For the Lady Bits

1.) Padcicles– These definitely earn their place on essentials for new mommy checklist and they are F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S. Make them before you give birth, it’ll be nice to have them when you get home from the hospital. They are basically giant frozen maxi-pads soaked in aloe vera, witch hazel and lavender essential oil. These will feel heavenly on your hoo-ha when you get home from the hospital.

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Ingredients:

• Large disposable pads. I’d choose long overnights pads with wings. Pack of 36 should do.
• Witch Hazel– Anti-inflammatory
• Aloe Vera– Soothing and hastens wound healing if you tore. I’d get this liquid kind as opposed to the gel, it just mixes and absorbs better.
• Lavender Essential Oil– There are many fragrances you can use, I use this lavender in my home so I had it on hand. It’s very calming and the smell is soothing.

Recipe:

• Grab a mixing bowl
• Add in 1/2 cup witch hazel
• Add in 1/2 cup liquid Aloe Vera
• Squirt in 10-20 drops of essential oil
• Stir it all up
• Carefully unwrap each pad (leave the sticky part on the wrapper because you will wrap the pad back up.)
• Take a few tables spoons of the mix and pour it right down the center of the pad, make sure it’s saturated pretty good. Make sure you go all the way down the entire length of the pad (you will want relief from back to front!)
• Wrap and roll the pad back up in the wrapper and put in a zip-lok bag
• Do this for all 36 pads and place the zip-lok in the freezer.

2.) Ice Packs for Vag- If you don’t want to make the padcicles, even though I HIGHLY recommend you reconsider that…then at least get yourself some ice packs to go in your undies. You will bleed on them, so it’s not ideal, but trust me the coolness on your vag will make all.things.better. Some type of cold pack for your hoo-ha shoulde be at the TOP of your Essentials for New Mommy checklist.

3.)Peri Bottle– Alot of women choose not to talk about this, but after peeing you will not want to wipe with toilet paper. Everthing will hurt. The peri-bottle makes for easy “wash up” after peeing. Make sure you get this bottle with the angles head…trust me on this. Also if you tore then the stitches area might sting a bit when you pee, use the peribottle to squirt cold water on your lady partys as you pee…it helps a bit.

4.)Pain Relieving Spray– Your hoo-ha will hurt ladies. Should be on EVERY Essentials for New Mommy checklist. It will hurt to walk, to pee, even just sitting down. It all hurts, but as a new mommy you must get up and do all.the.things. I kept a bottle of this Dermaplast in EVERY bathroom in my house. I doused my lady parts with it before I peed and it helped with the sting. Then I peri-bottle washed off my lady bits then sprayed them again. I used this multiple times daily for the first couple weeks. It really does help with the pain. Head up** Get the blue bottle, not the red.

5.) Post-Partum Sitz Bath– Yeah I know this looks weird and seems a bit over the top for your essentials for new mommy list, but it is SO relaxing, cleansing and helps reduce inflammation and swelling. Get the Sitz bath that fits over the toilet. It’s easier and more efficient than filling up an entire bathtub. Earth Mama has an amazing line of post-partum sitz bath herbs for soothing soreness and natural healing. I did the sitz bath twice a day for the first 2 weeks, always before bed because these herbs just relaxed me. After the sitz bath I sprayed my lady parts with dermaplast.

6.) Large Underwear or Discreet Disposable Underwear– You will have some BIG pads in your undies for a few weeks. Not just for the ice packs and padcicles, but you will have post-partum bleeding. You need some bigger underwear to fit the pads in. Your Victoria’s Secret lacie thongs will NOT work. You can always opt to wear the disposable underwear…I wore them in the hospital, but was wanting something softer when I got home. I bought these high-waisted granny panties, they were SO soft and comfortable and kept the ice packs and pads in place without being tight and constricting. You do need some type of underwear on your Essentials for New mommy checklist that can accomadate the huge pads.

For The Tata’s

7.) Nursing pads– Whether you decide to breastfeed or not (CLICK HERE to read my post on Tips for Breastfeeding Success), you will be producing breastmilk . It will leak. You will need something to absorb the milk and constantly changing your shirt is not laundry efficient (especially now that you have more laundry to do now). The disposable nursing pads I actually loved and preferred as I could change them whenever I leaked or after every feeding. The reusable cloth pads got a bit irritating as I needed SO MANY unless I wanted to constantly wash them . Also, resusable nursing pads are like socks in the wash….you lose them the same way you lose sock pairs. Must be a nursing pad elf stealing them. Just a bit of advice, change the pads often. Reusing the same dirty pads is a breeding ground for bacteria (which is not good if you have cracked and bleeding nipples from breastfeeding). If you do get cracked or bleeding nipples, CLICK HERE for my super simple, cheap and effective DIY nipple cream.

8.)Nursing bras– Nothing with underwire, nothing causes clogged milkducts faster than compressive underwire bras. If you’re breastfeeding then make sure you have a nursing bra that gives baby easy access to the breast. If your pumping and nursing then I suggest a nursing bra that accomodates both, like a 2 in 1. This nursing bra has holes in the bra itself to put pumping flanges (hands free pumping!) and it also has nursing clips so it doubles as a bra for nursing. Genius I’m telling you. I’d get a couple of those. If you’re not pumping, but nursing only then these sleep bras are SO wonderful for nighttime. Comfortable and soft and super easy to slide to the side to whip out the nipple.

9.)Nursing tops for Daytime and Nursing gowns for bedtime- I had winter babies, I learned the hard way that taking off your clothes to feed the baby in the middle of the night was not comfortable. Freezing for 30 minutes while a fed the baby. Then dancing baby to sleep for another 30 minutes, who goes back to bed after that? Make your life easier. You will want clothes that allow easy access to the breast and also keep you covered, nursing clothing is a necessity.

Nursing Tops and layers for winter and Nursing tanks for summer babies. Ekouaer is a wonderful brand for new moms. Their nursing line is soft, stretching and comfortable. Pair their nursing tops and cover with a cardigan and be SO comfy. I also bought about 5 of their nursing nighties. You can’t beat this brands softness and comfort.

10.) Yoga pants/leggings– I preferred high waisted. I also preferred leggings as I had winter babies and I could get the fleece lines ones. You will want something comfortable that stretches. Contrary to what celebrities would have you believe, the post baby pooch does take a little while to go down. You will be swollen in the lady bits, so don’t wear constricting clothing.

11.) Colace– I dunno if anyone has told you yet or not, but that first post baby poop is painful and a bit terrifying. Not only does it hurt, but it feels like you stitches (if you tore) are gonna bust open. It is not comfortable, you don’t want to strain. I suggest some colace to soften the stools, it will make that first poop ALOT less painful.

CLICK HERE to read my MASSIVE LIST of Essential baby registry items