Becoming a mother is a dream for any woman and after achieving the stage is something that adds more value and happiness to one's life. New parents become more concern about taking care of their babies as it is required for the well being of the newborn but somehow the mother also needs enough care to keep the child healthy. After birth, the mother needs special care by moving through many changes inside the body both emotionally and physically. It is important to know the ways of childcare by finding time to take care of yourself.

Plenty of rest is required for a mother by giving time for baby care. Remember healthy mother will keep the newborn healthy especially during the initial stage of motherhood. The first few weeks after childbirth, you need to be conscious and dedicated towards you and your child. You need to sacrifice a few things and implement a few procedures to keep the child on the right track. Here, we come out with some of the important tips that improve the health of both the mother and child.

Tips for taking good care of yourself

Proper Rest

Becoming a mother brings so many responsibilities and learning new things about childcare where you need to adjust with the time clock of the child which is different from adults. Normally, the newborn wakes up within 3 hours and need to be fed, changed, and comforted. But even after managing such a time-table a mother needs to be conscious about her health and here are the ideas that help you maintain your health by taking proper rest.

• Try to give more and more time to you and your newborn instead of concentrating on other tasks and activities. Let someone else take the responsibility of cooking and cleaning the house. During the initial stage, you should engage yourself towards feeding your baby and taking care of yourself.
• Adjust your sleeping hours with the baby. Sleep when the baby sleeps and avoids engaging in social affairs.
• Keep your baby close to your bed or if possible share the same bed during the initial stage. It will save your time and efforts.
• Stop yourself in entertaining others and feel free to tell your husband to handle such affairs being a father.
• Feel the fresh air by getting outside for a walk. Do regular exercise and take advice from the family doctor.

Proper Nutrition

The mother's body is undergone through many changes during pregnancy and after birth. So, it is important to take the essential nutrition to recover from weakness and any physical issues. A healthy and nutritional diet is required for a mother to stay active for childcare. You must eat whenever you feel hungry because your health is connected with the health of your child. Breastfeeding demands proper nutrition for the mother and recommended a special diet that includes:

• Grains: Wheat, rice, oats, cornmeal, barley, or other cereal grains are highly recommended.
• Vegetables: Go green and add a variety of vegetables like dark green, red, and orange vegetables, peas, beans, and starchy vegetables. 
• Fruit: Fresh fruits are highly recommended including 100% fruit juice.
• Dairy: Products made from milk are recommended for quick recovery of the body. Try to have fat-free or low-fat products along with products with high calcium. 
• Protein: Meats and poultry items with low fat along with fish, nuts, seeds, peas, and beans.

Tips for taking the best care of your newborn

• Taking the best care of the umbilical cord is important. This is the cord that connects you to your baby inside the womb and after the birth, the cord is cut as isn't required anymore. You will see a stump of the umbilical cord that falls off between weeks to a month. Don't ever try to pull out or remove the stump off, it will fall off on its own.
• Do breastfeeding because this is the best thing you can give to your child. Mother's milk is indeed the best and most nutritious food for any newborn. Make sure to support and position the newborn comfortably while breastfeeding.
• Notice the first breath of the newborn if you find the breath too noisy then consult with a child specialist. Though it becomes difficult for a newborn to breathe for the first time and slowly it becomes normal.
• Do APGAR test which is the first and most important test when the doctor tests the appearance, pulse, grimace, activity, and respiration. All the tests will confirm that your baby is normal.
• Checking the weight is also very important. Normally a newborn weighs between 2 kgs to 4 kgs. The weight is an indicator to make sure that your child is healthy or not.
• Look into the first poop of the baby which looks very different because inside the womb the baby ingested lots of fluids. It takes a week or two to get normalized.
• Do skin-to-skin contact for making the baby familiar with you. Skin-to-skin contact is necessary because your baby stays inside your womb for a long time and even after the birth, the mother's touch creates magic.

The maternal bond is typically associated with pregnancy and continues even after the birth of the child. Both physical and emotional factors make the bonding so strong that a child is always connected with the mother. Taking care of yourself is as important as you take care of your child and the whole process will help both mother and the child to remain healthy and fit.