Having a new baby is wonderful and exciting but it also can be really overwhelming. You’re going to be tired, healing from labor and delivery and learning about life with your new baby. Make the fourth trimester easier with this list of postpartum essentials for mom and baby and have an easy and peaceful fourth trimester.
The Postpartum Period
The postpartum period can be a hard transition. As a brand new mama, you’re healing from childbirth or a cesarean section AND learning how to take care of a brand new human. Or you’re a second time mama who is still healing and learning about her new baby AND taking care of your other children. It can be a lot!
The fourth trimester is something you don’t hear a lot about but is arguably just as hard or harder as any of the other trimesters. The only way to make this time period easier is to learn about it, know what to expect, and stock up on these postpartum essentials for mom, baby and nursing.
Postpartum Essentials for Mom
No matter what type of birth or labor and delivery you had, take the postpartum recovery period seriously. Your body just went through a huge physical and mental marathon. You need to heal, take things slowly and be as comfortable as possible.
The postpartum period and healing can be tough. These postpartum essentials for mom makes healing faster, mom more comfortable, and the postpartum time easier.
1.Undies
The hospital will give you some mesh undies to wear after labor. They’re nice to get you through those first few days postpartum when your bleeding is heavier, and you don’t want to ruin your normal undies.
You’ll be wearing pads and panty liners for 6 weeks or longer after labor. Comfortable undies are a must!
The bright colors are fun, but the dark are easier to clean.
2. Heavy pads & panty liners
It’s great to get huge, absorbent pads for those first few days of heavy bleeding. But don’t go overboard! That heavy bleeding doesn’t last too long and begins to taper off. You don’t want to be wearing jumbo pads if your bleeding is only a bit.
So grab heavy pads but get different levels of absorbency, too. This includes panty liners. That way you can be comfortable and choose the right pad for your bleeding.
3. Depends
Some women prefer wearing Depends instead of pads for the heavy bleeding days. They’re super convenient and lessens the amount of laundry you have to do!
4. Witch hazel or Tucks pads
Tucks pads or witch hazel pads are typically given to you in the hospital. They’re primary purpose is to heal and prevent hemorrhoids after birth, which is pretty common.
Even if you don’t get hemorrhoids, the cooling feeling of the witch hazel pads feels really soothing on your lady parts.
5. Dermoblast
Again, some hospitals will give this to you after labor. Dermoblast is a numbing spray that is great for vaginal tears or soreness. It also contains aloe for burning and healing.
6. Stool softener
A lot of women are terrified of pooping during labor. More women are terrified of their first poop AFTER labor! To have to push something out down there after already being sore can be scary. It can also cause a lot of damage if you strain, push too hard or end up constipated.
The best way to relieve that is to take a stool softener after birth. Be careful not to take a laxative! The point is to make going to the bathroom easier – not to make you have to go to the bathroom. A stool softener collects more water from your intestines to make your poo more watery and easier to pass. No pushing or straining.
For more natural mamas or if you’re avoiding medicine, natural provides some options to help with going too. Prunes and chia seeds are great for digestion and pooping. You also can drink some Smooth Move tea, which will help with bathroom fears.
7. Postnatal vitamin
Just because you’ve delivered baby, doesn’t mean you’re done with your prenatal vitamin!
During pregnancy, you take a prenatal mostly for baby. It ensures baby is getting what she needs that your diet alone doesn’t cover. After pregnancy, you need to continue taking your prenatal or get a postnatal vitamin to take for yourself!
Pregnancy is amazing, and it’s really hard work on your body. It depletes you of a lot of vitamin stores, leaves you fatigued, and taking really good care of yourself postpartum isn’t practical.
Taking a postnatal vitamin has to be on your list for postpartum essentials for mom. It will help get you back to a good place nutritionally. If you’re nursing, it’s especially important to take one, as your body is working overtime to produce and nourish two people!
8. Comfortable clothes
The postpartum period puts you in a weird clothing stage. You aren’t pregnant and don’t really need maternity clothes, but you also won’t fit into your pre-baby clothes.
This is where a lot of postpartum essentials for mom lists will recommending grabbing tons of nursing clothes. You certainly can do that, but the truth is – most nursing clothes are ugly, expensive and you can make almost any shirt a nursing shirt just by pulling it up.
Stay comfortable by buying some leggings, lounge clothes, or biker shorts to feel comfortable during postpartum.
9. Water bottle
A glass of water simply isn’t big enough to support your needs after birth! Your body needs tons of water to rehydrate and heal.
If you’re nursing, you’ll be constantly thirsty! It’s your body’s way of getting your to drink enough water to make breastmilk.
Regardless, water is really good for you. Keep a huge bottle or two around the house so you have easy access.
10. Sitz bath
A sitz bath is a warm bath that cleanses and soothes the perineum and rectum. It can provide pain and discomfort from itching, tears or episiotomies, or hemorrhoids. You can ask your hospital to give you a sitz bath to take home, you can buy one or you can simply DIY one yourself.
