How Do I prepare For The Postpartum Time?
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Kaely Harrod 0:03
If you're about to have a baby, you might be thinking, all about birth, all about labor all about the exit of the baby. But it's possible that you also have the question in the back of your mind. How do I get ready for my postpartum period? That is what today's episode is going to dive into, so that you feel a little bit more prepared in what you really need to have ready in the postpartum time. Welcome to Doula Tips and Tits, the podcast where I answer one question about pregnancy postpartum or lactation. This is a space where it's safe to have questions and we're gonna give you real answers. We're not going to beat around the bush or give you what we want you to know we're going to answer in an evidence based way. I'm Kaely Harrod an experience doula, mom of three lactation counselor and a childbirth educator. I started this work in part because of my own lack of answers in my journey of pregnancy and birth. And I'm on a mission for families to be well informed and well supported through this time. This is a space where you will learn about questions that you didn't even know that you should be asking and have answers to ones that you're already asking. The whole purpose here is for you to feel a bit more educated and informed and competent in this journey that often feels very new, and a little bit disconcerting. If you have not already I would love for you to subscribe to this podcast so that you get updates when there are new episodes. or head to our website Herat doula services.com to subscribe to our email updates so that you get notifications when we have a new episode out. Thank you for joining us today. Welcome back to Kaely Daily. I'm Kaely Harrod, your host of this beautiful podcast. I am a postpartum and birth doula, a mom of three, and childbirth educator and a doula mentor. So I am diving into all sorts of postpartum questions in the next couple episodes. We're also going to have some great podcast guests, which I'm really thrilled about. But today's question is a pretty basic one kind of a starting out question, which is how do I prepare for postpartum? Now the postpartum time looks a little different for everybody. So that's not that there's just one list of things, right. So I don't want you to go into this time, just like how I present about birth and teach about that, thinking that there's just this one thing that you need to know or these list of four things that you need to do. However, there are some things that you can kind of ask yourself, to start working through what your postpartum plan can be. Now, one of the things that I just want to tell you about now, but that you'll also see in the show notes, is a postpartum checklist that I have now, this is the ultimate postpartum checklist bundle, it is a free resource that I put together because I saw so much need for the ability to to have a quick guide to something right in the postpartum time, you have just been through birth, you've just finished pregnancy, you're learning about being a parent, and you're exhausted. So the less you have to remember, without having any kind of like, you know, reminders or whatever, that the easier it is for you. So you want to have easy references to go back to these checklists include things like what to ask visitors to do or what kind of preparation to have and outsource. And so do grab that that link is in the show notes for you to grab for free. And I'd like for you to get that so that you have that on kind of helping you prepare for this journey as well. So the first question I want you to ask yourself is, do I know that I'm going to need surgery? Okay, so some of you listening don't know that you're going to need a C section, right? You might be planning a vaginal delivery. If you know in advance that you're going to need a C section, you want to make sure that you plan for that because the recovery is slightly different. Now the same is true if you have an unplanned C section, but it's by definition unplanned so you don't know that it's going to happen. So this is really just for if you are thinking through having a C section, you're having a plan C section, maybe your positioning of the baby or placenta is covering your cervix or something like that. You want to think through being able to avoid stairs as much as possible. So kind of living on one floor of the house. If you have a Multi Floor house, multi level house. You want to think about About having really loose clothing that does not put any pressure on your abdomen, you want to think about having underwear that are really high waisted or go up at least to like your belly button or so. So that again, you're not having pressure on that incision site. And you want to really think about ways to keep your fluid up so that your swelling stays down. Because oftentimes, after an induction or a C section, people have a lot of swelling in their legs and feet, because of the amount of fluids that you have been on and because of your inability to walk around initially after the surgery. Okay, so that's the first thing ask yourself that okay, do I need to prepare for surgery recovery? Or am I planning to have vaginal delivery? The second thing is, what kind of support am I going to have? Do I have, like friends in the area? Do I have colleagues in the area? Am I part of a faith community that will support me? Do I have family nearby? Do I have family that's coming into the area to help me? Do I have a postpartum doula? What does it look like in the postpartum time because that's different for everyone. And so you want to really take time to evaluate that for yourself and make sure that you do have some support. If you don't have organic support, meaning like friends, family, you know, colleagues, etc, who are going to bring you food or whatever that might look like, then it might be worthwhile to consider hiring some support. Consider a postpartum doula consider a dog walker, if you have a pet, consider someone else doing lawn care, consider outsourcing some some some of the things that you do in your life so that you're able to really focus on healing. We'll be right back after this short message from our sponsor. On your own time, this curriculum has left many families feeling confident in their decisions, knowing what questions to ask their providers, and knowing when they should be concerned in all of these periods. One of the biggest parts of this work in terms of preparing families and walking through this journey is knowing that you have a guide to rely on. And that's exactly what this class is. Students have told me they felt like I was walking them along a path to know what to watch for and what to not be worried about. Because you are here, as a listener, you get the opportunity to have a 10% off discount on this class, that code is podcast, it is in the shownotes as well, along with the link to use to check out for the class, I do really recommend that you go give it a look. Because it is going to make you feel more prepared, calm and confident for your birthing experience. The next question that I want you to ask yourself is what things do I already really hate doing around the house? And I know that might sound like kind of a ridiculous question. But I'm drawing on the wisdom of a dear friend of mine who is a mom of many children, I want to say she has three, they're all adults now. And a grandma now. And she has been supporting people in the postpartum time for like 30 ish years more than that maybe. And she always says her recommendation is to buy everyone in the family, extra socks and underwear. Because you don't want to be dealing with a baby that's not sleeping well, or breastfeeding issues or whatever it might be. And also run out of underwear and desperately need to do laundry. So she recommends buying more underwear, especially if you are a laundry averse family. So if you regularly get to like Thursday evening, and you're like, oh shoot, I'm not gonna have underwear tomorrow, if I don't wash them tonight, you are a great candidate for this recommendation. Because it's going to be something that you're going to do even more in the postpartum time when you have so many other things on your plate. Okay? Now, it's also easy to think if you are part of a pair so you're you have a spouse or you have a partner, you have someone who's living with you is planning to co parent with you that you're going to be recovering and the other person can handle all the stuff. The reality is that is not true. Because yes, the person who gave birth is recovering and their partner or their their CO parent is not recovering, but also they are exhausted because they are helping you recover and they are taking care of the baby or babies alongside you. So do not expect that the energy level of the second adult in the family or the household will be enough to actually take care of everything in the house. Okay, so consider making things a little bit easier for yourself, especially around tasks. so that you already don't like doing. All right.
