10 Postpartum essentials
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As a new momma all you want to do is enjoy your newborn. Making sure you are ready for the season of life that comes after baby makes their arrival is important.
These have been my essentials for postpartum. I have narrowed the list down now that I am on my 3rd child. I have had all my kids close together so all of it stays fresh in my sleep deprived brain.
People often have these long, long list of things you will need for after baby. I made sure after my first one to have EVERYTHING that google told me I needed.
And guess what I didn’t even use half of the items more than once. They were full of fluff to pump the list up.
Here is what I consider truly the essentials, I use these items everyday. I did not put certain things on this list that I thought were obvious like onsies, diapers, pads, etc. There is somethings you just know you will need for your baby.
But these are the items that I used everyday that were not in my opinion as obvious. So let’s dive right into it shall we!?
Haakaa/handsfree pump:
Man oh man, the haakaa is a LIFESAVER. I have used the haakaa for all 3 of my kiddos and it is a huge reason that at 4 weeks postpartum I have 300+ oz in the freezer.
Using the Haakaa catches all the milk that would have just soaked into your shirt. It is beyond easy to use and you will able to get that freezer stash up and running.
Now if you do not have a haakaa or even if you do, I recommend a hands free pump. I have the Elvie stride. While it is a little expensive but such a wonderful investment. I have used it for the last two kiddos and I have LOVED it.
If my haakaa is dirty, baby slept through a feeding, or just want to pump I get out the Elvie Stride and pump away.
While still hands free. I do have a hand pump and used to have the medela where I had to hook up to the machine. It worked great and I don’t dislike the Medela, I am a mom of more than one kiddo.
So I need as many hands as I can and I also need to be as mobile as possible.
This makes the Haakaa or a handsfree pump a need. Leaves my hands available and gives me the ability to get up and snag someone a snack 1000x a day.
I will link the Haakaa I use here and the Elvie stride here.
Snacks:
Okay in general I am all about my food, but when I am breastfeeding I inhale everything.
With my oldest people asked “oh what does baby need? What can we bring her?” I remember thinking bring ME snacks so I can make her food.
Breastfeeding takes so much from your body and you need to make sure you are eating. So my second time around I stocked up with healthy ish snacks.
As a momma with a new baby even if you are not breastfeeding you may not have time to sit down and really eat. (It can be hard to remember to feed yourself!) So having snack stations or a stash somewhere of your favorite post partum snacks are will help.
I also have my less healthy snacks by my bed (maybe not the best idea but… it works for me). My reasoning for having my less healthy snacks by my bed is because if I am getting up multiple times through out the night I want to treat myself.
Right now my snack is peanut butter m&ms, and if I have to get up with Lennen or Lyra I let myself have a handful.
Its like my reward for getting up. Lennen has been a wonderful sleeper so I do not get an absurd amount of m&ms, but sometimes Lyra gets up and since she sleeps in a seperate room the effort it takes to go comfort her is a tad more I usually have my handful then.
She doesn’t get up every night, but anyway, I keep my candy next to my bed just so I can reward myself for giving up some sleep for my little people.
Diaper Stations:
You will be changing a million and one diapers. So having “stations” through out your house will help. I have a diaper basket next to my bed and next to the couch.
These are where I change the most diapers. I found it so helpful because I was not trying to track down in the house where the wipes are or get halfway through a diaper change and realize that I don’t have a diaper…
In my little diaper station by the couch I make sure to always to have diapers (in both sizes since I have 2 under 2 we have 2 in diapers), wipes, lotion, diaper cream, Aquaphor, and an outfit for Lennen since she is still having a fair amount of blow outs.
By my bed I have the same things and my midnight snacks, and a drink for me. During the day I tote around a tumbler and I make sure if I do not have a cup full of water at night that I get up and get one. I know I will be thirsty at 2:45.
Baby Wrap:
Being able to wear your baby changes everything I swear.
I used my sling wrap with all 3 girls and it is a LIFESAVER. I started using my infantino carrier with my second one because I found it easier to do somethings in that were slightly harder in the ring sling.
Having two hands to be able to make dinner, do laundry, tend to your other kids, or do anything you can think of is amazing.
You can get everything you need done and still hold your sweet one. Babies do not keep, so soaking up those moments is necessary.
Babies love to snuggle up and sleep, so being able to wear them gives you the bonding time you need. While still accomplishing everything on your to do list.
From the get go I get my baby in my wrap and vacuum. I love to do this to make sure they can sleep through sound. Layla especially loves to be worn and vacuum, might be a 3rd kid thing, but if it is too quiet she will not sleep.
So if Bryton is outside with the girls or takes them on an errand, I strap her in and vacuum. If not she is unhappy with me.
I wonder how 1950s wives got it all done while also having kids without a wrap or baby carrier. I would be useless without them.
They give you so much freedom as a momma. I can not recommend them enough.
I will link the ring sling I use here, and the infantino here.
Boppy:
Holy heck a doo, I love a boppy.
The amount of things you can do with them is amazing. I often use mine as a little cradle for my baby. But you can use it to help you nurse, prop baby up, do tummy time, and more.
