Essential Postpartum Items and Tips for New Moms
4 min readSep 7, 2023
THE HARD PART NO ONE TALKS ABOUT, the realities around giving birth and recovering!
Welcome to motherhood, and congratulations on your pregnancy! As a mom of three who has experienced the journey of childbirth and recovery, I want to share some vital tips and must-have items to help you prepare for the postpartum period, especially if you’ve had a c-section. Below are tips I learned from having three c-sections that I would have appreciated knowing before giving birth. Having these items on hand made me feel that much more prepared and eased my anxiety around giving birth. I hope you find these resources helpful!
what to wear to the hospital and pack
- roller luggage: pack your items in a roller luggage
- clothing: I have three Frida Mom Delivery hospital and delivery gowns. I had my c-sections in these and lived in these while I was recovering at home because they’re so comfortable and practical. Note: your stomach will still look 6 months pregnant a few days after giving birth so pack clothes that will fit you.
- flip-flops: I recommend wearing these Croc flip-flops to the hospital because you can easily take them off, put them back on, and wear them in the shower. You will be limited in your mobility right after giving birth and need an easy slip on and off shoe option.
- hair ties: I liked having my hair in a top bun right after showering before we went to the hospital
- toiletries: don’t forget your toiletries
- snacks and water: not sure how locked down the hospital will be for you (for our first birth it was in the beginning of the pandemic, and we couldn’t leave the room. for our second birth, we could walk around the labor and delivery area, and my husband had the freedom to leave and come back with a temperature check) so I recommend bringing snacks and water bottles. The hospital will have food, but it can take awhile to be delivered.
- bras: oversized sports bras that you used during your pregnancy (I did not feel like putting on a real bra after giving birth)
- no need to pack underwear: the hospital will give you disposable underwear and pads so you don’t need to pack these
- blankets and pillows: blankets and pillows for you and your partner, the hospital will provide these but they’re uncomfortable
- phone chargers
- baby items (zip up swaddles, zip up sleep and play outfits, burp cloths, blankets, hats, mittens, pacifiers, water wipes). the hospital will provide wipes, diapers, and formula
- car seat
- stroller
underwear and pads
- disposable underwear: the hospital will give you a bunch of ginormous pads and disposable underwear, but I found I still needed some pretty heavy pads and underwear when I got home. Be nice to the nurses and they’ll hook you up with some before you leave! I still needed to buy three packs of these disposable underwear.
- high waited cotton underwear: once my bleeding subsided, I could transition from wearing the disposable underwear to wearing high waited cotton underwear, I loved wearing high waisted underwear because my stitches hadn’t fully healed so I couldn’t wear my regular underwear; I also ordered a size up because my belly wasn’t my pre-pregnancy size yet.
- pads: when my bleeding lessened, I was able to transition to these pads which were much more comfortable.
how to reduce breast engorgement pain
- apply breast ice packs: if you don’t breastfeed/stop breastfeeding, you’ll endure breast engorgement pain. applying these breast ice packs helps ease the pain
- drink sage tea: there is little scientific evidence that drinking sage tea alleviates breast engorgement, but I felt like it helped so I recommend drinking it even for the placebo effect.
- wear a tight fitting bra: make sure to wear bras you don’t mind staining with breastmilk
other helpful tips
- This is probably only for c-sections, but if you end up getting one, ask your nurse for an abdominal binder, This was helpful to wear after my recovery; it just felt like it kept everything together and gave me some support.
- After birthing your baby, your hormones will have gone on a roller coaster ride. The hormonal changes, combined with a lack of sleep, can make your emotions go all over the place. This is normal!
- Postpartum depression is also normal, so make sure to seek help if you’re feeling more pessimistic. I didn’t personally go through postpartum depression, but I did experience more emotions than I was used to because of how exhausted, hormonal, and in pain I was. Make sure to explain this to your partner so you can set expectations on how they can be supportive and understanding. For my friends who did experience postpartum depression, they temporarily went on medication and therapy, which helped them tremendously.
I hope you found this helpful! You are going to be an awesome mama ❤
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