Baby Catcher

| Student Midwife | Catholic |

[someonecallthemidwife]

Postpartum Plans

And no I don’t mean the strict schedule you’re going to put baby on (good luck) or “getting your pre-baby body back” to meet ridiculous unhealthy societal expectations <3 

I think so many people when a woman is pregnant are so focused on the pregnancy, and the birth and the new baby that we forget that new Mamas need a lot of care after doing something as extraordinary as giving birth. Recovery, no matter how smooth your birth went, is no joke and it’s important that we plan just as much for recovering after baby as we did for preparing to meet baby.

Here are some things to consider planning for:

1. Meeting your nutritional needs - I cannot overstate enough how important proper nutrition is for recovery and for being able to feel good enough to take care of baby and live your life again. I’ve known women to continue taking prenatal vitamins for a little while after giving birth. A good thing to do is stock up before birth with easy to heat up meals. I’m midwestern so I’m all about a frozen casserole; there’s also meal delivery companies, if that’s financially feasible. A lot of times when people ask to come over to see you and baby they ask if you need anything, now is the time to let people take care of you. Some things you’ll really want to pay attention to postpartum: 

Hydration - At least 8 cups a day, hopefully more. Hydration is important for everything, also being dehydrated will make you feel more tired which is the last thing you need right now.

Iron - Especially immediately following birth

Protein - Just like with pregnancy you need to increase your intake of protein to around 70-80g per day 

Calcium - Estrogen becomes low while breastfeeding and this can contribute to weakened bones, so combatting that with some added calcium in your diet can help. While I recommend dairy as a good option, mixing it up with leafy greens are a great option because they also provide iron, folate, vitamins C and K and very important..

Fiber - Bowel movements postpartum can be really uncomfortable, especially if you had tearing, have stitches etc. Being hydrated and eating enough fiber will help with that so much. I cannot stress this enough. And if fiber isn’t enough, especially in the early days, consider a stool softener. 

2. Sleep - You will probably be sleep deprived at some point on your postpartum journey. Babies eat, poop, need a lot of comfort and have immature GI systems that make them prone to tummy aches - and all of that will interrupt your sleep. Establishing a plan with your partner before baby is here how you plan to address this will possibly save you a lot of resentment later; discussions are better had before you’re put under a lot of stress. I think also planning for how you best get sleep before baby is here is important: buy a better pillow, invest in the window AC unit and black out curtains, etc. Sleep is going to soon be very valuable to you, invest in it now.

3. Postpartum Services - Now is a very good time to research good lactation consultants, postpartum doulas, mental health services and so forth-even if you really truly do not think you’ll need or want to use them, you might change your mind. It’s also smart to sit down with your partner and your finances and establish that, if you needed help in some area of postpartum life, what can you afford? Can you afford a meal delivery service? Can you afford sessions with an LC? If not what can you afford? Like I said before, discussions are better had while you’re pregnant than when you’re living in a sleep deprivation pressure cooker. 

4. Your recovery - I think everyone should have a plan for if they needed a C-section, even if there is no indication that you’ll need one, it’s better to plan for worst case scenario. Recovering from a C-section is no joke, and frankly even the smoothest vaginal recoveries have a recovery period. You can’t take care of anyone else if you don’t take care of yourself Mama. For the immediate physical recovery, here’s a padsicle ‘recipe’ that is great. Also, donut pillows come highly recommended. There’s so much that goes into the physical recovery, so be overly generous to yourself and plan for needing help during this time. And then there’s the hormones; knowing the signs of postpartum depression vs what’s “normal” hormonal shifting, and making your partner aware of that, is really important. 

5. Outside your bubble - Your friends and family are one of the great resources you have postpartum. Whether it’s bringing over meals, cleaning up your messy house, taking the baby for a short period while you get some R&R, let the people who love you help you. Women have an expectation that we shouldn’t need help and if we do people will judge us but that’s just not true. Letting people into your home when it’s messy and letting them take care of you a little, that’s what love is, it’s messy and vulnerable. On the other hand, it’s good and important to set boundaries. There are friends who you’re close to, and friends you’re less close to; there are family members who will come over and ease your burdens, there are family members who will only cause more stress. Further, it’s okay to not want your baby exposed to so many germs! Having these conversations with loved ones and making sure you and your partner are on the same page about who is welcome to come inside your bubble and who isn’t, and when and in what way, is really important. Maybe you’ll change your mind-and that’s ok too! Maybe you thought you wanted every friend to come by and now you realize you’re enjoying your quiet solitude-that’s ok! Making decisions for you and your family is good. If people don’t respect the boundaries you put into place during an extremely important time in your and your family’s life, that’s just not your priority right now. 

6. “You” time - Whether it’s a set time where your partner takes the baby or another family member or close friend, there’s nothing wrong with taking some time to replenish yourself with doing something for you. You are not selfish or weak, you are human and you deserve a break. Having a set time is important, in my opinion, so that it doesn’t fall through the cracks but find what works best for you and your family. 

