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Postpartum Must Haves

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?

 

postpartum must haves

*This post does contain affiliate links.

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Postpartum Essentials Basket

UPDATE: Since having my baby, I wanted to do a quick update to my postpartum essentials basket on what I actually used or didn’t use! Click here to see my postpartum must haves!

In preparation for delivery and postpartum, I wanted to create my own postpartum kit with everything that I might need when I get home from the hospital.

I am a huge researcher and planner and like to be as prepared as possible. Let’s get real here: labor is hard. Recovery is hard. Being prepared is going to help ease some of the stress

Some of these things the hospital should send home with you, however, I wanted to make sure I was prepared in both of my bathrooms so I would have access to all the necessary items on both floors.

  • Pads – Apparently you will bleed (a lot) after delivery. Think of all the periods you were able to skip for the last 9 months seeking revenge! The hospital will give you pads, but you will need more and the hospital pads look pretty hardcore. For this I chose two kinds: Overnight, heavy flow for the beginning and a thinner, overnight for later. 
  • Tucks Pads – Hemorrhoids are real, ladies. They are pretty common after pushing out a baby. Not only are these Witch Hazel soaked pads perfect for easing hemorrhoid pain and discomfort, they also can help your whole area with swelling.
  • Peri Bottle – After delivery, you are going to be swollen. You aren’t going to want to use toilet paper at first on such a sensitive area. So the hospital will give you this spray bottle to squirt warm water on your lady bits after using the bathroom. The hospital should send you home with at least one, but I wanted one for each of my bathrooms. 
  • Dermoplast – Again, you’re going to be swollen and in pain. This product helps to “freeze” the area to help with both of those things. Make sure you get the BLUE top! They may give you one of these to take home. 
  • Nursing Pads –  If you are breastfeeding, you are going to leak. So I have stocked both of my baskets with Lansinoh Disposable nursing pads that I received free in gift bags from Target and Buy Buy Baby for creating a baby registry with them. I also purchased a set of organic, reusable nursing pads. I have read pros and cons to both types of nursing pads, so I wanted to try both and see which works best for me. 

Other: (these items are not essential, but will be convenient to have)

  • Earth Mama Baby Angel Postpartum Bath Herbs – Another way to help combat the pain, swelling, and discomfort post-baby is using a Sitz bath to soak in when you get home. The hospital may send you home with one. These  bath herbs are like a large tea bag to put into your pad, sort of like a Tucks pad, but you can freeze these herbs to help with pain and swelling. I purchased these on Black Friday for a really good deal, so I thought I would try them instead of buying a whole Sitz bath and herbs to put in it. 
  • Lansinoh Hot or Cold Breast Therapy  – I also received these for free in a registry gift bag from Target. You can use them hot or cold, which is perfect when breastfeeding to help let down milk and also to help with engorgement issues. If you didn’t want to purchase these, you could use frozen bags of vegetables or wash cloths. 

Not shown: (the following items are either in my hospital bag or in my medicine cabinet)

  • Earth Mama Baby Angel Nipple Cream – You will need some kind of nipple cream to combat the constant sucking. A lot of women like Lanolin Nipple Cream, however, if you have a wool allergy, you will want to avoid Lanolin. I just love EMBA, so I am choosing to use this cream instead. 
  • Ibuprofen – This is a must! It is what they will give you in the hospital post-baby and will help with pain and swelling at home.
  • Colace – Your provider will give you a prescription for a stool softener to help with your first post-baby bowel movement. I have heard that it is not a pleasant experience. Yay. I didn’t want to deal with stopping to pick-up or drop-off a prescription after the baby, so I purchased this on my own. 
  • Padsicles – The hospital should offer you ice packs after delivery, which is helpful,  but this DIY ice pack will help with swelling and pain using regular pads, aloe and witch hazel. I have stocked my freezer with a freezer bag full. 
  • New Mama Bottom Spray – This will be similar to Dermaplast, but with natural ingredients. I purchased a package of different things from EMBA on Black Friday and wanted to try this as replacement to Dermaplast. 
  • Bottom Balm – Again, this came in a package I purchased on Black Friday, but I have heard great things about this bottom balm, so I want to give it a try! 

Is there anything else you would or did include in your postpartum essentials kit?

 

 

 

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DIY Postpartum Padsicles

As I’m entering my last few weeks of pregnancy, I’m prepping for bringing the baby home and for my postpartum recovery. I have read that these padsicles are a necessity, so I wanted to make up a bunch to throw in my freezer to help ease my recovery as much as possible.

These are really easy to make and are essentially ice packs for your postpartum lady area. In the hospital, they should offer you ice packs to keep the swelling down after birth.

However, padsicles are extra special! Witch Hazel helps reduce swelling, helps repair broken skin, and naturally fights bacteria. Aloe also helps with swelling, cools, and soothes skin.

You can also add essential oils to the pads like lavender, however, I have had reactions to lavender in lotions and detergents in the past, so I didn’t want to take a risk especially postpartum.

Supplies:

DIY postpartum padsicles steps

Directions:

  1. Carefully open a pad.
  2. Remove paper over wings.
  3. Pour a tablespoon of Witch Hazel over the pad. *If adding essential oil, add a few drops now
  4. Use a tablespoon of aloe and spread over pad. (Eventually I just eyeballed the amounts).
  5. Fold wings back in and replace paper.
  6. Fold pad back up.
  7. Place into freezer bag and into freezer.
  8. Take out one at a time to use as pads. Let that for 2-3 minutes before placing on skin.

 

 

Disclaimer: This post uses affiliate links for products that I have used, purchased, or love.

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