One of the things that’s often overlooked after birth is the care for the mama. It almost instantly becomes all about the baby, but the truth is, after our bodies (aka these magical vessels which birth life) deliver a baby, there is a lot of healing and adjustment to be had. We need a ton of rest (which is hard with a new baby), a community of help (to help ensure that rest) and proper mind and body nourishment, especially during the first 40 days.

While I was pregnant one of my big worries was, “who is going to help take care of me once the baby is here?!” Not in a bratty way, but in a mindful one. I understood the importance of properly caring for myself so that I could properly care for the baby. I also understood that I would unlikely have the time or energy, especially when it came to food. I did as much work in advance of the baby coming to make things easy on myself including cooking and freezing a handful of recipes which I found from this beautiful book, ‘The First Forty Days,” but I knew it wouldn’t be enough. Luckily, somewhere along the way I was introduced to the idea of a postpartum doula.

Enter: Stephanie Matthias (also known as @RadiantWoman_ on IG). The postpartum doula I had the pleasure of working with. Known as the ‘baby whisperer’ by her devoted clients, she draws on her lifelong love of food and holistic wellness to disrupt the current postpartum experience. Through her food and healing, she helped give me the right support and nourishment to help keep me strong, healthy and radiant those first few months. She helped me through breastfeeding issues, filled my body with all sorts of goodness, and shared her baby wisdom as she is a mother of two herself.

I felt VERY fortunate to be able to work with her and genuinely believe her food and advice helped put me back together, aided in my milk supply and brought a general sense of calmness to my life. Since there’s only one Stephanie and she lives in LA and not everyone can have her, I wanted to bring her work to light here on my site.

SO, over the next several weeks, we’re going to share one recipe of hers a week in the hopes that it helps all you budding mama’s (or second, third, fourth or, dare I say, fifth-time mamas) with your postpartum journey. From bone broths to salmon bowls and delicious green soup, each of her recipes are thoughtfully designed to help with recovery. You won’t want to miss – stay tuned!