My third child was born this past October and this was definitely my best postpartum experience yet.
Some things I did beforehand that really helped:
organized my house
had a nesting party where my friends came and deep-cleaned/organized areas of my home (you could also have a meal prep party!)
cooked warm/nourishing meals from the book The First Forty Days and froze some
made bone broth to freeze
made a plan for staying in bed following the 5-5-5 rule
had herbal sitz bath bags prepared with Epsom salts, chamomile, calendula, and plantain
had my toilet area ready with peri bottle, adult diapers, pads, and witch-hazel cooling spray
had my basket of goodies ready for my bed (Chapstick, snacks, coconut water, kindle, etc.)
Photos of my Nesting Party - My friend organized this and made spray bottle cleaners for all the ladies. They spent an hour cleaning and organizing and then we ate dinner. It was so much fun!
Once baby was born, we also had friends sign up to bring meals for us using mealtrain.com. Having meals covered for those first 5 weeks was so helpful! My washing machine broke during this time so my mom volunteered to do all of our laundry which was also very helpful.
I stayed in bathrobes, nightgowns, and nursing tanks during those first few days - even when visitors came bringing meals!
During my last two postpartum periods I definitely experienced bouts of the "baby blues," but this time around my emotions were in a much better place. I'm not sure if there is anything specific I can attribute that to, but I'm very thankful!
My biggest postpartum concern so far has been hemorrhoids and constipation, which I'm still working on addressing. I've had hemorrhoids after each of my births and they have eventually gone away.
I've been trying to use my belly bandit wrap more this time around to help support my abdominal muscles. I'm looking forward to my first postpartum pelvic floor physical therapy visit this week to hopefully help address the constipation and my weakened stomach muscles, and get the rest of my pelvic floor evaluated. She'll give me good suggestions on easing back into working out, something I'm looking forward to!
I spent the majority of this third pregnancy focusing on postpartum preparation and I truly think it helped me to enjoy these first few weeks with my newborn.
Check out my ebook for more tips on planning for a natural, restful and nourishing postpartum time. Learn more about what to expect physically, emotionally, and practically. It also includes a printable planner and links to many helpful products and resources.
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