An amazing quality of the Boppy is that it can grow with your baby.
When they are really little I use it more to help me nurse and to lay them down to do something really quick. But when they get older and are awake longer you can use it to prop them up so they can look around and look at you.
When Lyra was about 3-5 months I would set her up in the boppy and let her watch Lucy play. It was one of her favorite things to do. you can do this by laying her in the little circle, or you use it to help the baby do tummy time.
As she got older I used it to help her stay up as she learned to sit up.
I think a huge pro of the boppy is that you really get your moneys worth out of it. It does not age out for your baby after 3 months. You can use it for a long time. What is better than that?
Here is a link to the boppy I have used.
Mindset:
Truly I think this one is my most important tip for any mom with a new born. And don’t get me wrong it is tough.
But keeping your mindset in mind is SO crucial. We as a society get so darn caught up with negative thoughts and mindsets.
While postpartum depression and anxiety is very common, it does not need to destroy this time with your sweet baby.
I had postpartum with Lucy, and I cried a lot. I was so convinced she deserved a better mom, a better life than I could give her, and all these negative things.
Obviously I was wrong. God sent this baby to you because you will be the best momma to them. This is meant to be.
For my second daughter if I had any negative thought I would write down a positive affirmation and put it around the house. Some of the affirmations I would write was:
I am a good mom
I am exactly who my kids need
I will stay calm, even in the midst of chaos
I am strong and capable
I find joy in the every day moments
This is just a season of my life
This helped me get into a good mindset. Writing these things down helps you remember them, this is so helpful. This is one of the things that I think really helped not have bad post partum.
Once I had my 3rd baby it really hit me that this time while tough is SO SO fleeting. They do not stay little for long at all.
When these days and nights are overwhelming or exhausting I try to keep in mind that this will not last and is such short time frame.
If I do start having some negative thoughts or a rough day I sit down and tell myself this will not last and this is just hormones. My life is not bad, in fact I am blessed.
Keeping a positive and understanding mindset will change the whole experience. I wish I had starting doing affirmations and not letting the negative thoughts when my oldest was little, I think it would have helped SO much.
Water Bottle:
Keeping a tumbler or a reusable water bottle around is so important. When you are breastfeeding you need the extra water to help your supply and to keep yourself healthy.
And even if are not breastfeeding, your body just when through a marathon making and getting this sweet life out of you. So hydrating is really important.
By keeping a water bottle around it will help you remember to drink more water and to stay hydrated.
This is just important for you health in general. Personally I am obsessed with a cute tumbler, I collect them. I like to rotate a cute cup to help me stay hydrated.
I will link my favorite water bottle here.
Peri Bottle:
After you push a bowling ball out of a golf ball things down there are a bit tender. But the peri bottle is a God’s send.
Anything that will help you keep that area clean and not irritated is a huge blessing. Using the peri bottle will help you stay hygenic is such a win.
The hospital I delivered at gave me my Peri bottle but I know you can get one on amazon. I will link the one closet to what I use here.
Swing or Bouncer:
Babies love to move, rock, and swing. So a bouncer or a swing is a must for me. Having a space where I can put the baby and they stay asleep or they just stay happy because of the movement is amazing.
I love to be able to put the baby in the swing we have when I need to use the bathroom, or make the beds.
Even if they are the happiest in them all the time because sometimes babies just do NOT want to be put down, but having a space that you know they are safe if you put them in while you do something that you need to put the baby down for is great.
Lucy and Lennon love the swing we have but Lyra preferred the little bouncer chair we had. Each baby is different and has their own preferences.
Meal plan or freezer meals:
After having a baby that last thing I wanted to think about was making dinner. I just wanted to sit and snuggle my love bug.
We are blessed that our church community always brings dinners the first week we have a baby. They have done this all 3 babies. God has put wonderful people in our lives.
But when that week is over, I still don’t want to make dinner or think about what I need for it. So meal planning and freezser meals have been a gift from God.
Having a list of quick and easy meals for your post partum is a wonderful idea. I keep a book of our family favorites and will plan an meal around them. Meal planning makes dinner time SO much less stressful for me. I even have a whole post about it. I will link it here.
Freezer meals are a staple in our home. Crockpots are a blessing. I do at least 1 crock pot meal a week, while I make the dinner I make sure I double it and then freeze it.
With this method you can build up a stash of easy meals. Just pull it out the night before and then that morning throw it in the crock pot. Then BAM dinner is done.
By the time baby came I had a bunch of them saved up. So I didn’t have to sit and stress about what was dinner. I did not do this for Lucy, but it has been a huge relief for Lyra and Lennen.
Conclusion:
Postpartum is different for everyone, but these are the items I think are helpful and useful.
I found as a mom of multiples that a lot of things are nice to have but are NOT essential. Having a binky is nice and helpful but not needed and not every baby takes them. But if you baby likes a binky then they are an essential.
If you find something is super helpful for your everyday as a mom of a newborn then use it and don’t feel bad its not on some list that you read.
Your life is totally and completely yours, your child is completely yours and you are the best mom for them. You got this Momma!!
