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[SierraBella]

Originally Posted by Kimcarrots 

I drank Kombucha days before and right after my cesarean birth.  It hydrated me and gave my gut probiotics (that the antibiotics killed off).

I think this is why I had a BM the day after my birth and also never had the horrible gas pains I hear can happen with a cesarean (well, I did have the shoulder ones during the birth - and they were painful! - but never the gut ones! )

I am a big fan of Kombucha and really like the Synergy brand - Cosmic cranberry flavor (good for the urinary tract also!)

Ugh. I can't stand that stuff! LOL. Maybe I will eat lots of yogurt! 

[AveryLamb]

I actually never had really bad gas. The nurses would ask me if I had gas, and I'd say yes, but it wasn't painful. Guess I lucked out on that one! It was just uncomfortable because I couldn't let it out while sitting, only standing, and I didn't want to stand much! Lol

Last night my baby girl did a fountain and a projectile poop all over my husband! I couldn't stop laughing!!

[aeterna]

Originally Posted by Azadehhast 

Tell us, please, all the details you can spare about settling in with your new little ones--the nursing, the pooing, the sleeping, dealing (or not) with visitors, how your bodies are healing...all those details we've all been speculating about all along. What has surprised you?

We spent two nights at the hospital and were home for the third day/night.

Details from a first-time-mom's perspective:

Healing / self-care:

I felt like a million bucks after the delivery. Honestly. I would've been fine if people had shown up five minutes later (provided they brought food and didn't want to hold the baby, lol). I was seriously starving and dying of thirst, but I had plenty of energy and was clear-headed. I was actually pretty surprised by that, I thought I'd be all shaky and tired and be blubbering like an idiot but... nope. 

I was surprised to hear "blood clots up to the size of an egg are normal" (Really?? an EGG?! is NORMAL!???) but I only passed one clot any bigger than a fingernail (and that was a strange sensation, let me tell you) and my bleeding had slowed to "heavy maxi-pad" flow by the time we left the hospital. (As opposed to "sleeping bag hospital pad" flow, which it was the first day.) Now, by day 5, I'm wearing my regular period pads and am starting to see the color shift from red to brownish.

That squeeze bottle of warm water for post-toilet cleansing is wonderful. Squirt a bit before you pee and it will prevent any burning sensation. Sitz baths helped when I started to feel "tight". Sitting was uncomfortable for the first few days just because everything is swollen, but you'll find positions that work for you. I was terrified to have that first postpartum BM, but it wasn't as bad as I was afraid it might be.

I did have three stitches but with one exception, they've been no extra trouble and required no extra care. Special note: do not slide off the bed one cheek at a time (sideways). I did this first thing when I got home, thinking it would reduce the pressure on the sensitive bits. I think I popped a stitch. -.- 

The first two days, when I'd get out of bed to go to the bathroom/walk around I would find it difficult to straighten up completely into a standing position (I felt achy/crampy and straightening up completely hurt). It would subside as I walked around and I actually felt better once I got moving.

Bring lanolin and use it right from the start. I'm convinced this has saved me much potential pain.

If you're in the hospital, take advantage of limitless hot showers. It's humanizing. ;)

Once we got home:

I have no idea what we used to do before we had a baby. We've lost so many hours just watching him sleep, or singing to him while he watched us intently. I was surprised at how hard it is to "sleep when he sleeps." I thought I'd be exhausted. I'm not. Until he decides his "usual" schedule isn't working for him today, and then it's 4:30am and I'm awake when I thought I would be sleeping and he's screaming because his tummy hurts and all I really want to do is lie down. We catch up on it later, it's just hard in that moment.

I'm also surprised at how well-rested I feel on four hours of sleep per day. =P

I'm surprised at how hard it is to remember to eat and drink if someone isn't bringing me food three times a day.

I'm surprised at how well I can doze with a baby sleeping on my chest (...he doesn't like to sleep alone). I've never been able to sleep on my back. Now I do - but lightly enough that I'm instantly awake if he so much as mews or moves his head - and find it surprisingly restful.

Keeping his eating/elimination tracked on paper has kept me from losing the details to memory haze and then blowing things out of proportion because I remember things being worse than they are.

