My Post-Partum Recovery Kit

Before I had my baby and I heard people refer to the fourth trimester, I would roll my eyes. However, I quickly ate my own words after having my own baby and my body felt like it had been hit by a bus. Thankfully, I had many people around me that had gone through birth themselves and they told me everything that I needed to get me through the first hard weeks.

So, before I even went into the hospital, I made myself a post-partum recovery kit that had everything inside that I may need during the most physically difficult period of my life.

 

 

Elastoplast spray.

A few years ago, I was watching a YouTuber going through her hospital bag and she continuously spoke about Elastoplast Wound Spray. Her midwife advised her to continuously spray it on any area where tearing and switching happened. Either for a vaginal birth or a c-section. This spray stops infections so naturally I was a sucker and bought it straight away. I’m not going to lie, I was dubious about spraying this onto my coochie, but oh boy did it help me!

Spray bottle.

After birth, the thought of touching your downstairs area in any capacity is the furthest thing from your mind. Which also means that when you go for a wee, you don’t want to wipe. Enter the spray bottle. I got my perineum bottle from Boots; I think it is actually branded as Frida Mom and it was a godsend. It helps to keep everything nice and clean down there, which after birth is completely imperative. You can get these at all different price ranges now, but just go for cheap and cheerful.

 

Post-partum pads.

This goes without saying really, you need pads after birth. Even if you had a c-section, you still bleed. I got quite a few from Boots. There were different brands, but in the end, I stuck with the cheaper ones from Boots because they did the job for me. Straight after birth, I used some of the cooling ones and they felt ok, but very quickly after I didn’t feel like I needed them anymore. Post-partum pads can be very expensive because of the target market, but they are worth it. Just shop around and get opinions from other people for the brands that they liked.

 

Pain relief.

Over the years, it has become a running joke that I never take medication. I can be dying of a headache, quite literally writhing around in pain and still refuse to take a paracetamol. Then when I do take one, I can’t believe how amazingly quickly they work. My friends all screamed at me that birth is not the time to think I am stronger than western medicine. To bulk up on every type of pain relief that I can take and stick with it until I feel like I am able to get through the day pain free. There is no need to be in pain, if there is another alternative method.

 

Black leggings.

Before I went into hospital, I saw a lot of people talking about belly binding. Apparently once your baby is earthside, your stomach can feel very strange and while your organs and your skin find its new home, keeping a light level of compression can help. But instead of a bind that seemed a little uncomfortable to me, I opted for a good old pair of black leggings. Nice and high waisted to keep everything in place, but not too tight that I feel uncomfortable. For when I want something a touch tighter I wear my Adanola pair, but for general day to day, my Primark pair have been a godsend.

 

Nursing bras and breast pads.

To begin with, I didn’t think that I would need anything like this. But oh boy, was I wrong. Thankfully I had gone out and bought a few nursing bras to help me. My breasts swelled up to the size of melons and I was leaking continuously. I needed the pads to help with that, but I also needed the easy access to my breast. It felt much more dignified to wear an adaptive bra for feeding rather than going braless or wearing something that was uncomfortable for me, and probably baby too.

 

Stool softeners.

I think this one really goes without saying. When you are sore down there, the last thing that you want to think about is needing to go for a poo. Just the thought of having to use any force down there is pretty terrifying. Because of that, so many people bought my laxatives. Anything to make the whole experience that much easier. Perhaps not an essential, but it can make a big difference to help make a new mother just a little more comfortable.

 

As always, I hope you guys enjoyed this post and learning more about the items inside my post-partum recovery kit. Simple items, yet they made the whole period so much easier and relatively pain free after a few days. There are so many things that different people recommend, but these are the key things that worked for me and that I used time and time again. If possible, I will add some links below to the items that I have mentioned. I would love to hear from you guys. What do you think about the products in my post-partum recovery kit? Is there anything that other people should take a look at?