As I was preparing to meet Ryser and start my life as a new mom, I wanted to make sure I was also prepared to take care of myself postpartum. I read tons of articles and blogs about the best postpartum products to have on hand, but I couldn’t find any resources that talked about the best habits a new mom can put in place to take care of herself.
After you’ve spent nine months preparing to care for a baby, you can forget about caring for yourself and your needs! It’s so easy to focus on all of the details surrounding the baby’s schedule and the newness of it all, but, taking great care of your baby starts with taking care of yourself first.
Postpartum Essentials & Must Know Tips to Transition into Motherhood
I wanted to share a few postpartum essentials and tips I’ve learned from my first few months as a mom that have helped me survive the transition into this new season:
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Get a Food Subscription Service!
Having a food service delivered to your house is SO helpful in the weeks after you bring home your baby. You’re getting accustomed to a whole new routine and your time is so limited! So many days I would look up and it would be 2:00 pm and I hadn’t eaten anything. On those days, I didn’t have the energy to go to the grocery shopping or to meal prep. In those moments, having pre-made, healthy food saved me!
Two of my current food subscriptions are Daily Harvest and Home Chef! Daily Harvest is an affordable food service that focuses on quick and healthy snacks like smoothies that are packed with nutrients and ready to blend! For Daily Harvest, you just pick a plan, your flavors, and they ship a box of smoothie cups straight to your house! You can check out my official Daily Harvest Tastemaker Page where I’ve listed my top smoothie picks and where you can get 3 cups free with my code “ashleyterk”!
Another great food subscription service is Home Chef. They offer 18 meal options per week, and let me tell you, all of their recipes are amazing!! Everything I have had is so fresh and SO good! Everything is handmade fresh each week by top chefs. I love to stock up on their meals to have on hand for lunch and dinner options. Their plans are affordable and are designed to fit your lifestyle whether you are looking to get meals just for yourself, for you and your spouse, or for your family! And the best part, I have a code for you! Use “ASHLEYTERK” for $30 off your order!
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Drink Lots of Water
Staying hydrated is part of a healthy lifestyle in general but is especially important postpartum when your time is so limited and there are so many physical and emotional demands made of you. Staying hydrated can help with tiredness, headaches, and recovery as your body heals after birth. Not to mention if you’re breastfeeding, you need to stay hydrated to make sure your milk supply stays regular. To give yourself more incentive for drinking enough water each day, you can download an app to track your water intake, or purchase a fun, new water bottle! I love to carry around my Hydro Flask.
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Buy a Plastic Drawer Organizer for Postpartum Products
You might not usually want a random drawer organizer in your bedroom or bathroom, but when you first bring home a baby, having a set of drawers dedicated to postpartum products will help you so much more than it cramps your space!!
Target sells simple drawer organizers starting at $15! They’re affordable and will allow you to keep all your postpartum products like nipple cream, pads, perineal spray, medicine, etc. in one place.
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Get a Dry Erase Board for your Fridge
Speaking of staying organized, having a magnetic dry erase board to keep track of schedules is one of the best things I’ve done. I have a magnetic board the sticks to our refrigerator so I can constantly see it!
There are so many different schedules you have to keep up with from feedings, to doses of medicine, to diaper changes, and of course your baby’s sleep schedule! When you’re exhausted it’s easy to forget what has happened in a day, so I use this board to remind me!
I like that I can quickly and easily see what the day’s schedule has been so far and also plan how the day should go. If I need to make any changes, I just erase and fill in the new info. I know this seems so simple, but it’s been a really helpful habit.
Kindred Bravely Sublime Nursing Bra // lululemon Align Leggings
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Invest in Multiple Nursing Bras and Tanks + Comfy Loungewear
With a new baby to take care of and a changing (and healing) body, you’re going to want to feel as comfortable as possible postpartum! Your first few weeks will be consumed with your baby’s schedule and immediate needs, so set yourself up for success by buying functional and cozy nursing gear that will make breastfeeding and baby care as easy as possible.
Also, you will probably have visitors coming in and out and even if it’s just family, you will probably want to feel somewhat presentable! With amazing brands like Kindred Bravely, you don’t have to sacrifice functionality for comfort or cuteness. Their nursing bras, tanks, and underwear have been essential throughout my pregnancy and definitely postpartum. And, great news, they have a new Sublime nursing sports bra that is SO comfortable and so cute. (This is the nursing bra I am wearing the photos) The Sublime sports bra is definitely my new go-to as I am trying to get back into an active lifestyle.
Here are all of my favorite Kindred Bravely products that have helped me so much in pregnancy and postpartum!
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Use a Baby Carrier/ Wrap
So far, Ryser is a very happy baby, but there are times that he just wants to be held! It’s super sweet, but when I have to run an errand or pick up around the house, I need to be hands-free. This is when a baby carrier is clutch. Your baby gets to be close to you, but you get to have both hands free to do what you need to do.
Carrying Ryser is also one of my top tips for traveling with an infant! You can check out my full list of travel tips on the blog, here!!
Here are some of my favorite baby carriers:
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Schedule for Family and Friends to Visit at Different Times
All your friends and family are going to be so excited to see you once you get home from the hospital. It’s really sweet, but to make the quality time less overwhelming (and helpful!) for you and your baby, schedule your friends and family at different dates and times.
Especially if you have friends and family traveling to see you, do yourself a favor and schedule the visits so that you have as much help as possible for the first few weeks. I was so fortunate that my parents and siblings could be with me for the first couple weeks, then my best friend could come for the third week, then my mother in law came the fourth week!
Spreading out the visits made it less overwhelming on us as we were just getting settled, but also made it so we had an extra set of hands the first month.
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Lower your Expectations for Yourself and your Husband
Y’all, hear me on this one: lower your expectations of yourself and your husband. Having a baby is one of the biggest life changes! The truth is, you are going to be exhausted from the early morning wake up calls, frustrated from being cooped up in the house, and may be overwhelmed about all the new responsibility.
Have grace for yourself and your spouse! You are both learning how to manage a new schedule and it’s going to take time to get into a routine. Remind yourself that you are both in this together and have created a new life. Be patient and accommodating with each other and take time to reflect on all of the new memories you are making!
Has this list of postpartum essentials and tips been helpful? I would love to hear about your pregnancy or postpartum experience below!
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