Everything I did Postpartum

Written By Allison Locke

I have officially finished my fourth trimester (the first three months postpartum!), so here is everything I learned and found most helpful.

As always, this blog is mostly my personal experience and not should be intended as medical advice. Always ask your healthcare provider if you have any concerns.

First and foremost, I cannot emphasize enough the importance of rest and taking things slow in the first month or two postpartum. Many traditional cultures recognize the first 40 days after birth as a crucial period for a mother’s healing and long-term well-being. Prioritizing recovery during this time can set the foundation for good health in the years ahead. Personally, I spent about 12 hours in bed each night and the other 12 hours on the couch. In the first week, I probably walked no more than 1,000 steps per day! This was particularly crucial for me because I developed a pretty severe tear after birth and felt a lot of pelvic floor discomfort if I was on my feet too much. The biggest lesson? Listen to your body. Rest as much as possible. It’s not just okay to slow down—it’s necessary. Allow yourself to receive help—whether from family, friends, or even a postpartum doula if you’re unsure how much support you’ll have.

Symptoms that are normal after giving birth: fatigue, period type bleeding for 2-6 weeks (may be clotty but nothing larger than an apricot), light to moderate cramping, mild/temporary incontinence, feeling moody/low/irritable (especially when milk comes in!), night sweats, increase in body odour, weepiness, constipation, hair loss.

Symptoms that are not normal after giving birth: extremely heavy bleeding (changing a pad every 30 min - 1 hour, significant large clots), severe abdominal cramps, severe headaches, pain/frequency/difficulty with urination, increase in pain/complications in tears/incisions, chest pain or trouble breathing, swelling, changes in vision, leg pain, severe mood issues (thoughts of hurting self or baby, feeling hopeless, extreme rage), constant crying, chills/fever, palpitations, vaginal discharge with an odour, red/painful lumps in breast. Contact your healthcare provider if you are experiencing any of these symptoms.

Postpartum books:

Podcasts I listened to:

Postpartum essentials:

Newborn essentials:

  • The best burp cloths.

  • A little nightlight (warm toned, red light) to use during night feeds.

  • Silverettes and nipple cream will save your nips.

  • Vitamin d drops.

  • Seriously can’t have enough little blankets.

  • Breast feeding pillow.

  • Baby nail filer (so much better than the clippers).

  • Any bedside bassinet.

  • Zippered onesies that have hand mittens. Or else you definitely need to buy hand mittens separately!

  • Snuggle Me lounger (plopped him in there in the bathroom to use the toilet or shower!).

  • A Netflix subscription (no joke).

  • Baby carrier. Like this one. Or this one!

  • Pacifiers. Controversial but my little one loved them. I wouldn’t recommend introducing them until your baby has regained their birth weight and appear to be gaining weight steadily and breastfeeding well.

  • A yoga ball for bouncing a fussy baby. TRUST ME YOU NEED THIS.

  • I used my Ember mug daily to keep my tea warm for hours. Very handy when you need to abandon your cup and soothe a crying baby!

I continued most of my supplements from my pregnancy. I took my prenatal twice per day, 400-600mg of magnesium daily, 2,000iu of vitamin D (Honestly, even a little bit more because it’s winter), 900mg of NAC, 4.5mg of low dose naltrexone (for my autoimmune disease), about 1,500mg of calcium, 2,000mg of omega 3’s, ACES + Zinc (1 pill daily), and a probiotic (I did a month’s worth because I needed antibiotics after I gave birth).

I highly recommend having a friend create a meal train for you so people can drop off ready-made meals. It’s nearly impossible to cook with a newborn. I also utilized Instacart to order groceries since it’s also nearly impossible to go to the grocery store! I made sure to get lots of high protein snacks and easy to make meals. Protein bars were clutch.

Breastfeeding is a journey—beautiful, challenging, and sometimes downright exhausting. The most important thing? Manage your expectations. Yes, breast milk is ideal, but at the end of the day, fed is best.

There are many factors that can make breastfeeding difficult—poor latch, tongue or lip ties, nipple shape, low supply, oversupply, or even just the learning curve itself. Even if your baby latches well and your body produces milk, breastfeeding is still a skill that takes time for both you and your baby to master. It does get easier with practice, but don’t hesitate to ask for help from a lactation consultant if you’re struggling.

