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My Wild Pregnancy and Free Birth Part 5: Postpartum
89 Plays2 months ago
This is the last episode in my mini series all about my recent wild pregnancy and free birth. Today we are chatting about postpartum - how I prepared for it and how it actually went. If you take anything away from this episode, I hope you understand how important it is to prepare for postpartum, just as much as pregnancy and birth!
Here’s some things I mentioned in the show:
FREE guide to restoring your metabolism!
Mama Meals - Organic Postpartum Meals
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Transcript
Introduction to 'Eat Like a Mother' Podcast
00:00:14
Speaker
Welcome to the eat like a mother podcast where we take complicated topics surrounding hormones and metabolism and make them simple and applicable to your daily life as a woman. I'm your host, Kasti Welfell.
00:00:25
Speaker
My hope is that you walk away feeling empowered to start taking radical responsibility for your health and lean into this body God created for you. Are you ready to eat like a mother? This podcast is meant for educational purposes only and is not meant to be taken as medical advice.
00:00:43
Speaker
Please consult your physician before making any dietary or lifestyle changes.
Kasti's Postpartum Journey with Third Child
00:00:47
Speaker
Welcome back to this week's episode of the podcast. This week, I consider this episode to be a bit more of a bonus episode, but it also is kind of a continuation of the last couple of weeks of talking about my wild pregnancy and free birth.
00:01:03
Speaker
So if you haven't listened to those podcasts, go ahead and listen back through them. They're really short and sweet, but I feel like getting the full picture of my wild pregnancy and free birth can really help with your understanding of this postpartum.
00:01:17
Speaker
which is what we're going to be talking about today, my postpartum journey with my third baby. So if you're new around here, my first two postpartums with my older two children were absolute train wrecks.
00:01:31
Speaker
I had no idea what to expect or how to best prepare my body. I had spent so much time preparing for birth for those first two births that I didn't really give any thought to how I would spend my fourth trimester.
00:01:48
Speaker
So when my first two were born, i was a hormonal mess in pain and with very little help or support. I don't know if traumatic is the right word because i don't feel like they were exactly traumatizing, but it was just painful and hard on myself, on our marriage,
00:02:09
Speaker
and I did not want to repeat that again, which honestly, one of the contributing factors into having wild pregnancy and free birth was because I wanted to spend my whole pregnancy planning for the best possible postpartum period.
00:02:25
Speaker
Now, because we live in a state with no familial support and knew we'd be moving to another state mid-pregnancy where we'd lose our community of friends, preparing well for pregnancy and postpartum was non-negotiable for us because it would be my husband only taking care of me and the kids right after the baby was born.
Impact of Prenatal Nourishment on Postpartum Health
00:02:47
Speaker
Now, before I tell you the different things that I did this time around to make my postpartum experience amazing, i want to and emphatically stress one thing. Your nourishment preconception and all during pregnancy directly impacts your outcomes in your postpartum period.
00:03:08
Speaker
Pause right there. Think about what I just said. Your nourishment preconception but before you even get pregnant and all during pregnancy directly impacts the outcomes in your postpartum period.
00:03:24
Speaker
All of the symptoms you're told are quote unquote normal, like mood swings, skin issues, hair loss, etc. are not actually normal and can be mitigated with proper care to your body, specifically your metabolism.
00:03:40
Speaker
I know I will forever sound like a broken record, but the very best way you can prepare for pregnancy and postpartum is to heal your metabolism. And that's one of the reasons why I'm so passionate about what I teach, because I want women to be able to enjoy the precious postpartum period and not be slaves to a body that's breaking itself down. And if you want to learn more about where to start with healing your metabolism, you can actually check out the show notes and get my free guide on reclaiming and restoring your metabolism.
Preparing for Postpartum: Cultural and Nutritional Influences
00:04:13
Speaker
So check out the show notes below once you're done here and get that emailed to you directly after.
00:04:20
Speaker
Anyways, because I've spent the last five to six years deeply nourishing my body and building a foundation of true metabolic health, where my cells really do truly thrive and I'm able to walk in abundant wellness, I felt very confident going into this next postpartum period.
00:04:39
Speaker
During pregnancy, I wasn't just looking forward to a healthy baby, i was looking past the birth to a healthy mommy because I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that if I was healthy, my baby would thrive as a byproduct.
00:04:55
Speaker
This required a huge mindset shift from me because before i was just focusing on making sure my babies got exactly what they needed. But as I've grown and learned, I feel like that's too small of thinking.
00:05:08
Speaker
Now I believe you heal the mother, you heal the child. And it generational health comes from the abundance of a healthy mom. So I focused on fueling my cells, my mitochondria, with lots of real food, sunlight, movement, and community.
00:05:27
Speaker
And I did the same thing looking towards my postpartum as well. The book, The First 40 Days, takes the time to talk about the utter respect other cultures had for the postpartum period.
