Ideas for supporting from a distance:
- Tell her she is doing a great job
- Ask about both her personality and the baby
- Avoid asking “ What can I do to support?” Use more focused questions rather than open-ended questions. like ‘Is it OK if I do send groceries?’ or ‘I made you cookies, when can I drop them off?’
- If you’ve had a baby yourself, get specific when you ask how they’re doing.
- Send an inspirational Ted talk
- Send a funny memes
- Send a picture od a favorite memory of the two of you together
- Record a voice memo and tell her to listen to it when she is having a tough moment
- Have the mom record a voice memo about her experience and then offer to transcribe it for her ( there are free apps that can transcribe it into a first draft!)
- Have the mom record a voice memo that is a letter to her new little one and then offer to transcribe it for her
- Gift certificate for a postpartum doula
- Video calls
- Take a picture of the mama through the video call
- Stretch or move with them over a video call
- Record a voice memo and tell her to listen to it when she is having a tough moment
- Create a jar of notes with things you admire and love about the mama throughout the 100 days and then give it to her at the end (you can ask others to send you thoughts to put into it)
- Send a card with a poem inside
- Create a photo book for her of special memories
- Offer to help with thank you cards
- Send a laundry service
- Send groceries
- A membership to a grocery delivery service
- Hire a cleaning crew
- Make a donation in her name
- Help with research on a topic they are concerned about
- Healthy snacks
- Create a self-care basket
- Handmade sugar scrubs
- Herbal Teas
- Bath Oils
- Subscription boxes
- Help keep siblings occupied over zoom
- Make a meal that can be frozen and eaten later
- Give them a gift certificate for a fun class to take later
- Send an easy-to-care-for plant
- Cozy robes and pajamas
- Run errands
- Send essentials like toilet paper
Ideas for supporting when mama is ready for visitors:
- Take a picture of the mama (She doesn’t get many with her in them!)
- Go on a walk together
- Go to the doctors with her
- Babysit older siblings
- Help with house chores (folding laundry, put any dishes in the sink away)
- Create a food station set in the kitchen with healthy snacks and coconut water
- Gift certificates for massages
- Cooking a new recipe together
- Help them organize nursery baby items
- Hold baby while mama sleeps or showers
- Help show her how to use baby gear
- Help her go on a date night
- Help with pets
- Come over and just hang out with her