How I Self Care as a New Mom

I’ve also practiced self care but I knew as a new Mom it would be important to not lose myself in the diaper changes, breastfeeding, bottle cleaning, etc.

Six weeks in to my maternity leave (halfway there!) I have taken time for myself to recharge so that I can be the best version of myself for my son and husband. Here are a few things that I have done to recharge as a new mother:

Facial: I love facials and luckily I found an amazing esthetician at Marengo Spa in downtown Cleveland. I stopped getting facials during my pregnancy because I was so worried about what products I could and couldn’t use. A few weeks ago, I finally went and got my facial. Marengo Spa runs a special every November and July – Buy One Get One for $10. That is a bomb deal for a skincare. Of course, I purchased four because savings. Anyway, my facial with Olga (My usual esthetician wasn’t available) was amazing and super relaxing. It felt so good to be pampered and not have to worry about pumping or feeding Maxwell. I got to lay down and just rest. I’m glad that I mentioned I had a newborn at home because Olga had to make a few changes to the products she used on my skin due to my breastfeeding. If you’ve never had a facial it includes cleansing, exfoliating your skin, moisturizing and a face mask. Marengo also does a lip scrub and lip gloss treatment as well.

Musicals: I love celebrating the arts, in particular, musicals. I am a season ticket holder at Playhouse Square and when I lived in the city – I saw a musical once a month. The two musicals I’ve seen in the six weeks since Maxwell’s birth are Summer: The Donna Summer Musical and The Band’s Visit. I didn’t love either and to be honest it hasn’t been the greatest start to this Broadway in Cleveland season. Everytime that I go to Playhouse Square I order a pretezel and a glass of wine. It is my little treat and the pretzel is very very good. This year I moved my seats higher up in the mezzaine and I have to say I’m happy with the new seats. I don’t know if my new seatmates are happy with me though. I had an older lady ask me if I would switch seats with her sister so that they could sit together. I declined and she snarkily replied that the seat had been empty for 10 years…whatever lady. I’m here now with my wine and pretezel.

The Donna Summer Musical took you through the life of Donna Summer. The music was great because Donna Summer (duh!) but I did expect the musical to be more of a party ala Mamma Mia/Abba. The Band’s Visit was just strange but I was impressed with the set. My next musical is scheduled for December 3rd. I’m glad that I renewed my tickets for this season – I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to enjoy the first three musicals of the season due to the arrival of my son. I thought I would be overwhelmed with motherhood (and to an extent I am) but I’m glad that I’ve made the time for myself to enjoy something that I love. I’m also glad that my husband understands the importance of me having “me time” as well. I wouldn’t be able to be gone for a few hours if I didn’t have his support.

Manicure/Pedicure: I love getting my nails done – who doesn’t? I tend to get monthly manicure/pedicures but I stopped in September because I read that the medical staff can have an issue getting your ox number (?). My first post baby mani/pedi was amazing. My nail tech, Ciara is the absolute best. If you’re in Cleveland please go see her at Diamond Nails in Lakewood. The salon isn’t fancy but Ciara will get your nails & toes together. She is the best. We also have a lot of fun having girl talk and just catching up. I can’t recommend her enough. But don’t take my Saturday at 9am appointment – please and thank you!

Izzy & Liv Subscription Box: I finally ordered an Izzy and Liv subscription box. This is a subscription box tailored for all things black girl magic. Each box includes a handful of full sized items plus a fun t-shirt. I’ve received two boxes so far – a best of box that included the best items for 2019 and my first montly box. The November box wasn’t spectactular but included a t-shirt, night shirt, wine tumbler, bonnet, sleep mask plus the Big Book of Black Businesses.

And when all else fails, I’ll just take a hot lavender shower. Nothing fancy I’ll just add a few drops of lavender essential oil to my shower. I’ll use my new Skin Smoothies body scrub and shea butter (which is amazing – check them out) along spraying on my favorite perfume. It isn’t much but a nice shower, scrub, and spritz of my favorite perfume is rejuvenating.

What are some of your favorite ways to self care?

