Top 10 Postpartum Tips (From A Mom Who’s Been There)
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The early postpartum days can feel like a blur of exhaustion, healing, and learning how to care for a newborn—all while trying to take care of yourself too. As a new mom who’s been through the trenches (NICU and all), here are some real postpartum survival tips that helped me stay grounded, heal better, and feel a little more human in those raw early weeks. 💗
Skip The Read — Check Out My Breastfeeding/Postpartum Must-Haves List Below
These are the 10 real, no-fluff products I used & swear by for postpartum recovery.
I’d like to preface this by saying that I had a crash c-section for my first birth and my postpartum journey looked a lot different than a lot of women’s most likely did. My daughter ended up requiring an extensive 2 month stay in the NICU at a different hospital than the one I gave birth at, due to a birth injury. Needless to say, my “birth plan” did NOT go as planned — and looking back, I laugh at the essential oils & flickering battery powered candles I brought, among a million other things, to the hospital. When crap hits the fan, it really puts it all into perspective. Okay, back to the list.
💛 For Any Mama Who’s Struggling Right Now...
If you're reading this and feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, or just not like yourself—please know you are not alone.
Postpartum can feel incredibly heavy at times, even when you're surrounded by love. You’re not failing. You’re not broken. You’re a human navigating one of the biggest transitions life can bring.
Whether you’re battling the baby blues or quietly struggling with postpartum anxiety or depression, there is help—and hope. There are people who truly understand and want to support you, judgment-free.
Please take a moment to visit Postpartum Support International (PSI). They offer free helplines, text support, and local resources to walk alongside you.
You deserve to feel better.
You are doing the best you can.
And you are never, ever alone.
C-Section Must Haves:
THIS IS A MUST. My hospital had me wrapped up in this belly binder when I woke up from anesthesia. This thing helped me so much. Without it I felt like everything was all kinds of loosey goosey. My muscles were SHOT. But this thing felt like it held everything. I will say though, this thing made me VERY ITCHY — and I still used it daily because I just honestly needed it so much and it helped me tremendously. But I was also postpartum and super sweaty from the hormones, especially at night, so I think that is why I was so itchy. I still wore it for awhile though.
I loved these. I couldn’t use them until my doctor gave me the OK to wear them, which I think was at 6 or 7 weeks postpartum, but I liked them because it felt like it kind of protected my incision/scar area. The c-section scar felt very sensitive when my clothing touched it and these scar tapes helped protect it. I don’t think I used it as much to minimize the appearance of my scar, but more to just protect it and keep it from rubbing against my clothing. The cool thing about them is they come in a large roll that you can trim to fit your scar. You can wash them, pat them dry & reuse them for up to 7 days & they reapply just as well after each use. Definitely recommend them.
If you’re in the postpartum
phase and need support —
whether it’s sleep struggles,
feeding issues, or just figuring
out what’s “normal” —
you’re not alone. 🩵
Breastfeeding/Pumping Must Haves:
I absolutely believe this is a MUST HAVE for pumping. I never got to breastfeed because my daughter was an aspiration risk secondary to her birth injury, along with laryngomalacia & tracheomalacia, so she required thickened feeds. But I did pump and she was exclusively “breast fed” until she was about 4.5 months old. I loved this pumping bra because it connected to my regular nursing bra super easily. And it had the openings for the flanges on my pump to insert into. I’m telling ya, if you’re exclusively pumping this is a MUST. If you’ve been a pumper, you know that you need your hands to be free to massage your breasts and get that milk flowing — this allows you that opportunity and it is beyond helpful.
Throughout my pumping journey I probably used thousands of storage bags. They were essential to store my milk properly in the freezer, as well as be able to organize my milk in a way that was helpful for me to grab and go when we needed to or to be able to know exactly how much to get out each day for my daughter. *WHY I LOVE THESE BAGS* I searched around for deals on Amazon on bags and ended up getting several different brands that I ended up writing negative reviews about, because all other brands except this one, had holes in the bag or something ended up happening with them. Countless times I would I put my breast milk in other storage bags, freeze them and during the thawing process, I would come back and all of the milk was gone because of a hole in the bag or something. It was so frustrating because if you’re a pumper, you know how precious every drop of milk is, because exclusively pumping is NO walk in the park or picnic on the beach. It’s WORK and when my hard work was just gone down the drain, I was so upset. These Medela bags were the ONLY bags that held up time after time and the only bags I’ll buy myself, for friends or recommend to anyone.
I loved this butter. I put it on my nipples before every pumping session and I swear it helped me so much with the pain/chafing of my nipples. It smelled great and was so oily and I just loved it. I would also use it on my lips as well and it’s very moisturizing. A little goes a long way with this – which is great, because it lasted me such a long time.
