5 Tips for Surviving the First Week Postpartum

The first week after having a baby can feel like time is both standing still and speeding by in a blurry, leaky haze. If you’re freshly postpartum, or preparing for it, here are five real tips that might make the ride just a little gentler.

1. Stay in the Bed (and Around It)

This is your nest now. Your whole world is this bed, the floor beside it, and maybe the nearby bathroom. Set up a “bed-nest” station with everything you need - snacks, diapers, breast pads, burp cloths, water bottle, nipple balm, phone charger, wireless earbuds, and a good pillow stack.

Let your partner (or Uber Eats) take over as the “primary parent” for now. Their job is to keep the world running while you and baby recover, bond, and feed.

Oh, and teach your partner a great trick: how nurses and PSWs (personal support workers) change sheets while someone is still in the bed. There are plenty of YouTube videos demonstrating the technique. You'll be surprised how handy it is when you're sore, tired, and not ready to get up just to swap sheets. You could even double layer the sheets and mattress protectors so that in a blowout or leaky night, you can just remove the top layers and hop back in!

2. Forget Shirts — Embrace the Soft Bra Life

If you're planning to breastfeed, make access easy and comfort the top priority. Going topless or wearing just a soft, wireless nursing bra can make feeding on demand less stressful and way more manageable. Wearing less shirt means more skin-to-skin which is great for baby AND it helps you regulate your supply and encourage bonding.

Plus, shirts just get in the way (and end up soaked anyway). Embrace the soft bra life. My personal favourites for nighttime nursing was not a nursing bra, but these and these. Sizing up will probably be best - check the reviews!

3. Just Give in to the Diapers

Yes, for you too. Adult diapers are your best friend right now. They’re more secure than mesh underwear and pads, and they simplify everything in the first few days when bleeding and leaks are unpredictable. I actually find them much more comfortable than pads when newly postpartum. No shame, just less laundry and less crinkling.

You may want to use your period underwear during this time, but I'd suggest to NOT. That's because you cannot easily tell how much blood is lost in the liner. Often they are dark coloured, and when you are postpartum, the idea is to see what is coming out and how much. Monitoring the discharge and bleeding is yet another gift of postpartum healing. While you're at it, get yourself a spray bottle that actually has an angled spout if you don't already have a bidet installed.

4. Go Full Breast Buffet

Your baby doesn’t need a feeding schedule - they need a buffet. Every time they wiggle, stretch, blink, or make a noise, offer the breast. This kind of arguably super-responsive feeding helps establish your milk supply early on and keeps baby calm (ideally… no guarantees).

Think of it like an all-day, all-night snack bar. Don’t worry about “spoiling” the baby or over-feeding that baby right now - you can’t. You’re just teaching them the world is safe and warm and full of milk.

5. Lower the Bar. Then Lower It Again.

You don’t need to host visitors, send thank-you notes, or respond to every text. The only things that matter this week are your healing, your rest, and your connection with baby. If rest to you means watching Friends and snacking in bed while you enjoy some sun rays through the window, so be it. Obviously we'd all say, sleep when the baby sleeps because this is survival mode, but we all know that is just not what a lot of us will do. Survival mode means keeping things radically simple. Just be selfish, please!

No one gets a trophy for being postpartum-perfect. Let it be messy, emotional, and raw - because that’s exactly what this season is. Anyone who disagrees can step on one of your postpartum diapers.

Disclaimer: This post is for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult with a qualified healthcare provider about your postpartum care.