Post-Birth Recovery Tips

POST-BIRTH TIPS.

Here are some things that helped me get through post-partum time! Every birth is different but here is what helped me. 

EMOTIONS 
First of all, no matter what your specific physical recovery looks like, most women could attest to the reality that adjusting to a new baby is hard. It's new. It's unfamiliar. You face challenges. You're tired. Your emotions run wild. You face a mental exhaustion that you couldn't have prepared for.  I want to encourage you when you're in that YOU'RE NORMAL. Often there is nothing more comforting at times to just know you aren't the only one. 

• Give yourself grace and time to recover. 
• You have just created a human & it is NORMAL to feel out of sorts. 
• You have a new family member to adjust to & are exhausted. 
• With recovery, it will look different to everyone depending on their birth experience. 
• On hard days remember, this is just a season. It too shall pass! You can do this. 
• Most likely, you and baby WILL figure out nursing & he or she WILL sleep through the night. Be patient in the process. Don't give up. In an age of quick fixes, stick in it for the long haul to reap the rewards. 

OVERALL WELLNESS

Bouncing back physically can take a little time depending on your birth. With my first birth it took 7 months to feel normal again. With my second, it was a matter of weeks. In addition to healthy eating, I took a slew of vitamins & supplements to help lift my mood & fuel me for the day:

• Multivitamin from Garden of Life
• Individual vitamins I took as well: iodine, zinc, iron, vitamin D, fish oil (these help with energy, strength, immunity & fighting depression)
• Evening Primrose Tablets (this combats post-partum depression but don't take in excess, read up on recommended use from a variety of websites before taking. It gave me heartburn so I took this sparingly the first few weeks after birth.)
• Essential Oils for mood: I took turns putting on Clary Sage Oil & Balance Essential Oil Blend from doTERRA. I put two drops on my wrists on in the morning and rubbed into my arms with a carrier oil (almond). These both help balance your hormones. I felt I could tell a difference. 
• Tea: I drank Red Raspberry Leaf Tea to help tone my uterus, and I drank mother's milk teas that you can get at natural grocery stores. Other brands: Euphoric Herbals  (they create pregnancy, post-partum and nursing teas). 
• Sunshine & Exercise. These two are very important to lift your mood & perspective. Get outside when you can. 
• Brain food: walnuts, flaxseed, chia seas, etc. 
• At night after dinner I took a probiotic
• Once in bed I took magnesium (really does help with sleep and stress) 

PHYSICAL RECOVERY

Healing Your Perineum Tear. If this happens, I have a remedy for you! 

• BATHS: I took nightly sitz baths for the first couple weeks and then about 3x a week after that. Do as many as needed. Find a time that works before for you in the day. For me, I did it after dinner before baby went down for the night, which family was hanging out with him. I purchased a sitz bath herbs packet from Eurphoric Herbals. Follow instructions given to get the maximum effect. This was a relaxing part of my day. 
• OIL BLEND: With research, I created a blend of essential oils that help bring healing that you can gently rub onto the tear area. You will find that area is very inflamed/puffy. I put the oil remedy on 2-3x a day & found the tear practically healed in one week! It was amazing! In a small bottle with a dropper lid or secure lid, combine 5 T carrier oil (almond oil, coconut oil), and 10 drops geranium rose oil, 10 drops lavender oil & 5 drops frankincense oil. Be sure to use 100% pure essential oil. 
• While healing from this tear, do not sit up for long periods of time in the same position. Reclining or lying on your side or back will be very helpful. A reclining chair would be very helpful. Most of the chairs/couches in my house were very uncomfortable. I found a rocky chair with a pillow underneath me was the most comfortable.

YOUR BEDTIME 

• NIGHT ROUTINE: When you are introducing sleep-training after the first week, it can be helpful to create a night time routine. 
• Sleep Training: Read "Babywise" and reference this website for the "Cliff Notes Version" Do the same thing everything with baby, whether it be bath time, dim the lights, sing a song, cuddles on the couch with nursing, a change and swaddle. Routine helps signal to them what is coming next: sleepy time!
• You need a routine for yourself too. In the early days, baby is going to wake a few hours after they fall asleep, so it's best to get to bed as soon as you are able to get in some sleep while they sleep. 
• For me this meant every night laying out fresh diapers, wipes and onesies for quick and easy changes. 
• I draped a dark burp cloth over the side lamp to keep the room dim for every night feed. This helped us both stay sleepy. 
• I made sure I had my water bottle and a light snack available. You are feeding someone many times in the night. Your body will get dehydrated and hungry if you don't fuel it. 
• I ran sleep-inducing essential oils in the room through the diffuser
• I took my magnesium supplement to hep with sleeping soundly 
• I prayed for God to wake me a few minutes before every feed so that I was mentally ready when baby woke instead of being shocked awake each time from a cry. Believe it or not, God did this for me every night, every feed. Ask and you shall receive! It helped me have a good atitude while nursing and not me so exhausted and resentful. And then I was able to go back to sleep fairly easily. 
• I nursed baby #2 while lying down on both our sides with our eyes closed. This kept both of us relaxed and staying in sleep mode. With my first, we had brighter light because I was pumping. Noah would feed Sparrow pre-pumped milk while I pumped nearby. It was long and annoying. Baby #2 was much more of an easy process. 
• I chose not to change baby unless it was a particularly full pee or he had poo'd. If it's only mildly wet, I wouldn't bother because it actually wakes them up further by changing them.
• For the first month, baby slept in a bassinet in the room. Once baby started snoring at night, I moved him into the walk-in closet 5 feet away from me. I could still hear him but it wasn't as much of a disturbance. I am a light sleeper so I was able to always wake (plus God would wake me beforehand anyway!) 
• Once he outgrew the bassinet, he was moved to his sister's room into his crib. 
• Sleeping on stomach vs back. Every kid is different but we found that both our children slept much more soundly and LONGER while on their tummies. We started them on their backs until we could witness they had consistent neck strength to turn their heads from one side to another. With each child we would test that out during naps and observe their ability. We'd pray about the decision and then chose to always have them on their tummies. This, paired with consistent eat/sleep routine, baby #1 slept through the night at week 8. Baby #2 slept through the night at 7 weeks ( 9pm-730am). 
• Utilize the help you have. I was fortunate to have help the first month. My mother-in-law would take Phoenix when we woke at 730am so I could sleep another hour. This was a life saver & gave me enough energy for the day ahead. (I would nurse him around 7/730am & then she'd come get him while I napped). 

NURSING 

• It is my belief that God created nursing as a means to nourish your child with the best possible food. It's exciting to see western culture move back into accepting this. The rest of the world never left this truth but "modern society" moved away from it for awhile. It's good to see that shift happen where it's become normalized again. Science has proven it's mighty benefits. Your body "reads" what your child needs & then makes the exact nutrients & antibodies he or she needs. 

• Remember, you are just like EVERY other new mom, learning for the first time & so is baby. Be patient. Give it time. Give it a whole month to really give it your best shot. 

• Even if you find yourself crying in pain (this happened to me a couple times), remember it is NOT like this forever. Seriously, it magically disappears around two weeks & and you VERY quickly forget the pain you had & are so glad you stuck to it. Baby needs this nourishing natural sustenance. It is Liquid Gold!

• Be encouraged that this is just a season. At first baby nurses often but after you establish your routine, nursing will be a little less often and eventually only a few times a day as they start solids.
• You're a mama now! Your baby needs you! You're going to do amazing, mama out there!