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The Ultimate Postpartum Checklist for Postpartum Recovery
Being prepared by having the right postpartum care kit is so important for your postpartum recovery.
Postpartum recovery is no joke. You just gave birth! You created a human that came out of your body.
Do you even realize how incredible you are?
Postpartum recovery is exhausting and painful so you need to do everything you can to prepare yourself before baby comes.
Postpartum necessities make life so much easier because you have everything you need to speed up healing.
You’ve earned the right to feel good (duh, you just had a baby!), so don’t deprive yourself, especially when you need it most.
Have these postpartum essentials stocked and ready before you give birth to make your postpartum healing process more comfortable.
On that note, let’s teach you everything you need to know about postpartum healing.
You got this!
⬇️ Postpartum Recovery Checklist
Postpartum Care Essentials for Postpartum Pain
Promising Review:
GET THIS, you won’t regret it.
Let’s talk about what will happen immediately after you give birth.
Hugs, tears, joy and then, stitches.
Whether you’ve had an episiotomy (is when your doctor has to make an incision to make room for the baby) or natural tearing, you will need stitches.
Once you’re all stitched up and ready to go, you will probably be wheeled into your room where you will be given a peri-bottle but I highly suggest you bring your own.
Hold onto that peri bottle like your life depends on it because it will.
The relief you will get will be the difference between a burning vagina and a non-burning vagina every time you pee, and you will be peeing a lot.
If you have read my Hospital Bag Checklist, you know that I am a HUGE fan of the Frida Mom Peri Bottle.
Honestly, I need to tell my pregnant moms about this product because it is so, so good.
You will probably get a peri bottle from the hospital and you might think whatever, they are the same thing, right? Wrong.
You will be using the bathroom a lot in the first few weeks and things will be straight up gross down there and you might not have the time to shower as much as you’d like.
This product will help you in ways you couldn’t even imagine.
It will get all the *ahem* nooks and crannies if you know what I mean.
Promising Review:
If you’re contemplating wether or not these are worth purchasing, allow me to save you some brain energy – THEY ARE WORTH EVERY SINGLE PENNY!!
Since we’re on the topic of pads, let’s just go ahead and talk about the importance of postpartum padsicles and how to make them.
Prior to giving birth, you can simply soak and freeze the heavy-duty pads that you plan to use anyways postpartum.
For added relief, try adding organic aloe or witch hazel to the pads before freezing.
Game-changing life hack alert.
You can actually just get these postpartum ice packs with washable covers. Amazing. For maximum relief, try adding organic aloe to the pads.
Promising Review:
It’s a lifesaver for postpartum women!
You don’t realize how uncomfortable the basic act of sitting becomes after you have a baby.
Stash it in your car for the ride home because it’s going to feel a lot bumpier than you remember.
Postpartum Essentials for Postpartum Bleeding
Promising Review:
These pads are so big, if Rose wore one on the Titanic, Jack would have survived.
Postpartum bleeding is heavy at least for the first week or two so you will definitely need the most absorbent pads of all time.
Take what you can from the hospital but buy extra for your stash at home.
Trust me, you do not want to be tending to a crying baby in the middle of the night only to realize that you’re out of pads.
I know this from experience.
Promising Review:
I used these in labor and post partum and they were amazing! Very comfortable, always felt dry, and the design is cute so it doesn’t feel like im wearing what i’m wearing. I recommend these to everyone going into labor.
I thought pads would be enough but I was wrong.
You need to use the heavy-duty pads along with postpartum underwear because regular undies just won’t do the trick.
You will want maximum comfort and absorbency, even after you’ve moved onto lighter flow pads.
Again, just trust me on this one. You won’t be sorry.
Postpartum Care Essentials for Postpartum Stitches Itching
Promising Review:
SO, these saved my ass (literally) after I gave birth.
If you don’t feel like making your own postpartum padsicles or ran out, Tuck pads reign supreme when it comes to postpartum healing and for very good reason.
One pad will bring you immediate relief from itching and burning.
One container also has 100 pads so you will be covered during the entire postpartum healing phase.
Promising Review:
I’ve bought every single new mum this spray. It’s an absolute Godsend. If you’re considering whether or not to buy this, stop it. Just put it in your basket and thank yourself later.
If you’re wondering how to stop the itching and burning from stitches after giving birth, then I am here to tell you that perineal sprays will become your new best friend (along with everything else on this list).
This one from Earth Mama is a fan favorite because of its cooling and healing properties.
I suggest getting this one along with Dermoplast which is a hospital favorite.
Dermoplast has been described by some moms as a “miracle in a can”.
Pretty awesome, right?
If you’re wondering whether you should get the red or blue can of Dermoplastt, I would suggest going with the blue because some people have complained that the red actually makes the burning worse.
Throw both sprays into your postpartum care kit to make sure you’re covered (literally)!
Promising Review:
Probably TMI but I had a 3rd degree tear and I swear… this stuff was absolutely priceless
Another incredible life-hack for postpartum care is using a removable shower head for cleaning those tough to reach areas.
Promising Review:
This showerhead doesn’t just defy physics, it seems to break it.
Who uses the word showerhead in the same sentence as postpartum recovery? You, that’s who.
There are a lot of things you can do to soothe perineal pain and itching after giving birth but how genius is the showerhead hack?
