Mandela Cocores: This Mom Pre-Batched Martinis After Giving Birth
Mandela Cocores on her postpartum self-care ritual.
Our special ritual is Friday movie nights. We started it before the pandemic because I needed one night with no plans for our family. Rye picks the movie (usually Mean Girls) and both kids use the Gorilla app to pick out the snacks: popcorn, chips, salsa, lots of candy, Oreos, a big cheese board, or frozen foods. At the end of every week, Lennon now asks, “Is it movie night?!”
Making the most of our commutes and postpartum planning…
Once a week I’ll walk Rye to karate. It’s a 40-minute commute, and I learn about everything going on in his brain. He asks a lot of questions like, “Why does this tree grow there?” “Will I have to run Welcome Home after you die?” “Will you tell me how you met Daddy again?” He wants to talk nonstop and dives deep into his feelings and future anxieties about middle school and high school which I can’t believe isn’t that far away!
Before giving birth to his little brother at the hospital, I pre-batched one martini for myself to drink after coming home. It was cold and delicious. I did this because four years earlier, Timmy and I actually wheeled Rye to the grocery store to buy the martini supplies, and people were like, this baby looks fresh. He was three days old. [Laughs]
The best parenting advice? Ignore it all.
A friend who recently had a baby told me, “What me and my partner do is best for our baby. All of the advice—I’m not going to listen to that. I’m going to do what’s right for us.” That perspective has resonated with me the most. I need my life to have flexibility so my kids’ lives need flexibility too. We try to do everything together as a unit too. It can be hectic to coordinate, but that way we have these shared experiences to bond over.
I love spending time with my kids even if they annoy the heck out of me. Before Welcome Home, my previous job stressed me out so much I couldn’t be present. Now I’m much better equipped to separate family and work. When I stop worrying about whatever I’m worrying about and my mind is clear and I’m being present with them, that’s the best thing in the entire world.
Mandela Cocores is the founder of Welcome Home, a meal delivery service for postpartum parents and growing families. Timmy Cocores is a product manager. They live with their two sons, Rye (7) and Lennon (3), in Brooklyn. Their interview appeared in It’s More Fun with You: 36 Families on the Everyday Magic of Raising Kids, a limited-edition book by Charmspring.
