Top Five postpartum must haves

Not having given birth before, I didn't really know how I was going to feel or what my body would be like. These turned out to the most helpful things to have postpartum for me!

1

Disposable underwear. So very unglamorous, but I found them way easier than messing about with pads and actually really comfortable. I had quite a lot of bleeding after having Oscar, and it didn't stop for probably about a month (not at the same level it did slowly get better), and I definitely needed more than I expected! I got mine from Amazon but I also saw them in Boots and I'm sure most pharmacies would sell them.

2

Paracetamol/Ibuprofen. To start with I had these day and night for a few days after leaving the hospital for tummy pain, but then I just had them at night after that for maybe a week.

3

Ready meals. My mum made a huge stash of pre cooked meals for me, which helped so much!! Giving birth is tiring, and then looking after a newborn is quite tiring too... Having these meant I had easy healthy meals on hand that could just be heated up whenever needed.

4

Plenty of Pyjamas/loungewear. I basically did not get dressed properly for a while, but it makes you feel better to be clean! I bought a load of cheap pyjamas from Primark and Amazon so I could sleep in one set and then get dressed in another - and also allow for having to change again when I got covered in baby sick (or something else...)

5

Tummy oil. I used pure almond oil all through my pregnancy to rub on my tummy to help my skin, and I kept using this after Oscar arrived. Then my sister bought me some Sanctuary Spa tummy oil for new mums which I loved! It felt really nice to pamper myself a little when I was basically feeling extremely rough. My tummy was a little sore for a while after giving birth, and oil felt much gentler to rub in than a cream.