The basic idea is that you need to keep the area clean, cool, and comfortable.
A removable shower head will help you do just that by getting into all the tough spots for maximum relief and cleanliness. Enough said!
Postpartum Care Essentials for Postpartum Cramps
Promising Review:
I’ve been using this Mighty Bliss heating pad for almost 4 months and I am positively THRILLED!!!
After I gave birth to my son, I remember feeling pain in places I didn’t even know I could feel pain.
My eyelids, in between my toes, the backs of my knees.
Everything hurt.
You will definitely experience muscle soreness and full-body pain from pushing out a baby, along with uterine cramping while your uterus shrinks back to its normal size.
Not only is a heating pad essential for all the body aches and pains you will experience after having a baby, it is is also great for releasing breast engorgement and even helping with clogged ducts.
A heating pad is absolutely necessary for postpartum care.
Body aching from pushing out a baby? Heating pad.
Slept in a weird position all night? Heating pad.
Pulled a muscle from rocking baby for 3 hours straight? You know the drill.
This is a necessary buy, not just for after giving birth but pretty much for life in general.
Postpartum Care Essentials for Postpartum Constipation
Promising Review:
These do not make you go like a laxative, or like a fiber product, it literally just makes your stool soft when you do go so you don’t end up with hemorrhoids and fissures.
The next two items, although gross are absolute lifesavers.
The first postpartum poop is a lot more unpleasant than it needs to be but you can alleviate some of the pain by using stool softeners.
Stool softeners will make things just a little bit easier to prevent applying any extra pressure to the perennial area.
The last thing anybody wants is, even more, tearing or a longer healing time because of trying to squeeze too hard, which brings me to my next favorite item.
Promising Review:
I love Squatty Potty and you will too. It works like a charm. You will wonder how you got along without it all these years.
If you don’t already own a squatty potty, you’re not living.
We know that squatting is the ideal way to poop but even more so postpartum for the reasons mentioned above.
Your system will be much easier to clear out when you’re sitting on the toilet in a squatting position.
I promise this is a worthy investment that you will use long after your postpartum days are behind you.
Postpartum Care Essentials for Sore Breasts
Promising Review:
New moms: BUY THIS. BUY STOCK IN IT. There are no amount of capital letters that can adequately express how much these helped me.
You’re probably starting to sense a theme year. The theme is pain and there will be lots of it.
My job is to make sure that I help you find all the things that will help you have less pain, which brings me to these cooling pads.
You’re probably not used to having a human constantly latching onto your nipples for like 23 hours a day.
Your nipples will be so sore from breastfeeding. Just like the cooling pads for your vagina, these cooling gel pads for your breasts will provide instant relief from sore nipples. Yay!
Promising Review:
Simply the best! No more sore nipples 🙂
Do you know what goes really well with sore nipples? A side of dry, cracked, and possibly bleeding nipples. This list just keeps getting better and better doesn’t it?
Your nipples will be taking a pretty wild ride during those first few weeks and they will have a lot of adjusting to do.
They might crack, they might bleed and they might hurt.
Never fear, nipple cream is here.
Nipple cream will provide you with soothing comfort to help with the dryness, itching, and chafing that comes with breastfeeding.
Promising Review:
Over the first 24hrs of having this I’ve pulled over 10oz of otherwised wasted milk! I can’t believe how well it works!
This product is absolutely genius and serves many purposes.
First and foremost, this manual breast pump will catch any leakage you have while breastfeeding which you can freeze for later or serve to your baby in a bottle.
The Haakaa pump will also help with engorgement as a few pumps will provide a lot of relief while preventing clogged ducts.
The best part? You just need to suction it onto your non-feeding breast and let the pump do the rest. Brilliant!
Simple Tip For Faster Postpartum Healing
This crazy simple tip sounds like an absolute no brainer but a lot of moms only realize this once it is too late.
You are not going to be one of those moms.
The ONE thing you have to do to speed up postpartum recovery is to…stay regular!
That’s right! You’re a mom now so there will be lots of poop talk for many years to come.
Might as well get used to it by thinking about your own pooping habits.
The first postpartum poop and pee can be very painful but the worst thing you can do after birth is to not hydrate and enough eat nourishing foods.
Big mistake!
You NEED to stay regular to ensure no that there is no extra pressure on your perineum (which is the area between your vagina and your bum).
You should not strain the muscles in that region further by pushing too hard.
That’s why it is SUPER important to stay hydrated and regular right after giving birth to speed up postpartum recovery.
Final Thoughts on The Best Postpartum Care Essentials for Postpartum Recovery
Giving birth is the most magical experience on earth and you deserve to soak up every blissful second with your newborn baby.
That is why preparing stocking up with all postpartum care items prior to giving birth is essential for a smooth postpartum recovery.
Although this list contains the items that are most common for helping moms with postpartum healing, if something doesn’t feel right, then you need to consult with your doctor immediately.
Even the newborn snuggles and remember to take care of yourself too, mama. You got this.
What things are you planning to use for postpartum healing?
Is there anything I’ve missed that you have used for previous births and just can’t live without? Share in the comments below!
Now that You’ve Given Birth, Find Out How to Increase Your Breast Milk Supply
Check out my post below on how to increase your breast milk supply fast! ⬇️
How to Increase Your Breast Milk Supply Overnight With These 10 Drinks
What do you think?