Kaely Harrod 10:05
The last question that I want you to ask yourself is, what is my plan for the postpartum time? And what I mean by that is, do I plan to feed the baby with my body? Do I plan to be able to be home for a little while? Am I going to need to go right back to work? In part, because depending on what that plan is, you're going to need different professional people in that time to support you, that might look like child care, it might look like lactation consultants, it might look like massage therapists or physical therapists, or even someone to like cook and clean, etcetera. But if you're a person that's looking at four months of parental leave, versus a person that's looking at eight weeks of parental leave, that's a very different gameplan. And so that's why I'm asking you to think about that as how quickly are you going to need something like daycare? Is it four months from now? Well, then you have time, depending on where you live, and how in demand childcare is to work through some of that, during that postpartum time, right? If you need childcare at eight weeks postpartum, that's something that you need to start looking at now. Right, while you're pregnant. So that's a difference depending on what your income level is, like, what your job is, like, what your ability to stay home is like, and I realized that in this beautiful country, that is a point of privilege, and an equity issue, when we're talking about people's ability to really rest and recover, who are at all different income levels and all different work situations. So that is my last question that I want you to ask yourself. As a reminder, please do jump into the show notes and go ahead and download we'll click on the link for the postpartum checklist bundle, you'll just have to put in your email because it's an email that will send you the PDF, but then you have that and it's yours. It's free. So grab that so that you have that to work with and you can kind of use it however you need to depending on what your answers to those questions were. This has been Kayleigh daily doula Tips and Tips. I'm so glad that you were here joining us today. I am not your medical provider. And so all of this information is intended to be educational and entertainment. Please use it as such. And if you have questions about your own medical health, or need recommendations from your own provider, please do speak to them. This is not intended to replace them in any way. We are so happy that you are here joining us in this walk through pregnancy postpartum and lactation. Please take a second to like and subscribe, leave a positive review. That is how other families get to hear about us and get to learn from all the answers that we have here on this podcast. As always, I would really love to connect with you. I love answering questions. I know that you know that because you are here, but I would love to hear what your questions are. So if I have not yet answered them on the podcast, I would love to add them to the list of questions to be answered. please do reach out to me on Instagram or via email Kaely at Herat, doula services.com so that I can answer whatever question you have, and so that I can hear the feedback that you have about the podcast. Until we meet again, I wish you well informed consent filled birth and postpartum experiences
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
As you prepare for the postpartum time it may seem overwhelming thinking about where to start. The postpartum time looks a little different for everybody. So it’s not that there's just one list of things. So while there aren’t just 4 things to check off your list, there are a few questions you can ask yourself to help prepare in a way that feels right for you and your family.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
Questions to ask yourself as you prepare for postpartum:
Do I know that I'm going to need surgery?
What kind of support am I going to have after birth?
What things do I already really hate doing around the house?
What is my plan for the postpartum time?
RESOURCES
FREE Ultimate Postpartum Checklist Bundle
https://www.harroddoulaservices.com/free-guide
Happy Sneeze Pelvic Floor PT:
CONNECT with Kaely on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/Harroddoula/
This podcast is hosted by the Birth Prep Blueprint - comprehensive Childbirth Education for expectant parents to feel calm, prepared and confident about labor and birth. Podcast listeners (that’s YOU!) get 10% off! Use the link below and coupon code PODCAST
https://www.harroddoulaservices.com/birth-prep-blueprint
** The Birth Prep Blueprint is offered for only $20 to anyone who qualifies for any kind of social services (meaning that a family has a lower income to the point that they would qualify for WIC or SNAP or Medicaid, etc.). No need to disclose your income, just which service you qualify for and the link can be sent right over. Just email kaely@harroddoulaservices.com to learn more.
If you like this episode, don't forget to share it to your Instagram stories and tag me @harroddoula
Kaely Daily is produced by Kaely Harrod of Harrod Doula Services
It is sponsored by The Birth Prep Blueprint Childbirth Class
Music by Madirfan: Hidden Place on Pixabay
