A Grounded Guide to Postpartum Planning

Most of the preparation we do for a baby focuses on the birth. The classes, the breathing techniques, the hospital bag. All of that matters. But what often gets overlooked is the part that comes after.

The early weeks of postpartum are some of the most intense, beautiful, and challenging weeks of your life. And the difference between feeling overwhelmed and feeling supported often comes down to one thing: whether you planned for it.

This isn’t about having everything perfect. It’s about having enough thought and structure in place that you’re not making important decisions from a place of exhaustion. Here’s what I encourage every client to think about before their baby arrives.

Food and Nourishment

This might sound basic, but it’s the thing I see families underestimate the most. In the first few weeks, cooking a meal from scratch can feel like climbing a mountain. Your body is recovering, your sleep is disrupted, and your hands are usually full.

The most practical thing you can do is prepare food in advance. Batch cook meals and freeze them. Accept every offer of a home-cooked dinner. Set up a meal train with friends or family if that’s available to you. Think about simple, nourishing snacks you can eat with one hand while feeding.

This isn’t about being organised for the sake of it. It’s about making sure you’re eating well enough to recover, produce milk if you’re breastfeeding, and have the energy to be present with your baby. Nourishing yourself is not a luxury. It’s a foundation.

Support Structures

One of the most important questions I ask during pregnancy is: who is going to be around you after the birth?

This isn’t about having a crowd of visitors. In fact, too many visitors in the early days can be draining rather than helpful. What I’m talking about is identifying one or two people who can genuinely support you. Someone who will hold the baby while you shower. Someone who will bring food without expecting to be entertained. Someone who will listen without giving unsolicited advice.

If you don’t have that kind of support nearby, it becomes even more important to have professional support in place. A postpartum midwife, a lactation consultant, or even a postnatal doula can fill that gap and make a real difference in how the early weeks feel.

Feeding

However you plan to feed your baby, some preparation goes a long way. If you’re planning to breastfeed, it helps to understand the basics before baby arrives: early feeding cues, how often newborns typically feed, what a good latch looks and feels like, and what’s normal versus what might need attention.

I use a POSSUMS-informed approach to feeding support, which means working with your baby’s natural patterns rather than imposing rigid schedules. This approach is gentle, responsive, and grounded in evidence. But the most important thing is that you know where to get help quickly if you need it. Feeding challenges in the first few days can escalate fast, and having someone you can call makes all the difference.

If you’re planning to bottle feed, preparation looks different but is equally important. Having the right equipment, understanding safe preparation, and knowing what to expect in terms of amounts and frequency will help you feel more confident from day one.

Sleep and Settling

I want to be honest about this: newborn sleep is unpredictable. No amount of planning will make your baby sleep through the night at two weeks old, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something.

What you can plan for is your own sleep. Think about who can take the baby for a stretch so you can rest. Think about your sleeping environment and whether it supports safe sleep. Think about your expectations, because adjusting them before baby arrives can reduce a lot of the frustration and self-doubt that comes with the reality of newborn nights.

A POSSUMS-informed approach to sleep focuses on supporting your baby’s natural patterns and your wellbeing as a family, rather than rigid routines or controlled crying. If you’re interested in this approach, it’s something I incorporate into my postpartum support.

Emotional Wellbeing

This is the part of postpartum planning that gets left off most checklists, and it’s arguably the most important.

The emotional adjustment to parenthood is significant. Even when everything goes well, the shift in identity, the sleep deprivation, the hormonal changes, and the sheer intensity of caring for a new human can take a toll. When things are more complicated, when feeding is a struggle, when birth was difficult, when support is limited, the emotional load can feel crushing.

Planning for your emotional wellbeing means a few things. It means identifying how you typically cope when things are hard and making sure those strategies are accessible. It means talking to your partner about how you’ll communicate when you’re both exhausted. It means knowing the early signs that things might be heading in a direction that needs professional support. And it means having a midwife or other professional who checks in on you not just physically, but emotionally.

In my practice, emotional check-ins are part of every postpartum visit. I ask how you’re actually going, not just how the baby is. Because your wellbeing matters just as much.

Your Environment

You don’t need a Pinterest-worthy nursery. But it does help to think about the space you’ll be spending most of your time in during the early weeks.

Set up a comfortable feeding spot with water, snacks, your phone charger, and anything else you might need within arm’s reach. Make sure your fridge and pantry are stocked. Have a basket of essentials (nappies, wipes, change of clothes) on each level of your home if you have stairs. Small things like this save energy when energy is in short supply.

Think of it as creating a nest. Not a perfect one. A functional one.

A Note on Expectations

Perhaps the most powerful part of postpartum planning is adjusting your expectations before baby arrives. The early weeks are not a test you pass or fail. They are messy, unpredictable, and deeply human.

You will probably cry. You will probably feel lost at some point. You will probably wonder if you’re doing it right. And all of that is normal. What makes the difference is whether you’re carrying those feelings alone or whether you have people around you, and a midwife checking in, who can remind you that you’re doing better than you think.

If You’d Like Help with Your Postpartum Plan

If you’re a Beneath the Palms Midwifery client, postpartum planning is built into your care. We create your plan together before baby arrives, so support is already in place when you need it.

If you’re not a current client but you’d like postpartum support in Cairns, that’s available too. You don’t need to have been with me during pregnancy to access help after birth.

Either way, a conversation is a good place to start. I’m happy to talk through what support could look like for you.