These are just a few of the items I found I loved and needed as soon as I got home from the hospital. Of course, as with everything else these may not be the same for every mama, and a number of these items were helpful due to the type of delivery I had and the physical road to recovery ahead for me (some graphic/explicit details below).
2) Dermoplast – I stole this from my hospital room. You should too. This spray will numb your lady parts after you go to the bathroom, and it feels heavenly.
3) Nursing Tanks – I found these to be so much more comfortable than nursing bras. Since I wasn’t going out of the house much in the first month, I basically lived in nursing tanks. The ones I purchased from Target seemed to be the most cost-effective (for good quality).
4) Lounge pants – Pajama pants, yoga pants, lounge pants, whatever you’d like to call them. I sent Mr. Checkers out to buy me a few pairs of loose-fitting pants with an elastic waistband. This was the other essential postpartum clothing item. On any given day (at any time of the day) when I was home in those first few weeks, you could find me in a nursing tank and a comfy pair of pants!
5) Tucks Witch-hazel pads – I think this was also combined in my loot from the hospital. These are great to line your big thick pads with when you’re feeling pain in your nether regions and/or you are suffering from hemorrhoids postpartum.
6) Breast pads – If you plan on breastfeeding you will definitely need breast pads! I didn’t realize this until my milk came in and woke up with a soaking wet shirt at 2 AM. I was confused (I thought I was just sweating excessively, which was not abnormal since I was sweating like a pig postpartum). Just once I sniffed my shirt I realized it was milk. I would get at least a box of these prior to delivery and have them ready at home.
7) Nursing pillow – Based off of the recommendation of a few friends, I registered for a Brest Friend pillow and I found it did help support me during breastfeeding. I have heard a lot of comments re: Boppy vs. Brest Friend, and it seems they both have some pros and cons. A number of moms I know swear by the Boppy, whereas others love the Brest Friend pillow. I think it is really personal prefer
8) Overnight pads – My mom friend recommended I buy a pack before I deliver since I would be bleeding for awhile post-delivery. I asked her if the Ultra Thin Overnight pads would do, but she encouraged me to get the Extra Heavy Overnight pads. I put these to good use, although I didn’t need the entire package. The bulk of the heavy bleeding probably only lasted about a week, and then I was able to switch to the thinner pads.
9) Free Meals – Any new mom will be ecstatic if you can create/organize a Meals on Wheels system for her postpartum. I know many churches do this, and this has been the norm for most of my mom friends, where someone will organize a weekly schedule of meals for a number of weeks so the new parents do not have to worry about going out or cooking (especially when no one is sleeping). There are convenient websites like www.takethemameal.com that make it easy for friends to sign up for a date and say what meal they plan to bring. The organizer can add the dates for the meals, address, time of drop-off, food restrictions, etc. We had meals coming for weeks on end and we are so grateful for all the friends who provided this for us!
10) Preparation H Medicated wipes -If you were afraid to go Number Two post-delivery, raise your hand! I was no exception, and I have my ‘rrhoids to thank for that. These medicated wipes made the experience much less painful, and they really were a lifesaver. I used them for about four to six weeks postpartum.
What other items would you add to this list?
Postpartum Care Essentials part 2 of 11
1. Postpartum Pain Relief by Checklists2. Postpartum Essentials for Mom by Mrs. Checkers
3. Postpartum Survival Kit by Mrs. Superhero
4. New Mom Tips by Mrs. Bee
5. Post Vaginal Delivery Recovery - Day 6 by Mrs. Bee
6. Postpartum Essentials by Mrs. Pen
7. Postpartum Survival Kit by Mrs. Oatmeal
8. How to Survive the Early Days of Motherhood by Mrs. Tea
9. Things I thought were invaluable during the first month by Mrs. Chipmunk
10. Postpartum wardrobe - Where to Splurge and Where to Save by Mrs. Confetti
11. 5 things I wish I had known. by Mrs. Owl
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21616 posts
I second the tucks pads and the take them a meal!
My church group uses take them a meal to plan about 3 weeks worth of meals and it was such a huge blessing to me.
