For any of you mama’s getting ready to have a baby soon here is my list for post pregnancy must haves! These are all products/items I used to aid in my recovery.
I wore a Belly Bandit and it 100% made a difference in how I looked in my clothes after Caden was born. I felt really supported and wore it all the time except for showering until I was 4 weeks postpartum and for the next 2 weeks only wore it at night. I purchased the small and extra small sized bands. For the first week I wore the small the sized band and the remaining weeks wore the extra small.
This won’t be the case for all new moms but I had the worst, and I mean worst, body odor ever after delivery. It lasted for weeks. Make sure you pack deodorant with you to bring to the hospital. I like the Tom’s brand because they contain no harsh chemicals and it smells fresh.
I used several witch hazel pads topped with medicated foam and ointment to soothe my stitched skin and hemorrhoids. All of this and more will be provided to you by the hospital. Resist the urge to look down there. It is not pretty. I was beyond traumatized after I did and feared I would remain in the gauze panties the hospital had put me in for the remainder of my life. The witch hazel pads were cooling and soothing to my irritated skin.
A sitz bath may be created simply by filling a bathtub with some water and sitting in it for a few minutes. There are also special devices that fit into toilet bowls. It is used to relieve discomfort and pain in the lower part of the body. These are awesome to do! I also used a small amount of epsom salt when I did mine.
The hospital will send you home with a decent supply of pads but make sure you have some at home as well. I felt like the bleeding was never going to stop. Of course it did but the amount of blood that was being released from my body at first was quite impressive. Each day the amount of bleeding decreased. At 4 weeks postpartum I was only slightly spotting.
Prunes! Natures laxatives! Trying to poop and pee after delivery is a nightmare. Seriously, a nightmare. I can not even begin to explain the anxiety I had when trying to have a bowel movement. I felt like any kind of pushing directed in that region of my body would split my stitches open. Peeing was no walk in the park either. My skin was already irritated and raw leaving me wincing each time I needed to go to the bathroom. Take prunes with each meal and drink plenty of water to dilute your urine to make sitting on the toilet less painful.
Speaking of going to the bathroom, do not wipe yourself with toilet paper. There will be a perineal wash bottle in the hospital bathroom that you can fill with warm water to rinse yourself. The wash bottle is amazing! Take it home with you, it will be your bff for the next serval weeks.
Did I leave anything out? What were some of your must haves for after delivery?
Be sure to check out my Losing The Baby Weight Series for more tips post baby:
Have a great weekend!
I am right there with you with the anxiety of going to the bathroom after the fact. I was so afraid to push anything! I stocked up at the hospital on pads, those diapers, and the grabbed a couple bottles. The nurse was really nice and gave me two bottles of witch hazel and told me to keep it in the fridge and she gave me some gauze to take home.
Wish this post was here last year before I had my son, lol!
Ashlee, I know! I looked everywhere for a post like this but couldn’t find one, I am sure some other mom has wrote one but I never found it.
I drank apple prune juice from the baby aisle. Because I couldn’t do plain prunes/prune juice and there was no way I could drink a whole bottle. That helped tremendously!
The belly band is one thing I WISHED I had after having Lily! My husband thought I was ridiculous. I felt like my stomach was going to slosh right out of the waist of my pants. It was the strangest feeling. I’d hold my stomach as I walked down the stairs haha! Which belly bandit did you get? The original? Couture?
Gabby, I have the original belly bandit:)