(upbeat music)
- Ohh, so good.
♪ I don't need a man to make it happen ♪
(chuckles)
Hey HealthNuts!
Welcome back to my channel.
My name is Nikole.
And today I'm talking about postpartum hacks and tips.
So if you're new here,
I'm a mom of now a eight almost five month-old,
(camera click)
which is kind of crazy.
Sage is growing so fast
and although I'm five months postpartum now,
I still feel like I just gave birth the other day.
Honestly, I feel like your body takes so long to recover,
(bubbles bursting)
both mentally and physically.
And even at five months later
I am still doing things to support my body,
as I feel like I'm starting
to feel more like my pre-pregnancy self.
So if you haven't checked
out my other postpartum video,
I shared all the recovery stuff
that I did right after birth.
So definitely check out that video.
I'll have it linked here.
This video is more like the after
the aftermath.
So there's other things besides just healing
that you wanna do to help support your body.
And there's a few things that I've been doing
along the way that have really helped me.
So I thought I would talk about them
in today's video as I am now fully into,
I'm past the fourth trimester.
But really I feel like the fourth trimester is longer
than just three months, you know.
Before we hop in and make sure you are subscribed.
Click that subscribe button down below.
Make sure you check out my mommy playlist
in the info box where I have all my mom videos about myself,
Sagey, my birth log, all that fun stuff.
And let's hop right into the video.
(air whooshing)
All right, since I'm in the kitchen,
I'm gonna start here first.
My first tip is get yourself some snacks.
Even after the first couple months
where you're maybe just hanging on the couch
or in bed a lot,
you're still gonna be hungrier.
Your body's recovering.
If you're breastfeeding,
you definitely need all of the snacks.
I'm starving right now.
I have a smoothie off to the side that I'm sipping on.
But honestly, when you're breastfeeding
you are hungrier than you were,
when you were pregnant.
You burn way more calories.
You need lots of nutrients
to feed your little one and yourself.
So I'm always making sure to pick up lots
of snacks that are just easy to grab
when I'm just doing things around the house
taking care of Sagey, working.
So things like dried fruit are great.
I have some walnuts which are awesome.
Banana chips are delicious.
I have, these are just sesame rice crackers, protein bars.
I think I eat a protein bar every single day.
This is great to take with you throughout the house.
You have snacks with you when you need them.
You can put your water bottle in here.
You can put your vitamins,
so you remember to take them.
We're kind of on one level here, so it's great,
'cause I can just easily come
to the kitchen whenever I'm hungry.
But having a snack caddy is awesome
because it just makes sure
that you have snacks ready when you need them.
Speaking of vitamins, that is my next tip.
I have a few vitamins
that, oh, wait I forgot one of them, BRB.
All right, I'm back.
A few vitamins, I wanna talk about,
that I think have been really good for me postpartum
and they're just helping support my mood and my health.
Okay, first here I have fish oils.
These are actually the ones I took when I was pregnant.
They're the prenatal DHA ones by Nordic Naturals.
I'm actually all out.
I need to order some more.
The fish oils, really important.
My doula, my midwives, both told me
that I should take fish oils postpartum.
And then some probiotics.
I take these every day.
I feel like both of these are really good
for your mood and energy levels
and just helping support your healing body.
And then I also have vitamin C and D
which I take every single day for immune support.
And then I have a prenatal that I'm taking.
This is just one by Garden of Life.
Any good prenatal that is recommended to you,
I think it's so important to take after baby is out.
And then I have magnesium.
I take two different kinds.
This is a one that I usually take in the daytime,
MagMind by Jarrow Formulas.
And then this one, I don't take this one as often
but my naturopath said, if I'm having trouble sleeping
this one's good to take before bedtime.
It's just a Magnesium SAP by MFH as well.
I'm gonna link all these in a blog post for you guys,
so you have links to them.
But always check with your health professionals.
I'm not a doctor.
This is just what I'm taking to help support my mood
and my energy levels and my overall health.
Because I feel like when you have a new baby
you're not sleeping as well.
Maybe you're not eating as well
and you're not doing those things that usually
make you feel good and help support your immune system.
So just taking the vitamins to help fill in the gaps
I think is really important.
Speaking of vitamins, I'm gonna take them right now.
(sprayer tapping)
(soft music)
Ahh!