Things that have been unexpectedly challenging:

I stopped letting down for the pump after the first day in the hospital. Hand expression was working but takes so long that it felt like all I was doing for three days was nurse and express milk. My nipples weren't necessarily sore, but my boobs were really really tired of being the focal point all the time... if that makes sense? I just wanted to put a flippin' shirt on and do something, anything else for four hours.

We had/have trouble with breastfeeding. It's still a work-in-progress. Early in this pregnancy, I promised myself that I wouldn't wait until I was an emotional trainwreck and ready to give up before getting some help. I posted looking for help only 9 hours after he was born, and the ladies in the breastfeeding forum have been absolutely wonderful about keeping me on track.

Things that have been unexpectedly easy:

DH is wonderful with him and has more than pulled his weight. Also, it's heartwarmingly beautiful to see him with his son. =')

I had enough energy to clean my kitchen 4 days postpartum (lol).

The dogs have been SO good adjusting to the change in schedule, activity, attention distribution, and noise levels in the house.

-----------

I think that's it? Just some mental notes I've been composing - in pieces - over the early morning feedings these last few days. Finally got it done enough to post. ;)

Looking forward to seeing other mom's perspectives!

[AveryLamb]

Clots...I had a couple big ones, probably egg sized. So weird feeling to pass them.

[Azadehhast]

Aeterna, wow, what fantastic information! I'm so happy for your positive perspective, and really glad to hear that things gave been going so well for you!
What difficulties have you had breastfeeding?

[aeterna]

Originally Posted by Azadehhast 

Aeterna, wow, what fantastic information! I'm so happy for your positive perspective, and really glad to hear that things gave been going so well for you!
What difficulties have you had breastfeeding?

Let's see.

He is really, really sleepy and won't wake up to eat every 2 hours as suggested. No matter what we do (waiting for a "light" sleep cycle, bouncing, tickling, rubbing his hands and feet, pinching the bottom of his feet or his cheeks (lightly of course!), brisk massage on his back or limbs, cold washcloth on feet or face)... he'll wake up for a little while, nurse half-heartedly for perhaps 5-10 minutes, and then go back to sleep. Or, like tonight, he gets super pissed that I woke him up, screams for an hour or more while I try to calm him down enough that he WILL eat, and then... nurses 5-10 minutes and goes back to sleep. (I'd heard babies wake up all the time and demand to eat. Apparently this is only true after the first few weeks.)

We were (are) having trouble with his latch. It's really shallow and he has a short attention span, so he'd glomp on, take 3-4 sucks, then release to look around, make snuffly "I'm hungry" noises, and glomp back on again. But he wasn't getting good strong pulls, just sort of mouthing at my nipple lightly. We're figuring out the latch thing and it's improving, but it's not 100% consistent yet.

I suspect he has a tongue-tie (and will be calling for a second assessment tomorrow; the hospital LC said he didn't, but I'm going to get a second opinion). I actually think he might have a lip tie, too, but I'm less certain about that.

He has had a LOT of gas (which is probably related to his latch). This makes him scream inconsolably in short bursts while he works it out. It also makes him disinterested in eating (while his tummy hurts) and he has a lot of trouble burping (frequently he doesn't burp at all).

And of course, coupled with my inability to let down for the pump, I was hand expressing but, honestly, not as often as I should. (Or I would do nothing else, at times... 15 minutes attempt right side, 15 minutes attempt left side, 20 minutes to express right side, 20 minutes to express left side... 10 minutes to get a drink and pee, 30 minute nap if DH is on baby duty and then do it all again... ugh.) And I wasn't getting much volume - I did actually let down for the pump today, and pulled out 13mL which just made my jaw drop because I was averaging 3-5mL for the hand expression.

I'm worried he isn't getting enough food and I'm worried I've messed with my supply and I just want to feed my little man, y'know?

