This postpartum cart changed my life! Welcoming a new baby into the world is an exciting time, but the 4th trimester, as they call it, can be a lot, and you want to be prepared to make it an easier transition. As moms, we spend a lot of time focusing on the baby’s needs, often forgetting what we need to help recover during our postpartum care. I wish I had this with my first postpartum recovery journey.

Having this postpartum care cart the second time around has been the best thing ever, and I cannot recommend it enough. I wanted to ensure I was fully stocked up on everything before the baby arrived to make my postpartum experience the best it could be, diapers and all. 

To help keep things organized, I used the IKEA drawer separators called Skubb boxes and IKEA’s Raskog metal cart.

Here’s everything I stocked my postpartum care cart with, I’m going to break my cart down from top to bottom.

Top Shelf

• Maxi pads
• Postpartum disposable underwear 
• Baby wipes
• Portable breast pump
• Perineal Spray
• Magnesium spray
• Arnica gel
• Arnica tablets 
• Natural hemorrhoid cream (if you know, you know) 
• Nipple Butter (You have to take care of the girls!) 
• BeautyNut Skincare Lip Butter
• Perineal Healing Foam
• Magnesium Balm
• Hand Sanitizer 
• Water Bottle

Second Shelf

• Instant Maxi Pad Ice Packs
• Adult Disposable Diapers (Trust me, you need these!)
• A variety of different pads and flow sizes; depending on the day, the flow could be very different, and you want to be prepared.
  • light
  • medium
  • Heavy
• Cooling wipes
• Nursing bras
• Silver nursing cups 
• Hydrogel nipple pads

Bottom Shelf

• Epsom Salts 
• High-rise black cotton underwear 
• Upside Down Peri Bottle 
• Muscle melt lotion

For the first 48 hours, I make sure to ice, ice, ice to help bring down that swelling and bruising. I don’t focus on using any sprays during the first 2 days. I will continue to ice on and off throughout the first week as well but usually just once a day. During the first week I use primarily the adult diapers the entire time as your flow is just very heavy during this time. I will layer up with an ice pack as well as alternate between my perineal sprays.

A typical bathroom visit during those first few weeks will look like this:

After I use the bathroom, I will rinse with warm water using my peri bottle. Pat dry with a wad of toilet paper (do not rub). Spray with a cooling perineal spray, layer either an ice pack with a diaper or once I’m out of the diaper stage at least during the day I will layer a maxi pad with disposable underwear. As long as I don’t leak, I will reuse the disposable boxer brief underwear for 1-2 days. The ones from Frida are super stretchy and comfortable, especially around the belly. I alternate between different pads depending on my flow and the time of day. 

One thing I did differently this time around that my midwife recommended was to allow my lady bits to air dry once a day so they aren’t always “moist.” Exposure to air can help things breathe and help healing. I only did this once my flow isn’t as heavy.

Most importantly, I rested and focused on taking care of myself, which meant eating nourishing meals (dropped off by family) and taking naps when I could. After a couple of days, I also started to do 360 belly breathing (approved by my pelvic floor physiotherapist), which helped me to reconnect with my body, pelvic floor, and core. 

What helped you the most with your postpartum recovery journey? Tell me below!