Up until my first child, I had never heard of a peri bottle. But since being introduced to this water squirting miracle I would never go back. If you are uncomfortably sitting there because you have vaginal tearing, cysts, hemorrhoids, itching, swelling or just feeling darn tender – a peri bottle is the answer to your prayers.
I honestly don’t know why it isn’t more talked about- Unless you are having a caesarean, your baby is absolutely going to destroy your lady bits. There is going to be stretching. There is going to be tearing. And you will be tender down there for days after giving birth, if not weeks.
Birth is beautiful. But there is no denying it leaves your body in a mess.
As a new mom, this is something I was completely unprepared for.
I still remember my first trip to the bathroom and screaming in agony as I patted myself down with toilet paper. My baby cannon was so sensitive that using ultra-plush toilet paper felt like a belt-sander.
Then on the advice of my neighbor, who had already pushed out four kids, I went out and purchased a peri bottle. And it was the postpartum miracle that my beef curtains needed. Seriously, a peri bottle should be found in every new moms postpartum care kit. Use one alongside perineal cold Packs for maximum postpartum relief for your lady bits.
If you were lucky, your hospital may have even sent you home with a peri bottle.
So what is a Peri Bottle?
The official name for a peri bottle is a perineal irrigation bottle. It’s essentially a plastic squirt bottle with measurement markings. Simply fill the peri bottle with warm water and squeeze it – a jet of water will shoot out the nozzle help you cleanse and wash your perineal area.
But it’s not just for washing. Some moms find even peeing after giving birth painful. One of our readers said that she would spray herself with warm water while she was peeing to decrease the sensitivity. Another commented that bending was painful after her c-section, so used a peri bottle to easily wash her downstairs.
You can even mix in witch hazel, aloe vera or Epsom salts to the peri bottle, for natural relief and faster healing. Yep, instead of using store bought peri-wash (with dubious ingredients), you can make your own!
While peri bottles are designed with treating postpartum lady bits, they are suitable for anyone who needs an easy to aim water stream down below.
How long you use a peri bottle for will entirely depend on your postpartum healing experience. For some lucky moms, it will only be a couple of days after deliver. For the rest of us, a couple of weeks or more. Only you will know when it’s the right time to stop using your peri bottle.
Best Peri Bottle
I’ll level with you. I didn’t buy the best peri bottle first go. I just went straight to my local CVS and grabbed whatever they had on the shelf. It looked like this…
Look at it. It’s little more than a glorified ketchup bottle.
Don’t get me wrong, your standard peri bottles from CVS, Walgreens, Target and Walmart all certainly get the job done.
But I have three issues with the design:
1. Positioning – For the best wash, you are going to want your peri bottle’s water stream to shoot angled upwards. I found it awkward to position the peri bottle correctly, especially while sitting on the toilet.
2. Air – After giving the peri bottle a good squeeze, you have to wait for air to flow back into the bottle before you can squeeze again. So a continuous stream of water is impossible to achieve.
3. Water Stream – When the bottle was half empty the stream of it was difficult to get the water to stream.
But then I discovered angled peri bottles. And I am never going back.
Best Peri Bottle (Ever) – Fridababy Fridet The Momwasher
My favorite angled peri bottle comes from FridayBaby. If you recognize the name, it’s probably because you own the Frida Snotsucker, the best nasal aspirator on the market.
Well it turns out that FridayBaby make a great peri bottle too. And like all FridaBaby products, it has a clumsy name as well – Fridet (pronounce it like you would bidet) The Momwasher.
To put it simply, it works like a peri bottle should. You hold the bottle upside down and thanks to the angled head, you can precisely aim the stream of water at your delicate bits. Not missed spots.
On the base of the Fridet Momwasher is a small silver valve. This allows the bottle to draw air into the reservoir as you squeeze it. No more pausing to allow air to go back into the bottle through the nozzle, simply squeeze the bottle for a continuous yet gentle stream of water.
It just makes sense. If you are sitting on the toilet, you don’t have to try and position the water reservoir below the seat or awkwardly thrust your vajayjay to the sky. No more toilet yoga!
The hooked head is perfect for those hard to reach perineum stitches (from a tear or episiotomy) that a regular peri bottle just couldn’t reach. The fridet can even get to those postpartum hemorrhoids!
The stream of water is continuous and gentle and the bottle held more than enough to water my lady garden without refilling.
And perhaps the best part – this peri bottle is travel friendly. When the neck is collapsed, the peri bottle halves in size. I had no trouble squeezing the peri bottle into my diaper bag.
It even comes with a discreet waterproof travel bag. A lovely addition for those of you who are easily embarrassed. No one will know what it is that you are carrying to the bathroom.
One word of warning – don’t sanitize the Fridet peri bottle in boiling water, the bottle will warp and deform.
Also good – Brondell GoSpa Travel Bidet
Brondell did it without even trying. In their effort to create a bidet that is perfect for travelling, they unknowingly made one fine peri bottle.
While it may not have the precise neck of my top pick, it makes up for it with a large reservoir. A generous 13.5 fl. oz capacity will hold enough water for even the thirstiest lady garden (much more than those hospital squeeze bottles).
The large water capacity makes the GoSpa Travel Bidet also suitable for washing away poop without needing to refill.
Like my top pick, the nozzle allows you to easily rinse up and provides your lady parts with a constant stream of water as long as you squeeze, thanks to the valve located in the bottom of the bottle.
If a large water capacity is a must then the GoSpa Travel Bidet is as good as it gets!
The traditional Peri Bottle – Medline Cleansing Bottle
Perhaps you have fond memories of your hospital peri bottle and can’t imagine using anything else. If something works then by all means, roll with it! At the end of the day, the bottle can satisfactorily wash your bajingo.
For all the gripes I have with the squeeze bottle style peri bottles, they do have two advantages:
1. Measurement markings – If you are mixing medication, or something to calm your burning/itching sensation then the measurement markings will allow you to easily portion your mixture.
2. Clear plastic – Allows you to easily see how much water is remaining in the bottle without shaking it.
And to top it all off, this type of peri bottle is the cheapest available. Perfect for all your frugal moms out there!
Did you use a peri bottle for postpartum care? Let me know in the comments below!
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