All right, next tip, water.
I feel like everybody talks
about water for weight loss,
for energy levels, for all these different things.
But water is so important when you are recovering
I feel like you are just losing so much water.
I always have water with me, whether I'm breastfeeding
or I'm going to bed, it's on my nightstand.
It helps flush your body out.
It helps energize you.
It helps just keep you hydrated, obviously.
I feel like you definitely are just thirsty all the time
when you're breastfeeding.
It takes water to make milk.
So anytime Sage is drinking, I'm drinking some H2O.
So get yourself a nice big water bottle.
I feel like I mention this
in all of my mommy-related videos.
And even if you're not pregnant, you should be drinking,
lots and lots of water.
Our bodies are mostly water.
So you want to make sure you are staying nice and hydrated.
(air whooshing)
Hi Sagey!
She's so big now.
Hey!
(soft music)
Hey!
All the things mommy has
to do to recover from you (laughs).
So serious.
Can you give me that smile?
That smile.
We're gonna get a smile.
Okay, that's it.
Okay.
(air whooshing)
All that dog hair, oh my God.
Guy's do okay.
If it's not Sage on me, it's Cashew.
Okay, okay, wanna lay down?
Okay, sit.
(groaning)
Sit.
(soft music)
So, I wanna talk about exercise.
And it can look very different for everyone.
But one thing I've really noticed
it's not so much the intensity with my exercise.
It's just the consistency.
And also just changing it up depending
on how your body is feeling.
So for me right now, I have noticed my neck,
my shoulders and my back have been super sore.
So what I recommend is having a set
of stretches or exercises
that you do even for five, 10 minutes each day.
Because what I've noticed is that if I take a few days
from doing any kind of stretches, I am so sore.
I don't know if it's just
from breastfeeding
or just my body's still recovering and stuff,
but I have new aches and stuff that I didn't have
even at one month postpartum.
So what I've been doing now is to wind down at night,
I actually end my day
with even just a 20-minute stretch flow.
And even when I was pregnant
I used to do the same 15-minute prenatal stretch
every single day.
And it just really helped myself not feel so achy
all the time and now being postpartum
I feel like all of a sudden my back feels like it's broken.
I think it's just all the, you know,
the breastfeeding,
but also like, even if you're not breastfeeding
just looking down at your baby all the time.
They call it text neck, but I call it baby neck.
You're looking down all the time
and it really makes your neck super sore in the back.
So I'm just ending my day now
with stretches has really helped.
I've been really enjoying
the strength training stuff when I can fit it in.
I usually, to be honest,
I'm doing it only twice a week
and then just stretching every day,
whether it's five, 10 minutes, 15 minutes,
I think makes a big difference,
and a little goes a really long way.
So just having some simple neck stretches
just stretching out your back,
just really helping to release those sore muscles.
Because carrying your baby, looking down at baby,
feeding baby, all those baby things
are things that your body is getting used to.
And I feel like now that I'm five months postpartum
my body's really noticed those changes.
So I am just having to stretch a lot more.
The other thing is walking.
So we usually try to do a walk after work.
We try to do every day, but if the weather's good
we'll take both Sage and Cashew
for a walk and Matt will come,
and it's just a nice family event
to end the day after a workday.
It's just nice 'cause it helps just kind of loosen things
up and also it's a nice de-stressor.
The other thing I wanna recommend is going
to see a pelvic floor physiotherapist.
I actually just booked another appointment
for next week because I haven't seen her
in the last little bit and I'm noticing it.
I'm not staying on top of my pelvic floor exercises.
I'm also not doing the stretches that she told me to do.
And I notice a huge difference.
If you're looking to help strengthen your core back,
also, I feel like it helps
with things like even going to the wash room.
I just feel like I'm peeing all the time.
I talked about it in the things wish I knew
before getting pregnant,
but even just peeing postpartum,
it feels like you can't fully empty your bladder
because your muscles are just different.
And it's different for everyone,
but doing those pelvic floor exercises
can really help strengthen your pelvic floor
and make things feel like,
I don't wanna say normal,
'cause I don't think they'll ever be the same again,
but at least get them pretty close to what they were.
So what's nice about seeing a pelvic floor physio is
that they'll tell you different things,
not only with your pelvic floor
but with your body and your alignment.
