OH I hate to ask this...but personnal ? about mommy care post baby

[mama2be]

I have few questions, I went today and bought my formula and was trying to decide on Sanitary napkins post birth. Keep in mind I'll be home about 8 hours after birth so won't be at a hospital setting to stock up or get a stash...so I need to be prepared at home...I know nothing about sanitary napkins, always risked the toxic shock and totally used tampons 100% of the time...

Do I want huge Sanitary Napkins or possibly Depends that resemble panties...I want to do the witch hazel on them and put them in the freezer as recommended a few weeks back but will they dethaw and get my clothes wet??? I almost bought the depends but they seem to market that they are good for incontinence (pee)...and I guess I need soemthing that good for "stuff" (assume blood, tissue etc....)...

Also how many do I need, how long are you in them...how often do you feel like you need to change them...

Now on to the boobs...I am not breast feeding but do I still need those little breast pads for leaking etc??? I am going to look into getting cabbage per Alexa's recommnedation but still wonder what I need for them...

Thanks guys...

[Rachels]

Soft cotton maxis are the most comfortable. I never used Depends but needed the overnight super-thick maxis for a while. I came home after 6 hours post-birth, and those were fine. If you have 3 or 4 packs on hand, that will get you started and may even be all you need. I had 4 weeks of bleeding, but it was only crazy heavy for a few days. Stayfree pads were my favorite-- really soft.

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[gour0]

Q: why witch hazel?

[blnony]

I recommend the old fashioned StayFree super maxis. These are nice not only for the absorbency, but for the cushion. I also bought some of those big granny panties from Target. I loved them. I still wear them occasionally (although I hate to admit it)LOL!
ALso, one of the other not so pretty things I recommend are stool softeners. I had a nurse in the hospital recommend using them for at least a week after. I think that was the best advice I recieved in the hospital. The preparation h wipes are great too. They are witch hazel cloths. These were wonderful for a variety of reasons.

[jojo2324]

Witch hazel is soothing, especially when you feel swollen or aflame. I remember feeling very hot down there. Those pads at the hospital that you could stick in the freezer were a godsend. But I hadn't heard of freezing them with witch hazel. THAT is a good idea. Next time. The nurses told me to stop using the frozen pads after the first day or so because then it wouldn't be doing me any good. Well, poo on them because they felt @*&^ good and I was gonna keep using them!

Anyway, I second the vote for StayFree. They did the trick and they were thin. Skip Kotex, at least that's my personal opinion. They were very thick and the webbing, or whatever it was, was very uncomfortable for me. The thick ones are good for the beginning though. But that crazy heavy bleeding doesn't last too long, maybe a week at most? Gosh, I can't believe I can't remember!

I found that after a few weeks I was able to move on to pantiliners (sp?). I think I used CareFree. I used two packages of maxi pads and then just moved onto the pantiliners. I was pretty much done bleeding by my 6-week visit.

In the beginning I was changing those blasted pads every time I went to the bathroom, sometimes more. And, to be completely honest, I was sick of the pads about twelve hours after I gave birth, as I had abandoned them sometime back in eighth grade. Be prepared for a lot of bleeding. Don't plan on wearing any socks you want to keep. Sorry to be so graphic, just speaking the truth my friend!

[mamahill]

I bought a box of Always Super pads from Costco and I think I used most of them (it's a box of 64). I bled a lot the first week, about the equivalent of my period (which is actually pretty heavy) the second, and then enough for the thinner pads the third week. I think halfway through the fourth it tapered off. Change them as much as you want. I was a tampon girl and HATED pads, so I changed every time I went to the bathroom. I only used the huge pads from the hospital for the first couple days. By the time I came home (two days later) I was into the overnight pads by Always.

I don't know a lot about the bfing thing since we do bf, but a friend of mine said that the first week or so you DO leak because you're engorged. So you might want to invest in a box of disposable pads. Maybe someone else knows better. That's just what I seem to recall my friend saying.

[mama2be]

OOOPS I meant for this to go to the above post...we must have been posting at the same time...thanks for answering the question for us!!!

OH I forgot who mentioned it but it evidently feels good...:) I don't know if it has a medical benefit or just feels good though...

[etwahl]

Neve, I am with you in that I HATE pads. I've always hated them, even as a teen. It's one of those things I'm so not looking forward to.

