3 Things I’m Doing Differently the 3rd Time Postpartum (And 1 Thing I’m Not Doing…)


Oct 4, 2024

 by Tara Kissel
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Having a baby is a wonderful thing. Of course, there are so many other factors that go into it because each woman has a different experience and subsequent emotions that will affect her outlook on her pregnancy.

For me, having my third child gave me opportunities to utilize what I’ve learned along the way. From pelvic floor strength to how postpartum is going, here are three things I did differently this time around.

 

  1. Resting. This one is huge. After having a baby, your body has gone through 9 months (or longer/shorter depending on your pregnancy) of significant changes. You aren’t going to recover overnight, and maybe not even in six weeks when your doctor “clears” you to go back to normal activity. Give yourself permission to take it easy. Focus on healing, rest, and relaxing. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Above all, give yourself grace with your new body. You won’t ever be back to that body you had before and that is ok! You created a living, breathing, tiny human from scratch! You are amazing, mama, and rest like you earned it (because you did)!
  2. Listen to your body. You just experienced a huge amount of changes in really such a short time.  You went from carrying your baby, to birthing your child, and now the postpartum phase.   If you feel tired, rest. Feeling hungry? Eat. Feeling emotional? Let yourself cry a little. Need some hugs from your husband? Ask him. And if you need a break from your little bundle of joy? That is ok too.  Let another trusted person hold them and take a moment for yourself.  Eat healing foods and never underestimate the power of a cool Padsicle to help “down there” heal up!
  3. Soak in that sweet baby. You’ve probably heard it said “you’ll never get those moments back”. And it’s true, but don’t let that FOMO affect you and your baby. Hold them close. Let them sleep on your chest while you stare at them smiling. Take in the diaper changes, exhaustion, lack of sleep, and endless eating from baby with the knowledge that it too, will pass. Enjoy the moments, and if you need a moment to yourself, enjoy that too. Flow with the time and don’t rush it. My life’s motto is “bloom where you are planted”. So bloom in your motherhood, mama.


And lastly, here is the One Thing I am NOT doing.

Rushing back into exercise. It can be so easy to fall into the trap of too much, too soon. But the hard fact to accept is that your body might not be physically ready, even if you feel like you are mentally. If you end up feeling tired, bleeding again, being run down - you may need to dial it back and go back to number one again. Start with slow, short walks. Do some deep breathing. Introduce household tasks again one by one. Miss the gym? Talk with a trainer about realistic goals that you can work towards when you’re ready. That 5k can wait until you are fully recovered, but there are small steps you can take to get started.

 

Want to know more about Heal and Seal, and how to strengthen your new mom body from the inside out? Reach out and I’ll help you get MomStrong. It’s never too late to get started.