So I've been getting a lot of hip pains
and pelvic pains and just feeling weak there.
And so she's given me a lot
of stretches that I can do like side lunges, regular lunges
and just stretching out those inner thighs
which is all linked to everything.
So those muscles are gonna be tight
if you don't stretch them.
That's where the pain and aches come from.
I mean, next tip is
to get yourself some kind of a massager
because you may be experiencing body aches
and maybe there's not someone that's there
to help get them out, whether your partner's
at work or you can't get in a massage appointment,
because everything's closed right now,
having a massager is awesome.
I used this a lot
during my pregnancy when I was feeling achy and stuff.
Even for my restless legs
I would just put my legs on it, but it's great.
I got this one on Amazon
and yeah it was a pregnancy must-have,
and now it's a postpartum must-have.
I love this thing.
At night I can just watch TV.
I can lay on it, give myself a little back massage,
shoulder and neck massage
and it just really helps loosen up some
of those knots and aches
from, like I said, staring down at your baby,
holding baby, all the baby things.
I'm telling you, it does a number (laughs) on your body.
And this is just really nice to not have
to like I said, rely on someone else.
You can just give yourself a massage.
You can even massage yourself while you're breastfeeding
while you're holding baby.
Multitask, and I love this guy.
Yeah, it's definitely gotten a lot of love.
I love it (laughs).
Oh it's so good.
♪ I don't need a man to make it happen. ♪
(chuckles)
I can just feel my back cracking
Ohhh.
And it gets right in the neck area.
Ohhh!
It hurts, but a good pain.
(air whooshing)
All right, so we're in the bathroom,
'cause I have two things I wanna talk about.
First off, this little gadget,
it's definitely gonna be
in my Amazon must-haves video in the future,
but it is called a Tub Shroom.
And if, even if you're just someone who has long hair
you need this in your life.
It is a savior for our drains.
They used to get clogged all the time.
And now that my hair is forever falling out
it seems like, this is essential
to have in your tub because it catches all the hair,
but lets the water drain through.
Now there's one in the drain right now.
And I did take a shower this morning
and I'm probably gonna have to blur it
before I clean it to show you guys what it is,
'cause it's disgusting, how much hair it catches.
I feel like we need scary music.
(scary music)
Oh, it's so gross!
We're gonna blue this out.
I'm gonna clean it.
And then I'll show you guys what it looks like.
This is what it looks like without all of the hair on it.
And it's a simple gadget.
I actually had this
before my hair was all falling out.
But it's really great
'cause it helps your drains from clogging.
And like I said, the water can still flow through it.
It's great 'cause then you don't have
to use nasty chemicals like Draino to clear your drains
which we don't even use in this house.
But it's just a really simple cheap method,
just to help prevent clogged drains.
It's great.
It's affordable.
You can get it on Amazon
and yeah, just a fun little gadget.
Honestly, Matt is so happy that we have that
'cause he was forever just unclogging our drains
and I'm sure that was not a fun job.
(air whooshing)
My next tip is in the morning or at night,
whenever it is that you're taking a shower,
even if you're someone who doesn't like a super hot shower,
take a couple of minutes, even 30 seconds
turn the water on pretty hot, as hot as you can handle
and just let it run on your neck and back and shoulders,
and it feels amazing.
I swear it's free water therapy for your back.
And I do this every time I take a shower.
(water splashing)
I just kind of stand there,
let the water run down my back.
And it just helps soothe those achy muscles
which is a theme in this video.
If you can tell having a baby just makes your body hurt.
So I really love that little trick
and you can even put some eucalyptus essential oils
in the shower if you want that full-on spa experience
but just a hot shower running down your back
it just makes your back feels so much better.
Highly recommend.
(air whooshing)
All right, my next two hacks are for sleep
because when you're a new mom, sleep is everything.
And if you can do a couple things
to get better sleep,
I highly recommend it.
The first one is get yourself an eye mask.
So I really like this one
'cause not only is it silk
so it just feels nice on your skin,
but also it's weighted.
I never had a weighted eyes mask before
and it's really soothing.
And the nice thing about an eye mask
is it will create a dark space even when it's
in the middle of the day.
Because when you're a new mom,
you are sleeping all hours of the day.
Anywhere you could fit it,
it's great to get a nap in.
So even if you're not sleeping, this is great,
just to help you relax a little bit.
