Thursday, April 9, 2020

Post-Birth Recovery Tips


Post-Birth Tips
There are so many tips out there that could be done, however I found these to be the best. All of these ideas I got from my friend Lucy who honestly has had three kiddos and is in the most amazing shape post delivery every time! She is like a magical unicorn! So with that being said, I live by her tips and such because they obviously worked for her! Without a surprise, they too worked for me and were so worth the work to get everything ready ahead of time! She is from British Columbia so a lot of the items she recommended to me are from a local shop in Kimberly, BC. You could find some items at your local health food store but I did not waste time looking for some items as they were essential oils created by a mama after she had her own kids - her shop is called Healing Hollow her products are incredible! 

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So, how the hell do I get my you know, to look like normal again? I think this is a question that many women ask and become concerned with once the baby is finally here! You kind of think about it before the baby but you still have the anticipation of the baby so it comes and goes as a thought. But now the baby is here and you know there's been some damage to say the least! Ps. I couldn't not laugh when I finished this sentence!


  • But real talk, again my friend Lucy was so amazing to share with me her post birth tips to help fix up the damage, or at least "fix" it with some duct-tape! Don't actually apply duct-tape that isn't the tip!


Tip #1: this isn't so  much as tip as it is a piece of advice or even a disclaimer for post-birth. DO NOT look down there until you're actually healed. Lucy did share this with me, but I decided to go against that and became way too curious. MISTAKE. I think I cried and said "oh my gosh it looks so ugly". This was only about like 4-5 days postpartum; not a good idea and I totally knew better considering I know Lucy would never lie to me and she knows!! haha 

Tip #2: Try to find healthy snacks, the energy balls in the previous post were amazing and have amazing fats in them! Fruit is another good one, my favourite were frozen grapes!


Alright so here is the information I know I was excited to receive! Lucy was honestly amazing and I am so thankful to have her in my life. Especially when it comes to anything pregnancy, baby and well anything really!

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If you're looking for a one stop shop for majority of the items, check out Midwifery Supplies, they have everything including pre-made kits you could buy. Personally, I prefer to buy individual items and make it myself. I found the below worked for me, so I bought some items online or from the shop if I couldn't find it else where. They are an amazing resource! 


- Padsicles Recipe -

What you need

Steps

1. Open your pads but DO NOT remove them form the sticky part. Spray with witch hazel
2. Add the various oils as listed above. 
4. Spread on some Aloe Vera - I did one small squeeze of the bottle and had a plastic butter knife to spread.
5. Wrap each pad individually with aluminum foil; try not to pat it down or squish it. 
6. Put the pads in a Ziploc and place in the freezer ready to use.

Additional Information

 These will feel AMAZING on, and you will know when you no longer need them...hint, it will no longer feel soothing but super cold and not so nice! At this point if you want you can switch to the non-frozen version.

The oils you buy cannot be a low grade oil. You must purchase a higher grade essential oil as they will be in contact with your skin  and in this case your vagina. The products I have linked above are great items and are safe to be used for this purpose! Please purchase the items wherever you see fit; I supported local health food stores and if I could not find it there, then I did purchase from Well.ca as they are a Canadian distributor out of Ontario!


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Peri Bottle Cleanse 

You will likely be told to have a peri bottle on hand, and if not well, you're welcome. This was something recommended to me by my midwives and honestly it was the best thing ever and SO simple. 

What you need 
Steps
EVERY TIME you go pee, you will do this! You will fill your peri bottle with warm water - I filled it pretty much full - and then you will put your drops of calendula in it. After or even as you are reaching the end of your pee, you start to squeeze this mixture to your vagina. It will cleanse any bacteria from getting to your stitches. And the warms of the water will sooth it! The tincture is strong so it may sting a bit but literally for a few seconds in the beginning. 

The calendula has natural healing properties and it is amazing to fight off any bacteria!

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Arnica Montana 

Helps with swelling and bruising. 

This is a homeopathic product, and could be found at natural food stores or online - I usually use Well.ca . This was recommended to me by my friend as well as my midwives. 

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Postpartum Belly Wrap 

Helps with swelling and expelling the lochia quicker. As well, it made me feel very comfortable because without it, it felt like everything was hanging so heavy and my midsection felt very weighted.

Note: Please before using this note that in using this, it will release the lochia (blood) quicker and you will notice the bleeding will be heavier. Ask your midwife about it, and ask how to monitor regular compared to too much lochia. 

Where to find: Amazon (this is the exact one I bought)

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Compression Leggings

These are amazing, move to these when you feel up for not wearing the wraps! I switched to these once my bleeding stopped. They will help keep everything tight and in place. Whenever I did not wear these, I just felt very heavy in my stomach area and actually at times made it hard to breath. With gravity everything hangs lower and everything has shifted inside so this was just a nice comfort piece for me.

Where to find: Snap Back from Preggo Leggings

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1 Week Postpartum 

Alright so, as you will be told by your midwife or doctor, you will not be able to bath until you are healed. This is due to the chance of infection if you're not entirely healed up. I also tore a bit which is why I wasn't allowed to take a bath for a bit. If you are unsure, please ask your midwife or doctor about when you can bath.

What you could do instead is do a little soak bath until you're allowed a real bath. I started doing this one week postpartum - as per my midwives checks - you need to ask your midwives about when you could start these. BUT they are AMAZING!

What you will need


Steps

Place the sitz bath seat on your toilet and you could place the sitz right into the seat with warm water, or you could also have the mixture already made up and the sitz disolved in the water bag and also can squeeze to the desired area. I preferred to just sit in it. The bag I found was really good to use as a replacement for the peri bottle. 

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Again you guys, everyone is different and of course everyone also has their own comfort levels! Be sure to always ask your midwife or doctor before using anything. The things above were all recommendations given by my friend who had a midwife and also approved by my midwives. It is important to understand the purpose of each remedy. 


XOXO

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