Trust me when I say, you need this if you are pumping. Not everyone’s nipple size is the same and breast pumps don’t come with every single size — so using the correct size falange makes a HUGE difference comfort wise AND supply wise when pumping. Buy this pack and try the different inserts, I promise it will make a world of difference. You can also use this nipple ruler to find out what nipple falange size you are. I found it to be more helpful buying the pack and just using the inserts to see which one felt the best but here’s the link to the ruler if you prefer to measure then buy only the size you need. https://amzn.to/4mlWtdG
When I was exclusively pumping while caring full-time for my medically fragile newborn, I was barely keeping my head above water. Between working on bottle feeding, managing her G-tube feeds, keeping up with household responsibilities, doing endless laundry, and trying to stay on top of my pumping schedule—all while my husband worked full-time—I was exhausted.
I truly believed that continuing to pump was the only way to keep my baby safe and give her the very best. I was deeply committed to providing breastmilk and felt strongly against using formula. But the reality was that my supply couldn’t keep up with her needs, simply because I couldn’t pump every three hours while juggling everything else.
Some days I would go four or five hours between pumping sessions, and the guilt and discouragement were overwhelming. I started to resent pumping—something I had once seen as such a beautiful and empowering act of love.
If you’re in that place right now—struggling to keep up with pumping, questioning your supply, or feeling torn between what you hoped to do and what reality looks like—I see you. Life with a newborn is incredibly hard, especially when your baby has medical needs.
I had someone in my life gently remind me that I didn’t have to keep going just to prove I was a “good mom.” And that reminder lifted a heavy weight I hadn’t realized I was carrying.
If you need someone to be that voice for you, please let me be it: You are a good mom no matter how you choose to feed your baby. Whether it’s breastmilk, formula, or a combination of both—your worth as a mother is not defined by your milk supply.
If letting go of pumping or breastfeeding helps you become a calmer, more present version of yourself in this deeply overwhelming season, I want to release you from the guilt. Do what’s best for you. Your baby needs you—not perfection.
I used this everyday, once I knew it existed. Because my daughter ended up needing a G-Tube to leave the NICU, all of her milk had to be measured very well to ensure I wasn’t wasting my breastmilk with her feedings because I needed enough to prime the tubing on her feeding pump, plus what she would actually be getting fed, and really not a lot more because it could only be in the bag for 3 hours and then I had to clean the bag to prevent bacteria from building up in the bag. It was a very finicky process. Along with attempting to feed her every three hours by mouth with my thickened breast milk for 30 minutes, then having to feed the rest of what she didn’t drink through her G-tube & on top of that still needing to pump every 3 hours, I needed to manage my time well and very efficiently. I found that if I just poured all of my milk from the day that I pumped into this glass pitcher and put it in the fridge, I was able to measure it all in the storage bags all at one time in the evening versus doing it 5-6 times a day. In hindsight, maybe it didn’t really give me back much time, but in the moment, it sure felt like I was making my life a bit less chaotic.
I’d like to say that I never personally used this product, however, lots of women I know used this one, loved it and highly recommend this breast pump and it is hospital grade. My insurance paid for a breast pump and sent it to me, the Motif Twist (considered hospital grade). It wasn’t anything to write home about because it had quite the learning curve to it postpartum and I think if I wouldn’t have wanted my daughter to have breast milk so desperately, I likely would have given up on it because the Motif Twist was pretty confusing to use — but it got the job done and I was grateful for it while I used it. I also tried the Medela Pump In Style Breast Pump with Wearable In-bra Collection Cups and it was horrible and I got mastitis each time I used it, spiking a really high fever and needing antibiotics. I was an over-supplier and I just didn’t feel like my breast would ever empty completely with the Medela pump. While in the NICU, they supplied me with a pump and it was hospital grade — the Ameda Platinum Breast Pump. It was AMAZING and had strong suction, but it’s really expensive. If I ever decide to have another baby though, I will purchase the Spectra - S1 Plus without a doubt.
Postpartum essentials aside from breastfeeding & c-section related:
I loved these, honestly. Are they sexy? No. But they get the job done. They were nice because they weren’t tight around my belly yet they still gave me that feeling of being covered and held together. I like that I could use it all day and I was able to put my pad in it, no problem, and get done what I needed to get done. There’s a reason they’re a best seller!
This one seems to be a bit controversial in the postpartum mom world, but I don’t care. These were great for overnight and I did not care that I was wearing a diaper. I was bleeding so much that it was nice to have a built in pad and they kept me feeling clean until the morning. When you’re tired from giving birth and taking care of a newborn, you don’t want to be overwhelmed with extra laundry from blood stained sheets or undies. Trust me, these will save you some loads of laundry.