After you have baby, there is a LOT going on. Vaginal birth or c-section, it doesn’t matter. There are ESSENTIAL postpartum must haves you will be needing post birth. From nipple cream to pads, it can be extremely overwhelming actually trying to figure out what you need. Lucky for you, you came to the right place! I got you girl! Let’s talk about the top items you will be needing for a healthy, healing postpartum journey.
During my pregnancy, I was so concerned about all the newborn essentials I would need. I mean, I knew I would need pads and maybe some different underwear, but I didn’t take it too seriously. Buying stuff for the new baby was just so much more fun!
And then there I was- Little Miss clueless (and very much in pain) Brit. Thank goodness the hospital sends you home with some supplies because if they didn’t- I literally would have been SOL.
So don’t be like me girls. Believe me, I know you want to get anything and everything for the baby. And as you should! But please understand you are going to be in pain. In order to feel semi-okay and take care of your baby, there are postpartum must haves you will FOR SURE be needing.
This post contains:
- Postpartum Needs Checklist (click here for PDF)
- Postpartum Must Haves for Vaginal Births
- C-Section Postpartum Must Haves
- Postpartum Breast Care Essentials
Postpartum Must Haves
postpartum care essentials for vaginal birth
After I had Owen, I honestly underestimated the amount of pain I would be in. I thought, “Oh I’m young, I’ll be fineeeeee.” In my head, I truly had this mentality that women do this all the time, and my body can handle it. And my body did handle it, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t think about postpartum necessities and have our bodies go through hell for a month.
The thing about vaginal births is they’re not all the same. I personally pushed for over three hours (yes, you read that right. THREE hours. I wish I was joking). I only tore a little, but my vagina and entire body was incredibly sore. Maybe you will only push for 10 minutes, that’s great! But you might possibly end up tearing a little more.
It’s important that we are proactive and buy what we need, so we don’t have to worry about it day 4 postpartum when you’re at home and don’t want to leave the couch.
One of the first essentials we will talk about that you will need during your postpartum journey is pads. After giving birth, you will bleed. Typically the bleeding gets to be pretty light after a few days, but the bleeding will more than likely continue over the next couple of weeks.
For pads, I would buy both types for heavy and light flow (and/or liners too). Another option you may like are the disposable underwear with the pads built in. It will depend on what you like, but for going to bed, I found these to be more reassuring for me personally. They also are pretty comfortable, and it is nice to have everything all in one.
While we are on the topic of pads, let’s discuss underwear. I personally loved black underwear during my postpartum journey. You will leak and be self-conscious of what and where the blood is all going. Black (or dark), cheap granny panties will be your new best friend!
The pain that we go through during labor is always talked about. A topic that sometimes gets missed is the pain after having a vaginal birth. Girl, that discomfort is truly something else. All of our bodies are different as to how they recover and respond to birth. For me, I wouldn’t say I was in pain once I got home, but the discomfort and soreness was there. I would have been incredibly, INCREDIBLY uncomfortable for a week without these products I am about to talk about.
These Frida Mom ice packs are the perfect first layer for your vagina. Not only will this help with the soreness but also the swelling. Just lay your ice pack right on top of your pad and continue with the steps below!
Once you have applied your ice pack, I suggest adding witch hazel pads on top. You do get some witch hazel pads from the hospital, but I suggest buying 1 or 2 more of your own. You will go through them pretty fast because they are that amazing. These Frida Mom Witch Hazel Liners work amazing for any burning, itching, or irritation you will be experiencing.
Any type of perineal spray (or also called dermoplast) will be your last step in this wonderful vaginal care process! This will be like the icing on the cake to get yourself feeling much more comfortable down there. I really loved Earth Mama’s perineal spray.
After you have a vaginal birth, it will sting to pee. This pain for me personally lasted a couple weeks, and what truly helps this is what we call a peri bottle. The hospital provides you with one, and honestly I used that same one the entire time. You can also find them at most drugstores. This Frida Mom Upside Down Peri Bottle is one of the more popular kinds!
