Each week we'll spotlight a new category of product. Feel free to comment on threads like these throughout your time at the board, not just when they're in their week in the spotlight, if you discover something new OR are new to the board. This week it's.... Intangibles!
Some products can't be bought--and some experiences sh/could be that would be greatly helpful to a PG person/new mom. Here are some helpful prompts to get us started!
ALL
- Products aren't everything! What sort of services or help or non-buyable actions are on your wishlist for this pregnancy/post-partum time?
- Are there any intangible things that people have offered you thus far or what you have indulged in/purchased already that you'd recommend?
STM/+s
- What sort of services or help or non-buyable actions were most helpful to you for previous pregnancies/PP?
- Were there any that you wished you had been able to receive but didn't?
FTMs
- What sort of services or help or non-buyable actions have been offered or purchased for you for your pregnancy/PP, if any?
- What are any that you are thinking of indulging in or registering for or purchasing?
To view the upcoming PSS schedule, see here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1XX4aUSPsDbdyEEK5HIzMzwH2ztOVOnNCehSgMAc5w6U/edit?usp=sharingNext up: Baby Containers
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TTC#1 July 2015
- BFP: 9/16/15 — MC: 11/8/15 Blighted Ovum
- BFP: 3/10/16 — Baby Girl born 11/20/16
TTC#2 April 2019
- BFP: 9/12/19 — EDD 5/15/20
Re: Product Spotlight: Intangibles
I also want freezer meals. A coworker, shortly after finding out I was pregnant, asked me what my cravings were and made me a casserole and dessert. She didn't know it, but it got delivered to me on a particularly difficult day when I spent 5 hours in the car to go to the city for an amnio and didn't have the will or the strength to do anything and it meant the world to me. I want more of that.
Also I want people to call and check on me. I don't care if they have to make a schedule and do it. I don't want to get sucked into a hole of depression or actually need help with something and have no one know about it or no one care about it. Please people, make sure I am ok. I'm kinda isolated where I live and I might need help.
I also want help outside the house with things like snow removal and special projects. Last year when we had spring meltdown things were a mess and the yard and the chicken coop flooded and I was out there trying to dig trenches in the frozen ground so water could drain away. This is the time of year baby is due.
And yes, my husband can help with many of these things, but he will also be working and helping with cooking and cleaning and baby care and caring for me, and I know that's going to be a lot.
Have your spouse/partner take as much time off as they can. It's such a special time and if you can swing it, do it.
Make yourself be as active as possible. You will heal faster if you move. Plus, stroller walks are so nice if you can do them with YH.
Take lots of pictures. And make sure you're in a fair amount of them! It's amazing how often mom is not in photos because we're always taking the pictures.
Let YH help with the baby. Encourage him. Make him. Whatever it takes so at some point before your kid is 5, you can 100% trust YH to properly care for your child without supervision.
Accept help from family/friends. Help does not mean someone cuddles with your baby while you clean your house and play hostess. Help is when someone cleans your kitchen while you and baby take a nap.
DD #2: May 2020
Baby #3: EDD May 2023; MC October 2022
DD #2: May 2020
Baby #3: EDD May 2023; MC October 2022
DH: 32
Married 7/18/15
1st born at 35+4 on 6/6/16
Team green turned BLUE!
2nd born at 38+6 on 8/30/18
Team green turned PINK!
Due with #3 on 6/6/20 Team Green
So like, be smart. Placenta leaves an 8-12" wound on your inside no matter how you deliver. Your flow will hopefully be mostly brown/pink/yellowish by 2-3 weeks out, but any bright red gushing, or renewed red after several days of brown/pink, are signals that your body needs more rest.
Once the postpartum bleeding is gone, then by all means get up and do what feels right, just listen to your body!
DH: 32
Married 7/18/15
1st born at 35+4 on 6/6/16
Team green turned BLUE!
2nd born at 38+6 on 8/30/18
Team green turned PINK!
Due with #3 on 6/6/20 Team Green
Another thing I enjoyed during maternity leave was mommy and me yoga (or any in person mommy group). You can start at 6-8 weeks pp and bring the baby with you. Baby can lay there, or you can incorporate them into the work-out or you can feed/change them as needed during the class. It was laid back, relaxing and a way to get out of the house. Also, it build a sense of community, I meet a few mommy friends and our kids are still friends!
BFP1 04/24/2015 EDD Dec 2015 MMC 10W5d;
BFP 2 09/25/2015 EDD June 2016 MMC 9wks;
BFP 3 03/22/2016 EDD Dec 6th 2016
DD #2: May 2020
Baby #3: EDD May 2023; MC October 2022
We will do Hello Fresh. I'll probably try some version of mommy & me yoga and maybe a BF group. I also have a doula this pregnancy/delivery and I'm really excited about that. She does a couple PP visits as well.
If your family wants to help, let them, no it may not be how you want everything but truly you will appreciate that someone else took out the diaper garbage or did the dishes while you showered. My mom is like ten minutes away now so that works well for me and today her and my dad asked if over the summer DS1 could go with my dad one day a week (he has had a couple strokes and it is really good for him to be around DS1 because it makes him do things besides TV).
All the pictures, I love Timehop for this reason.
I agree with pp, have H stay home as long as possible, if you don't have family and friends to help out, you'll need your H there.
Walk. Walk. Walk! It is seriously the best for recovery, especially c-section mamas. Obviously listen to your body and rest when needed, but resting too much isn't good for you. We went to a b-day party 5 days pp and the next day was MH's first father's day and we went fishing (I didn't fish, just walked around, but I felt better when I was moving).