There’s a lot of things you hear about postpartum care prior to delivering, but there’s so much more out there that no one’s telling you. It’s me, hi, I’m the one that’s going to tell you all about them… even the really 💩 ones!
Remember, it’s just as important to take care of yourself as it is your new baby. You can’t pour from an empty cup! Preparing postpartum care items prior to delivering is a great way to ensure you’ll be taken care of even during the busy season of new motherhood.
Use Your Car’s Seat Warmers
Like, for months. I’m 10 months postpartum and still using these every time I’m in the car.
If you delivered naturally your poor pelvis is probably aching. This has easily been the most longterm side effect of birth for me. Even as I type this, having worked extra hard running around at tennis on that hard surface yesterday, my pelvis is sore from it today. It’s not just direct contact that makes it sore (i.e. sitting on hard surfaces, which also does it, more on that later). In fact, it’s more commonly from being on my feet and working extra hard on them. It sneaks up on you!
Trust me, use those seat warmers, even if you’re not currently sore. It’s a great way to warm up your bones and muscles to prevent future soreness!
Keep Laxatives and Fiber Supplements Home
Honestly, maybe even throw some in your hospital bag. I can’t remember if I had some hospital or not, but I do remember taking Miralax every other day for two weeks once home. Raw honesty here, one tells you how hard having a bowel movement is after delivering a baby vaginally.
Your muscles are just spent and you need all the help you can get. I remember some really rough days where I wasn’t able to go and it’s uncomfortable! Laxatives were the only way for me. Check with your doctor and start taking laxatives as soon as you’re able postpartum. And forget those cute little packets, get this value sized bottle. You’ll use most of it if you deliver naturally, trust me!
Use a Larger Lidded Bathroom Wastebasket
I guarantee you don’t see this tip anywhere, and that’s probably because it’s not the most glamorous topic. However, after you deliver you bleed for a few weeks, sometimes heavily. Chances are you have a smaller, discreet wastebasket in your primary bathroom. While that works for everyday life, hear me out about this postpartum care adjustment: get a larger, lidded wastebasket.
The postpartum pads you need to wear are huge. They’re totally necessary, but wow are they large. Truly, like 2-3 of the ones I had to wear would fill my tiny wastebasket, which had me changing it sometimes multiple times a day. I’m recovering, I don’t want to keep taking the trash out. Plus, if we’re being really honest here, it can get a little smelly (it’s organic matter, after all).
To keep yourself from changing that waste basket every single day, use an extra garbage can from around the house (or grab mine) during recovery. Or, this is an inexpensive option to get you through that first month or so.
Have a Heat Pad You Love for Postpartum Care
Similar to the car seat warmers, heat pads are life savers. I have this heat pad from Amazon and it’s a great deal. It has three different heat settings and an auto off in case you take a little snooze (I won’t tell).
On days I was particularly sore postpartum I would heat my lower back or bottom when on the couch. Grab one for yourself as you prepare for baby’s arrival!
Have a Postpartum Friendly Seat Cushion
Are you seeing a theme here? #buttcomfort
Our hospital actually sent us home with a postpartum care seat cushion, but it was a cheaper blow up one and eventually got a hole. I have this sleek seat cushion from Amazon and for the first four months it moved all around the house with me. Now, it lives on my office chair because I spend the most sitting time there and I’m not as severely achy on the daily.
Keep That Pregnancy Pillow Nearby
Thought you’d pop out the baby and be done with this gigantic pillow? You can be if you want, but I used mine for a few weeks postpartum. It was nice to ease back into my typical sleeping situation, still using the pillow but without the belly, especially while I was fresh off delivery and still a bit sore.
My pregnancy pillow is also super dynamic (as much so as a pillow can be). It’s a big U-shaped maternity pillow that not only zips apart, but also extends and the fabric is self-cooling! If you’ve ever been more than a few weeks pregnant you know this much, it’s a warm experience most of the time. Having a cooling pillow was CLUTCH! Plus, I still use the tiny part that zips off as a pillow when watching TV before bed. It’s easy to get tons of use out of my maternity pillow.
Maternity Leggings are Postpartum Care, Too
Do not be ashamed in the slightest to wear your maternity leggings after baby. Your tummy won’t be back down to it’s pre-baby self for a while (maybe ever, that’s just reality) so while you’re recovering, be comfortable. No one can notice the difference anyway!
These are my absolute favorite maternity leggings (they’re titled “live in” for a reason), and I try them on alongside several other popular brands of maternity leggings in this post here. But I promise you, these are worth stocking up on.
Be Proactive About Postpartum Hair Loss
If you’re concerned about postpartum hair loss, you can easily get ahead of the curve here. I talked more about my postpartum hair loss experience here, and as you can read, I was NOT prepared. Thinking I was immune somehow (LOL) I didn’t do anything until I started seeing big clumps of hair coming out after showers, brushing, etc.
My top recommendation is to start using Divi Scalp Serum around three months postpartum or sooner if you’re seeing hair loss beforehand. Mine started happening around five months, but I wish I’d been on a regimen sooner. This is postpartum care that will vary greatly based on individual preferences, but that’s my advice having just been through it.
What was your first time postpartum like? Do you have specific postpartum care recommendations that I didn’t touch on here? Please share them in the comments, I’d love to know for the future and I’m sure others would, too!
