Lochia... what's normal?

[parsley]

So after spending my whole pregnancy worried about spotting and bleeding, I'm finding it really hard to not over-analyze or worry about quantity, frequency and color of lochia. I'm a little obsessed with the possibility of post-partum hemmorage... I'm assuming it's actually rare and that since the docs were already concerned about possible placenta accreta they were extra careful to remove my whole placenta during the c-section.  But, still, I see blood and start to panic a bit.  So, I'm hoping you wise ladies can weigh in and let me know if what I'm experiencing is normal or if I have to call my OB.

I'm 10 days post-partum.  Days 1-3- heavy red bleeding.  Days 4-5 light red bleeding.  Days 6-7 pink spotting.  And then on day 8, I had a big gush of bright red blood that basically could have soaked a pad (though it all went in the toilet instead).  A few spots during the day later on.  Day 9 (yesterday) a little bleeding in the morning and then another big gush in the afternoon (enough to half-way fill a pad).  Day 10 (today) nothing yet. 

In each case, the bleeding is proceeded by a long and intense tandem nursing session with my ravenous and possesive 4 year old devouring as much milk as she possibly can and my newborn slowly but steadily nursing for 1 to 1 1/2 hours to make up for sleepier and less filling nursing sessions.  Additionally, on Day 7 I totally overdid it with back-to-back appointments and bustling around the house cleaning up.  Yesterday I took a walk (which I did slowly but was still out for 45 minutes of walking on hilly terrain and was exhausted at the end) and was then tackled by my kids into a long nursing session.  When I stood up, I gushed. 

So, what do you think?  Is this normal?  Should I be worried about the gushing and/or the bright red-ness of it all?  Am I just jumpy because it became such a major habit to look for signs of hemmorage that I can't seem to quit the behavior?  Or, do I need to get my butt in to see a doctor? 

Thanks so much for any info or experiences you can share!

[Adaline'sMama]

I think it sounds totally normal. With DD, I bled for about 4 weeks. During the first week I soaked through 6-8 maternity pads per day, and it gradually went down. Sometimes I would pass small clots or big gushes.

I'm 6 days post partum and I am still getting a big gush once a day. The first two days I had heavy bleeding, and since then Ive only needed about two pads a day. If it werent for the occasional gushes, I could just be wearing a pantyliner because the bleeding is much lighter than it was with DD.

[OdinsMommy0409]

Sounds very normal, much like my PP csection experience with DS1.

[Momma2Kai]

Sounds normal.  With my first child, I was still getting an occasional red gush and on and off pink/red spotting at 6 weeks PP. Nursing causes your uterus to contract, so it makes sense that you are getting the gushes after nursing.  I think my bleed was so long because I was "over doing it" and had some traumatic stress going on in my life (not baby related).

[parsley]

Thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you.  I so appreciate you taking the time to reassure me.  I feel 100 times better!

[slimkins]

girl, just your body saying "take it easy!"

Sounds normal to me, too. I had the same thing happen a week and a half PP after having my son. My husband and I went for too long of a walk. I bled more that night than I had the past week.

[mamanoish]

Normal!! I'm only 7 days post partum but following the same pattern. When we nurse, our uterus contracts as it works it's way back to its pre pregnancy size. If you think of it like a raisin, you can see where pockets of blood pool and clot, then when we nurse, it contracts and can release that pooled blood. My midwife told me to call if I'm soaking more than 2 pads an hour.