There are only a few days left before “D” day. You have your bags packed, the nursery ready, and birth plan in hand. Your mom, friends, and grandma have given you the cute outfits, swaddles, and burp cloths. However, do you have the most important things that you will need post baby ready to go? Some of the most important things are those things that most people just don’t want to talk about. Well today is your lucky day because I am spilling the beans. These are the true 10 post-baby must haves nobody talks about!
Photo By Rosy Cheeks Photography
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1. Pads
Yes, think about what your body has just been through. These are an absolute MUST HAVE! Generally the hospital will give you some while you are there but you will need a stockpile at home! I preferred the thin pads with super protection. That way, at least by the time you get home from the hospital you don’t feel like you are wearing a diaper!
2. Hemorrhoidal Pads
– Like I just said, think about what your body has just been through. You will appreciate these!
3. Lanolin
– Chances are nursing or pumping is going to hurt at first. I personally don’t know a single person that said it was a breeze. Lanolin can provide you with some relief!
4. Nursing Pads
– You don’t want to be that girl in public with the big wet spot on her chest. Not saying that it won’t happen, but these just make it a little less likely.
5. Oatmeal Balls– No one told me how seriously hungry I would be those first few weeks of nursing. I was under the impression that the weight was just going to melt off…if only someone had mentioned the extreme hunger. Have a bunch of these in your freezer for when you get home or have someone bring them to the hospital! They are also a great gift idea for a new mom!
6. Epsom Salt
– They strongly encourage that you sit in baths with soaking salts post baby. It helps with the healing process down there. You’ll want some on hand when you get home to follow the soaking instructions your hospital/doctor give you.
7.Stool Softeners
– I somehow got lucky in this area. Apparently the first time you have to poo isn’t such a walk in the park for most people. These may help you along. Again, remember what your body just went through!
8. Ice Packs
– You’ll want one that is thin enough to fit down there nicely. It will help relieve some of the ouch you may experience post-baby!
9. Comfortable Yoga Pants – You will most likely be done with the pregnancy clothes, but chances are very strong that you aren’t going to fit into your pre-pregnancy wardrobe.
10. Comfortable Bra – Nursing or not your breasts will be large when your milk comes in. You’ll want to have that nice supportive bra to control those girls until they level off!
Yes, it’s true the aftermath of having a baby isn’t always pretty. That sweet sweet baby may do a number on your body but it’s all worth it in the end. These must-haves will hopefully make those first few days post-baby a little more manageable!
More Baby Must-Haves
If you’re looking for actual baby product must-haves I have a few of those too!
- Top Ten Items of the First Six Months
- Baby Equipment Need to Know
- Best Baby Items for the Seventh Month
- Products That Promote Crawling
- 10 Baby Must Haves (products)
How about some of those things I wish I would have skipped?
MORE BABY TIPS
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Want to find some other great reads on taking time for mom after a baby check out these suggestions!
5 Things New Parents Really Need ~ BPhotoArt
Ways to Reset When Suffering From Postpartum Depression ~ Trust Me, I’m a Mom
Ways to sneak in me-time when you have a new baby ~ Mom Favorites
Look Better Feel Better ~ Plain Vanilla Mom
5 Fast Ways to Refresh as a Mom ~ Peace but Not Quiet
How to be Supportive When Birth Doesn’t Go as Planned ~ The Realistic Mama
Getting Through the First Months: 5 Golden Rules for New Parents ~ Let the Journey Begin
Check our landing page for all the information on The Ultimate Guide To Baby!
Yes, the postpartum hunger is extreme! I kept a stash of larabars handy so I could grab and go (seemed like every time my son wanted to nurse, I was starving).
That may have been the most shocking for me! I was starving!
This is a great list! I really wish I had had this before I went to the hospital.
I know! I think with your first baby it’s hard to comprehend until you are in the moment!
I don’t think anyone really prepares new moms for knowing what recovery will be like. It was so much harder than I expected!
And those first few weeks, I couldn’t eat enough! I was so much hungrier nursing a newborn than I was while pregnant!
I know and each person has such a different recovery. My recovery was actually quite “easy” compared to most, but I still needed almost everything on the list!
A great list! Speaking of hunger, I’m going to try out your oatmeal ball recipe. This whole breastfeeding thing is making me hungry and I lately have serious oatmeal cravings 🙂 good thing it’s supposed to be healthy and helps milk production!
