After the delivery, you'll need to take care of yourself as a Mom's health is just as important as your baby's. This thread will help you figure out what you need for your postpartum care. Needs (products) do vary depending on the type of delivery you'll have, vagionally or via csection. Also welcome is discussion around PPD, baby blues, weight loss, etc.
***TW in Siggy***
Me: 34 / DH: 33
Married: Nov 2011
TTC #1: Jan 2013, BFP Sept 2013, DD: June 2014
TTC #2: Aug 2016, BFP Nov 2016, DS: August 2017
Re: Postpartum Care Thread
For anyone some cute/comfy loungewear is nice, especially when you have visitors. I was still comfortable, but felt more human. Hormone changes after delivery make you hot and sweaty like you wouldn't believe so make sure you have some light weight cotton options.
Regarding PPD, I wish I'd known that post partum anxiety is also a thing. I went off anxiety meds 3 months before getting pregnant the first time and stayed off the whole time. After he was born I would wake up with hives all over my chest and just really anxious. The lack of sleep is not helpful. My inability to breast feed made me feel even worse. I was blessed to have a pediatrician and OB who told me that if I couldn't take care of me, it was going to be hard to take care of baby. Both were very supportive of my decision to exclusively formula feed after 2 weeks.
FTM planning a home birth, so I'm clearly no expert, but I'm at a higher risk for PPD/PPA and I'm definitely a little worried about it. I'm still on my anxiety meds through pregnancy (per OB, midwife and psychiatrist's recommendations), but will also do the following things to hopefully mitigate the risk. These have been suggested by my midwife and acupuncturist.
• encapsulate placenta (there's only really anecdotal evidence here, but that's plenty for me. Can't hurt.)
• eat lots of dark leafy greens and beets the weeks leading up to delivery to keep my blood supply high, which could help with the 48-hour hormone crash
• eat lots of liver pre-delivery, which I can't stand, so taking desiccated liver capsules (same reasoning as above)
• midwives are on high alert the days and weeks following my delivery, as is DH, and they'll administer the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression scale a few times post delivery to help them monitor it
How long did your SO/DH take off after your baby was born? My DH is not planning on taking any time off (it's highly frowned upon in his field, unfortunately). Would you STM+ recommend he try to take at least a few days? I feel like that would be reasonable, especially if I end up having a C-section!
Here was/is my products list:
Either Type of Delivery:
- Long/overnight pads (Always Radiant is what I had last time)
- Adult "pee pads" in case you leak out of your maxi pad.
- Advil
Vagional Delivery:
- Tucks pads
- Dermoplast spray
- Dulcolax (stool softener)
Csection Delivery:
- "Granny" panties. Like @SouthernMama15 said, you don't want a waistband on your incision.
***TW in Siggy***
Me: 34 / DH: 33
Married: Nov 2011
TTC #1: Jan 2013, BFP Sept 2013, DD: June 2014
TTC #2: Aug 2016, BFP Nov 2016, DS: August 2017
***TW in Siggy***
Me: 34 / DH: 33
Married: Nov 2011
TTC #1: Jan 2013, BFP Sept 2013, DD: June 2014
TTC #2: Aug 2016, BFP Nov 2016, DS: August 2017
self care baskets in all my bathrooms. I will have these made up and ready to go before baby. These were amazing! Items included:
peri bottle
dermaplast (BLUE BOTTLE)
witch hazel pads
giant overnight pads
I also made a batch of padsicles: you just unwrap a pad, soak it in witch hazel, aloe, lavender oil and wrap it back up. Toss all in a ziploc bag and put in the freezer. It is imperative to let thaw for 1-2 minutes before applying or they stick to your skin/hair.
I made nursing baskets for all the places I planned to nurse that included snacks, water bottles, phone charger and diapers/wipes (I got really good at changing a diaper while nursing).
Also, I just had another thought for postpartum item to have on hand, stain remover. You're going to get lovely blood stains on your undies, pajamas, sheets, etc. They had these paper covers at the hospital that they put on the bed for you to sit on or sleep with it under your bottom, I brought some home with me. When I ran out, I put a dark towel in the bed when I slept.
I second @morgy_bee recommendation on the padsicles. I ended up making a second batch because they were so helpful.
To add to what everyone else has listed:
-postpartum witch hazel spray
-postpartum sitz bath herbs
I Would never be able to change a baby while nursing. It took both hands to position my giant saggy boobs so I wasn't suffocating the baby. I also had an oversupply of milk and had to lean back so baby wasn't constantly choking.