My one friend can't use tampons, so I just asked her what she uses - Always thin ultra (have wings). I asked her about Stay Free, which she said she has never used. She said there is also a "long" version which might be good for night time use. I'm thinking the thinner version for daytime use and going out of the house, and then a thicker version for sleeping. Oh how I dread this part.

Has anyone else tried Always? Thoughts?

Tammy,
Mom-to-be Mar 8, 2003!

[JMarie]

Thank you so much for asking this - I was just about to post the same thing!

JMarie
EDD 2/23/03
Aidan Christopher

[mama2be]

Tammy,

I'll leave it to our experienced crew...but I think what is going to come out of us is going to be differnt than the norm menstrual flow...(gals is that correct)...so something might work well for your friend for her period, but I think we will need something more "industrial"...I am refering to that your friend said she uses "thin" ones...

My friend didn't go into detail too much at the time but I remember her acting like she needed heavy duty items...

Yikes!!!!

[etwahl]

That's true! So since the consensus seems to be Stay-Free, is there a particular type that is recommended? Or are they just called Stay-Free maxi pads? Since I never buy this stuff, only see the huge aisle of them, I can imagine myself getting overwhelmed by the huge choices.

It seems bad enough that we will have just gone through labor, but to then wear something the equivalent of a small diaper under our clothes - how unfair! Oh, and I just love the way they squeak when you walk.

Tammy,
Mom-to-be Mar 8, 2003!

[Momof3Labs]

Well, I've been a tampon-hater for years, so I feel pretty qualified to give maxi-pad advice! My all-time favorites are the Kotex ultra-thin. They come in regular and long. I've never had one of these leak on me, and that's with some pretty heavy bleeding. They are thin but absorb like nobody's business.

I used the hospital cold-pads for the first day (I'm with you, Paula - they felt goooood!) and then the hospital maxis. The thick hospital maxis felt good for a few days, but then I was ready to not feel like I was wearing a diaper, and switched to my Kotex ultra thin longs. If I had gone home after 8 hours to my own linens, I would have picked up a small package of Depends - the bleeding was pretty heavy for the first day or so.

After a couple of weeks, I was using the ultra thin regulars and then eventually moved to pantiliners. The Kotex Lightdays seem to be a little more absorbent than most pantiliners.

You are supposed to change your pad everytime you go to the bathroom, although I didn't do that once the bleeding let up. I don't remember much tissue loss, it was more just heavy bleeding.

Oh, and about those Depends being good for pee - well, I hate to break it to you, but that can be an issue also. I completely wet myself 2 or 3 times in the first week because I was just so numb down there that I couldn't feel the "urge". I called my OB's office in a panic and was reassured that the feeling would return. It did, thank goodness!! (Could have been because of my third degree tear :-( I'm not sure.)

I know - it all sounds awful - but you will be so caught up in taking care of your new baby and learning those ropes that this really won't be that big of a deal!

Lori & Colin 9/28/02

[Sandy]

I used the long always super maxi with wings and the overnight's with wings and they were still pretty thin but super absorbant so they worked really well for me.

[sweetbasil]

Since the "flow" issue has been covered, I'll put in my 2 cents on nursing pads. I tried several name brands from Target (gerber, maybe?), but ended up loving the brand they carried at Motherhood Maternity. They're Curity Nursing Pads, and were thicker than all others I tried. Plus- big bonus here- they've got a thin plastic-like backing. The plastic backing was nice when the pads got really full because it wouldn't soak through to my bra. I think they even had adhesive to secure in the bra, but I never used that part. They cost $4.75 for a box, and unfortunately, I had to buy these for the WHOLE first year I nursed.

But since you're not planning to bf, hopefully you'll dry up really quick, and it won't be an issue :)

HTH!

[brubeck]

Make sure you get a squirt bottle from the hospital for cleaning! You will appreciate having nothing but warm water touching your tender parts down there.

You could buy a few Tucks pads for the Witch Hazel effect (also good if you get hemerroids from all the pushing).

Also, my hospital used diapers for the frozen packs. They would put water on them (but not enough to drench them) which would be absorbed by the gel inside and then they froze them. VERY nice and then when they melted they would still absorb some gore. Just buy a super cheap bargain brand of diapers (size 1 should do it) if you want to try this.