Even if you're just sleeping throughout the night
this is still really nice,
'cause I find that just the weight
of it helps you just kind of stay in a deeper sleep.
There's something
about it that just kind
of tells my body it's time for sleep.
Because when you're getting woken up throughout the night,
it's sometimes could be hard to settle back
into a good deep sleep.
So I find just completely shutting out any light
and just having that pressure really helps me wind down,
and like I said, fall back to sleep.
So highly recommend, get yourself an eye mask.
If it's weighted even better.
It's kind of like a bean bag.
I've never had one of these before
but this thing gets used every single day.
(Sage squealing)
That Sage in the background chiming in.
So this guy is always in my nightstand
or even if Sage is napping
in the room and I'm napping on the couch.
I used that a ton in that first month stage
where you're napping a lot during the day.
My next thing is another way
to repurpose your nursing pillow
is actually in between your legs
when you're laying down.
I know a lot of times people are just thinking
about pregnancy pillows for when you're pregnant
but they're also really supportive
for when you aren't pregnant anymore,
but your body is still feeling achy
and out of alignment.
So what I do is when I'm sleeping,
I actually put this in between my knees
and it just helps things align a bit better.
And I feel it's just way more comfortable
to sleep like this, as opposed
to just having my knees touch.
Just putting that little cushion in between there,
and where's my eye mask?
All right now I'm ready for a good night's sleep.
Goodnight.
(sighs)
(soft music)
And really that's how you get the good sleep.
(air whooshing)
My next hack is get yourself some headbands
because if you are experiencing
any postpartum hair loss like me
this is where your hair likes to fall out,
right in the front where everyone can see it.
So I have a little,
it looks like I'm starting to shave my head on the side.
I know that's in for some people.
It's not the look I'm going for.
My mom's a hairstylist,
and she says, your hair is weakest at the front.
So that is where it is more likely to fall out.
So I'm definitely getting all over hair loss.
It's scary.
I take a shower, there's hair everywhere.
And as you guys saw in the drain, it's like, you know.
So a nice little hack that I've been doing
and you guys have been asking me a ton
of questions on where I'm getting these cute headbands.
I will link them in the blog posts
but really you can find these anywhere.
All you do, this one probably goes more with my outfit.
You just,
you just put it on, and guess what?
It hides those corners that are disappearing.
And it's also, it's cute, it's comfortable.
And if you are trying to get your hair out of the way
when it comes to holding baby.
Sage is in a hair pulling stage right now.
Even when I'm breastfeeding,
it's just nice not to have all my hair fall forward.
So the headband is actually functional
but it's just nice to hide away the hair fallout-idge.
You know what I mean?
So I got a few fun colors for spring.
I'm really into the headbands.
Honestly, hair falling out or not,
I'm really into the headband trend
and yeah, I'm in for it.
So, you know, and they're just fun.
And I'm so sick of hair wearing my hair up
in a bun or ponytail.
So this is just like another way.
I feel like my ears are sticking out.
It's another way just to have you hair back
but still look cute, you know?
So get headbands, they're cute.
(air whooshing)
All right, those are my postpartum hacks or tips,
whatever you want to call them.
I hope that they help you out in your own healing
and postpartum journey.
As I mentioned, I have a full mommy and baby playlist.
I will link that down below if you guys want
to just follow along my journey.
And if you want
to see a six-month postpartum body update,
I can definitely do that for you guys
in a blog or something.
I'm gonna be six months in a month,
'cause Sage is five months right now.
That's crazy.
Honestly, time goes by so much faster of her outside
of my belly than in my belly, I feel like.
But it's been a really exciting journey.
And just sharing with you guys has been really fun
and hopefully I'm not scaring you guys.
I know sometimes it can seem like a lot of things
that maybe were unexpected,
but you know what, it's all worth it
as I always say.
And you know, it's just like,
it's fun to just find some hacks and things
to make it a little bit easier
to function in your new mom
and postpartum bod and life.
So I hope you guys enjoyed the video.
Be sure to subscribe, click that button down below.
Give this video a thumbs up if you like postpartum
and mommy content.
And I will see you guys in my next video, bye guys!
All right, does this gives me like cool mom vibes?
Yeah, coolest thing, yeah okay.
All right, I'm ready for the day, bye!
(soft music)