I’m a mommy of two so I have been around the block a couple of times now. I have also been a postpartum doula for many mamas. Let me tell you something that I have learned, the after birth is nothing like an after party. Yes it is so wonderful to be able to hold your little baby in your arms but, little do they tell you about all the things your body will go through AFTER you have the baby. Let me help you be prepared for your postpartum journey with a couple of tips!
Something You May Not Know:
Before we get into the tips let me tell you something you may not know about postpartum. During pregnancy your uterus grows from the size of a lemon (its natural size) to the size of a watermelon in 40 weeks! Once you deliver the baby your uterus shrinks from a watermelon to a lemon is just 6 weeks! Your body goes through contractions to push a baby out but it ALSO goes through contractions to shrink back down to size.
This is where breastfeeding comes in handy. Breastfeeding stimulates your uterus to contract back down to size. If you’re not breastfeeding don’t worry it still will go back down to its original size it just may take a little but longer. This is why you are told to REST after you have a baby. Your body is healing back to its original size in a very small amount of time.
9 Tips to Help you Survive Postpartum:
- Cold/warm packs: I think hot and cold off and on helps any injury. But man after birth the downstairs can hurt so dang much! Its nice to have small soft ice packs that you can place on your vagina after birth, then to switch it off and on with a warm rice pack or heating pad.
2. Pads: Apply aloe to the pad, add some witch hazel essential oil, then place in the freezer! Those are awesome for immediate postpartum. What I like to do is to place witch hazel oil into a spray bottle with some melted coconut oil and spray into onto the aloe that is placed in the pad. Makes it pretty easy!
3. Diapers: Some women love the mesh panties they give to you in the hospital. Personally I don’t like them. I think they move around too much a sneak in places I don’t like. (Just a personal opinion.) What I do love is using a good ole diaper! I’ll take a maxi pad place it in the diaper first thing in the morning. Then towards the middle of the day I’ll remove the maxi pad then just wear the diaper by itself the rest of the day. Make is easy and convent! I have a specific brand that I absolutely LOVE! They are a super cheap price and feel like normal underwear (Score!) The link for it is right HERE. Make sure you purchase the right size. If its too big it can cause chafing.
4. Rest: Like I said above. REST REST REST. Your body NEEDS the time to heal. Even if by day 3 you feel like you’re good and don’t need to rest. You do. Give your body the time it needs to heal. If you decide that after 2 weeks you want to go outside walk around or exercise you many notice your pad/underwear have more blood than normal. This usually means that you have pushed it a little too far and need to go rest some more.
5. Keeping it clean: Your vagina postpartum is very tender. Especially if you tore. The best way to help it heal is if you keep it nice and clean. The hospital or your home birth midwife will make sure to leave you with a peri spray bottle. They are awesome to have. If you want an upgrade from that version Frida Baby sells this one. I highly recommend it. It helps to got get your hands all messy and it provides a really awesome angle. Its not very expensive and is a total game changer.
6. Medicine One of the best things about not being pregnant? You can finally take Advil again! Use the dosage recommendations. Or course Tylenol is still a good option.
7. Lidocaine spray: The hospital may send you home with a lidocaine spray that will help a lot but if they don’t or if you run out there is a spray that you can buy here that helps a lot. I really recommend this product to help with pain management. I used it so much after I had my babies. You can purchase it here.
8. Witch Hazel: I talked about this in the pad section. Another way you can use witch hazel is through and brand named “tucks” pads. They help heal the vagina and also help with hemorrhoids. This is something that isn’t talked about much either. I would love to shed some light on this too. When you are in the pushing stage of labor sometimes the pushing can cause a woman to have hemorrhoids. A hemorrhoid is a swollen vein or group of veins that occur in the anus when there is extreme pressure. They don’t usually show up immediately. It can be a couple of days or weeks postpartum that they become painful and noticeable. Things to help with this are stool softeners and tucks pads. I strongly recommend getting some of these. Witch Hazel does wonders.
9. Be willing to ask for help: Personally I am so bad at asking for help! One thing that helps me is forced help haha! And by that I mean, scheduling people to come help you when the baby arrives. Planning moms, mother in laws, sisters, friends, or a postpartum doula. Yes postpartum doulas are a thing and they are amazing. Planning out people to come can also make people feel overwhelmed and pressured into doing more than they should.
Side Note:
There is a combo pack with the lidocaine cream and the tucks pad that you can buy here. The bundle pack makes it cheaper to buy together!
I truly hope that you consider all of these pain management tips. I truly believe they will help you after you give birth! Hang in their mama! This stage can be hard but you have got this! If you are at the beginning of pregnancy and are struggling with morning sickness visit this blog post. 10 tips to help with morning sickness.