by Catalogs.com Info Guru Rosemary O’Brien

There is nothing more difficult than being a mom.

There is no doubt it’s a major transition even if you already have children. It’s not surprising that new moms find themselves fighting to keep their energy steady throughout the day. Here are a few healthy ideas to help new moms keep their energy up.

10. Multivitamins

The most obvious tip is to stay healthy. At the very least, your baby needs you. You need to stay healthy for them during this time of new beginnings and, let’s face it, stress. Try a multivitamin to start off your day. And if you plan on having more children, a multivitamin that contains folate will help keep you reproductively healthy.

9. Water

What goes with multivitamins? Water! Drink plenty of it as you go through your day. Try leaving a pitcher of iced water in your fridge. Make it interesting by adding fruit such as apple slices or lemon. This will give you an incentive to down glasses during your day or to fill up your BPA-free water bottle for those times when you are on the go with your little one.

8. Eat Breakfast

There is truth to the idea that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. The name itself says it all. “Breakfast” literally means “breaking the fast.” Your body spends all night without food, so it craves the nutrients provided by that bowl of cereal or scrambled egg.

7. No Junk Food

Sometimes a handful of jelly beans or a piece of that cake leftover from that birthday party looks like a great way to boost energy, but don’t do it. Large amounts of sugar causes you to experience a crash in energy which will make you cranky and even more tired. Instead try to mix a healthy carbohydrate such as fruit with a protein. Apple slices spread with peanut butter makes healthy snack, or try a protein-enriched cereal with some blueberries and some skim milk.

6. Scents

Aromatherapy can be a great, if little know, way to help new moms keep their energy up. Entrepreneur Magazine suggests many productivity-boosting tips for getting through a business day, but it is equally applicable to a busy new mom. In “6 Scents That Can Transform Your Mood and Productivity”, the author suggests placing a bowl of hot water on a table and adding a few drops of lemon or rosemary oil will provide stress relief and a boost of energy merely by taking a whiff.

5. Exercise

I know it sometimes takes everything in you not to put the baby in the carrier and take a nap, but try fitting in a brisk walk during your day. Put the baby in the stroller, wrap her warmly with blankets, and go walk around the neighborhood for thirty minutes. If you do not like walking to nowhere, set a specific destination like the library or the local coffee shop to meet with other new moms. It gives you the exercise you need to stay healthy and your baby some fresh air.

4. Take a nap

The benefits of power naps are all the rage and it’s no wonder. A short 15-20 minute power nap can provide you with just the energy you need. Any longer and you may wake up groggy and disoriented, so try to keep it short. With that said, if your baby goes down for a long nap and you’re exhausted, take advantage of it. This is not the time to worry about formality. Crawling into bed with the covers pulled over your head while the baby is down can help reduce your own crankiness and give you the energy you need.

3. Shower

This may sound too simple, but taking a shower can refresh you, helping new moms keep their energy up by providing a reboot to their day. The mere act of showering creates the idea of starting over which is sometimes all you need to move forward with your day.

2. No Alcohol Before Bed

It’s tempting to sit down with a glass of wine after the baby is down for the night, but resist that temptation. While a glass of wine with dinner is fine, alcohol close to your own bedtime may help you get to sleep, but within a couple of hours it will wake you up causing you to be even more sleep-deprived than you may already be.

1. Have fun with your child!

While having a little one can be challenging and completely exhausting, there is no replacement for having fun with your child. By taking time to talk to them or move their little arms and legs, you are helping them experience the world. And when they giggle for the first time? That’s the best feeling in the world.

Hang in there new moms and try a few of these tips to help boost your energy. This time with your baby may sap your energy, but it doesn’t last very long. Enjoy it while it’s here! Even though you may remember how exhausted you were during this new baby period of your life, you will also remember how beautiful a time it was to help your baby experience the world.