Congratulations mama! You’re almost to the finish line! I’m sure you’ve gotten everything under the sun to take the very best care of your baby but what about YOU?! Lets take a minute and make sure you’ve got all the postpartum essentials you need to make you feel as comfortable as possible. Postpartum care is so important! What’s that saying about pouring from an empty cup? But really, if you’re not taking care of yourself postpartum, you’re going to have an even harder time taking care of your newborn. No one needs mom life to be harder.
When I was preparing to bring my baby home, I stocked up on all the postpartum essentials that everyone said I needed to heal by body from delivery. Surprise! I ended up needing a C-section so all my cooling pads and peri bottles were completely unnecessary. So, tip #1 is to keep receipts and don’t open anything until you’re ready to use it.
Regardless of the type of delivery you have, there are a few things that I think most women would love to have in their postpartum kit or even given to them in as a postpartum gift.
1: COMPRESSION LEGGINGS
I had a few friends who got their pre baby bodies back REAL quick so I thought that would definitely happen for me too. WRONG. I was so swollen after having my son that I left the hospital bigger than I went in. Not cool folks. Anyway…most of the time I was able to stay home in some cozy loungewear but when we had someplace to be where I wanted to look a little bit more put together compression leggings and a long top were my go to. They held everything in and made me feel just a little bit more comfortable. If I was feeling sassy, I put on a pair of Spanx leggings but for more causal and wallet friendly wear, I loved THESE TUMMY CONTROL LEGGINGS
2: ADULT DIAPERS
The least sexy you will ever feel but I’m telling you, YOU NEED THESE. They’re so much easier to deal with than some giant pad that moves around, especially at night.
3: FREEZER MEALS
I know you’ve heard this one before but seriously, start stashing away as much as you can. My favorite things to have on hand were soups that I could have sitting in my crockpot to grab whenever I could (Pro tip: eat when you can, don’t wait until you get hungry) and things that I could grab for a quick snack like a muffin or bar. I found a Paleo blueberry muffin recipe that I poured into a 9×13 pan instead of muffin tins. It was so much easier to cut them into squares and then freeze them that way. You’ll want things that are easy to grab and eat quickly. Again, that’s why the crockpot of soup was my go to. It was always ready to eat and I could pack in a bunch of nutrients into one meal. *Message me anytime for recipe tips.
4: BELLY WRAP
I’ve heard a lot of physical therapists and pelvic floor specialists say not to use these long term but I LOVED using mine for the first 2 weeks postpartum. After my C-section it felt really supportive when while I was healing. I used this 3 in 1 postpartum belly band.
5: NIGHTGOWNS OR DRESSES
I’m all about working smarter not harder when it comes to tackling postpartum life. Pants are one step I preferred to skip as much as possible. I had a C-section so I didn’t like them sitting near my incision site. But even if you didn’t have a C-section, I stand by this tip. Hydration is so so important for healing. So if you’re staying hydrated, you’re also going to have to visit the restroom pretty frequently. Skip a step, ditch the pants. For quite some time, I LIVED IN THIS NURSING NIGHTGOWN and always kept a robe or long cardigan handy incase anyone dropped by. I was comfortable, able to breastfeed, and looked presentable enough when guests stopped by.
Of course you’ll need more than this to help you on your postpartum journey but these were 5 things that I used a lot and that I didn’t find on every other postpartum essentials list that I came across. I highly recommend you look at other lists, talk to other moms and decide what’s best for you. And remember, you’re the best mama in the world for your little one. Trust your instincts. I’m proud of you 🙂
