An All Natural Postpartum Survival Kit | Mother Rising

Postpartum Survival Kit

The first week postpartum can be really tough. Parents are transitioning to taking care of a baby, the postpartum body is recuperating (quite well thanks to the postpartum survival kit) from quite the physical journey, there’s sleep deprivation and breastfeeding… basically it’s a little nutty.

Despite the chaos, mom’s ONLY priorities are:

1. taking care of herself (going to the bathroom, taking the occasional shower, accepting food and drinks from friends family) and
2. taking care of baby.

Everything else is not mom’s concern.

Postpartum Care Kit

After spending a week with my adorable new baby, and plenty of visits to the bathroom, for whatever reason I really wanted to share with you what I would consider a postpartum survival kit.

Below is a picture of my basket that I left in my bedroom/bathroom that had everything I needed for postpartum care.

Especially for first time moms, I thought this might be helpful to know and to give an idea of what to expect.

Postpartum Survival Kit Ingredients

(not pictured) 6 Adult Diapers – For labor and immediate postpartum. It’s so much easier to use these than try to use a pad in underwear when your bleeding is heavy. If you decide to make/use padsicles, you’ll want to put each in side an adult diaper to contain leaks.

1 Package of Overnight/Heavy Flow Pads – After using the adult diapers I started wearing these. They are huge, but perfect for the heavy flow you still have 1-2 days postpartum.

1 Package of Regular Flow Pads – At a week postpartum my bleeding is pretty light but sometimes it’ll be a bit heavier. Panty liners wouldn’t work at this point.

1 Package of Panty Liners – After 1-3 weeks you’ll likely only be using panty liners.

Earth Mama Angel Baby Earth Mama Bottom Balm – This stuff soothes and cools my lady bits and is refreshing. I highly recommend it.

Earth mama Angel Baby Bottom Spray – Not as awesome as the balm, but it’s still fun to spray. The smell is nice and it’s uplifting.

(not pictured) Wish Garden AfterEase – Holy after birth pains, Batwoman! I definitely didn’t have that bad of cramping the first time around but for the first 1-3 days after having Eden I was literally having to breathe through the pain of the contractions/cramping. Oy. I think this herb blend helped… and when it wouldn’t cut it I took ibuprofen.

Ibuprofen – Don’t let the pain get out of hand! If the AfterEase isn’t cutting it, take 2-3 ibuprofen as needed. I was so surprised about these postpartum contractions!

Homeopathic Arnica – Homeopathic Arnica is perfect for immediate postpartum. Arnica is helpful for bruising and other trauma on the body.

Rhoid Balm – If you have hemorrhoids you’ll love Motherlove’s Rhoid Balm.

(not pictured) Flushable Wipes – Wipes are so much kinder than toilet paper and your behind will thank you when you have your first postpartum bowel movements.

(not pictured) 1 Peri Bottle – use this instead of wiping with toilet paper. You can put warm water in it and it feels really nice. If you use postpartum herbs, you can put your “tea” in there instead of just water.

(not pictured) Postpartum Herbs – My student midwife, Missy, gave me her herb blend. I just used it in my peri bottle instead of water. If you don’t want to make your own, I know Earth Mama Angel Baby sells them. If you’ve dealt with pregnancy and anemia check out this post for more postpartum herb ideas.

Placenta Pills – So far I have noticed increased energy (if only my body could keep up with my energy!) and a decrease in anxiety. There are so many benefits to placenta encapsulation. Highly recommend it!

Postpartum Anxiety Aromatherapy Spray – Essential oils have absolutely helped me cope through some tough times and were one of the many tools I used to heal. The following is a postpartum anxiety aromatherapy spray that is easy and fun to make that can help in your postpartum healing.

Chocolate – Does this really need an explanation? Enjoy this treat. You’re worth it.

Postpartum Survival Tips

• If you’re having a hard time dealing with the clutter in your home, clean up your bedroom or the room you spend the most time in. I felt so much better if even the small area in my bedroom was clutter free which helped me to relax about my messy home.
• Schedule visiting hours to contain visitors for only a portion of the day. Your focus should be on breastfeeding your baby and rest, not hosting friends and family. 3-5 pm would work well, especially if your visitors brought dinner.
• Don’t schedule more than one outing or errand per day. Our minds want to accomplish great things, but our bodies need rest. Don’t overdo it or you’ll regret it later.
• The minutes, hours and days may seem to blur together, but don’t forget to stay hydrated and nourished. Keep a waterbottle next to your bed.
• If you don’t have time for multiple sitz baths, consider using this herbal spray.
• If you have stitches/tearing/bruising use consider using a donut pillow. I always sat on my breastfeeding pillows… which flattened them. Poor Boppy!

How About You?

Leave a comment and let me know what you had in your “basket”!

And, of course, few photos for fun…