by Jess Connell · December 2, 2016

You’ve heard the advice. (heck, I’ve told you to do it!)

“Postpartum moms, REST MORE!!”

And yet, maybe you wonder… what does that practically look like? Especially when we have other children, and when they’re all/only littles, the advice can seem impractical.

“HOW exactly am I supposed to do that?,” you might wonder. Well, look no farther. Here’s how we make it work:

After the first week or so, our postpartum days (when I haven’t yet re-entered our homeschool rhythm) might look something like a simple routine of:

  • breakfast,
  • morning chores,
  • 1-2 hours of educational videos (see #1, below– during this time 1-2 year olds can have independent play in a playpen, eat snacks near mom, etc),
  • morning snack,
  • play outside for a bit,
  • reading time, 
  • lunch,
  • 2nd round of chores/quick-tidy,
  • inside play with toy set (see #5, below),
  • afternoon naps (the older, responsible children have quiet productive free time— possibly while listening to audiobooks),
  • easy-dinner prep (see #2 & #3, below),
  • dinner,
  • hang out time as a family in evening,
  • bedtime at 8. 

In addition to a simple routine, here are 5 practical ways I make postpartum easier on myself:

#1- AUDIOBOOKS & EDUCATIONAL VIDEOS

I’m not generally a fan of devices and screens. However, carefully-chosen electronic solutions are useful to me during the postpartum season, as tools to keep my children intellectually engaged and growing.

Here are some audiobooks & educational DVDs we’ve used (these are the ones the kids actually like!)–

  • Diana Waring audio (engaging narrated history CD series)
  • Torchlighters’ Heroes of the Faith videos (these are currently FREE on Amazon Prime video, but we also own a good number of these DVDs. These are well-done and tell the stories of believers, martyrs, and missionaries from the early church to the present age.)
  • Magic School Bus (GREAT price!!) (the complete TV show)
  • Planet Earth DVDs (excellently-filmed look at fascinating species & locations on earth)
  • Liberty’s Kids (fun cartoon series set during the American Revolution)
  • Discover & Do (Inquisikids DVD set)– Each DVD has dozens of short segments where high school students are carrying out science experiments & sharing their observations. It’s a very basic series, but our kids love it, and have learned a lot from these DVDs.
  • YouTube: “How Do They Do It?” Videos about cooking, archaeology in Israel, world history, hiking/trails, and animals.
  • Times Tales– Easy video method to learn the upper times tables
  • Ken Burns’ documentaries about history– Our favorites (so far) have been Lewis & Clark (the Journey of the Corps of Discovery), The Roosevelts: An Intimate History, and the American Lives (biographical) collection.
  • Cooks Country (we all LOVE this cooking show, and learn so much from it!)
  • John Adams documentary– It’s simply excellent, and while it probably wouldn’t be of interest to younger children, I’d recommend it for kids about 8-10 and up (note: there is one scene, in one of the later episodes, where John & Abigail are reunited after years of separation and, while the details are covered by her voluminous skirts, it is clear that they are being intimate). Incidentally, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas recently declared (

⋅