Postnatal survival tips

[J291092]

Hi all!
Still got 9 weeks to go but with thoughts turning to the hospital bag I'm also thinking about recovery afterwards 🙈

So, give me any of your tips for living in the first few weeks after giving birth! Any tips, tricks, essential items that you swore by to help with every day life... I'm talking bathing, toileting etc.

Buy a sports cap bottle of lucazade. Drink during labour for energy! Save the bottle and rinse it clean. Full bottle with Luke warm water every time you need a wee. Pour the water on your bits as you wee to ease the pain.

This tip got me through the first 2 weeks!

Also wet wipes next to your toilet - much nicer to wipe with than dry toilet paper. Boots sell special 'intimate area wipes'.

Boots own maternity pads are the nicest imo (although I've only had one baby so no expert!)

I bought some oversized comfy clothes to wear in the early days. I deliberately bought new so that it was something nice for myself to look forward to.

Batch cook and freeze meals and / or buy ready meals as you'll be too tired to cook to begin with.

Stock up on pain killers. For the first ten days I took the highest amount of paracetamol it was safe to take in a day. Get some ibuprofen in stock too.

If you're planning on breastfeeding do some research and preparation as it really is hard in the early weeks - mentally and physically.

Have your bedside drawer full of snacks to help tide you over when it comes to night feeds!

With my first I found that lactulose (think first poo 🤢) and a perineum spray for managing any stitches were a godsend! Also witch hazel to put in the bath :) very soothing and promotes healing.

Other wins were to have batch cooked meals, for a full freezer prebirth. It means that we are well with little effort.

Comfy clothes for leaving hospital and good pads to wear for post birth. The hospital ones were like sandpaper!

Good luck :)

Only invite helpful people over - those you know will make their own tea, wash ip their own mugs, bring supplies, shove a wash in for you etc.

Prioritise sleep. For the sake of your mental health, of you see an opportunity to sleep, take it.

Cloth wipes are massively superior to baby wipes (which aren’t reccomened for newborn skin at all) and cotton wool for removing baby poo. An old towel cut up is perfectly sufficient. Before weaning baby poo is really inoffensive, and water solvable so can just be thrown in the wash.

Don’t beat yourself up about letting your standards slide. Convenience food and an untidy house won’t kill you or your baby and the midwives and health visitors won’t give a shit.

Magic creams, lotions, and potions are mostly just expensive gimmicks. All you need for your stitches is water, comfy sanitary towels (the Natracare cotton ones were the least sweaty IME) and clean towels for drying.

Massive kickers. For ages.

You might not need nipple cream so don’t go mad buying massive tubes. Research has shown that breastmilk left to dry on the nipples is more effective than lanolin.

Having just had my second this is my advice (but I appreciate its very different from some other people’s!)

• boots own maternity pads (the massive thick ones) I never bled any more than a regular period but the padding really helps when you have stitches

• first wee and poo was fine IME but pressing one of those thick pads against your bits when ‘pushing’ for your first poo helped the fear of causing everything to fall out as you do it (obviously won’t happen but feels like it might as it’s all weak and weird!)

• batch cook before if you can to make life easier but also easy meals like fresh pasta you can stir pasta into or simple roast chicken oven chips and veg to save on proper cooking is really useful

• have plenty of treats in- biscuits, rice cakes, brownies whatever you need. It’s a tiring and hormonal time and NOT imo the time to worry about diet or calorie intake! It’s a fourth trimester for you too.

• I found the advice about not worrying about the house counterproductive when I had my first. I’m naturally tidy, like a clean house and am house proud and found it really hard when just leaving all the mess to relax, either when guests came or when I was home alone. I realised for me having an ordered house made me feel a lot more in control and therefore more confident with the baby so depending on what you’re like I’d suggest keeping vaguely on top of things (DH should step up especially if you’re BF) as I found I could relax so much more when the house wasn’t a tip and washing was done etc.

• don’t feel pressure to ‘enjoy every moment’ the first few weeks are survival. Try to take photos or mental notes when you’re having a lovely snuggly moment of how you feel (I still have vivid memories of cuddling my few week old firstborn and thinking ‘one day she won’t be waking in the night and you’ll miss this’. I didn’t really miss the night wakings but I certainly miss that tiny baby!)

• remember everything is a phase and will get better. And while I’m very pro trying breastfeeding it’s not worth killing your self over- I couldn’t BF my first and the stress of trying and failing combined with the guilt of using formula looking back was bonkers. She’s 2 now and AMAZING you’d never know she wasn’t breastfed but it seemed SO important at the time. Give it a go but don’t kill yourself over it.

And good luck! So exciting. Nothing like your first baby 💕💕

When you do your first poo, if you've had stitches, get a clean pad& firmly hold it over your stitched area. Feels more secure and alleviates fear of bursting stitches.

Know you might cry for no reason for a good while. It's normal. I was shocked by this on my first.

Enjoy every single minute. As crazy as it sounds I now miss the night wakings when it was just me&them having snuggles. Even though at the time I really thought I'd die of sleep deprivation....

@Mylittlepony374 I could've written that myself!

Witch hazel spray for stitches.. a rubber ring helps too. And I didn’t use maternity pads I used Tena pants.. much more practical for sleeping (first night with a maternity pad I somehow shifted off it enough to allow the flood to escape).

