Do you want postpartum medical care stuff too? Set up a women’s health/ pelvic floor physiotherapy appointment for 6 weeks after giving birth.
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Thanks for that. I’m a little turned off using that brand because they used “vajay” instead of vagina but the concept is excellent. Our hospitals don’t have them and the midwives didn’t know what I was talking about when I had Duckling!
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Their branding can be annoying, but I’ve loved all their products (esp peri bottle) and they’re women owned small etc.
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I’ve only used the nose-frida (we bought a 2nd) and the mama bidet, but both were A+. That marketing sounds annoying and I think they’ve had a proliferation of products that I’m not sure I’d go for, but really A+++ on those two things.
Postpartum plan - I know you’re asking about some logistics things, but I think people really underestimate how much they need to plan for getting care for the postpartum period. My doula from my last birth is giving a virtual class on this that I would 100% pay for if I were expecting. I didn’t have a postpartum doula, but I’d work with one a 2nd time around even though I’ve been through it before.
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I’ll add to my previous comment. I recently lost a pregnancy and am going through the recovery of that. I ended up getting connected to a loss doula who has helped support me and our family through the process and when the miscarriage completed, she called to let me know that the period after a miscarriage you encounter some of the same hormonal shifts that are present and even with that reminder, I’ve been shocked by some of the things my body is doing.
I love doulas. My husband loves doulas. We’ve had two pregnancies and worked with two doulas (the first moved and doesn’t do this kind of support but helped me find the second and if I have another pregnancy I sure hope that second doula will be there with me throughout it) and I recommend them to everyone. They can help from afar with planning and also come and help in person.
Many work on a sliding scale if you’re not sure you can afford them. But if I was making a list of the things I need to do now to make postpartum better, it would be to hire a postpartum doula (and/or a birth doula who also does postpartum!!).
Happy to talk more about doulas if anyone wants. They’re the best. I might cross-post this to the pregnancy one too if I can figure out how.
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Thanks, I’d love to hear more about the kind of support you got from your doula post-partum! We have hired one (and now I’m scheduled in for a c-section so she won’t actually be able to join us at all in the hospital because of COVID). She’s said several times that she will be there for whatever I need after birth but I’m not usually quick to reach out and not sure what kinds of things that means.
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My two post partum doulas (work bestie and clinic owner) got annoyed that I didn’t call them and showed up. Both separately ensured I showered, checked on breastfeeding, my nutrition, my mental health, fed me etc. Like an ideal imaginary mom or mary Poppins showing up. If you just let them in, they’ll fix things.
Maybe they did dishes?
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Todo list for after:
- SSN - our hospital automatically gave us a form to return to the nurse, along with a big packet of other paperwork.
- Pediatrician appt if you don’t have one lined up yet
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Can you give some more details on this class? What does it cover?
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This thread is for all things postpartum! I’ve already picked a private lactation consultant to have a pregnancy and postpartum meeting with, and have started organising our parents and siblings on what support they’ll be available to provide.
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Yesss finding a ped and setting up an apt ahead of time is a must. Our practice sent out doctors each day we were in the hospital to check on me and the baby. Admittedly, I had a complicated birth. But I think they would’ve done it at least once if not twice even if I hadn’t.
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We were in hospital for a few days after birth (standard practice for our hospital) and that worked well for us because we also got seen by the ped right in hospital and had all Duckling’s newborn/ first week tests done without us having to travel anywhere. It was also very nice to hand baby over for a couple of hours to the nursery midwives even if emotionally it was hard.
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Unsolicited post partum advice. Get one of these for baby care. They’re on sale right now and prime day. This is seriously one of the best baby gear items I own. You will sleep so much better if you don’t have to turn a bright light on every time you do the smallest bit of care or check some thing. Not to mention the baby.
VAVA Home VA-CL006 Rechargeable Night Lights for Kids with Stable Charging Pad, Bedside Lamp for Breastfeeding, Waterproof Emergency Light For Indoor & Outdoor, Blue https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HT9D1JK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fab_Ud5HFb2Q6KFMN
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In my case, I couldn’t add the baby to my insurance without uploading a copy of her birth certificate. I’m Colorado they don’t just send them to you, so I had to request it from the state (once it was ready) and wait for them to mail it to me. I got her added just in time for the 30 day deadline.
The hospital has the option to send in the SSN paperwork for us or we could do it ourselves. I just let the hospital take care of it
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Oh hi! I can already tell this is going to be a great thread. Running around a bit now, but I’ll have lots to add and ask soon.
Excellent thread!
Tell me everything about pacifiers. Evidence based stuff and personal experiences.
Our baby is 6 weeks. I was going to avoid using one this time but he is a comfort sucker and my letdown floods his mouth and make him choke just as he is nodding off to sleep 
. He hasn’t reliably found his hands for sucking yet but sometimes uses them to soothe.
Last baby weening her off it was bad news and while the intention was for it to be a sleep aid only, she started demanding it all the time.
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No personal experience but I’ve read in multiple places now (Baby 411, Cribsheet, Happiest Baby on the Block, etc.) that after breastfeeding is established (and maybe even before) there’s no issue with adding in a pacifier. It may even reduce SIDS risk according to a couple studies but I’m not sure that’s conclusive.
All of these sources say to wean the baby off the pacifier between 3-4 months because after that is when they develop a ‘relationship’ with it and use it as a comfort item rather than just a sucking sleep aid.
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Mileage may vary with Covid. The pediatrician wasn’t going to the hospital when I had my baby, so the doctor who delivered her did her first days stuff (maybe it helped that he’s Family Medicine?).
And both our appointments for the first week were magically made for me. The benefits of the hospital and clinic sharing a campus, maybe.
The SSN request was filled out at the same time as the birth certificate info. Adding her to insurance and getting my insurance plan changed I did through my HR at my employer. They just needed her SSN when it came. I also changed my W-4s when I notified HR for the insurance.
I was going to apply for a passport, but then our trip to Canada was cancelled, so I didn’t bother.
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I have nowhere else to share this, haha, but it’s the best illustration of this concept I’ve seen. This was super helpful to me for getting nursing established. https://www.instagram.com/p/CGVzRfup4yW/?igshid=18wzrksuslf6u
Just in case it helps someone else!
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