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Sleep. Good food. Clean home. Happy baby.
These four elements together allow for a calm transition into new parenthood. For a new mom, sufficient sleep is a vital part of your postpartum healing and maintaining your milk supply. Eating healthy, balanced meals and drinking plenty of fluids helps your body recover from birth — and also have enough calories to support your milk supply. A clean home helps put your mind at ease and well, when you have a happy baby everyone is happy.
So how can you plan ahead to get enough sleep, have enough good food, have a clean home and a happy baby?
Babies are simple really. They need a full belly, clean diaper, love and enough sleep. A few of my favorite books to best prepare new parents are Wonder Weeks and Happiest Baby on the Block. Taking a baby basics class is a good idea to learn how to swaddle, soothe and bath your baby is also a good idea. If you are the type that needs hands on learning in the moment then a postpartum doula is a great idea. If you are considering a postpartum doula, then plan ahead. The good ones get booked up!
A clean home puts most minds at ease and can really help you be able to sit back, put your feet up and snuggle with your new baby. We always suggest to our clients to set up a cleaning service to come in once a week to take care of the heavy duty stuff. A daytime doula can help with laundry and kitchen cleanup. A cleaning service can cost you anywhere from $60-$100 per visit. Seriously though, that is so worth the investment.
Sleep is hard to come by with a new baby, so hiring a night nurse can be a wise investment. They will help with breastfeeding or bottle feeding, burping, diaper changes, nursery clean up and stocking and cleaning all bottle and pump parts before they leave in the morning. Not all night nurses are created equal, so plan ahead and find the right one for your family.