Do you remember the first days and week after delivering your baby? I remember some things and a lot is a blur. For more than a year I thought my first baby was born on a Saturday when in fact she was born on a Sunday!!!

Our Main Focus After Delivering Our Baby is – Our Baby

It’s hard to focus on much after spending 26 hours in labor trying to deliver a baby and then to end up with an unplanned c-section. Then dealing with all the physical ailments of been cut open, pumped full of fluids, plus take care of your newborn baby. This was my first experience delivering a baby. Each of our experience will be different.  

Working Career Woman Turn Working Career Mom

There’s a lot of information and checklists available about how to prepare for the hospital, delivery and postpartum on the internet. However, I couldn’t find much to help  Working Moms Prepare for making those important phone calls and appointments After Giving Birth.

Know The Things You Must Do After You Deliver Your Baby

My pregnancy book helped guide and prepare me for the arrival of my baby. I wrote everything in the book that I needed to remember. I definitely suffered from pregnancy brain where I would forget things easily. So I wrote everything down, including everyone I needed to call after delivery and their phone numbers.

I’m so thankful I did. I was physically, mentally, emotionally and psychologically tired after laboring for 26 hours. Plus dealing with the impact of having the c-section.

Needless to say, my brain did not have the capacity to remember who to call after delivery.

• Record Your Must-Dos
• Set Reminders on Your Phone and/or Calendars
• Share Them With Your Support Person

10 Things You Must Do After Delivering Your Baby

• Celebrate The Arrival Of Your Baby. Give Thanks!
  
  • Delivering a baby can be unpredictable.
    
  • It can be chaotic during and after delivery. You never know what your delivery story holds. I went into the delivery of my first baby with a “birth plan”. Stating All I Wanted and Did Not Want.
    Not much went as I planned. All the mattered was that my baby and I were safe and healthy.

•  Activate Your Maternity Leave.

  • You need to report the birth of your baby to your company for your maternity leave to officially start.

• Contact The Department That Processes Your Short-term Disability.

  • To ensure you get paid while you’re on maternity leave.

• Process Health Coverage For Your Baby.

  • Your baby will need health coverage.

• Apply For Your Baby’s Birth Certificate.

  • This is needed to be “official”. The hospital, birthing center or midwife usually have the forms and will help you complete them.

• Submit The Forms For Your Baby’s Social Security Number /SSN.

  • In the United States, your SSN is your identification number. The hospital usually assists you with applying as they do with the birth certificate.

• Schedule You and Your Baby’s Doctor’s Checkups.

  • You and the baby will need doctors check-ups after you leave the hospital.

• Inform Your Daycare Provider Of The Arrival Of Your Baby.

  • You may have your baby on a waitlist for a spot at daycare and need to officially confirm that the baby has arrived.

• Consult A Lactation Specialist.

  • I had a doula, who was also a lactation specialist with my first baby. I also consulted the lactation specialist offered by my insurance after my time was over with the Doula. Breastfeeding is no joke. It can make a difference when you have that support.

• Schedule New Born Photoshoot.
  

  • My first baby was born in Florida and the hospital partnered with a company to provide newborn photos in the hospital. The price was very reasonable.
    • The best thing was – they came to our room and got it done before we left the hospital. I had to call and schedule my second baby’s newborn photo shoot.
    • Yes, not a must have/do – but a definite nice to have that I’m forever thankful I did.

Phone Numbers Needed & Calls to Make | After Delivering Your Baby

Other than family and friends. You Need to have a list of the phone numbers handy – easy to find.

Record and keep the phone numbers in a notebook, your phone notes or an email. Whichever works best for you.

• Human Resource and /or Your Supervisor
  • To activate your maternity leave and short-term disability leave.
• Insurance Company
  • To add your baby to you or your spouse’s insurance.
• Pediatrician
  • Pediatricians usually recommend taking newborns in within the first 5 to 10 days of birth.
• OBGYN
  • You need to schedule your postpartum checkup.
• Lactation Specialist
  • I highly recommend taking all the support you can get if you’ll be breastfeeding. The day after I delivered my second baby I took a class in the hospital. My daughters are almost three years apart.
  • Breastfeeding was not like riding a bike. I also consulted with a lactation specialist within the first few weeks after my second daughter was born.
  • This was helpful as I pumped and stored my breastmilk in preparation for going back to work.
• New Born Photographer 
  • Call to schedule your newborn photo shoot. I recommend getting all the details (such as cost, prints, etc.) before your baby is born. We did a combination of a newborn and family photo shoot after our second daughter was born.
  • The price for the actual photoshoot and to “get the pictures” were different. I should not have been handling such things after giving birth and handling everything that comes with that.

Summarizing The Must-Dos After Delivering Your Baby

• Work with your support system (husband, mom, sister, friend) to identify those things you will need to do after you deliver your baby.
• Make a list and the phone numbers you will need. Keep them where they will be easy to find.
• Share a copy with your support system. And ask and take help where you can to make the calls and appointments.
  My husband took care of all the forms for the birth certificate and social security number at the hospital.
• Be sure you take the required documents to complete these forms with you to the hospital as well. It may be your driver’s license and passport. Each State has its own requirements.

My goal is to help you focus on the things you want, after delivering your baby, while taking care of those Important Must Dos.

What other suggestions do you have to help expecting moms preparing for delivery?

What else should she add to her list of Must Dos After Delivery?

I look forward to seeing your suggestions.

Thank you, ladies!