After hours of labor, pushing, and delivery, a stash of frozen postpartum pads on-hand can provide instant soothing and cooling relief. This post will show you how to DIY at home.
There’s a lot to prepare for after birth, and there are a few postpartum recovery essentials you 100% need to have at home for your recovery and healing. These DIY frozen postpartum pads are one of them.
This article covers:
- What is a frozen postpartum pad?
- What you’ll need
- How to make a “padsicle”
- How long you’ll need ice pads
- Frozen pad alternatives
What is a “padsicle,” aka a frozen postpartum pad?
If you don’t know what a padsicle is, you’re about to have your mind blown. First, let’s cover why you’d need a frozen postpartum pad in the first place.
When you give birth vaginally, there is a lot of pushing involved and, sometimes, vaginal tears ranging first to fourth degrees.
Didn’t have a vaginal birth? If you pushed for several hours before your cesarean delivery, you can still have swelling that could use some soothing relief in the form of a frozen pad.
So, a padsicle is a sanitary pad layered with aloe vera gel and witch hazel re-folded and frozen for cooling relief upon use. We’ll explain how you can easily make your postpartum pads at home.
What you’ll need to make a padsicle
Here’s what you should have on hand to create your own DIY frozen postpartum pads at home.
Note: feel free to use whatever brands of pads, witch hazel, aloe vera, etc., that you prefer; just double-check that your witch hazel is alcohol-free. Vaginal tears plus alcohol equals no fun and a lot of stinging.
We’ve linked our current favorites for you.
Supplies you’ll need:
- Postpartum pads like these or these
- Alcohol-free witch hazel (very important it’s alcohol-free!)
- Aloe vera gel
- Lavender essential oil (optional)
- Tbsp. measuring spoon
- One gallon-sized Ziploc bag
How do you make a frozen postpartum pad?
1. Gather your supplies
Easy as that – gather everything you’ll need to make these pads and find a clean, flat surface to work on.
2. Partially open the pad
A few helpful tips: make sure to leave the adhesive backing on, and if there are wings on the pad, remove the paper but save it to re-attach. You will eventually re-wrap the pads to store them, so keeping all of the original paper is essential.
3. Spread aloe vera along the entire top
Generously squirt a line of aloe vera gel along the whole top of the pad. You can choose to smooth it in with a spoon or leave it as is – up to you.
4. Pour witch hazel on top of aloe
Then, fill a tbsp. with witch hazel (remember, make sure it’s 100% alcohol-free like this one) and layer the witch hazel as evenly as possible on top of the aloe vera gel.
You can also squirt the desired amount of witch hazel onto the pad, as shown in the photo below. The choice is yours!
5. Option to add essential oil
You can add one drop of lavender essential oil to the pad for extra soothing relief if you’d like. Lavender is known to ease inflammation and soothe swelling.
Alternatively, if you opt for the postpartum herbal-infused pads by Honey Pot Co., there is already lavender (and other soothing herbs) infused into the organic cotton.
6. Re-wrap each pad, taping closed if needed
Once everything is on the pad as you wish, wrap everything back up, taking extra care to ensure all of the pad adhesive is covered with the protective paper. This will help make sure that parts of your frozen pad don’t stick together.
7. Store in the freezer in a resealable bag
Stash the pads you’ve made in a resealable bag and pop them in the freezer to chill until you need them during recovery.
How long do you need ice pads postpartum?
Not sure how many pads you need to make or how long you’ll need them?
The answer to this question is different for everyone based on how you gave birth, how severe your swelling is, and whether or not you tore and to what degree.
In general, it’s a safe idea to have at least 20 frozen postpartum pads pre-made and ready to go for your postpartum recovery. You can take three or so with you to the hospital or birthing place to stash them in your fridge (if you have one!) in the postpartum recovery room.
Not into making your frozen pads? Try these
If you are feeling overwhelmed by the idea of making your DIY frozen postpartum pads, you can try the Frida Mom 2-in-1 instant cold maxi pad alternative, where they did all the work for you (we’re all about outsourcing). Plus, no freezing is required.
Other postpartum recovery posts you might enjoy
