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The ABCs of Motherhood

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The Ultimate Postpartum Essentials Checklist

Last updated on March 6th, 2024

Inside: The ultimate postpartum essentials checklist for a smooth recovery. A detailed list of bathroom care kits and breastfeeding supplies needed in those first few months postpartum.

The Last Month of Pregnancy

It’s funny how pregnancy seems to fly by until you get to that last month. I truly felt that I had been pregnant for 800 years by the time I was in my last month of pregnancy. I was swollen, HUGE, and miserable. During those last few weeks I was beyond ready to go into labor and get my body back.

Awaiting signs of labor is frustrating because it’s completely out of your control. You can’t tell how far you are progressing without an exam, you can’t speed up the process, and you can’t predict when it’ll be go-time. The waiting and not knowing combined with your physical discomforts at that point are almost too much to handle.

Birthing Fear

I had been fearful of birth my entire first pregnancy (thanks to hundreds of horror stories from veteran moms – cue eye roll). I absolutely HATE this age old “tradition” of sharing all the horrible parts of birth and postpartum and none of the amazing parts. This only instills fear and worry in expectant moms. How about we start a tradition of reassuring expectant moms instead? Or talking about how empowering and miraculous birth can be?

I hate that I spent SO much of my first pregnancy worried sick about labor pain, stitches, perineal trauma and how difficult the journey into motherhood was going to be. Near the end of my first pregnancy, I could only focus on my fears and worries. It absolutely took away from enjoying the last weeks of my pregnancy.

Strong As A Mother

Obviously birth comes with pain. That’s a given. But nobody told me that I’d be tough and that I would do GREAT. That I’d get through it just fine. Nobody told me that motherhood comes with a strength I didn’t know I even had in me and that the strength I would show during labor would just be the beginning. Nobody told me that I’d feel empowered with my birth. All they told me was that labor was horrible and would only get worse when the sleepless nights started.

So, while it is an obvious truth that labor is painful and challenging – it can also be beautiful. While it can be traumatic or scary, it can also show your courage, determination, and resilience. And in the end, you’ll get to meet your beautiful baby who will magically wipe all the painful memories away. No matter what, you will get through it and you will heal.

What’s funny though, is that no matter how fearful you are of childbirth, you will reach a point in your pregnancy where you wanting to be DONE being pregnant will outweigh your fears.

Healing Postpartum

Healing postpartum takes time and shouldn’t be rushed. This is a hard concept for so many women to understand (and society too). There is so much pressure to appear back to normal immediately after birth, but it really doesn’t work like that. Even if you physically can fit in your pre-pregnancy jeans leaving the hospital – there is still healing to do whether that be physical or mental – nobody goes through pregnancy, childbirth, and the newborn phase unchanged. Nobody.

The first step towards healing is to let your birthing wounds heal – whether that be from vaginal birth or cesarean. Either way, your body will need time to return to normal. Even if you end up having a smooth vaginal delivery with no stitches, your body is still learning to not be pregnant anymore and learning how to make milk (or figuring out how to dry up your milk). It needs time to feel normal again. Give yourself grace during this healing period.

Postpartum Bathroom Stations

As far as healing from vaginal delivery goes, unless you know well in advance that you’re having a cesarean birth, I would start preparing a postpartum kit for vaginal delivery. You won’t know until your baby is born whether you will have any perineal trauma, so it’s good to have things prepared just in case. The last thing you’ll want to do after you are discharged from the hospital is head to a pharmacy to stock up on supplies.

The best way to prepare for vaginal birth postpartum is to set up ‘postpartum stations’ in each of your bathrooms throughout your house. Or I should say, each of the bathrooms that you regularly use. I like to have a basket near the toilet with all of the supplies necessary for postpartum restroom use.

Don’t limit yourself to one bathroom if you live in a house with multiple bathrooms. Nothing is worse than suddenly having to go to the bathroom (or finally having a moment to go to the bathroom) and realizing the one near you doesn’t have your postpartum supplies in it and having to walk allllll the way upstairs to go.

