 It's Covid days and it's hard to know what to blog about! But life keeps moving, new babies are being born, continuing to create new parents. When parents are preparing for their baby, they tend to focus on what the baby will need (yup, they will need stuff) and what giving birth will be like (please learn in advance, it matters!). But we tend to leave out a crucial aspect of becoming three....Having a Postpartum Plan!!!
Having a postpartum plan is as important as getting the things your baby will need and informing yourself about the birthing process. Becoming parents and bringing home a new baby is a monumental life event/shift and it requires thought and preparation. So what's involved in a postpartum plan you might ask, here are some things to thing about:
If you don't have family or friends to help out with meals after you bring baby home, make as many easy to heat meals that your freezer can hold before giving birth. Stock up on nutritious snacks to have handy, like nuts, make and freeze protein balls in advance. Collect menu's from healthier take out spots to have on hand. If you can afford it, pay someone to clean your house, even if it's just for the first couple of weeks. This is an amazing shower gift to contribute to. Otherwise clean up in advance and let the chips fall where they may, bonding with your baby and sleeping when you can is way more important than cleaning! Have phone numbers for Public Health in advance, also if chestfeeding, make sure you have contact information for a Lactation Consultant and other breast/chesteeding resources you can reach out to if having difficulty. I recommend having contact information for mental health services as well. Postpartum is an epic change, having a plan and being prepared can help smooth out some of those rough edges and allow for more baby bonding time, feeling more in control and less overwhelmed! |
