The first week with a new baby is a haze of sheer bliss and utter confusion. It’s absolutely amazing that you’re getting to know this new little person that was inside of you just moments ago...but it’s absolutely terrifying that you’re getting to know a new person! What do they need? What are they communicating? What is your body telling you? How is it changing? And why is it all still so challenging?

The trap is so easy to fall into. As moms, it feels like we do everything. Gestate the baby, deliver the baby, feed the baby, wear the baby…mom burnout makes sense in the early years, because our children are basically an extension of our own bodies. As the years go on, even when other family members can chip in more and more, the child’s needs change but the demand stays the same. In fact, it probably increases, just in different ways.

The postpartum phase is such a time of mixed emotions, from the bliss of getting to know your new little one to the struggles of learning to care for them. When you add the impending return to work, all of those emotions and stresses seem to be amplified. Don’t let a fear of pumping keep you from continuing your nursing relationship. It can feel like a lot of work, but you can do it. Yes, you really can do it!

Just because the baby is born doesn’t mean you have to slow down your dietary vigilance. You may be surprised at just how much it can take to sustain your body while constantly producing milk and expending energy to nurse a little one. It’s important to plan for the added nutrients and energy in order to keep on making that liquid love.

Newborn colic is so frustrating and painful for babies and parents alike.  It can be so hard to watch your baby cry and cry as you frantically try to figure out how to help them feel better.  I speak from personal experience, remembering how difficult it was when my sweet baby cried because of colic pains.