But that is seriously impressive! I just imagine myself getting pooped and peed on constantly.
#1 - DD: 7/5/12
#2 - DS: 5/21/14
#3 - EDD: 8/25/17
#1 - DD: 7/5/12
#2 - DS: 5/21/14
#3 - EDD: 8/25/17
I've been preparing my postpartum bag. Here are my must haves:
-Always extra-long, ultra thin pads. The ones my hospital provides are bulky, and I'm shooting for comfort this time around.
-A stack of boy-short style panties. I'm just taking a some older pairs that are bigger-fitting, and can just be disposed after.
-Stool softener.
-I'm going to buy a pack of puppy pads for when I get home for surfaces I lay or sit on (they provide something similar at the hospital).
-Taking home a peri-bottle or two from the hospital.
@BlackNYellow My DH only plans to take a week of vacation time, but since I'm having a RCS & this is baby #4, I'm definitely going to need him there (and of course he'll want that time to bond with baby).
It helps soothe the sting/pain
One food item I plan to have on hand is lots and lots of homemade chicken bone broth. It's seriously the most restorative thing on the planet for me. Chock full of good for you stuff in there that's perfect for a healing body.
I took some serious notes from this thread, so thank you guys so much!
Together: January 2002
Married: May 2008
Baby: August 2017
Clearly we like to rush along at lightning speed...
I just bought high cut and pretty low cut cheap underwear in my size and 1 size up. I plan to take a bunch of options to the hospital to see what's most comfortable since this will be my third c-section and I've had terrible reactions to the mesh underwear.
I recommend bringing loose clothing especially bottoms. I remember being so swollen and full of fluid, especially around my hips by the time I was discharged from the hospital.
With a c-section, I recommend having colace and gas relief medicine on hand at home. My stomach was off for at least a few weeks following surgery.
Your hormones will be totally out of out of whack at the beginning. I didn't notice it as much in the hospital, but at home I frequently went from being hot to cold especially at night. I would get so sweaty in the middle of the night for the first several weeks and changed my clothes at least once per night.
For BFing, have a large glass of water on hand at all times and snacks or things that are easy to make if possible. It's really important to stay hydrated and eat enough. Nursing pads are a must especially at the beginning and lanolin or some type of nipple cream is helpful. Also, you may need to pump for relief so make sure your pump is sterilized and set up.
I'm enjoying reading these preparations. Even though I'm a STM I feel like I didn't prepare much and just went with the flow last time. I took home SO many mesh panties from the hospital but it still wasn't enough to last. I'm thinking I'll invest in the larger, high rise panties I can throw away after. I had a lot of pain in my incision and it was pretty leaky afterwards so I used a pad actually in the top of my underwear to create a barrier so I wouldn't have nastiness leaking through to my pants or shirt. Hoping that was a fluke and that my incision will stay better contained this time around. Anybody else have that issue?
ETA: forgot to clarify I ended up with a c section last time and am doing a RCS this time
eta:words
***TW in Siggy***
Me: 34 / DH: 33
Married: Nov 2011
TTC #1: Jan 2013, BFP Sept 2013, DD: June 2014
TTC #2: Aug 2016, BFP Nov 2016, DS: August 2017
Married: 7/21/12
BFP: 12/4/16 Due 8/8/17 -- Its a boy! Born 8/14/17
BFP: 5/19/19 and MC on 5/27/19
BFP: 6/24/19, MC on 7/24/19
BFP: 10/24, no heartbeat on 11/27, D&C 12/2
Officially diagnosed with Secondary infertility and recurrent miscarriage
IVF started Feb 2020
retrieval and PGT testing: 18 retrieved, 17 mature, 16 fertilized, 9 to blast, 8 PGT normal.
Transfer #1: June 14, 2020
I know I bleed for a while. I recall being done before 6 weeks (another friend came back to work still bleeding at 6 weeks so that's my gauge). And I remember crying so much when sitting on that dang toilet for over an hour feeling like I needed to go but couldn't. Meanwhile, DH was in the other room telling me DD needed fed, again.
***TW in Siggy***
Me: 34 / DH: 33
Married: Nov 2011
TTC #1: Jan 2013, BFP Sept 2013, DD: June 2014
TTC #2: Aug 2016, BFP Nov 2016, DS: August 2017
***TW in Siggy***
Me: 34 / DH: 33
Married: Nov 2011
TTC #1: Jan 2013, BFP Sept 2013, DD: June 2014
TTC #2: Aug 2016, BFP Nov 2016, DS: August 2017