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Your Midwife’s Postpartum “Must Have” List

Baby Sleep

You spend months thinking about preparing for your birth, but not much time is usually spent thinking about those first few days and weeks after baby arrives. Of course, most people have a pretty good stash of baby clothes, diapers, and fairly useless baby gadgets (thanks to the baby shower), but there are a few very practical items you might want to consider having on hand that may make your postpartum time a little bit nicer.

Good Nutrition

OK, this isn’t something you can just add to your baby registry, but it is something you should be thinking about and planning for prenatally. Plan to freeze nutritious meals ahead of time, and make up menu plans and grocery lists so people can pick up what you need an prepare good food for you while you’re resting with your baby. After your baby arrives, you’re going to need even more food than you needed when you were pregnant! Your body needs about 300 calories more per day when you’re nursing than you did when you were pregnant. This doesn’t mean you should just eat a bowl of ice cream every night and call it even. Your body is going through a period of recovery after the birth of your baby. The area where your placenta was implanted is an open wound, and it needs to heal. In addition to that very large open wound, you may have some trauma to your perineum or vaginal tissues that needs to heal. Wound healing requires plenty of protein, and vitamins A, C, E, and zinc. I generally recommend at least 100 grams of protein and 2000 mg of vitamin C for the first 6 weeks postpartum, and I recommend continuing your prenatal vitamins, probiotics, and essential fatty acid supplements as well.

As a mama who has nursed plenty of babies myself, let me tell you that the best way to deal with sore nipples is prevention. Other than proper positioning and latch on technique (the MOST important things to avoid soreness), a good nipple salve can be extremely helpful in preventing soreness. La Leche League recommends Lansinoh

, which is a great product, and some mothers swear by it, but I find it to be sticky and uncomfortable to apply to sore nipples. Earth Mama Angel Baby Natural Nipple Butter

is an amazing product. It goes on smoothly, protects, and moisturizes. I’ve recommended it to a lot of women, and they’ve all raved about it. It is my #1 must-have item for postpartum. I recommend applying it after every feeding for at least the first two weeks.

This is great for after pains, sore muscles, or to warm up the co-sleeper or bassinet (if you use one) before you put baby into it. There’s something really comforting about hugging a hot water bottle, but if you like an electric heating pad

, the kind without the auto shut-off feature is really nice. Those are hard to find anymore. Just be really careful to keep it on a low setting and be sure to only use it when you’re awake.

Sometimes, getting your bowels moving after the birth can be a bit of a process. Things can be a little sluggish, and then there’s the fear factor, especially if you have any stitches. Postponing the inevitable isn’t going to make it any easier. It’s important to make sure you’re drinking plenty of water, eating good non-constipating foods, and following your body’s cues rather than trying to avoid them. If you haven’t had a bowel movement within 24 hours after the birth, it might be good to give your body a little boost with some Smooth Move Tea. A nice strong cup of this stuff will usually get things moving within about 8 hours.

No, I’m not saying you’ll be incontinent after the birth! But, for the first day or so, your bleeding may be a little heavy, and the Depends Briefs are a great way to avoid leaking onto your bed during that heavier bleeding time.

Sometimes, when you’ve pushed out a baby, hemorrhoids become an issue, at least temporarily. Even without hemorrhoids, your perineum is likely to be a little sore after the birth. Tucks pads help reduce swelling and provide a gentle way to clean after using the toilet.

After the birth, your stretched out abdominal muscles need some time and support to come back together. Sometimes, wearing an abdominal binder can this process and also provide much needed back support. There are several different ways you can go about doing this. You can just use a Rebozo

(large piece of fabric tied around your belly), try Bengkung Belly Binding (beautiful!), or choose something more utilitarian like an Abdominal Binder

that is used after abdominal surgery. All of these options accomplish the same purpose, but in different ways.

Postpartum BasketI always recommend moms spend at least 2 days in bed after the birth. I’d love it if moms would take more bed rest, but 2 days is a good start. If you’re going to spend 2 days in bed, you’re going to need to keep some things nearby. Most moms find it hard to ask for help, so they either end up doing too much too soon, or they do without. I recommend putting together a basket of things you’ll want to keep nearby that you’ll want to have for the first couple of days after the birth:

  • Nursing Pads

  • Spit up cloths (I used prefold diapers for that)

  • Thank You cards

  • TV remote

  • DVDs (or a Netflix Instant View subscription)

  • Book/Magazine that has nothing to do with baby, birth, or breastfeeding

  • Tissues

  • Tylenol

  • Ibuprofen

  • Thermometer

  • Diapers

  • Wipes

  • Hairbrush/Scrunchie/Whatever you need to make you feel like your hair looks decent

  • Makeup (if that makes you feel good)

  • Baby Book

  • Journal

  • Pens

  • Phone and charger

  • Camera (assuming your phone doesn’t have one)

  • Non-perishable snacks

  • Water bottles

I asked my clients what they felt helped them most during their early postpartum time. They came up with many of the same ideas I had, but they had some other suggestions:

  • , one for each bathroom.”

  • .”

  • “Comfy, baggy button-front shirts. In my case, the ones that are too worn for my husband to wear to work.”

  • “Breast pump for dealing with engorgement.”

  • “Phone number of my LLL Leader and midwife to call with feeding questions.”

  • “Pillow and blanket on each floor of the house so mama can nap whenever baby naps.”

My best advice is to think about what you would want to have that makes you feel comfortable, well-fed, relaxed, and supported. The most important jobs you have during your early postpartum time is to rest, heal, nurse, and bond with your baby. Everything you prepare ahead of time should support those goals. The only thing I wish I had done more of during my early days after my births was to take more pictures. Babies grow so fast! In just a few short weeks, your baby will change so very much, and you’ll want those pictures so you can remember that transformation.

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