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When I first got pregnant, I had a small sense of how labor and delivery would go. I had read some books and talked to some friends about their experiences. But one thing that kind of blindsided me was postpartum recovery. Thankfully the friends had clued me in on what recovery would be like because otherwise I would have no idea! No one seems to talk about postpartum recovery. But here are some tips about making postpartum recovery better. And yes, it is normal to feel like your guts are falling out of your body. (Make sure you also check out my tips that all pregnant ladies should read.)

I talk a little bit more about these and other tips in an episode of my Quirky Parenting podcast with my husband. You can listen online or you can download it from the iTunes store.

It’s Okay to Steal

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m normally a totally upstanding citizen. But when we were preparing to leave the hospital, a nurse clued us in to the fact that they just throw away anything in your room that you haven’t used. So now I tell all pregnant mothers this:

When you leave the hospital, take everything that isn’t nailed down.

Okay, maybe not that much, but take all of the diapers, wipes, mesh underwear, giant pads, plastic tubs for washing baby, baby hats, plastic bottle, and the giant mug for water. Take it home and use it because believe me, it will come in handy.

Shop Ahead of Time

The easiest way to prepare is to shop ahead of time. There are several things you will need:

• Large overnight maxi pads
• Granny panties at least one size bigger than normal (and NOT white!)
• Stool softeners
• Cooling pads
• Lanolin cream
• Nursing pads

Don’t Compare

I already talked about how pregnancy can treat women differently. Postpartum recovery is the same way. Some women can go grocery shopping the day after giving birth while others are practically bed bound for weeks. I’ve even experienced a huge difference between the recovery from delivering my first child and my second.

Do what you can, but don’t push yourself too hard.

Personally, it took me weeks to recover from my first labor and delivery. Between giving birth and having influenza at 8 months pregnant, I was so worn out I could hardly function. There was no way I was going to do anything besides watch a lot of TV. But I know women who went to Target a few days after giving birth and, besides having to use the cart to shuffle along, had a great time.

Don’t Be Afraid of #2

So many women tend to fear that first bowel movement after baby. I get it. The thought can be very intimidating. But let me tell you, it doesn’t have to be scary.

The scarier you hype the poo up to be, the scarier it will be.

It definitely is a self-fulfilling prophecy. I didn’t worry about it at all and it was totally fine. One other thing I did that probably helped was

Taking stool softeners for a while will help calm your fears.

It’s Okay That You’re Hardly Peeing

After a few weeks of recovery with my first baby, I literally googled “how often should I pee?” I was so used to peeing every 10 minutes when pregnant that I thought something might be wrong with me because I was only going a few times a day. Nope. That’s normal.

It’s normal to not visit the bathroom hundreds of times a day to pee.

Once I figured out it was normal, I was very glad to not be as acquainted with the bathroom as I had been during pregnancy.

Remember to Eat

I used to laugh when someone would say that they just forgot to eat. What do you mean forgot to eat? Eating is fabulous. I live for eating. But with a newborn, you might actually forget to eat. Or worse, want to eat but be unable to get out from under a nursing or sleeping baby.

Have a plan for eating throughout the day and stash snacks nearby.

When Mac was a newborn, Andrew would make me a giant smoothie every morning. He would put in frozen fruit, yogurt, and whatever else we had around. Then he would fill up my smoothie cup and leave it next to me on the coffee table. It was within arm’s reach and was filling enough to sate my appetite if it was the only thing I had until lunchtime.

Stay Hydrated

Just as it is important to have snacks around, it is also important to stay hydrated. Even if you aren’t a breastfeeding mama, staying hydrated and treating your body right will help you heal faster.

Keep your water bottle full and don’t ignore your thirst.

Every morning when Andrew would make my smoothie, he would also fill up my giant (stolen from the hospital) water bottle with ice and water. It gave me a good start to the day.

Make Sleeping More Comfortable

Now, forgive the lack of details, but the first few months with a baby go by in a blur. But one night when Mac was young, I woke up in an absolute puddle of milk. My side of the bed was so wet, but I was so tired. Instead of changing the sheets, I just got a towel and went back to bed.

Sleep with a towel under your upper torso for the first few months.

After that incident, I just started sleeping with a towel under me. Every night for about four months, I slept on the towel. I just had to change it occasionally when there was a spit-up or milk incident.

What other tips do you have for postpartum recovery? Let me know below. Also take a listen to my postpartum recovery and other parenting tips podcast.