Mama, Here's How To Plan For Postpartum... A Free Downloadable Cheat Sheet!
Mama, the first days and weeks of newborn life can be a whirlwind. The transition to motherhood brings all sorts of unexpected feelings, decisions and big life adjustments (we like to call this Matrescense). All while your body is healing and you are working out how to keep a tiny human alive! Like... no pressure or anything. Trust us, make it easier for yourself by thinking about your postpartum preferences BEFORE your bundle of cute arrives earth side.
So what is a postpartum preference plan and why do I need one? You’ve got your birth plan and you’ve got your ‘what you need for baby’ checklist, but what about YOU and how you will heal and get enough rest postpartum? Have you thought about this yet? Considering your postpartum preferences are just as important as your birth preferences. Knowing, communicating and advocating for yourself ahead of time is the best form of self care that there is! It will empower you and alleviate stress if/when things get tough. All postpartum journeys are completely unique! We don’t ask mama what she needs to rest, recover and adjust into her new role as a mother often enough!
We put together a postpartum preferences cheat sheet - that you can download an fill out at the bottom of this blogpost - we’ve included things to think about before your baby arrives to make sure you go into your fourth trimester (and beyond) as prepared as you can be. Some of these things may not apply and some will, take what works for you and leave what doesn’t! We want your postpartum healing journey to be a good one, no matter what comes your way. Mama, you got this!
GETTING ENOUGH SLEEP
Sleep is a huge topic for any new parent and a key piece of postpartum care that you’ll no doubt be focused on. It’s important to consider how you envision your sleep (making sure you're getting enough to recover and function), your baby’s sleep and to familiarise yourself with safe sleep practices ahead of time.
SOME SLEEP RELATED THINGS TO THINK ABOUT:
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How will you manage sleep deprivation?
Talk about this with your partner/or support person ahead of time (it’s way harder to do when you are TIRED).
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How can you make sure both parents get the sleep they need for their roles? Whether that be working or caring for the baby during the day.
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How much sleep do both parents need to get every 24 hours to function without having a complete meltdown?
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Where will the baby sleep? Day / Night
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Who will care for the baby on night shift?
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What do you need to be supported during the night?
i.e. water, snacks, pump, bottles set up if bottle feeding etc. It helps to have these things handy before the night begins.
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Will you swaddle baby?
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Will you use a dummy/pacifier?
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Have you considered ways to comfort/soothe baby when upset?
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Are you familiar with how much sleep a baby needs in the first weeks an months?
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Are you familiar with safe sleeping practices and feeling confident about this?
FEEDING YOUR BABY
The whole feeding thing can be a little overwhelming to start (less so if you’ve thought about it ahead of time), so the trick is to not put too much pressure on yourself and do what feels right for you and baby.
Find out as much as you can about breast/bottle feeding before baby arrives, this can help with the transition!
SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT:
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Colostrum - will you try to express some before baby arrives? Ask for a collection pack from your LMC.
I am planning to: (select all that apply)
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Exclusively breastfeed, breastfeeding on demand
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Pump breastmilk and bottle feed baby
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Combo feed, breastfeed and bottle feed breastmilk/or formula (ask LMC to guide you on recommended best practices here)
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Exclusively formula feed
WE BELIEVE FED IS BEST:
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If I can’t breastfeed for whatever reason, or my milk is slow to come in, what will I do to feed my baby?
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If you need to offer a bottle or supplement will you use breast milk or formula? If you are using formula, have you considered what type of formula you will use? Good to have considered this incase you need it as a backup.
Pumping
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Are you planning to pump? Do you have a pump sorted? Have you thought about a hand pump / electric pump? You can sometimes hire these, ask your LMC.
THINGS TO LOOK OUT FOR:
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Are you familiar with things to look out for when breastfeeding? Do you have something on hand in case you experience mastitis, engorgement or sore nipples?
WHO'S FEEDING MAMA?
With so much going on sometimes feeding yourself can be the last thing on your mind! It’s great to have a plan in place for eating.
