When you just brought home a bundle of joy, it can seem strange to feel mostly miserable for the first weeks of your child's life. However, that's pretty much exactly how every mom I've ever known, myself included, felt more often than not as new moms: Miserable. Even if you don't have postpartum depression (which so many, many women do), you're exhausted and probably in pain and did I mention really, really tired? In many ways, time is the best healer... but there are also some genius products that make the first postpartum weeks less miserable. So whether you're expecting or know someone who is, take heart: You'll get plenty of joy from that little bundle yet.

I was the first of my friends to have a baby, so I didn't have anybody advising me about the latest inventions and offerings to make early motherhood easier. (Well, I had my mom and my aunts, but none of them had been in the baby business for awhile and their counsel was a little on the outdated side.) I was definitely left to my own devices when it came to navigating those bleary, hormonal weeks — I didn't even know what a peri bottle was until a solemn-faced midwife handed me one to take home with my new baby — and I made my share of mistakes, to be sure. But with knowledge comes power, and the next two kids were easier. And not only did I know which products would help to ease my postnatal plight, but as the years passed, more and more amazing items were introduced specifically for new moms.

In short, if you're in the market for postpartum supplies now? Well, you couldn't have chosen a better time in history. Just be sure to check out the list below before you shop.