First 10 Days of Your Postpartum Journey: Tips and a Journal for You
Whoa! What just happened to me?
As a birth doula, part of the care plan for my clients is to do at least one home visit in person after baby is born. I really like to get this visit in during the first 3 to 9 days since there are so many questions to answer and tips to share. Plus, that is right about the time when all parents are wondering why they thought having a baby was a good idea and they feel like they are dying from lack of sleep!
Early postpartum visit is best because as a Certified Lactation Counselor (CLC), I can be a sounding board for establishing breastfeeding or helping with bottle feeding plans, talk about mom’s post birth bleeding (known as Lochia), and more. There is so much going on in those first days at home!!! A very tired, often sore, momma is trying her best to keep everything organized and, often, I see there are scraps of paper by her bedside with notes on it about feeding times and diaper changes.
How do I swaddle and soothe my baby?
Naturally, a new mom will have questions!
Frequently, I will hear, “When I was getting discharged, I remember the nurse saying something about a certain number of pee and poop diapers each day but I don't remember what she said…And, is it feeding every 2 hours or is it 8-12 feeds in a day or is that 24 hours? Am I supposed to be doing anything with the cord? It’s getting a bit stinky… I have had a few blood clots, is that okay?”
There’s an app for that, right?
I made a “check list” for one of my clients earlier this year and she found it very helpful. She said “There’s an app for feeding and another for diapers and stuff, but I just want something I can jot notes down on and then maybe keep it in my baby book”. She used it and loved it, then told one of her girlfriends, who then told one of her friends… We all know how we like to share tips with each other!
Enter: The First 10 Days Check List
Hmmm… I thought, “If these 3 mommas found this helpful, maybe others will, too. Each day is on a notebook sized piece of paper with places to check of diapers and write in what they were. Another place for nursing or feeding. Another spot for keeping tabs on mom’s bleeding. And tips and words of encouragement for each day, along with reminders and things to look out for.
For vaginal and cesarean birth mommas!
The First 10 Days also comes with 5 tips and 5 gentle movement patterns that will enhance and speed the rate at which you physically recover. The exercises that we recommend are important but don’t worry! They won’t likely make you sweat and are appropriate for vaginal and cesarean birth moms! We recommend that you do these 2-3 times each day. Do drink lots of water!
ACOG recommends gentle exercise soon after your baby is born.
Two important benefits of movement are that even when your hormones are going bonkers, gentle exercise improves your mood and feeling of well-being - AND physically, movement will help reduce the risk of Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) which women are more at risk for in the weeks after childbirth.
Whether you are nursing or bottle feeding your baby, your head and neck get tired and achy. Try our stretches for relief. Also, you may find that you are looking down at your baby or your phone while feeding and it’s very easy to find your head thrusting forward. This is actually called Forward Head. Did you know that for every inch forward of neutral spine, that the weight of your head places an extra 10 pounds of stress on your cervical spine? No wonder your neck is sore!
Stretching out tired shoulders and tight chest muscles from many hours of holding your baby
Also, because you are holding your baby, your shoulders are more likely to be rounding forward and your chest muscles can get shortened. If you can open that chest up while nursing, your chest and shoulder muscles will thank you!
Are Kegels okay to do?
Kegel is simply the name of a pelvic floor movement. Our pelvic floor moves with our breath, whether we know it or not, and it lowers and lengthens when we inhale and lifts and contracts when we exhale. We can also purposely connect to the pelvic floor and lift and contract and lower it. The key with pelvic floor contractions is to remember that it is like any other muscle. It should be moved from lift/contraction part to relaxation/fully lengthened part (you may have heard of “down training”). Pelvic floor contractions may be done soon after birth but it’s a GENTLE contraction. Almost a mini contraction (you aim for about a 30% contraction) merely to stimulate blood supply, muscle memory and nerve stimulation. This is NOT a full contraction!
We also know that the pelvic floor and your deep abdominal muscle like to work as a team to provide support to your core and pelvic floor. If you took Birth Ball Basics, you learned about “Hugging Baby High and Dry”. This is just our way of teaching the Transverse Abdominal contraction that is important for core stability and supporting your Diastasis Recti during and after pregnancy. You can watch a video here to learn how to do it!
Along with directions for the exercises, we also added a few tips from the 4TFM Mom community, for early postpartum moms that may be helpful.
Energy Balls? Butt Balls?? What the heck!!
Yup!! There’s a recipe for Energy Balls and you may have to hide from the rest of the family because they are YUMMY! You can make a big batch at a time, toss them in the freezer and pull out a handful each day.
And, “ahhhh”… that feels a-maz-ing!!
Butt Balls - you don’t eat - but (no pun intended) are easy to make and feel great on those poor hemorrhoids. Keep them in the fridge in a baggie and pop one right on your anus when needed…It really will fee great.
If you are healing from birth, you need water! Lots of it. If you are nursing, you need water!! You’ll be soooo thirsty! If you are nursing, do yourself a favor and get a Haakaa.
Best.Thing.Ever.
Consider getting one with the lid because you WILL cry over spilled milk. Also, put a cooler by your bed for the first few days and fill it with cold drinks and snacks. You will be surprised how hungry and thirsty you will be!
And speaking of feeding your baby - here is a tip to help with burping.
Your nipples may be sore. If they are sore, The first thing to check is the latch. (My favorite latching and breastfeeding video ever is this one from Global Health Media Project.) If you are continuing to be sore, please contact your lactation consultant asap. The sooner you get help the better. Many will come to your home and ask if they take your insurance ( some do but, just fyi, most are cash based).
Our last tip is about perineal care if you have had tear or episiotomy. A wonderful older OB recommended this tip and the moms love it. LOVE IT. Take a 10 minute epsom salt sitz bath and then after, gently pat dry and use a hair dryer on a low-but-warm setting to completely dry and sooth the area. It will also feel pretty wonderful to take some of the tucks pads that you keep in the fridge and put it on your panty liner for that perineal area.
We hope that you find this helpful! Please share this resource with your friends and clients who are soon to be having their babies. And do let us know when you have your baby!!! We love to celebrate those births. Please leave your comments in below. We value what you have to say!
For your FREE First 10 Days download —click here
Postpartum Recovery® Fitness class signups can be found here and these classes are perfect for the early postpartum mom. You can filter by class type and location. Classes are offered IN PERSON and VIRTUALLY. They are evidence based and approved by OBs, Midwives, and Pelvic Floor PTs. You may begin as early as 10 days pp (vaginal birth) or 6 weeks pp (for cesarean birth).
“I took Postpartum Recovery to help me heal from my cesarean birth...What I found out was that it also helped me heal emotionally from that unexpected birth”
References:
https://www.acog.org/clinical/clinical-guidance/committee-opinion/articles/2020/04/physical-activity-and-exercise-during-pregnancy-and-the-postpartum-period
Lewis, B.A., Schuver, K., Dunsiger, S. et al. Randomized trial examining the effect of exercise and wellness interventions on preventing postpartum depression and perceived stress. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth 21, 785 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-021-04257-8