For the type A's out there, here's how I figured out my personal postpartum baby prep goals. It's easily adapted to any individual's situation. It takes some planning time. My plan is quite exhaustive because help will be hit or miss because we don't have family nearby and most of our friends have children of their own to tend to, are working, or are in medical school (which is like have a full time job and then a part time job - kudos to you med students!). We also have two young children to take care of in addition to our future newborn. Thankfully, most people wouldn't have to prep this much because a developed support system is nearby.
First, I reflected on the last baby transition.
- What's similar and what's different with each situation?
We'll be moving to southern Illinois again, but this time it will be two to three months after birth rather than two weeks. Aaron will be in school, unlike having the luck of birthing a baby just hours after his M2 year-end final exams. My mom and mom-in-law were present pretty much from the beginning of Esme's birth up to the point at which we moved to northern Illinois when she was three months old. This time, they might be at the birth and hang out a few days before needing to return home. Henry will be the first baby that we won't have constant familial help from the start. We were SO blessed with help with Charlie and Esme. Aaron will leave for military rotations two months after Henry's birth rather than two weeks like Esme's. Additionally, his rotations are two weeks longer than last time. I plan on nursing again and will reread The Nursing Mother's Companion to refresh on possible problems we could encounter and how to solve them.
- What would have been the most helpful last time?
Distractions for Charlie during nursing sessions when other people were unavailable to help. Also, I think having food that would have been easily prepared on hand so that our helpers who stayed with us didn't have to meal plan, prep suppers, cook, and clean dishes.
Second, I asked questions on my reflections:
- How many distractions would be helpful?
Five options seem reasonable because the kids could also watch a TV show and will have their daily quiet time. That puts possible waking hour distractions up to seven, and we won't need any overnight while they sleep.
- How many meals would be needed?
From birth to the time that we move, it will be ten to twelve weeks. That's 70 to 84 breakfasts, morning snacks, lunches, afternoon snacks, and suppers. Most of our breakfasts are easy: bagels, frozen waffles, muesli, cereal. Simple meals to make postpartum. We do like Alton Brown's pancakes and the occasional special breakfast, like casseroles or biscuits and gravy. Snacks are typically fruit, raw vegetable (sometimes with dip), cheese, and crackers. Not hard to do postpartum. Lunches are sandwiches or supper leftovers. Again, easy to do postpartum Weekly suppers include pizza night, two left-over nights, and four cooking nights. Many recipes I use are easy, but take time and preparation. So I need to make ahead or freeze breakfast casseroles, pancake mix, pizza dough, and supper dishes. Most breakfasts, snacks, and lunches do not need to be made ahead of time.
Third, I crunched some numbers:
- Food prep
≈ 10 to 12 weeks from birth to family move
≈ 70 to 84 days requiring breakfasts, lunches, snacks, and suppers
*40 to 48 simple, make day-of breakfasts
*10 to 12 Alton Brown pancake mixes
**Make ahead, dividing into baggies
*10 to 12 casseroles or biscuits and gravy
**Make 8 casseroles to freeze
**DO NOT make biscuits and gravy ahead of time - yuck
*10 to 12 left-over breakfasts
*70 to 84 lunches, make day-of
*140 to 168 snacks, make day-of
*40 to 48 make-ahead/frozen suppers
**Make 48 suppers to freeze
*20 to 24 left-over suppers
*10 to 12 pizza dough balls
**Make 12 dough balls to freeze
Any leftover frozen meals, transport to southern Illinois during the move.
- Nursing distraction prep
≈ 8 to 12 nursing sessions per 24 hours
≈ 6 to 7 nursing sessions that siblings might be awake during
*Distractions to make available
**Quiet books: seasons
**Quiet books: personalized
**Kinetic sand boxes
**Play dough boxes
**Art boxes
**Play outside (weather permitting) OR Amazon Prime Instant TV show
Fourth, I scheduled goals according to our family calendar.
- Food-related: Generally, I double all special breakfasts (except biscuits and gravy), suppers, and pizza dough that I cook during the week and freeze half. Pancake mix assembly is scheduled for January 10.
- Distraction Related: Make one type of quiet book per month (December and January) and make one box type per month (February, March, and April).
- According to our family calendar, all of my goals will be met by Saturday, April 11, 15 days before my due date. At that point, we can start using our prepared meals and obsess about when I will start labor. :o) I started this journey when I was 15 weeks along.
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