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Postpartum Recovery Essentials For New Moms

Today I am sharing the ultimate list of postpartum recovery essentials for all new moms who just gave birth. You will find everything from milk boosting snacks and nipple balms to diapers and peri bottles. Everything to make your postpartum healing a bit easier and much more comfortable.

Postpartum was no joke. For me, it was even harder than giving birth. Although I prepared myself for labor and delivery, and even for the postpartum period, nothing that I read was even close to reality.

Sure, there are a few moms who will tell you some details, but none of them told me the whole truth. I mean, who likes to talk about excessive bleeding, vaginal tearing, and hemorrhoids anyway… Right?

But that’s not the point of today’s post. If you would like to know more about Postpartum and what to expect, check out this post with 10 Postpartum Facts You Must Know About.

Today is all about preparing you for your Postpartum Recovery & helping you deal with the fourth trimester like a champ.

Postpartum Recovery Essentials For New Moms

Below you will find a list of the postpartum recovering essentials I used and a few other things I wish I had. To make it easier for you, I decided to split all the postpartum recovering essentials into sections.

Let’s start with

I. Your Vagina

For most moms, this will be the worst part of recovering after birth. In case you end up tearing during labor, everything you were used to doing before giving birth will be much harder, or nearly impossible. I’m talking about peeing, pooping, sitting, walking, and sleeping, Your down area will be hurting & burning and that’s just the reality of it.

While it does take some time to recover from a vaginal tear, there are quite a few things you can do to help with the pain and healing.

1. Padsicles

Padsicles are pretty much pads that are topped with different products that will help with the burning & itching and can even speed up your vaginal healing.

Here’s what you need:

Here’s what to do:

1. Open your pad.
2. Top it with a generous amount of Aloe Vera.
3. Put a little witch hazel on top.
4. Add some lavender oil drops (This is optional).
5. Close your pad, place it in a freezer bag, and leave it in the freezer until you need one.

You can find a detailed step-by-step guide on how to create Padsicles on thepostpartumparty.com

2. Postpartum Pads & Diapers

Talking about pads, you will obviously need more of them for your postpartum bleeding. I can only recommend you to buy small packages of different pads to find the ones you will feel most comfortable wearing.

A lot of moms swear by diapers, and while I can imagine they are great for women without a vaginal tear, I could not stand wearing them. They felt super uncomfortable and loose. If you suffered a vaginal tear like me, I would definitely recommend getting „normal“, big pads! They aren’t as loose and therefore won’t keep bumping into your vagina and stitches while walking.

3. Comfortable Underwear

Of course, you will need the right underwear to hold the pads.

4. Peri Bottle

After birth, at least one with a vaginal tear, your pee will feel like acid. To help with the awful sting, you can fill up your peri bottle or a normal measuring cup with warm water and slowly pour it over your vagina while peeing.

Peri bottles are also great to clean your down area after you use the toilet. Your vagina and the anal area will be very swollen and wiping can will hurt quite a bit.

5. Dermoplast Spray

Sadly, this is not available where I come from, but I read about this product all the time and moms seem to love it. It’s supposed to help with the burning and stinging from tears.

Once you used the bathroom and cleaned your down area, you can use a generous amount of the Dermoplast Spray to help with the sting.

6. Perineal Spray

The one thing I used instead of the Dermoplast Spray was this Perineal Spray by Earth Mama. It was the best thing ever and it’s the first thing I recommend when someone asks me about my top postpartum recovery essentials. I heard moms raving about using both Sprays after every bathroom visit.

7. Perineal Pads

If you are short on time and can’t use your „DIY Padsicle“, or simply need some extra soothing, these pads will come in quite handy. Just put them onto your normal pad once you’ve been to the toilet, cleaned yourself with the peri bottle, and used the Dermoplast Spray.

8. Epsom Salt

Epson Salt works great for sitz baths.

Learn more about the benefits of Sitz Baths after birth & how to do them.

II. Your Boobs

If you are planning to breastfeed, you should definitely stock up on these products:

1. Nursing Pads

Once your milk starts coming in, you will be leaking quite a bit. Make sure to have a nursing pad ready in your bra to catch the letdown.

2. Nipple Butter

Your nipples will be quite sore during the first days/weeks of your breastfeeding journey. To help with the pain, you should get a hold of this nipple butter. It worked wonders for me and really helped with the pain of my sore, bleeding nipples.

3. Breast Gel Pads

I really struggled with sore nipples and although the nipple butter worked wonders, I needed some extra help. That’s when I decided to get some soothing nipple pads that I used once in the morning and at night.

4. Nursing Snacks

Breastfeeding makes you hungry! As a new mom, you don’t really have the time to eat and drink as much as you should. You’re so busy taking care of your newborn, and your lady parts, that you easily forget about food.

What really kept me fed and nourished, which was also great for my milk supply, were various nursing snacks.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Rice Crackers
Granola Bars
Packaged Nuts
Fruit & Veggie Plates
Bottled Smoothies
Lactation Cookies

Make sure to prepare some snacks in advance & store them all over your apartment and diaper bag. Just to make sure you have something to eat whenever you feel hungry but don’t have the time to make and have a meal.

In case you need some more help with breastfeeding, check out my blog post on the most important Breastfeeding Essentials for every new, breastfeeding mom.

III. Your Belly

I never experienced a c-section, so I can’t really recommend any products. But I found this awesome Blog Post for every new mom that is recovering from one.

However, here are a few things every mom that is recovering from a vaginal or c-section birth should get:

1. Pain Killers

After delivery, your uterus contracts and shrinks back to its normal size. As this happens, it can cause some lower abdominal cramps, also known as afterpains. They usually feel like menstrual cramps, but can get as strong as your contractions during birth.

The hospital kept offering me Ibuprofen during my stay and they really helped to keep the abdominal cramps under control. Always check your doctor first before taking any medication, especially if you are breastfeeding.

2. Belly Wrap

This will help your stomach muscles and organs and support your back.

“When done properly, belly binding applied to the abdomen and around the hips can provide support to your pelvic floor. It also offers gentle compression that holds muscle and ligaments safely in place as your body heals.“ – www.healthline.com

This will help your stomach muscles and organs and support your back.

„When done properly, belly binding applied to the abdomen and around the hips can provide support to your pelvic floor. It also offers gentle compression that holds muscle and ligaments safely in place as your body heals.“ – www.healthline.com

3. Stool Softener

I never had to use a stool softener, but looking back, I probably should have.

Pooping after birth hurts, if you suffered a tear, it’s even worse. So taking some of these every once in a while can really help and reduce the suffering. Ask at the hospital or your doctor for advice on which ones to use.