You know those conversations you overhear when you’re younger that make you think, "Man, I don’t want to grow up”? Hearing moms talk about their first bathroom trip after having a baby was definitely one of those conversations for me.
Leading up to me giving birth, I heard horror story after horror story but not a lot of info on how we take care of the painful stuff. I braced myself for squirt bottles, diapers, and a whole lot of trauma.
While in the hospital I was in a lot of pain. I kept asking if it was normal, and the nurses said it was. On the day I was leaving, a new nurse asked me if I wanted any of the ice packs, witch hazel pads, or cooling spray to take home. The what?! Maybe the lack of any sort of perineal care was where the pain was coming from. There were nine babies delivered the same night as mine, and I must have fallen through the cracks. I didn’t know the right questions to ask because I wasn’t versed in the realm of perineal care.
When I got home I did some research, and you better believe I became versed in the realm of perineal care. In doing so, I came across my new best friend, who also happened to be a mom: Frida Mom. She knows what she is doing and how to take care of you. She knows the horror stories of postpartum, but she doesn’t just throw her stories around to scare people. She’s implemented her knowledge into real care to help new mamas.
One of my personal favorite Frida Mom products is the Instant Ice Maxi Pads. Instead of filling up a medical glove with ice and sticking that in your panties (yes, that’s what the hospital gave me) or creating a padsicle, you just crack, shake and put a comfortable absorbent pad in your panties--much better and less weird.
Believe me when I say that witch hazel is magical for your perineal healing and comfort. The witch hazel pads I was sent home with were tiny, circular, and in a container that dried out fast. Frida Mom has Witch Hazel Cooling Pad Liners that come in a convenient resealable wipe package. Instead of lining a pad (or a plastic glove…I can’t make this stuff up!) with a million little discs that do not stay in place, the pad liners fit the length of the pad to cool front to back.
Witch Hazel is used a lot for perineal healing. This is because it is known to fight bacteria and reduce swelling. The Frida Mom Perineal Healing Foam is designed specifically for those reasons. When lined on the pad it, soaks into the perineum and not the pad. I personally like this better than an aerosol spray blasting my vaginal canal stitches.
The underwear. Ladies, let’s face it, postpartum underwear is not sexy--and by all that is holy, we do not want it to be. We want our underwear to be breathable, stretchy, and most importantly to keep it all in. The mesh hospital underwear didn’t do it for me. I read on an insta post to just get the adult diapers, but they made me break out in a rash. Frida Mom Disposable Postpartum Underwear is the underwear of every new mama’s dreams. It doesn’t make you break out in rashes, keeps it all in, and does not pinch you in tender spots.
Thinking back on all of this I want to hug my new mama self. I want to say this first little bit is going to be a rough one and witch hazel won’t fix sleepless nights or newfound worries. The right products will, however, ease pain so you can actually sit up in bed to breastfeed your baby and be brave enough to go to the bathroom.
Find just what you need to get through those first postpartum days in store or online at The Baby Cubby!