11. Epsom salts
Add some epsom salts to your sitz bath to help reduce swelling, lessen infection potential and encourage healing. Epsom salts can also help you relax. Add some herbs or oils like lavender, calendulas, or red raspberry leaf.
You can even add oatmeal to ease itching and discomfort if you had stitches.
12. Pain medicine
Some women like to take pain medicine to feel more comfortable after labor. Typically, your hospital will provide a stronger prescription pain medicine. If you want, you can grab some Motrin to have in case you need it.
If you’re in serious pain, having trouble moving or doing typical activities – call your doctor. Otherwise, you should consider not taking pain medicine. The medicine simply masks your recovery, making you feel better than you are. This sounds great, but you might end up overextending yourself and causing more harm than good.
13. Peri bottle
Again, the hospital provides you with a squirt bottle you can use for cleaning after peeing. It’s super cute, but it gets the job done.
A lot of mamas like grabbing this bottle to have for their postpartum essentials for mom. It has a long, angled neck on it that makes aiming easier and controlled air flow for gentler pressure.
14. Rice bag
A rice bag has so many great uses! Hopefully, you had one in your hospital bag and used it during labor! Postpartum, keep it in the freezer or heat it in the microwave, depending on your preference. It’s great for your tummy or lady parts to ease pain.
It’s also great for baby! Some mamas use a rice bag to warm the bassinet or crib so it isn’t cold for baby, Or you can even put it beside baby to comfort him (as long as it’s following sleep-safe guidelines).
15. Belly wrap
Belly wraps and postpartum supports gained a lot of popularity in recent years to have for postpartum essentials for mom.
They’re really great for postpartum support, especially for c-section recovery.
16. Padsicles
Padsicles are healing freezer pads made ahead of time to help healing and sooth pain. They include witch hazel, aloe and some other soothing oils.
Find the recipe here. Or grab these 2-in-1 cold packs plus maxi pads.
Other Postpartum Essentials for Mom
Lastly, these items are SO helpful. If only you could hire a house cleaner, pelvic floor therapist, and chef. These items are just as great.
1.Freezer meals
Not enough can be said about making and freezing meals ahead. Going to the grocery store and cooking over a hot stove is the last thing you want to worry about with a newborn. Especially if you have other kids running around.
Related: Health & Delicious Freezer Meals to Make Today
If family or friends ask what they can do or bring for you and baby – tell them freezer meals!
These are some healthy, easy make ahead meals to have for the postpartum period.
2. Snacks
Snacks need to be a part of your postpartum essentials for mom list. Healing from delivery and nursing makes you ravenous!
Keep lots of options around and shop ahead so you don’t go hungry or need to go to the store. Put them in your nursing station and beside your bed and couch so they’re easily available if you’re stuck under a nursing or sleeping baby.
There are some great snack ideas you can steal from this hospital bag checklist! (Snacks are SO important during labor, too!)
3. Amazon Prime
All moms need Amazon Prime. Going to the store with a newborn, or multiple kids and a newborn is so much work.
Amazon Prime makes getting diapers, clothing, snacks and everything you need on your postpartum essentials for mom list easy. You can even sign up for subscriptions. never think about buying diapers again.
Plus, if you live in a city, most items will get there the next day!
Sign up for a free 30 day trial here.
4. Disposable plates & silverware
Don’t do more dishes than you have to!
5. Instcart
Instacart is an AMAZING service for new moms. It’s a grocery delivery service. Pay as you go or sign up for unlimited deliveries for $150 per year.
Order groceries from your couch and have them delivered to your door for ease with a newborn.
6. Peloton App
Don’t get back to working out until you’re cleared by your doctor.
The pelvic floor (the grouping of muscles that holds most of your organs in place) works HARD during pregnancy. It becomes weak and can even prolapse (fall) or cause urinary incontinence.
The Peloton App has an EXCELLENT postnatal pelvic floor series. Each ”class” is 10 minutes long and gives specific instructions and exercises to tone and shape your pelvic floor. Heal diastases recti (abdominal separation), prolapse, weak pelvic floor, and urinary incontinence with these exercises.
They also have postnatal yoga, which is diastases safe and great for stretching and healing your core.
The app is $12.99 a month, but they often run specials and deals.
P.S. – These exercises are pregnancy safe. Get a head start on keeping your pelvic floor in shape. PLUS, it will help tremendously with labor and pushing.
Conclusion
The postpartum period is new territory for a lot of mamas. Even for veteran moms, it’s tough as you already have kids to care for, and each baby and postpartum recovery is different.
The best way to support yourself and baby is to surround yourself with people and things that will make life as easy and as comfortable as possible. Rest when you can, take things off of your to-do list, and focus on your baby and your healing.
These postpartum essentials for mom will make life so much easier as you navigate this new season.
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