Postpartum home prep

Many people are so focused on preparing for labor and birth that they forget to fully prepare their home for the postpartum period.

Here are few ideas to prepare your home for a smooth transition into your new life with baby:

• Feeding areas

  • Wherever you may be feeding baby, leave baskets/caddies with feeding supplies

    • nipple cream

    • burp cloths

    • Haaka(s) (silicone milk collector)

    • water bottle

    • nutritious snacks for nursing person (granola bars, protein bars, dried fruit, etc.)

    • pacifiers

    • don't forget plenty of pillows for support

• “Me Time” areas

  • It’s important to have time to yourself, and also with your partner. You can create a space in your home to retreat to for me-time, maybe leave some comforting items:

    • a cozy throw blanket

    • a lavender hand cream

    • under eye masks

    • aloe socks

    • essential oil diffuser

    • sheet masks

    • water bottle

    • a non-baby-related book

    • yoga mat

    • headphones or bluetooth speaker to listen to music or podcasts

• Prepare Meals

  • Pre-cook and freeze quick meals

  • Set up a Meal Train with family/friends to bring prepared meals at certain times and days so new parents don’t have to worry about shopping, preparing, and cooking meals

• Padsicles

  • Make some padsicles to help with perineal care/healing

    • Use maximum absorbency pads

    • Unwrap pad (leave on adhesive protector)

    • Pour Aloe Vera Gel then Witch Hazel onto center of pad

    • Fold back up and store in freezer until ready to use

• Diaper Changing areas

  • You won’t always be changing baby on the changing table in their nursery, so it’s a great idea to leave baskets/caddies including changing supplies throughout the house:

    • diapers

    • baby wipes

    • diaper cream

    • portable changing pad

    • hand sanitizer

    • pacifiers

• Co-sleeping

  • Place baby’s bassinet in parents’ bedroom as co-sleeping is recommended for at least the first 6 months of baby’s life to reduce risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)

• If you’re interested and can afford it, hire out help

  • Lactation Consultant

  • Dog walker

  • Someone to cut your grass

  • Postpartum Doula or Night Nurse

  • Nanny

  • Housekeeper

    • It’s a good idea to have a housekeeper do a deep clean of your home right before giving birth so you come home to a perfectly clean house

  • Pelvic Physical Therapist

• Send out e-mails/texts to family/friends regarding visiting baby

  • It’s recommended you delay family/friends visiting babies so you can get the proper, and very important rest to speed your postpartum recovery

  • If you have a Postpartum Doula, they’ll be happy to take the “blame” for suggesting delaying visiting baby; here’s an example of what to send:

    • “We understand and appreciate that you’re very excited to meet [baby’s name]; however, under the advice of our doula, we’re delaying visiting baby until we feel more prepared to host visitors, so we can utilize this time to get as much rest as possible, adjust to life with a new baby, and find our flow. If you would still like to help us prior to meeting [insert baby’s name], please consider doing any of the following in the meantime: drop off a prepared meal, complete an activity or play date with [other children], run errands such as grocery shopping, walk our family dog, etc. If you are interested in any of these tasks, our doula [insert doula’s name], has made herself available to arrange our postpartum schedule, please contact her at your earliest convenience [insert doula’s contact information].”

• Hang helpful/information signs for visitors, including deliveries

  • Our Etsy shop includes a magnet that outlines milk storage guidelines, as well as many print-at-home options such as:

    • Sleeping Baby Signs (for visitors and deliveries)

    • Meal Train [Thank You] sign

    • Rules for Visiting Baby

  • Include chores or shopping list for visitors to complete for you when they visit baby

• Stock up on supplies:

  • Diapers

  • Baby wipes

  • Mesh panties

  • Peri Bottle

  • Ibuprofen

  • Accetaminophen

  • Swaddles (blankets or zip-up wraps)