A new survey conducted by Multi-Gyn and Multi-Mam has found that over a third of women (39%) felt pressure to lose their post pregnancy baby weight. With nearly a fifth (20%) feeling pressure to get back into a fitness regime too! Yet in reality, with the body adjusting to very little sleep and the demands of a newborn baby, for some women the challenges of this fourth trimester can be difficult enough without any of these added pressures. A lack of education, support and conversation about this time leaves many women unprepared for what to expect.

It can be difficult for new mums to know what to expect - every body and every birth is different after all - but self-care during this trimester is particularly important. In this post I am going to share 5 ways to help heal your body, and hopefully help you to enjoy this new stage of life with a precious newborn.

Sleep
It’s no surprise that getting a good night’s sleep can help to keep your energy levels up but it’s also important for the mind and body. Whilst it’s not a surprise to hear that many parents of newborns struggle to get a good night’s sleep there are things you can do to help you catchup. These include trying to sleep when your baby sleeps, making sure to get an early night, and where, and if, possible share the night feeds with your partner. Of course this can be more difficult if this isn't your first child, but it is important to try and rest when you can.

Eat Nutritious Meals
Consuming a wide variety of nutritious foods really helps with postpartum recovery. Make sure to eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables as well as lots of proteins and calcium. If you’re breastfeeding, staying hydrated is particularly important, so make sure you’re drinking plenty of water during and after every feed. If time isn't something you have you can make use of fantastic food delivery services such as Gousto, to help you prepare tasty and nutritious meals without the stress.

Fresh Air
Whilst it’s a cliché, it’s true, fresh air and sunshine really do make everyone feel a bit better. So try and head out for a walk at least once a day with baby in the pram / sling. This not only helps with mental health and your mood, but the gentle exercise will help build up your strength to help aid recovery too.

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A post shared by Emily (@emilyandindiana) on Apr 11, 2018 at 12:00pm PDT

Friends and Family
Meeting up with friends and family and staying connected is really important for your mental health after you have just given birth. Learn to say yes to all offers of help and support, something that doesn’t come naturally to many of us. Whether it’s offers such as whizzing a vacuum around or helping with the washing/ironing, to walking the dog and simply holding baby while you can have a relaxing bath in peace.. just say yes!

Exercise
Exercise is important for our mental and physical well-being. When those endorphins kick in, you will notice an improvement in mood. Even though your body has changed after pregnancy and needs time to recover, after 6-8 weeks it is possible with sign off and clearance from your GP to resume light exercise. It’s important not to overdo it (your body needs time to recover and get over the big changes that it has been through), pregnancy hormones can affect your joints and ligaments for up to 6 months after the birth putting you at greater risk of injury so you must take it easy. But walking, swimming and aqua aerobics (once your bleeding has stopped), yoga and pilates are all options that you could explore.

The biggest thing to remember is that throughout this new chapter, although you might feel lost at times, you are not alone. Visit @realbirthsrealbodies on Instagram to see other women share their honest and real account of life with a new baby.

Multi-Gyn and Multi-Mam Compresses have been developed to provide soothing relief for the 2 most common discomforts new mums face - post birth vaginal discomfort and breastfeeding. They can be found in Boots, on Amazon and at other online pharmacies.

This is a collaborative post.

Our Updated Travel Plans for 2020

When January arrived this year I was so excited for the months ahead. We had so much to look forward to, including a few holidays, special days out and time as a family. If you read my blog regularly then you would have seen the blogpost sharing all our plans for our summer holiday to Turkey. But of course, with the current circumstances and everything happening all over the world, it's looking likely that most of these plans are going to be cancelled. Of course we completely understand why it's going to happen, but that doesn't stop us feeling devastated!

I am sure there are many thousands out there who are in the same position as us though - especially with it currently being the Easter holidays when lots do travel. But what can be done in regards to these flight cancellations? Whether you spent years saving for that trip, or booked it at the last minute, you should of course be entitled to a refund, right? This is usually sorted through the company you booked your holiday with, but if you're unsure whether you're entitled to anything more Flightright can help. Their free compensation calculator can help you to find out whether you are entitled to compensation (and will then help you claim it with the help of their team of legal experts).

We currently haven't heard from our holiday company as our trip isn't until the very end of May, but I will definitely be checking back with Flightright regularly, as we're sure it isn't going to be happening. I understand we may be able to move our holiday to later in the year if this is the case, but I think we've decided now that if we can't go this year we're going to be asking for a full refund (we chose those dates specifically for the price, so can't travel any other time!).

As I said at the beginning of this post, we are absolutely gutted to not be going on this holiday, especially as it was going to be our first proper holiday in the sun as a family of five. But we have been looking into alternatives for later in the year. Possibly to somewhere a little closer to home and sprinkled with a little bit of magic and a mouse... Disneyland Paris of course! Not only would it bring some much needed joy after such a rollercoaster of a year, but it will definitely make up for not getting our big family holiday.

We aren't going to be booking anything just yet, but have everything crossed that the world becomes a little bit more normal as quickly as possible. I know a holiday being cancelled isn't the end of the world (especially with everything else going on), but when you've saved hard and have three excited children to let down, it is a bit rubbish isn't it?

Have you had to update your travel plans for 2020?

This is a collaborative post.