Witch hazel pads

[Clemelan]

Hi there :) I am due my little boy in 3 weeks (eeeeeek!!) with my DD1 I had a episiotomy where they cut me sideways and it was so painful for weeks and weeks after! For me labour was a breeze and I positively look forward to it again, however I absolutely dread the healing process afterwards! I've been reading up on these diy witch hazel pads.. Has anyone tried them? I will try anything! However I bought 'witch hazel' but on the bottle it says not to use on broken skin and contains alcohol... I figured I've probably bought the wrong thing do now I've bought witch hazel gel which sounded more like what I was after!

I had witch hazel water ( which I guess is just diluted?) in a spray bottle - kept in fridge, then before changing pad (the nice, big, squishy maternity ones!) lightly most with the spray.

Not sure if it made any difference, but it felt soothing! I had a small cut, and it seemed to heal quickly.

I had episiotomies with my first two. I haven't used witch hazel although I have known people use it and pour it directly onto the pads and keep them in the fridge. I know you can buy the ready made pads from amazon, they're for haemorrhoids if you are unlucky enough to get them. I used Lavender essential oil on my pads, really soothed my stitches. Also in the bath with a cup of milk.
Arnica cream is good for the bruising too.

I had witch hazel baths and they stung like no tomorrow my midwife suggested lavender baths my bruising went down within a week and my cut healed quickly x