Postpartum Must-Haves for New Moms - Troubleshooting Motherhood

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If you are about to become a first-time mom, knowing what the must-haves for postpartum healing are can be really confusing. How are you supposed to know what postpartum necessities you need if you’ve never been through childbirth before?

The last thing you want to be doing after you get home from the hospital with a brand new baby is to try and figure out what you actually need.

This list of postpartum must-haves for mom will take the guesswork out of it for you. These are all postpartum necessities for healing and feeding baby that I highly recommend you purchase before your baby arrives.

Postpartum Must Haves: Essentials Every New Mom Needs

Must Haves for Postpartum Care & Healing

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1. Adult diapers: Yes, you read that right-adult diapers are so much better postpartum than giant pads! No more giant pads hanging out of your equally giant underwear. Bring on the Depends!

2. Granny Panties: If you don’t normally wear granny panties, now is the time to buy a nice big pack of them. You need these to stay comfortable and to keep your pad comfortably in place.

3. Hemorrhoid Pads: These pads have dual uses. First, they are great to put in your underwear to help soothe your lady parts and your stitches (if you need them). Cool Comfort Medicated Pads are commonly used postpartum; they are small round pads that are soaked in witch hazel.

4. Witch hazel is a must-have postpartum. It is a mild astringent that is very soothing on wounds, plus it helps reduce inflammation.

Hemorrhoid pads are already soaked with witch hazel, but for even more soothing, more witch hazel can be poured directly on to the medicated pads. Place the pads between your body and your adult diaper or pad. These need to be changed out every time you change your pad or even every time you use the restroom.
You can also make frozen witch hazel pads. On a paper towel, overlap the pads and make it as long as you think is necessary. Pour witch hazel on top then wrap it up and place it in the freezer. You can prepare a bunch of these ahead of time so they’re ready for you when you get home.

5. Ready to use Padcicles! You no longer need to waste time making your own DIY Padcicles. Now you can just grab these from Frida Mom, and use them immediately. No need to freeze for hours, there is no freezer required, they are instantly cold and ready to soothe your sore parts.

6. Stool Softners are VITAL after delivery. The last thing you want to do is strain on the toilet right after giving birth. They will begin giving you these in the hospital, but you’ll need to continue taking them when you get home. From personal experience, the generic brands worked just as well as what I was given in the hospital.

7. Dermoplast Numbing Spray. This is a pain-relieving spray that they use in the hospital for postpartum mothers. It helps numb the area, plus it cools and moisturizes the skin. Use this every time you use the restroom after you have cleansed yourself with a Peri Bottle.

8. The Peri bottle is a small bottle that you fill with warm water to cleanse yourself after you use the restroom. You can take the one they give you in the hospital-no need to purchase one.

On the off chance that you are not provided one, this Peri Bottle is top-rated for postpartum care.

Using all these items will make your postpartum recovery much more comfortable.

For the Nursing Mom

If you are planning to nurse your baby, there are still some supplies that you will need.

9. Nipple Shield. The first item I highly recommend is a nipple shield. This is used to help with common nursing problems such as soreness, inverted nipples, and latch issues.

My second child had latch issues, and I ended up with bloody nipples. Nursing was excruciating because of it and I was an emotional wreck because I was determined to nurse her. The nipple shield saved me! It allowed my nipples to heal while I continued to nurse.

Most women will not need one, but I recommend having one on hand the first few weeks postpartum. Keep it in its packaging and return it if you don’t end up needing it.

10. Nursing Pads: Your breasts will leak milk so you definitely need nursing pads. After my first was born, I nursed him and then ran an errand to the bank without pads in my bra. I assumed because I had just nursed, that I didn’t need them…I was wrong.

As I was sitting down with the banker, I felt something dripping on my arm. It’s always better to be safe than sorry lol. I also recommend keeping extras in your diaper bag.

If you’re interested in trying out reusable breast pads so you don’t have to keep spending money on them, you can get 10 Free Reusable Breast Pads Here.

11. Nursing Bra: You will need two types of nursing bras: a day bra and a sleep bra.

Natori’s Hidden Glamour Underwire Nursing Bra was rated by Good Housekeeping as the best nursing bra overall. This bra’s fit, comfort, support, and adorable style were key to this nursing bra landing in the top spot.

My favorite nighttime bra was the Medela Nursing Bra for Sleep. This bra was really comfortable at night and it was good quality-it was still in good shape after I used it for a total of 4 years. These come in S M L sizes which means there’s no guessing on cup sizes, so they’re easy to buy while you’re still pregnant.

Medela nursing bra for sleep. postpartum must have

12. A back pillow for those middle of the night feedings. Sitting up feeding a baby can be really uncomfortable. This back pillow made those feeding so comfortable for me.

Grey back pillow that is great for sitting comfortably while feeding baby in bed.

For Formula Feeding or Pumping Moms

13. Bottles: There are so many different kinds out there that it can be hard to choose which one you’d like to use. I recommend buying a couple of different ones and see which one you like best. You don’t want to buy them in bulk before the baby arrives and then end up hating them.

Personally, I used the Playtex Drop-In Bottles because it meant less dishwashing for me.

14. Formula: Once again there are so many to choose from. I suggest talking to friends and seeing what they have used. When I had to supplement for my son I used Similac Sensitive.

I strongly recommend that you do not buy this in bulk before your baby arrives. Not all formulas agree with babies’ tummies, so you may need to switch brands or types. You don’t want to end up with a case of unused formula.

15. A good bottle drying rack. This drying rack is great for drying all the parts, plus it doesn’t take up a lot of space on your counter. Plus, it’s really cute!

When to Shop for Postpartum Necessities

I recommend crossing everything off of your postpartum recovery checklist once you hit 36 weeks, in case you go into labor a little early.

The good thing is that everything can be purchased online, so you don’t have to worry about buying anything embarrassing in person…yes I’m talking about the Depends:)

Purchasing a Postpartum Care Kit

If you don’t want to purchase all these items individually, there is another option. Frida Mom has a postpartum care kit that you can purchase.

Their kit comes with a Peri Bottle, 4 Underwear, 4 Instant Ice Maxi Padsicles, Witch Hazel Pad Liners (24ct pack), Perineal Healing Foam, toiletry bag, and a caddy to keep it all in.

They also have a bunch of other postpartum recovery items that you can check out.

Start Gathering Your Postpartum Must-Haves

I hope this list of postpartum must-haves has been helpful for you. Figuring out what the most important mom must-haves for after birth can be intimidating and you may feel discouraged when you don’t know what to buy.

If you follow this list of postpartum necessities, you will be prepared with all your must-haves for after giving birth.

P.S. If you’re looking at other ways to prepare for when your baby arrives I highly recommend that new moms prepare freezer meals for those days you’re too exhausted to cook.