Early postpartum can rock your world. Even if you’ve done it before. A postpartum doula can be the perfect addition to your plan for after you bring your baby home so you don’t feel like a hot mess – even the New York Times agrees!
When I was pregnant with my eldest, I spent so much time worrying that his nursery was perfect and that his tiny clothes were folded beautifully in his dresser alongside the tiny cloth diapers. Not once did I think about what the postpartum period was going to look like, let alone plan for it. So, when we brought that tiny baby home from the hospital, I was shocked by what life with a baby was really like. SHOCKED.
If you’ve been there before, you know what I’m talking about.
Postpartum is hard.
Adding a new life into your family is hard – I get it. It doesn’t matter if this is your first baby or your fourth baby. It’s still hard. Between being exhausted and questioning if you’re doing everything wrong and being wholly responsible for a new little life, there are some really challenging parts of the Fourth Trimester. The transition to parenthood is not all rainbows and butterflies. There are some wonderful parts of new babies. Yet, sometimes it can be hard to see the beauty through the stormy skies. And when the skies are storming and you’re struggling, the risks of postpartum depression and postpartum anxiety skyrocket. And even if you avoid postpartum depression, it’s so easy to feel like a hot mess and that you are failing – especially if you have more than one child.
It doesn’t have to be that way.
It doesn’t have to feel like such a struggle to get through the days.
You don’t have to feel like you are all alone.
You do not have to feel like you’re a hot mess or that you are failing.
Here are my top 10 reasons why every new parent needs a postpartum doula.
Top 10 Reasons Why You Need a Postpartum Doula
- Take the pressure off your partner and loved ones. A doula can fill in for the times that family and friends can’t be there.
- Receive accessible and unbiased source of information and resources. If you need information, a doula either has it or knows where to get it.
- They are an unbiased and non-judgmental support. A doula provides a calm, reassuring presence and doesn’t have any baggage that family or friends might have. They just want your family to thrive, regardless of what choices you are making.
- Ensure you and your partner are nourished. Remembering (or having time) to eat and drink can be difficult in the early days. A doula can make sure that you have snacks, light meals, and water when you need it.
- They help you manage baby feedings – whether or not you’re breastfeeding or chestfeeding. Babies eat a lot. A doula can help you with preparing bottles, cleaning bottles, helping you with breastfeeding/chestfeeding positions, and ensuring you get enough nutrition to care for your baby.
- Sleep while an educated and experienced doula cares for your baby. Get the sleep you need while knowing that your baby is in the trained hands of a doula. Most doulas offer overnight care as well so you can get the sleep you need to feel refreshed and ready for the day.
- Get help with older children. Rest with your newborn while your older children are cared for. A bag of activities, games, and books always accompanies a doula. Want to reconnect with your older children? A doula can care for your baby while you keep your bond with your older children strong.
- Get help with simple day to day tasks in the home so you can focus on healing and your new baby. Laundry to fold? Dishes to do? A doula has you covered.
- Don’t get overwhelmed with baby care – they can help. Diapers, baths, rocking and bouncing for hours on end because baby is unhappy? A doula can take over when you need a break.
- Feel at ease knowing they are knowledgeable in the signs and symptoms of postpartum mood disorders. Maternal mental health is so important. Sometimes, the days feel so dark and so hard and so lonely. A doula knows the difference between baby blues and when you need to seek help.
But most of all, you need a postpartum doula because you deserve one. You will never get these early weeks and months back. Take the time to heal and nourish your body and your soul. You don’t have to do it all alone!
We don’t have to do it all alone. We were never meant to.
~Brené Brown~
Nobody should have to struggle all alone or feel like a hot mess, and with a postpartum doula, you don’t have to. This Edmonton postpartum doula builds your confidence and helps you adjust to having a new little person in your life. But most of all? This Edmonton postpartum doula helps you rock this parenting thing so that you can thrive.
Want to know more about how a postpartum doula can support you? Send me a message – I’d love to chat with you. I offer several packages as well as hourly rates and overnight shifts to help you adjust to the transition of early postpartum. Let me build your confidence so that you can rock this whole thing and thrive on your parenting journey.
Love Sarah
XOXO