Last, on our list of postpartum must haves are pain meds and stool softeners. With the soreness and inflammation it is very helpful to keep some extra Advil on hand. Depending on your birth experience and OB doc, you may even get a prescription for extra strength Advil. Also, you will 100% want to take a stool softener. Even if you had your first poop at the hospital, over the next couple of weeks you will still want to take this. Pooping will still be scary and just do yourself a favor and take the stool softener.
postpartum must haves c-section
After a c-section, your postpartum must haves do look a little different than a vaginal birth. Because you had surgery, your doctor will prescribe you with a higher dose of pain medication. So make sure to get your prescription (sometimes it is sent electronically to the pharmacy) and have those get picked up. Just like mentioned above, it will also be important for you to take a stool softener. It is important to not strain your incision, so taking a stool softener will hopefully help you pass gas and stools a little easier.
If you had a trial of labor, you are probably still sore down there. For you, I would highly suggest taking a peak above in tis post and grabbing the vaginal care essentials.
If you just went straight to surgery, you could still have some light bleeding. So just make sure you have some extra liners on hand (or get some extras from the hospital).
A product that you will want to make sure to have enough of are some pairs of supportive underwear. This c-section specific underwear from Upspring has a built in silicone panel to keep your incision safe!
If you chose to go with a different type of underwear, I still suggest buying some of these silicone scar sheets. This will help the recovery of your scar tremendously!
postpartum breast care essentials
If you are breastfeeding your babe, you will need to take special care of those girlies. When it comes to your nipples, they may feel extremely sore and raw right away. To protect them, I highly suggest you buy a nipple cream. Most kinds are safe to use both before and after a nursing session, but make sure to read the directions! My favorite nipple cream was the Organic Nipple Butter by Earth Mama.
Whether you are breastfeeding or not, you will experience engorgement. Engorgement happens when your milk comes in. If you are breastfeeding you will want to help this uncomfortable-full feeling by both feeding your baby and using some heat. If you aren’t nursing, an ice gel pack will be a major help. These gel packs off Amazon are great because they are for both either hot or cold therapy. If you are breastfeeding, make sure to keep these because once you wean babe, these again will come in handy!
Bras will be another item you will want to add to your postpartum must haves list. If you are not breastfeeding, you will want to make sure you are wearing a supportive bra for the girlies. If you are breastfeeding, you will want to make sure you stock up on nursing bras.
Last on your breast care essentials list you will want is a haaka. Haaka is an amazing nursing item that will really help build up your supply and help those leaky boobies!
DIY postpartum care kit
As you can see, there is a lot that you will be needing. To keep everything all in order, I bought a few different storage containers from Target and made my own postpartum kit. I placed one in the bathroom (with all the vaginal care) and also one in my bedroom (with breast care). This will help so much when it comes to going to the bathroom and night feeds.
Frida Mom has both a postpartum recovery kit AND a c-section recovery kit. Both of these are amazing if you are needing a little bit of everything.
If you are searching for a cute postpartum care kit for your wife, girlfriend, daughter or friend I have found the cutest care packages!
misc. postpartum care essentials
Lastly, let’s discuss some postpartum must haves that are maybe not SUPER necessary, but they are very nice to have. During my recovery I drank Pink Stork’s Postpartum Recovery Tea and I loved it. It is 100% organic and contains the essential vitamins and nutrients to help your body during this recovering period!
Bath salts will also be a great item to have in your bathroom. After a long day of being a mom, I really enjoyed lighting a candle, putting on a meditation and adding some bath salts to my tub. This really helps if you have hemorrhoids and just any general soreness you have down there.
Whether you are breastfeeding or not, you will want to make sure and stay hydrated. Find the largest water bottle you can and bring that thing with you everywhere. Especially if you are nursing, you will be EXTREMELY thirsty. So, make sure to find and buy your new favorite water bottle. I just recently joined the Stanley Water Bottle gang, and I could not be more happy with my purchase!
I hope you girls found this post to be helpful for you! This new moment in your life can be so overwhelming, so I hope this post offered all the advice and love you needed as you enter this new chapter of mommy life! xxx
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