[trumpcard]

For all you ladies who have been there/done that, what did you use for postpartum bleeding? In talking to my DH this evening about all that still needs to be done to prepare, the one thing he is concerned about is me getting whatever supplies I will need for this aspect of postpartum.

Poor guy, he's being a great sport about every aspect of pregnancy but this is what stresses him out! I've worn a diva cup for years and years and I don't think in our 8 year marriage he has ever been called to help me with lady supplies.
What do you recommend?

 

[Crispie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by trumpcard For all you ladies who have been there/done that, what did you use for postpartum bleeding? In talking to my DH this evening about all that still needs to be done to prepare, the one thing he is concerned about is me getting whatever supplies I will need for this aspect of postpartum. Poor guy, he's being a great sport about every aspect of pregnancy but this is what stresses him out! I've worn a diva cup for years and years and I don't think in our 8 year marriage he has ever been called to help me with lady supplies. What do you recommend?

FWIW I'm a heavy bleeder, for every darn thing...

10-14 day heavy periods and 6 good weeks of bleeding after birth...

My mw had on her list Kotex brand wingless thick overnighters, a couple jumbo packs. I slapped on two at a time for the first 48ish hours. After that one was fine and by week two I was using my mama cloth. I'm not sure why she wanted kotex and I'm going to ask her this time...I think it had to do with the ones she froze for cooling relief afterwards. My fav pads are "Always" brand as they wick everything away very well, even (sorry if TMI) clumpies. But, they can feel plasticy, that may be the reason the mw recommended kotex? I would love to just use ALL mama cloth this time but I don't have a whole lot and not sure adding to my stash is in the finances.

You may want to get a couple packs of pantiliners/small sample packs in different brands and try em out a few days here and there to see what you like. If one feels plasticy you may decide you don't want them. Other things that irritate me with disposables is the sticky backing, some of them bunch up and stick to themselves, or only have a thin strip along the backside that's sticky and actually end up twisting and flipping over and sticking to your body and not your undies

...not fun.

Honestly plan on a couple weeks of good period like bleeding (a lil more for me, being a heavy bleeder) I went to Wally world and bought some good ole cheapie granny panties (10 pair) with my two mondo boxes of Kotex. That way I could toss the undies if they got nasty with no guilt and save my nice undies for once things died down.

Don't know how soon you plan to be home or if you're having a homebirth but those chucks pads (urine bed protection pads) are wonderful if you will be in your own bed soon after.

And lastly, it really is true and you'll hear it a hundred times but for me it never sunk in until my last birth. The more you sit around and do as little as possible those first SIX weeks postpartum, the faster the bleeding will go away. In the past I always pushed it, lugging around carseats and crap, had cabin fever so bad I didn't care and starting running around or cleaning etc...and my bleeding would pick back up really heavy. This last baby was in the NICU for 21 days after birth (long story and all is well now) and I found that sitting bedside and doing little else but eating sleeping and pumping for him, well, by the time he left hospital at three weeks old, I was barely spotting. My mw couldn't resist saying "I told you so" when I expressed shock over how fast it had slowed/stopped.

That's my ten cents from my insomniac brain, hope it helped!

Going to catch some shut eye now!

PS-My DH loves it when I can tell him a brand and an absorbency...it makes his "hunting" much faster if I have to send him out. A peek at an old package so he can see the color of the box, size and such gives me brownie points

 

[organicpapayamama]

When I had ds the hospital sent me home with a stash of these jumbo pads... Though they honestly were huge enough to call diapers in my opinion. (they would cover all the way to the top of your butt crack and way up In front) as huge as they were they were comfortable and I've never had a leakage problem with those. My hospital also gives me these pads that you bend and crack and it turns into an ice pack. Once again, very comfy and absorbant to wear along with the jumbo pad. My postpartum period lasted about a month. It was VERY heavy for about the first week to ten days. My jumbo stash lasted about that long. Just in case of leaks I put down one of those pee pee pads that I buy for my dogs

(I also used one of those to put on the seat of the car on the way to the hospital in case my water broke) after the heavy part was ending I used my fav brand, always over night with wings. They do feel plasticy but work well. I think they came out with one called the infinity pad which works like a dream! I use two pads to ensure coverage length- wise. I have a squirt bottle to help when going pee that the hospital sent me home with. They also gave me wipes with witch hazel on it to help heal. also thought I would mention the hospital also gave me a stash of these mesh undies that are very useful. They stretch and are a one size fits all. They are super soft you hardly feel it and they are strong enough to hold the jumbo pads. They great thing is that when you are ready to dispose of them (yes u throw them away) you can rip them off instead of bending to pull them off your legs. Once my flow is lighter regular cotton undies work fine.

