Top 7 Tips For Helping Your Partner After Birth
After the birth is both an exciting and nerve-racking time. You have this new little creature you have to take care of and interpret the morse code of cries. Here are a few tips to help you and your partner after you arrive home. The following makes the assumption your wife is breastfeeding. These come from my personal experience of what my wife appreciated the most.
1. Be a caregiver
You are your partner’s servant for the next couple of weeks. If she is breastfeeding then taking care of her so she can take care of your baby. This is the best thing you can do. Make food, give her water, do the dishes …etc. Remember she is recovering from the birth which was a big deal!
2. Encourage sleep
You may have heard “when the baby sleeps, you sleep”, you should encourage this as much as possible. You may want to take shifts during the night. There were times I took a 2 am shift for my wife to just give her a break through the night.
3. Hold the baby
Yes, you get to hold the baby as well, it is important that you do so for bonding and to help your wife. This is especially good when she is sleeping, you can take care of anything but feeding so she can continue to do so.
4. Ask for help
If you need help, ask for it. Make sure you have backup support so you don’t get too drained. Postpartum doulas are available if you do not have family in the area… or don’t want your family over all the time 😉
5. Take time off work
If you are like most of us and work full-time, take as much time off as you can. This is not only great for helping after the birth but allows you to bond with the new member of the family.
6. Keep it calm
Everyone will give their own opinion and try to be helpful. Avoid arguments and giving strong opinions. You both are probably exhausted so keeping everything calm and relaxed will help.
7. Take care of yourself
This is very important. After helping my wife for a few days, trying to do as much as I could. It got very exhausting. Take a little time for yourself, even if it is just 15 – 30 minutes every now and then to recharge.
