Tips for Postpartum and Maternity Leave

There isn't enough time to read through all the ways to try to prepare for being home with a newborn. Your body, hormones, and emotions are all a roller coaster as you navigate this complicated journey. Looking back almost a year later, I think about a few things that helped me the most in varying ways - from feeling like I had a routine and was returning to my regular self, as well as ways to fill my day being isolated at home. Below are a few of my top tips!

Library Membership (Libby App) - this is perhaps my #1 recommendation! My first week of maternity leave, I blasted through several seasons of shows on Bravo. I remember thinking to myself - this does not make me feel better about how I look and feel right now. I went to my local library to sign up for a membership and downloaded the libby app. I was blown away by how many best seller books are free to rent and enjoy through the library! With the app, you can pull up a book at anytime, which while holding a little one, was super convenient.

Comfortable Athlesiure - I tried to differentiate between daytime and evening by changing into an "outfit" every morning. I'm someone that by the end of a vacation craves my daily routine, so I knew it would be important to try to structure my day. My daily uniform during my maternity leave was an oversized Gymshark t-shirt and Lululemon align leggings or Vuori joggers. In the evening, I would swap to either a nighttime button down gown or pajamas.

Evening Showers - once Nick returned to work, I was on my own almost the entire day and by 5pm, I was covered in sweat (my maternity leave aligned with Atlanta's brutal hot Summer months), breastmilk and spit up. Nick would take over when he got home to allow me to take a long, hot evening shower. I bought some nice body wash, shampoo, and lotion and I swear it felt like a spa trip. It's amazing how such a simple thing becomes a luxury! I also used this time to do a few minutes of diaphragmatic breathing.

Podcasts/Playlists - maternity leave can be isolating, and it was a stark contrast to my normal workday that would be filled with conversations and meetings. I already was an avid podcast listener, but after the first solo week, I made sure to have music or something playing in the background to not be in silence all the time.

Eye Patches - I used these a lot during my pregnancy and continued postpartum. With sleep being in small and sparse increments, I felt exhausted and putting an ice cold eye patch on while drinking my coffee gave me a boost for my mornings! I always keep them in the fridge!

Peloton Membership or Youtube Workouts - I placed my gym membership on hold for 4 months (including the last 2 weeks I was pregnant), and signed up for Peloton to stream for 3 months. They had a special so it was only $12 total (be sure to cancel to prevent the higher auto charge later). They have a variety of postpartum friendly exercise classes! I started when I was medically cleared to do so (6 weeks) and kept it very light and easy. It was a nice entry into working out again and the major perk is I could do it anytime of day. I'd aim for 30 minutes early in the morning and later in the day would do a walk outside with our stroller.

On another note, there is a lot of videos you can stream on YouTube for free that are labeled postpartum. I'd just vet a little bit into what you are streaming to ensure it is safe.

Class Pass - I was given a giftcard before I was pregnant but hadn't used it because I was already paying for another gym membership with classes. I decided to redeem it around 3 months postpartum and it was the PERFECT time to do so. I was able to take spin classes and some mega reformer pilates classes. I would sign up for 3 classes a week and coordinate with Nick for childcare. It was SUCH a treat for me to get out of the house and go workout during my maternity leave! I tried a few different gyms, including one with childcare, but ultimately found I wanted to return to my original gym. Now, Nick and I rotate drop off mornings so I am able to go 3 days a week (they do not have childcare).

Large Hair Clips - even if I washed my hair, I rarely wanted to keep it down, so I would twist it up and clip it. Super simple hack and Amazon sells multipacks for super cheap, and didn't pull out my hair like hair ties.

Freezer Meals - when it came to preparing for the arrival of our little one, everywhere recommended to make meals ahead of time and freeze. About a month or so out, I started doubling up recipes to freeze some or instead of eating leftovers, we'd freezer a serving. This made it feel way easier to do. Also, I asked my mother and mother in law if they'd be willing to make us a freezer meal or staples to keep for later. They both were wanting to do something for us, and every time we reheated a meal they made after, I would send a photo and message saying THANK YOU. It was SO helpful to have some easy options for cooking.

Somethings I would try or do differently:

• hire daytime help - by the time by brain got it together to reach out for a night nurse, our daughter was only waking up once in the evening. It is also very expensive to hire overnight care. One of our neighbors shared she had found assistance during the daytime so she could rest and it was significant less in cost. With 4-5 hours of sleep, it doesn't shock me I didn't have this idea, but it makes total sense. We were fortunate family came into town to stay with us and help, but majority of my maternity leave Nick and I were on our own.

• be more honest with my spouse - the first few weeks, we were teammates but both of us were grumpy a lot of the time. I remember sharing with Nick what I was physically going through postpartum, and realized he couldn't read my mind so of course he had no idea up until that point. We started to get in a better rhythm about what each other needed. On Fridays, we'd ask "what do you hope to do this weekend?" - which would allow us the space to say tasks or time to ourself that we'd want.

• buy less of everything - we did laundry so frequent, we really only needed a couple of the essentials like baby onesies and burp cloths. That being said, we had several nights where we went through 3 outfits, so have enough to cover your bases.