I am now three months postpartum and was recently putting away my postpartum essentials basket and realized I didn’t use everything in my basket, so I wanted to do a quick update to my previous Postpartum Essentials post. There are a few items that really stood out as postpartum winners and they are a MUST HAVE if you ask me.
This is based on my personal experience and you may have a different experience than I did. I also was in the hospital for three days after I had my baby, so they provided me with ice packs, pads, mesh underwear, Tucks Pads, Ibuprofen, and pain relieving spray/foam.
Must haves:
- Peri Bottle – You will need this. The hospital should give you one, but I bought an extra one so I could be prepared in both of my bathrooms.
- Earth Mama Angel Baby Mama Bottom Balm – First of all, I love this company. All of their products are awesome, but this one in particular is simply amazing. I will never have a baby without this product and I really can’t recommend it enough. There are tons of people who recommend Dermoplast, which I did have, but rarely used. I would chose the Bottom Balm before Dermoplast. If there is one item you take away from this post, this should be it. It helps heal and soothe after labor. I would put this on every time I went to the bathroom and I really think it’s one of the reasons why I healed so quickly. It is fairly expensive for such a tiny amount, but honestly, I would pay anything for this stuff!
- Tucks Pads – Another must! What I would do is put on Bottom Balm and layer my pad with Tucks Pads. It was so soothing and made me feel so much better! I did receive these in the hospital, but went through a ton at home. Next time, I will have a large stock of these!
- Pads – Obviously you need these. However, I had purchased a ton of the thicker pads, but didn’t really use them as much. I did spend three days in the hospital though, so I did use the thick pads there, but at home I used way more of the thinner pads. I mainly used the thicker pads for night time. However, this is from my personal experience, so you may have more postpartum bleeding than I did.
- Underwear – I did go out and buy some cheap(ish) boy short underwear before I delivered. I did like the mesh underwear from the hospital, but definitely wanted “real” underwear for at home. These boy shorts were perfect to hold everything in place!
- Ibuprofen – Definitely need. It helps with the pain and swelling. I did receive a prescription from my doctor before leaving the hospital, but I had some at home just in case.
- Colace – This helps to ease your first bowel movement after delivery. You will most likely need this. I began taking it right after I left the hospital ‘just in case’ and will do so for every baby. However, I think the fear instilled in me reading about “the first poop,” made me super nervous, but it wasn’t too bad.
- Earth Mama Angel Bottom Spray – After about the first week or so, I didn’t really need Tucks Pads and Bottom Balm constantly. I would use this Bottom Spray instead. Not as good as the Bottom Balm, but still soothing.
What I did not use:
- Padsicles – I made a ton of these for my freezer and I think I used maybe two. Some people swear by them, but they are not for me. While I was in the hospital, I was given ice packs that were perfect. After I was home, I tried to use the Padsicles, but they were just too wet feeling. Maybe at that point I didn’t need them anymore. Next time, I will probably just keep ice packs ready in my freezer.
- Nipple Cream – I didn’t (and haven’t) needed nipple cream while nursing. I did use coconut oil while I was learning/getting used to pumping.
- Dermoplast – I did try to use this, but honestly, the Bottom Balm helped me more than anything. I was given a similar pain relieving spray and foam while I was in the hospital and did use it for those first few days. However, after I went home, I stuck to Tucks and Bottom Balm.
- Nursing Pads – I haven’t had any leaking at all. Luckily, I received many of my nursing pads for free in registry gift bags, so I’ll just hold on to them for next time.
What are your postpartum must haves?
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