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BTDT moms, lets be flat out honest with the first time mommies and share some of the things that people rarely tell you about the whole L&D/newborn baby experience!!!
Here are a few things to start us off:
1. When your milk comes in, your boobs will feel like boulders. They will be rock hard to the touch, and it will be VERY uncomfortable for the first few days until your milk supply evens out!
2. If you have a vaginal delivery, expect to pee or even poop on the table. It is not the rare occurrence... it is much closer to the norm!!!
3. If you have a vaginal delivery, you will probably get fitted with mesh panties that have an ice pack inside following the birth.
4. You will experience a kind of exhaustion you have never felt before when you bring baby home. I remember crumpling up on the bed and crying on day 3 and blubbering to my husband, "I'm... just... so.... tired!" But it is all TOTALLY worth it!
5. Around week 3 is baby's first growth spurt... be prepared for CRANKINESS, and a total change in their feeding patterns!!! It caught me totally off guard with Josiah.
This is a great post! Even for BTDT mommy's like me who have already forgotten some of this stuff
1. In the very beginning milk let down hurts!
2. I was surprised at the intensity of the uterine cramps for the first 24 hours after having my son while trying to get my milk come in (I had to pump from the beginning since DS was in the NICU and couldn't nurse)
I don't know if it's an issue for everyone, but after my 2 vaginal births I couldn't pee on my own for a while. It actually delayed me going home one time. It's awful to know you need to go but can't.
I also shook during and after the birth of my kids. Not sure why, can't blame the epidural since I didn't have it the second time. It was so bad I was afraid to hold my son. Not sure if it was exhaustion or what.
It is really common to throw up at the point of transition during labor (right before it's time to push), and also very common to throw up after receiving a spinal or epi. If you tend to be sensitive to heavy pain meds (like me), you might want to ask for anti-nausea meds to be administered if you are receiving an epi or spinal.
It is really common to throw up at the point of transition during labor (right before it's time to push), and also very common to throw up after receiving a spinal or epi. If you tend to be sensitive to heavy pain meds (like me), you might want to ask for anti-nausea meds to be administered if you are receiving an epi or spinal.
Ugh, I HATE throwing up! I mean, I know nobody likes it, but it really sends me into a tailspin. My mom told me that she threw up during labor too ... Can't wait!
__________________ | Jessica | Wisconsin | Happily married since 8/22/08 |
C-section- after the spinal your hospital gown is lifted up all the way up but stops at your boobs...your naked just laying there waiting for your catheter and there are MANY people in the OR. Feels like years but it's really probably just some looooong seconds.
After your c-section you don't get to eat until late the next day.
I'll think of more later, I have a dr. appointment that I have to get ready for
for me the first night i brought her home which she was i believe about 2-3 days old, the saying is true of them "bringing in your milk" she was up every15-30 minutes nursing and brought in my milk, ohhhh that was rough, not only are you sleep deprived from delivery, but your nipples HURT like the worst pain in the world and they just keep sucking and sucking where it hurts, imagine like a open a wound that just keeps getting touched! not every baby latches perfectly the first time, breastfeeding is a STRUGGLE! gone are the days of you sleeping in, or going to bed at your normal time, honey you are on baby time! there is a mamma bear at babies r us that is amazing! you have to remember that your baby for 9 months has been rocked and as heard your heartbeat, this mamma bear plays the womb noises.
for me i had no idea how to pee afterwards...i had a vaginal birth and yes i asked the nurse, i mean you are bleeding everywhere and goodness i was afraid to touch down there! i loved the water bottle that they gave me to wash out the blood ...helped alot! im sure there are more i can think of ....ohhhhh gripe water is AMAZING!!
It hurts to go #2 afterwards. Take the stool softener... they give it to you for a reason! I learned that the hard way. It was almost like giving birth!
Peytonsmama is right on the mama bear thing. Was a LIFE save with my other 2. We since got rid of it and I had to get a new one for this one, but that is a must have in my opinion.
