Post Partum Must Haves

It's funny how going into labor this time, how much more well prepared I was for the post partum period this time around.  Last time was like a cruel joke I wasn't a part of.  Let's be honest...post partum is kinda gross and there are certain pregnancy books that are super vague and don't really tell you how things are when it comes to all things post partum.  Like that 'uterine massage' you get immediately following birth?  Yeah...didn't read about that in any book and it sure as heck didn't come with a fluffy robe and sparkling water.  So this time, I made sure I was well prepared for all the awesome stuff your body throws at you once you have that little baby in your arms.

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1) So you've just popped a tiny human out from your nether regions.  To say they're feeling a little rough is an understatement at best.  If you're lucky, you had no tearing.  But even then, it still feels like you took a baseball bat to your under carriage.  This Earth Mama Angel Baby New Mama Bottom Spray will help immensely!  It's all natural and I much preferred it over the Dermoplast stuff I got at the hospital when I had Selah.

2) Speaking of under carriages, your hospital should give you one of these peri bottles and if they don't...find a supply closet and snag one to take home.  This innocent looking plastic bottle was one of the best things I brought home from the hospital and I made sure I had one in my birth kit this time.  If you're not sure what the heck you use this thing for and don't want to Google it, you basically fill it with warm water and use it to rinse your lady bits off after you use the bathroom instead of wiping with toilet paper.  The last thing you want to be doing is dragging what feels like bark across your 'area' and that warm water is welcome.

3) Know what terrified me most post partum?  The thought of having to go poop.  Ask most moms what they thought of having to do numero dos and they'll probably tell you pushing another baby out probably ranked lower on the fear scale than pooping.  Since you certainly don't want to avoid doing that, make sure you have some stool softeners in your toiletry kit to bring to the hospital with you.  Nobody said having a baby was glamorous.

4) I had a really rough start with breast feeding Selah.  Since she was born so early and so small, she had a horrible latch and that caused some seriously painful issues for me and led me to pump exclusively for the first 3 weeks.  The hospital gave me some lanolin ointment to use to try and help but I was not impressed with it.  This time, I bought the Earth Mama Angel Baby Nipple Butter beforehand and liked it a lot better.  That and the lanolin left grease-stain looking marks on a couple nursing tanks that I could never get out and had to end up tossing them because if there's one thing that's a fashion don't, it's huge grease marks on the ta-ta area of your shirt.  The butter is all natural and you don't even have to wash/wipe it off before putting baby on the boob.

5) Besides the awesomeness of the peri bottle, another magical thing I discovered were what I called the Padsicles.  They're basically ice packs for your hoo-ha.  And they are glorious.  When I had Selah, my hospital was super stingy with them so I ended up making my own (recipe to follow soon) once I knew I was going to deliver at home.  Make sure they give you plenty of those.

6) This last one may weird some people out but 2 weeks in and I can honestly say it's a must-have for me: placenta encapsulation.  Aaaand cue the raised eyebrows and eye rolling.  No you don't have to be some raging dreadlocked hippie to have your placenta turned into pills and no we didn't take part of it and plant it in the backyard.  I did get the weird look from Dan the first time I mentioned it to him but when I explained the reasons WHY I wanted to do it, he was all for it.  Well, as all for it as a guy can get when it comes to ingesting something your body made.  Placenta pills can help with post partum depression, blood loss, those wacky hormones, breastfeeding, iron levels and energy levels.  And these pills look just like any other herb capsule you might take and if you didn't know what it was you were taking, 'placenta' wouldn't be the first thing you'd guess they were.  If you're in the Denver area, I highly recommend contacting the awesome lady who did mine here.  She lives down the road from me but does pickups and deliveries in the metro area.

7)  Just when you thought you could ease up on drinking ALL that water while pregnant, turns out you still need to chug the agua after baby gets here if you want to have a successful go with breastfeeding.  I bought this mug a few months ago when my blah looking hospital mug bit the dust.  3 of these a day and I'm good to go!

Yes, the post partum period can be gross and a huge drag but adding these items to your home can help you feel a little better and hey, even just a little bit can help a whole lot.

Prenatal Health...AKA How Many Pills Can You Cram in Your Mouth

Ask most women what vitamins they're taking while pregnant and I bet at least 75% of them will say a prenatal vitamin of some sort but that's usually about it.  And that's exactly all I was told to take while I was pregnant with Selah.  So this time around, I had started taking them when we first started trying to conceive bambino numero dos but was in for a healthy surprise upon my first appointment with our midwife.  Turns out, just a prenatal isn't all you should be doing for you and your baby during those 9 (actually 10) months.

So let's face it...not all vitamins are created equal.  I personally really like the Rainbow Light line of vitamins.  Selah takes the Kids' One Star chewable vitamins and I take the Prenatal One Multivitamin.  It's a one-a-day vitamin that's gentle on the stomach and you don't have to take it with food to avoid the nausea that some prenatal vitamins are known for.

These vitamins are food based, which you'll find in your better quality prenatal vitamins.

Next up, iron supplements.  Pregnant women can have a tendency to have low iron levels and you certainly don't want to have blood issues in the middle of delivering your little one.  These pills are super tiny and super affordable.  I learned the hard way last week when I'd gone a couple days without the pills because I'd run out that having low iron levels can make you light headed and you know, faint 'n stuff.  

I found these Omega 3 fish oil at Costco and for $21 for 180 pills, they're a good deal.  DHA is really important for the development of your little one and has been shown to help lower preterm labor risks so given my history, they're a good idea :)

I had already been taking these Vitamin D3 before I got pregnant this time and I've just continued taking them, obviously.  Vitamin D is good in that it not only helps develops baby's skeletal system but it's also good for the immune system.  Win win.

And last but not least, Natural Calm Plus Calcium powder.  Calcium is really important for mama because baby is pretty much just leaching it out of your bones which can contribute to osteoporosis...and we don't need that.  My midwife recommended this one in particular because it has Magnesium in it as well which is great for calming nerves and helps with muscle relaxation.  And since the uterus is kind of a huge muscle, we don't want it getting all uptight too soon now do we?

 
Yeah, this is a lot to swallow (that's what she said) but whatever I can do to help the little man grow strong and healthy and keep him in long enough, I'll do it!