Your Guide to Your Postpartum Plan with Free Template

Creating a postpartum plan during your pregnancy is SO smart. Preparing for life after baby, and how you’ll attempt some self care — is often forgotten, but fairly simple to do, especially in advance. Today I’m going to share my free template with you and share 5 things to start thinking about during your PREGNANCY to prep for life after baby.

Note: I did not do this. It was such a mistake. I had terrible transitions into life with baby and I regretted not being more prepared, unfortunately. I am speaking from what you should do instead of what I did. I know far too-well how easy it is to bypass this step, but I know VERY well the consequences if you don’t get prepared in advance.

Things to Put on Your Postpartum Plan

Note: I don’t think you have to write all this down. Much of it can be a discussion between partners (or whoever is planning to help you after birth). However, having some of it written can be awfully handy — which is why I have this free postpartum plan template:

Helpers

Who can help you when baby comes?

Often, I hear couples think they want to do it “just themselves” and that always makes me very nervous.

No matter how much you’ve been around babies, having your own 24/7 is very different than anything you’ve experienced before. AND people who are having another baby now have siblings to add to the equation.

That isn’t to say that you HAVE to have a mom/mother in law come help.

What I am saying is to start gathering your village now. There’s a variety of things people can help with:

• Bringing in Food
• Running errands
• Watching other kids
• Helping clean
• Help with laundry
• Baby tasks
• Checking in on YOU to make sure YOU are ok.

When someone says “What can I help with?” don’t just say “ok” — say something like:

Oh goodness, that would be amazing. What do you think you’d be most helpful with and enjoy doing?

Then, make a note of what they’re willing to do. If someone really only has the time to bring in a meal, that’s fine. But, maybe they’d prefer to come help clean, or chat and fold laundry? Take them up on what they’re best at!

I’d always finish it up with saying that you’d love it if they’d just check on you to make sure you’re doing alright. Be vulnerable and say that you’re concerned about your mental health with something that’s new — and you’ll welcome any support.

Now is also a great time to think about any boundaries you’re going to want to hold with the new baby. Maybe only parents hold baby, or no getting in their face…. Or maybe no one else in the home. Who knows what you want to do, but thinking about those things in advance is helpful! I talk about that on the plan template too!

Baby Plans

We think a lot about how we want skin-to-skin or if we’re going to do the immunizations for our baby

(btw, if you haven’t, do grab my birth plan helper here — both are great to prepare for!):

But it’s really important to think about how tasks/care of your new baby will be handled:

• Where will baby sleep during the night (may differ from during the day)
• If you’re OK with co-sleeping? (I am not, but every family makes their own choice)
• Who will get-up with baby at night? Or how will you work that?
• What’s your feeding plan, and how tied to it are you? (are you 100% planning to breastfeed no matter the obstacles, or you’re not as set on it? — That’s a good discussion to have in advance)
• When will you introduce a bottle? (or will you?)

I’m not here to say that you will always make the same choices as you will when the discussion happened before baby was born — but by having the discussion, you’re both on the same page.

SO important.

SO often postpartum couples are assuming things about each other’s thoughts (as they’re often “ships passing in the night”) but honestly have no idea how the other one actually thinks or feels.

If you’re thinking — Hilary, how do we get started on having these discussions? — they seem so smart. I get that. It can be kind of awkward to get them going.

I actually have couples questions in every lesson in The Online Prenatal Class for Couples. We’re going to go over these types of things about pregnancy, labor, birth and life with baby all throughout it, so you’re used to having these discussions about all the things. Couples love that!

Out-of-Commission Time

There’s going to be a period that Mom needs to heal.

We have somehow decided moms will be just fine when they get home and can resume normal functioning, and that’s not true.

It’s especially not true if mom has had a cesarean section (which is major abdominal surgery), but it’s also not true if there was a vaginal birth.

I think it’s important to talk about what time mom is going to have to just heal, and likely feed the baby if they are breastfeeding. When you PLAN on it, she won’t feel required to get up and help. She knows that is her time to heal and her partner & support people have “got” the rest.

This is clearly going to look different for every family depending on your needs and support but tell what you’d WISH for if all things were equal, and then go into designing something that works for you guys.

Pro Tip: EVERY couple needs to prepare for a c-section (both the procedure and the healing). I hear so often they just ignored that part of birth prep and then very much regret it later on.

The Online Prenatal Class for Couples has a 15-minute lesson on it that will really get you prepared in case it happens. We also talk about ways to aid in healing and managing life post-cesarean. It also talks about healing from a tricky tear or cut in a vaginal birth — all of which is REALLY important and helpful to think about.

Household Chores

Who’s going to do which household chores after baby is born and mom is back into the swing of things?

One partner may think the other one who’s home with the baby longer will do it — but it’s important that it feels balanced (and that you re-visit this once you’re actually in the situation).

You can honestly only prepare so much — and this plan will be re-visited a lot as things go on — you’re mostly just opening the communication doors early on (and planning to keep them open).

And yes, I go over those chores here in my postpartum plan to remind you what you’ll need to “cover”:

I should say that by “covering” an area doesn’t mean you have to DO all of it.

As the manager, you take the mental load of making sure laundry gets done (and then maybe you fold it together at night while watching a show). They’re just the manager, doesn’t mean you don’t still work together to accomplish it.

Want to know more about life after baby? — check out these posts:

• Self Care During Postpartum & Pregnancy
• Postpartum Essentials for a Great Recovery
• Things to NOT Do After You Have Your Baby
• Taking Care of Your Bottom & Perineal Care After Delivery
• Breastfeeding Not Working?

Coping Skills

Let’s finally talk about how you cope in a difficult situation.

• What helps you relax?
• What really annoys you?
• What’s something your partner does that really helps?

HAVE these discussions, do NOT get your feelings hurt, just take it as facts that you can use as you guys cope with a very difficult transition.

Soapbox Moment: We all picture postpartum like the photos, that it will be a magical time that we just love our baby. While you may have moments that feel like that, there were be a lot that is new, and it will require you to struggle as you grow into the task of being a parent. Expectations need to match reality here.

Bonus: PROBLEM SIGNS

One last thing I think EVERYONE surrounding a new family should know are the problem signs for mom.

We have FAR too high a maternal mortality rate in the US (and frankly around the world), and knowing the problem signs to watch for that should send mom STRAIGHT to the ER or their doctor is important.

Somehow we engrain the problem signs for baby in our heads — but forget to check on mom — so knowing them in advance is extra helpful!

I just read a study that shared that most parents don’t feel like they get enough training on postpartum warning signs for mom, which is why I created my free class Postpartum Care Made Easy — in it, I’ll review those warning signs for you, what they look like and when to go to your provider (and it’s meant to be done in advance so you have a while to integrate it). I’ll even include some stories with my own experience so you can understand how vitally important this is.

And yes, the video presentation of Postpartum Care Made Easy is included at no additonal cost in The Online Prenatal Class for Couples (both versions) because I think it’s VITAL to the health of new moms.

I hope this article gave you some ideas to start getting prepared for life postpartum. Be SURE to download the guide, I think you’ll find it really helpful to get conversations and plans going as you head into this new phase of your life.

What do YOU need to start preparing for? Tell us in the comments!