How To Make A Nourishment Package For Postpartum Mom

Bring back the practice of caring for postpartum moms with these nourishing ideas to take to a new momma in your circle.

This post has been right at the tip of my heart to share for almost a year now.

While the heartbeat of the passion behind the Raising Generation Nourished blog message revolves around nourishing our next generation of kids, in all reality the goal of raising a healthier generation of kids begins right at the very beginning…with momma.

My sweet friends I am so encouraged by what I read and see today for postpartum momma care compared to what I saw and experienced almost 7 years ago as a brand new momma myself (which was practically nothing). We have a ways to go in my opinion, but the rise of a generation of women that are choosing to care for themselves and the women in their tribe is breaking down walls of generations of women that have had to walk through the season of postpartum alone.

My very first postpartum experience was one drenched in severe postpartum anxiety.

I had a massive hemorrhage after I delivered her to the point of them almost losing me, and my body was just flat out not working right. Top that off with a very “Type A,” get-it-all-done-myself type of personality, and it was a recipe for disaster.

I was horrible at asking for help. Honestly, I’m not sure what new mom is. My postpartum experiences are what have brought about this practice of making my new momma nourishment packages.

I promised myself that if there was a momma in my circle, they were going to be cared for without them having to ask for help.

Because about 5 days into being a new mom I think I would have given just about anything to have someone take care of me a little. YES my husband was *amazing* – he literally sat next to me to feed me for weeks while I was figuring out nursing. But there is just something about women taking care of other women. That whole “it takes a village” thing…

So here are some of my suggestions to include in your own nourishment packages! These are just some ideas to get the ball rolling – I hope it serves as an encouragement to you to take care of the mommas in your circle. Because really if we have a goal of raising a nourished generation, it really does start with momma.

And before I get to the list I just wanted to take any new mommas or soon to be new mommas aside for a second and share with you a little something…

Young momma, this encouragement is for you. It is ok to accept help – yes you are going to need help if you want to maintain your health, and that is a promise. You, dear momma, are the heartbeat of the home. When you are taken care of the rest of the house will run within a beautiful rhythm. You are worth caring for – your baby is worth having a momma that is cared for.

Ok! Onto my nourishment package staples!

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Nourishing, Replenishing, Nutrient Dense Food

This is sort of a given, but I wanted to share with you some of the food staples I bring to young moms to replenish their body postpartum. The goal here is super nutrient dense – but also easy prep without being processed. It seems like a tall order but it is so do-able.

The key is to just double batch for your family so you aren’t overdoing yourself trying to take care of someone else too. Meals, soups, breakfast cookies, snacks etc all can be easily double batched to feed your family for a meal and another one in need.

If you have a staple meal you love to bring new moms go for it! I would encourage you to sneak in a little grated liver if it is a meat dish as momma and baby would really benefit from the added nutrients from grassfed liver.

Bone broth rich soups are my staple meal and I pack spinach lasagna soup most of the time. I just cook the soup to the point of adding the noodles and stop. I pack up the brothy soup part in a freezer safe container and the noodles in a separate bag with instructions to bring the soup to a simmer and add the noodles. It is a very easy prep that anyone in the house can make from the new momma to daddy or a relative that might be visiting. The other great part about this soup is that it is super kid friendly with all the noodles. If there are other little ones in the house it helps to have them fed well too! It really does taste like lasagna when you top it with cheese too – I have had rave reviews of kids eating this one that aren’t used to real food styles of eating.

I also like to pack in smaller jars of easy brothy lunch soups that can go in a mug easily to sit next to momma while she nurses. Simple soup purees like squash soup, broccoli soup, and tomato soup work well, and will get momma extra broth for mineral boosting and recovery that she needs.

You can also pack momma’s freezer with breakfast cookies to make for quick midnight nursing snacks or early morning pre-breakfasts. They are also a favorite of any other little ones that might be in the house and make for an easy breakfast for mom to serve. You can try these Ultimate Breakfast Cookies, Lemon Breakfast Cookies, or Molasses Breakfast Cookies.

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Herbal Recovery Tea

There are so many combinations you can pick from in this category. My goal here though is zeroed in focus on replenishing momma’s minerals and hydration from having a baby. Teas for boosting milk supply are great, and momma may already have some of those, but again…the focus here is on mom. If momma’s minerals are being replenished, then believe me, the milk will follow.

I like to mix a pint jar of nettles and hibiscus with instructions to just steep a tablespoon of herbs per quart jar of hot water into an infusion. Making nettle infusions was absolutely key in my energy as a new mom as well as my milk production (and yes I was one of those that really struggled with nursing supply – I had to work my tail off for my milk). It is also a good way to hydrate mom without diluting all of her minerals with too much water.

You can read more about how to make herbal nettle hibiscus infusions here – while the post is geared toward kids, the method is the same for adults as well.

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Replenishing Mineral Bath Salts

It is so easy to lose yourself in those first few months (probably more like the whole first year!) after having a baby. You literally eat, sleep, and breathe a newborn, and as wonderful as it is, there is a big problem if momma is not taking some “me time”. Twenty minutes momma. You are allowed 20 minutes to not be attached to baby, cleaning a house, or tending to other little ones.

Ok I’m getting the feeling maybe that wasn’t heard so I will step on my soapbox here a minute and make it more clear…

Momma…you are allowed to take care of yourself with some alone time.

Ok, whew! Now that that is out of the way, let’s talk about mineral baths. My sweet friend Jessica from Simply Health Home was the one that really got me started on postpartum baths. This was key in not only my physical recovery…but my mental recovery. The whole “me time” thing. A good friend is one that will be honest with you – and she was persistent on being gently firm with me about taking some alone time and she taught me a lot about how to add different salts to baths for recovery after baby.

I typically write momma a little reminder note attached to quart jar of bath salts to take some time for herself. I like to put 1 cup of epsom salt, 1 cup of magnesium flakes, 1 cup of baking soda, and 1/2 cup dead sea salt in the jar. You may add a couple drops of lavender essential oil if you wish, though keep in mind not everyone tolerates essential oils in a heated environment like a warm bath (I am one that cannot) so I tend to leave them out unless I know for sure. She can pour the whole jar into a bath and enjoy some time to gather her thoughts and take care of herself.

Ok! So keep me posted on your endeavors! I would love to see your nourishment packages for the new mommas in your life – tag me up on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook! We are truly all in this together – I’m determined to change what postpartum care looks like by the time my girls become mommas.