Family · health · Homemaking · Life · Motherhood · Natural Living · parenting · Pregnancy

Postpartum Essentials Every Mom Needs

{This post may contain affiliate links. That means that I earn a commission if you make a qualifyingpurchase through my links (such as Amazon), but it does not change the price that you pay. For more information, please see my disclaimer page.}

As we prepare for baby, I have been going over a list of postpartum essentials every mom needs. These are items that have made the postpartum period so much easier for me.

Postpartum Essentials Every Mom Needs
Postpartum Essentials For Natural Mamas

Peri Bottle

If you are birthing at a hospital, or your midwife has a birth kit, there is probably one included, but I am really loving this design.

After birth your lady bits need some special attention. Rinsing with water or an herbal tea after going to the restroom is a big comfort and helps keep you nice and clean without having to wipe the sore area.

I got the two pack so I can stash one in the diaper bag to have while we are out and to keep one in the bathroom at home.

Herbal Sitz Baths (Or Peri Bottle Teas)

I have not used a sitz bath, but I have made the “tea” and used it in my peri bottle after cooling. These are made with herbs that promote healing, which is definitely a plus.

Perineal Spray 

Let’s face it, birth can leave ya sore, these sprays have been a huge relief for me, and they are made with clean ingredients that I can feel good about using.

Padsicles

I have heard conflicting information on the use of cold for the recovery period. It does numb and help reduce swelling. However, swelling is your body trying to heal, so please do some research on the matter and see what you feel comfortable with. If you don’t end up using them for birth, they do come in handy for other injuries as well.

I do like that these Lansinoh ones also double as a warming pack. The Frida Mom ones are more what you will find in the hospital-the instant ice pack type.

Period Panties

In the past I have used the mesh panties. With my last baby I had a bunch of panties that had just gotten pretty tatty, so I used those and chucked them after. This time I have gotten some period panties for my postpartum period.

Postpartum Pads

Since switching to more natural feminine care, I have used bamboo charcoal cloth diaper doublers (that I bought new for the purpose). I have a set, but I also grabbed some clean disposable ones from HoneyPot and Nyssa this time as well. There are also wonderful cloth options on Etsy. I do try to stick with organic. If you do go with reusable options, don’t forget a wet bag!

Pain Management

You will definitely want something on hand for pain. The problem is that both acetaminophen and ibuprofen are pretty bad for you, and can cause several issues with yours, and baby’s health (post on the topic coming).

For general pain management, including childbirth, I highly recommend Earthley’s Pain Potion.

Soreness and muscle trauma associated with childbirth, I recommend Arnica.

For Afterbirth pains (especially if you have more than one child-and the more you have, the more you will want something because they intensify with each). I have used WishGarden’s AfterEase Tincture and it has been a life saver. This time I also grabbed Earthley’s Ease The Ache and want to see how it compares. From everything that I have heard it is right on par with AfterEase.

Hydration

Hydration is a big factor in postpartum recovery. There are some great postpartum teas on the market, or you can make your own (recipe coming soon!).

Herbal teas help nourish your body, restoring some of the nutrients that it has used up making baby. They can also help greatly with milk supply.

Another postpartum essential is a good water bottle. I really like ones with a straw feature because then you don’t have to worry about unscrewing anything to drink and you can drink laying down.

I have a Thermoflask 40 oz water bottle with the straw cap. I replaced the plastic straw with an extra long straw from Gosili. I am looking at adding a Stainless Steel Camelbak Eddy and using the same straw to replace the plastic one.

The down side to the CamelBak is that it’s smaller (32 oz). The plus in my experience is the mouthpiece is nicer.

Squatty Potty

(TMI Warning)

This is something that we have anyway, but it is especially nice after labor. Many moms experience difficulty with the first bowel movement after baby. This aligns your body to what it should be to go, and makes it much easier. The 7 inch isn’t really tall enough to do much, but the 9 inch is much better. You want your feet as close to level with your bum as possible.

Natural Stool Softeners

  • Hydration is huge. Lemon water can be especially helpful as the citric acid and vitamin c help flush toxins from your body.
  • Vitamin C Mega Dose
  • Soaked Chia seeds. Chia seeds absorb up to 12 times their weight in liquid which aids your hydration and they contain a lot of fiber to help things move along.
  • Dried fruit. Prunes, raisins, dried figs, dried dates all are great for helping things move along. Do be sure to add a little extra liquid intake since these dehydrated fruits do absorb water from your body.

Postpartum Supplements

This may turn into a post of it’s own. For now here are somethings that are important in supporting your body (and baby’s if you are nursing) and help replenish nutrients.

Grass-fed Collagen

I like this one from Wholesome Wellness because it contains several types of collagen that are important for your body. I have been using this for about 2 years and love it.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D is important for so many functions, but it especially is important for mom’s mood. I have recently started using Earthley’s Vitamin D Cream. Designed to be absorbed transdermally (which is actually the most effective method of delivery), you simply apply it to areas of the body that tend to have a little pudge after a shower (moist skin absorbs it best). I have noticed a much better sleep pattern for myself, as well as better moods, and energy. I plan to continue with this indefinitely.

I have not gotten Earthley’s Cod Liver Oil yet, but it is in my cart for my next order. It is also a great source of vitamin d as well as vitamin a, and omega 3s (which are important for everyone).

Iron

Iron is important for women-especially moms that have just given birth. I take Earthley’s Herbal Energy as well as Wholesome Wellness Grass-fed Beef Liver pills. My midwife this time recommended taking the ‘dose’ throughout the day for best absorption (One of the 4-6 pills listed as the dose every 90 minutes). When taking iron, it is important to take it either two hours before or two hours after calcium as calcium interferes with absorption of iron. Taking with with a good vitamin c rich food is a good idea.

Prenatal or Postnatal Vitamins

It is recommended that women continue their prenatal vitamins, or switch to a postnatal vitamin to replenish the nutrients removed by pregnancy. Some things to look out for are making sure that your vitamins are a whole-food sourced vitamin (more easily absorbed and better used) and that the folate/folic acid is actually a methylated folate.

For this pregnancy I have used MegaFoods Whole Food Prenatals and I plan to pair that with with their Postnatal Vitamin or Naturelo’s Postnatal.

Breastfeeding Essentials

I do need to update this post a bit, but if you plan on nursing, these are part of your postpartum essentials as well.

Meals

You may or maynot have a support system in your area, and they may or maynot offer to bring meals, but having some meals tucked away in the freezer is always a good idea.

I highly recommend these books for nourishing your body after baby. I am making several broths and soups to have on hand for myself when baby comes.

Comfy Clothes

Comfortable clothes are a big plus for post partum period. I usually live in big tshirts/nursing shirts, nursing dresses, and yoga pants or skirts the first few weeks after birth. I skip bras and stick with nursing tanks or double fitted tanks because they do not restrict lymph flow like bras do and are better for breast health (another post I plan on doing in the future).

Postpartum Resources

Here are a few other postpartum resources I found helpful.

Postpartum Recovery Guide Ebook
A Mother's Guide to Breastfeeding Nutrition ebook
Mama and Baby Herbal Wisdom Ebook

What Are Your Postpartum Essentials?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.