Postpartum Bathroom Kits

So buy a couple of baskets, stock them with everything you need to use the bathroom postpartum, and leave these in each frequently used bathroom for the first couple of weeks postpartum.

In my basket, I like to keep

Postpartum Supplies Will Help Reduce Pain

Having these items readily available for bathroom trips will make those first few weeks postpartum easier to manage and less painful for you.

In the first week or so postpartum, I used disposable underwear (yep – adult diapers!) and I absolutely swear by them. They are actually SO comfortable (especially for sleeping!). They don’t feel gross and bulky and aren’t noticeable to anyone who sees you wearing pants with them underneath. I prefer using these to the ones they give you in the hospital once home.

The mesh disposable underwear they give you in the hospital works fine while you’re there. Especially as you’ll be going through many pairs as bleeding will be pretty heavy immediately following birth. Might as well just use the freebies! Plus, you’ll be so swollen all over, the looser fitted hospital brand will work better initially.

The nurses, I PROMISE you, will be angels and they will show you how to go to the bathroom postpartum. They’ll teach you how to use the perineal spray bottle and numbing spray, and how to layer the tucks, ice packs, and pads inside your disposable underwear. They’ll help you navigate through any stitches or hemorrhoids and can answer any questions or concerns you have regarding using the bathroom, showering, or healing in general. Lean on your nurses, they really are wonderful human beings!

Using the Bathroom Postpartum

For going to the bathroom, you’ll want to prepare your supplies BEFORE you sit down to go. Fill up your perineal spray bottle with warm water and gather all your other supplies. Use the perineal spray bottle as you relieve yourself. Follow it with some perineal spray. Be careful not to overdo the Dermoplast Spray – check with your doctor or nurses on how frequently you can use it – it can have negative side effects if used too often. This is why I like to also stock up on the herbal perineal spray – I use this in between the times that I cannot use Dermoplast. Once done, get your mesh underwear ready.

The nurses taught me to use the disposable underwear and layer like this: Big Maxi Pad > Giant Ice Pack > Tucks Pad. The Tucks Pad should be the thing in direct contact with your skin. This method provides a lot of relief if you’ve got any trauma (bruising, soreness, stitches, hemorrhoids). Thankfully, they’ll send you home with LOTS of those ice packs to get you through recovery; they feel like HEAVEN when you are sore from birth. Pro Tip: Save the ice packs that you don’t use – they make amazing instant ice packs for first aid (especially for the car!).

Returning Back to Normal

How long you’ll follow this bathroom routine really just depends on the severity of your wounds. I had 2nd degree tearing with my first pregnancy and utilized the giant ice packs for probably less than a week and the disposable underwear for maybe a week or so. At that point, I felt ready to swap to regular underwear and an appropriately sized pad. By my 2 week check up, I was in MUCH better shape and felt pretty good down there.

6 Week Check Up

Most doctors will tell you that it takes 6 weeks to heal from an uncomplicated vaginal delivery. They will guide you as you go in for check ups postpartum and will let you know when you are safe to exercise, lift heavier objects, and have sex. However, don’t feel pressured to immediately jump back into all of those things once you reach your 6 week mark. I certainly wasn’t even close to ready for ANY of those things by 6 weeks, despite how things might have looked during an exam.

It is totally normal to need A LOT more time physically and mentally before you are ready to jump back in to regular workouts or intimacy with your partner. I know that I wasn’t ready to work out until I was getting more regular sleep. Nobody wants to work out after being up all night nursing a newborn.

Plus, as a new mom, it can be really tricky learning to navigate doing stuff for YOU (like finding time to workout) while also caring for your baby all day by yourself. This took me a very long time to understand and ‘master’. Heck – I still have days that I don’t feel that I juggled caring for me and caring for my 2.5 year old perfectly. In those early days, just getting a shower and regular meals was a triumph for me. So definitely cut yourself some slack here.