And yes, relax and stay off your feet as much as possible. Even if you feel great just sit there and relax and take it easy.

 

[Starfish11]

I don't plan on using my mama cloths for post-partum bleeding as it was much more significant than my periods.

I will use Kotex or Stayfree all-cotton pads for the first few days and then take it from there

The Always brand uses a lot of chemicals in their products which irritates the hell out of my lady business. In fact, I just realized that I should look for an alternative natural all-cotton brand at Wegmans or Whole Foods or Trader Joe's. Glad you brought this up

Crispie! A 10-14 day period?! Goodness you are a rock star!

 

[sostinkinhappy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crispie And lastly, it really is true and you'll hear it a hundred times but for me it never sunk in until my last birth. The more you sit around and do as little as possible those first SIX weeks postpartum, the faster the bleeding will go away.

I have to second this bit of advice - I didn't do this with my first two and bled a lot more/longer than I did with my third. I wasn't able to do as much with him because I was recovering from DSP at the same time so I just lounged around for those first 5-6 weeks...a lot.

I wonder if I can stretch that out to 5 or 6 months with this one...

.

 

[emnic77]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sostinkinhappy I have to second this bit of advice - I didn't do this with my first two and bled a lot more/longer than I did with my third. I wasn't able to do as much with him because I was recovering from DSP at the same time so I just lounged around for those first 5-6 weeks...a lot. I wonder if I can stretch that out to 5 or 6 months with this one... .

Also piping up to say I agree with this 100%. I felt so great after DS's birth that I found myself doing way too much. DH went to the grocery store the day after he was born, and I decided to do laundry (he just about smacked me when he came home and found out I had carried a load of laundry down three flights of stairs). It's hard, especially if you have a relatively easy labor and feel totally fine, to sit around and take it easy but it really does make the bleeding so much heavier and worse. I would taper off and then exert myself and bleed like a stuck pig again.

As for pads, I hate Always because they ALWAYS seem to irritate me (itchy and uncomfy). I think I used Kotex last time, I need ones with wings because like someone else said, the other ones always seem to flip upside down and that's just a huge mess. I will also probably grab a big ol' pack of granny undies so I don't wreck my regular undies, I learned that lesson the hard way with DS (but did get a shopping spree at Victoria's Secret afterwards).

I like the idea of mama cloth, but we share a washer and dryer with my sister and her husband, and I'm already washing diapers in there, blood soaked pads is just asking too much from them.

 

[Tizzy]

After DS1 (a C/S) the hospital gave me jumbo pads to use, like depends. Those were great for the first couple days. So I stocked up on those for DS2 but I found they were irritating and didn't breathe at all.
I also had the biggest/thickest kotex pads for soaking and freezing with witch hazel. Those were really really nice!

So I think I'll go with the big kotex pads again, definitely NOT the diaper pads.

 

[Dajemadger]

for the first 2 days afterwards I just use chux pads in my grannie pannies cuz it runs all over the place (especially if you are lying in bed nursing and such)

Then I use thick washcloths in dark colors ( I bought a pack of four from Target for like 5 bucks) and just fold em up (trifold) and put them in there. Everytime I pee, I kinda refold, so there is a new layer touching unless it is well coated. After the bleeding slows down, i use old flannel receiving blankets cut into pieces. I usually don't go out in public for 2-3 weeks after a baby is born anyway but when I do venture out, i put on a disposable pad with wings so there isn't as much noticeable bulkiness.

I had a terrible time with bleeding after my last child (i bleed for 5 weeks, then would bleed every 2 weeks for 10 days until he was 10 months old and i got pregnant again) and using the washcloths felt SOOOO much nicer on my lady parts than using pads. Plus, the pads have that funky chemical smell and i dont notice an odor when using the washcloths. Plus they were super easy to just wash with everything else (diapers, wipes, pukey clothes etc)

 

[To-Fu]

I am also a heavy bleeder, at least at first. I wore Depends (seriously) for the first few days when it was the strongest/heaviest, then I moved to super ultra overnight pads with wings, and I slept on Chux pads for a while.

There is an herbal mixture that my MW put on some pads and then put the whole deal in the freezer. It gave me great relief in those early days, let me tell you.

