Some Things #110 Pregnancy & Postpartum Edition
I have kept this in my draft for weeks waiting until the world isn’t crumbling (very) near and far — but the normal parts of life continue while it crumbles and that is nice to focus on for a moment. Don’t fear! After this edition and a baby edition I’ll be back to regular programming.
This one is for people jumping into parenthood, and those that love them (with gift/support ideas!). A detailed newsletter with many thoughts (ie. not facts or things you have to do) — remember that everyone goes through this differently, pick up what you like, ignore the rest.
My birth story is magical and intense, my love of parenting also magical and intense: ask me about it when you see me.
Tell me what you’d add to this list in the comments below! I’d love to know.
Prenatal preparation. Most folks use a different concoction of prenatals, but I’d recommend seeing if you can do a blood panel pre or during pregnancy as I was very low in a few things (Vitamin D particularly) and I needed to amp up my supplements.
Figure out what you need most. Think about what kind of support you’d like most during your postpartum phase and how you can be best supported in that way via your community and/or paid support. I was worried about sleep most, so I wanted support that would give me more time for that in the first months — that including meal prepping, a meal train, puppy care for the first week, and help cleaning the house. It could also mean a dog walker, therapy, childcare, baby care, garden maintenance, social time or a bunch of other things!
Meal Trains rule! I setup a page and sent out an invitation to friends who lived in Los Angeles, and it was the most wholesome nourishing support I could have wanted. Not only did we receive a lot of incredible meals (that I’ve since recreated when I got back into the kitchen), it also provided an opportunity for quick hello’s from friends during those first weeks cocooned in our home. In my experience, people love to help — and setting up an easy way for them to do so makes the whole process really enjoyable.
Meal preparation. I was given a chest freezer from a neighbour, and absolutely filled it to the brim with meals, snacks, and sweets. This is my absolutely A type spreadsheet of meals I had prepared, and I stand by all of these except the breakfast sandwiches that I never seemed to be able to reheat well. I love cooking but having the option to not when the day was rough was such a gift from my past self. As a friend correctly informed me (that she in turn learnt from another friend), make food you can eat with one hand!
Expression colostrum as breastfeeding preparation. I am convinced (though this is pure conjecture) that expressing colostrum in the final weeks of my pregnancy whether I collected any colostrum or not, is part of how I found it easy to breastfeed from the beginning. It took those few weeks of using a body part in an entirely new way (or, any way?!) to get them prepared for their new job! Of course please talk to your OBGYN, but I started at 38 weeks, 10 minutes every few days with hand-expressing and a small Medela manual pump.
The Embrace Nursing Bra and Skims Scoop Bralette. There are two elite bras I have used from pregnancy through to currently still breastfeeding / pumping. The first is the Embrace Nursing Bra (super soft, comfy enough to sleep in, doesn’t look too matronly), and the Skims Scoop Bralette (for pumping, comfy, looks good under t-shirts).
Moon Juice electrolyte supplement. Towards the end of your pregnancy, and even while breastfeeding I use an electrolyte replacement to keep myself hydrated (even though I’m drinking more water than seems possible). This Moon Juice version is the only one I tried that didn’t taste like faux-sugar to me — I like the watermelon flavour.
Hospital snacks. In the hospital room I highly recommend bringing a heap of good snacks for you and your partner both because sometimes birth takes a long time and you still need snacks, and postpartum when you’re hungry it can take the hospital or doordash etc over an hour to deliver any food. We also packed some green smoothies/juices with us and it might be how I avoided the dreaded post-birth poop pain. Stack that fibre!
Soft lighting. Also highly recommend some good lighting options for the hospital, we turned off all the hospital lights and used the portable light I’ll recommend for use with baby next week and some faux candles our friends lent us for the occasion.
Know your needs. I stayed in the hospital an extra night due to some gnarly complications on my side, and I would like to recommend you and your partner being confident knowing you can ask for things. After awhile, we requested synchronised check-ins and medication times for Pearl and I (they were alternating and coming in every twenty minutes!), and asked for no one in the room that wasn’t our doctor or nurse at certain times (ie. the breastfeeding consultant or food delivery or cleaner) etc, we also asked for reasoning for a couple of exams that were ordered at 3am and ended up requesting to delay then until our OB could align on treatment (which she later did not align!).
Prep for yourself postpartum, not just your baby. You’ll receive a version of these in the hospital — the holy trinity of disposable underwear, ice pads, and witch hazel liners I used for many weeks.
Bone Broth. I’ve never been a big bone broth fan, but it feels medicinal post-birth. Unfortunately a friend gifted me a big container of the Kismet Bone Broth and I’ve since spent all my money on it. Save yourself the financial burden and maybe make it yourself in the slow cooker or buy it from the grocer.
Make a playlist for the season. I read somewhere that if you play the same music a lot when your baby is in utero they can recognise it and it calms them once they are born. We made a few playlists we don’t mind hearing on repeat and it really does seem to calm Pearl when she listens! Also, why not make your life feel like a movie? Similarly, we found it really nice in those first few months to choose a different album to play each morning to add a nice little routine into the very not routine days.
Hanna Body Oil & Moisturising Stick. I thought I was lazy with self-care pre-baby but it has reached a whole new low — but these two products make it easy enough even for me. The weightless body oil is so light it is suspicious and melts into your skin much faster than a traditional body oil. The fatty stick I found super helpful to leave by my bedside and use when I had dry hands / legs / elbows etc (and still do).
Family Ring. I don’t want my partner giving me a gift for creating life, but I do believe in celebrating myself for becoming some kind of powerful super being. This Cuchara Family Ring is so pretty and I like that it can live on its own or stack with other rings — I haven’t taken it off since I received it.
I’m sure there is plenty I’ve voided from my memory I don’t have here, but ask me any questions you like! I know I found some solace in random internet opinions at points during my pregnancy.
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This newsletter is created by Ngaio Parr. Ngaio is a creative director, designer, artist and curator who works with good people on print design, brand design, illustration, and custom visual experiences, amongst other things. Get in touch about projects, collaborations, or commissions.
I acknowledge all Gabrieleño speaking people as the Traditional Owners and custodians of the land on which I work and live in Laurel Canyon; as well as the Nunukul, Ngugi, and Gorenpul people of Quandamooka; and the Wiri, Barada Barna Kabalbara and Yetimarla, Yuibera, Birri-Gubba and Kungalburra peoples of Ilbilbie where I was born and raised. I pay my respect to Elders past and present, and to all first nations people.