For many of her life, Maria Sharapova has thrived on routine. As a retired tennis professional who performed the game for 28 years, being ultra-disciplined in coaching and restoration helped her accomplish main objectives, like being ranked primary on the earth and profitable 5 Grand Slam titles.
When she turned a first-time mother in the summertime of 2022, Sharapova, 36, continued to lean on a constant, albeit extra versatile, mindset to attain one other purpose—this time, to be her finest self for her son, Theodore. “All these classes I’ve gained throughout my profession, I’ve actually utilized into this subsequent chapter,” she tells SELF.
One, specifically, was the significance of consistency. For instance, in her son’s new child days, Sharapova dialed within the timing of his feeds and tried to match his nap schedule together with her personal through the day, which helped her log sufficient cumulative relaxation regardless of interrupted nighttime sleep. She was additionally diligent in sustaining her milk provide, and often awoke in the course of the night time to pump.
Whereas welcoming a brand new child has introduced on a ton of change for the Unstoppable creator, Sharapova says being routine-oriented with some tried-and-true self-care practices has enhanced her method to motherhood. “Many individuals suppose it’s all in regards to the child, however to ensure that your child to really feel their finest, you additionally need to deal with your self,” she says
Throughout a photoshoot close to her dwelling in Los Angeles, Sharapova caught up with SELF to share the methods she makes self-care a precedence whereas navigating her new position as a mother. Right here’s what she’s discovered to this point.
By no means underestimate the advantages of the fundamentals.
For Sharapova, sleep and hydration are very important, particularly when she’s not feeling her finest amid the fixed calls for of feedings and diaper modifications.
“As a brand new mother, it’s quite common to overlook about your self as a result of you could have this new being to deal with,” she says. “[The basics] are such an excellent refresher they usually’re easy, however you could be constant with a view to have outcomes.”
Take sleep, for example. As Theodore approaches his first birthday, he’s now snoozing by way of the night time—and she or he not has to get up at random hours to pump. However caring for a child is exhausting normally, so she’ll usually lie down for a quick nap whereas Theodore sleeps, just like her earlier routine on the professional circuit after robust coaching classes.
However she doesn’t strain herself to really go to sleep: She’ll merely take the time to relaxation, put down her telephone, and benefit from the calm, quiet area—a reprieve that gives a “nice increase of power,” she says.
Then there’s hydration. Particularly within the first few months after giving delivery, Sharapova prioritized ingesting sufficient water as a part of the postpartum therapeutic course of. “You’re giving your physique an opportunity to replenish,” she says.
That’s why Sharapova, an Evian ambassador, at all times has a water bottle close by—she wants easy accessibility to fluids all through the day. “There’s at all times a bottle of milk for the child, and there’s a bottle of water for Mother,” she says.
Goal for a gradual, constant exercise and restoration routine.
After the large effort of childbirth, Sharapova needed to provide her physique the time it wanted to heal, so she took her return to health slowly. When Theodore was about six months previous, she started a gradual buildup to power coaching.
