Motherhood is such a tremendous gift that comes with a whirlwind of emotions. Being a mother can cause your sense of self and personhood to start to diminish. This tends to happen often right after you have a baby. The hecticness of caring for a newborn, coupled with the hormonal fluxes, can be downright maddening at times. Even if you have older kids who have a million and one activities to attend throughout the week, it’s easy to lose your identity and grasp beyond how all-encompassing motherhood can be. Here are some specific tips and tricks you can incorporate into your everyday life that will help you improve your self-esteem.

Best Tips to Improve Your Self-Esteem as a New Mom

Drink more water

Especially if you are breastfeeding, but regardless, upping your water intake is always a good idea. Your hydration level will be able to counterbalance so many different issues that you experience as a mother. Super sleepy? Hydration can help to give you a clearer mind in the midst of sleep deprivation. Water will also help your skin stay clear in the environment of all the hormonal changes you’ll continue to experience after you have your baby. As your baby grows, it’s imperative to keep your water intake steady as your life only gets busier as you’ll then be chasing around a toddler, running errands for a bustling family, and the unfolding realities of mothering throughout different stages of life.

Read more: 31 Breastfeeding Benefits for Mom and Baby

Squats

Your physical health and stamina are essential in motherhood. Dealing with the baby weight should become somewhat inconsequential than understanding that your health is of the utmost importance to be the very best you can be for your child, and any other children you have or will have. The weight will take care of itself when you keep this in mind. When you up your water intake, you’ll undoubtedly start using the bathroom much more frequently. After using the bathroom each time, do ten squats. Change up the variations of the type of squats throughout the day but keep the number at ten each time. This ensures you fit in being and staying active even when you don’t feel like you have 30-60 minutes straight to squeeze in a comprehensive workout.

Moisturize

There are certain things that you had the time to do when you were childless that you’ll find more challenging to do once you have a child. Certain things will have to be sacrificed, for the sake of time and focus and that’s okay. One thing you shouldn’t give up is making sure that your entire body is adequately moisturized and your skin is tended to. If you are dealing with loose skin, varicose veins or stretch marks, this will help to manage these changes. Compression stockings for varicose veins are also a great addition if you’ve noticed varicose veins becoming an issue. Your confidence will surge once you start feeling good about the skin you’re in. Outside of hydration, properly caring for your skin through moisturizing is critical.

Read more: Health Benefits of Sitz Bath for New Moms

Boost your mood

Do something at least once a day, if only for 10 minutes, that makes you feel good. Listen to music, take a walk, sit in the bathtub, read a couple of pages from a book. All of these things help to remind you of the person that’s still deep inside of you that has been put on the backburner since you’ve had a baby or been knee deep in raising kids. Remember that carving out even a few minutes of time for yourself is essential. It helps to center yourself and reminds you of your strength. It makes you a better mother to exude self-confidence and ability. However, when you are in a transitional stage, it can be incredibly difficult to do so. So take full advantage of doing little things that will boost your mood and help to cement your magic.

Be gentle with yourself

Something about motherhood can bring out the worst self critic in anybody. You may think you’re not doing something as well as you could. And you may compare yourself to the other mothers on Instagram who seem to have it all figured out. You lament the fact that you’re cranky or lonely or feel overwhelmed. Here’s a secret, all those glam, perfect IG mommies experience all of those emotions too, they just often don’t broadcast them. Don’t compare your behind the scenes to someone else’s highlight reel. Understand that every day you’re doing the absolute best you can and allowing yourself a bit of grace and perspective will help you to become more confident in your ability to mother. Whether your children are newborns or teens, young adults or toddlers, allow yourself a bit of grace. You are a human being and one mighty mother!