Build Your Nest

Build Your Nest: a Postpartum Planning Workbook

By Kestrel Gates

“A one-of-a-kind planning tool and the perfect companion for families”- C. K. Jarecki, birth author and educator

An indispensable resource for expectant families, this affirming workbook educates and guides readers as they prepare for their newborn. First time and experienced families alike find comfort in having a postpartum care plan specific to their needs, parenting style, family structure, and community.

Divided into manageable sections covering topics like finances, birth planning, Caesarean Section, breastfeeding, mental health and activating community support, this workbook delivers the information most sought after by expecting parents in a format that encourages reflection and dialogue. It offers important considerations for a host of possibilities without overwhelming and leaves parents with the confidence to tackle both the joys and challenges of the postpartum time.

Build Your Nest: a Postpartum Planning Workbook includes:

• holistic tips for healing-practical solutions to common challenges
• journal exercises
• planning calendars and worksheets
• a pregnancy-to-do list
• resources lists
• a complete template for your postpartum plan

While Gates draws on the wisdom of traditional postpartum practices, gently empowering readers to connect with their own lineages, she also puts forth the ideas that postpartum planning can be simple, that there is no one right way, and that having rest, support, and care are possible for everyone.

Build Your Nest: a Postpartum Planning Workbook offers everything parents need to develop an personalized plan that honors the time with a newborn as precious, addresses the need for rest (and how much), considers the needs of siblings, allows community members to plan their support and much more.

“It is our birthright to fully recover from birth and to bond with our babies. In order for this to happen we need to be cared for. We need rest. We need support. All of this can be planned for.” – Kestrel Gates