Packing Your Vag Bag
Sure, you’ve got the hospital bag. But what about your vag bag? Here are some things to ease your recovery.
Ladies, I know the hype is all about what to put in the hospital bag. I mean, it’s exciting to pack a hospital bag for your labor. All those months you spent baking a babe and here you are packing a bag up to go meet him or her! The cutest going home outfit, first-day outfit, the monogrammed swaddle and softest blanket. You’ve probably got it all. Let’s not forget about packing your goods: slippers, lip balm, hair tie, extra-long cord for your phone so you can shoot out mad photos to your family.
First-time mamas take their time planning their hospital bag, second-time mamas (ahem, me this time), seem to take 1/28th of that time – ha! You’ve probably checked the blogs, crossed-checked your mom friends lists and overpacked.
It is obvious why the hospital bag gets all the light! But after you give birth, there is something else that needs care and that is your core and vagina. What I recommend is packing a small vag bag for the hospital, BUT also having one ready at home for you. This is when it gets tricky and you want to be prepared after the hospital rush is over. Having a little happy vag bag (if you will) at home, is the best way to make sure you’re ready to heal after birthing a human out.
You will come home with that fresh baby that looks like an IG model, but you will be sleep-deprived, swollen, looking 6 months pregnant and bleeding. Instead of scorching the internet and going hot and heavy on the online purchases (that are probably all expedited in shipping), here is a list of a few items you may want to have ready for your vag bag. You will want to shove ice packs in your massive underwear and squirt some soothing mixture on your hoo-ha.
Adult diapers, pads and underwear: You will need something to help absorb blood (or a more fancy term is lochia). This is for right after birth, until to almost 6 weeks. Remember, the bleeding is heavier in the beginning (days 0-7) and the most promising (and often loved by ladies) is the Depend Silhouette for Women. They are soft and less bulky than your other adult diapers. A tip – buy about 2 packs of 12 adult diapers for the first week! Around day 7-10, adult diapers are a bit over the top because your bleeding slows (who-hoo!). Time to move onto the heavy flow pad. You will quickly run out of the giant pads from the hospital. You also may not love them. Stock up on your favorite or Always Maxi (overnight extra heavy flow with wings). Tip – buy two packs of 20! These guys are not as bulky and the wings help out for any extra leakage. The hospital may have even given you some disposable underwear (take some extra if you can), but these Mesh Knit Postpartum Disposable Underwear are great to have after coming home. Weeks 2-4, you will wear regular pads (whichever you prefer!) and weeks 3-6, you will move onto panty liners! Your body is healing, congrat-a-freaking-lations. We will make it.
Peri Bottle: Let’s all give a shout out to Frida for making this long needed item, Frida Mom Peri Bottle. This is truly a game changer. I remember using the regular peri bottles last time and wondering how on earth I was going to squirt the water to my lady parts. This guy has an angled tube that is made to work upside down so you can squeeze the warm water onto yourself while sitting on the toilet. Take this guy to the hospital too! The point of a peri bottle is to fill it with warm water and wash away dried blood, poop and pee. Basically, less wiping for on a sensitive area for you. Mix some warm water and Alcohol Free Witch Hazel for some relief! Witch hazel is a natural astringent that has been used for years. It is used for inflammation and bleeding..even hemorrhoids! Which are a thing for mamas. How does it work? Tannins are found in with hazel which help slow down bleeding because they constrict blood vessels. This is also what you use on padsicles!
Ice Packs/Padsicles: When we strain or sprain something, don’t we use ice packs? Well, the same makes sense for the ole’ vag-o. Pushing out a baby is a form of trauma and requires recovery. Your hooha is going to be swollen, ladies. Even if you had a C-Section, the ice can alleviate any soreness in the pelvic region. Think about it, you may have pushed for a while before you had a C-Section! You can make some padsicles, throw them on the adult diaper. When you have the adult diaper, you don’t have to worry about the padsicle melting and making a mess in the sheets. When the padsicle melts, you can throw the pad out and replace it (while reusing the same adult diaper). You can even opt for Reusable Perineal Ice Packs.
Sitz Baths/Soak: A sitz bath basically cleanses and comforts your lady parts while you soak in a warm, shallow bath. It can also help with pain and itching! You can pretty much do this two ways. The hospital may send you home with a device you can setup and neatly cover your toilet with. Here is a sitz bath from Yunga Tart you can buy that does the job and is highly popular. An easier way, and one that I personally did myself was using my tub. Just remember to make sure it is clean and sterile! You can grab some Epsom Salt and throw in some essential oils like lavendar and Alcohol Free Witch Hazel to help with soothing and cleaning. I personally like to buy the premixed soaks like the Birth Song Botanicals Herb Sitz Bath. You will be sleep deprived and this mama cannot remember every detail in that postpartum fog! I prefer the dump and sit method, ha!
Perineal Spray and Wipes: A spray is great for topical relief after you cleanse with a peri bottle. My personal favorite is the Herbal Perineal Spray by Earth Mama. The hospital will most likely give you some Dermoplast Pain Relieving Spray, but you will run out of it and this is a highly rated option! Lastly, wiping down there may make you..cringe. An option is getting the Preparation H Flushable Medicated Wipes with Aloe and Witch Hazel.
There you have it. A quick and dirty to make your postpartum experience a bit less “heated.” As a second-time mama, I can assure you I learned a few things my first time around and definitely hope this clears up some confusion as to what you need! Mom life is hard in the beginning and beyond the cute newborn homecoming outfit, you also come home with a hooha on fire that too, requires recovery!