[snowflakesandsleighbells]

[ipromisetostaywild]

[archae-heart-deactivated2021012]

summer in Maine

[rosesovivid]

[patron-saint-of-smartasses]

Do you have any charting tips for women who are bad with routines? I use Kindara because it's fairly simple and my lifestyle doesn't require super precise fertility tracking, but I still find myself neglecting to enter data for days on end.

Most apps have an option for notifications, including charting apps, so you could turn it on and have it remind you to chart in the evening. If kindara doesn’t have the notification, you could put on a daily alarm for the evening as well!

Also, some women do “short cuts” with charting. As in, they don’t chart every day. They only chart in enough information to know when they start their fertile phase ans when it ends. So, something like this:

You could mark on your phone calender when to chart with an alarm, or just make it a routine in the evening to check and note down when necessary. Hope that helps!

[life-of-architecture]

Łącko foto z 1 sierpnia 2018

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Łącko, Poland taken on 1 August 2018

[pro-birth]

Want to support black breastfeeding or need support to breastfeed as a black women? Check out ROSE!

ROSE seeks to enhance, encourage, support, promote, and protect breastfeeding, by working to reduce disparities among African American famil

[coriesu]

Misereatur tui omnipotens Deus, et dimissis pecatis tuis, perducat te ad vitam æternam.

[musicgirl4life-deactivated20200]

The Catholic origins of Halloween

With All Hallows Eve, or as we usually shorten it, Halloween, being just a few days away, I wish to clear up some misconceptions about this often misunderstood and maligned day. It is unfortunately…

[rectumetjustum-deactivated20230]

“It seems as though the world is always taking things we Catholics celebrate and twisting them for its own ends. For instance, Mardi Gras has gone from a celebration before we enter a time of penance to an excuse to eat and drink to excess. Halloween is no different. It has turned from a time of thinking of the four last things and praying for the Poor Souls to a time of celebrating evil. As Catholics, we can reclaim this season by seeing a jack-o-lantern as a symbol of what God wants to do in each of our souls. We, like an un-carved pumpkin, have a great deal of junk within us. The pumpkin’s junk we call pulp and seeds but our junk we call sin. In order to remove it from our lives we sometimes need to be cut open. That happens when God takes away the things we are attached to so we can rely more fully on Him.

The world sees this season as a time to revel in darkness. We must see this as the time to remove the bushel basket that covers our lamp so that the world may see our good deeds and give glory to God. Let your light shine in the darkness — for the darkness will not overcome it.”

[galaxy-free]

The Archbishop of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Jerusalem, Atallah Hanna, visits Maher Al-Akhras who has been in a hunger strike for 94 days to defy the Israeli imprisonment that captured him with no charges.

[pro-birth]

Nigerian nuns give free maternal care to women in need, while helping them run their own businesses, speaking against child marriage, and teaching couples about NFP and healthy relationships.

[milfsagainstroadhead-deactivate]

This is accurate

[aletheius]

but I feel terrible until I eat breakfast. wasn't Aquinas fat anyway 🤔

[celtic-pyro-deactivated20230725]

Don’t studies show that skipping breakfast led to more weight gain (probably because you’re more likely to binge if you go that long without eating)?

Aquinas was a Doctor of the Church, but not a doctor of nutritional health.

[that-catholic-shinobi]

St Thomas Aquinas, MD

[coruscanttojerusalem]

So, this is just a completely wrong interpretation of Aquinas. Firstly, “breakfast” is prandium in Latin and Jesus commands the apostles to eat it in Jn 21:12, which Aquinas wrote a commentary one and mentions as the stance of being receptive to the gifts of Jesus.

Secondly, praepropere does not mean “too soon” but to eat hastily and impatiently. It does not have to do with break-fast, the first meal of the day that medieval monks definitely ate in order to prepare for the day of labor, wherein they broke their fast from the night before. Here is Aquinas on gluttony.

[jesustureinas]

[medeasfleece]

People who are puzzled at the fact that a society which has lost religion has adopted quasi-religuous attitudes about politics and culture should reflect on why that happens

Perhaps,,,, humans are supposed to worship something?

[saltothearth-deactivated2024101]

↟

[truthseekingman]

We were created with the innate desire to worship.

[venusinmyrrh]

are you a cathedral or chapel catholic? a peter or paul catholic? a lent or advent catholic? an angels or demons catholic? a hail mary or our father catholic? a latin or vernacular catholic? an “and also with you” or “and with your spirit” catholic?

(this also applies to ex-catholics)

[petervincent-archive-deactivate]

if you’re american, you should totally do this dialect test

it’s super interesting

[ameriqan]

this is scary accurate and im scared

[custom-built-man]

so i started taking this test and

HOW ABOUT ‘A TERRIBLE IDEA’????

[relatableyiffmemes-deactivated2]

IS AMERICA OKAY?

[feenyxblue]

Okay, but I’m actually scared they were able to basically identify where I grew up (2/3 of the three most similar towns weren’t too far from me)