Things to expect after you give birth, for the new mom - Page 3

[lovingmommyhood]

Originally Posted by ZakareyasMama 

I still have a sick-to-my-stomach feeling every time DS nurses. It used to last for longer but now it's just a few seconds. I don't know how common this is, but I could hardly eat for the first month or so postpartum. I had lots of fruit and little meals. 

D-MER! I had this with my first two babies but not with my third...I felt so alone but I was relieved when DS2 was born I found many others on Mothering with the same "issue". Before that all anybody would say is "you're probably depressed" and that just didn't sit well with me as to the reason. Anyway, just thought I'd chime in!! 

http://breastfeeding.blog.motherwear.com/2008/06/when-breastfeed.html

[MountainMamaGC]

Oh man the night sweats!!! For about 3 months there was a ME shaped wet spot on the bed every morning I woke up.

[JoieB]

The most shocking things no one told me was... I think the pelvic floor muscles weakening and having less bladder control, leaking and not being able to control gas for a while. It took pelvic floor exercise to get some muscle tone and strength back 'down there'. Yes, it got better but almost a year later now those muscles still feel weak and if I have a full bladder or have eaten less fiber then I can still feel pressure there. I remember watching Dr Oz on TV and the topic was something like 'secrets most women never tell' and this postpartum pelvic floor issue was one of them. And I was most shocked with the repair surgery option... that the results are TEMPORARY... and similar to the upkeep of a face lift in that it only lasts for a few years and then it's necessary to get 'the repair' again. My Dr said it's like a screen that gradually sags and needs to be tightened after a few years. And the other shocking thing I never knew was the possibility of abdominal muscle separation... my tummy that was once flat and had a cute "inny-button" now has a saggy look to the muscles no matter how much I exercise. I thought being petite pre-pregnancy and not gaining more than the recommended weight in pregnancy also meant I'd for sure return to my pre-pregnant barbie shape with diet and exercise... WRONG! While I regained my petite frame and physique, my tummy refuses to pull those separated muscles back together, the belly button pouches OUT and when I laugh I still piddle and it's a year postpartum. But so worth it and I'd totally do it all over again for my sweet pea! 

[lunarlady]

It is possible to feel "touched out" after a full night, day, night, day of baby loves and smuggles. So when your DP gets home and wants a hug, you don't really want one. What you really want is ten minutes with nobody touching you, preferably in a hot bath or a soft bed. It is okay to want to set baby down for a minute or two.

Also, it can be hard to adjust to your "mama body". Certain parts, like your belly, hips, and boobs, may never be quite the same. But if you save a little money to buy some new clothing post partum, you will feel just as fabulous as you did before. The big secret is never try to get into your pre pregnancy clothing imedatly post partum. Buy new stuff and wait a few months before you give it a shot. Consignment shops are your friend!

Some boobs leak a lot. Like a drippy faucet. Patterned clothing hides nursing pads. And when you feel ready to DTD have a towel handy. The big O triggers a letdown for some women, and your DP may not be prepared to be squirted or dripped on.

If you get stitches for tears, they itch like fire when they start to heal. Ice and sitz baths are your friends.

Your feet may be a bit bigger PP. Like a half size. Or a little wider. Some shoes you loved before may not fit correctly anymore.

Those prenatals you are tired of taking? If you are nursing you will be taking them for awhile more. If you do extended nursing your friends will wonder if you are TTC when they see the giant bottle of prenatals in the cabinet. Buy good ones, they really do help how well you feel.

Finally, in addition to changing your hair thickness, babies can affect your hair texture and style. Before my first, my hair was wavy. After my first, it was straight as a board. My second has turned my hair curly. Crazy!

[Narleegates]

how do you know pre-birth whether or not your abs have separated?