WE'RE PLANNING TO:
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Have frozen meals prepared
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Prepare food say-to-day
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Create a meal train
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Order all the eats
Set up snack stations with your fave snacks and water! Write a list of the foods that need to be replenished for when feeding or nap trapped!
OTHER THINGS TO THINK ABOUT:
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Planning to take supplements or vitamins? What are they?
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Fave meals to refer to when your village offer to make you meals:
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Who’s in charge of getting food supplies and making sure mama is fed?
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Any allergies that need to be checked/reminded before feeding mama?
SELF CARE (FOR BOTH PARENTS)
It is so important to look after our mental health and well-being at this special time. Looking after yourself is looking after your baby! Consider activities you enjoy doing to feel like yourself, think about ways you can continue to do some of these things once your baby arrives. It can be something super simple, like a bedtime facial routine, taking a hot shower, reading a book, listening to 5 minute meditations, or a cup of tea in the sunshine. Make sure you get some fresh air each day - even if it’s for just 5 minutes!
SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT AND WRITE DOWN:
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Things I like to do for self-care...
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What are some ways I can make sure I feel recharged each day/week?
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Some signs to look out for when some self care time is needed...
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Some things that provide me comfort...
VISITORS
It’s great to know your expectations around visitors ahead of time - the last thing you want is to feel like a host or have someone overstaying their welcome when you’ve just given birth! And know you can cancel visitors ANYTIME if you don’t feel up to it.
SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT:
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How do you feel about having visitors?
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How many visitors are you comfortable with in a day?
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What are your preferences about washing hands, sickness, holding and
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kissing baby etc. Sometimes it helps to put a sticky note on your door outlining these things so you don’t have to explain it over and over.
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What are our preferences about visitors and vaccines?
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Some visual cues or code words when mama has had enough and wants people to leave.
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People love to help! What are some things visitors can help with while they are there? I.e. make cups of tea, snacks, fold some laundry etc. Write a list of helpful tasks and pop them on your fridge.
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
It is good to be aware of who is in charge of what ahead of time, this can help prevent niggly arguments and allow you to prep for the help you may need!
SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT:
List your daily priorities for your household to run smoothly:
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Who will take care of these things until mama is feeling up to it? Will it be partner, parent help, other family, friends?
Write down:
As the mama, I expect my partners role to be:
Write down:
As the partner/support, I expect the mamas role to be:
Consider who will do some of the following (add/create your own):
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Changing nappies
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Calming baby
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Burping baby
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Taking baby for walks
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Bathing baby
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Supermarket shopping
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Meal prep (cooking/organising)
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Laundry
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House Cleaning and chores
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Bills/finances
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Other life admin
If you have other children (fur babies included) who is responsible for the day-to-day? i.e. bed, bath, dinner times, pick ups/drop offs etc?
Who can you call on for help with these things and what areas can they help with? People love to help, they just need to know how!
SUPPORT, HELP, CHECKING IN!
Before the baby arrives make time to sit down with your support person/partner and talk about ways to know when you are stressed, needing extra support or some space to recharge.
It’s important to think about what changes may be hardest for you both and come up with ways to support each other through these changes. The key is to be open, honest and realistic. Communicating about stressors and how to deal with them can seriously help prepare you - especially when you are living on 5 hours of broken sleep for weeks on end.
SOME THINGS TO TALK ABOUT/WRITE DOWN BEFORE BABY ARRIVES:
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How best can you support each other? Will you have regular check ins?
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Discuss things that help you feel seen/heard and find your calm?
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Discuss your hopes, fears and stressors.
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Discuss your roles and responsibilities.
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How will you find some time for each other?
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Discuss what being a parent means to you? *This might mean unpacking each of your childhoods a bit. What did you like/not like about your own?
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How will you cope with sleep deprivation?
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How will you manage to get enough sleep to function?
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Discuss other things/expectations that may change with a baby?
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Discuss finances. Will you create a budget? What might change?
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Organising Maternity/Parental leave and payments and other support.