Postpartum care is so important for both new moms and experienced moms. Normal activities are not as simple anymore, physical changes and hormonal changes happen every day, and we need so much rest. After all, you just created a new baby!
The postpartum period can be hard, whether you had a cesarean section or vaginal birth. That’s why I’m sharing a simple, easy-to-follow holistic plan for the postpartum nutrition and recovery period. These are the best ways to make your postpartum experience more easy-going.
Mama, you just created a human! How amazing is that?! Seriously, stop, pause, and think about how amazing your body and your baby are!
I know you aren’t just tired; you are deeply tired. I know you aren’t just overwhelmed; you are trying to stay afloat. But as I type this with a sleeping baby on my chest, I also know the love, joy, and emotions are beautifully overwhelming too. Being a mother is possibly the best thing we can experience.
As a holistic nutritionist and mama to 3 littles, I’ve first-hand experienced the value of postpartum nutrition. What you do now will set you up for years to come—both physically and mentally!
Start small with one of these steps today!
More helpful postpartum posts:
- Majka for Postpartum Nutrition
- 5 Ways to Support Your Adrenal Health Postpartum
- Postpartum Recovery: What I’m Doing Differently with Baby #2
Enhance your beverages
It’s hard to think about meals and cooking when your hands are full, trust me, I get it! Especially the first weeks postpartum – but taking good care of yourself means you’ll be able to give the best care to your baby. I’ve found that enhancing my beverages is a great way to get a nutrition boost without taking much time, energy or clean up. If you are running to an appointment or feeding the baby, you can still prioritize yourself!
Favorite nourishing postpartum drinks:
- Postpartum Restorative Tonic: take a shot each morning, no cleanup and no prep!
- Hydration Booster: the purest electrolytes, and you’ll notice a big energy boost
- Mushroom Magic: Add a dropper full to your morning coffee with cream
- Replenishing Smoothie: 1/2 scoop Replenishing Powder + 1/2 scoop Plant Protein + Greens for a quick meal and the best energy!
You should be drinking plenty of water and drinks that are nourishing as hydration is key to energy, mental health, breastfeeding, digestive health, and avoiding constipation as well as encouraging the liver to flush out and detox excess hormone levels from pregnancy.
Make it easy: start your morning with electrolytes before the day gets away!
Add in warming spices + foods
Warming is key to postpartum healing and a part of postpartum practices in traditional cultures—this follows the traditional Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine practices. Postpartum, the body is in a state of weakened energy. Warm foods and warming spices bring up the body’s energy, helping mama heal faster. Cold foods, cold drinks and cold air require more energy to digest and assimilate thus subtracting from the healing process.
Snuggle up with a cozy blanket, take a warm bath and bring up your body’s energy with soups, oatmeal, teas, + warming spices.
- Warming spices: black pepper, ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, turmeric, cloves, cumin, rosemary.
- Vanilla Golden Milk
- Simple Pot Roast
- Simple Spaghetti Sauce
- Oatmeal
- Valerian Dream Tea
- make a big sheet pan of roasted root veggies to keep on hand for a quick side dish
- Chicken noodle soup
Make it easy: aim to include one warm beverage per day!
Nourish your body’s stress response
Pregnancy, giving birth + postpartum is the most intense stress your body will ever go through, both physically and mentally. Not only did you just create a human (take a moment to pause and think about how incredible that is!!), but now your sleep is totally interrupted and minimal on the best day.
When the body is in a weakened state and not getting full sleep, supplements are key both to help with in-the-moment energy but also long-term replenishment!
Many health situations in women that arise years or decades later, stem from postpartum depletion. Take the next few years to replenish your body’s energy and nutrient stores!
Get a simple and complete nutrition plan with our Postpartum Replenishment Guide >
Top nutrients to restore energy:
- Pure Radiance Vitamin C
- Vitamin B
- Adaptogens: Mushroom Magic, Adaptogen Balance, Postpartum Restorative Tonic
- Magnesium
Make it easy: put your daily supplements next to your water filter so you don’t forget to take them daily!
Focus on physical healing
No matter what was your type of delivery, bringing a baby into the world leaves mama with a lot of wounds, scars, tears and healing to begin. Your postpartum body needs a lot of healing and replenishment, which is not a quick process, but most of your physical healing takes place in those first 2 months.
Do the best you can to rest, sit, not go up stairs, and avoid heavy lifting, driving, and even walking the first few weeks—the faster your body will recover and the less likely you will have long-term damage to your body and pelvic floor. It’s hard not to be up and about, especially if you have other children to care for, but really setting these boundaries will make the biggest long-term difference.
Holistic solutions to encourage healing:
Make it easy: prep a water bottle, snack, blanket before you sit down so you can avoid the up and down movement!
Rest physically + mentally
Sleep and rest are very different activities; both are needed during the postpartum recovery period, although no matter how much sleep you get, it will seem like there is never enough!
Sleep is when you are actually sleeping but our bodies need rest in order to sleep and restore more effectively. Getting enough rest means embracing quiet, play, and leisure. Rest comes by engaging your brain in a book or your body in activities different from the usual.
Rest is anything that makes us feel the best version of ourselves when the activity is over, and certainly hard to come by with a newborn, even during the first year!
Babywearing can REALLY help you get a few things done with both hands free (also lowers mom’s stress response as it increases oxytocin). My favorite baby carrier is Artipoppe—worth every penny!
Simple ways to rest with a newborn:
- grab some snacks and pop on your favorite movie while your baby is napping on your chest
- go for a drive with your sleeping baby and listen to a podcast
- take a bath
- go for a walk in the fresh air
- phone a friend while on a walk
- bake a batch of cookies
- go out to lunch or a coffee shop
Make it easy: find a little moment of joy in the afternoon by stoping to pause for a chocolate or sweet treat!
Keep nutrient-dense snacks handy
A healthy diet is crucial! Postpartum is the time to load up on nutrients and calories! Snacks are key, especially when you don’t always have time to prepare food, or when the option is either food or a nap, trust me I’ve been there. It’s important to note that the first days postpartum (or months, even) are not the time for any weight loss. That baby weight can wait. Focus on healing yourself and your little one!
When your hands are full and you are tired, it’s easy to reach for a fluff snack to quickly pump you up, but that momentary sugar rush will only leave you more tired. Take the time to prep and keep nutrient-dense healthy snacks easily available! You’ll notice a quick difference in your energy!
- Plant + Greens Protein Powder
- cheese + crackers
- Organic Chocolate Hazelnut Butter + rice cakes + flaky salt
- Culina coconut yogurt
- hummus + baby carrots
- Majka Replenishing bites: FLOURISH for 10% off
- Elemental bars: seriously too good to be true! FLOURISH for 10% off
- Ohi coconut macadamia bars
- cashews
- popcorn + pistachios + chocolate chips
Having a balanced diet will not only help you feel better but also help with your first postpartum bowel movement and onwards. And a healthy, nutritionally balanced diet also helps produce breast milk, if you are breastfeeding.
Make it easy: set aside 15 minutes today to order and prep your snacks!
Top holistic tools for postpartum months 1-2
This is a short and sweet list to pack the biggest punch for your postpartum recovery!
- Postpartum Restorative Tonic
- Majka Replenishing Powder
- Pure Radiance Vitamin C
- Artipoppe Baby Carrier
- CBD Recovery Roll On
- Mushroom Magic
Being a mom is a beautiful thing. Motherhood is a journey that makes every day special in its own way, but it’s also one of the most difficult things we go through. That is why taking care of ourselves from the inside out is so, so important to be the best mom we can be. I hope this post helps you recover during the first months postpartum and that you enjoy this time of your life!
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