But I'm trying to just take it 2 hours at a time. If we can just work out these little kinks, we'll be good to go. And we've had a lot of positive progress in these five days... his latch has improved markedly, which has also had a positive impact on his gassiness, he's now having enough wet diapers (if not yet enough poopy ones), and I learned how to tell the difference between nutritive and non-nutritive sucking, so I'm more confident when he is latched on that he's actually being fed. Plus I learned how to hand express, which, hey, will probably be useful in case of a blackout or something, right? ;)

We're getting there. =)

[Azadehhast]

Reviving this to add gushy thoughts about my little love:

Winter was born at 41 weeks-- not that late,but his skin was so peely, especially his feet, and his nail were filed into sharp claws. He has dark peach fuz on his back and shoulders, a dusting of light brown hair on his head, skinny, light brows like his papa, and the longest feet, toes and fingers ever. My feet and hands are very small, and seriously, his pinky toe is as long as mine! He's got DH's light olive skin, his brows, hairline, and mouth shape and height. The only part of me I see in him so far is the nose. And he has funky little ears like none I've ever seen.

Since he was born, I just keep thinking, he doesn't look like I thought our baby would look. I keep wondering if he's really my baby! But he is, and he's so perfect, and I'm so amazed. He is so strong to have survived the labour we had and to emerge at the end crying gently, turning pink, and searching Papa for a nipple. As soon as I got my hands on him, he found the breast, latched perfectly on the first go, and knows exactly what to do. The first two days, we nursed long and often, and now that there's milk, he's waking every two hours to feed, change, and go back to sleep, which he does snuggled close to one of us, usually me, and preferably cuddling a breast. His alert times are like little moments of bliss, with those beautiful wide eyes open and looking at our faces. And oh, the faces he makes! Little smiles with giggly sounds, grungy faces, the searching, rooting faces.....I'm melting in a pool of love.

I'm looking forward to giving ec a go with him in the next days, once I feel better, because Winter is so, so good at letting us know when he needs to poo, or has just pooed. He'll be a champ.

DH has been so wonderful, too. He's so caring and supportive. He's discovered he can soothe Winter with his pinky finger, so at diaper changes, we're a fierce team, me on the bottom end, DH on mouth end. He sniffs baby and cuddles him, touches noses, ogles him generally, and reports back on the conversations they have about poutine and curling and the games he'll make for baby and the general state of insanity of Winter's grandparents. DH is also constantly at my call, bringing me anything and everything, helping me move my crippled body, move baby, bringing my medicines, wiping my tears. What an incredible time of bonding and loving this is for all three of us.

Love.

[Kimcarrots]

This is just lovely and inspiring....reminding me to slow down and savor.  Thank you.
 

Originally Posted by Azadehhast 

Reviving this to add gushy thoughts about my little love:

Winter was born at 41 weeks-- not that late,but his skin was so peely, especially his feet, and his nail were filed into sharp claws. He has dark peach fuz on his back and shoulders, a dusting of light brown hair on his head, skinny, light brows like his papa, and the longest feet, toes and fingers ever. My feet and hands are very small, and seriously, his pinky toe is as long as mine! He's got DH's light olive skin, his brows, hairline, and mouth shape and height. The only part of me I see in him so far is the nose. And he has funky little ears like none I've ever seen.

Since he was born, I just keep thinking, he doesn't look like I thought our baby would look. I keep wondering if he's really my baby! But he is, and he's so perfect, and I'm so amazed. He is so strong to have survived the labour we had and to emerge at the end crying gently, turning pink, and searching Papa for a nipple. As soon as I got my hands on him, he found the breast, latched perfectly on the first go, and knows exactly what to do. The first two days, we nursed long and often, and now that there's milk, he's waking every two hours to feed, change, and go back to sleep, which he does snuggled close to one of us, usually me, and preferably cuddling a breast. His alert times are like little moments of bliss, with those beautiful wide eyes open and looking at our faces. And oh, the faces he makes! Little smiles with giggly sounds, grungy faces, the searching, rooting faces.....I'm melting in a pool of love.

I'm looking forward to giving ec a go with him in the next days, once I feel better, because Winter is so, so good at letting us know when he needs to poo, or has just pooed. He'll be a champ.

DH has been so wonderful, too. He's so caring and supportive. He's discovered he can soothe Winter with his pinky finger, so at diaper changes, we're a fierce team, me on the bottom end, DH on mouth end. He sniffs baby and cuddles him, touches noses, ogles him generally, and reports back on the conversations they have about poutine and curling and the games he'll make for baby and the general state of insanity of Winter's grandparents. DH is also constantly at my call, bringing me anything and everything, helping me move my crippled body, move baby, bringing my medicines, wiping my tears. What an incredible time of bonding and loving this is for all three of us.

Love.