The first six weeks after giving birth to your precious newborn are considered the postpartum period. During this time, the mother is focusing on taking care of their child and healing themselves as several other factors are going on like hormonal fluctuations, breastfeeding, breast pumping, stress, and lack of sleep too.
Basically, postpartum can be a stressful and challenging time for new moms. Nevertheless, there are things you can do to prepare for your postpartum journey. Here are a few tips and ideas to make your transition home with your little one just a bit easier.
Make sure to get a breast pump.
If you plan on breastfeeding your newborn, then it’s a wise idea to have a breast pump on hand so that you can have breastmilk more readily available for your baby. While you’ll likely want to allow them to feed directly, a breast pump is a smart machine to have for moms who must pump to maintain their milk supply or want to bottle feed from time to time.
When searching for pumps, you’ll want to get the best breast pump available to ensure your comfort and efficiency. Choosing between the many available machines can be quite overwhelming for moms. There are manual pumps, electric pumps, and single pumps or double pumps for each breast. An electric breast pump is generally better if you don’t want to do the work manually.
Handsfree pumping is also an option with wearable pumps like the Elvie pump which allows you to pump your breast milk virtually wherever with less hassle, but it’s for someone with a higher budget. Since it’s portable, it’s a smart choice for moms that are constantly pumping and on the go. Other good options known for great pump sessions are the Medela Freestyle double pump and the Spectra S1, and they are a bit more budget-friendly too.
Get a tub installed for ultimate relaxation.
Here’s the thing, you’re going to love your baby. However, to best love your little one, you also need to show yourself some compassion too. Make sure to find even the smallest amount of time to take for yourself. If you’re with your child’s partner, ask for them to take over while you take a relaxing, stress-busting soak in the bathtub of your dreams.
This Texas tub installation company will get the perfect tub installed just in time before the baby comes. When it comes time to wanting a new bathtub, it’s worthwhile to hire bath pros who will get the job done efficiently with a high level of customer service so you can rest easy knowing the tub will be there upon your return with your newborn.
Not to mention, you get to customize your one-of-a-kind bathroom remodel to achieve the relaxation space of your dreams to make postpartum recovery more manageable making a bathtub install the best option for moms post-partum.
Ice and heat are your friends.
There are plenty of areas of your body that are likely going to be pretty sore postpartum. More specifically, your breasts are likely to get face engorgement from excessive milk flow from time to time. You also may experience sore nipples and clogged milk ducts, called mastitis, from breastfeeding as well. To help with this soreness and pain, it’s a bright idea to have an ice pack and heating pad on hand to alleviate any discomfort related to your breasts postpartum.
This ice pack and heating pad will also come in handy for perineal discomfort, which is between your vaginal area and your anus. This pain is quite common post-childbirth, so having ice and heat on hand along with over-the-counter pain medicines or possible antibiotics approved by your doctor.
Don’t be scared to reach out for help.
Last but certainly not least, remember that you need people to help during this time. Reach out to close friends, family members, and rely on your partner to get through this time. Postpartum can bring up postpartum depression and anxiety for many moms.
If you’re experiencing this, just know you’re not alone, and reaching out to talk to a licensed mental health professional or other new moms is the first step in normalizing all of the emotions and thoughts swirling through your brain. This way, with the support of others and confidence in yourself, you can continue to care for your baby during the postpartum time frame.
