Mommy Recovery

Let’s talk about the not so pretty side of having a baby, the mommy recovery. As soon as the epidural wears off comes the pains of child birth. It feels like you ran a marathon or did an all-day crossfit workout. About an hour or so after delivery a nurse comes and pushes on your belly (to make sure everything is out) and it is the worst pain. I screamed and literally scared our sweet nurse to death. The next few days after delivery will be tearfully painful but oh so worth it. It’s so important to have a support system with you, sometimes you just need someone to bring the baby to you instead of you getting up out of bed. And if you’re breastfeeding, the first few days not only do your boobs hurt but your uterus as well. Every time you feed your sweet new baby your uterus is shrinking so it will feel like menstrual cramps/contractions after you breastfeed. Enough of chit-chat, below are my mommy recovery must haves.

Brief Panties – Because the last thing you want to be wearing is a thong. I mean no one’s going down there in a while so there’s no need to be looking sexy.

Pads – Buy more than you think you’ll need. I was bleeding for a good 4 weeks so I went through 3-4 packs of pads (including the ones from the hospital, oh and FYI ask for a ton of extra pads and the mesh panties before you leave). I did do the padsicles and didn’t notice a huge relief, I ended up just pouring witch hazel on every pad instead of using the padsicles. You can also use tucks pads which is what they gave me in the hospital

Dermoplast – Buy at least 2 cans. I also used Lanacane and it burned when I sprayed it unlike Dermoplast.

Placenta pills – I was so worried about getting post-partum depression since it runs in the family, so I found someone to make placenta pills for me.

Belly Bandit – Some people wear this in the hospital, me on the other hand, waited until I got home to try it out. I did love the way my belly looked after wearing it for an hour or so.

Spray bottle – Take the one from the hospital!! You will want to use this for the first few weeks.

Tumbler – It is so important to drink a ton of water especially if you are breastfeeding.

Stool Softener – The first time you poop is a horrific experience. Take these religiously and buy the big bottle, you’ll be taking them for quite some time. Milk of magnesia is good to have on hand as well, especially if you haven’t had a bowel movement in a day. I waited way too long before taking the milk of magnesia and got a huge blood clot after I had a bowel movement, it was terrifying.