Creating Your Postpartum Sanctuary

Things for *you* to cultivate a peaceful and useful postpartum sanctuary.

• Bottles of water and/or electrolyte filled drinks in every room. Coconut water and LMNT are both highly recommended. Try to keep your drinks room temperature to warm temperature to avoid bringing any coldness into your body, especially your womb space.

• Essential oils! These can be used in many different ways. You can use oils in a diffuser for aromatherapy in your whole home, or with drops placed on your skin, or a quick inhale from the bottle for a brief moment of peace. Oils can promote relaxation, protect your immune system, encourage physical and mental healing, help with sleeping, and ease sore muscles. Small drops of diluted lavender can even be used on the soles of your baby’s feet for calmness and sweet dreams. I personally always love to have lavender on hand for postpartum visits, and give out eucalyptus to put on clients shower walls and floor for a steamy, cleansing shower.

• Affirmation cards & love notes. Decorate your space with meaningful words that make you smile and give you motivation. Even a note from a family member or friend is a wonderful thing to have easy access to for re-reading.

• Comfy pajamas that you love and feel good in. Ideally you'll be as cozy and warm as possible in the 4th trimester!

• Blankets, warm socks, and an extra layer of clothes. Warmth will encourage your body to recover and heal your womb space. Cold feet specifically correlate to a cold uterus, so it’s important to not walk on cold floors or allow your toes and feet to get chilly.

• A pen and a journal to document sweet moments of motherhood, and to process any emotions, struggles, and feelings you're going through. This could be a prayer journal, or somewhere you write affirmations for yourself too.