[Rachels]

The cottony pads are more comfortable than the super-thin mesh ones, I found. That mesh can stick to you-- ow ow ow.

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[mama2be]

My college room mate called them "logs" :)...

[nigele]

Neve,

Looks like you have plenty of advice here but I wanted to put a vote in for Always Super long pads with wings (you GOTTA have wings!) Your flow will be really heavy and you will ruin your underwear if you don't have side protection from the wings! Even with them, don't wear any of your really good underwear! It is quite gory the amount of blood and other "stuff" that leaves your body after giving birth! Always now makes really thin, super pads. I would buy 4 or 5 packs as you will go through them really quickly.

In the hospital, they provided these pads that you bent in half which set off a chemical reaction in a gel inside and it got freezing - what a relief. Maybe you can buy some of these at a medical supply store?

[nohomama]

Neve,

There are a lot of recommendations for Always pads here but I'd tell you to go with Stay Free. I hated the "dry weave" that they cover the pads in. It's supposed to make you feel "dryer" and tidier but in this instance, it made me feel the opposite.

[mama2be]

I had to hesitate to ask such a question...and here just a few hours later you all jumped in and gave me such great advice!!!

You all are the greatest!!!!

[brubeck]

Neve,

Don't worry about ruining your underwear. Just wear your old maternity underwear until you stop bleeding. You were going to chuck them anyhow, right? :-)

[etwahl]

I wonder if I'm the only one wearing my normal underwear. I just didn't really want maternity underwear for some reason. I guess I prefer the "under the belly" clothes for the most part. I'm still wearing my thongs when I am out and about and cotton panties (jockey) when I'm at home and for sleeping. I'm hoping these will be good for that first month afterwards (definitely no thongs) but will probably buy more to get me through.

Tammy,
Mom-to-be Mar 8, 2003!

[Rachels]

Giving birth changes your relationship to privacy! I have trouble imagining a too-personal question from another woman about baby-having. Ask anything you need to!

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[newbelly2002]

Such great advice!

I second all of it--especially the Stay Free and the freezer packs, stool softeners [and whatever you do--despite your terror--do NOT wait to go. I did. For 6 days. Ouch] and most importantly squirt bottle. Four days out I was in B&N while waiting for our first ped. visit. I went to the bathroom and panicked when I realized that my squirt bottle was at home. I honestly didn't know what to do. A friend of mine packed one in her purse for the first 2-3 weeks.

And Tammy, I too prefered under the belly style clothes. I just stayed with my regular underwear (not a thong girl, but low slung bikini) for the entire pregnancy. In the last 2 months I bought a pack of the usual style, one size up. I did buy a few pairs of the awful maternity ones for the hospital and immediate post hospital, but could never bring mysef to wear them. I hated anything--even post delivery--stretching across my belly. EVentually I cut them up, unused, and made dusting rags out of them.

Good luck!!
Paula

[danielleh]

I have used Always for years for regular periods and they worked well for me after giving birth too. The ultra thin overnights were good for the first week and then I was able to switch to the super or regular. I think I went through 2 packages of each size. The pads look very thin, but they hold a lot.

HTH,
Danielle
mom to Jimmy born 8/29/02

[spu]

I used Always when I got home. I used them before I got pg too, so it's what I was used to. I had a c, but I imagine the cushion from another brand might be nice for a vag. birth. Most of the bleeding happens in the first few days. By the time I left the hospital (4 days later) it was much more under control.

Stock up on towels though. The night sweats were awful. I'd wake up soaked 2 or 3 times in the night (in addition to nursing the babies) and put a new towel on the bed to sleep on.

I second the notion of 'ask anything..." after having a baby, there's really no such thing as modesty. :)

I never bought maternity undies either. I prefered the under belly style of a bikini too. I don't think maternity undies would have fit my huge twin belly anyways! LOL!

susan

twin girls 7.20.02
charlotte & else

[jojo2324]

Ah, the squirt bottle was the best! The Lamaze instructor gave us a little trick. Just before you pee, give a little squirt so the urine doesn't sting. Worked like a charm.

