Things I found helpful postpartum and as a new mom 🫶🏼

*One week postpartum, so smol 🥹*

It’s funny. When I was expecting, I found all the “what to pack…,” “things you need…,” “baby must-haves,” “items I regret buying for baby…,” both fascinating and incredibly stressful. Towards the end of my pregnancy, I really stopped listening to-watching-reading all the new mom and baby things. There’s only so much you can be prepared for and everyone’s journey and experience is so incredibly different. Those “must haves” will look different for everyone.

With that being said, postpartum is wild and weird in so many ways. You have a baby to care for while caring for your own postpartum body, as well. There really is a huge learning curve and that first week can be especially hard. No one really prepares you for what it’s like to leave the hospital with stool softener, mesh underwear, possible stitches and a baby.

You’ll learn your own needs and ways but if you’re in a state of curiosity and want to absorb information from various perspectives and places, this is for you.

I’m diving into some of the things I found especially helpful (or essential) during the first few weeks postpartum and as a new mom. 🫶🏼

Frida Mom Disposable Underwear

I’m just going to put it out there. Yes to all the Frida Mom postpartum things. (The only thing I bought and didn’t use is the peri bottle. The hospital bottle was just fine). Side Note: I didn’t need any of this at the hospital! My two cents—you’ll be fine with that they provide but these make life a little better once you’re home. 🫶🏼

This underwear ended up being one of my favorites though. Initially, I lived in the disposable mesh underwear from the hospital, which I still highly recommend bringing home. (Bring all the hospital things home, really.) The mesh hospital underwear is easy and stretchy and perfect for the first several days to a week when everything is new and unknown and you’re kind of—for lack of a better description—in wtf world. However, once I got into a slight groove and tried the Frida Mom Disposable Postpartum Underwear, I realized how much better suited they are for that stage. They have a bit more compression (yet still feel like nothing on) and, to me, just feel a bit more comfortable and “normal” during a really wild time. These were a must for me.

Frida Mom Cooling Liners

These witch hazel cooling liners are amazing for laying on top of a pad + they’re long enough to get relief from front to back. Big yes to these!

Frida Mom PerINEal Healing Foam

Another witch hazel product, I used this on its own on top of a pad or layer it over one of the cooling liners for extra relief. All of the Frida things layer so well.

Frida Mom INSTANt ice maxi pad

These are SO much better than the cold packs from the hospital. The hospital version I received was a cooling pack on top of a pad. So there was no actual absorbency and entirely too much mess. The Frida Mom version is an absorbent cooling pad and is so so good. You can layer it up with the above liners and healing foam and there’s so much relief from pain and swelling. Highly highly recommend.

Huckleberry App

This is not something I initially thought I needed. The idea of keeping up with tracking all the daily baby things seemed overkill and overwhelming but now I can’t imagine living without it. In the beginning, I tracked it all—feedings, diapers, sleep—and it’s so beyond helpful. If nothing else, use it to track feedings so you can stay on top of when baby fed, which side (if nursing), how much time you have before the next feeding, etc. I also love making notes in the sleep section, so we can look back at particular days to see what our schedule was like or what we may have done differently. It logs everything in a running chronological list and also summarizes trends, so it’s convenient to look back. I found it helpful to have certain information for pediatrician appointments, as well, and I still track sleep and feeds.

Shush Sound Recording App

Mila loves mommy’s shushing. To babies, shushing is a reminder of their time inside the womb, as it’s reminiscent of mama’s blood flow. But shushing gets tiring pretty quickly. I know there are baby shushers on the market but we found a sound app (Guva) that allows you to record your own sounds and recorded my own shushing. Baby loves mommy’s shushing best. 🫶🏼 We are sort of past this at the moment but we would even airplay to a speaker near her bassinet as needed. There are plenty of other sounds beyond the shushing, too—white noise, dryer, rain and more.

FEEDING STATIONS

This is something I didn’t have set up before baby and quickly realized was a necessity. The first couple weeks, you can kind of be in survival mode and having all your feeding needs at your fingertips is really helpful. I now have two of these baskets and could honestly benefit from a third in those beginning days/weeks. Consider them feeding stations. I keep them stocked with muslin burp cloths (these are our favorite), muslin washcloths, nursing pads (these are more comfortable but these are easier to open one-handed), lip balm, nipple balm (have only tried this Hatch one but also loooved these Soothies Cooling Gel Pads) and all. the. snacks. I personally love soft cereal bars and these ProMeal bars. I keep a basket at the recliner in the nursery and a second either on my nightstand or by the couch—essentially, all of your feedings spots. I love the soft, pliable material of these coiled rope baskets, as well as the small size. Perfect on a little side table or placed next to you. *I personally remove the leather handles.

Nursing Bras

These Target nursing bras are the only ones I started with and they’ve been great. Really comfortable and I personally prefer the pull-down/pull-up style vs the ones you unclip. It’s just easier.

NURSING PADS

After your milk comes in, so begins the leaking stage. I didn’t buy any myself but had a bunch of these nursing pads from my sister that were so essential. I repurchased these. I like the former for their ease in opening but the latter are a bit softer. Both were fine and did the job.

Robe-Like Duster Cardigans

Again, the first weeks of new baby life you just want easy. While I’m now at a stage where I’ll wear a sweatshirt and lift it up for baby to feed, in the beginning I wasn’t there. I lived in nursing bras and/or tanks paired with robes or comfy cardigans—both at home and for our few outings.

I’ve loved these from Michael Stars. They feel like a robe, yet are perfectly presentable for outdoor strolls, doctor visits, grabbing for night feedings and so on. So comfy and ideal for throwing on over a nursing bra or tank. I love how they wrap at the waist, have pockets and can go from athleisure/lounge to something more elevated. I have both black and ivory. I wore them with comfy, high-rise knit bottoms like these!

That’s everything I’m remembering right now but I’ll happily share a “must haves” that’s more specific to baby, as well. 🫶🏼 You got this, mama!