Having a baby, whether it’s a vaginal delivery or c-section, is no joke. Whether you have a fast labor, a long labor, one that is relatively easy or sheer hell-

You are gonna need to do some postpartum planning for pain relief and care- here’s a full postpartum recovery checklist!

Pushing a baby out takes tremendous strength and will power. It leaves all your tissues inflamed and you may need stitches which just sucks.

With my first baby, I did need stitches. It hurt to pee, it hurt to sit, it hurt to sneeze. I wasn’t prepared and sent my husband out to go get a bunch of random shit for me which was fine but I would have liked to be better prepared!

Enter- DIY PADSICLES. 

This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosure at the bottom of the page.

WHAT ARE PADSICLES?

Padsicles are made by putting common ingredients onto a pad (preferably a giant one), closing it back up and placing in the freezer.

Some people like to use ice packs but let’s face it, they’re super uncomfortable to use down there. A pad is perfect for down there and won’t feel as uncomfortable or bulky.

The extra healing ingredients help to soothe any inflammation or pain cause by stitches or bruising.

All you need is:

• Pads: Preferably large ones like these that will fit in the disposable underwear you brought home from the hospital.
• Witch hazel: Anti-inflammatory and anti-viral. Reduces skin irritation.
• Aloe vera gel: Anti-bacterial and accelerates wound healing.
• Lavender essential oil: Anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-septic, anti-microbial.

HOW DO YOU MAKE  HOMEMADE POSTPARTUM PADSICLES?

Open up your pad but don’t take the paper off the back. Spread it open.

Grab your aloe vera gel and generously apply, in a zigzag pattern from top to the very bottom.

Pour 1 teaspoon of witch hazel down the very center.

Add a couple of drops of lavender essential oil to the center as well.

Re-fold the pad. Repeat for as many as you want.

Place in a freezer safe bag in the freezer. Take out as necessary!

I DON’T WANT TO MAKE THEM. WHERE TO BUY PADSICLES?

I get it. You have a lot going on. Sometimes DIY’ing something is the last thing you want to do!

You can totally buy premade padsicles. They’re called Tucks and are supposed to be specifically for hemorrhoids but you can use them for this instance too! Grab some Tucks here.

WHERE CAN I FIND THE INGREDIENTS IF I DO WANT TO MAKE THEM?

You probably have at least one or two of these ingredients in your home.

Witch Hazel can be found in almost any grocery store or pharmacy. So far, we love the Thayers because it’s alcohol free! You can find it here.

Lavender essential oil can be found at health food stores or in the natural aisle at some grocery stores. So far, this kind has been my absolute favorite for a reasonable price.

Aloe vera gel you can get pretty much anywhere! I do recommend buying a brand that doesn’t have dyes or other weird ingredients since it will be in a sensitive area. This one is on Amazon for a good price and only has natural preservatives on the ingredient list aside from the aloe gel.

If you are just wearing panties, try to get some pads that have the sticky wings to attach it better.

If you’re going with the disposable underwear, grab the big pads with no wings. I like to have an assortment of different styles and sizes when I get home from the hospital.

DIY Padsicle (for postpartum relief)

Print

DIY, homemade postpartum padsicles for serious relief after childbirth. Made with witch hazel, aloe vera and lavender essential oil. Bring sweet relief to your lower area following a vaginal delivery.

Ingredients

• Pads
• Witch Hazel
• Aloe Vera Gel
• Lavender Essential Oil

Instructions

1. Open your pad but don't remove the back. Spread open.
2. Apply the aloe vera gel generously, in a zigzag pattern from top to bottom.
3. Pour 1 tsp of witch hazel down the center of the pad.
4. Add a couple of drops of lavender essential oil.
5. Place in a freezer safe bag in the freezer until needed.
6. Enjoy the sweet relief!

Looking for more postpartum advice?

• What To Do If Your Baby Has Colic
• Breastfeeding Tips For New Moms
• No Bullshit Breastfeeding Essentials
• What Do You Need For A Newborn? 
• Natural Energy Supplements For Moms
• Postpartum Recovery Checklist

HOW TO MAKE PADSICLES

HOW TO HEAL AFTER A C-SECTION

This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosure at the bottom of the page.

If you were googling “C-Section Recovery” or “C-Section Recovery Essentials”-

You’ve come to the right place. I’ve never had any experience with C-Sections myself so I asked my lovely sister-in-law, who has had 4 of them (and has 4 lovely, healthy children) to allow me to interview her for this article! 

You can check out this article for the full list of postpartum recovery essentials.

Can you introduce yourself and describe each c-section?

My name is Amanda and I am lucky enough to have four kiddos to love.  I’ve had four c-section recoveries!

