Just gave birth and looking for postpartum items to help you heal fast? I always wondered, why is it that during a woman’s pregnancy, the last thing on her mind is herself? You need to understand that knowing what postpartum items to use after birth will help you heal from childbirth faster and pain free. It’s all about the baby of course but it is about you too! I gather together a helpful list of postpartum and after birth essentials that are going to be of great help to you.
During both of my pregnancies, I didn’t think about my postpartum care. That’s why I’m sharing with you, these postpartum essentials for an easier birth recovery. I had a vaginal birth with my first born and then a C-section with my twins. All I cared about was the health of my children and how I was going to take care of them. Of course, later on I realized that in order to take care of my newborn babies, I had to take care of myself too.
I’m so happy to be sharing with you these very helpful tips and postpartum must haves that you are going to need in order to have an easier postpartum recovery. Whether you’re on your first trimester, third or just gave birth, these tips are so useful. Stock up on some of these items and remember that you matter, your health and well being matters, just as much as your baby’s.
Cheers to a full recovery with these postpartum items!
10 postpartum items you need after birth
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A peri-bottle or like I like to call it a “squirt bottle” is a very important item to have for your postpartum care. A peri-bottle will be given to you in the hospital by your nurse after you give birth. You will use it every time you go to the bathroom, instead of using toilet paper, you will use the peri-bottle to clean yourself.
You do not want to use toilet paper because it will irritate your vagina and it may even cause you pain. If you had vaginal stitches using toilet paper may remove it and you really do not want that. Make sure you stock up on peri-bottles in order to use it at home
Here’s how to NOURISH your body, so you can heal quickly, produce a healthy milk supply and lose the baby weight. Get the answers today!
I personally loved using cleaned cloths (of course!) every time I would take a shower after recovering from my episiotomy. I would put a little bit of disinfecting soap (I used cuava soap, Dominicans swear by this soap and would dap it on my area. Afterwards, I would rinse the cloth and then dapped it again to make sure it was completely cleaned.
It was very helpful for me to use a cloth because I didn’t want to run the risk of removing my stitches or getting hurt or being infected. You can also use a cloth when taking a bath after a C-section 🙂
3. Large underwear
Having large underwear is a must have postpartum item because they super comfortable to wear. It also fits perfectly with your large maxi pads, so please stock up on these because you are going to need it.
These high waist underwear are perfect if you just had a c-section because it does not irritate your incision area.
I recommend purchasing and stocking up on large maxi pads because you are going to have heavy bleeding for the first couple of weeks after giving birth. Make sure your maxi pads are unscented as this prevents irritation.
5. Stool softener
I was provided with a stool softener in the hospital after giving birth vaginally to my first born. I do not remember if I used one after my twins birth which was a C-section. Either way, going to the bathroom can be super painful and very uncomfortable the first few days after giving birth, so please use a stool softener!
Quick tip postpartum tip:
You can also eat rich in fiber and easy to digest food 🙂
6. Pain medication
Whether you give birth vaginally or via. c-section, the truth is that after all of the anesthesia/epidural wears off, you will definitely feel some pain afterwards. If you can’t deal with the pain, I recommend you to take some pain medication. Your doctor might even send you home with a prescription (mine did) and you can feel at ease and pain free.
Okay, so I’ve never heard of tucks with my two pregnancies, so I didn’t use them but I definitely wished someone had told me about it. It would have been a life saver, specially after my episiotomy (vaginal tear).
Tucks medicated cooling pads -help with itching and burning caused by hemorrhoids. The witch hazel helps to soothe and protect the irritated area.
Keep in mind that some women may experience hemorrhoids after giving birth, even if you do not experience it, this product is still very handy to have. You can use a hemorroid pillow to help ease pain and reduces pressure on the pelvis.
A sitz bath is basically a natural herb bath that helps heal your postpartum body. Having an herbal sitz bath can help you relax and can also speed up recovery.
9. Comfortable clothing
You need to be comfortable after giving birth and wearing loose comfortable clothing is a must. You do not want to wear tight clothes or pants because it may hurt your incision (if you had a C-section) and it’s not fun at all.
Maxi dresses were my favorite clothing item to wear and sweat pants too! You can move easily in them and you look decent for when visitors come over. If you’re nursing your baby, make sure you have comfortable nursing tops like ” target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow noopener noreferrer”>this one!
10. Food
Make sure you eat and stay hydrated after birth. Your health is equally as important as your baby’s, so please take care of yourself. Make sure you have freezer meals ready to use and fun healthy snacks.
My mom would make me a super delicious homemade chicken noodle soup after giving birth because it was easy to digest and it’s a tradition in my family. She would also make a delicious hot chocolate oatmeal drink to increase breast milk production, it worked wonders!
Quick recap:
Postpartum care tends to be overlooked by many women. This is because we’re too busy thinking about everything that we need to buy before our baby arrives, what we need to have ready and pretty much everything is about the baby. It is very important to care for yourself postpartum, you need to feel good in order to care for your baby.
I hope these postpartum items are useful and helpful in your recovery process. Best of luck mama!
More helpful pregnancy tips:
10 smart ways to overcome fear of giving birth
7 things you should avoid after having a C-section
4 easy ways to induce labor naturally
I love that you included clothes, because you really do need some special postpartum clothes! You don’t want to get into your maternity clothes anymore, but you can’t fit into regular clothes yet! It’s rough!
Chelsea @ Life With My Littles recently posted…16 Tips for Going to Sea World with a Baby or Toddler
Thank you Chelsea! Exactly I did not want to wear maternity clothes after I gave birth but I wanted to feel comfortable and wearing my pre-baby clothes were a no no. So maxi dresses was the answer for me 🙂
Thank you very much for writing this blog. It is very important for me to know these things. Because within a few days my sister’s child will be.so it’s very helpful for me.
Thank you and congratulations to your sister!