Oh and the nursing pads were a must – I was a leaky mess – especially at night!
grapefruit / 4669 posts
Thank you for this! I think I’m gonna try and stock up on postpartum stuff over the holiday break so I appreciate advice about essentials.
hostess / wonderful persimmon / 25556 posts
YES to all of these things. I’d like to add colace – I took it forever to heal down there. Pooping post-baby is scary.
Please take your friends who just had babies HOT meals. Forget the freezer stuff. Spend an evening making dinner. Make some for yourself and some for your friend. Take that friend that meal while it is still warm. A church friend did this for us and it was fantastic. We had to do nothing! She gave us salmon, pasta, salad, salad fixings and ice cream for dessert.
GOLD / nectarine / 2884 posts
Puppy pads! For your bed. Just like the pads they put on your hospital bed. Also I used little boy’s tightie whities instead of undies– broad bottom you see. I didn’t want no undies riding up while I had stitches (cue horror movie scream). I also liked having nightgowns to wear. I don’t think I wanted anything really tight on my groin until after my stitches healed. I wore my HUSBAND’S pajama pants back to the hospital for baby’s bilirubin test. And of course we ran into someone we knew! Totally horrifying, but again– tightness around the groin= awful.
I did not like the ice packs they give you at the hospital. Too bulky! I felt like I had to be adjusting all the time which made it harder to get comfortable. I stopped using them after day one. Dermoplast is the best though. I got my nurse to get me another bottle on my way out. I am sure I paid a pretty penny for it eventually! Lol!
Also everyone needs to start taking stool softeners the minute they pop out that baby. Take the max dose as often as possible. You have to come to terms with the reality of the situation, which is that you’ll eventually have to poop again. Make it easier on yourself!
I HATED the boppy at first and really preferred the My Breast (didn’t own it, but my LC used it). My baby kept falling in the “hole” in the boppy so I basically had to keep him held up all the time. Now that he is older I love the boppy because it has the hole and his arm can kinda sink into that spot. Plus it is good for tummy time, picture propping, and playing. So I’m glad we ended up with it. I would actually suggest getting both. It would really be useful to have a nursing pillow in my bedroom and in my main living area– I am always running from one place to another to get mine!
GOLD / nectarine / 2884 posts
And by the way, everyone needs to take the time to get those meds on the way home from the hospital. My husband was so so tired when we got him but I was like “sorry, kid. I can take meds in 30 minutes, so chop chop!”
The episiotomy was sorta horrifying for me. I think I was a bit of a drama queen!
blogger / persimmon / 1220 posts
Ahh how could I forget stool softener? Definitely a must-have!
clementine / 943 posts
I also agree with little boys tightie whites or the jockey cotton boy shorts- so comfy!
Also dry shampoo, because showering sometimes doesn’t happen.
I loved it when people brought a hot meal like lasagna but portioned out, so some was for eating right away, and the rest went in the freezer for later!
persimmon / 1472 posts
Yea I call BS on whoever said BF is not painful – my toes curled and I had to muffle a scream every time DD latched for the first 3 weeks. I was a bloody (literally) mess. DH was horrified watching me nurse those first few weeks and always asked if it was normal. I wanted throw him out the window for asking me that (I kid… not really……).
grapefruit / 4819 posts
I would say buy the things above in small quantities to see what you actually end up needing! I only used lanolin for a couple of weeks, stopped needing heavy duty pads by day 4, and never needed breast pads (even though I am EBF’ing), tucks pads, dermoplast, or preparation H. I now have a pack and a half of heavy duty pads and two unopened boxes of breast pads sitting in my house – so buy in small quantities, then see what you’re actually using and have your DH or someone else buy more of what you need!
I do second the stool softener though – possibly more of a mental thing than anything but it did make it a lot easier to use the bathroom afterwards!
bananas / 9357 posts
Yes to all of those! And the stool softener is a must!