00:05:39
Speaker
It was believed that the first 40 days after having a baby, because a woman is so vulnerable in her health, that how you spend those 40 days will determine the quality of your health for the next 40 years.
00:05:53
Speaker
So this postpartum period, we applied the same principles. So let's talk about some of the things I put into practice to make this postpartum experience so much easier and an overall better experience than with my first two
Postpartum Practices and Healing Strategies
00:06:08
Speaker
children.
00:06:08
Speaker
First, I did not get out of bed for minimum two weeks directly after baby. I needed to give my body as much rest and time to heal as possible. Now, this was thrown on its head a bit for me, but I'll talk a little bit more about that later.
00:06:23
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But to the best of my ability, I tried to stay in bed as much as possible for minimum two weeks. Second, absolutely nothing cold touched my lips or body for the first 40 days.
00:06:38
Speaker
This means that at all times I had socks on my feet, the fans were off, the heat was on, all my drinks and food were warm. Cold is constricting and it slows healing.
00:06:50
Speaker
Warmth promotes healing. At all times, i had a hot water bottle or a red light somewhere on me, usually in the uterine region to promote healing.
00:07:00
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My sister said that I got into their head because I've been known to repeat the phrase, cold feet means cold uterus, which means no healing. so whenever they're experiencing like menstrual cramps, they'll apparently think of this phrase I've said and immediately put socks on.
00:07:16
Speaker
But seriously, during the postpartum period, I did everything possible to make sure I stayed warm and toasty. And this time around, I experienced little to no postpartum sweats.
00:07:28
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Normally, I'd be waking up drenched in sweat for weeks on end. But this time around, by keeping my body warm, yes, I would sweat, but it wasn't miserable. It was a sweat that felt more detoxifying, like it's supposed to.
00:07:43
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Another reason why warmth is so important is because when you're in labor, your digestion shuts down to allow all of your energy to moving the baby out of the body.
00:07:54
Speaker
Eating cold foods will further slow digestion and can cause some pretty nasty postpartum symptoms. Think about it like this. What organs primarily surround your uterus?
00:08:06
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Your intestines. Consuming only warm foods and drinks helps to promote healing. as it wraps around your uterus internally. This is a pro tip for second and third and maybe even fourth time mamas.
00:08:19
Speaker
Keeping your body warm will keep afterbirth contractions to a minimum. If you have a propensity for horrible afterbirth contractions, try applying the warmth only principle to your postpartum period and watch those miserable aches cease to exist.
00:08:35
Speaker
Okay, moving on. Another thing I did for this postpartum period was have food prepared. i know I'm probably late to the game in this, but I never had freezer meals prepared.
00:08:46
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Even if you're someone who is blessed with a community of people who will care for you postpartum, I still think this is so, so essential to do. And I didn't do it with my first two because I thought it would be too overwhelming,
00:09:01
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But when we would get to directly postpartum and not have anything to eat, o i regretted not preparing. So here's what I did to make the prep not overwhelming for this third baby.
00:09:14
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When I got to about 32 weeks pregnant, anytime I would prepare dinner for my family, i would just make a double portion. I didn't follow any certain recipes or plans. I just focused on mainly soups and stews that would be easy to thaw and reheat on the stove.
00:09:31
Speaker
My goal was to make it as easy as possible for my husband to feed himself and the kids when I was unable to cook for the family. Again, it was nothing fancy. I even, gasp, froze everything in Ziploc bags. Don't let the crunchy police know.
00:09:47
Speaker
But if you're worried about microplastics, I would just wait until the meal was completely cooled off before I put it in the Ziploc bag and froze it, okay? Not overcomplicated, very simple and not expensive. Okay.
00:10:02
Speaker
That's where we're at. I also made sure to write the instructions clearly on the front. So my husband wouldn't have to ask me every time how to make the meal or what was in the bag.
00:10:14
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I tried to think of as many possibilities, as many scenarios as possible and make sure I covered all of my bases. So when postpartum came around, i had about two weeks worth of lunches and dinners prepared for my husband and kids.
00:10:31
Speaker
For me, I purchased the Hungry Mama package from Eat Mama Meals, which I believe they actually just rebranded to Restorative Roots. I'll put the actual name in the show notes.
00:10:42
Speaker
I should have checked before starting to record, but here we are. this purchase of meals for postpartum was the best investment i could have made they were warm and nourishing and delicious they met all of my standards for food i literally still dream about the chicken curry it was one of the best things i've ever eaten i pretty much exclusively ate these foods for the first two weeks I will also link in the show notes where you can get these foods. If you or someone you know about to have a baby, get them this.
00:11:19
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This is one of the best gifts you can give them. It's one of the best gifts you can give yourself as you prepare for having a baby. it was worth every penny.