Willow Breast Pump Review

I heard about the Willow Pump through google searches when I was envisioning my first born successfully latching on right after his birth. That never happened and I was tethered to my Spectra (the pink one). It was miserable – not the pump but being confined to one room sucked – I also didn’t have a hands free pump bra so not only was I tethered I couldn’t use my hands to scroll through Instagram or Reddit.

I was hesitant to buy the Willow before my baby was born because I wanted a pump that had a reusable container. I had read other reviews and users complained of having to purchase bags for the pump at 50 cents a piece. Yikes. I also found a youtuber who had found a way to reuse the bags by putting a small hole in the bag to get the milk out and then putting the bag back in the refrigerator until the next pump. That seemed like a lot of work and unsanitary so I waited. I knew that they would need to eventually release a reusable container since Elvie recently crossed the pond was encroaching on their market.

Willow announced their reusable container on September 23rd and I ordered my Willow pump on October 2nd. I ordered in time to take advantage of the introductory offer for a free container set (2). My Willow Pump promptly arrived a few days later. I ordered the pump plus 72 bags and the 27 MM flangers. The pump comes with the 24 MM flangers and the container comes in 24, 27 and 21 (new) flanges.

As I’ve mentioned, the bags are 50 cents a piece. The bags from Willow are spill proof and propreitary to Willow. You can only order the bags directly from Willow and they come in packs of 48 starting at $23.99.

I did have a little hiccup when I didn’t have enough bags on hand (I was expecting my container – it was late) and I had to go back to my spectra. Now that I have the container I don’t plan on ordering more bags unless I’m traveling for work.

In order to use the Willow Pump you’ll need to download the app. The app connects to the pump via bluetooth and allows you to see how much each breast is pumping. You can pump up to 4 oz in the container or bag but I’ve gone to almost 5 oz without a problem. I don’t do that a lot but I couldn’t get my pump off quick enough after it paused. That was an accident. After the pump has paused it will continue to swallow (makes a galloping sound) any leftover milk in the flange even if you’ve hit 4 oz.

You’ll find that there is extra milk in the flextube and flange, Willow has a flip to finish so that you can get all that liquid gold. I hate the flip to finish and do a manul flip to finish as I was instructed by customer service. I pull the bag from the flange, re-attach the pump, and press play. This allows me the pump to get all the milk from the flextube and flange.  A little tip, I would stuff some tissue in the flange when doing the flip to finish as I’ve spilled milk over myself many a time!

The pump will shut off after you’ve hit 4 oz or you’ve been using the pump for 25 minutes. You can always start the pump back up after you’ve hit the 25 mark. If you’re using a bag or a container – you can empty the container (hello reuse!) or switch in a new bag and keep pumping.

Personally, I love my Willow pump and prefer it over the Spectra. I can get 4 oz out of each breast in less than 15 minutes. at the lowest suction. It took me a few tries to get the plastic bags just right within the flange but once I got it we were off to the races. I could finally pump and hold my child or do the dishes. I’ve pumped on the way to Target, during a target run, making dinner, picking up dinner…you name it. Now that I have the reusuable container I am able to pump and place it directly into bottles without wasting a 50 cent bag.

All in all, I highly recommend the Willow Pump. The price point is a lot higher than other pumps on the market but I think for the freedom (especialy with the new container) it is well worth it. I would recommend ordering multiple flanges, containers, flextubes and container inserts if you’re an exclusive pumping Mama like myself. The willow parts (not the pump) are dishwasher safe (top rack only) which has helped with the washing but it can be time consuming to wash all the parts. Willow does provide the pump cleaning tools to make sure that you’re parts of squeaky clean. I have two sets of flanges plus a set of container parts. I pump 6 – 8 times a day.

The pump is $499 and includes 24 and 27 flanges.

The container (set of 2) is $49.99 – this comes in 24, 27, and 21 size flanges.

Extra flextubes are $29.99 – this nifty tool connects the bag to the flange so that your milk go in the bag and not the pump. You can’t get the inside of your pump wet.

Milk Container Inserts are $19.99

Reusable Container: