This website contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate and participant in other programs, I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.
If you are pregnant and getting ready for delivery, here are 10 postpartum care products that are essential in the first 6 weeks post vaginal delivery.
Congratulations on being pregnant! You are probably nesting and trying to get everything organized for your new baby and all the wonderful new memories you will make together.
If you are a first time mom, you are probably also worried and anxious about delivery. I know, I was.
But instead of worrying, here is my advice – prepare. Have your hospital bag ready, the baby room completed, some meals in the freezer and a postpartum care kit for yourself.
Not only will getting these things out of the way help you feel in control, it also make you thank yourself after delivery for being so organized!
Tips to Prepare for Postpartum
The first 6 weeks after delivery are the hardest. You are coping with a newborn baby, sleepless nights, breastfeeding and also trying to recover from giving birth.
In the brain fog of those first 6 weeks, I remember thinking that I had been hit by a bus. My whole body ached and I felt battered and bruised. I had a fairly uncomplicated delivery and still I felt like I had joined a fight club.
Just going to the bathroom caused me so much pain. I had to squeeze a pillow when I breastfed and I cried a couple times from the shooting pain of breastfeeding through bleeding nipples.
And as hard as the first 6 weeks were for me, I have no doubt that it would have been 1 million times harder to endure if not for this postpartum care kit essential products.
If you have a vaginal delivery, these 10 products will help you heal your postpartum body faster and make you feel a little less sore.
Some hospitals provide a few of these products and they will charge you for it regardless if you use it, so I recommend that you take home what they provide, but have extra at home in case the hospital or birth center you use doesn’t provide you these items.
For peace of mind I would stock up on extras just in case. Chances are you will use the extra products anyway.
And of course, if you are planning to deliver at home, your midwife might provide you a list, or you can use this list as reference for your postpartum conversation.
Talk to your doctor about postpartum care before delivery. Most doctors don’t even approach the subject or if they do is briefly at the hospital when you are most likely tired and have a brain fog. So ask your questions during your in-office appointments.
Lastly, drink plenty of water, eat plenty of snacks and try to sleep when you can. Even when things are tough, remember that these first few weeks will fly by and that they are such a beautiful time to bond with your little one. You got this!
10 Postpartum Care Essentials For The First 6 Weeks
If you are close to delivery and if you want to save your husband the embarrassing experience of having to ask the pharmacist where the perineal numbing spray is, I recommend buying your postpartum care kit essentials online as some of these items are NOT readily available for purchase in your local drugstore.
But then again, you might actually get a kick from torturing your husband after delivery. I may or may not have done that to my husband… My lips are sealed.
Here are the 10 essential products you will need for your postpartum care kit:
- Mesh Underwear – far from something you ever thought you would wear in your life, but a complete necessity postpartum. These mesh underwear can hold those thick pads and are disposable. If you can’t find these and they are not provided to you, stock up on cheap men’s underwear. Just make sure they fit snugly enough to keep the pad in place. You can also go for “granny” undies, but choose some that are bigger than you think you need.
- Perineal Cold Packs or Padsicles – can we take a moment of silence for these? I love these things. They were so soothing and numbing to the area after delivery. Probably the only things that made it possible for me to sit and endure the “burn” after delivery when all you have is ibuprofen!
- Pads and panty liners – stock up on every size and buy in bulk, you will need it! Get the biggest pads you can find. I am not kidding, the biggest and thickest you can! Bad periods have nothing on post-delivery bleeding.
- Numbing spray – a good source of relief when you don’t have the cold packs available. A spray or two will provide a cold and numbing relief.
- Peri cleansing bottle – the holy grail of postpartum supplies. Fill it with warm water and soap to clean up after using the bathroom. Toilet paper will feel like sandpaper and urine stings on stitches. I used it several times a day for a few weeks.
- Hemorrhoidal pads – some women get hemorrhoids from pushing during delivery or several weeks after it. If your hospital provides it to you, take it. Just in case!
- Nipple pads – these protective pads hold the leaks from engorged breasts and also protect your clothes from the nipple cream stains.
- Nipple cream – lanolin based, the cream protects, lubricates and heals cracked and sore nipples. No cleaning needed before a feeding makes this a must have product for postpartum if you plan on breastfeeding. I might have given up on it, had it not been for this miracle cream.
- Ibuprofen – if you are opposed to stronger painkillers postpartum, ibuprofen provides pain relief and it’s safe for breastfeeding. Stock up since your doctor may prescribe a much higher dose than you are used to take.
- Laxatives – breastfeeding can really leave you dehydrated. For those moments when you need intestinal hydration, laxatives are a good option. You will most likely need it as well for the first days postpartum to ease the pain of going to the bathroom with stitches and bruises.
I found all these 10 products essential to my recovery care postpartum. I hope it helps you prepare for life after delivery.
And I don’t want to sugar coat how hard it is after delivery, but I also want to empower you that you are strong enough to endure it and that things do get better. Also, that little baby in your arms makes it all worth it!
That is why women do it more than once. Congratulations on your pregnancy and good luck! If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment.
I also wrote a post on 10 Things No One Tells You About PostPartum.
Also if this is your first baby, here are other helpful articles for first time parents:
- 4 classes you should take as new parents
- Breastfeeding Tips and Tricks
- Favorite Baby Products for Birth to 3 Months
- 5 Easy Freezer Meals for The New Mom
If you would like to read my pregnancy updates, read the post below.
- First Trimester Update
- Second Trimester Update
- 29 Weeks Pregnancy Update
- 30-31 Weeks Pregnancy Update
- 32 Weeks Pregnancy Update
- 33 Weeks Pregnancy Update
- 34 Weeks Pregnancy Update
- 35 Weeks Pregnancy Update
- 36 Weeks Pregnancy Update
- Birth Story and Meet My Baby
Read about my son’s birth story and about my postpartum recovery.
Don’t forget to follow my travel or lifestyle accounts on Instagram and to subscribe to my YouTube channel for videos.
Article originally posted February 2017 and last updated June 2020.
This website contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate and participant in other programs, I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.
Leave a Reply