Baby 1 was an emergency. After 12 hours of labour there was fetal distress to the point that it became necessary.

Baby 2 was breach right to the end. The doctors didn’t feel breach delivery was safe and attempting to turn the baby could also carry heavy risks. No vbac for me!

Baby 3 was elective, based on my risk factors and my chance of a successful vbac being very low.

Baby 4 was elective with a “high risk specialist” at my side, as the risks increase with every additional c-section.

How was the c-section recovery? Different or similar for each delivery?

The first c-section was most difficult to get through the first couple of days. My body was so exhausted after a labour followed by a major surgery. When my pain medications wore off, I was still having some contractions, and in a lot of pain. The good news was that after those first days, my recovery was surprisingly quick and easy!

Baby 2 and 3 were scheduled and similar to each other. I knew what to expect, and got through without complications.

Baby 4 was hard. I had some complications so my surgery was longer, I had a vertical incision, as well as my tubes tied.

My recovery was long and painful, but at exactly 6 weeks postpartum, in an almost miraculous way, I very suddenly bounced back.

What things came up after your c-sections during recovery that were unexpected? 

With Baby 1, I felt great by week two! They say don’t carry anything heavier than your baby for those 6 weeks of recovery. At about 4 weeks I thought I was totally fine, and I carried my baby in her car seat for about a block and then suffered in pain for a week after. When they say take it easy for 6 full weeks, you don’t know better, just listen to them!

You still bleed. After baby 1, I thought “well my belly looks like Frankenstein’s forehead, but I escaped all the other stuff.”

No, you still bleed afterward and I bled for over a month straight with all of my babies.

I had never had any kind of surgery and didn’t know more than the basics about c-sections before my first. I honestly expected to be bedridden. I was shocked to find out that you need to be up and walking around within hours of your surgery!

The first time you get up is a shock. 

With baby 1, When I tried to get up the first time, I just couldn’t do it and I cried and gave up. The nurses gave me more pain meds and came back in a few hours to make me try again. It took my breath away to get up for the first few days, but every day gets a little bit easier.

I was also surprised and amazed at my body and how quickly it was healing. Each day, I could actually notice that I was better than the day before. It’s so crazy to be in that state one day, feeling like you’ll never be the same again and then a week later, walking around with your baby and getting on with life!

I had never been terrified to sneeze before. Sneezing hurts…a lot.

And so does coughing…and so does laughing. After my fourth section, my 3 year old was suddenly a full blown comedian and I would beg her to stop. “Stop, stop, I’m gonna laugh. Stop!” And then I’d break and burst out laughing at her. Laughing while doubled over holding my stapled-shut stomach was a daily occurrence.

I’m not sure if everyone has this happen, but I would physically shake after the surgery. With baby 1, I was too afraid to hold her in the recovery room because i was shaking so hard.

You also can’t really breastfeed your baby immediately, because you are frozen and can’t feel if you are being pinched etc. As soon as you “thaw out” you can though, and that shouldn’t take too long. (You can still snuggle skin to skin until then!)

What are your absolute essentials for c-section recovery? 

1. A chair or couch that you can easily get out of, and maybe something next to it to help you pull yourself up. You’ll need to rely on your arms, not your abs to help you up. Same thing in bed, something to hold onto while you get up can be helpful.
2. Some help! Support people to help look after your other kids, cook and clean, Especially in the first couple of weeks.
3. A pillow. Keep a pillow next to you. If you need to cough, sneeze or laugh, hug that pillow tight against your incision to help you get through.
4. High waisted underwear. Go get some granny panties because there’s nothing worse than the elastic waistband of your underwear rubbing away at your raw incision all day.
5. On that note, soft and loose waisted pants, or better yet, dresses / clothing without waistbands at all.
6. Prune juice or stool softener. You’re not gonna want to strain any time soon.

What can you do in advance to be prepared for a c-section? (Physically and mentally?) 

• If you have a scheduled surgery, the hospital should give you a list of ways to prepare. Do all of it!
• Don’t expect your “birth plan” to be your reality. Things happen that are out of your control. If you set too much of an expectation, you might be disappointed. Remember that you and your baby’s health are what matters, and if you need a c-section to hold that baby, just appreciate that we live somewhere that can provide such an amazing an life saving intervention. (I’m From Canada by the way). ‘
• The usual prep for a baby, like frozen meals, having diapers and supplies, and having support people lined up.

What advice do you have for other moms who have one scheduled or may end up needing an emergency one? 

Remember that this will be a tiny dot in the timeline of your life. When you are going through something, remember you are going THROUGH it, meaning there will be a point where you come out the other side of it. Get through one day at a time. You can do this.

