Postpartum Essentials

With it now being over a week post-partum, I feel like I have really navigated what my essentials have been since little Rowe was born; here are a few post-partum items I would highly recommend purchasing or thinking about that I have been using consistently.

Some people commented before I had the baby that the hospital supplies you with a lot of this stuff. We did an at home birth, and yes our midwives did give us a package of a few of these items, However I still found I needed and wanted extra of everything. Plus I found some of the stuff I had was more comfortable than the hospital grade items, such as the post-partum underwear/diapers. I found the Frida post-partum underwear much stretchier and overall more comfortable than the hospital ones! I also wanted to make sure I had a peri bottle in our downstairs bathroom and upstairs, so an extra Frida peri bottle was super handy! Plus, the shape of the Frida one is much easier for the cleaning the downstairs.

1.     Bravado Nursing Bras. Honestly the holy grail of nursing bras. They are so functional, easy to use and extremely comfortable! There are a bunch of styles but I purchased every colour in this one here.  My midwife also informed me on this brand called The Dairy Fairy. They make these beautiful lace nursing bras for mommas with the goal to help new moms feel a bit more like themselves and a bit sexier. I was gifted this beautiful lace one and loved wearing it when we went out for lunch to feel a bit more done up! I know once I am more mobile this will feel nice to wear when we are going out.

2.     Nursing pads/milk pads. These were super handy to add an extra absorbent layer for those leaky boobs. I purchased these organic resuable/washable ones and also purchased a box of the disposable ones. The washable ones I find I wear more at home and throughout the night since they are quote big and the disposable ones I will put on if we are going out and about as they are smaller and stick onto whatever dress, shirt or bra you are wearing!

3.     Diapers/Post-partum underwear. As I mentioned, I found the Frida post-partum underwear to be MUCH more comfortable than the hospital ones. I am on day 7 post-partum and still wearing them, especially at night. During the day if we are leaving the house I got the Knix underwear as they are seamless, extremely soft and thin and very comfortable, plus you feel a bit more ‘normal’ wearing the Knix underwear out and about than the Frida post-partum underwear. I am still of course wearing my pads, and from what I have been told bleeding lasts for quite some time so the Knix ones are nice because they fit my post-partum pads in there perfectly!

4.     Pads/Padsicles. I purchased a ton of organic extra absorbent and extra long pads. I am now wearing just dry pads but my padsicle recipe was key for those first few days poast-partum. Click here for my padsicle recipe.

5.     Peri bottle. As I mentioned briefly above, the midwives do give you a little squirt bottle. However, it was nice and in my mind, necessary, to keep a peri bottle in the downstairs bathroom and our master bathroom. They hospital ones are fine but I really liked the shape of the Frida bottle. I found it cleaned the basement area easier, if you know what I mean.  

6.     Sitz bath and Epsom salts. An absolute game changer on your huha after giving birth! Toss in one bag of the Sitz bath and go heavy on the Epsom baths for probably the most relaxing bath you will ever have. The Sitz bath especially has so many healing properties in it, so make sure you get a good quality, organic one. The one I got is linked here. It was honestly a game changer in how I felt.

7.     Raspberry leaf tea. Most of you ladies will be drinking this before giving birth, but my Doula also highly recommended still consuming it post-partum as it will help with your cervix going back to normal. I will drink 1-2 cups a day.

8.     Large water bottle. I have always been really good about consuming a lot of water but breastfeeding makes you SO thirsty. Honestly as soon as she takes one suck I get parched. I found I have been dehydrated more than I expected so make sure you have a massive water bottle with a straw on hand and full at all times! Drink up mamas

9.     Vitamins/Placenta Pills. I am still taking my prenatals, and all the vitamins I was taking during pregnancy. I won’t go into too much detail about the vitamins I was taking as I saw my naturopath throughout my entire pregnancy and they were recommended by her. If you have questions about what I took, please let me know in the comments below, otherwise speak with your health care team on which is best for you.

With that being said, the Placenta pills for me have been an absolute game changer! They have given me so much energy, I have felt extremely happy, no mood swings or post partum depression, which I am so thankful for because I know many people who have suffered from this. With that being said, I am not saying taking these pills will dismiss any of those side effects, from what I am told, they are supposed to help, but I know every women deals and feels post-partum differently. This was just my experience with taking them. I would highly recommend them, I mean the placenta grew and nourished your baby – so all those nutrients are going back into your body! Our Doula was Kathleen Baker at All Birth, and she does placenta encapsulation if you’re interested. Plus, she is the most amazing Doula.

10.   Haaka. The Haaka has been great for collecting an excess milk drippage while little Rowe is eating. I collected almost a full baby bottle freezer bag worth in one feeding. My sister-in-law told me about it when I first got pregnant and it honestly is such a necessity in not having that liquid gold go to waste. A few people messaged me saying it can cause an excess in production, however, I am not using it for pumping, I am just using it to collect the drippings. Check them out though and decide for yourself, but it is definitely nice not wasting any milk!