The Plan Every Mother-to-be Needs to Have for Optimal Mental and Physical Health!

Healthy Mama + baby bonding

During the final months, weeks and days leading up to giving birth it felt like everyone I came in contact with asked me, “Oh, do ya’ have a birth plan?!”

From my own experience and a ton of the moms in my village, the birth plan nearly ever goes according to plan, so while it’s a “nice-to-have”, I wouldn’t get too attached (cue sounds of bubbles bursting). A healthy baby is really the only goal of the birth plan. Can we all agree?

The real plan every mom needs and will be so freakin’ happy they put in place is the “after-birth plan”.

What’s the After-Birth-Plan, you ask? It’s a full-proof way to jump-start your road to recovery in nearly every department of your life by setting expectations for all the key pillars to your wellbeing during postpartum.

Here are a few questions to consider with your support team:

• “When are my/your parents coming to help, if at all?” “Who’s visiting first?” “When?”

• “Do we want visitors at the hospital or do we want that to be just us, bonding with our new little baby?”

• “How much time is your partner taking off of work?”

• “Will it be all at once, or several different days off during the first few months?”

• “What do we think about a night-nurse?”

Click the button above for the full list of the best questions to work through with your partner or whoever makes up your village so you’re in the best position for a smoother transition into motherhood.

If you enjoyed this list, you may also like The Must-Do List Before Baby!

Watch This Today: Improve your mood, energy, memory, relationships and more with this 6 minute video!

I had the pleasure of meeting Maria Shriver and talking with her about wellthier and my goal to empower women with the confidence and tools to optimize their lives. She is amazingly supportive and even more graceful in person than she comes across on TV. Its needless to say, I have an extreme amount of admiration for all that she does to empower women with her books, talks and reporting.

She’s taken on so many important topics effecting women’s health and this short clip is incredible! She sits down with Dr. Sara Gottfried to simplify a few simple hacks to start doing now to improve your mood, energy, relationships, memory, and overall healthspan.

Watch This! Yes.

I hope you all take a moment to take care of yourselves today and call a girlfriend.

The Riveter, Santa Monica

Sincerely,

Laura

Favorite Books of 2018 …

As I finish packing for our trip to Maui, I've carefully qualified which books to bring along to the beach. If you know me, then you may know how much I prioritize reading as a form of self-care. 

Here are a few of my very favorite books that I've fallen in love with over the past few months. (I recommend reading their summaries in the links below!) They've all brought inspiration, knowledge, laughs and nourishment to my life this year. So, here are the top six:

Food, What the Heck Should I Eat? by Mark Hyman. Amazingly simple explanations about what to eat and how to get the right kinds of food into your routine. It's part food history, meal planning, and science giving the right balance for anyone to understand what the heck to eat.

The Little Book of Lykke by Meik Wiking. Lykke means happiness. Learn how to bring more light and happiness into your every day activities. Learn what the happiest people in the world are doing to elevate their quality of life. It's a quick but must-read. 

The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking. Hygge means ... well... there's no one word to describe it actually. It's more of a feeling. Enjoying life's pleasures. Slowing down. Cuddling up. Relaxing. Learn how to embody hygge into your life and what the world's happiest people are doing to bring in more hygge! 

Creating Your Best Life by Caroline Adams Miller. A continual resource for uncovering what matters most and how to prioritize whatever it is that you, in fact, care most about. It's not a read cover-to-cover kind of book, but rather a journal and guide to discovering your best life. 

The Other Einstein by Marie Benedict. Did you ever wonder what was happening behind closed doors while Albert Einstein became a renowned genius? His wife, the other Einstein was the real brains behind the name. It's a heart-breaking and wonderful triumphant tale. 

The Erotic Stories of Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal. When a group of single women get together to pass the time in a writing class in London, erotic stories unfold on the pages before them. I can already see this becoming the next big movie! It's too good to put down. 

What are some of your favorites?? I'm always looking for the next book to add to my nightstand. 

Links to these books (on Amazon): 

• https://www.amazon.com/Food-What-Heck-Should-Eat/dp/0316338869/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1530048565&sr=8-1&keywords=food+what+the+heck+should+i+eat+mark+hyman

• https://www.amazon.com/Little-Book-Lykke-Secrets-Happiest/dp/0062820338/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1530048536&sr=8-1&keywords=the+little+book+of+lykke

• https://www.amazon.com/Little-Book-Hygge-Danish-Secrets/dp/0062658808/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1530048512&sr=1-3&keywords=the+little+book+of+hygge

• https://www.amazon.com/Creating-Your-Best-Life-Ultimate/dp/1402779984/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1530048354&sr=1-1&keywords=creating+your+life+list

• https://www.amazon.com/Other-Einstein-Novel-Marie-Benedict/dp/1492637254

• https://www.amazon.com/Erotic-Stories-Punjabi-Widows-Novel/dp/0062645129

The Real MUST-DO Bucket List Before Motherhood

Let's face it, we all know there are limitations (as well as amazing rewards) once you become someone's "ma-ma". Don't skip any of these 8 must-do's before you enter motherhood, trust! 

So, what are the things we should all check off the list before this all goes down? 

1. Create Your (After) Birth Plan. Forget the birth plan! (I know what you're thinking, "What?! No! I need my birth plan! It's all that I have!") Let's get real for a minute. Who knows what'll end up going down in the delivery room? You may say "oh, natural birth only, please" and walk out 4 days later after an unplanned c-section. So, let's focus on the things we actually have control over; our care and support plan after baby. 