Your milk won’t fully come in for a few days after birth, and when it does, engorgement can be intense! Nurse as often as possible, on demand, and be prepared—newborns eat a lot. If they’re crying, hunger is often the reason. Their tiny stomachs digest milk quickly, which is why they need to eat so frequently.

One thing no one prepared me for? Cluster feeding. It’s when babies nurse much more often than the "every 2-3 hours" guideline you might hear—sometimes every 30 minutes, sometimes for hours at a time. My son cluster-fed for nearly five weeks straight (usually, it only lasts a few days). There were days I was tied to the couch for six hours with him latched almost constantly. I had multiple breakdowns and nearly lost my mind—but in hindsight, I’m grateful because it helped regulate my milk supply.

Breastfeeding works on supply and demand: the more your baby nurses, the more milk your body produces. Yes, newborns typically eat every 2-3 hours, but every baby is different. The key is to feed on demand and learn their hunger cues.

At night, they still need to eat every 2-3 hours, especially until they regain their birth weight (which often drops in the first week). If you have a very sleepy baby—like I did in those first few days—you may need to wake them for feeds. Once they’re back to birth weight and eating well during the day, you can let them wake on their own at night.

And one last thing: frequent night waking is completely normal for months—yes, months. Breast milk digests quickly, and babies need those calories for rapid growth. Plus, waking frequently at night is actually protective against SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome).

Breastfeeding is a wild ride. Give yourself grace, trust your instincts, and remember—you’re doing an amazing job.

For pumps, I used the Medela Freestyle, but I’ve also heard great things about the Spectra, Medela In Style, and Medela Sonata. I also LOVED the Hakka for gathering the letdown in the other boob when baby is nursing. I found it especially helpful when he only wanted to drink from one boob and the other one still felt full and uncomfortable. Do not underestimate the importance of proper flange size for breast pumps. I bought this kit and produced way more per pumping session. For bottles, I researched lead-free options that had a specific (lactation consultant recommended) nipple shape. These and these are what I ended up with. For nursing bras, I loved these and these.

Sleeping. Welcome to the phase of life where your world revolves around a tiny human’s sleep schedule. Just like feeding, the best approach is to follow their lead and let them sleep on demand.

One thing that really helped me was understanding wake windows—the amount of time a baby can stay awake before becoming overtired and fussy. The general guidelines were useful, but even more important was learning my baby’s individual sleep cues. This process can take weeks to figure out, and just when you think you’ve nailed it, things can change.

Unlike adults, falling asleep is a learned skill—babies don’t instinctively know how to do it. They need soothing, and how they like to be soothed will be different for every baby. My son loved being held chest-to-chest while I bounced—either by walking around or sitting on a yoga ball. He also nursed to sleep for most naps and bedtime. Some of his best naps happened in the baby carrier while I moved around the house. Finding what works for your baby takes time and a lot of trial and error.

And just when you think you’ve figured it out? It changes. Because newborns are anything but consistent.

At around 6 weeks, my son hit a brutal phase where he resisted all daytime naps. Instead, he screamed. For hours. I tried every soothing trick imaginable, but nothing really worked. It was exhausting and frustrating, but like all tough phases, it eventually passed. One day, he just grew out of it and started napping easily again.

The biggest lesson? Everything is temporary. The hard phases feel endless in the moment, but they always pass.

How I became a co-sleeping mom (without intending to). I never intended to co-sleep. In fact, I was terrified of it because of the risk of SIDS. But despite my best intentions, my baby has spent every single night in our bed since coming home from the hospital.

That first night, I placed him in the bedside bassinet, thinking we’d follow all the "safe sleep" guidelines. But he woke up crying every five minutes. After hours of this, I was exhausted, desperate, and out of options. I finally brought him into bed with me—and he slept for hours. That was the moment our bed-sharing journey began.

At first, I was incredibly anxious about it, but I also knew we both needed sleep. So I dove into research and learned about the safe sleep 7 - a set of guidelines to minimize risks while bed-sharing. I found this instagram account incredibly helpful.

