Preparing for Postpartum Before the Baby Comes

Most pregnancy prep points toward one glowing finish line: the birth. The hospital bag, the birth plan, the car seat, the tiny clothes. But birth isn’t the finish line — birth is the door. On the other side is the fourth trimester: bleeding, feeding, healing, paperwork, visitors, joy, fear, and a newborn with no respect for circadian rhythm. The postpartum period isn’t something to figure out later. Later arrives wearing mesh underwear and holding a baby.