Baby · motherhood · pregnancy
My Favorite Postpartum Care & Baby Recipes
In my last weeks of pregnancy I had a lot of time on my hands! Izzy was two weeks late and I often paced our floors wondering what life would be like when she arrived. During this waiting period I researched homemade postpartum and baby products. I found a few things to be extremely helpful! Here are recipes I tried and loved.
DIY Postpartum and Baby products
- Frozen Postpartum Pads – I found this recipe from Passionate Homemaking and I LOVED having these when I came home from the hospital. Essentially you put witch hazel, aloe vera, and lavender oil on a maxi pad and stick it in the freezer.
- Homemade Baby Wipes – I love that these baby wipes don’t contain any harmful chemicals and they use a lot of the same ingredients as the postpartum wipes! I found the recipe from Wellness Mama. The hardest part was cutting the paper towels in half. I made them before Izzy was born and kept them in the fridge to help preserve the wipes.
- Healing Sitz Bath – I heard of a sitz bath during our birthing class, but the hospital never told me I needed to do it so I didn’t. After I came home from the hospital, I noticed I wasn’t healing properly (AH!). So I called the doctor and they recommended a sitz bath at least once a day for 20 minutes. I bought the sitz tub to put over our toilet at a local medical supply store for $13. They have them cheaper on Amazon. I HIGHLY recommend buying it before birth (learn from my mistakes). At first they said I may need reconstructive surgery 6 weeks postpartum, but with the help of a herbal sitz bath and many prayers I healed on my own!
- After a little bit of research and advice from my husband here is what I included in my sitz bath:
- Hot Water (I filled the sitz tub 3/4 of the way)
- 2 Tablespoons Baking Soda
- 1/2 cup Epsom Salt
- 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
- 2 Tablespoons Witch Hazel
- I also added essential oils, lavender and chamomile (optional)
- Articles I found on Sitz Baths
For the Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold From those who walk uprightly. Psalm 84:11
I’ve wanted to make my own wipes for a while but haven’t ever gotten around to finding a good recipe. I’m excited to try it now!
It is super easy and definitely worth it. I love the smell of homemade wipes!
Uncle Matt and I made our own wipes for the kids, too. It was much more cost effective and I felt better about using these with the kids. I purchased an electric knife (the kind used to cut meat or bread) to cut the paper towel rolls.
We would often sit around in the evenings pulling the sheets off of the rolls and stacking them in containers. We would add the solution closer to actually needing more wipes, but it was always nice to have the “hard part” of the project already done.
When my son was born, I tore really badly and had severe bruising and swelling. I wished very much that I had made “padsicles” and bought a sitz bath ahead of time! This time around, I plan to be prepared!