Ellen Slater

Postpartum Post, Pt. 2: Things That Helped

in Baby, Everyday on

Like I said a couple weeks ago, I’ve been lucky that my postpartum experience has been good, if a complete surprise. But that doesn’t mean I haven’t found a bunch of products and tricks to be very helpful at navigating this period.

This is the post I wanted to find (and didn’t) before having a baby. You know how you get a back-to-school shopping list as a kid? I wanted a you-just-had-a-baby shopping list. I pieced together a lot of advice I found from countless Google searches about what helped other moms postpartum, and that led me to all this stuff. I’m sure other people will have different preferences when it comes to some of these products and tips, but I hope this can be a starting point for someone.

Hopefully it goes without saying, but none of this is sponsored and none of these are affiliate links. I bought all these products after doing a lot of research, and found them extremely helpful.

Help.

I’ll preface this by saying that I know not everyone has family or a good support system nearby to help, so this won’t be the most practical tip for everyone. But if you have it, take advantage of it, even when you feel like you shouldn’t need it. It’s been the single best thing for figuring out life with a newborn. I’m so grateful for it.

Jack and my mom are pretty much completely available for me and C, which I feel incredibly grateful for. Jack is going back to work next week, but he works from home, so he’ll still be around.

My parents cleaned our house and watched the dogs while we were at the hospital with C and had dinner waiting for us when we got home. Jack’s parents stop by often, and offer to pick things up from the grocery store or bring us meals. At least one of our parents watches C once a week so Jack and I can go on dates. My parents take Ben to their house to play with their dog, especially if the weather is going to be bad and he won’t get outside much. My mom takes me (and often C) out to run errands, go on a walk, or just get out of the house at least once a week, often twice. When Jack had to go to drill, my aunts and my friend came down to help me out. My grandma brings food for our freezer stash when she comes over. And so on.

I’ll add that asking for help is also highly important in the postpartum stage. It’s not the thing I’m best at, but I’m getting better! People are generally very willing to help you while you take care of your baby and even more willing to take care of your baby so you can take care of yourself (or chores).

Take the help you can get.

Resources

  • Expecting and Empowered. Owned by a pelvic floor physical therapist and a nurse/doula/personal trainer, this company is amazing for all things pregnancy and postpartum. I used the pregnancy workouts to help prepare my body for labor and delivery, and I’ve been using the postpartum ones to help recover and ease back into strength training. They also share a ton of digestible information on their Instagram account. Super freaking helpful.
  • Karrie Locher. Karrie is a nurse, mom of four, and lactation consultant, and I’ve learned a ton about breastfeeding and navigating motherhood from following her Instagram account. She has courses related to breastfeeding and bringing home baby, as well. I looked into these after bringing C home, so we were already learning as we went, but I’d be willing to bet they’re awesome based on how valuable her free content is.

I’m sure there are more. At this point, I probably follow about 10 different doulas on Instagram, so I am taking in no shortage of pregnancy/postpartum information. But these are the two resources I go back to over and over.

Recovery Products

  • Rest. It’s not a product, of course, but it’s the most important factor in recovery. When I was trying to do too much that first week or so, I wasn’t recovering very well.
  • Peri Bottle. I’ve gathered this is an unpopular opinion, but I actually like the hospital peri bottle better than the upside-down ones. I bought the upside-down ones long before I gave birth, though, so that’s what I used. I just found that the process of turning them over caused them to leak sometimes, and I ended up spraying water everywhere because the slightest bit of pressure on the bottle makes water come out. Not the biggest deal in the world, so I didn’t end up buying the hospital ones, but I do kind of wish I’d brought the one I used at the hospital home.
  • Always FlexFoam pads. I don’t use pads usually, so I was at a loss for what kind to buy for postpartum. A little searching around landed me here, which said Always FlexFoam. I bought the size 5 for immediately postpartum and then sized down to 1 and 2 after I ran out, and I totally recommend them. They’re just about as absorbent as the gigantic hospital pads-that-might-as-well-be-diapers, and way more comfortable.
  • Earth Mama Perineal Spray. I had friends say to use witch hazel to heal faster, and this is what I used. No idea how well it works compared to other varieties (or nothing), but it feels nice and is easy to use.
  • Dermoplast. I was stubborn about this at first because I convinced myself I should stick with the more natural witch hazel spray. Then, when I went to the doctor for engorgement, the nurse and I were chatting about postpartum recovery and she said to not make recovering too much harder on myself than it has to be and use the numbing spray. So, I did, and it was helpful.
  • FridaMom Instant Ice Pack Pads. Let me start by saying that there are no comfortable ice pack pads. Exactly what you think will happen is going to happen. That is, they will melt, and it will feel wet and uncomfortable. This is the whole reason I didn’t make my own padsicles. I hoped that the kind you could buy might somehow be different, but I was relieved of this delusion in the hospital when I used their ice pack pads. But I know it’s good to ice after birth, so when I ran out of the extra ice packs from the hospital, I ordered these. They stay cold even longer than the hospital ones and are convenient.
  • Kindred Bravely Postpartum Underwear. I don’t hate the mesh underwear from the hospital. It was really nice, honestly. But when I got home, I wanted to feel less like a patient than mesh underwear made me feel. These helped. They’re pretty high-waisted, so they accommodate giant pads and ice packs, but they don’t feel as bulky as the mesh underwear. (Still, bring home some of the mesh underwear, especially for the first day or two.)