I hope you ladies don’t hate me, but BFing wasn’t painful for me. Only slight pain when he first latched on for a few seconds and that only lasted a couple of weeks. I think I got lucky and I started using nipple cream while in the hospital.
guest
They gave me the stool softener in the hospital… but also discouraged me from taking too many, because the pills can work a little TOO well and… well, you know… But otherwise, I think the list is spot on! And I’m jealous of anyone who doesn’t need nursing pads – I’m 6 months in now and still wear them ALL. THE. TIME. (so so sexy)
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21616 posts
@Mrs. Sketchbook: hahaha I actually asked them for a bunch of pads from the hospital – they also gave me the mesh undies, some huge pads and some ice paks. The ice paks were amazing!
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21616 posts
@mrskc: same here. I was incredibly blessed. BF was so easy for us.
coconut / 8234 posts
I had most of the stuff on this list and ended up with a C-section so now I have dermoplast and preparation H that I don’t need. Colace is a MUST!
I would say a couple of pairs of larger higher waisted underwear–just in case of C-section. I had to send my hubby out for some because my undaroos rubbed against the incision.
squash / 13764 posts
An appointment with a lactation counselor! That was the most vital post partum thing for me…it’s what helped breastfeeding become manageable. Also, I like motherlove nipple cream better than lanolin–it’s easier to spread around.
blogger / persimmon / 1220 posts
@Ree723: You never needed breast/nursing pads? WOW, that’s amazing!
GOLD / wonderful apricot / 22276 posts
I agree with all of this! Plus stool softeners, make those your best friend. A peri bottle is nice too, after using the bathroom. Plus, get some underwear you don’t care about in case they get ruined, and they will.
blogger / eggplant / 11551 posts
Great list! I brought a ton of the dermoplast home from the hospital and still have a couple bottles left to use for the next round of post-pregnancy.
@Mrs. Sketchbook: I had the same experience with the Brest Friend and Boppy – both are great, but the Brest Friend was better for the earlier, newborn stages… and the Boppy was wonderful after they got bigger.
@mrskc: I’m with you… I gave my nipple cream away because I didn’t use it!
clementine / 943 posts
I never needed nursing pads either, and I still use my nipple cream but only for lubing up my pump horns. Otherwise pumping is really painful!
cherry / 226 posts
I think they’re called booby tubes, from earth mama angel baby…those worked great for engorgement and let down.
kiwi / 511 posts
Those tucks pads and some other lotion thing the hospital gave me (must have been like dermoplast in a cream form) were awful and always made me feel icky, so once I got home I ditched them and just used regular pads. I also ditched the spray bottle to clean after going because that too made me feel icky.
I did use the colase once, and after the first poop I was good. And really the wiping/cleaning was worse than the pooping itself and the thinking about the first poop was worse than either the poop or the wiping. I tore during delivery so they had to do a few stitches.
Lanolin was a must (I preferred the Medela over the Lansinoh) since DS and I had latch issues, and I exclusively pump, the only time (it has now been 6.5 months) I had a cracked/sore nipple was when I forgot to apply after pumping three times in a row around 6 weeks postpartum. And only 1-2 times with leaking issues, I have used the pads just to be a bit discreet since some of my tops/nursing bras certainly accentuate the headlight look, which is not one I was going for.
The comfy clothes are a must, it was June when I gave birth so I had workout capri’s on, they were light and dried quickly if anything spilled on them. And I wore a lot of nursing tanks.
guest
Good list. The Always INFINITY overnight pads with wings are the best. I’m the one person on the planet that nursing didn’t ever hurt for. I try not to rub it in. But want to say it is possible for it not to hurt. I’ve never, with over 32 months of nursing, needed lanolin. But I AM in the minority. I always suggest to new moms that they pack nursing tanks and yoga pants to come home in. Though I’d wear a jersey dress home if I ever had a baby in the summer instead of the dead of winter.
kiwi / 511 posts
@Ali- The one or two times I did get DS to latch I didn’t have any issues with it hurting my boobs. It hurt my wrist because I have Mommy’s wrist. I also do not find pumping to hurt either, except that time when I did have the cracked nipple and it was better in a day.