Your pregnancy is finished and the long wait to meet your newborn is over. When you are still getting over the ending of your pregnancy, you'll get pulled into the now by your newborn. This is the period you did not prepare for. This is the period you could not prepare for. Now you are in the middle of it, you are learning day by day to cope with it. In this period your mental health is also very important.
The first days after birth for mum
When you are pregnant, you can plan how you like to give birth and you can be in control of how you give birth. You can have an easy and uncomplicated vaginal birth and you can feel amazing and empowered after giving birth. Unfortunately it doesn't always go as planned and intervention might be necessary and your uncomplicated vaginal birth becomes a complicated birth. This will effect you in the hours and days after you have given birth.
The first days after birth for dad
Also for you dad, it depends on how the birth of your child went how you will recover. The birth of your child could have been very long, stressful or scary. Sometimes dads can feel very powerless since they can not help physically. This feeling can be exhausting and you might needs some recovery time after birth.
What happens after birth
You have both stepped out of the rollercoaster, your newborn is here and you are both exhausted. It seems like it is over now since your baby is born but this is only the beginning. You now have to take care of this beautiful human who can not speak, eat, walk or follow instructions. A lot of new parents do not talk about this period with parents who don't have kids yet simply because it is hard to explain the feeling. You will get taught what unconditional loves is by someone who just came into the world, asking for your love twenty four hours a day.
Do you prepare for after birth?
An interesting phenomenon is that most parents do not prepare for what happens after their baby is born. You are both so busy during the pregnancy. Organising work, daycare, baby room, clothes. Preparing for birth, names and how to raise them when they are toddlers or teenagers but what about when they are one day old? What do you do when your baby is crying and you have no idea what they want? What do you do when you are sleep deprived and one of you has to work at the office the next day and the other one is home alone with the newborn but hardly can stay awake?
Can you prepare for the first weeks after birth?
When we come to a family we always see the parents utterly exhausted. What every parent always says is "we didn't prepare for this". Parents that want to do everything together because it is their first born, cop it the hardest. Just try to imagine being awake for one hour, every three hours in a twenty four hour cycle. But don't imagine that for just one day, imagine that for four weeks. It is hard to imagine. I must be honest, you can indeed not prepare for that feeling of utter exhaustion. What you can do is to prepare yourself by being realistic and ask or look out for help.
How can you prepare?
It is best to start seeking for help or support before you give birth. Do you have someone in your circles that can support you when you need to catch up on some sleep? You can also have someone that helps you cook meals, do your washing or clean your house. These might seem like simple tasks but trust me, when you are sleep deprived and making a meal for yourself already seems like a task, you do not want to do any of the other tasks. When you have someone who comes and helps you with cleaning or cooking, it will impact you in a positive way. When you are the one going to the office and you come home to your partner who is exhausted by doing everything him or herself and your house looks like there was just an explosion it will make a difference for the both of you.
What we experience at Cradle Care
What makes our job so amazing is that we really make a difference. When we leave the house, mum and dad are sometimes on the couch together just staring at their newborn. They didn't have to do anything else but just to enjoy their newborn. They can step in their freshly made bed, stand under their clean shower and have clean clothes in their cupboards with empty laundry baskets. Their dinner is either on the stove or prepped in the fridge. The parents have time for each other and time for their other children when they have other children. The parents don't waste their precious time doing household task. They spend their time on important things like themselves, each other or their loved ones. This is something you should treat yourself to. When you don't have your village, create your village. Prepare yourself so you can make the first month with your newborn a beautiful experience instead of an exhausted one.
If this sounds like something you would like to create for yourself, have a look here at our packages. These packages are just an example you can create your own package. What is important for you? What help do you need to make your experience a better one?
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