 

[jenrett]

I am planning on using cloth pads. Lunapads makes postpartum "liners" for their pads. Looks good to me!

I have no experience with this. However, after switching to cloth pads, I have zero interest in going back to the disposable ones.....yuck.

I have no idea how many I will need to buy, so if anybody has any idea, that would be great!

 

[tempestjewel]

I've used, and will use this time, preemie sized prefolds! Unbleached chinese ones. Super soft, super absorbant. I have some long Luna pads and I can tri-fold a preemie size prefold into it and put it under the ric-rac that holds the contoured mama cloth in. At night I stick an extra pre-fold under my bum for extra absorbancy/leaking from moving around to nurse.

I've tried some "natural" disposable brands (Seventh generation and naturacare, I think), but I just never found them comfortable.

 

[Jelinifer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tempestjewel I've used, and will use this time, preemie sized prefolds! Unbleached chinese ones. Super soft, super absorbant. I have some long Luna pads and I can tri-fold a preemie size prefold into it and put it under the ric-rac that holds the contoured mama cloth in. At night I stick an extra pre-fold under my bum for extra absorbancy/leaking from moving around to nurse. I've tried some "natural" disposable brands (Seventh generation and naturacare, I think), but I just never found them comfortable.

That is a really good idea!!! I really don't want to use disposables since they are so uncomfortable during regular periods anyways. How many did you need to order?

 

[tempestjewel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jelinifer That is a really good idea!!! I really don't want to use disposables since they are so uncomfortable during regular periods anyways. How many did you need to order?

I have 4 long luna pads, and a dozen preemie prefolds. I didn't change the luna pad (that I used just as a holder) every time, so I got away with a small number of those. The preemie prefolds can later be used for doublers in cloth diapers, though I still use mine as mama cloth for overnight.

 

[Starfish11]

Prefolds are such a great idea! Th anks for sharing this; I never would have thought of that on my own.

 

[Jen H.]

Hey there, popping in from the May DDC to say that my MW advised against Always brand pads because of the plasticky stuff they use, which can cause infection by not allowing everything to "breathe" - similar to the reasons why you'd use cotton undies instead of polyester. She recommended Kotex brand for this reason.

 

[Kontessa]

My last DDC put in a group order for mama cloth specially for after baby is here and the heavy bleeding. I had 6 and wish I had more. They have gotten pilly over the years though. (I used them at night because they are comfy and no leaks and during the day use sea pearls)

This time I am either making my own mama cloth or buying some, not sure just yet. I will get a pack of disposables just for the first day or to so I can freeze an herbal mixture in them like last time and that was so helpful.

This baby I will FINALLY slow down, in the past I would be back at church and such the never next day. I learned, really I did!

 

[Starfish11]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jen H. Hey there, popping in from the May DDC to say that my MW advised against Always brand pads because of the plasticky stuff they use, which can cause infection by not allowing everything to "breathe" - similar to the reasons why you'd use cotton undies instead of polyester. She recommended Kotex brand for this reason.

I was told this, too, after a particularly beasty round of a yeast infection which would just not go away. ALWAYS also has some chemicals in it that create the "dry weave" but can be hostile to vaginas.

 

[JorgieGirl]

I wore depend style underwear and loved them. I hate pads, I hate feeling that bulk in one area. I found the whole absorbant underpant was less annoying and I didn't worry about accidentally ruining any undies.

You might try a few ways to catch the bleeding before you find one you like.

 

[NullSet]

In the past I have used my regular mama pads and just stuffed them super-full. So instead of just one, I would put three pieces of cloth in there. It seemed to work fine for me. And with a newborn I was already washing dipes more than normal (daily) so the mama cloth got thrown in with those. That way I didn't run out as they were being washed daily.

 

[dkenagy]

I like disposibles for the first few days for the same reasons others have stated; you can soak them in witch hazel and freeze them and they are absolutely HEAVENLY. There's a link from greenmountaindiapers to an alcohol-free witch hazel, if you are interested. I actually like Natracare disposible feminine products. That's the brand I use whenever I have had a period (like 5 in the last 8 years!!). I just got a variety of Lunapads and GladRags to try out when I got pregnant this time, so I haven't even used them yet. I do have one HUGE pp pad from Luna... I'm thinking of wearing it around the house to see how I handle the length, bulk and might order a few more, depending. Natracare makes a pp pad and the company is really super nice to work with, speaking from experience!