🍼postpartum recovery kit (the stuff we used every day)

packed this at 38 weeks and rewrote half of it by week two. mesh underwear over cute robes, every time.

Never miss an update

This list changes over time. Get a short email when it does.

At most one short email a week. Unfollow in one click.

Mesh underwear, buy the multipack

hospital only sends you home with about 3, buy the multipack before you need it not after

Overnight pads, the thickest ones you can find

Peri bottle, get the angled one not the straight squirt bottle

the straight one from the hospital just splashes everywhere, we switched by day 3

Witch hazel pads

Numbing spray for down there

ask your pediatrician about pain meds but this one's just topical, keep it in the fridge

Stool softener, start it before the first bowel movement

we waited and regretted it, dont wait

Nipple cream, the lanolin kind

Hydrogel nursing pads for the first week

Nursing bras, size up from your pregnancy bras

your chest changes again after milk comes in, buy the size up

Heating pad for the cramps

High waisted underwear for after the mesh runs out

Pill organizer for the ibuprofen and stool softener rotation

made the 3am medication math bearable, we used this daily

One-handed snacks stashed by the couch

granola bars, string cheese, whatever doesn't need a plate

Big water bottle with a straw

Belly wrap, only if you want the compression

i barely touched mine after week one, your mileage may vary

A stool for your feet on the toilet

Long phone charger for the couch or the bed

sounds dumb until you're stuck under a sleeping baby for two hours

Thank-you notes, buy them before the baby comes

you will not have energy to shop once she's here

Or start a list of your own. Free, it takes a minute.

Related lists