Post pregnancy cabin fever can be a real bitch.
I was at home 24/7, wearing pads due to after baby bleeding, slightly loopy from the drugs for the body pain, constipated and the only conversation you have is with a little human that cries for food every hour.
Any time I was around adults I would apologize because it seemed I lost all my social skills. I would talk and talk and talk and make awful jokes and laugh and keep talking… not too much different than before baby I suppose.
The newborn stage for me, as a first time mom, was very tough. It was a mental drain more than anything. It wasn’t until about 3 months (when my son started truly interacting with me) that I started enjoying it and gaining my confidence in being a mother.
My husband and I went on our first post birth date at the 6 week mark. I rambled and made no sense and my husband just gave me the weirdest look. It was also influenced by me just being happy to GET OUT OF THE HOUSE! Not to mention I made up for that 9 months of sobriety.
So, if I wanted to get out of the house so bad, why didn’t I?
Fear. Fear of a crying baby in the backseat, fear of having to feed him in public (I’m very modest), fear of having to use several bottles because I didn’t feed him right before I left, fear of scheduling anything because I knew I would be late, fear of leaving the house without him being in a brand new diaper, fear of having an outfit on him covered in spit up, etc…
So much unknown and I wasn’t ready to face it.
If I could go back and tell myself anything, it would be to GET OVER IT!
At first it took me 3 hours to get out the door and that was after eating my breakfast. I would wait until my son ate and then I would change his diaper and then he would sleep so I would get myself ready and then he would wake up and cry again so I would feed him again and change his diaper again and then he would spit up so I would change his outfit and then I would put him down to sleep while I pumped and then … well you get the idea.
Now I can wake up and get out of the house within an hour. I might not be able to pump before leaving and that is ok. I might leave the house with him in a diaper he has been in for an hour and that is ok. He might be covered in spit up and that is ok. I was just too hard on myself and that is ok, too!
Getting out of the house takes a lot of planning, but the more you do it, the better you will get at it! So practice! And start early!
As a new mother schedule someone you trust to watch your child for dates with your partner or best friends. Take that brake! I have no problem handing off my child and neither should you.
#noguilt
Be aware of this possible problem. Keep in mind that you need to be you before you are a mother. I call it the “oxygen mask” principle. You have to put your mask on before putting it on the person beside you. In order to be the best mom you have to be the best you. You have to choose to be selfish. You have to choose to put yourself first. A happier you will make a happier baby.
So get out of the house. Whether that means just a walk down the street, running errands, joining a friend for a lady lunch, etc…
Did you get cabin fever? What did you do to prevent it? Comment below.