Because I couldn’t always maintain the classic c-curl sleeping position, and my son had a tendency to roll onto his side, I eventually decided to invest in a smart sock for extra peace of mind. The Owlet is great (and FDA approved!), but I went with the Eufy sock. Knowing I’d be alerted if his heart rate or oxygen levels dropped helped me sleep more soundly at night. I also made sure to run a fan in our room because it helps reduce the risk of SIDS by 72%. Co-sleeping wasn’t part of my original plan, but like so much of parenthood, I had to adapt. And in the end, it turned out to be the best choice for us.

Things that helped me mentally/emotionally during postpartum:

  • Having a strict routine with a newborn? Nearly impossible. Instead of stressing over a schedule, I focused on creating small, predictable moments in our day. Each morning, we started slow—relaxing in bed while I nursed him. Then, I’d change his diaper, get him into a fresh outfit, and take a quick shower while he lounged nearby. After that, I’d pop him into the carrier, where he’d settle in for a good snooze while I made breakfast and tackled a few things around the house. It wasn’t a rigid routine, but these little rituals gave our days a sense of structure—and made life with a newborn feel just a bit more manageable.

  • A little stupid, but I found having nice loungewear sets made me feel more put together.

  • Motherhood completely changed my definition of productivity. Instead of measuring success by how much I got done, I started focusing on small, meaningful wins each day. To keep things manageable, I created a simple checklist in my phone’s Notes app with three sections: Physical Health, Mental Health, and Home. My goal? To check off just one thing from each category daily. If I did that, I considered the day a success.

    • Physical Health: shower & fresh clothes, take supplements, drink bone broth, stretch, nap.

    • Mental Health: meditate, do skincare, journal, call my mom, step outside for fresh air.

    • Home: tidy one area, do a load of laundry, change bed sheets, vacuum.

    Shifting my mindset this way made a huge difference. Instead of feeling overwhelmed by everything I wasn’t doing, I could celebrate the small wins—and in this season of life, those wins are everything.

  • ASK FOR HELP. This one was really hard for me. If people offer help, take it. Don’t be afraid to ask for what you need, especially from your partner.

  • Social media loves to flood your feed with postpartum tips and newborn routines the moment you give birth. The algorithm just can’t help itself. At first, I found myself endlessly scrolling—watching videos of moms whose 6-week-olds were sleeping through the night or napping peacefully in their bassinets. Meanwhile, my baby wanted to contact nap all day and woke up every 2-3 hours at night. Seeing those "perfect" routines made me feel like I was doing something wrong. But here’s the truth: most babies don’t sleep through the night or nap independently right away—and that’s completely normal. Newborns are biologically wired to want closeness and frequent wake-ups. Then there were the moms doing yoga and working out just a week postpartum while I could barely make it to the shower. Again, social media only shows the highlights. Your postpartum recovery and your baby’s sleep habits are unique, and no video can dictate what’s "normal" for you. So, take what you see online with a grain of salt, unfollow accounts that make you feel less than, and remind yourself: you and your baby are doing just fine.

  • Reminding myself that newborns are wild potatoes and aren’t meant to be on strict routines. The most important things you need to do are feed your baby when they’re hungry and let them sleep when they’re tired.

  • Hold your baby as much as you want. Love on them endlessly. Contact nap, co-sleep—do whatever feels right for you. You will never spoil your baby by meeting their need for closeness. In fact, physical contact is one of the most important things for their emotional and psychological development. That said, it’s also completely okay if you don’t want to hold them for every nap or prefer them sleeping in their own space. Your needs matter too. The best way to parent is the one that feels right for both of you.

Activity. I started incorporating some diaphragmatic breathing and light stretches 2 to 3 weeks postpartum. Once I hit four weeks I started doing more stretches like cat/cow, stretching out my hip flexors, child pose, happy baby etc. I also started going on daily walks when the weather was nice. Once I hit 6 weeks (with the okay of my healthcare team), I started incorporating more strength training, gentle core work, and light weights. At 8 weeks I started doing postpartum YouTube workouts from Pregnancy and Postpartum TV.

Some helpful resources (local to Vancouver).

Allison Locke seaofqihealing.com
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Everything I Did During My Pregnancy