If you choose an epidural, it does not always work or may only work on one side. It can also slow down or stall labor or it may have the opposite effect as well like it did with me & speed it up (I went from 6-10cm dilated in about 30 mins....and mine didn't take).
You will more than likely shake like you were freezing after birth (even though you're not cold at all)....this is from all the hormone changes & adrenaline.
If you have a c-section, know that you do have the right to breastfeed right after delivery while in recovery as long as everything is ok with baby (most hospitals will not tell you this so be sure to ask....they'll even send a lactation consultant in to work with you & help you if needed).
You will be exhausted beyond measure after delivery and after going home. I was in labor all day, pushed for 3 hours, then went back for a c-section. By the time I made it to my room that evening at 8pm, I was hallucinating and hardly able to hold Ryan I was so exhausted....my mom told me I was talking crazy off the wall about random things that made no sense at all...haha.
Lastly (for now anyways), breastfeeding is TOUGH! Its a learning process for both mom & baby. Be patient & don't give up!! It seriously may take you & baby several weeks before you get things down, so hang in there!!
1. Many things will be HARD like you've never experienced HARD before! If there's one thing you can remember, remember this: IT PASSES. It won't be that kind of hard forever. It feels slow at the time, but it goes fast!!!
2. Don't let anyone bully you into things you aren't comfortable with during labour and delivery. You have a right to question the need for certain things. Ask them WHY and remember that you YOU ARE ALLOWED TO SAY NO!
I have to counter the bf-ing advice already given by saying it is also entirely possible that you will have a baby who latches well, and that bf-ing will NOT seem that hard, aside from how sore your nipples will be at first... that was my experience with Josiah.
Also, I was offered a meal around dinner time after having a c/s around 5:30am, and was allowed crackers and juice pretty soon after the operation. You won't miss the food, they will be hydrating you, and you will be exhausted and possibly nauseous anyways.
The other thing... newborn poop is like black tar! All of the excess skin cells/body waste they have been ingesting in the womb gets pooped out, and it is some nasty stuff in the beginning!!!
How about feeling a range of emotions BEFORE the baby gets here? I have been a wreck this week between mood swings and stress. My poor husband and mother and basically anyone else who crosses my path!!
Ok I just wanted to add something wonderful in. The feeling you get when you get that baby in your arms for the first time is like NOTHING you've ever felt before! A huge range of emotions you never thought you could feel will come flooding over you at once and the exhaustion from labor and all the pain you've just felt will disappear in seconds I also wanted to say to cherish EVERY SINGLE moment....even the ones that you don't want to cherish at the time (like when you are sleep deprived) because a year from now, you'll look back and wish you had those moments back again. TRUST me....once they get here, they grow up WAY too fast!!! I never thought my life could go by as fast as it has. With all of my children, it's been the same way and it doesn't get any easier the older they get. I sobbed outside the doors of my daughter's high school the day that I took her in for orientation because I seriously could not believe that I was standing in front of those doors already and that in just FOUR years she may not be living with us anymore. **tear**. Watching your children grow is the most rewarding experience of your life....but it happens WAY too fast! So cherish every.single.moment.
I keep trying to tell myself that, Nicole! I mean, I can see how quickly this pregnancy has gone; from her being a teeny ball of cells to now weighing almost 4lbs already. A few more weeks and we will hold her in our arms! Please keep reminding us first time moms to cherish EVERY minute, even those, like you said, that are so frustrating and where we just feel like giving up once our babies are here!
Oh yeah, I have that huge range of emotions too lately. Going from super happy to wanting to sob my eyes out; all in a 10 minute time span... Fun times. lol.
nina~ you will do fine! these are things they dont ever put in the books!
i have to totally agree with the going #2 thing!! i totally forgot about that, but how could i??? i remember bawling my eyes out for a flipping turd the size of rabbit poop!!! then i did the breathing thing they teach you, hee hee whoooo
