Planning, whether it be for a house or for a baby is truly essential. Preparing for the postpartum phase of your life is not any different. Thus the saying, “The key to success is in the preparation”.  The first step in preparation is knowing what comes next after you’ve successfully given birth.

What do you mean by postpartum?

First, let’s define the term. While the term is popularly used for the condition women experience after childbirth, postpartum basically means “after childbirth”. So for this article, we’re referring to planning after you give birth.

So why is a postpartum plan important?

Well, think about it. When people get engaged to their partners, they do several months of planning and preparation for their wedding day. And the same goes when couples find out that they’re expecting. They plan for the labor and birth of their baby. So why not do the same for postpartum and parenthood? Carrying the baby and giving birth is a total of nine months at most. You can’t say the same for after – that’s going to be for the rest of your lives. Well, at least until your child finally moves out and/or gets married, but we digress.

That’s why a postpartum plan is important. You have to be prepared for the many changes as a result of a new baby entering your and your partner’s lives.

How do you write a postpartum plan?

When we say write a plan, we literally mean write it down. It doesn’t have to be handwritten – type it on your laptop or device. But it’s definitely a document that will help you and your partner list your goals and preferences for your new life, especially during the first few weeks and months with your newborn.

The document can have meal preparations, a schedule for chores and self-care, visitors that are allowed during this time, and more. 

If you’re not sure what to include, it is best to get the opinion of a doula, like one of ours. Show her your draft, and ask her what you should include, or if anything seems to be missing. 

What should be included in a postpartum plan?

There are plenty, but here are some things you should definitely include when writing a plan:

Work schedules

One of the things you need to plan as a family is who will be staying with the baby and who will be working. If one of you works at home (especially prevalent thanks to COVID), then things might be easier. But if both of you are required to go to the office, it is best that both of you also talk to your HR department to find out how long maternity and paternity leaves are.

And don’t disregard the need for this: parental leaves are necessary. Going on one doesn’t mean you’re going on vacation: this is an important time for you to heal and bond with your newborn. That’s including dads – push for as long a leave as you can. This is a crucial time when your partner and your baby will need you. You won’t regret taking a paternal leave.

Who can help you out during this time

In any project, you need to have good members of your team to achieve success. So think of postpartum as a project where you need a good support team. For example, who in your and your partner’s families can you count on? 

Speaking of families, everyone might be excited to meet your baby, but let’s face it: not everyone will be helpful to you. So it might be a little hard but perhaps you can only allow certain people to visit you at the house so that they can help with your baby. And yes, you can be selfish for a few months with time and with people. After all, you’re still recovering! And your partner’s role is to take care of you and help take care of the baby. Entertaining too many people might be a little too much for either of you.

Another thing you should discuss is how long visitors should stay. There’s no right or wrong answer, but have them stay as long as you want or need them to. You and your partner should also talk about a codeword or phrase to indicate to one another when you feel a visitor is overstaying their welcome.

And speaking of help, you should also discuss whether you should get a doula, a nanny, or anyone else who can assist you during this period of your life. If it will make things easier for you for someone to cook, clean, buy groceries, and occasionally take care of the baby, then we suggest you go for it. Just make sure it’s within your budget. 

Your baby duties

Before you even become parents, it’s best to plan out your roles once the baby comes out. You and your partner might have expectations for each other regarding parenting. Do you expect them to get up and help you in the middle of the night if the baby wakes up? Do they expect you to still cook for them even if you’re the primary caregiver of the baby? It’s something that is important to be talked about so that you’re prepared and that there are no missed expectations that may lead to arguing.

One last note: Don’t be too strict with your plans.

Now, you may have written down plans, but remember, with life, nothing ever goes according to however you want it to go. That means you have to be flexible with your postpartum plan. If things go as you want, then great. But if not, you can’t moan and whine and be frustrated. Sad as it may be, life will still go on. And you have to accept that there will be some things that will happen that you failed to anticipate. For example, if your postpartum plan involved breastfeeding, but your baby cannot latch or you’re not producing enough milk, you’re going to have to make some changes. 

The whole point of writing a plan is so that you will know what options you have, and what backup plans you can make. It’s to ultimately make you a better-prepared parent. After all, when you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

Get some help during your postpartum period with Doulas of the Valley.

As mentioned, no plan is ever perfect. There will always be something that may be missed. But you don’t have to do it alone. At Doulas of the Valley, we have the resources to address your concerns postpartum, as well as help you arrive at healthy outcomes, even if plans don’t go the way you want them to.

We understand that being new parents means making many new choices. We’ll help you sort through the options and decisions while supporting you all the way as you decide what’s the best plan for your family. There’s no need to feel overwhelmed – we will be there with you every step of the way.

Contact us today and let’s get started on making a postpartum plan for you and your family.