PostPartum Care Pack

I thought about titling this "PostPartum Pamper Pack" to maintain alliteration. But the word "pamper" has a connotation of excess, unnecessity, selfishness, luxury. No woman caring for her body after delivering a child should be labelled selfish. Extraordinary postpartum care should not be a luxury.

I had a rather horrific time with my first born. I plan to have things go much better this time. Three and a half years ago, many of things that added to my pain were out of my control. Some, however, were in my realm of influence. I didn't do a very good job taking care of myself. Ignorance was a major contributing factor in my lack of self-care. Pride, exhaustion & deep feelings of abandonment sealed the deal.

So I've started compiling a list of things I want after my son is born this Fall.

This list is not intended to be a shopping list for anyone but myself. I don't expect any loving (Mom), generous (Mom) or compassionate (Mom) person to buy this stuff. I'm sharing it for two reasons:

1. Give what little wisdom I have to those who have a wee bit less experience in this area.

2. See if I'm missing anything. If you notice something that I left off, that you think is important, please tell me!

Also, please note: Many of the things on this list are going to be new to me. I didn't have them with my first son and in hindsight wish I did. I could be wrong. I might get some of them and decide I wasted my money. Tis better to have good  care resources available and not need them, than to need them desperately and not have them.

Peri-Stations (I'll have one in each bathroom I use. One upstairs, one downstairs)

• Peribottle
• Super-thin pads
• Perineal cold pads
• Tucks pads or Postpartum bath herbs. Probably both. I'll see which I need more at the time.
• Bottom Spray
• Depends. Yes, adult diapers. A lot of people recommend them for the first couple of days. They are a bit more forgiving than underwear, are meant to be disposed of, and the new ones don't make the crinkly noise of traditional adult diapers. We'll see.

I know a lot of these overlap with one another, and may seem like overkill. But if your perineum looked and felt like mine did, you would error on the side of caution, too.

Breastfeeding Supplies

• Milk band So much better than writing notes!
• Bamboobies These sound lovely. I figure nothing can be worse than the bulky cotton ones or the crinkly disposable ones I used before.
• Some sorta nipple cream. I can't figure out if I'll stick with lanolin, or try some vegan organic stuff. There are lots of options
• Soothies I'm not sure if I'll stick with this brand. Some people love 'em, some people don't. But I plan on having some kind of nipple gel pad available.

Breastfeeding Stations (every place around the house I sit to breastfeed)

• Pillow and/or Boppy
• Pads, cream & gel pads listed above
• Water bottle
• Clif Bars
• Cloth diapers for burp cloths
• Books. Maybe. Lots of people recommend them. I anticipate being too tired to read. If I do grab a book, though, it will be Calvin & Hobbes or something equally stimulating.

Etc.

• A belly band. There are so many options, though, I don't know what to chose. I might just end up getting a really big ace wrap. The extra support will be lovely, I just know it!
• Handheld fan. I remember sweating for about 6 months after my son was born. While I thoroughly enjoy perspiring while exercising, I loathe it while sitting still.
• Rapid release Tylenol For the inevitable headaches

copyright (c) Elizabeth, Bug's Beef. All rights reserved.