00:11:30
Speaker
And this is coming from someone. it was It was tight for us financially when baby number three was coming. It did not make sense for us to get the meals we really didn't have the wiggle room in our budget to get them but we made it happen and i'm so glad we did because i felt so much energy i slept amazing i felt nourished and rooted and warm and like i could actually enjoy the postpartum and i enjoyed what i was eating which if you're sitting around in bed for two weeks eating really good food kind of helps pass the time you know so i can't stress enough
00:12:06
Speaker
Whether you're preparing meals or purchasing from a postpartum meal prep company, have food prepared, food that you know you'll eat, food that is warm and nourishing and follows the principles of warm only, easy to digest, full of minerals and all of the good things that you need to help heal postpartum.
00:12:27
Speaker
So those are some of the main things that I did postpartum that I think really helped me to thrive.
Maintaining Metabolic Health for Positive Postpartum
00:12:32
Speaker
I do want to give a few caveats as I wrap up and a few final thoughts.
00:12:38
Speaker
The first caveat is that all of these things were done on top of the already foundational work of proper metabolic health that I live out. I follow the exact same principles that I preach online with my coaching clients and in my course, no matter what season of life I'm in.
00:12:56
Speaker
because the principles grow and expand with you no matter what season of life you're in. That's why they actually work. Having a foundation of proper metabolic health, knowing how to support your own body, and being able to accurately and adequately communicate your needs to your spouse is absolutely essential.
00:13:19
Speaker
The second caveat is that while I did have an amazing postpartum experience, I wouldn't say that it was perfect.
Resilience During Postpartum Challenges
00:13:27
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At just five days postpartum, I got a call that let me know that my beloved grandfather, the man who had a huge hand in helping raise me had suddenly and unexpectedly passed away.
00:13:39
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i had no plans to travel 15 hours by car across the country ah just 10 days postpartum to be at his funeral. I ended up spending two weeks of my postpartum not in my own home, sometimes sleeping on the floor and moving from different houses, all while trying to take care of a sick two-year-old and a rhamunctious four-year-old all by myself.
00:14:02
Speaker
To say it was stressful is the understatement of the century. And while I didn't do this time perfectly, i still tried as much as I could to follow the same principles I've already discussed here,
00:14:16
Speaker
of nourishment and rest and warmth. Because I wasn't able to strictly follow those principles, I did incur a pelvic injury, got mastitis, and had to be back in bed for 10 days once we got home to Tennessee. 10 out of 10 would not recommend traveling with a newborn so soon after giving a birth.
00:14:35
Speaker
However, I do not regret for a second going to mourn my pawpaw. So I tell you all of that to say, even with the best planning, life can still go unexpectedly and you just have to do the best you can with what you have.
00:14:52
Speaker
Those two weeks traveling freshly postpartum were excruciatingly hard, but I would still say that this was my best postpartum experience yet. Do the best you can with what you have and also recognize that some things just can't and won't go according to plan. There were so many things that I do wish i had been able to do postpartum, but it simply just wasn't in the budget this season.
00:15:18
Speaker
i had planned and saved for things like postpartum massage, a postpartum doula, hiring help to clean the house so my husband could best help me heal. But the last few months of pregnancy, i was the primary breadwinner in our home And we had a lot of unexpected life events happen that completely drained any savings we had.
00:15:39
Speaker
So financially, we were literally living on a prayer and the Lord was creatively providing exactly what we needed in this season. Nothing more, nothing less.
00:15:51
Speaker
So we did the best we could with what we had. I hope that encourages you to do the same. Plan for your ideal postpartum. Lay a foundation of metabolic health and nourishment so your body can handle all the stressors life throws your way.
00:16:07
Speaker
And then live with open hands because you truly have no idea what will happen. And being close fisted and expecting everything to go your way is always a ticket to bitterness and resentment.
Adapting Postpartum Plans to Unforeseen Circumstances
00:16:20
Speaker
Breathe, choose joy, and remember that rest is a heart posture. and can happen in your cozy room postpartum or sleeping on the floor of your in-law's attic turn room, though i definitely do not recommend the latter, but you get the point.
Conclusion and Engagement with Listeners
00:16:36
Speaker
Anyway, I hope that this was encouraging for you and that you now feel equipped to go and lay a foundation of proper metabolic health, of nourishment, and really plan for a postpartum period because it does require planning and it's planning that a lot of people don't talk about but it takes work and intentionality to have a truly peaceful fourth trimester so if you're still listening thank you so much for being here and listening through this whole series on my wild pregnancy and free birth and the postpartum of our third baby Next week, we're going to get back into more regular content all about metabolic health and hormones and the nerdy things.
00:17:18
Speaker
But it was fun getting to do this little bit on one of the biggest things to happen in my life in the last year. So love you guys and we'll see you again next week.
00:17:32
Speaker
If you found this podcast helpful or encouraging, would you mind leaving us a rating or review? I love hearing from you. So be sure to shout us out on Instagram and tag me at Cassidy dot Welpbell.
00:17:42
Speaker
And we'll be sure to shout you right back out. Let's get this message to as many women as possible until next time, friend.