Sort out Netflix etc with a good list of what to watch, get easy meals or batch cook, wear comfy stuff and stuff the washing it’ll keep.. trust me it never runs away ..

It's not a tip (and hopefully it won't be relevant to you), but it might be useful to know...

I was warned about cluster feeding, but everyone who mentioned it said it took up their entire evening. No-one warned me that I might spend 4 nights in a row feeding non-stop from 12pm-7am. I fell asleep one night and dropped DD. Luckily I had a next to me cot, so she didn't go far and was unscathed, but I was so unprepared for the all-nighters!

In all seriousness, try to stop worrying and overthinking it. Women have always given birth, yes for a few it isn't that easy and we must all be grateful for the medical assistance available if we needed it but there's no reason why you should have problems. I was at the shops less than 24 hours later, a positive attitude is the best thing you can have, you will be tired, a bit sore but it's a very short time - one suggestion though is to investigate breastfeeding support now, possibly professional but there's drop in groups most areas (our local one meets in a pub) try to go along before the birth once if you can

I had my second 13 weeks ago. I got really upset about the change in my pelvic floor. It wasn't too bad straight after with my first, but second time round it wasn't right. I even bent down to talk to my 2 year old at one point and wet myself! There was a puddle on the kitchen floor! I was really panicking that I was never going to be the same again.
But it healed. I guess the muscles recovered and it got better after a few weeks. I do exercises now, using a free app to make sure I get properly back to normal.
What I'm trying to say is if it doesn't feel right down there don't panic it's totally normal. But I guess if it doesn't improve with time go see someone. Good luck!

Limit your visitors, it’s well stressful.
Stock up on baggy clothes, long sweatshirts etc to cover stomach, and in my case - ass.
Stock up on painkillers.
If you might bottle feed buy low flow teats.
Loads of blankets and muslins.

Good luck x

Baggy clothes, I preferred night big night dresses because I'd had a c-section.

Bigggg knickers which helped to go over my scar (hopefully you aren't having a section)!

Maternity pads, I stupidly bought one pack of 6.. I bled heavy for 9 weeks, and probably went through about 6 in a day if not more.

Pain meds, again my whole body ached and the recovery was long for me so I definetly needed pain killers.

If you're breastfeeding, I really wish I'd done more research. I also wish I'd of bought nipple cream in advance, sent DH out in the middle of the night. Lanisoh is amazing

Maternity bras or a good sports bra, again I really had no idea what it would be like when my milk came in

Ready meals or batch cook, I didn't prepare and thank god my mum brought plenty of food down though I didn't have much appetite cooking is the last thing you want to do with a newborn

Don't see anyone (anyone!) on days 3/4. The hormones when your milk comes in is awful and you don't want any stress or seeing people. My IL came over and I still resent them for it when I do clearly needed them to leave

Massively lower your expectations as to what you'll be able to achieve in a day for the first 6 weeks. Have a wee in the shower or bath where possible for the first few days, longer if you have an episiotomy. Don't be afraid to ask visitors to make you a meal, put some washing on etc. Drink prune juice for the first few days to get things moving without having to strain. If you're planning on breastfeeding, look up the name and number of your local support now so you're ready if you need it. Also reusable breast pads are way more comfortable than disposable and lansinoh nipple cream is brilliant!

Just remember: this too shall pass. You'll feel like your life has transformed beyond recognition and it's unbearable - but the unbearable stuff doesn't last.

And sleep. Don't worry about spending time with your partner or with visitors. They'll all still be there once the baby starts sleeping more. For now, whenever you can sleep, SLEEP.

I found the lilets maternity pads far better than the boots ones. They have wings and cover a lot more than the boots ones. The back of the pad opens up as well giving you more coverage.

Lactulose whether you are constipated or not. If you have stitches then pee in the shower and try to wash your poo in the shower too as wet wipes / tissue will hurt.

If you are breastfeeding then stock up on oatmeal, fenugreek, plaintain, and Pregnacare Breastfeeding as it will help your milk come in faster. Also, massage before and after feeds to maximise colostrum intake. If you need to express then buy a double pump and a haakaa breastmilk collector and don’t choose a formula bottle as the baby will struggle to nurse. A special breastmilk bottle is worth it even if you only buy one as it maintains the baby’s suck reflex and minimises gas. Also things like anemia impact supply so make sure your GP regularly gives you full blood counts / thyroid function tests. If yo

Baby tips - fasten the buttons on vests in advance and put them on bottom first as it’s much faster and easier than trying to manipulate a newborn’s head and arms. Also, fastening the lower buttons around the legs on a sleep suit in advance allows you to slip legs in far easier.

Keep snacks and drinks in every room you will have the baby.

Get a big water bottle with in built straw. Dried fruit, post birth constipation is terrible, contractions can mess with your digestion for a bit.

Have a contingency bag with extra supplies in case you're in hospital for a while. If you don't need it, you can live out of it at home!

Get Netflix and be kind to yourself. Prioritise the baby's needs over anything else, including people wanting to visit.

Thanks everyone 🙂 just really handy to hear any little tips to make it a bit easier from those who have been there already!