I had a vaginal delivery so my postpartum must haves reflect that experience. As my due date approached, I was so overwhelmed with what to expect and what I actually needed for postpartum care. Not to mention, I read tons of lists but few were clear with what you specifically do with these items and in what order.
Like all thing’s motherhood and baby, everyone will feel a little different. However, these are the postpartum must haves I thought were game changers that I will 100% have on deck for the next baby. And if you are a first-time mom to be, let me just ease some fears for you. Your postpartum nurses really do help you with all of it. People told me that the nurses helped but I thought they certainly must expect me to know what to do with the pads, undies and other logistics. Thankfully they don’t! They walk you through it step by step while holding your gown up and talking you through that first postpartum pee . It’s just another reason nurses are actual angels on earth.
Before diving in to my must have list, let me give you a little insight into the first few hours. It is a little scary. I’ll be honest. I don’t remember anyone ever describing what things looked like when you take that nerve wracking first peek. So, I’ll just be your best friend here and tell you what to expect if you’re nervously curious. Everything down south is swollen, like really swollen. Like barely resembling its original self. And logically that makes sense, but wow did it shock me. It feels scary in the moment because you can’t help but wonder how it will ever go back to normal again. I promise it does! In fact, most of the swelling will likely be gone by the time you leave the hospital. I wish I had known that before that first pee after my son.
I had a 2nd degree tear, near my perineum (not the sides or up). So of course, I had a decent number of stitches. Because of the swelling and where the stitches are, you can’t see them and that was A-okay with me. The stitches themselves didn’t hurt specifically because the whole area is sensitive for the first couple days. Once seated I wasn’t in much pain. However, getting up and down happened slowly and gingerly for the first 5 days or so. The most reassuring information I can give about postpartum is it’s gets a little better each day. Sure, things can be sensitive for a few weeks but it’s crazy how quickly your body heals.
For whatever reason, my stitches didn’t dissolve on their own well. At three weeks postpartum, I saw my OB and asked her to check things out. I wanted to make sure everything was healing the way it was supposed to. She said I had a group of stitches in one spot that weren’t dissolving so she removed them for me and my healing after that was considerably better. I had no idea what was “normal” so I’m so happy I got checked out and would recommend seeing your OB before the 6-week checkup if you are unsure at all about the healing process.
If you’re in the market for a super positive induction birth story at 40 weeks and 6 days with a big ol’ baby, you can read it here!
Okay okay, now what you came here for!
*I have linked these items for your ease of shopping. I do make a very small commission at no cost to you if you shop through my links. All opinions are 100% my own.*
My 9 postpartum must haves
1. Frida mom peri bottle:
Everyone raved about it but I thought it seemed a little silly knowing the hospital gives you one. I was wrong. It is just as good as everyone says! This peri bottle was my number 1 postpartum must have. I wish I would have packed it in my hospital bag with me. The angled spout makes all the difference. Plus, I would use my Frida mom peri bottle at home and then pack the one the hospital gave me in the diaper bag for when we had to leave the house. I used the peri bottle for weeks! Especially given the issue with my stitches not dissolving.
Take the extra few minutes and wait for your sink water to get warm when you fill up the peri bottle. Or ask your partner to do it for you. It’s an easy way to have them help in those early days. Our sink water takes forever to get warm so I often filled up quickly with cool water so I could go tend to the baby in the middle of the night and it did not feel good.
2. Frida mom disposable undies or adult diapers:
Okay let me preface by saying, I didn’t buy adult diapers but I understand now why so many people recommend them. I always thought you’d still need a pad in them so it seemed excessive but now I understand that you don’t. And to be honest, I was nervous it would hurt my pride to wear them. LOL now we can all laugh together about the nervous new mom to be who finally understands what they mean when they say you won’t care at all. I was also super overwhelmed at the grocery store trying to decide which ones to get, so I didn’t buy any.
However, I did have the Frida mom disposable underwear and I loved them! I packed them in my hospital bag and somehow forgot to use them while I was there. Though, I really wish I would have because you really only need them (or diapers) for the first few days. I used them with a pad once home from the hospital and they were super comfortable. They are a solid grey, boy short style so it helps your pride a little if you still have any left after pushing a baby out.
3. Tucks and/or Frida mom cooling pad liners:
Personally I could have gone without tucks since I had the cooling liners but the hospital gave me tucks! Tucks pads are also sold at grocery stores so that is convenient if you need more quickly. If you don’t know, tucks are small and circular so you line the pad with three of them at a time. The liners are rectangle shape and that just made more sense to me. I would fold them in half and lay it on the pad before pulling it up.
Tucks felt great too but the Frida mom wipes were more cooling and stayed in place better than tucks. Then once your stitches are dissolved and/or you’re not using the peri bottle anymore, you can toss the wipes into the diaper bag and use those on the go instead. I would also put a fresh cooling wipe on the pad right before leaving the house so I was more comfortable for the car ride. The wipes or tucks pads “caught” a good portion of the bleeding too. So when you go to the bathroom, you could just toss the liners/tucks and put down new instead of changing the whole pad if the bleeding wasn’t too bad.
