It is easy for expectant parents to find themselves overwhelmed these days, with the amount of products being marketed to them. As an ND and Lactation Consultant, I myself find it hard to keep up with it all. There seems to be a new widget or gadget out every month promising more infant sleep, a calmer baby, an increase in milk supply, etc. While some of these products can be handy, it begs the question, “What do I really need before baby arrives?” This is a question I get a lot from my clients prenatally.
The answer, in my mind, comes down to 4 key needs. Infants need to be fed, they need a clean bottom, they need a safe sleep environment, and they need nurture from a responsive caregiver. To meet those needs, very little is actually needed in terms of “stuff”. Of course, each family’s specific needs will depend on what kind of parenting decisions they are making (how to feed, where baby will sleep, etc.) but I like to tell families to keep things simple and go from there. Once they meet their baby and are moving through the postpartum period, their true needs will be more clear.
One of the best things an expectant family can do to plan for postpartum, is to focus less on the “things” and more on the ways they can plan to meet their own physical and emotional needs after baby is born.
Here is a list of things to consider:
- Consider a prenatal lactation consultation with a lactation consultant to discuss breast, chest, or bottle feeding.
- Consider a prenatal sleep education consultation with an infant sleep educator to help you understand what normal/biological infant sleep looks like and how to meet baby’s sleep needs while also supporting your own.
- Have family and friend support lined up to bring meals and hold baby while you shower.
- Look into the care of a postpartum doula for day or night support.
- Look into what new parent groups are in your area so you can connect with others in the same boat as you.
- Stock your cabinet with easy to grab protein rich snacks.
- Create your own Parenting Manifesto (or print off Brene Brown’s here) and tape it to the bathroom mirror so you can read it each day when you are riding those postpartum hormones.
I hope that helps keep your to-do list practical and remember, above all else your baby needs you.