Postpartum Supplies for Mom

Pre-pare meals you can freeze and eat throughout the new few weeks. That's a life saver! Lasagna, ziti, chili, soups etc
The hospital wil lprobably give some "freeze packs" to take home.
Deligate to your husband any housework that needs to be done. Some men are totally clueless With. our 1st my husband looked at me the second day home and asked what was for dinner. I want to punch him. That didn't happen w/ our second lol
Just make sure that you can rest and enjoy your baby. And have guidelines understood for family/friends who want to come by. That can be exhausting!
CONGRATS!

It's great you've got the sitz bath!
Use it often - every few hours - and you'll heal faster.
They'll probably give you a peri bottle at the hospital.
Some witch hazel is great to have on hand.
Some women swear by using SHRINKX HIPS and/or HipSlimmer - I'd never heard of them when I had our son 15 yrs ago.
I had a hard time finding any position that was comfortable for any length of time for a few weeks.
My hips were loose and grinding the last month or so of my pregnancy and this didn't clear up till about 4 weeks after birth.
(Our son was 9 lbs 1.5 oz delivered vaginally - 36 hrs of labor - I was so glad I had an epidural - I tried to keep walking as long as I could but after 16 hrs I was in tears and it was heaven to get some pain relief for the remaining 20 hours.)
Walking was painful but gradually got better.
I held a lot of water weight toward the end.
I lost 20 lbs giving birth and then in the 2 weeks following I lost another 20 lbs - I was peeing all the time - but drinking water almost hourly to help stay hydrated for breast feeding.
Just rest up, ask for and accept help, have a lot of frozen casseroles in the freezer, nap when the baby naps (I had a hard time getting use to doing that).
You'll be fine!

If you are planning to breastfeed, you need breast pads because when your milk comes in, you will be dripping like crazy. I'm not sure if it's the same if you choose not to breastfeed. Also stock up on ice, you will be icing your hoo ha for awhile.

What I needed most postpartum - lots of meals in the freezer, tylenol, and yoga pants. Oh, a nursing tank top (bought inexpensively at Target).

And the Pack-n-play (with diaper changer on it) set up in the living room, so I didn't have to go up and down the steps every time I wanted to lay down the baby or change a diaper. I had c-sections, and I wasn't allowed to go up and down the stairs more than twice per day (and I can imagine that I wouldn't have wanted to go up and down steps all day if I had a vaginal birth either).

Freezer meals so you don't have to cook. Tylenol. Dermaplast. Comfy pants. Nursing tops. Lansinoh cream. Nursing pads (let down was a mess without them). Peri - bottle (the hospital will give you this). Nice big water mug..with a top.

Personally, I hated the ice packs, but I guess everyone is different. If the ice packs are helpful, ask for extra before you leave the hospital. A few of my friends said they actually liked to use diapers for this. get them wet and the gel puffs up then freeze. They said the diapers covered more.

Congrats!

Congratulations!

I'm sure I'm forgetting a lot, but here's a short list:

* Frozen meals, lots of 'em. Make sure they include spinach, or something high in iron. It's normal to be a bit anemic for a while.
* Lanolin, which is a lifesaver for the early weeks of nursing.
* A water bottle, and easy access to filtered water if you use that. You'll need to stay hydrated.
* Maxi pads.
* Tucks. I did not have a good experience with frozen pads, but other people swear by them.
* Some people (not all) also need Preparation H for a short time postpartum.
* A portable changing pad or some kind of baby changing station RIGHT THERE, where you'll be most of the day. Just for the first few weeks, getting up from a sitting position, let alone going up and down stairs, is NOT fun. Then, one day, you'll wake up completely healed -- it's amazing.
* Changes of baby clothes, also set up right there.
* A diaper genie, and about a million baby clothes and a million diapers, respectively.
* TEN BILLION wipes, I swear. I still think wipes are the most useful invention ever, and my "baby" is 7!
* Music, reading material, and your phone (and charger). With the baby blues (a natural hormonal shift, which passes), it really helps to stay connected to the outside world.

Have a healthy supply of Dermoplast. It's a lidocane spray you can buy at Walgreens, CVS, etc...

It will save your life with the soreness in the week after delivery!!!! You'll get to the point where the ice pads/packs aren't realistic anymore as you settle into life, but you'll still be insanely sore "downstairs". It's a lifesaver! They gave it to me in the hospital.

Sleep!! The best recovery tool is sleep, and I was silly enough to forego sleep opportunities after the birth of my first. Any chance you get, sleep. Take naps. Don't spend time when your child is sleeping to do chores -- take naps instead.

If you have to spend time in the hospital after the birth -- let them care for your baby when possible and sleep.

Congrats. and have fun! I remember feeling just like you, and my first was born in VA, as well. The first birth is an AMAZING experience.

I made an interesting discovery during my first post-partum that I used for my second - Depends or similar undergarments meant for adult incontinence are much better than using big pads. More absorbent, more comfortable, no leaking.

If you have a c-section (I had two emergency ones) have big grandma sized panties! My pre-pregnancy panties and even the few pairs of maternity panties I had sat right on my incision. Ouch!

If you have a c-section you will want large guaze pads to put on your incision. You want to keep it as dry as possible so a yeast infection doesn't develop.

A nursing pillow was a God-send after my c-sections. Even when I was just holding a sleeping baby it was great to have the pillow to help support the baby.

If you are going to nurse have lanolin or some other kind of nipple cream. Even if you aren't going to nurse, have breast pads. I tried the cloth reusable ones, but they weren't very absorbent and I almost always leaked through my bra and shirt (and sometimes sweater). Even when I layered two of them. I ended up using disposable ones--the thicker the better also helped to protect my nipples from rubbing even more raw than they were.

An e-reader! It was so much easier to read while I was nursing or cuddling a sleeping or sick baby. I didn't have to juggle a book or magazine and a baby.

A husband who will do all of the laundry!! I still (6 years after my first c-section) hardly do any of the laundry. Tell him your doctor said you couldn't lift anything heavier than your baby. ;)

Congratulations!

when i went home after my two deliveries they gave me a certain kind of pad that you shake and it gets cold. bring your own tylenol as they charge an arm and a leg for some. bring something for you to do while your in the recovery room. crossword puzzle or a book to read or something. you may not need it but these places are boring if you ever do.

So, this is kind of gross, but I bled for 9 weeks after my vag delivery. Maxi pads rubbed me raw. The diaper cream you have for your baby can be used for you too! I used lots of dermaplast and tucks on my episiotomy (keep the tucks in the fridge). Plenty of Tylenol/ibuprofen. Take the giant water jug from the hospital. I drank a full one every time I sat down to nurse..my thirst was amazing. I didn't like lanolin on my nipples, but I did use it before showering..the water hurt and it offered some protection. Washable cotton breast pads were more comfortable for my sore nipples than disposable but they always leaked. I layered a cotton one against my skin and a disposable one over that to prevent leakage. Brief style undies were great after my c/s. Sadly, the maternity sized ones will fit even after you have the baby. My staples were out before I left the hospital and my incision didn't require any bandages or special care other than soap and water in the shower. Stock up on laundry soap and maybe a few extra towels. Every time I showered my breasts leaked so every towel I used ended up with milk and blood on it.

If you don't use a house cleaning service already, get one for the 1st 6-8 weeks after the baby comes. And accept any and all meals friends and family offer to bring. Fill your freezer with crock pot and over ready meals.