The first few days postpartum are CRAZY. That’s the only way I can sum it up. Between figuring out how to take care of a little baby, taking care of yourself post one of the most traumatic things your body can go through, the sleep deprivation, hormonal imbalance that basically makes you cry at the drop of a hat and….. oh did I mention breastfeeding?! Shit gets real fast. You get desperate for one of these things to get easier for you, and if you’re anything like me, you hop on the internet to find anything that will help.
Turns out Amazon prime was my breast best friend those first few days, so to help out all my moms to be out there, I thought I’d share some of my best postpartum purchases that arrived at my door. If you’re not pregnant, bookmark this for when the time comes, or note these things to put together a “care package” for a friend right after baby arrives and she is sure to ugly cry all over the place.
FOR MAMA
MEDELA BREAST PUMP STORAGE BAGS
If you’re planning to breastfeed, you’ll probably also pump at some time either to relieve your supply as baby figures this out or to store up for a rainy day. These storage bags are crucial to freezing your milk and something I didn’t think about until I had too much milk stored up and nothing to do with it.
MEDELA BREAST PUMP SANITATION BAGS
If you read the instructions for taking care of your pump parts, you’ll probably cry out of exhaustion. In addition to continually washing all of your pump parts they also recommend you sanitize them (totally makes sense just ALOT of work) and boil them in water for up to 10 minutes for full cleaning. I don’t know about you, but that sounded exhausting and a pain in the butt even for someone who is actually getting sleep at night. Thankfully my sister tipped me off to these sanitation bags that are SO MUCH EASIER. Pop a few part in a sealable bag with some water, put into the microwave for a few minutes and BANG sanitization made easy. Seriously, these are crucial.
A gift from the pumping gods, every pumping mama needs at least one of these. With my Medela Freestyle pump that I have (which I totally recommend), the greatest feature of it is that it’s small and very portable which makes pumping and still doing other things possible. Without a handsfree pumping bra though, I’d still be stuck holding it to my chest to pump. Insert this bra that makes it so much easier.
Turns out taking care of a little babe is pretty much a full time job, and one that makes you hungry, especially if you are breastfeeding. In those first few days back home I found myself waking up in the middle of the night for feedings absolutely STARVING which is not in the norm for me. Because calories are so important for breastmilk production, I was wanting to have something to eat not only to curb my hunger but also to keep the calories coming. I ordered this variety pack of protein bars which have been an easy thing to eat during my feeding sessions and anytime I need something but don’t have the time or energy to really “make” a meal. Not saying these should replace a meal by any means, but for in betweens they made life easier for sure.
In the first few days in the hospital and back home, I’m not sure there was anything that I was more worried about than my milk coming in for baby. They say it can take anywhere from 3-6 days, everyone being different, and during that waiting period there is nothing you want more for both you and your baby. Desperate to get things going and ensure that once it was in it lasted, I bought these lactation bars. Not only do they help with my supply, they are also pretty tasty and are another item I keep at my “feeding station”.
See note above. Sometimes it will take DAYS for your milk to come in. What happens until then? Your baby wants to be attached to your breast because its the coziest place they can be. Which is oh so sweet but also oh so painful – TRUST ME. Unfortunately there’s no way around it and you are bound to feel a new pain like never before. Just slab on the lanolin and pop these into the fridge and they will help give you relief that you definitely need.
Though some hospitals will send you home with a bit of “miracle foam” that will help with your “situation” this got recommended to me to ease the discomfort from a nurse and let me tell you – it’s a game changer that works even better. If you aren’t having a c-section, to put it simply, YOU NEED THIS.
If you have one or two, you’ll probably want more because this is all you will wear from now on……. or until you stop breast-feeding. I like having sporty options and the regular ones to accommodate different outfits and honestly am considering a few more.
LOUNGEWEAR
Getting “dressed” the first few weeks means rotating through your pj’s, robes and sweatpants but that doesn’t mean you can’t still look cute. Realizing my loungewear was slacking, I got a few items to throw into rotation that would be perfectly acceptable to peruse Target in, in case I’m feeling frisky one day and take out the babes for an excursion (Target and Starbucks only).
FOR BABY
Thankfully I did a pretty good job with my registry and other items I picked up for the babes that I didn’t need too many things postpartum, but I did find a few things that have been helpful.
In the first few weeks to months baby’s digestive system is still maturing and sometimes this means they get gas or have problems with their poops (wow – didn’t know I would one day write that one on this blog, oh parenthood). While there are some medicines that can help, we were interested in trying something non-medicinal at first and got the Frida-windis. They worked like a charm and though we are trying to use them less often to get baby to figure this part out on her own, it’s certainly nice to have them when we get desperate since they really seem to work.
In the hospital, the nurses swaddle the babies so perfectly that the baby is calm and cozy and basically make it seem easy. Then you get home with your own swaddles and baby is suddenly Houdini who can magically break out of all your attempts and break you down to a shell of yourself in the process. We believe in swaddling baby for sleep so getting this down was crucial and we were struggling at first. This sleep sack helped a ton with making that easier and with the bottom zipper access also made it easier than a swaddle for changing baby in the middle of the night. Since unswaddling typically wakes baby up, this is a game changer.
Getting out of the house in any capacity is really crucial those first few weeks, and for me, even a walk around the block with the stroller would revive me. But despite the fall weather that the rest of the country is experiencing, Florida is still HOT and taking baby out in the stroller would make me nervous because of this. Thankfully I found this awesome fan to attach to the stroller to keep her cool for our walks and outings which gave me so much piece of mind for her comfort and safety.
Ok, so I have to admit, I didn’t buy this, but I am still debating it. Right now I have one that is all cloth and I am kicking myself for not knowing about this changing pad earlier. I’ve washed the changing pad cover several times already for obvious reasons and I’m like “WAIT WHY IS IT CLOTH AND NOT SOMETHING THAT I CAN JUST WIPE”. Well turns out I’m not the only one that’s thought of this and that’s why this changing pad exists. Easily wipeable for accidents during changes (which happen ALL THE TIME PEOPLE), AND this one weighs your baby. Why should you care about that? Well, when you’re breastfeeding you don’t always know if your baby is getting enough to eat because you can’t measure what they are eating. The only way you know they are getting enough is by their weight, which I relied on going to the doctor to tell me (though doctor appointments are weekly at first a week is still a long time to know!) So having a changing pad that weighs them helps you see if they are gaining weight and thereby eating and doing as they should. So once I find some type of target discount or something, this will be MINE.
I’d say overall I felt very prepared for baby’s arrival and had most of the things (and then some) that I needed to take care of the both of us but these few last minutes purchases definitely helped a ton and would have been great to have right away.
Anything else you mama’s out there ended up buying postpartum that helped you get through the first few weeks?
4 Comments
Grateful for your posts!! Awesome tips!
Yes, so happy to share my tips so you can have a wonderful experience!
Jess you are an excellent writer. I made so much milk I could have just sat in the nursery at the hospital and fed other babies. But you got this and it’s all new but it all just happens and like a few years down the road you two will be like what the hell and how did we get through that. What seems like a few more years goes by and You’ll be on college visits. My mom advise…….start a college fund immediately. We did and we are thanking our lucky stars. Oh, and no matter how much you manage to save it’s not enough either. Love you both. She’s beautiful.
You are so sweet! I appreciate your support so much!