Monday, September 7, 2015

Postpartum Products

This is a photo of Ethan when he was 5 days old that Jeff took.

*I was not compensated for this post.  These are products that I love, have purchased, and wanted to share with my readers.

Warning: I will be sharing a lot of personal information in this post.  If reading about women's bodies and bodily functions scares you, this probably isn't the post for you.
Whether you're having your baby in the hospital, or at home, when all is said and done and it's just you and your spouse at home with the baby, you have a moment where you think, Oh my gosh how the heck are we going to take care of a baby? Did they really just let us bring this baby home? We have no idea what we're doing! If you don't have these thoughts then awesome, but I know Jeff and I did.  Second time around it wasn't as shocking but there were new fears.  How am I going to care for two? Is Ethan going to feel left out? With all of that swimming around in my head one thing I didn't want to have to think about was my recovery and if I had everything I would need to feel better.  One thing that really helped me during that postpartum time was rest, I love this post from The Fike Life on How to Postpartum Like a Boss, it's all so true! The second thing that really helped are the products that I'll be talking about today.  Since I have never had a c-section I don't know if any of these products would be helpful for a cesarean recovery.

When I first had Ethan my friend Katie did the sweetest thing.  She already had a son and was well aware of how difficult postpartum recovery can be, so she sent me a care package with a lot of the products I'm going to mention today.  Not only did it feel wonderful to know that someone was thinking of me, but all of the products she sent were amazing, and really helped.  Since these are things people don't usually talk about I didn't have any of them, so they were a big help.

If you're an expecting mom and are reading this I highly recommend you purchase some of these products a month before you're due, along with the breastfeeding products I mentioned in my Tips and Products for Early Breastfeeding post.  If you're not expecting but know a new mom that is, it would be awesome to make up a gift basket with some of these and the breastfeeding products.  Most of them are very personal so it would have to be someone you feel comfortable giving these things to, but if you know this new mama doesn't have these products believe me she'll thank you for them.  

All of these products you will need right away which is why I recommend buying them a month before baby is due.  If you're giving it as a gift then drop it off on the mom's doorstep the first day she's back from the hospital and send her or her husband a text.  Most new parents prefer to be left alone for at least a week after baby comes, so it's good to get the gifts to mom right away, but not bother her with visitors quite yet.

Enough of my rambling, lets get started!


  1. Tucks: These are round medicated pads with witch hazel on them.  They're

    meant for hemorrhoids (which you may also have after giving birth), but they also feel great on your perineum (the skin between your vulva and anus).  I would put at least 2-3 of the pads on my industrial sized maxi pad and it really helped with swelling.
  2. Perineal Cold Pack: If you have your baby in the hospital they'll give these to you there.  When I had Ethan the nurse told me to hide the extras in my bag everyday, and that they would re-stock them, that way I would have some to take home.  These especially saved me with Ethan since I had a 3rd degree tear.  They're ice packs that look like a maxi pad, and believe me you will love these after giving birth.  Since I didn't go to the hospital this time around I purchased them, and even though they're expensive, they're worth every penny.
  3. Maxi Pads: Make sure you have different sizes.  At first you'll need the jumbo, overnight, super absorbent ones (I went through a whole bag in 2 weeks).  Then have a bag of the regular ones.  Finally, have a box of the light days.  It's  been a month since having Alice and I'm still using the light days pads so the bleeding goes on for quite a while.
  4. Earth Mama Angel Baby Bottom Spray: This spray also has witch hazel and feels
    so nice when you spray it on your perineum.  It has a fresh scent, and after I would wash with my Peri. Bottle, I loved spraying the bottom spray on.  Once you're healed, if you don't use it all it's also a face toner, so in the spirit of not being wasteful it can be added to your beauty regimen.
  5. Sitz Bath: When I had Ethan in the hospital they gave me a sitz bath to take home so I didn't need to purchase one.  It also works to fill the bathtub and sit in it, you can even add Postpartum Bath Herbs, or Epsom Salt to it for extra healing.  I thought the sitz bath was easier to set up than having to prepare the bathtub so I always preferred that, especially since I already had one.
I hope you find these recommendations as helpful as I did.  Any moms out there have other product recommendations they'd like to add? If you had a c-section what products did you feel were the most helpful with your recovery? If you're going to comment below make sure you're signed into your google account in order to do so.


No comments:

Post a Comment

 
Design by: The Blog Decorator