Advice on freezer meals, formula feeding, and C section post partum

T

tay7tay7

New member
Hi everyone! I'm currently a plus size FTM who is at 24w1d and I'm starting to plan things for when I get to 30w-40w to prep for post partum.

As of right now, my SO plans to take at least a month off, my sister will be visiting for about 2 weeks, and my SOs mom [who I adore] plans to visit quite a bit because she's only 2 hours away. My own mom and grandma will also be visiting but they live 4 hours away so a little less often.

So I'll have support luckily! My question here is because while I see a lot of advice post partum supplies and even meals, I don't really see things that fit the answer to my questions.

Basically I weigh 246 and stand 5'3 at the moment with an apron belly/B belly and will be having c section. I know the post partum care will be about keeping incision dry but what are some things should I have in my post partum kit?

For freezer meals, how many should I make? I'm sure we'll get take out sometimes but my mom, my sister, and my mom in law are not cooks and hate it. I don't expect my grandma to cook at her age. I'm the designated cook in my family and I enjoy doing it. But how much should I prep if on average we'll be feeding maybe 4-5 mouths at a time.

Finally, I will be exclusively formula feeding because of medication, what are some recommendations to help dry up the milk faster?

Tldr: What should I have on hand for apron/B belly postpartum c section recovery? How many freezer meals should I prep? And what helps dry up milk fast?

Thank you in advance for any help!
 
@tay7tay7 For c section recovery - you will get puppy pads, diapers, pads, and ice packs in the hospital. Take all of those home! Have lots of extra pads of different sizes and some adult diapers at home. What I didn’t realize is that you’ll bleed the same amount of time as if you had a vaginal, which for me was 7 weeks. Having a bidet was amazing to help with cleaning the bleeding especially in the beginning. If you don’t have one of those, look at still getting the Frida mom peri bottle to help with clean up. I used the hospital ice packs for about a week on my incision. I went home with all of my pain meds and didn’t need anything extra. You might also want to get stool softeners.
 
I also have a b belly. After I got out of the shower each night I laid in bed and basically lifted my belly up so my incision could fully dry before I put pjs on, after patting it gently with a towel. You’ll also want to make sure you lift up your b belly when showering so the body wash can run down and clean it. You aren’t supposed to actually clean the incision site for a bit so I put soap on my belly and let it run down.
 
@tay7tay7 High rise or low rise undies, just ones that won’t rub against the incision! I also liked a wedge pillow to help sleep. I am dramatic af so next time I will get one of those bed rails with a handle (commonly used for elderly people) to help me get in and out of bed easier.
 
@zac56wes I so considered the bed rails! I’m one week out and today is the first day I am feeling okay sitting up from bed. The first night home they would have helped so much.
 
@zac56wes I've heard horror stories, luckily my mom had two c-sections (but she's smaller than me so she never really had to worry about the apron-B belly thing) and she told me to get a walker either from Amazon or the thrift store. It was life saving and since it was mobile, she could also have it in the bathroom with her.
 
@tay7tay7 Similar B belly and apron to you, and they gave me coloplast interdry sheets at the hospital and some to take home. It's basically a dryfit-type sheet of wicking fabric that you place along the incision - the belly fold holds it in place - with at least two inches sticking out the side so the moisture is wicked away. They're amazing. They're pricey, so I'd see if they gave me some before ordering any.

If you're interested in a belly support to feel like things are being held together, the postpartum ones were not large enough for me, but they're the same thing as the bariatric ones - had a whole convo with my provider about them before I delivered - and it was much easier to find one that fit me searching for bariatric rather than postpartum.

Stool softeners, gas x, and fiber were key for the first week for me.

I wish I had spoken to my provider in advance about what the standard hospital dosages of tylenol and motrin were - I was discharged with "you can swing by the pharmacy and pick these up on the way home, it's not prescription" but that was really not the day we wanted to go swing by the pharmacy.
 
@tripletiger1200 My SO and I have already talked about not wanting to have to stop, so we already figured we'd have my sister or his mom swing by to pick up formula since I want to wait to see how the baby does with what the hospital provides. My sister as a baby had a hard time with having to switch formulas a lot so I don't want to stock up until I know what will work for him. But that's a great idea to verify about the pain killer. And the dry-fit sheet sounds like a great idea and thank you for the advice on the belly band. I have been looking for one but the sizing always seems a bit tight so that's a great place to start looking for one.
 
@tay7tay7 This is a timely thread. I am 6 days post partum with a c-section and an apron belly, so we’ll see how it goes! So far I’ll nth the suggestion for adult diapers for the first week - I used Amazon size XL and they were fine (I’m a size 26 for context), now am now switching to pads. If you don’t have a hair dryer I recommend getting one or a good fan so you can dry the incision (we’ll see how that goes tonight for me).

