Sometimes, we focus so much on the birth, we forget that postpartum brings a whole ‘notha ball game (i.e. my breastfeeding journey – 15 months strong!). So I present to you the necessities of my postpartum life.
- Earth mama spray
It looks different (hello re-branding) but still works miracles. I loved this so much, it’s a cooling refreshing spray for your perineum and is far healthier to spray on your genitals than durplast or whatever it’s called. The spray bottle works upside down, so after using the restroom, spray 1 to 2 times and you’ll feel tons better. If there is nothing else you buy for yourself postpartum, you’ll make it. But you NEED this. I promise. - Peri bottle
If your caregiver doesn’t give you one, I’m sorry! You’re not using toilet paper for the first like 7 months (kidding) so you need to feel fresh, spraying yourself with water, then the Earth Mama spray, is a wonderful plan. - High quality water
Yeah, get that Ph water! Especially if you’re breastfeeding, water consumption matters greatly! I love Essentia, stay away from Smart Water, but drink water. When I logged my water consumption, at the height I was taking in 250 ounces. This all depends on your size and if you have a milky monster, but know it’s essential! - Hulu/Netflix/ Amazon Prime
We lived off this. We re-watched The Office, my husband watch Pokemon when baby girl and I were asleep, and I watch Blackish when he was asleep. You’ll be up odd hours and doing odd things, so some entertainment is nice. I was also on partial bed rest around 37 weeks, so I found some other shows to watch as well to keep us entertained. Also, baby blues is real (and PPA & PPD) so I recommend guarding your heart, don’t watch anything that could trigger emotions you’re not ready to handle. (Other recommendations: Parks and Rec, Reign, Speechless, Brooklyn 99, The Mayor, A Different World) - Padscicles
I loosely followed what you see online, but you need aloe gel, alcohol free witch hazel, pure lavender essential oil, and the monster sized pads. Put a little of all of that on the pads, re-wrap them and put them in a freezer gallon bag, and place in the freezer! I actually put these inside the diapers I wore for 3ish days then I wore the padsicles until I ran out. I’d say they were essential the first 5 days, after that it was kind of useless and it was intense because the freezing cold no longer felt good! Now, I didn’t tear, so there wasn’t a huge necessity, but I’d assume if you tore these would be even more necessary. - Benkung Belly Binding
After you give birth, your abdominal area feels CRAY. I felt as if my organ were going to fall out with my baby, I felt like I had ZERO support. I’ll link you to my masseuse who does the belly binding so you can see what it looks like and the benefits, but I won’t ever skip on this postpartum! It’s highly adjustable and better than those postpartum bands you get at Target. This is has great customization and allows you to bind yourself differently depending on the day and how you’re feeling. I loved doing this, and because of the way it worked it was super necessary for me to relax (i.e. don’t clean, walk around, entertain people, etc.) and focus on my healing. - Heavy support
American culture does a terrible job supporting women during the postpartum period, and this is one major way – we don’t come alongside women for longer than a few days. Did you know most countries (excluding the western world) there is a lying in period, 40 days of rest, or something very similar? Women are supported by their family and friends. Someone else cooks, someone else cleans, someone else supports the old kids, etc. Mom’s primary role in 40 days is to heal and bond with the new baby. I know, in our economy it’s a privilege for anyone to have 40 days, but ask yourself what you’re willing to lose for yourself. Giving birth is a stinkin’ marathon and if people don’t want to admit that, they’re lying. I don’t care if you did natural or had a pic drip, you need time to heal. When people come see you baby, you better ask them to help. People who visit, you better help. Holding the baby isn’t always the best thing you can do, sometimes feeding the dog, doing a load of laundry, or entertaining the older sibling could mean the world to the parents. For me, I was privileged enough to have my husband stay home for two weeks, my sister stay a week, and my mom stay another week. I felt this was just enough time for me to brave this new mom trail. Don’t believe me? America is finally getting it, there’s an article that recently came out claiming a mom’s body needs at least a year to heal, while my midwives told me it was 2 years to heal. Either way, it’s more time than what the average woman is giving herself. - Bed rest
In that same breath, Mamas, stay your behind in bed. Seriously. I mean, ok, so some of you will feel like a million bucks after birth, congrats, but go lay your behind down somewhere. My midwives urged me to AT LEAST stay in bed for 2 weeks, I adhered because I did have a taxing labor, but I wonder if my labor was easy if I would have felt the same way. Tips to help stay in bed: don’t get dressed, stay in your pajamas all day. When guest come over, have them visit you in your bedroom. This will make you stay in bed and also limit the amount of time your visitors stay (hopefully). Bind yourself, you can’t move much in that. I will again say, American culture doesn’t support an ideal postpartum situation. Ladies, you will be ‘avant garde’ and your family may even be upset, but that doesn’t matter; your healing matters. - The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding
- So I put this as postpartum cause that’s when I finally read it! It’s a marvelous book that ignited my love for breastfeeding. This book also motivated me to make bigger goals for breastfeeding. I can’t say enough about the book, it’s a guide to your entire breastfeeding journey and can troubleshoot so many issues women generally have.
