The fourth trimester is the 12-week period immediately after you have had your baby. Not everyone has heard of it, but every mother and their newborn baby will go through it. It is a time of great physical and emotional change as your baby adjusts to being outside the womb, and you adjust to your new life as a mum

Finding time for yourself in the fourth trimester can be a challenge. Finding time between the feeds and changes is a skill in itself and usually parents find themselves doing more practical jobs as soon as they get the chance.

This is why I am a big believer in taking time to schedule this self care in. Booking a bath or nap or even time to just flick through a magazine when you have a second pair of hands to help. This second pair of hands can come in the form of your partner, mother, best friend or doula.

You can also pre plan some small elements of self care and “luxury” for post baby before you have even given birth.

Some nice ideas for this include:-

Saving some new Pjs or loungewear for once you are home. A nice comfortable fresh outfit to put on once you have had a nice shower in your home and ready to relax with your baby.
Treating yourself to new bath or shower products to make each shower or bath feel extra lovely. They may not be as frequent as you would like for the first weeks so making each one count can make all the difference
Stocking your cupboards with your favourite tea’s, drinks and snacks. So during that night feed or when your baby is napping you can have a little something to enjoy.

“Nap when your baby naps”

This is so often said to new parents and in theory its a lovely idea, in reality it isn’t always possible.

This is where your second pair of hands comes in. Many new parents do not always feel comfortable accepting the help they are offered. Sometimes they feel they should be doing it on their own. I fully encourage parents to find their feet and build their own confidence with raising their new baby.

However I also believe parents deserve to rest and recover after birth. Therefore I think accepting help offered from a friend or family member or hiring a doula is always a good idea. Using that pair of hands to watch the baby whilst you take a nap is a great way of helping with your recovery.

If like many you struggle to nap during the day then I recommend a few things to try in order to encourage the sleep.

Using an app such as headspace which has pre recorded guided meditations and sleep casts on is great for helping you to switch off and fall asleep.
Eye masks are brilliant for blocking out the light and helping you to fall asleep. I also really recommend spacemasks for this. They are a great present idea too if anyone wants to buy a new parent a little something for themselves.

Staying Nourished

The two key points to recovering in the fourth trimester are resting and nourishment.

As per my point about accepting help and a pair of hands with the baby to enable you to rest. I also believe in accepting help with staying nourished during this time. If someone offers to make you a giant lasagne, bake you some cookies or drop round a bottle of wine. Then let them. Finding the time to cook or even think of what food you need/want from the shops can feel like too much.

Some women like to batch cook prior to giving birth and this can also be a great idea. Making big portions of your favourite meals and freezing them can be a saviour on the other side when you are hungry but have no time or want to cook.

There are also some great food delivery services for new parents:-

COOK is a great company which you can have delivered to your door. They do homemade style frozen meals. They also offer 10% for new parents for the first 6 months. If friends and family are asking what to get you as a gift but you feel like you have it all than a COOK voucher or subscription is a great idea.
The food doula is another good company for well thought out and nourishing home food delivery. They also offer vouchers so can be bought as a gift ahead of time ready for the new parents to choose what they want when they want it.

Of course there are now hundreds of take away services too which can be at your doorstep in minutes. Its just the home cooked element that often new parents crave.