Intimacy Postpartum

As far as intimacy goes postpartum, this is also something that is SUPER normal to NOT be ready for by 6 weeks (or even 16 weeks!). Personally, I was terrified to be intimate after birth. All I kept envisioning was my 9.5lb baby coming out and the sutures I received. I thought, “no way am I ready to ENJOY anything down there after THAT” and I was worried it would be painful. I strongly recommend seeing a pelvic floor therapist if you’re feeling uncomfortable with this!

A pelvic floor therapist should honestly just be part of regular postpartum medical care for women. It can be so beneficial towards healing and feeling like ‘you’ again. A pelvic floor therapist will examine you and discuss any medical findings they discover. Together, you can come up with a plan to rebuild your strength and recover properly. They also can give you tips towards enjoying intimacy with your partner again as far as your physical health is concerned.

Learning How to Breastfeed Postpartum

It’s easy to believe that breastfeeding ‘will just come natural’, but in many cases, it just doesn’t. There is most certainly a learning curve. I strongly recommend reading all the literature you can find and watching tons of videos about breastfeeding if you plan to try it.

Rely On Your Nurses + Lactation Consultants

I also highly recommend having a lactation consultant or nurse assist you in most of your feedings during your hospital stay. For me, it was helpful to hear tips from a handful of different LC and nurses as they all had a little something to bring to the table that helped me on my breastfeeding journey. It wasn’t until I met the 3rd or 4th nurse/LC before the positioning tip they showed me really ‘clicked’ whereas everyone else had showed me other ways until that point that didn’t feel as natural to me.

I promise that you won’t be annoying if you page for help prior to nursing while in the hospital. They want you to succeed and feel comfortable and they want baby to thrive! And this is a much better solution vs. winging it, getting a bad latch, and dealing with cracked or bleeding nipples as a result or having your baby not gain enough weight.

Ask your hospital guide during your hospital tour whether you need to bring your own pump or nursing pillow to the hospital. At the hospital I delivered at, they provided both of these things. You may not need either item anyways (I didn’t), but it is better to be prepared.

Clothing You’ll Need for Nursing Postpartum

You’ll need some nursing friendly options for postpartum. During my 15 month breastfeeding journey, I never did buy specific ‘cute’ tops for nursing, I just utilized the ‘two-shirt method’.

For the two shirt method: Wear a nursing tank under your shirt. When nursing, pull your shirt up, leaving your nursing tank on to cover your stomach. Unhook one side at a time to nurse. Your baby’s head positioning and your bunched up shirt will cover your exposed breast. Once they finish nursing on one side, clip that side back together and switch. When done, just pull your shirt back down.

This is such a subtle way to nurse in public, especially. Most people will hardly know what you’re doing, if you’re self conscious about nursing in front of people. You could use nursing covers if you want, but they can be annoying and get in the way. Not to mention, hot, when it’s summertime and you’re nursing outdoors.

Breastfeeding Clothing Checklist

Nursing Stations At Home

As far as going home is concerned, you’ll want to set up ‘nursing stations’ in your frequently used areas just like you did with your bathroom. I like to use a basket for all the nursing supplies I need and keep it within arms reach at each of my nursing stations.

For me, I set up a nursing station in the nursery, in the living room, and in my bedroom. These are the three areas I spent the most time in with a newborn.

Things I like to stock at my nursing station:

Make Your Nursing Stations Comfortable

In the early days, your baby will pretty much be constantly attached to you – whether sleeping on you, being held by you, or nursing on you. So make some really comfortable nursing stations throughout your house so you can kick back and enjoy the cuddly newborn days.

Nourish + Hydrate

Nursing will make you so hungry and thirsty. I remember that almost immediately when my milk would let down, I’d look around frantically for my water bottle because I’d get SO thirsty. I was constantly begging my husband to bring me water. You’ll also want some good granola bars or other individually packaged snacks readily available because nursing makes you hungry – and you’ll often be ‘nap trapped’ with your baby and unable to get up.