I’m still addicted to them even though my hunger has subsided (sort of I’m always hungry) I use them now as my treat! Let me know what you think!
The life-saver list for every post-partum women! I’m so going to share it!
I wish someone had told me about some of these things! Thanks for sharing!
This is a great list! The only thing I would add is a waterbottle with a straw and have it ready before you nurse (especially at night). In addition to extreme hunger, I was also always thirsty.
Very true great idea!!!
Fantastic list! This is a great resource for new moms. Nursing twins right now means I can not get enough calories-it seems anyway-so I will try those oatmeal balls. I crave oats for some reason with these two-never with my single babies. Great post and pinned!
Thanks for stopping by and sharing! Congrats on nursing twins I thought of how hard it was at first with one. Very impressive!
Oh, may I add one more? The item I couldn’t live without after my babes were born was a squeeze bottle filled with water to ease the burning when you pee! The hospital gave me one to use after they stitched up the small tears I had from having my first naturally. I didn’t actually tear with my second but I had “skid marks” as they called it (think carpet burn!) and it was a huge relief to be able to squirt clean water “down there” to ease the burning sensation.
I have to agree. The water bottle was nice and pretty hard to go without!
Great list! If you’re planning to nurse, I would add a few nursing tanks or nursing tops (or at least some button down shirts) and some nursing bras. That’s basically all I’ve worn since having a baby 6 wks ago because he’s eating every 2 to 3 hours (and sometimes even more frequently than that) so I always need to be ready. I was not prepared and my mom had to quickly order 4 nursing tanks from Target to help me out. (Also note: between milk, spit up, and baby pee, you’ll be washing these things constantly.)
Love it! I had no idea how hard recovery would be-it’s almost worse than the birth bit!
Stopping by from SITS – I love your list. I had all of the above ready except for oatmeal balls (nobody told me about hunger) and nursing pads (nobody told me about possible leakage either!) So I have had an embarrassing moment right in the middle of -ironically- Dairy Queen while my daughter just woke up at home from her nap and wanted to eat! It was the first time I went out after getting home from hospital at my mother’s in laws insistence saying fresh air will do me some good.
I 100% agree with this list! I had a whole box of snacks stashed in the nursery so I could nurse and eat at the same time!!
{Kathy} This list is great! I’ve had 4 kids and I couldn’t have lived without all of the items mentioned. I would probably add breast pump to the list because you just never know what kind of nurser you’re going to get.
Terrific Post! We write about child health & safety, but a post like this reminds me we need to include a little more on our site for the mommy-to-be.
Thanks for the reminder…and a terrific read 🙂
Ps. If you’d ever like to guest post, we’d love to have you
I must have gotten lucky with my first two pregnancies because I didn’t have any pain or discomfort “down there”. Now I’m freaked about what this pregnancy (#3) is going to do to me! Hopefully if my bod can handle delivering twins, this one baby won’t do too much damage. Thanks for the Epsom salt and Oatmeal Bars tip-I’m going to use both!
OMG those large pads. I was so grateful for the biggest I could get. But by the end of the bleeding I had DIAPER RASH! I couldn’t believe it!
Oh. My. GOD. Yes, to #1…yes to #2…yes to #3…heck, yes to ALL of these.
I was nodding my head so much all the way through this post that I’m sure I looked like a bobble head…
As a mother of two — who are are 2 years and 17 days apart — I was wise enough to have everything on hand — in droves — when I delivered our second 9 months ago..
Great post.
Stopping by from SITS!
Yep! I’ve had 4 and these are all spot-on. One thing I might suggest…a TBSP of coconut oil can be a good, natural laxative, as well. I take mine mixed in with warm coffee. Happy SITS day!
great comprehensive list – so few people actually talk about the changes your body go through, so we are caught off guard. Thanks for sharing this list!
Yep, post-partum hunger. I still have it one year later 🙂
You speak the truth my friend..!
These are great tips! I especially like the oatmeal balls. Those will be in freezer when I’m ready for baby 2.0. Thanks!
Wow! Your site is awesome! I just had to read this post because I brought home baby #4 a few months ago. Thank goodness babies are so cute because our bodies go through so much to bring them here!
Looking forward to meeting you in Vegas!
Thanks so much! Can’t wait for Vegas!
I got a shower head that is on a hose so you can bring the shower head to you. I found it helpful for cleaning myself down there afterwards as I had a lot of stitches. The peri-bottle was useful too for cleaning yourself when using the toilet.