Breastfeeding

Like I said, I feel lucky that breastfeeding has been relatively straightforward for me. But a few things have made the whole experience way better.

  • Spectra S2 pump. This is one of the pumps that was covered by my insurance, and I really like it. It’s not terribly loud or bulky, and it’s effective. Once my supply chilled out a bit, I took a break from pumping (because it is nice not to have to), but now I pump my slacker side at least once a day to balance things out and make sure we keep up a freezer stash.
  • Haakaa silicone breast pump. I thought I’d use this while I fed C to catch milk on the side she isn’t nursing on. I don’t usually do that, because she is extremely squirmy and she could kick it off. But I love it anyway. Instead, I basically use it to catch letdown from the side I’m not pumping, since I typically only pump my slacker side these days. I also use it if I’m a little over-full or am randomly letting down when I’m not feeding C. Because that sometimes happens.
  • Kindred Bravely Organic Bamboo Nursing Pads. If you breastfeed, you might leak. These are good for small leaks, and I like that they’re reusable and not bulky at all. I leak kind of a lot, so I only use these for shorter periods of time.
  • Lanisoh Stay Dry Nursing Pads. I use these a lot more. They’re just more absorbent than the reusable ones. When I saw that they were disposable, I figured I’d go through like 10 a day and 10 more at night and it would be extremely cost-ineffective. Actually, I put 2 on after I shower, and they get me through till I switch to a sleep bra. I put 2 more on at night, and the last me till I shower. I think the first box I bought lasted me about 6 weeks. They don’t really show through with any nursing bra that has some structure, but they are bulkier than the KB ones.
  • Earth Mama Organic Nipple Butter. I’ll preface by saying that breastfeeding isn’t supposed to hurt. If you are experiencing pain, it’s something to get curious about and maybe check in with a lactation consultant. But in the interim between finding out the issue and fixing the issue, it doesn’t hurt to have a band-aid. In the first few weeks when C had less head control, she would pop on and off my boobs a good bit while nursing. That, coupled with fast letdown, meant that when she latched, she latched hard. Like, was she a baby or a violent venus fly trap? Anyway, this helped soothe very achy nipples during that time. You can also use it on other dry/cracked skin and lips, and it smells good.
  • Kindred Bravely French Terry Racerback Nursing & Sleep Bra. These are both comfy and supportive, and they make nursing pretty easy in the dark. Because of the way they’re built, I think it’s a little harder to nurse from the right side in these. I still wear them to bed a few nights a week and occasionally for light workouts.
  • Bravado Designs Ballet Bra. These are my favorite soft/sleep bras. They are stretchy and supportive, and the fact that they have a wider neck makes it easier to nurse on both sides. Also, the fabric is super fast-drying, which is excellent for all the times C spits milk at me in the middle of the night.
  • Bravado Designs Plunge Nursing Bra. When looking for nursing bras to wear during the day, I really wanted something with a neckline that looked more like an actual bra than a sports bra, so I could easily wear it under anything. These were what I came up with, and I love them. They don’t show the bulkiness of the Lanisoh nursing pads, and they work under pretty much any top. I have 3, which is kind of the perfect number of nursing bras to me, since I haven’t mastered not getting milk all over myself about once a day. They get washed very frequently.
  • Kindred Bravely Sublime Nursing Sports Bra. I didn’t think I’d need sports bras for nursing, and I probably don’t, but it’s really nice. A lot of times, I’ll change into workout clothes and then C will want to eat, so I feed her before I start my workout. Or, I’ll finish working out and she’ll be hungry, so I feed her before I shower. Also, my regular sports bras are just a little tight, and these are crazy comfortable.
  • Soft, oversized breastfeeding-friendly clothes. This will look different for everyone, but I bought some oversized V-neck and quarter-zip sweaters, henleys, and a few nursing camis. Even though my other clothes fit, I’ve still found myself gravitating toward ridiculously soft clothes over the last few months. And while I am often just in a bra at home, it is very nice to have clothes that allow you to breastfeed easily when you’re out and about or have company over.

Freezer meals (+ an Instant Pot)

So, when I made the freezer meals before C was born, all we had was a slow cooker. I love my slow cooker. I love it so much that I have refused to get an Instant Pot because… can’t they basically do the same thing in different amounts of time?

But in the newborn stage of life, I realized that expecting one of us to remember to get something out of the freezer to thaw a day in advance of putting it in the slow cooker was just not happening. So, we bought an Instant Pot so we’d stop ordering takeout or eating souped-up mac & cheese because we forgot to thaw the food I’d prepared. It was a good decision. (And takeout and mac & cheese are still delicious.)

Now, onto all the things I made that we loved. Which was, fortunately, all the things I made.

Things I cooked and then froze:

Things I assembled raw and we cooked in the slow cooker/Instant Pot/oven:

We’re getting to a place where Jack and/or I can cook most nights, but having a few things prepped in the freezer is something I want to keep up. It has made a lot of nights much, much easier. And I’ll take all the easy I can get right now!

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