Preparations

I have been doing a lot of preparation for the postpartum period. This is a great thing to do at the end of the pregnancy when all the labor and birth prep has been done. I’m constantly telling my clients to do this in the final weeks of their pregnancies. It’s a good way to spend some time (especially if you’re not working or working as much) and you’ll have some stuff done for after the baby when there’s zero time to think about it!

Today I made “padsicles”. I actually hate this name because it implies something like popsicles, which are edible, and these are not. They are frozen maxi pads with witch hazel and aloe (and other things if you choose). They are used for soothing a healing perineum. Here is the recipe I used, but there are SO many out there on the Internet. This project took about 10 minutes (I made 8 padsicles), but it is definitely something you won’t be thinking about after baby is born.
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I have also been stocking up on food. I made some lactation cookies and frozen cookie dough. They were really yummy so I definitely ate some (so did Fred) and then froze the rest. Mostly though I rolled out a bunch of cookies in balls, then froze them. These can be popped in the oven whenever wanted and 10 minutes later, fresh cookies. Here is the recipe I used.

We have also stocked up on homemade frozen meals. My mother-in-law was SO amazing and cooked us at least 5 different meals for the freezer. We made one pasta dish and some frozen breakfast burritos too. The burritos were the suggestion of a pregnant friend and also super easy to make. We are fortunate to have a chest freezer, so we just piled it all in there, but even those with smaller freezers can make some of this stuff! Again, not something you’ll want to be doing after baby is born. Take out food gets old and not everyone has “meal trains” set up, so it’s a great way to have home cooked food after baby.

If you’re looking for a splurge or a great gift for your registry (or someone else’s), look into a postpartum chef like Alicia at Clover and Timothy. A friend of mine used this woman who she says was truly amazing. She will come to your house and cook. She provides meals that are healthy and support a healthy postpartum and breastfeeding. We are hoping to have her come as well!

Another great thing to do if you’re planning to breastfeed is to find a local La Leche League meeting and go to it (or at least figure out when and where it’s held). The meetings are held locally, usually once a month or so and are great support groups for nursing parents. They encourage people to attend even prior to having their babies. The groups are free. You can find your local group here.

Finally, read up on things like postpartum care, newborn care and breastfeeding! In my experience as a midwife, these are things that are often forgotten. There is usually a lot of focus on the birth itself, but then these areas get neglected. The labor and birth is such a small part of things and the postpartum, newborn and breastfeeding stages are so important! There are lots of great resources out there. I’ll admit, I haven’t read a ton yet, but am hoping to more in the next few weeks and will post them on the reading page.