What do I actually need?

[Themilkyboobsareonme]

There are endless lists of things for when baby is born, what she will need, clothes, feeding, changing, travel etcetc but I have absolutely no idea what I will need after birth.

Silly question but obviously my body will have been through the mill, what do you need for yourself after the birth?

So far i have fudged together: breast pads, maternity knickers and pads, paracetamol, ring cushion and then I'm stumped.

Help

Nice pjs that you refuse to take off for at least 2 weeks after the birth. A freezer well stocked with meals you can eat with just a fork whilst balancing a feeding baby on your knee. The list of bfing helpline numbers. Some lavender drops and a jug to pour over your bits as you wee to take the sting out.

More pads. Seriously. And get the fat ones not the thin ones.

Cheap black knickers from primark.

A cleaner.

Lansinoh if you are breastfeeding.

Something nice to eat.

A thermal mug if you ever want a hot cup of tea again.

:) congratulations and good luck!

Oh and you want a valley cushion rather than a ring cushion to sit on. And you might want some bed mats.

Someone to help around the house (not dp as they just irritate). I also found that a really big pillow helped make night time feeding in bed more comfortable. And a tip. Before going to bed organise everything you could possibly need for changing and feeding as close to you as you can so u don't have to trek around looking for stuff. Also a muslin on changing may makes lo less likely to howl from the cold touch of the mat in middle of night (for me it was all about getting back to sleep as quickly as feasible)

Some nice chocolate/ biscuits/ cakes in the cupboard, and nice drinks ( Nin alcoholic ones for daytime) I love the Belvour elderflower press stuff.

Couple of books to dip into when feeding if bored of tv?

And what the other posters said.

I had an episiotomy & the wound got infected. Was told to go without knickers as much as possible to lessen humid conditions (perfect for the bacteria to grow). So a load of old/cheaptowels to go on my bed in turn were invaluable!

That was at home btw - wouldn't have gone knickerless at the hospital!

Basically food and drink and stuff to watch on telly when feeding. Set up 1-click on amazon in case you need stuff for the baby. Blankets for snuggling and jammies. Bed mats are useful though I will weigh in and say my bleeding wasn't actually that bad (and I had quite a difficult birth), but be prepared in case it is quite heavy. The bed mats are useful for changing the first few meconium poos as well as they're really sticky and messy.

Do you mean in the hospital immediately after? if so, you won't need breast pads immediately after the birth as milk doesn't come in for few days. I also got my mum to buy me some tena lady pads as I had forceps and couldn't stop peeing myself for a week after birth
It's also great to get earplugs and a blackout eye mask for napping in hospital (this was when my DH was looking after the baby) as hospitals are so noisy.
You will also need loads of nighties (I had four) as you leak blood on them after birth) and lightweight ones too because hospital is so hot.

and good hand cream as mine are like sandpaper with all the washing from nappy changes etc

Fat big maternity pads, lots of

Take a way on fast dial

Lots of teabags

Ear plugs

arnica

agree get the fattest pads you can, and lots of them

lavender oil and tea tree oil for in the bath (mixed with milk)

I also could not have survived withour my breast shells.... for when my nipples were SOOOOOOO sore and i couldnt bear ANY thing to touch them... so smothered in lansinoh, and then put on breast shells, and then had a tiny bit of sleep.......

Tea tree oil for in the bath! Stretchy knickers to wear over knickers with pad, stretchy lounge wear- I actually didnt want to be in traditional pyjamas during the day. Really nice shower jell and body cream. I also lived on marks and Spencer's count on us meals for the first twelve weeks until I felt back to myself- they are really tasty, and I felt worse if I indulged in fatty things.