[mzpuff]

The absolute WORST for me was the pain while urinating. that has really got to be the worst thing out of the whole experience IMO. I would just sit on the toilet crying because it hurt so bad.. stuck inbetween having to pee extremely bad and not peeing just so I wouldn't feel the pain. aghhhh!! Thinking about it almost makes me not want another one. ALMOST. lol

[BK Mommy]

Hmmmm... This is a great thread.
Surprises I was hit with:
A milky mess every night so had to sleep on towels.
Crazy night sweats for a couple of weeks... One way that your body eliminates excess water.
Healing meant constantly changing frozen witch hazel saturated pads and walking slowly.
Feeling the annoying tickle and tug of the stitches.
Soreness when I laughed too hard or sneezed.
The anxt about my first bm.

I guess I was surprised by many things! . Good reflecting.

[artekah]

Originally Posted by cadybh 

Great idea for a post, though I would imagine it could be pretty scary to those who haven't "been there, done that" just yet.

I just wanted to point out, before anyone gets totally freaked out about this thread, that not everything listed here is going to happen to any one person! Most of the experiences listed here did not happen to me. Everyone's got different issues, so don't let this whole cumulative collection of things worry you!

[artekah]

Originally Posted by Narleegates 

how do you know pre-birth whether or not your abs have separated?

I don't think there is any way to really tell once you're this far along and your belly is just big and hard and full of baby. But when you're not pregnant (and for me, up until about the second trimester of this pregnancy I could tell) the way you feel the separation is to lie on your back with your knees bent, take a deep breath and as you exhale, pull your belly button to your spine and lift just your head off the ground. If there's a separation you can clearly feel it in that position, and actually stick your fingers between the muscles into your abdomen!

If you do end up with a separation, it's very important after you give birth to use your breathing to pull things back together--always pull your abs in towards your spine when you exhale, especially when lifting anything, and never ever do a sit-up type of "jackknife" motion until you're sure the separation is healed. Sit-ups can make a separation much worse! I really can't recommend the Tupler Technique enough--there's a book called "Losing Your Mummy Tummy" that's full of great exercises and info.

[SuburbanHippie]

Originally Posted by radicaleel 



I just wanted to point out, before anyone gets totally freaked out about this thread, that not everything listed here is going to happen to any one person! Most of the experiences listed here did not happen to me. Everyone's got different issues, so don't let this whole cumulative collection of things worry you!

Very true.  I didn't experience sweating this time, which I thought was really weird because I was retaining so much water at the end.

[guatemama1]

Originally Posted by radicaleel 



I just wanted to point out, before anyone gets totally freaked out about this thread, that not everything listed here is going to happen to any one person! Most of the experiences listed here did not happen to me. Everyone's got different issues, so don't let this whole cumulative collection of things worry you!

Thanks for saying that. Pre birth I avoided this thread as to not get freaked out... But now... post birth... hahaha I feel like I've got a few thoughts on the matter!!! :) I guess I'll just throw out there I'm a little surprised at how swollen I am, while it is not that painful really, it's just a really odd sensation. Poor vagina got a helluva workout.

[sunnymw]

Blood. Lots of it. And clots. I wear Depends for the first 3-4 days because overnight pads just don't cut it. I also put a plastic $1 shower curtain liner on the bed with an old sheet on top, and it comes off 2 days postpartum when I stop leaking out of everything.

Pee. You really need to pee regularly for the uterus to shrink down well. If you have stitches, something like a toilet paper roll or guitar slide works well to keep the stream away.

You need a peri bottle. Everyone needs a peri bottle. So much better than wiping, and it cleans the whole area which can get kind of messy.

As for postpartum belly binding, I tried a surgical wrap, bandages, etc... And then I found an old tank top in my drawer. It was from Walmart, and it was just one of those that makes your waist skinnier. It fit at three days postpartum and felt great.

Afterpains get worse with each child. This time around I started 800mg Rx ibuprofin as soon as the placenta was out. If I missed a dose, contractions were worse than labor and lasted 2+ minutes.

I also start generic stool softeners as soon as I give birth, for the first week or so. No one wants to cook, so we eat a lot of fast food or whatever is easy the first week...