You have not failed!

I hear other c-section mothers say they feel like they “failed” by not giving birth vaginally.

I never felt this way, and I think women who do, could be less hard on themselves. You grew a human! Your body did something amazing and miraculous and if you are holding a healthy baby at the end of it, you are one of the lucky ones! To me it doesn’t matter if you have a c-section, or a vaginal birth, if you get an epidural or you don’t.

The delivery is just the means to getting to hold your baby in your arms.

Thank you so much for sharing all of that about c-section recovery with us Amanda! 

***

Are you in the process of recovering from a c-section or are you still pregnant? Let me know in the comments, I’d love to connect with you!

Looking for more postpartum care tips?

• Postpartum Recovery Checklist
• DIY Postpartum Padsicles
• How To Stop Colic
• Natural Energy Supplements For Tired Mommas
• No B.S. Breastfeeding Essentials
• No B.S. Newborn Essentials

VEGAN SALVE RECIPE

This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosure at the bottom of the page.

Healing Balm is called that for a reason. It also has a crazy amount of uses:

• diaper rash
• acne
• extremely dry skin
• different kinds of rashes
• minor scrapes/cuts
• dry paws on the dog
• eczema
• deep hair conditioner
• make-up remover
• reducing stretch marks during pregnancy

This DIY healing balm contains ingredients that can all be made organic and is safe for babies and pets. If you are vegan, omit the beeswax and use soy at the same ratio or candelilla at half the amount (ex. if it calls for 1/2oz use a 1/4 oz.) Leah over at fabulousfarmgirl.com has an awesome post on beeswax and alternatives! 

COCONUT OIL

• extremely moisturizing to the skin
• anti-inflammatory components which can help treat acne
• anti bacterial
• anti microbial

Coconut oil has many uses in our house! It’s an ingredient in my homemade lip balms, deodorants and creams. It shows up in our stir fry’s at dinner and sometimes I’ll blend it into my coffee for a vegan bulletproof coffee in the morning. And on a more risque note, it makes a great tasting and safe lube?

SHEA BUTTER

• moisturizing
• anti inflammatory
• anti aging
• restores skins elasticity
• reduce stretch marks
• reduces breakage and split ends in hair
• prevents hair loss
• natural conditioner
• wound healing

Shea butter is a fat taken from the nut of the African shea tree. It can be refined or unrefined. I recommend finding organic and unrefined as it is able to keep its vitamins and minerals during the extraction process! Shea butter is also something I use in almost all of my creams, lip balms and deodorants.

BEESWAX

• anti bacterial
• locks in moisture
• pain reliever
• anti inflammatory
• relieves fungal infections
• reduces stretch marks because of vitamin A
• stress reliever

Beeswax has so many amazing benefits. I definitely recommend using it in your cream but if you’re vegan and would rather not, I would go for the candelilla wax because it has some of the same benefits just not nearly as many. Please source it locally if possible!

LAVENDER ESSENTIAL OIL

• promotes wound healing
• relieves stress and anxiety 
• treats respiratory disorders
• induces sleep 
• anti bacterial
• treats acne
• relieves pain
• improves blood circulation

Lavender has been used for hundreds of years for so many things. At our house, we use it in creams and balms. I’ve made a ‘sleep stick’ which has a harder consistency than lip balm and is used for rubbing on pulse points to help you sleep or relax. Sometimes I dab undiluted lavender essential oil on a blemish to help clear it up faster.

It also works wonders in bath bombs, as an ingredient for an herbal sitz bath or mixing with epsom salts. I have made a linen spray made with strained tea from the flowers as well as the oil.

TEA TREE ESSENTIAL OIL

• natural sanitizer, even effective of killing the e. coli virus
• insect repellent
• natural deodorant (I use this in my homemade deodorant which I will link here when the post is finished)
• antiseptic
• treats acne
• promotes wound healing
• soothes skin inflammation 

Tea tree is amazing and can do so many good things, however, it has been known to be poisonous upon ingestion for humans and pets so store away from curious beings. It also can be harmful in large doses to pets through their skin. I personally choose to add this to my recipe because it is such a small amount distributed throughout that it’s severely diluted and I have never had a problem with my children or animals! If using this makes you uncomfortable in any way, please omit from the Magic Cream as it is not necessary.

ARROWROOT STARCH

• baby powder 
• a safe, gluten free thickening agent for lotions and cosmetics
• moisture absorbing
• promotes wound healing

Arrowroot is used in cooking and cosmetics in our house. We use it as a gluten free thickener in cooking and vegan puddings. I’ve made homemade foundation, blush and baby powder. Arrowroot is also an ingredient in my diy deodorant. It’s really become a staple in our home!