Simple Postpartum Care Kit (You Only Need 7 Things!)
Maybe it’s just me but I feel like most postpartum care kits go kind of overboard and are filled with a lot of unnecessary things that just clutter up your bathroom.
I had an episiotomy and a 2nd degree labial tear during labor so I needed a lot of help down there in terms of recovery – but I felt like I massively overbought for my postpartum care kit. Ultimately, I only ended up using 6 things.
1) Heavy flow period underwear (7 pairs)
This was life-saving because the giant postpartum pads sucked and I found them ultimately unnecessary because I wasn’t filling them up regularly after the first two days. Everyone’s postpartum recovery is different but if you can avoid using disposable undies and giant pads, do it! You’ll feel way more human, in my opinion.
And you’re already doing so much laundry during the first couple of weeks with a newborn that adding a few pairs of underwear to the mix really isn’t hard. Just throw it into the wash and make sure you give it an extra rinse cycle and boom. Easy peasy and far less bulky and ugly than disposable undies and giant pads.
2) Tucks
The cooling, medicated circles feel SO refreshing when you’re swollen and sore down there. These are a must have item – highly recommend that you have at least one pack on hand.
3) Dermaplast
The cooling, slightly numbing power of the dermaplast is so soothing. I highly recommend using this with the Tucks for ultimate cooling and numbing power. (Lay 3 tucks in a row in your undies, spray directly with Dermaplast, and boom, immediate cooling relief.)
4) Peri bottle
I debated on purchasing this because the hospital will provide a little squirt bottle and it’ll technically do the same job as a Peri bottle. But here’s the thing…the Peri bottle has a unique head that allows the water to come out in little streams like a shower head while a standard bottle works more like a garden hose. So you can imagine which one is more comfortable and gets the job done better (the Peri bottle all the way!). This peri bottle by Frida is the OG and it’s incredible.
5) Hemorrhoid cream
I pushed for 10 hours which is a very long time. Because you’re engaging your “southern” muscles so much, my understanding is that it can cause veins to become swollen and sore. Those veins are called hemorrhoids, and mine were out of control.
This hemorrhoid cream helped ease inflammation and dryness SO MUCH. Within 8 weeks, my hemorrhoids were completely gone.
6) Stool softener (specifically Colace)
After pushing for so many hours, my body was pretty messed up and toilet time was very painful for about 8 weeks.
I thought I could get away with using prunes as a natural stool softener rather than use a product like Colace and I. Was. Wrong. My first several bowel movement were very, VERY unfortunate and I used Colace religiously after that. Use stool softener!
7) Nipple butter (for nursing moms)
A friend gifted this to me and it SAVED me. Nursing a newborn so frequently (in my experience, every two hours for the first couple of months) can make you crack and bleed, and it heals sore, inflamed skin SO QUICKLY.