Entertainment

This is why I like to stock my kindle and phone charger in my basket so that I can happily let my newborn sleep on me while I entertain myself for a couple hours reading a book, reading articles on motherhood, or connecting with friends.

Comfort + Warmth

Having a couple baby blankets handy is helpful to keep your little one warm and snug if they decide to fall asleep on you nursing. I will keep a few adult sized blankets for myself too so that I’m comfortable.

In the early days, you’ll likely benefit from a nursing pillow to help with your positioning and latch. After awhile, it becomes second nature for both you AND baby (especially as they get stronger) and you won’t need the pillow anymore for support. But it is super helpful at first and nice to have on hand at your nursing station.

Haakaa

If you’ve never heard of the haakaa before, you’ll want to look it up! It is an easy to use inexpensive product that helps collect your milk without the use of a battery operated pump.

You can apply it to your unused side while you nurse, because when your milk lets down, it’ll let down on BOTH sides and your unused side will just drip into your bra/breast pad and go to waste unless you have the haakaa on. The haakaa will collect that milk (and then some!) and is an easy way to build up a small freezer stash.

Nipple Cream

I’m a HUGE advocate for the Earth Mama Nipple Butter. It’s the only one I will use! I can’t stand using the lanolin kind because I worry about the ingredients for baby and it is sticky. The nipple butter doesn’t leave a gross residue or any stickiness.

I used it after I had one bad latch in hospital that created a very painful sore on one side. It helped heal my wound within days! I found that my nipples constantly felt dried out from being soaked in baby’s saliva nonstop and started using the nipple butter before AND after each nursing session (plus I’d squirt a little of my milk on them for extra healing!) and they healed up really fast and stopped feeling chapped. I swear by this stuff!

Breast Pads

As I mentioned earlier, when your milk lets down, it’ll leak from both sides at once, so you’ll want to have plenty of breast pads available. ALWAYS change your breast pads as soon as they are wet to prevent infection/mastitis from occurring.

Proper hygiene during breastfeeding is SUPER important. And if you’re anything like me, you might be an overproducer and leak constantly and require all day and night breast pad use. I like to buy mine in bulk!

Keep Clean

Lastly, these burp cloths are my all time favorite! They are the softest thing I own so they are perfect for baby’s delicate skin. My favorite feature about them is their size – they aren’t tiny little cloths that you normally see sold as burp cloths. Those tiny cloths don’t help at all with spit up and burping like these big ones can.

I always stock a ton of these at my nursing stations because you never know when you’ll have spit up, vomit, leaking milk, or spilled milk! Also, I like to stock a package of baby wipes because milk is super sticky once dry and you might need one to rinse your hands off at some point.

Postpartum Life

Well, that’s it. That’s everything I recommend for preparing your home for postpartum. The biggest thing that I want to part with is this: postpartum is just a season. It may feel like it’ll never end at times or like it’s ending too fast at others.

You’ll simultaneously feel your best and your worst, your strongest and your most scared. But either way, it’ll come to an end. So try to take a deep breath, relax as much as possible, and lean on your support people BIG TIME.

Reach out for help and don’t suffer alone, if you’re suffering. People WANT to help you. Whether that be to vent to them, to ask for advice, to ask for their time so you can nap or shower, or to just sit with you so you don’t feel alone.

Please remember you are not alone in your postpartum and if you feel ‘off’, anxious, or overwhelmed, reach out to your doctor for advice. I do promise that you WILL feel normal again one day – it may be further away than you hoped – but you will get there again.

Good luck in your motherhood journey and congratulations – you will do great mama!

Don’t Miss These Helpful Posts!

If you missed my post about EVERYTHING you’ll need for your baby’s first year PLUS how to prepare your home for a newborn, be sure to check it out!

Don’t miss my 15 things you need for a comfortable pregnancy.

Lastly, check out my 5 secrets nobody told me about postpartum and how postpartum changed my marriage.

 
     

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