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5 Pro Tips for Postpartum Preparedness
From a Postpartum Mama of 4
I jumped into the shower today, right after 1 1/2-year-old pulled off a poop diaper and stepped in it. I helped him get all clean and tidy while the newborn was still snoozing. After getting us all washed up, we got out and my 3-year-old decided to grace me with his presence and infinite wisdom. He caught me while I was in the midst of putting on a giant-after-baby-postpartum pad and said, “dat mom’s diaper?” Why yes, child, it is and thank you so much for making me laugh. It was definitely needed in between floor and foot poop smears and a newborn about to rustle awake.
Parenting is tough. Not only is it tough to be a parent to multiple children, it’s next level shit to parent 4 kids with 3 of them being in diapers. It’s a literal shit show (or storm? I don’t know.) That combined with the sleep one does NOT get, it can make for a pretty grumpy mutha.
That was at 3-ish-weeks postpartum, at the time of the first round of writing I was rounding out at about 7-weeks postpartum. Those last 7-weeks included a lot of milk leaking (if you breastfeed,) a heightened sense of germ phobias, and a lot of sheets and shirt changes from various forms of bodily fluids. And baby smiles, lots and lots of baby smiles, which makes it oh so much better.
You also have weird pelvic pains, all of your organs trying to get back into their normal functioning places, and then some maintaining of a household that you always fall short of. This continues for the unforeseeable future, by the way.
In retrospect, now at 4 (almost 5) months postpartum, it all sounds manageable and pleasant, but when you’re in the muck, it typically doesn’t feel that way. I mean, hello! 👋 hormones and if you have any other mental health issues (depression and anxiety — also, hello! 👋), it can be so very, very tough. If I had a magic wand, this is what I would have waved my way (although.. some items were purchased):
- Friends — friends for support and chatting, friends for making foods, friends for help with kids and cleaning, and just friends.
- Plan to have a baby in a warm season — I’ve had two children in the winter and I really dig Ayurveda, but I want some fruit and salad after having a baby & winter…
