- We believe the preparation you do for your postpartum period is a crucial and transformative step in your journey to motherhood.
“Oh we just want to get through the birth, and then we can figure all that out”
“We can’t focus on much more than the birth right now, will work the rest out later”
“We will just wing it. We really just want to get through the birth”
Sound familiar?
We get it! It all sounds too way off in the distance and something to think about later, ‘cross that bridge when we get to it’ kind of thinking.
As mothers of seven sweet babes collectively, we want to emphasise the importance of preparing for the postpartum period. It’s just as crucial as the attention and care given during the birth.
After giving birth, you’ll be bonding with and taking care of a brand new baby (which is around the clock and allows little time for much else in the very beginning), experiencing a rush of hormones, finding adjustments required in your relationships and the logistics of your days will look very different to before! Your body will need time and space to recover, heal, and rest. It’s a lot.
Your future mama self will be so thankful you’ve given this some planning. The birth is the beginning of a whole new world, and we want you to land in that world as softly and as set up for success as possible.
We are so passionate about it here at NAO that we offer a 1:1 Planning Session for mothers-to-be (first time or again). Find out more here
Still not convinced that planning ahead for life after birth is necessary?
Let us highlight just some of the benefits of creating a postpartum plan.
- It allows you to stock your fridge and freezer with nutritious meals ahead of time (or know who the best meal delivery services are). This will save you the workload of food prep and planning down the track and allow you to be nourished (without you having all the cooking clean up – BONUS!) and more time to cozy up with your Bubba.
- It allows you to get systems in place ahead of time to optimise your recovery and prioritise your rest. Some ideas here – online grocery shopping setup, someone booked to walk the dog, meal train, friends to assist with the pickup of siblings as just a few examples. (We can help you with so many more in our planning sessions)
- It allows you to have important discussions with your partner or support person before you are both sleep-deprived and in the thick of newborn life. This really helps to safeguard relationships in those early years and tone down the resentment that can creep in with sleepless nights and task allocation. It also helps you set intentions for how you’d like to parent and your shared values etc.
- Helps you set up your home environment in practical ways to further optimise recovery, calm and rest. On a practical level – planning for where you will feed, change, sleep day/night etc can allow you to have everything you need in the place you need it!
- Decide how you want to manage friends and family visiting in the first weeks and be able to communicate these boundaries ahead of time. This can feel tricky, but discussing it with your partner can put you on the same page and mean you can be clear about who you want and for how long!
- Planning allows you to enter motherhood feeling more confident, informed, and prepared—all the same benefits that planning for birth brings.
- It allows you to assemble your support crew of mother care professionals and have their numbers ready so that when you need them, you will know exactly who to call, and there will be no random googling. This is so important. You can do your research at Not Another Onesie and gather your support crew (even if it’s just making note of their website and contact number so it’s there should you need it). If you have the chance to chat with a lactation consultant, pelvic floor specialist or postpartum doula in advance, you can feel so much more supported and set up, even if you have never actually come to need their services.
- Another big benefit of planning is that it makes it easier for friends and family to support you in a way that is actually helpful to you! Once you consider the practical side of what needs to happen once your baby arrives, you may realise that you need help with meals or food prep, sibling pick-ups or drop-offs, dog walking, or laundry folding. Friends can then feel helpful in the best way possible.
This is just a start. There are so many benefits you can expect from planning your postpartum
Let us help you get set up. Book your Planning Session here, and we can guide you through areas you may not have even considered, but your future self will be so glad you did!
