Last week I hung out with a mom of a 3-month old and a 7-month pregnant mom to be. We got to talking about having babies, and the mom of the newborn said that she wished she had read more on what the postpartum experience would be like. It’s been almost 4 years since I had my last child, but I still remember my postpartum experience with her vividly. Since I had an unplanned VBAC rather than a scheduled c-section and Olive ended up staying an extra week in the hospital, I was completely unprepared for the postpartum pain! You can read about how I felt 6-days postpartum with her here.
Most women prepare for the actual labor and birth, but often the postpartum pain and recovery takes them by surprise. So I’ve compiled the ultimate postpartum care kit with everything you might need to survive those days. I would definitely get the pads, underwear, Colace, and nursing pads ahead of time. Everything else you can order online depending on what type of delivery you have, and your levels of pain. Also every hospital is different, but my hospital provided many things for free including a sitz bath, peri bottle, and much more.
2) Nursing/Sleep Bra – Coobie bras are so comfortable and you can wear them throughout your pregnancy and postpartum. A bra, especially at night, is a must because your boobs will be leaking a lot of milk!
3) Tena pads – Regular overnight pads are not big enough to handle all the postpartum bleeding. Incontinence pads are your best bet! You’ll probably only need one pack though before the bleeding subsides and you can switch to regular overnight pads.
4) New Mama Bottom Spray – This is an all natural alternative to the pain relieving spray Dermoplast. Great to use after washing up!
5) Scar Away – I had an unplanned c-section with Charlie, and didn’t do any scar prevention at my incision site. For years it was an ugly dark keloid, and my ob was actually going to try to remove it with my second c-section that ended up being a VBAC. 6 years later the scar has faded a lot, but I wish I had applied some sort of scar prevention treatment because it’s supposed to greatly help.
6) Depends underwear – No one has time to wash out stains from underwear with a newborn. These are affordable enough to wear and toss.
7) Advil – Percocet was a must-have lifesaver for me after my c-section, but advil also helped to manage the pain.
8) Tucks Pads – Put these in the freezer for maximum pain relief.
9) Ice Packs – These reusable ice packs can be warmed or cooled. You can also opt for the one use instant ice packs that hospitals typically have.
10) Donut – I had to walk a lot after Olive was born due to her extended hospital stay, which really hurt my postpartum recovery. I was so sore I couldn’t even sit. A donut was a great help.
11) Sitz Baths – Water down there was my friend postpartum. Luckily my hospital gave me a sitz bath.
12) Belly Bandit – They really are a huge pain to wear, but belly compression postpartum does work to help shrink your belly.
13) Witch Hazel – This is an alcohol-free version in case you have sensitive skin, but there is also a version with alcohol that has great antiseptic properties. You can add this to your peri bottle for added relief and cleansing, or pour them into pads and freeze them to create “padsicles.”
14) nursing pads – Once your milk comes in, you will be leaking like crazy.
15) Postpartum Herbs – Add these to your sitz bath for added relief.
16) Colace – I didn’t take my colace consistently with Olive and boy did I pay. Constipation is a very real and very painful problem postpartum!
17) Peri Bottle – This was probably my single best friend postpartum. You use it when you’re going to the bathroom, to clean yourself, and for general pain relief. I couldn’t have lived without it. This bottle from GoSpa is actually a travel bidet, but it has an angled head so you can easily reach everywhere. But a basic peri bottle works just fine too.
18) water bottle – I was so, so, so thirsty postpartum. Drinking all the water helps you flush everything out.
. . . . .
Since Charlie ended up being a c-section, my pain was mostly abdominal and managed with percocet and advil. I was still sore from having pushed 3 hours, but I didn’t need things like the sitz bath or donut. I did bleed however for what seemed liked forever, so the Tena pads and disposable underwear were a must. With Olive I had second degree tears, but my recovery was really exacerbated by all the walking I had to do. With her I needed all the pain relief!