2. Discover & Master a Self-Care Ritual. Why? Because sh*ts about to get real and self-care is the first area of your life to suffer. How are you going to manage being sleep deprived, depleted from the inside out, and having to care for a little one? Not to freak you out, but if you haven't already had this thought, it's time to focus on what's going to make you a calmer, happier person when sh*t hits the fan. Maybe it's meditating, grounding, or priming? Want to know more mind-body techniques to combat the stresses of motherhood so you can actually enjoy the days ahead?  

3. Go to the movies! Trust me, the movies become a distant memory for some time after childbirth because there's the pumping, feeding, lack of sleep and then the high cost to leave the house for 2-3 hours (child care). As someone who's not a huge movie-buff this has recently become a fantasy that I long for.  

4. Take a trip! Soak up hassle-free exploration & adventure. It's not easy hiking Yosemite with a little one, or even staying in a hotel room with a pack n play. Enjoy the freedom and luxury of being on "your time". 

5. Take up a hobby. Always wanted to become certified as a chef? Learn a new language? Maybe just a fun craft project you've kept on your Pinterest board and have had no time to make it happen? Now's the time! Once you have a little one, you'll find little to no time to do the leisure activities you've been daydreaming about. Make it happen now. 

6. Detox Your Home. - Clean out the clutter. Remove the toxic chemicals. Simplify. Make your home a place to thrive for you and your future family. :) Learn more about how to easily detox your home, below. 

7. Sleep in. Often!! - Once those first few months of motherhood begin, and you're up round the clock, you'll long for the days of sleeping in and cuddling up in the morning. Take advantage now of all of that sleepy morning fun and snoozing the alarm. The wake up call of your baby is real and un-snooze-able. 

8. Have THE talk. I'm talking about expectations. How's this all going to go down? Who's waking up to get the baby? Are you going to nurse then pass baby off to your partner for burping and getting back to sleep? Is your partner going back to work soon after or taking leave? Is the family coming to stay to help support you? If you can knock this out, you'll be way ahead of the game and avoid major tension and potential fights when baby arrives. 

What else?! Think of anything else you plan to do before motherhood? Maybe you're already deep into parenting and you've got some advice for other new moms? Leave a comment below! 

xo, L

MUST-READ Books To Prepare for Pregnancy & Motherhood

*Disclaimer: These books are about YOU and how to actually enjoy and be prepared for the journey ahead. After all, we can all follow along with the "What to Expect When You're Expecting" app to peek into the womb and learn what's going on in there each week (I know I did), but what the heck is happening to YOU during & after pregnancy? You know, when you're new life starts! 

Here are the three 'must-reads' to set yourself up for the best first year into motherhood so you can actually enjoy this new life rather than just survive it. 

1. The Fab Mom's Guide.

Why this is a must-read, in 10 words.... Gives you permission to do what YOU need to Do!

She's non-judgmental, and tells it like it is. You've got an instant bestie along for the ride when you read this one. I read this during the first few weeks postpartum and which I had read it sooner!

2. Bringing Up BeBe

The author gives you direct actionable steps to take to sleep through the night earlier and raise a toddler you can take out to eat who wont completely stress you out.

Thanks to this book, we had Olivia sleeping through the night by 3 months old and never had to sleep train.

3. The Third Option

Dreading going back to the 40+ hour a week job because you know you're going to miss out on the majority of your new little baby's life?

Have no fear, The Third Option is here! It's not just "stay home with baby" or "go back to work and miss everything". You'll have an entirely new perspective when it comes to "having it all"! You can do everything you want, it may just take a few modifications. Learn how to talk to your boss and partner about needing a third option.

Have any other books that you really love? Let me know! I'd love to see what they are! Maybe you've already read one or three of these?! Share what was a gold nugget for you.  Comment Below. 

Top 3 Hacks for a Smooth Transition Back to Work After Maternity Leave

It's totally normal to have mixed feelings about going back to work, even though it may not be all roses at home with the little one. You're most likely going feel that cliche (but so real) #momguilt. The last thing you need is #momguilt on top of a stressful first week back into the swing of things at the office.  

Here are my top 3 tips for a smooth transition: 

1. Start on a Wednesday or better yet, Thursday. You've had some time away from the corporate grind and it's not to be taken lightly. Start slow to ease back in. Be gentle with yourself. 

2. If it makes sense for you, pop in before your first day. It's going to be overwhelming with the questions about how you're doing. "Is it hard being away from .." "OMG you're back! blah blah blah" While all of the sentiments are sweet, it can be distracting and emotional for you. I suggest popping in at the end of a work day maybe a week or so before your official first day to get reacquainted. Maybe even grab lunch with your core friends at work. 

3. Confirm that HR has everything ready for you. - your workspace is up and running and your "mother's room" has everything you need (comfortable seating, fridge, sink, privacy!). We can't have you feeling frazzled about where to pump at work! 

Bonus Tip! 4. Leave a backup shirt & a blanket in your desk! - You need conveniences that you're used to at home in case you spill/leak milk. And a blanket, well that's just good sense.

Want to know more useful tips to make the transition super easy? Or know someone going back to work from leave? Learn more about transitioning back to the office, by clicking below.