I didn't mind my maternity undies! :P I remeber being 5 months PG and thinking, "There is NO way I am ever going to wear those." And then three weeks later it seemed like they were too small! But I liked the belly panel style pants too, which most people seem to detest. If things are around my hips I'm constantly tugging and yanking and making quite a spectacle of myself. Sometimes I wore my normal thongs and those were probably most comfortable. (I got maternity ones and they seemed like such a waste.) Next time I'll venture into side panels and under the belly pants. Next time...A colleague of DH's just had her second baby, a girl, yesterday. Her first, a boy, turned one the end of October. So I've currently got some baby fever going on. And I really want a girl. And I always said if I had kids I wanted them close together...

[Zansu]

As another haven't-used-a-pad-since-jr-high girl, I used Always pads. They make a nice combo box, with three sizes. I also ended up buying another box of the long overnight type to use before I started using the medium size.

Stool softener is a must. Just get a bottle OTC; it's cheap.

The one other thing that I took home from the hospital was, for lack of a better description, a solarcaine-type aerosol for "personal" use. I haven't seen it in a chain drugstore, but they might be able to order it for you.

HTH
Suzanne

[blnony]

I forgot to mention this in my earlier post. I used Dermaplast Spray at the hospital and also bought another can when I got home. This is a must, if you have any tearing or episiotomy (spelling?). I live in the Durham/Raleigh area (I think the same area as Neve) and I found it at Eckerd's. I have also seen it at the Target in Cary. This was the best stuff in the world. I can't believe I'd forgotten about it. Well four and half months of no sleep will do that to you!LOL.

[Rachels]

I carried so low! My regular underwear would have cut iff the blood flow to my legs! I wore the Bravado under-belly maternity underwear. Comfy, not too horrible, and great for containing pads the size of Wisconsin!

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[Shirale]

I, too never wore maternity Underwear...used my reg bikini and for the last 2 months and post delivery bought a larger size. I also had a C so the bleeding wasn't too horrible, only for the first day or so, then pretty light for a couple of weeks- it stopped at around 4 weeks and then started up again at 6....oy the joys. :-)
I used to be such a prude and now...forget it! I guess after having countless people whose names you don't even remember stick their hands up you, see you totally naked and help you go to the bathroom, well- you get my point! :-)

[mcmorfit]

I'm still wearing my pre undies as well. I like the under the belly action, so they have fit. Although, I am going to go out a buy a new supply before the baby arrives, so I can have some new ones when the bleeding stops - somthing to look forward to!

Ellen
EDD 2/23/03

[KathyO]

Yeah, another woman will be even franker, possibly, than your Ob/Gyn! Mine was on a trip to Australia when I delivered (I was late), so her designated alternate took care of me. He was competent, pleasant, experienced, but - I swear to God - BLUSHED and MUMBLED when he had to say any of THOSE words. He really DID say, "Well, you'll, um, want to make sure you keep it clean, um, "down there"..."

You're an Obstetrician/Gynaecologist and you can't say, "VA-GI-NA"??? Whoaaa!!!

Cheers,

KathyO

[MartiesMom2B]

Tammy:

Do you like me have and underwear that you set aside for that time of the month? You could use those. Or you can buy new undies afterwards and use your current ones. Or like in college, when I didn't feel like going to the laundromat you can run to Walmart and get a pack of undies for $3.00.


Sonia
EDD 4/14/03

[August Mom]

I'm not sure how many nursing pads you will need as you are not breastfeeding, but as a breastfeeding mother, I've tried most brands of nursing pads out there (J&J, Gerber, Lansinoh, Medela, Avent) and I second the vote for Curity Nursing Pads. The ones I use do not have adhesive backing. I actually like that part. They are between $4.50 and $5.00 per box of 60. I buy them at Meijer or Discount Drug Mart.

[August Mom]

I found that the Always Long Overnights worked well. And, you can fill them with water or another liquid and then put them in the freezer. That's actually the brand that my hospital used for the frozen packs. In the beginning, you may want to use the frozen pack on top of another, thicker pad (or Depend). I changed mine at every bathroom visit. I think I went through 2 packages of pads (plus what I took from the hospital) and then changed to pantiliners. I had some bleeding for the first 6 weeks or so.

I would think you would be very engorged when your milk comes in but you are not breastfeeding. I would recommend an ice pack and one of those packs you can heat in the microwave. I was engorged (even though breastfeeding) and those items seemed to help (as well as warm showers).