A Postpartum Plan That Actually Works (7 Free Templates)

Have you ever heard the phrase “Put your own oxygen mask on before helping others”? 

Motherhood is kind of like that. Add bleeding profusely out of your vagina, engorged breasts, and a tiny human you don’t know but care so deeply for? There’s postpartum for you.

Postpartum is a beautiful time, but it’s not all newborn bliss and baby snuggles. It’s important to acknowledge both sides of it.

It’s even more important to prepare for postpartum.

Why Postpartum Care Is Important

As moms, we have to fill our own cup before helping others.

But first, we have to remember what even fills our cups. Our identities can be wrapped in teaching our preschoolers phonics and singing songs to our infants, but who are you underneath all that?

Knowing what fills our cups and creating a specified plan helps us get ready for postpartum by avoiding the consequences of mom brain and excuses. If it’s all written down and posted on the fridge, you can’t forget it!

Start filling your cup in motherhood by keeping yourself a priority in postpartum.

1 in 7 moms develop a mental health disorder in postpartum. These struggles aren’t always completely avoidable; however, early intervention and treatment can make a world of difference for both mom and baby.

Proper postpartum planning benefits the entire family unit.

What Is A Postpartum Plan

A postpartum plan includes your plans and desires for the first few days, weeks, or months after having a baby. It can describe your preferences on visitors, support people, childcare or pet care, meal plans, self-care, and other expectations for postpartum.

The best part is that your plan can be individualized to you and your family’s needs. Keep reading and we can build one together that’s perfect and unique to you!

Why You Need A Postpartum Care Plan

Postpartum care plans aren’t just for your physical recovery. Life after baby can be an emotionally-daunting time. Not only are your hormones fluctuating with your physical changes, but you are now overwhelmed with love for this little person — and equally overwhelmed with responsibility.

Writing out your plan for postpartum takes a little weight off your shoulders. You don’t need to remember everything while sleep-deprived because it’s already been laid out for you.

What To Include In A Postpartum Plan

Each of the following sections dives into the details of your plan. Before you start, here’s an overview.

A postpartum plan should include:

  • a support team
  • postpartum mental health checklist
  • expected budget
  • meal preps
  • visitor plan
  • relationship expectations
  • care of other children and/or pets
  • self-care goals

A Support Team

I’m sure you have an idea of what friends and family members will help you once the baby comes. However, mom brain is real.

Writing down your postpartum support team can change everything. If it’s written down and posted on the fridge with our free printable, then anyone can hold you accountable to seek support, especially your partner!

Creating a team for specifically postpartum support is also vital during this time. There are many things that might throw a wrench in our postpartum plans:

  • breastfeeding difficulties
  • a surprise c-section
  • friends that are uncomfortable with your new role as a mom
  • a longer or harder physical recovery than we expected
  • and so much more!

This isn’t to scare you. Postpartum isn’t all hell, but shouldn’t we prepare in case some parts are?

This free Postpartum Support Team template is divided into 7 parts:

  • medical
  • mental health
  • breastfeeding
  • friends and family
  • moms who’ve been there
  • community resources
  • household help
postpartum plan

Mental Health Checklist

Hormones, sleep-deprivation, identity changes, and added responsibility can weigh heavy on new moms.

Checking in with your mental health can tell you what changes to make before baby arrives, and it can also make you aware of what to look for after your sweet babe arrives.

Use the Postpartum Mental Health Checklist to get started! This is a printable checklist designed just for you, whether you’re pregnant or anywhere in the first year postpartum. It’s never too late (or too early) to double-check your mental health.

postpartum mental health checklist

Expected Budget

Having a baby on a budget doesn’t have to be hard, but it is an adjustment! Your spending money might be eaten up by diapers and soy-free formula. Trust me, I’ve been there.

Take care of yourself and set realistic expectations about money by creating a maternity leave budget, or an after-baby budget.

