Giving birth to a baby can be traumatizing, especially for your lady parts. Queue the hero to the whole ordeal: postpartum padsicles! And no need to buy the expensive pre-made ones from the store, making DIY padsicles with essential oils at home is super easy and quick to do!
Literally, it took me less than 5 minutes, and saved me days of pain in my postpartum journey, so let’s get right to it.
*Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.
What are Padsicles and why make them?
Padsicles are essentially maxi pads loaded with aloe vera gel, witch hazel, and natural essential oils to promote healing which are stored in the freezer up until use.
This cold, soothing, and healing pad will help you deal with the pain of tearing and soreness while healing from giving birth.
Are they helpful?
With my first, I heard of buying medicated pads for postpartum and went on a search, with no luck. It seemed no stores had them in stock and I wasn’t able to order anything online at that time either.
So, DIY it was.
And boy was I glad I did this!
I had all the necessary materials on hand, and went to town, making about 15-20 pads that I stored in the freezer. And I used all of them.
Even though my birth story was such a blessing and I barely tore, they were a lifesaver! However, that was not the only thing I did to prepare my perineum for childbirth. I highly recommend following these tips on how to prevent tearing during childbirth, they have saved me a ton of pain and stitches!
Using these DIY padsicles with essential oils was my daily treat to myself, a way to pamper myself after giving birth. And plus, they are so much cheaper and budget friendly than buying the premade ones.
So, with my second child coming any day now, I have already prepared a bunch of pads that are waiting for me in the freezer, and it feels so good to know they are done and ready to go!
Related Posts:
–Postpartum Recovery Essentials
–8 Things Every Mom Should Know About Postpartum Depression
–9 Ways Your Body Changes After Pregnancy
What you need for DIY padsicles with essential oils
Making these padiscles is fun, easy, and super cheap!
You will need:
Maxi Pads
Make sure to get super big and extra-long pads! You will be sore everywhere down there, so making sure you are covered from front to back is key! Plus, every time you use the bathroom you will want to change these, so make sure to make plenty!
Aloe Vera Gel
The aloe vera gel is the soothing component of the padsicles and speeds up the healing process. Personally, I had already made my own aloe vera gel in the summer that I used, however, with my first I used a big bottle of aloe vera gel that I got at my local grocery store.
Witch Hazel
Make sure you get the NO ALCOHOL witch hazel, or else you will be burning down there! The exact opposite of the soothing effect we are trying to achieve here!
Essential Oils
There are 3 key essential oils you will want to use on your DIY padsicles with essential oils. They are:
- Lavender
- Geranium
- Roman Chamomile
Lavender is the most soothing, calming, and relaxing essential oil out there when it comes to postpartum healing. Its soothing properties will help ease any irritation, soothe inflammation, and speed up the healing process.
I absolutely love and adore DoTerra essential oils, as I know they are completely pure, natural, and safe to use topically and internally! (many brands do not allow internal use of essential oils; this usually means they are not 100% pure)
Geranium oil is helpful in soothing and softening the skin. It is also very helpful in preparing and softening the skin before giving birth to prevent any tearing in the first place!
Just like the geranium oil, roman chamomile is soothing and healing for the skin when applied topically.
What kind of brand of essential oils you use is up to you, however, please do yourself and your body the favor and make sure to do some research on the different companies! There are lots of companies out there that claim they are 100% pure and natural, however, they cannot be used internally, when pregnant, and on children. Makes you wonder why…
Like I mentioned, I use and love DoTerra oils, and in case you’re interested in joining DoTerra’s team and warehouse, shoot me a message below and I can help get you started!
How to Make Postpartum Padsicles
- Open your maxi pads and lay them flat. Do not remove them from the backing, we will leave them on so you can fold it back up again for storing.
- Spread a thin layer of aloe vera on top of the pad, make sure to get it almost everywhere!
- Using a spray bottle, spray the pad with witch hazel. Don’t drench it, just get it saturated.
- I made a perineum healing spray out of the essential oils (see note for recipe). Spray the pad generously.
- Fold the pads back up and use a rubber band to hold them together if necessary.
- Store them in a Ziploc bag in the freezer.
Note 1: I found that taking these out of the freezer and putting them on right away stung a little bit (almost like a freezer burn). That is why I suggest leaving them out of the freezer for a few minutes before putting them on. That way they are still nice and cool without any stinging!
To make the whole process easier to understand, enjoy this very detailed video on how to make the pads, plus, there are tons more tutorials like this one on YouTube, so make sure to look there as well!
I really do hope you give these a try, they were the only thing I truly looked forward to in my postpartum journey. Let me know how they went and if you enjoyed using these!
Until next time,
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