Is there anything else you’d add to this postpartum recovery kit? I also have a newborn nursing and newborn essentials guides coming up!
GOLD / eggplant / 11517 posts
Great list!
I could never get the sitz bath to work for me. I kept like sloshing bloody water all over the place and the last thing I wanted to do at that time was like bend over and clean my bathroom floors.
My only tip would be to not only get these things, but USE THEM! I tried to be funny and not drink enough water and quit my Colace early and wound up with a nightmarish ordeal with hemorrhoids starting at 3 weeks PP when I thought I was through the worst of it.
cherry / 108 posts
Oh this is perfect timing. I’m two months away from my due date and have been thinking of what I need those first few days/weeks. I still have a list I made when I had my first but this is good too! Thanks!
pomelo / 5000 posts
For c-section moms, I would add pillows to the list. I couldn’t sleep fully reclined or on my side while recovering, so lots of pillows were a necessity. I’ve had friends say they used pillows to press against their c-section site when getting up and laughing.
Coobie bras sadly didn’t work for me during pregnancy and immediate post-partum b/c my breasts were huge, but once things settled down, I found them comfortable. I like bras that aren’t too tight and could easily be pulled to the side (no hooks involved) for night feedings.
admin / watermelon / 14210 posts
@Happygal: i wore medela sleep bras exclusively because i hated dealing with the hooks and clasps too!
honeydew / 7504 posts
The New Mama spray did nothing for me! I also just did not understand the concept of the “padsicle.” I froze some pads and all they did was curl up in the freezer – there was no way I could stick them in my underwear! I relied heavily on Tucks pads and my donut (2nd-degree tears). Also, my mom ran out to get me more hydrocortisone cream, and the pharmacist recommended Cortizone10 with cooling gel, which felt AWESOME (until I overdid it and my stitches excoriated my skin and it was kind of raw and open down there…ouch!).
pomelo / 5220 posts
This list is perfect! I didn’t do the padsicles, at the hospital the nurses just filled rubber gloves with crushed ice. Nursing tank tops were a must too!
pomegranate / 3393 posts
Woah! I’m a big proponent of getting stuff as you need them. If I’d stocked up on all this stuff, I’d have been pretty upset when I didn’t need most of it!
guest
Witch hazel was a wonderful discovery. I kept mine in the fridge so it was always cool and went through a lot!
admin / watermelon / 14210 posts
@MoonMoon: i’m definitely not saying to stock up on all this stuff, especially because my hospital gave me a lot of it so i could see what i needed. also the first time i had an unplanned c-section and the second time i had an unplanned vbac, so my pain management needs were completely different! you never know how your labor is going to turn out.
the must haves to me are the pads, colace, nursing pads, and a peri bottle.
pomegranate / 3393 posts
@Mrs. Bee: I agree, it’s very unpredictable!
guest
Colace and ice packs were essential. I could never get sitz baths to work either. I would also add the Ameda gel pads for sore nipples. I got my first set in the hospital and then ordered another set. They last 6 days and healed my nipples better than lanolin or anything else.
guest
My first postpartum I loved my sitz bath and peroxide. Wish I had someone to tell me about nipple shields and renting breast pumps from the hospital.
guest
If you are breastfeeding get the Medellin HydroGels. Omgosh they are amazing. Get several sets at least 3. And I would recommend a nipple cream. I used lanolin by lansinoh last time and it was okay but this time around I’m getting Earth Mama Angel Baby Nipple Butter.
guest
The peri bottle I received from the hospital was a must! Be careful with the witch hazel…I didn’t dilute it enough and ended up being crazy itchy as a result. I ended up having to get anti-itch cream which helped immensely. I also used preparation-H wipes for hemorrhoids. I was so cold postpartum (for both babies- not sure why) so a microwaveable heating pad was nice to have in addition to an electric one. I used the microwaveable one to lay across my chest before breastfeeding or pumping…