I think everything else has been covered

[LivingSky]

Originally Posted by guatemama1 

Thanks for saying that. Pre birth I avoided this thread as to not get freaked out... But now... post birth... hahaha I feel like I've got a few thoughts on the matter!!! :) I guess I'll just throw out there I'm a little surprised at how swollen I am, while it is not that painful really, it's just a really odd sensation. Poor vagina got a helluva workout.

This is EXACTLY what I was going to say. I can't believe how swollen I was! I had heard people talk about swelling but I don't think it really sunk in that everything would swell down there - labia and all.

[lovelylisa]

Originally Posted by sunnymw 

If you have stitches, something like a toilet paper roll or guitar slide works well to keep the stream away.
 

Holy crap you are like a post partum Mcguyver. That is genius! I wish I had known that!

[guatemama1]

Originally Posted by LivingSky 



This is EXACTLY what I was going to say. I can't believe how swollen I was! I had heard people talk about swelling but I don't think it really sunk in that everything would swell down there - labia and all.

So speaking of this swelling.... how long is it supposed to last? It's been 3 days here and it feels the same. Never had such a swell-a-thon.

[sunnymw]

Originally Posted by guatemama1 

Originally Posted by LivingSky 



This is EXACTLY what I was going to say. I can't believe how swollen I was! I had heard people talk about swelling but I don't think it really sunk in that everything would swell down there - labia and all.

So speaking of this swelling.... how long is it supposed to last? It's been 3 days here and it feels the same. Never had such a swell-a-thon.

Mine went down after six days... Even with ice. Went down faster with the other two kids even though they were bigger (go figure).

[megame]

I wanted to mention that I just took a class relating to both of these issues and how to exercies these muscles.  You can look it up online.  I think it's called the tummy team with the tupler technique (should pop up on google search).  Anyway, some of the ladies in the class were having great results with getting the two sides of the abdomen to come back to the center again, and they talked about techniques to exercise the pelvic floor.  There were a couple ladies that had incontinence issue that were resolved.  One lady had a lot of back pain and couldn't lay flat and she said that was resolved, I didn't notice too much difference but mine wasn't so bad. 

The more interesting things I learned was that crunches and exercises were your guts are being pressed into the back of your abdominal wall stretch those sides apart and don't help mummy tummy.  (and they showed pictures of peoples with six packs that had the same issues from there workouts).  The best exercises they taught in the class are too difficult to describe (have to do mostly with breathing techniques) I think but they involve tightening the muscles that go around your front which will help your back muscles not do as much.  And they also showed proper ways of picking things off the floor, getting out of bed, all the things that you do without thinking about.

Anyway , you might want to check it out.  I'm going to try to stay on top of it with this next LO.. Congrats on your LO!
 

Originally Posted by JoieB 

The most shocking things no one told me was... I think the pelvic floor muscles weakening and having less bladder control, leaking and not being able to control gas for a while. It took pelvic floor exercise to get some muscle tone and strength back 'down there'. Yes, it got better but almost a year later now those muscles still feel weak and if I have a full bladder or have eaten less fiber then I can still feel pressure there. I remember watching Dr Oz on TV and the topic was something like 'secrets most women never tell' and this postpartum pelvic floor issue was one of them. And I was most shocked with the repair surgery option... that the results are TEMPORARY... and similar to the upkeep of a face lift in that it only lasts for a few years and then it's necessary to get 'the repair' again. My Dr said it's like a screen that gradually sags and needs to be tightened after a few years. And the other shocking thing I never knew was the possibility of abdominal muscle separation... my tummy that was once flat and had a cute "inny-button" now has a saggy look to the muscles no matter how much I exercise. I thought being petite pre-pregnancy and not gaining more than the recommended weight in pregnancy also meant I'd for sure return to my pre-pregnant barbie shape with diet and exercise... WRONG! While I regained my petite frame and physique, my tummy refuses to pull those separated muscles back together, the belly button pouches OUT and when I laugh I still piddle and it's a year postpartum. But so worth it and I'd totally do it all over again for my sweet pea!