaller and tell yourself “they’ll fit in two weeks” and don’t give yourself some “goal jeans.” These jeans must fit you NOW and fit you COMFORTABLY now. Trust me on this one!

2. Get up and ready for the day.

Now this one can have whatever interpretation you want and will vary from day to day but if you get up and “get ready” in the morning I promise you’ll feel a million times better each day and when I do this, I actually get so much more accomplished during that day too - I’m a thousand times more productive which is always a good feeling!

And here’s the definition of “get ready” and again, can change daily:

- wash your face
- do your hair
- put on some makeup
- put some clothes on
- take off your pajamas and throw on some lounge wear
- put on a ball gown

I don’t care what it is but get out of those pajamas and do some or all of your “getting ready” for the day to start your day off with some positivity

3. Easy Meals

Now this one has two parts to it because at different stages of motherhood, I’ve felt differently about food and food prep so here’s the rundown:

MEAL PREP -

When I was pregnant with Ava I didn’t feel myself. I was used to having dinner ready for Frank and myself when he got home from work and when Ava was born, that just didn’t happen. Then we tried a meal prep service and I swear it made me feel so much more accomplished. I made meals again, something that was important to me, and it just made me feel good. It made me feel like ME. So meal prep, order a food prep service, ask for help or whatever you need to do (if that’s something that’s important to you).

QUICK SNACKS -

The hardest part of having three kids (to me) is that I was always needed. When I finished giving one kid their glass of milk, another kid needed something else… and that’s even more the case with four kids (brings happy tears to my eyes every time I write that number - dream come true!). But anyhow, sometimes we head out the door and I haven’t had a chance to eat myself (or drink my coffee). So while I’ve managed well getting my meals in so far (it’s quite helpful that Frank is some with me to help out!), it’s nice to have quick shakes and protein bars on hand to drink and eat on the go or when I just don’t have a second to sit down. Of course we need “real” nourishment too (don’t throw that aside) but those quick snacks are so helpful to me!

And there you have it!

Of course there are so many other things I could say about motherhood - so many tips and pieces of advice I could write down - but those are the three that (although may seem quite insignificant) have made a world of a difference through my four seasons of becoming a mama. And I hope some of these tips will help you all too!