5 Tips Every New Mama Needs

And just like that, baby is here, ready or not! Motherhood is such a beautiful journey, but despite those adorable baby toes and infectious sweet smiles, let’s be real, the transition into mom life is hard.

Whether you’re just getting started, have survived a few months as a mama, or are approaching that exciting 1st birthday, you’ve surely had questions along the way. Maybe you’re wondering how to get your little one active & moving, or how to get your newborn to sleep through the night, how to keep yourself strong and healthy as a new mom, or how mama and baby can stay calm on days that don’t run so smooth. Well, you’re not alone. Which is why we think it’s so important to focus on postpartum wellness here at Well Rounded.

To help make some sense of that wondrous transition to motherhood, Well Rounded NY recently hosted some NYC local mamas and babes under the age of 1 for a Postpartum Wellness Workshop at Monkey Do Yoga in Brooklyn.

Here’s 5 things we learned from our expert speakers:

1. Talk, touch, and listen to your baby. The more awareness you have of their bodies the more they will learn. — Jessica Gershen, yoga teacher specializing in babies & toddlers.

2. When it comes to your own nutrition, plan ahead! Having even just a handful of go-to meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner will take a lot of pressure off you. If daily meal planning is not for you, picking from a small curated list will make the choice easier, faster and less stressful! — Megan Wolf, Registered Dietitian & cookbook author

3. Mindfully connect with yourself and your baby. When you are caring for an infant, it can be quite challenging to create moments to engage in meditation, mindful breathing and other types of self care activities. Since your baby is masterful at pranayama breathing, utilize your moments holding and/or feeding her/him to engage in deep diaphragmatic breaths. Allow yourself to “mindfully” connect with your baby by holding his/her gaze while simultaneously engaging your breath. Remember To “Breathe Like, AND With, Your Baby — Shawnee Benton Gibson, Author, Healer & Vision Coach, Spirit of a Woman (S.O.W.) Leadership Development Institute

4. When it comes to sleep, remember to be patient with yourself and your child. Babies are extremely malleable, change quickly as they develop and there is great variability amongst them, even at similar ages. What your neighbor’s child is doing isn’t necessarily what yours should be doing! With time, you can help your baby learn how to sleep independently. — Christina Gantcher, gentle sleep coach.

5. Find a new mom community. These mom friends will be your support, your experts, your listening ear, and even your extra pair of hands when you need to shower. Get out and meet other new moms, no matter how awkward. They’re your best allies in this thing we call parenting. — Jessica Pallay & Kaity Velez, founders of Well Rounded NY.

In between informative and action-filled workshop sessions, Well Rounded Postpartum Wellness Event guests mingled and indulged in colorfully delicious, lactogenic lite bites from Barley + Oats and got a peek at the Babynes nutrition system from Gerber that makes preparing formula bottles quick and easy.

Guests stayed refreshed with brewed iced tea from Earth Mama Angel Baby, Balance Water and chilled pouches of organic fruit and veggie blends from Once Upon a Farm, and breathed clean air from Dyson‘s purifying fans and humidifiers.

Honest Company provided an adorably sweet Feeding Nook for mama and baby to get cozy, filled with beautiful decor from Babyletto and Lorena Canals, and stocked the baby changing table with Honest’s newest printed diapers and diaper-changing essentials.

The afternoon ended with a chance to win fantastic raffle prizes from Honest, Babynes, Dyson and Baby K’tan, and everyone left with a Sureshop bag from Hatch Things filled with goodies from Oak and Navy, Lollaland, Elvie, Calm-a-Mama, Rose and Rex , Weepea and Bitsy’s Brainfood.

All photography by Jonica Moore Studio.