After giving birth, once you have the baby in your arms, a new stage begins in which you will need to feel as physically fit as possible. On the one hand you have to recover from labor and on the other you are breastfeeding, if you plan to breastfeed your baby. Many of the new healthy habits you acquired during pregnancy will help you recover faster.

A healthy diet

Eating healthily during your recovery from labor and breastfeeding will give you the nutrients you need to feel as well as possible. The milk you produce for your baby will have the same compounds whether you eat well or not. But just as during pregnancy, that your baby got it’s calcium from your bones if it didn’t have enough, the same thing happens during breastfeeding. Studies show that the composition of the milk in mothers of third world countries, where they suffer from starvation, is practically the same as that of moms in developed countries. However, the mother who did not exercise or eat properly will feel a lot more tired after labor and during breastfeeding.

Eating as well as you did during pregnancy will prove beneficial.

Keeping yourself hydrated

There is a popular belief that to produce milk you have to drink a lot of it. The milk you drink is not related to the milk you produce, but drinking enough liquids will help keep you hydrated and will make breastfeeding easier.

Avoid caffeinated beverages like coffee, tea and Latino drinks like guarana or mate, and especially herbal home remedies, just as you did during pregnancy, since they can get to the baby through the milk.

Get enough rest

Rest was one of your priorities during pregnancy, and now that you’ve had your baby, it should still be. The key to a good physical recovery is rest. Rest and uninterrupted sleep go hand in hand. However, now that you’ve just had your baby, sleeping through the night is no longer feasible.

Babies need to eat every two to three hours, since their stomachs are still very small and they can’t hold enough food to get them through the whole night. But in spite of that, you must make rest a priority. A well-rested mom is a relaxed mom. Some of the things you can do to get enough rest are:

• If you are breastfeeding, use a manual or electric breast-pump to extract your milk and then your partner, or other family member can give the baby a bottle at dawn, late at night or in the morning so that you can get your rest.

• Try to sleep whenever the baby sleeps. A short nap, even if it’s only thirty minutes, may help you feel much more rested.

• If your partner can’t help you every night, plan to set aside at least one day out of every two or three, so that you can get a whole night’s sleep. Sleeping the hours you need, at least twice a week, will make you feel better.

Don’t forget exercise

Exercising regularly, just as you did during pregnancy, is going to be especially good for you now. Exercise, although it might not seem so, will help you rest and relax because it causes you to release tension. You don’t have to sign up to the gym or start jogging: a simple daily thirty minute walk with your baby at a brisk pace is enough for you to reap the benefits of exercise.

And don’t forget Kegel exercises! Now that you’ve had your baby you will have to strengthen the pelvic area after the strain you’ve been through.