Mini review on Frida Mom postpartum recovery kit:
Before I continue with my postpartum must haves, I thought it may be helpful to give a quick review of the Frida Mom postpartum kit if you’re considering purchasing it. I registered for it and a sweet friend got it for me. Now having used it, I don’t necessarily think it’s worth the money. I loved parts of it, obviously the cooling liners and the disposable underwear I listed above. However, my number 1 postpartum must have, the peri bottle, is sold separately. Also, the kit comes with 4 or 5 pairs of the disposable underwear which is okay but it’s very possible depending on your recovery, you’d need to buy more.
I loved the caddy that it all came in. It was convenient to have everything all together on the back of the toilet. However, you could easily just buy a basket instead. The cooling foam felt good for a couple minutes but it made things feel even more wet down there so that was not my jam. And lastly, I think the ice pack pads are overrated. Again, they would have been better to have in the hospital with me when I was doing more sitting. They don’t stay cold for long, they’re not as absorbent as a regular pad, and they’re bulky between your legs when you’re up and moving more.
Pads without wings
Just go ahead and stock up on pads now. The bleeding slows down considerably after the first 5-7ish days. So get some heavier and longer ones without wings (to go in the disposable undies) for the first week and for nighttime after that. Then get some thinner and more comfortable ones for during the day. I got the Always Infinity Flex Foam pads and really liked them when the bleeding lightened and I was going out and about more often. I bled for the full 6+ weeks so by the end, it was light enough that I even bought the thong style panty liners because I was so tired of wearing pads.
Undies:
So this may or may not need to be on your list but it needed to be on mine. After the diaper or disposable underwear days, you’ll likely switch back to full coverage undies. I didn’t have any to accommodate pads and I am so glad I realized that right before I had my son. Go ahead and grab a pack of cheap undies from target that way you won’t mind if they get ruined.
Robe:
Get a good, comfy robe! This would be really great postpartum must have to bring to the hospital too. It’s the perfect thing for breastfeeding if you choose to go that route. Plus it’s so easy to throw on in the middle of the night when you’re getting up with baby. My son is 8 months old and I still lay my robe at the end of the bed each night so I can throw it on quickly when I get up with him.
Wet wipes/Colace:
For the “dreaded first poop.” I was so terrified of it and it didn’t hurt at all so don’t panic. Set aside a package of baby wipes for your bathroom. It makes the first poop as well as general cleanup in those early days so much easier. I attribute the ease of that first poop to my routine colace usage. They give it to you in the hospital the first 24 hours postpartum but then stopped after that. Because I was so nervous, I asked for some the whole time I was there and then kept up with it for at least two weeks postpartum.
Oversized t shirts and comfortable leggings:
Your coming home from the hospital outfit and all your immediate postpartum outfits can be whatever you want and feel comfortable in. For me, I wanted comfort on my belly and my lady bits, but I also wanted to cover my pad butt and newly deflated belly. Enter oversized graphic tees and leggings.
I believe I have finally found the best oversize graphic tees in the game! I feel like they’re often too wide or the sleeves are too long. The “oversized graphic dad tee” from Hollister is the bees knees. They are unbelievably soft and thin which is so helpful in Florida. Unfortunately I didn’t find these until recently. I so wish I would have had them for the first few weeks postpartum. They’re 100% cotton so I sized up to a medium though I didn’t notice any shrinkage when I dried mine.
If you’re planning to breastfeed, I would also get a couple of nursing tank tops to wear under the t shirts for the first few weeks. As time passed and my belly went down, I was a lot less self-conscious lifting my shirt to feed my son. However, in the beginning I was not interested in seeing my belly, let alone showing it to other people. Also, I came to realize because of the oversized nature of the shirts, they were helpful in concealing my boob while feeding. Lifting a shirt and having that excess rest on baby’s face is so much easier than nursing tops. Nursing covers were very helpful too but more so after the first 6 weeks or so when breastfeeding gets easier.
Being a mom ain’t for the faint of heart
Those first few days and weeks are hard. Your emotions postpartum make pregnancy emotions look like pre-teen PMS. Everything is so new, and the exhaustion is something like I’ve never felt. Moms to be who might be reading this, I am here to level with you, not scare you. It’s true that it’s hard. But I promise the hard doesn’t diminish the love and magic of holding your new little baby. I don’t think about the hard when I think back to his first few weeks in my arms. It is a hazy memory that was worth every single second of hard, just like most things’ in my mere 8 months of motherhood
If you don’t love the newborn stage, that’s okay. Time passes so quickly, and they change seemingly overnight, you’ll be through those days before you know it. Right when it feels like you won’t make it much longer, they smile at you. A real smile that you know is just for you, and suddenly you can keep pushing. And so far, that has held true.
