Bone-Deep Fatigue
Rest doesn’t touch it.
You’re Not Failing. You Might Be Depleted.
Beyond the Prenatal Vitamin: Why You Still Don’t Feel Like Yourself After Having a Baby
Available now in hardcover, paperback and ebook.
Take it from a NICU nurse: when a new mom feels this bad, there’s often a reason. This book helps you figure out what to ask about.
The Exhaustion No One Explains
You Were Told This Was “Just Motherhood.” Sometimes It Isn’t.
You sleep, and you wake up just as tired. You walk into the kitchen and can’t remember why. There’s more hair in the shower drain than there should be, your moods don’t feel like yours, and if you’re nursing, your supply won’t budge no matter what you try. Everyone says it’s normal. Some of it is. But I see moms every week where something else is going on, and it’s worth a closer look with your provider.
Brain Fog
Forgetting words, losing your train of thought.
Hair Loss
More than normal postpartum shedding.
Low Milk Supply
It’s a symptom, so look for the why. If your baby isn’t gaining, get seen today.
These symptoms can have a lot of different causes. The book helps you figure out which ones to bring up with your provider.
Some symptoms can’t wait for a book. Call 911 or go to an emergency room now if you have chest pain or trouble breathing, bleeding that soaks a full pad in an hour, the worst headache of your life or sudden trouble seeing, fainting, any thought of harming yourself or your baby, or if you’re seeing or hearing things others don’t. That’s not the full list, and if something feels badly wrong, don’t wait. For emotional emergencies in the U.S., call or text 988, or call or text the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline at 1-833-TLC-MAMA (1-833-852-6262), free, confidential, 24/7.
About the author
Written by a NICU Nurse Who’s Also Been the Exhausted Mom
I’m Lazara Briones, RN, IBCLC. I’ve cared for newborns and their mothers for 33 years. I’m still in the NICU on weekends, and during the week I help families as a lactation consultant. I had my own babies at the very start of my nursing career, so I know this tired from both sides. This book grew out of the questions moms ask me all the time.
NICU Registered NurseInternational Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC)
Plain language, built on research and what I see in practice. You bring it to your provider; you don’t follow it alone.
Inside the book
Fourteen Chapters, Written for a Tired Brain
You don’t have to read it cover to cover. Start with the chapter that sounds like you.
The Nutrients You Gave Away (Chapters 1–4)
The vitamins and minerals pregnancy and nursing pull from your body, the foods that put them back, healing broths, and the nutrients your brain needs to feel like itself again.
Labs and Supplements (Chapters 5–7)
Which labs are worth asking about, like ferritin, a full thyroid panel, vitamin D, B12, and RBC magnesium and zinc, how to choose a supplement you can trust, and ways to lower your risk of depletion.
Blood Sugar, Gut, Stress and Sleep (Chapters 8–10)
Steadier energy, recovering after gestational diabetes, your gut, and what cortisol has to do with how wiped out you feel.
Putting It Into Practice (Chapters 11–14)
A daily meal plan, supporting your milk supply, losing the baby weight without losing your milk, and turning it all into a plan you can actually keep.
Also inside: “When It Is Not Depletion,” the warning signs that need a doctor instead of a nutrient, plus ready-to-use letters for your provider, whether you’re nursing or not.
Education only. Nothing in this book replaces care from your own healthcare provider.
Inside the workbook
Built for Real Life With a Newborn
The workbook turns the book into checklists and trackers you can fill in one-handed. Checkboxes, not essays. It’s 87 pages with a daily dashboard up front so you always know where to start. It’s available in print on Amazon and as a fillable PDF for your phone, tablet or computer.
Start Here
Your daily dashboard, “If You Can Only Do 3 Things This Month,” a Postpartum Warning Signs page, and a My Care Team page. Fill in your care team now, so the numbers you need are already there at 2 a.m.
Module 1, Know Your Body
Your postpartum baseline and a lab tracker with a target to discuss with your provider for each test, so you walk into appointments prepared.
Module 2, Nourish Yourself
A weekly meal planner, mix-and-match meal ideas, a batch cooking checklist, and the Postpartum Power Nut Jar.
Module 3, Supplement Smart
A daily supplement schedule and tracker, and how to vet a supplement before you buy it. Always with your provider’s okay first.
Module 4, Gut & Immunity
A gut health tracker and simple ways to support your gut while you recover.
Module 5, Restore & Recover
A sleep log and 4-7-8 breathing for the nights your mind won’t shut off.
Take it with you
Two ready-to-fill letters for your provider (one if you’re nursing or pumping, one if you’re not), an “After You Get Your Results” guide, and cut-out fridge cards.
Pricing
Choose How You Start
Get the book and workbook in print or Kindle on Amazon, or as PDFs right here.
The Book
AVAILABLE NOW
Hardcover $27.99 · Paperback $19.99 · Kindle $9.99
The postpartum recovery guide your OB never handed you: what pregnancy took, how to find it, and how to rebuild. On Amazon.
The Workbook, Paperback
AVAILABLE NOW
$24.99
Beyond the Prenatal Vitamin Workbook: Labs, Food, Supplements and Calm for the Exhausted Mother. The printed companion in full color, on Amazon.
The Book, Ebook PDF
AVAILABLE NOW
$9.99
The full book as a PDF you can read on your phone, tablet or computer, bought right here.
The Workbook, Fillable PDF
AVAILABLE NOW
$17.99
The same 87-page workbook as a fillable PDF. Fill it in on your phone, tablet or computer, one-handed if you need to.
Best Value
The Bundle: Ebook PDF + Fillable Workbook
AVAILABLE NOW
$22.99
$27.98 separately
The whole book and the fillable workbook, together, for less than the printed workbook alone.
The book and workbook are for education only and don’t replace care from your own healthcare provider.
Free download
Not Ready to Buy Yet? Start With the Free Guide.
Essential Nutrients for Postpartum Moms
Postpartum depletion can occur for both lactating and nonlactating moms. Part of your recovery depends on getting back the essential nutrients lost during pregnancy and birthing. This guide gives you daily targets for each nutrient and the foods that provide them, with one column if you're breastfeeding or pumping and one if you're not. It can help you get started on the road to feeling your best self again. Reclaim your energy and your optimal well-being; that is my heartfelt desire for you.
These targets are general education, not medical advice. Check your own needs and any supplement changes with your healthcare provider. Signing up adds you to my email list. Unsubscribe anytime.
Get the Free Guide
Coming soon
More Is on the Way
The Beyond the Prenatal Vitamin Course
Ten short lessons, each one short enough to finish during a feed. I show you how to ask your provider for the full lab panel, read your results when they come back, fill in your supplement plan, and check whether a bottle is worth buying. Nursing, pumping or formula feeding, this one is about you.
The Ask Lazara Community
Ongoing support for breastfeeding, newborn care, sleep and postpartum recovery, with live Q&As.
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