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There are SO many things that you need and that are useful in those first weeks and months as a new mom, and I plan to share it all with you! Today, however, I am focusing on those specific things that I truly needed for myself right after giving birth and got a lot of use out of. Hopefully, if you are overwhelmed by working on prepping your home and hospital bag, this can be of some help!
1. Good Dry Shampoo
I personally love the Not Your Mother’s Unscented Clean Freak brand. It doesn’t have a smell which can irritate new little noses, and it doesn’t feel heavy or greasy! You just spray it on and brush a bit, then you are all set! I took this with me to the hospital and it was great for a quick refresh for pictures or before visitors came. But I do know that I would go days without washing my hair once we were home (because who has time with a newborn?), and it was a lifesaver then. Heck, I still use this 4 out of 7 days a week!
2. Makeup remover wipes.
Trust me, less is more when it comes to your beauty routine in those first weeks postpartum. Immediately after Addie was born, I was still numb from the epidural and couldn’t walk, but I had been laboring all night long and just wanted to feel clean. It was so amazing to be able to just grab one of these and freshen myself up a bit!
Once we came home, I loved the ease of being able to just take off the makeup (if I actually put any on) with a quick wipe and never have to take my eyes off of my baby girl! These Neutrogena ones are my absolute fave!
3. A Comfy Nursing Bra (Even if you aren’t nursing!)
I cannot stress the comfy part enough! Everything hurts after childbirth, its just the honest truth. Your lady-parts hurt, your boobs hurt, your back hurts, your eyes hurt, your head hurts…just keeping it real! At least for me and my sleep-deprived self. I lived in these super soft Nursing Bras from Target. They are enough that you won’t be embarrassed if guests stop by, but you don’t have to deal with underwires. And if you are nursing, they are a super quick, pull-to-the-side design which I loved.
4. A Good Robe
This was hands-down one of the best investments that I made for my hospital bag. Post Peanut nursing robes are my favorite (I own about 4) and they have super cute and soft matching swaddles too! I loved having this to put on after her arrival and of course loved coordinating with my girl. It is perfect to wear around the house over a nursing tank too! I was a fan of anything that allowed me to feel a little put together for drop ins but still be comfortable, too!
5. Witch Hazel
This stuff is amazing for helping ease the pain in the lady-parts. I highly recommend keeping some on hand! I used it on pads for the first week or so to help with discomfort.
6. Dermoplast
This is an absolute need. Like seriously, go ahead and order yourself a few bottles. I used at least one can before I even left the hospital. It numbs everything which you will want, especially if you have any tearing/stitches like I did. You can go ahead and Prime it right to your house and stock a couple bottles in your bathroom too!
7. Stool Softener
You guys, no one warned me about the first postpartum poop. (sorry if that is TMI. Men, you probably don’t want to read any further because I am getting real with my ladies from here on out). It hurts. It hurts bad. And you want that sucker as soft as humanly possible before it comes out. In fact, I recommend that as soon as your baby is out, you ask your nurse for some. And then keep taking it on the regular until you are fully healed. Colace is what I used!
8. Hemorrhoid Pads
Another unpleasant truth. These are helpful for the entire region down there, not just for hemorrhoids. At the hospital they told me to line my pad with them and they would soothe things. As someone who had a few good tears, I needed all the soothing I could get! I kept a few containers of these at home and used them frequently. Let’s be honest, you probably have a hemorrhoid or two that need help as well.
9. Extra. Long. Maxi. Pads.
There will be blood. It will be unpleasant. You can’t use tampons (boo, hiss). So you will just have to deal. Pads are a part of the gig! I personally loved these Always brand overnight maxi pads. Stock up before you go into labor and have them waiting for you when you get home, that way your poor husband doesn’t have to go guess and buy the wrong thing. Trust me, you don’t want to skimp on the coverage here! Order you some extra mesh panties (some hospitals are chincy…mine was not!) and rock them, girl!
10. A Peri Bottle (or 2 or 3…)
These guys are super handy! Toilet paper hurts (and isn’t recommended if you have stitches or tears) for the first little while after having a baby. Unfortunately, you still need to keep everything clean. A peri bottle filled with warm water is awesome for that (and really soothing) and these little Frida Baby ones are super handy. I kept one in each bathroom on our main floor so that I wouldn’t have to carry one around with me, or be stranded if I forgot it.
11. Swipe some wipes.
Yep, steal from your sweet baby! When you finally do that post-partum poop, you will need to be able to support your perineum. And then you will also have to clean things up a bit which is also not fun (I told you guys, TMI train over here right now- just keepin’ it real with you). Honestly, baby wipes are the best for the job! I use Huggies Natural Care for Addilyn and they are unscented which makes them a great choice! I kept a pack of those in my postpartum bathroom basket too!
These items have all been so useful to me! In fact, these little postpartum “go bags” are my new favorite baby shower gift for this reason! Rather than giving someone their 100th wash cloth or onesie, bless them with the stuff mama needs! Trust me, she will thank you!
And a little money savin’ hack! If you create an Amazon Registry (more on why I think these are amazing later!), you can add 95% of this stuff to it! That means either people can gift it to you (winning!), or you can buy it for yourself but it will count toward your registry rewards. And the registry rewards are amazing with them! Highly recommend, but that is for another post!
One of the hardest parts of postpartum life for me personally was juggling mom-life and handling meal planning, grocery shopping and cooking. I WISH I had known about this when I had my babies, but I know that it will be a great burden-lifter if we have another! Go check out my meal planning hack that makes my life way easier (and gives my family more variety, too).
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