You know how in all those baby manuals and websites they talk about the
checklist for when you go to deliver? A little like this
checklist.
It
talks about comfy clothes, pillows, a going home outfit for your baby,
snacks. Well my friends. No one told you about the after-birth
checklist. In fact unless you have that really good friend that tells
you what your body is like after giving birth and it's your first. You
have no idea!
I had one friend tell me that after she gave birth
her body felt like sh*t. We didn't go into specifics. I hadn't had any
kids yet. But I can now say after having one of my own. It is indeed
true.
So here is my real mommy after birth checklist.
Duh
of course you are going to bring clothes, and a pillow, and the stuff
for the baby. That's a given. That's on every checklist. Here are the
things you will want immediately after you have the baby.
1.
Overnight pads.
The
hospital is going to supply you with these crazy big and gross pads.
They don't absorb very well and you will have to wear a mesh diaper
cover over it. It sucks. Bring your own pads. The overnight ones while
still huge and bulky will at least absorb a little better. You'll want a
pack for at home too or just buy one big box.
2.
Colace
Unless
you happened to take the biggest poo ever before you gave birth, or if
you are really lucky, while you were pushing your little bundle of joy
out. You are going to be pretty constipated. You just pushed a 6-9 pound
baby out of your lady parts and well... everything down there is pretty
tired and stretched out. You will want to take this so that when you
finally do have a bowel movement after birth you don't rip anything and
don't strain your bottom. You'll be needing this for the next couple
days as well, because it's all going to be sore.
3.
Tucks Medicated Pads
These may or may not be a necessity depending on you. Almost
everyone I have ever had the courage to bring up about is in the same
predicament as me. All that pushing... well it does something not only
to your lady parts but to your bottom as well. Welcome to the Hemorrhoids
club mommy! When you are in the hospital you may get special medicated
wipes that essentially do the same thing. When you get home you will
want your own soothing relief from the mess that is going on down
below.
4.
Perineal Irrigation Bottle
Okay
this goes along with everything else in the bottoms department. You
will have this in your bathroom in the hospital (I hope. If not you are
in a crappy hospital for sure!) Every time you now pee/poop you will
have to rinse your parts with some room temp. water. These things aren't
necessarily the easiest to use but you will want it. Remember to take
it home with you. Or if you are sure you will forget, buy one before and
have it ready in the bathroom.
5.
Dermoplast
This is also something you may want for at home if you pushed a baby
out. While at the hospital they give you this wonderful but very small
bottle of numbing foam. It's amazing. You wonder why they don't give you
a whole bunch? Every time I look for this in the store I have only
found the Red can which is essentially the same as the blue except it
has antibacterial properties in it.
I don't know if because of the antibac stuff in it, but when you first
initially spray down there, it will sting. I want to buy the blue one to
see if that would also sting but instead of buying it online I just buy
the red can at the store. If you tore or had stitches or are just
plain sore down there. This does bring you some relief! Minus the
initial burn at first. Ouch.
6.
Belly Bandit
This is purely for vanity. I don't think it will magically make you get
your pre-pregnancy body back. BUT it will have that flabby belly that
for some reason you thought would just disappear after you pushed your
little bundle out. Well unless you are amazing (I will hate you if you
say you were one of these people) you now have a what could be 5-6 month
post pregnancy belly that is now all deflated because there is no baby
in there anymore! When you have your new baby appointments, put this on
under your clothes. It will make you feel better about your body. You
will LOOK skinnier even though it's just an illusion. Of course you
could buy any type of corset type thing to essentially do the same thing
but this is the "namebrand" one so it's the one I used.
7. Food
If you are lucky enough to have good friends and family. Ask them if
they will cook you a meal that can be frozen so when you are in your
baby haze for that first month, you won't have to have a mental
breakdown worrying about what to eat. Speaking of. Crap. I have less
than 3 weeks and I haven't even thought about this! WHOOPS!
But this is amazing. When I gave birth to Wilson I was lucky enough to
have family and friends who brought us meals and made sure we ate. It
was amazing!
I'm sure there are more things I could add to this post. I feel like
like these things specifically are usually not on checklists so I would
blog about them. I hope if any other mommies read this they might be
able to add in their own "must haves" for post pregnancy!
