Pregnancy can be a long 40 weeks. I recently just delivered my second baby and found myself looking forward to some unexpected moments this time around. Luckily, I had an uncomplicated delivery so I wanted to share my lighthearted take on some of these “bright spot” moments for those moms that are close to their baby’s evacuation date!
5 Bright Spots to Look Forward to After Delivery
- Postpartum shower: Whether in the hospital or at home or both, I hope your hot water tank is tuned up for a long one. There’s something so cathartic about standing under the water in the steam just breathing and soaking in what you just did and how your body served you to bring life into this world. This is also a good time to wash away the stress and strain of pregnancy and labor and start fresh in this new skin of motherhood.
- Mesh underwear: At this point, we know it’s not a fashion show, but how well do those boy shorts feel holding in your belly (stretched skin and all)? Forget the mom bag, these panties hold in anything and everything you could ever dream of! Make sure to stock up on several pairs to wear “just in case.”
- Immediate admission to “the club”: Anywhere you go, people congratulate you, share stories of their own postpartum days, try to highlight the positives (“Oh your kids are close in age? They’ll entertain each other soon enough!”). In the time of a pandemic when we need community more than ever, sharing that you recently had a baby can unlock the door to make friends from strangers in the most unlikely places. It really can restore your faith in humanity to even hear the kind words of a passerby about how beautiful your baby is. Babies and new life are the universal languages of love between strangers and that smiling little seven-pound tiny human is your admission ticket.
- Free (sometimes unwanted) advice: I’ll focus on the good advice – you get to basically have unlimited access to people who know what they’re doing when you really have no clue what you’re doing. Nurses, technicians, doctors, health professionals… you’ll interact with all of them at some point postpartum and you get to pick their brains. Those working in the business of babies actually welcome questions and freely share resources and tips and make you feel like you’ve got it all together or at least know how to get it together when you’re ready.
- Slowing down: When else in your adult life does no one expect you to know what day or time it is? I hope you have the privilege of taking time off from the regular churning of life after your baby arrives. You have one priority postpartum: to keep you and your baby alive and anything else just isn’t important and can wait (insert: any household chores).
