"When I say I’m the ‘planning type’, I mean, I had checklists upon checklists to prepare me through my pregnancy: the hospital bag checklist, the baby-proofing checklist, the birth plan checklist. I even have check marks for making the checklists. But when I came home with my new, cute little bundle of joy, I was struck with haphazardness. My world was turned upside down with postpartum life. I threw all the checklists out the window and went straight into survival mode. While my body was surviving, my head was still trying to keep up with the ‘normalcy’ I used to have. The dialogue in my head sounded something like, “How do I even start? I need to wash the dishes, and I need to do the laundry. I need help, and I don’t know how. What do I do with all these emotions?”
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According to The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, “The weeks following birth are a critical period for a woman and her infant, setting the stage for long-term health and well-being.” What I really needed was a simple guideline to get me through the postpartum days in order to get my head above water. @sharon.a.life recently posted a viral video giving the exact checklist of postpartum advice I actually needed. The viral video labeled ‘Six pieces of postpartum advice you haven’t heard’ has over 1.7 million views, over 242K likes, has been saved over 45K times, and has over 2K comments.
The opening of the viral video looks like a scene from a cooking show, as if @sharon.a.life is Ina Garten herself. She’s standing in the middle of what seems to be her kitchen, casually picking grapes from a bunch. But instead of providing the steps to a dish, she’s providing the steps for a mom to follow postpartum. @sharon.a.life begins talking directly to the camera and says, “I’m a mother of six, and these are six pieces of postpartum advice you won’t hear from anyone else.”
The list of postpartum advice
- If you are planning on breastfeeding, buy a can of formula and just put it in the cupboard. Let me tell you, there is nothing worse than it being 3 a.m.—you’re crying, your baby is crying, your husband is crying—and then he’s driving around for three hours trying to find a place that’s open and has formula. Your baby is going to be fine. You’re going to be fine. Give your baby some formula, and call the lactation specialist in the morning.
- Paper plates. Paper bowls. Everything, paper.
- Lower your expectations. For you. For your baby. For your partner. (She notes, “Partner expectations can swing either way, actually.”)
- For your life, you’re focused on survival right now. Everything else—everything else can wait. You’re going to print out all of the symptoms of postpartum depression. Keep them on a wall somewhere, and you’re going to give the list to your partner, to your best friend, to your mom, and ask them to watch out and bring it up if they see that it’s an issue.
- You are going to make and keep a list of all of the names and numbers of people who can help you immediately when you need it. You think you will remember, but you won’t. You are so tired. Just put a list on your cupboard.
- Everybody says to make sure to shower every day. No, screw that. Just buy some dry shampoo.
Even with my second child in tow, I felt like @sharon.a.life was talking directly to me. This advice can be helpful for anyone in their postpartum stage. I may be under the umbrella of a ‘seasoned’ mom, but I found myself thinking, “Where was this when I needed it the most?” Other moms can relate.
“Pregnant with my third baby and still needed to hear this”—@__ashexclusive__
“Girl, as a mom of 4…I WISH someone would’ve told me this at some point”—@CuriouslyCarly0706
“I wish I had this advice when I first had my son! thank you for making this video and bringing awareness for any first time parents!❤️”—@bigmak_pattywak
“WHERE WERE YOU 6 MONTHS AGO 😂”—@katimcgrady
“Gosh, I wish I heard this 2 weeks ago 😵💫😵💫”—@haleypeacock
“All of these are so good!!! I wish I had seen this about 8 weeks ago 😅”—@chef_beccaso
“I love all of these!Wish I heard this two years ago! Thank you so much!”—@tyganbohn21
Moms are backing up the formula advice
Sharon had me hooked into her viral postpartum advice PSA after providing the first step to buy the formula. I can attest that as a person who was originally committed to exclusively breastfeeding, I ended up needing the formula to feed my baby. A majority of comments regarding formula came pouring in, too.
“100% on the formula. You never know when that baby will decide they don’t want to latch and you need an option at 3am”—@Fishermonk
“Yes on the formula!!!!!! And truth is, your baby is not going to forget how to latch if you give them a bottle one time!!”—@ravenclawnightmare
“Yes to the formula! We used it to supplement 1-2x a day those first few weeks. Our exclusively nursing journey hit 15months last week 🫶🏻”—@khristasandoval
“The formula is sooo accurate… I have it stored just in case. And has it been a saver, hell yes!!!… Will consider making the PPD symptoms !!!”—@Growwithjay💙💜
“The comments here are so much better than on fb, goodness 😭 Yes to the formula, it saved us!”—@mgquilts
“I love my can of emotional support formula. I take it every trip with us just in case 😂”—@magrevolution
“The formula one is so real. I was at my absolute limit 3 days postpartum. My husband made a sanity bottle with the formula and I took a long nap and we never had another issue with nursing”—@hannahbeckmann0
“The formula its so accurate, i gave my son 3 days of formula because i was so exhausted, after 3 days i went back to boobie for 3 years straight! 🔥🤭”—@Jamms_k18
People are finding this list helpful, especially regarding PPD
People are also chiming in with how one certain step within @sharon.a.life’s viral advice helped them or a family member postpartum. The ones most notably mentioned have to do with postpartum depression.
“That list for [postpartum] depression/ anxiety to friends and family! GENIOUS!!! Do it! Wish I had that advice. Please call someone. Mine was our pediatrician. She saved me. ❤️”—@spiffy_halloween4
“My sister in law made sure my husband knew what to look for in PPD/PPA just in case❤️”—@lacey_davis16
“👏👏👏 All of these but especially the PPD list!!!!Needed that huuuge! ❤️”—@nlranweiler
“the PPD list is such a fantastic idea. I wish I’d done that”—@anothercuteanimal
“thank you for the PPD mention, my older sister had it rough with her last and it was horrible to watch her go through (older sisters tend to think they don’t need to ask for help sometimes 😉) 🩷”—@lightningmcbean69
“Wow the list of symptoms brought me to tears… PPD is a badge of honor I never wanted to earn ☹️😫 Using this for baby 3.”—@user35998642
Final thoughts
I would say @sharon.a.life’s list of advice is something most expecting moms should hear. The postpartum stage doesn’t look the same for everyone, but new and experienced moms need support. Her viral postpartum advice is both helpful and supportive. This checklist is one I’m hanging on to.
Patty Schepel, Editorial Intern
As the editorial intern, Patty works with The Everymom’s team on pitches, creating original articles, updating existing content, photo sourcing, writing shopping product descriptions, inputting freelance articles, and more. When she’s not working, you can find her spending time with her family, training for half marathons—she ran one 16 weeks pregnant—traveling, cooking, reading a rom-com, and keeping her sourdough starter, Rose, alive.