I am finding c-section recovery to be straight forward so far. I am takin prescription Motrin for pain, and it gets just a little easier every day. The biggest challenge in the first few days, both in the hospital and at home, is managing transitioning from sitting to standing and vice versa. I would take a look at the places you know you’ll be stationed for the first week or so - do you have good places to grab and push to support your weight while you’re getting up? Or brace yourself so you can slowly sit down? Is there adequate space nearby to put your stuff down so you don’t need to get up to get it? If not, you might consider pushing s table up to that area for week one. I also ended up needing extra pillows for the couch so I could sit further forward for the first few days, made it easier to stand and to be ready to grab things. Using blankets on chairs might help you be able to slide forward more easily if you need to. In short - for the first week, have some aids around!

For freezer meals… I am taking the opposite approach. Granted, I have less mouths to feed, but rather than prepping too much in advance we’re going to do lots of slow cooker dump meals. Just anything that can be made in one pot with minimal prep. That, box cereal, and sandwich supplies should get us through. But again, we have less people. Even if you don’t meal prep and advance, I would do a meal plan for month one, just so you don’t have to use mental energy to think of it later.

Wishing you the best!
 
@forrestm I'm so glad it's been straightforward for you and congratulations on the baby! That makes a lot of sense, and luckily, I'll probably be staying in our bedroom a lot just because we're setting it up to be our second nursery. But a table is a great thing to add, plus having something to use to help me get up and down off the bed. My mom suggested a walker cause she got one when she had a hysterectomy, and it helped out a lot getting in and out of bed. Might make a trip to a thrift store to pick u
p on. Thank you for your responses!
 
@tay7tay7 For freezer meals I can share what I made- I’m vegetarian but most of these entrees can be made with meat too. This is just for my husband and me, so if you’re feeding more it just wouldn’t last as long.

Butternut squash lasagna, 3 trays of enchiladas, 12 English muffin breakfast sandwiches, baked oatmeal, broccoli cheddar soup, 2 three-serving shepherds pies, a bunch of pumpkin zucchini bread, chocolate chip zucchini muffins, protein waffles, plus a bunch of frozen Trader Joe’s meals and bagels. I like to cook and also I’m a planner lol - I figured that if we’re freaking out about how to care for a newborn at least we won’t be hungry!

I’m trying to breastfeed so I don’t have personal experience on drying up milk but I’ve heard Sudafed can help with that! Just check with your doctor first because if you have any blood pressure issues it may not be good to take or may interact with something else you’re taking.
 
@7caldwell Thank you for these ideas! I love the idea of making a bunch of protein waffles. I have breakfast burritos on my plan but breakfast sandwiches would be a good alternative.
 
@tay7tay7 For my incision I snagged some of the disposable wash cloths from the hospital. I just felt better having a fresh towel to dry my incision with after every shower. Also, I slept propped up for almost a month. I used giant squishmallows we have but it made getting up and out of bed a lot easier. Will piggy back to say definitely get some stool softeners and fiber supplements for the first few weeks. As far as milk supply drying up I did not have a problem. In fact had the opposite. Really wanted to breastfeed and couldn’t. Some providers thought it might have been because of my emergency c section? Idk. But, anecdotally people have told me that peppermint helps dry up milk. Either drinking peppermint tea or putting oil on your nipples. Good luck with everything OP!
 
@annointed620 Thank you! I will have to snag some of those! I've also ordered some disposable wash cloths anyway from amazon because I figured it'd be easier for me to clean the baby until his cord nub falls off when he can have a real bath. Stool softeners are already in my cabinet, I bought a huge pack at Costco cause I'm on two iron pills a day and they are needed already. I'll add fiber supplements to that as well! And my mom said the same thing, she didn't have an issue with sore breasts or drying up. So hopefully that is hereditary for me.
 
@tay7tay7 I know it’s kind of off topic, but see if you can assure that they put a wound vac on the incision. It cut my pain in half (one of the nurses didn’t know exactly what it was and took it fully off for me to shower, it was so much more painful moving around the hour or so I was without it). I felt more at peace with it staying clean with my apron belly.

Also, I would tuck a folded receiving blanket over the waistband of some looser pants or underwear. It would wick away extra moisture. I healed so great doing all of this and I’m a slow healer.
 
@sglemom I will definitely put this on my birth plan and talk about it with my MFM. That's one of the thing I'm most worried about. I get very sweaty down there and have had yeast infections because of that, mostly in the summer which is when I'm due. Especially when I wear high waisted underwear. I've started to wear high waisted underwear and I use a dry spray down there to keep it dry to avoid yeast infection. So the idea of the of a pad or the blanket as well would be helpful even now as it gets warmer on the east coast. Haha.
 
@tay7tay7 I definitely feel you on that! I put monistat powder under my belly daily, I wear high waisted everything so nothing really absorbs under there. I also have a battery powered handheld fan (which was a must have for me in the hospital). After my c section I would lay on my back a few times a day and just air out my under belly with it, lol.
 
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