Proper nutrition during pregnancy and postpartum is important but sometimes hard to achieve. As a postpartum doula when I go visit a client, part of my job is to make a smoothie, snack, tea or light nutritious meal for the new sleep-deprived, emotional, sore, excited mother. I love being able to help fuel mom with nourishing food, plenty of water and foods to help fuel and heal her body. There's nothing like extra love and care during those first few weeks and I love being a part of it!
Water is key to keep mom from not getting dehydrated while she nurses baby for countless hours of the day so always having water near is good - I'm always topping up water bottles and scattering them throughout the house. Kind of like the scene in Signs where the little girl leaves water glasses all over the house, except these glasses won't be used to ward of aliens....rather to keep dehydration at bay.
And with intermittent sleep energy levels can wane quite fast so nourishing food is a must. I find that many of my clients are hungry and thirsty but are busy and occupied with baby that they 'forget to eat'. In my prenatal visits I always mention freezer meal prep for once baby arrives to keep it quick and easy. Wholegrain avocado toast is my go-to for families along with tasty oatmeal bowls and smoothies packed with fruits and veggies. I also like to talk about postpartum care (the stuff that many don't tell you!) so that we can make a plan for once baby arrives for proper care to help your body heal (like how to make padsicles (yes, I said padsicles- and Melissa Ramos, my hormone go-to guru puts it perfectly in her short video). See, I bet there are a few things that aren't always talked about that you know are beneficial and good for postpartum healing care....so they should be rightly discussed!
I know we all know that we should eat healthy and drink a lot of water, but how many of us that don't even have a newborn forget these things and grab the closest (and not so healthy snack) and forget to drink our eight glasses of water? i know I sure do!
So, try to have some help to get nourishing food into your body once baby arrives to help you cope with lack of sleep and lower energy levels....as proper nutrition can only aid in the postpartum period...and if you want some extra help, I'm just a phone call away.
xx
mama bird doula