A baby changes your budget by:

  • adding baby-related expenses
  • increasing health insurance premiums
  • changing rent or utility payments
  • causing your priorities to change

The biggest a-ha moment for me happened when my son was a few months old. I grew mad at myself for getting student loans and a car loan when that monthly payment of $328 could be going towards the down payment for a home or to my son’s college fund. My priorities completely shifted, and my budget couldn’t reflect that.That’s why I’m helping you get a head start in your after-baby budget with this 15 page workbook and editable spreadsheet!

plan budget for after baby

Meal Preps

Preparing meals ahead of time or scheduling friends and family for a meal train is a great resource during postpartum. MealTrain.com is ready for you for free to use as soon as today!

If you’re looking to prep and plan meals ahead of time, use this free template to track what meals you have made or who is bringing what.

postpartum planning for meals

Visitor Plan

Reduced stress and anxiety is an amazing benefit to having a plan for visitors. Creating the visitor plan and discussing it with friends and family ahead of time sets the expectations before heightened emotions are involved.

Visitor plans should include:

  • Who is allowed to visit
  • When they are allowed to visit
  • Where they are allowed to visit (home, hospital)
  • If they need to chip in with chores or bring something when they visit
  • When they should stay home (sickness, not respecting new mom and dad’s rules, etc)

There’s also the option of not having visitors during the first few weeks, which is what I did. There was tremendous benefit in that for me. In case you might find that same benefit, here’s 8 friendly ways to say “heck no!” to visitors after birth.

postpartum plan for visitors

Relationship Expectations

Preparing your relationship, your expectations for one another, and the expectations for how your time together will look post-baby is so important! Use these 9 questions to help start these important conversations.

plan your relationship after baby comes

Care of Other Children and/or Pets

Is there a plan in place for who will care for your older children and/or pets? Be sure to contact them ahead of time on everything they need to know. Additionally, write down their contact info for easy access! If your water breaks, your logic might go out the window.

Self-Care

Self-care is SO important as a mom. You can start building those habits even as early as the postpartum stage. We can be crunched for time in the postpartum stage, so here are 15 methods of self-care that take 15 minutes or less.

How to Create A Postpartum Plan

Using the printables above, you can tailor your postpartum plan for your individual needs. Every mom is unique, and their postpartum plan should be equally as distinct. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all to postpartum!

If you’d rather create your own postpartum plan, keep reading these next tips!

Don’t Assume Everything Will Be Planned

In any situation, there’s a number of “unpreditables”, especially in labor, delivery, and postpartum. You can’t plan everything, and you can’t assume everything will happen exactly as you planned.

Instead, approach the postpartum plan as a way to prepare. Think of all the outcomes and prepare for them.

This is also a great way to help prevent the trauma of things happening unexpectedly. If you have a plan for both a vaginal delivery AND a cesarean delivery, you won’t be as anxious going into either!

Include Plans for All Areas

  • Parental leave
  • Budget while on leave
  • Budget after baby comes and parent(s) return to work
  • Who is allowed to visit
  • What time of day or which location visitors are allowed to come (hospital VS home)
  • Who will be in charge of telling people “no” when they can’t visit
  • Postpartum support team
  • Mom’s mental health and coping strategies
  • Your partner’s mental health and coping strategies
  • Self-care (what brings you joy?)
  • Birth plan
  • Birth plan for a cesarean
  • Breastfeeding or bottle feeding support
  • Postpartum meal plan
  • Relationship expectations
  • Expectations on who will care for the baby when (ex. you feed baby while partner changes diapers during the night)
  • Care for other children
  • Care of pets
  • Childcare options if both partners return to work or if you need a date night

The Ultimate Postpartum Care Plan Template

This workbook gives you a run-down of (almost) every question you should ask yourself when planning your postpartum care. Have a pen and a notebook nearby and make time to sit with your partner and prepare.

postpartum plan ultimate template

Can You Really Plan for Postpartum?

There are a ton of unpredictables in postpartum and motherhood in general, but that shouldn’t stop you from preparing!

It’s the same thing as stocking up on pads. Sure, you might not use all of the jumbo pack you bought, but isn’t it nice to have a massive supply?

How are you planning for postpartum? Share with us in the comments below!

postpartum brain

Related postpartum care posts

Postpartum care plan worksheet for new moms

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