Postpartum Essentials

Given I just shot a little dude out of my nether region this topic is fresh on my brain. I've been texting a few friends expecting their first kiddos my absolute favorite products and realized I needed to make a blog post about it! So here they are.

All of the items linked will take you to Amazon where I will make a small commission if you decide to purchase them. But all of these items I bought myself and am not otherwise being compensated for mentioning them. I genuinely do hope you like them as much as I did! Blanqi tanks- Im not sold on the blanqi maternity or postpartum leggings. The postpartum ones are better and I really wanted to love them both, but I just couldn't. There's no seem on the rear so my ass feels like its smashed into them. And as much as I am not in love with their leggings, I will say I really love their tanks. I wore my maternity tank to work almost every day while pregnant becasue it was so supportive and helped my back not ache. And I wore their postpartum tanks just as much after birth. Theyre not going to offer the same level of support or sucking as the belly binder by any means, however, that first week while I was still sensitive and didn't want to wear the binder, I wore the these around the clock. It feels supportive and helped the bands of my pajamas not feel like it was cutting into my midsection. I had the kind you had to tug down to nurse, and I wish I had gotten these. But even with that I still wore mine constantly. I will admit these things are priiiiiceeyyy so I bought most of mine used and would encourage you to do so if they're not within your budget. I've found my sister and me a pair of their leggings for like $4 each! So it can be done. Haakaa- This was one of those items I wasn't entirely convinced I needed as well, but I saw so many amazing reviews that I was like "Ehh add it to the registry." And let me tell you, this sucker is amazing! When my milk came in and I was engorged, it gently released the pressure without much risk over draining. (When you empty your breasts it signals to your body to make more milk. When you're engorged your body is trying to regilate the amount of milk it needs so you want to just release the pressure, not completely drain them.) Plus the portability and ease of use is a huge selling point for me. I hate pumping. Having my nipple nearly ripped off and then cleaning a thousand parts of the torture device afterwards? No thanks. So I always find myself reaching for my haakaa if I need to drain any pressure.

Ice pack- With Indie I tore to a level 3.5. I was literally walking like one of those cowboys from a western when they dismount their horse. So I iced my vuh-jay-jay a ton that first week. I also would use it to ice my tah-tahs while engorged. I didnt use my ice pack with Evie because I didn't tear as bad nor get as engorged, so I would say this is only necessary if you tear really bad or for your first. Earth Mama perineal balm- Where to begin with this stuff?? I didnt have this with Indie and I wish I had!! I was so freaked out by the concept of touching a fresh wound to apply this, but my sister recomended putting it on my pad. So thats what I did and ahhh, the relief. This stuff is gooodd. I think i'll just start gifting this, a bottle of wine, and a starbucks gift card to every expecting mother. Earth Mama or Motherlove Nipple Cream- For Indie, I used the nipple cream they gave me in the hospital exclusively for the first few days. When I got home I alternated between that and the Earth Mama I had bought based on whatever was closests. I very quickly abandoned any nipple creams other than the earth mama as I could see how much more chapped my nipples were getting when I was using the other brands. I intended to buy it again but with my awesome pregancy brain ended up buying the Motherlove brand, but surprisingly loved it as well. With both of these brands my nipples never crakced or bled! I will say that a good latch is obviusly vital here (more on that on this blog post), but i definitely saw a difference between these nipple creams and other brands. I linked the Earth Mama one because I think it might be sliiiightly better but I wouldn't die on that hill.

Diapers- I wish this was for the babes, but alas, it is not. The things we endure. With Indie I just used the giant monster pads and mesh underwear from the hospital for the first week. I really liked them and had no intention of buying anything different. This time a friend gave me her leftover diapers (nothing like a mom friend gifting you diapers for your coochie, eh? Mom life is so glamorous). These are SO MUCH MORE COMFORTABLE than a giant pad. They're a lot thinner but stay in place and dont ride up your butt. So I was better protected without people being able to hear me enter a room with the squish of my pad. Epson Salts- With both kiddos I used epson salts and I feel like I healed amazingly fast. It helps soothe everything and it also is supposed to help with constipation which you do not want to get constipated with stitches. So I loved adding salts to my sitz baths. Comfy stretchy pajamas- Last time I didn't get postpartum clothes so I made sure to do that with Evie. I got this set from Target and I really love how comfortable they are. They have a ton of stretch so I could wear them ' from the hospital with my swollen belly, are nursing friendly, so so so soft, and are cute so if you have people over you dont look entirely disgusting. Belly support- After giving birth my midsection felt hallow and the weight distribution was readjsuting so my back would ache. For some reason with both kids I was convinced I didn't need any sort of belly support. And both times I was mistaken and got, or borrowed, one afterwards. This time I ordered this one from Amazon, and loved it. It has three pieces, although I never wore the hip binding one, and helped my midsection feel supported. It also did help my midsection shrink down faster!

Milk collection cups- Okay these little suckers are amazing. Im not sure if considering them postpartum care is accurate, but I wish I had them right after when my milk was coming in because I was leaking through everything. I had to send my mom to the store to buy me more bra pads because I was waking up in puddles. Disgusting. These guys will catch all that milk for you to freeze. Plus you can just dump the milk into a storage cup throughout the day and rinse and keep wearing the shells all day versus changing pads constantly. I've been building my freezer stash of milk passively with these (remember my feelings about my pump?) so I've become a huge fan. Ashwaganda- Okay, Evie is a fantastic sleeper. Im writing this and she slept 8 hours straight last night and is barely a month old. So m not going to die on the ashwagandha hill and credit it for how much easier this postpartum experience has been when I know there are several other factors-including my immediately getting on antidepressants. However, I did see a study that it is helpful for aiding in the affects of sleep deprivation and have been taking it along with my antidepressants. So essential is probably an exaggeration, but it's definitely something to note.