Now that I’m getting farther along in my pregnancy, I’m naturally starting to think about plans for the birth and postpartum time. I am usually a very fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of person, but since about the beginning of the second trimester I’ve had the urge to be a bit more organized, and I LOVE making lists! Perhaps, it’s just that my pregnancy brain can’t keep up with the excitement of flying-by-the-seat-of-my-pants anymore. Who knows…
I’m a little nervous about the labor and postpartum, mostly because I’ve never done it before and I really have no idea what to expect. So I’d like to be as prepared as possible!
Here are a few ways I’m preparing for this big life event. This list is not exhaustive, just some stuff I’ve been thinking about, and I know I am by no means an expert on this yet. Hopefully this will be helpful for you too, possibly giving you a few ideas if you are also planning for a birth!
Meal Planning
Freezer Meals
When I make a dinner that is easy to freeze and re-heat, I make double batch and freeze half. Mostly things like casseroles, enchiladas, spaghetti, meatloaf, pizza, etc. I’d like to have enough meals saved up for a whole month of eatin’.
Canned Food
I have been doing a lot of canning lately, and definitely more than I did last year. I want to have a bunch of different kinds of soup that Luke can easily heat up for us if I’m not feeling up to it. I’ve already done a lot of whole foods like, corn, green beans, pears, raspberries, tomatoes, applesauce, jams, pickles, pumpkin, squash…pretty much anything I had access to over the growing season. Oh! And bone broth! Bone broth is sooo healthy in general, so I made and canned a bunch of beef bone broth from the quarter of a cow we got from Luke’s brother and sister-in-law.
Please excuse the double chin.
Freezer Desserts
Yes, I have a sweet-tooth. I confess! Probably hence the double chin. I love having home-baked desserts, but I doubt I will feel up to baking much after Sofia is born. Soooo…I make some extra of the desserts that I bake now and just pop them in the freezer. Wala! Now, I can still have all my fattening food postpartum too!
Hahaha!
Blood & Milk Building Foods
I think it’s important also to have some blood and milk building foods on hand. If I lost a lot of blood during the birth I’m going to want to have some good blood-replenishing foods to eat afterwards. Some easy examples would be: red meats, liver, dark leafy green vegetables, eggs, nettles (that can be consumed as a tea), etc.
Also just in-case I am having a hard time producing enough milk there are some dietary ways to increase the flow. Fermented foods and beverages, soaked grains, oatmeal, nuts, different herbs that I’ll make some teas with (fennel, raspberry leaf, nettle, alfalfa, dandelion leaf, and thistle are good herbs for a mother’s milk tea).
Postpartum Care
I also feel that it’s really important for me to make some plans for my postpartum care. I don’t want to overdo it and make my recovery time go slower. Some things I’m keeping in mind and getting ready are:
Herb baths – I’d like to take some herbal baths as they can be really healing for your lady parts. Sorry…I’m just sayin’. Plantain leaf, calendula, witch hazel, lavender and chamomile are great ones for this.
Good books to read – while I’m laying in bed snuggling baby, or nursing, I might be feeling a little cooped up and bored, so I’ve heard it’s good to have some books on hand that I’d like to read.
I want to make some personal care products in advance even if I don’t end up using them, just because I don’t want to have to worry about it while I’m busy learning to be a mama. Men, beware, this is your only warning:
Some examples would be, breastfeeding nipple cream, castor oil packs and vaginal spray.
Sorry, that’s just real life.
Ask For Help
Sometimes it is hard to ask for help. I know this is true for me especially! Like I failed if I couldn’t do it all by myself. But I am coming to grips with the fact that I am going to need some help and that I need to gracefully accept it. Have a list of people who are willing to help out with household chores such as cleaning the house, making meals, or feeding the farm animals for the first little while….or even to just come and talk to you.
Make A Birth Plan
I know that labor and birth almost always doesn’t go exactly like it’s pictured, but I wanted at least a general idea of how I would want it to go. I am kind of a home birth junkie so of course we are planning a home birth, possibly a water birth, if that’s what I’m feelin’, and we have an awesome midwife who will be there with us. I also think it is a good idea to plan for things like: how long you’d like to leave the baby attached to the placenta and also what you want done with the placenta afterwards. Those aren’t really things you want to be worrying about during labor or right after.
It’s good to plan for such a huge life event, but I keep reminding myself that no matter how planned out I have it, it will all fall into God’s amazing grand plan. This little blessing will come into the world whether I have her at home or in the hospital, early or late. I need to let go and just relax in knowing that God already knows what’s going to happen.
So many things to think about! I will probably keep thinking of more and more things as it gets closer, but that’s what I am starting with at least. I hope it was helpful for some of you as well!
Blessings!
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