Help A Momma Out! {Ways To Support Your Friends Pregnancy}
One thing that gets overlooked in the post-pregnancy conversation is looking to your personal community / tribe / village for help when the opportunity arises. Sometimes it can be a difficult conversation to have, especially for first-time moms. There is a lot of pressure to do everything by yourself or just with your immediate family. However, I am here to tell you we need to cut this out! Life after baby is really challenging as sleep schedules are trying to form, breastfeeding or formula feeding is developing, and most importantly, moms and dads are trying to get into a rhythm on how to take care of their new bundle. After going through those rough days myself, I have made it a mission to offer as much help as possible so friends and family alike know that they have help just an arm’s reach away.
Here are activities you can offer to make sure the new moms in your life have the resources they need:
Ask to sign up for a meal train. If they don’t have one, make one!
This is one of the easiest ways to take a load off mom’s plate, by offering to make sure she has as many dinner plates as needed. My favorite tool is mealtrain.com – this can take as little as 5 minutes to make. That way – mom has an easy way to direct anyone who wants to make a meal for them.
Offer to do a few chores
It’s so easy for the home chores to pile up while you are fighting lack of sleep and learning the 3 hour schedule of a newborn. Allow mom to spend more time with baby and offer to come over and do the dishes, laundry, whatever needs to be done! Some moms may even love the chance to take a quick cat nap if they don’t mind you holding the baby while they do so. I think sometimes we can get caught up in wanting to visit with mom and dads that sometimes helping around the house is exactly what they need.
Speaking of chores – offer a Hampr service
If you’re not available to make it to your friend’s home, give the gift of Hampr! You can easily pay for this service so mom doesn’t have to worry about the laundry at all and can have clothes magically show up at their doorstep.
Best friends – coordinate with the husband to take mom out of the house for a few hours a month into pregnancy.
It’s hard to get out of the house at first. However – 4 weeks in, spending an hour or two with your best friend can be a luxury that will brighten a new mom’s day. Mom probably will not want to be away for very long to make sure feeding schedules are in place, but take your girlfriend for a cup of coffee or quick bite to eat so she can get a taste of the outside world for just a minute.
Help mom and dad have a date night
I’ll never forget a month into post-partum, my incredible younger brother told me that I needed a date night and they would watch my newborn. I could have kissed him! My husband and I were able to sneak away for a few hours for some much-needed one-on-one time that didn’t involve, diapers, bottles, and spit-up. We felt rejuvenated to return back and it was something that felt incredibly important at the time.
If baby isn’t sleeping well (and thus mom isn’t), offer to watch baby so mom could get some rest
Is there greater love ever known that someone willing to watch your baby so you can get some much-deserved sleep? I think not! Sometimes, this is the greatest gift you can give to those who have a fussy baby. Your friend may not be interested, but it doesn’t hurt to offer, especially if you think they are sleep-deprived.
