Top 3 Items for a Postpartum Survival Kit

GUEST BLOG by APELE CUSTOMER

It’s been just over 2 weeks since I’ve given birth (c-section - but hey, delivery is delivery, am I right?) And while “pregnancy brain” is a real deal, so is “postpartum brain”.   If it wasn’t for my dear friends and their incredibly ideal postpartum survival kit contents, I am not sure I would have made it past the first few days, let alone these three weeks.  I’ve even managed to braid my hair twice now and go out on a few car rides to pick up groceries (shout out to Walmart’s free same-day  grocery pickup).

Here, I wanted to list the few items that have been gifted to me for postpartum recovery and why they have helped so much in my healing and recovery:

Meal Train:  Since the first night out of the hospital, my close friends set up a solid two weeks of dinners delivered to our door between the hours of 5-7pm. We have had salads, lasagna, enchiladas, soups, tacos with all the fixin’s and desserts to boot!  Want to really bless someone who has just spent 9 months baking a bun in the oven?  Let her put her feet up and skip the kitchen prep for some time. Two to three weeks of a meal train is not only easier on her, but easy to set up!  Simply visit Mealtrain.com or similar sites and get the basics from the Mama you’re blessing. Allergies, preferences, timeframes for delivery and address for dropoff. It’s that simple!

Apele Postpartum Panties.  While I already had several pair for everyday mishaps (I tend to urinate a little when I sneezed during pregnancy, as well as, had lochia discharge the last few weeks as many women expect), I was really grateful to have my higher absorbency Apele panties this third week into postpartum.  The first few days were heavy enough for me to wear the hospital-grade pads I was sent home with but after those first few days of expected heavy bleeding, it then trickled into spotting which need not require a huge, bulky pad. I still wanted protection however, as every time I have nursed, my uterus has contracted and the remaining lining has shed.  Knowing that I have Apele’s absorbent layers keeping me dry while also helping me maintain an awareness of how much I am losing has been especially helpful at doctor check-ups and questions about any postpartum hemorrhaging.  What’s even better is I simply hand wash them in the sink and hang them to dry for use within the next 20 mins if I wanted or needed.  Because who has time for an entire load of laundry? We are supposed to be napping when between feedings, not folding!

Gripe Water.  Okay, okay, so gripe water is technically for baby, but truly anything that makes baby happy essentially makes Mom happy! Perhaps not every mom will need to use gripe water for baby but having it available to give to our newly-born son has helped greatly at nighttime feedings when we couldn’t discern between colic, acid reflux, fussiness or just plain old brand-new-baby temperament.  You certainly do not want to go to the doctor every time your baby gets fussy, and if you’re like us, you don’t want to pump your baby with any more prescriptions than necessary after they’ve already been poked, prodded and potentially circumcised.  That said, gripe water has been a safe and quick OTC, non-prescription option for us that has settled our little man’s stomach and boasts only natural herbs like fennel, ginger, chamomile, and lemon balm.  With just 3mL of this liquid supplement it has been effortless to add to the side of his mouth while nursing or bottle-feeding. Whether it was colic or just gas, gripe water quickly took care of our bubby’s discomfort, which has greatly helped me and everyone else in the household take a breath too – even if just for two hours between feedings.