"WHAT?!?!" Those Things Nobody Warns You About.... - Page 3

[oceanbaby]

I wish someone had told me that pushing wasn't always a relief, and that it didn't always take 15 minutes. I hated pushing more than anything, and I pushed for over 3 hours.

I wish someone had told me that it was going to feel like I had just pushed the baby out of my butt, not my vagina!

And I wish someone had warned me about how long I was going to bleed for.

[Kabes]

No one told me:

-due to increased blood volume and the hormones that prepare your birthcanal for birth your nose will get all stuffy and you will feel like you have a cold. usually happens around 20 weeks

-your bowels may choose to 'cleanse' themselves during labor (think diarrhea) - happened w/ my first

-if your bowels don't cleanse themselves you will probably poop during pushing - happened w/ my second

-you may not feel the urge to push even if you're complete - wait for it, don't let them make you push

-that local anesthetic doesn't work on my "under carriage" and that needle hurts worst than the stitching. If I need stitches again; I'll just have them.

-how long and how much you bleed

-the fleeting but very real desire(for me atleast) to put the baby back in after I had met her. If only there were an easy way. Really- they had everything they needed inside and they were easy to carry around. Too bad you can't just zzzzzip and tuck them in and zzzzip and take them out - O.K. so maybe I really am nuts.

-the instant 'Mama Bear" feelings & ***LOVE***

-how much birth and the baby made me miss my mama!!!

[LaLaLuna]

Man-if I had known about that puking thing I would definitly have chosen something other than granola for breakfast the morning I went into labor.

I wish I'd know about bleeding for a month afterward.

I wish I'd known that contractions in a breech presentation are frequently irregular in duration and timing; when I described ours to our doula she said "Oh you've got hours to get to the hospital" when in reality we had about an hour. I also wish I'd known that not all women get the urge to push (i didn't with that breech baby) so it would have been useful to know that you push just like you're taking a big ol' poop.

I wish I'd known about flooding the bed with breastmilk at night; I'd have bought a few more sheet sets before ds was born!

[mum2tori]

Originally Posted by LaLaLuna

Man-if I had known about that puking thing I would definitly have chosen something other than granola for breakfast the morning I went into labor.

: yikes:

Originally Posted by Kabes

No one told me:

-due to increased blood volume and the hormones that prepare your birthcanal for birth your nose will get all stuffy and you will feel like you have a cold. usually happens around 20 weeks

OH the SINUSES!!! UGH! And often doesn't end until birth!! Those totally suck. Walking around with "just enough" of a stuffed up nose to make you feel like you can't get a full breath... and then later you've got so much baby right against your diaphram that you still can't breath.

Or waking up in the middle of the night with ONE side of your nose totally CLOGGED and the other side totally CLEAR to the point were it almost feels like it's piercing your brain it's so clear.

Originally Posted by Kabes

No one told me:
-the fleeting but very real desire(for me atleast) to put the baby back in after I had met her. If only there were an easy way. Really- they had everything they needed inside and they were easy to carry around. Too bad you can't just zzzzzip and tuck them in and zzzzip and take them out - O.K. so maybe I really am nuts.

Okay, I'll admit it... YEP. You always know exactly where they are, they are quiet and not fussing. No "worries" about what is causing them to cry at 3am. They are safe and protected.

[blipla]

I wish I had known how I would feel after the birth of my first.

I was shaky, lightheaded, couldn't stand up, felt ripped in two down below, was afraid to use the toilet, shocked by the amount of bleeding, missed being pregnant and felt more vulnerable than I ever have in my life. And that was just in the first hour after birth!

After my second, I felt like a superhero, and after my third I just wanted a good long nap.

[Ivanhoe]

When the milk came in, I could not believe how soaked I was, I kept soaking sheets, t-shirts and everything during the first two months. It was like a milk river! I was totally amazed.

Another What?! (not so positive as the milk river) was the post partum blues and constant crying. I felt so insane, so crazy, and out of myself... I'm prepared this time

[gottaknit]

: OK, maybe it's better to not know all this stuff..... I'm getting a little freaked out....

[Katie's Momma]

My list would include:

leaky breasts at 7 months pg
the intense vaginal pressure through most of my pg
rectal fissure
not peeing at all for the entire day but then peeing in my sleep that first night - as I had sustained damage to my bladder
the extreme hormonal inpact post pg - never before and never since have I felt so psychotic
how d*mn much bf hurts!
that I would not immediately feel an overwhelming sense of love at birth
how little bleeding there was afterwards
how much those post delivery contractions hurt while nursing!

[Katie's Momma]

Originally Posted by jecaly

the thing that surprised me was:laying in the bathtub a couple of days after giving birth, pressing on my belly, and being able to press all the way in to the other side because my organs hadn't moved back into place yet. in retrospect, my abdominal muscles had probably split, too, so there was just the skin of my front touching the muscles and skeleton of my back, with nothing in between. weird!

omgosh - that is freaky! How weird that must have felt!!

[bwylde]

There's so much, most has been listed. One I can think of was how much it could hurt to have a BM after. I've never been constipated in my life (I have IBS with just diarrhea) and I felt like I was being ripped in two. I plan on lots of fiber and water this time around!!

I still can't get over how much BF'ing hurt (and how long!!!) and just how exhausted you can get and still function. Oh and sleeps like a baby...pure myth!!! Some babies don't sleep!!! :LOL

[CJ 5]

I have a few to add as I am about to pop.

First that you should lie about your due date so when you hit 40 weeks your doctor/MW doesn't freak out and want to induce

To use kyosil and lots of water at the first sign of constipation because hemroids SUCK!!!!

That you really can't sleep well the last month of pregnancy because the baby is so active and you are so big Don't plan the ridiculous schedual I did based on advice.

Most important is that all moms have amnesia after their first year of birth and will give you advice that is ludicrous and does not work. Most moms remember one period of their childs life and attribute it to the whole time ( for example My husbands mom is sure that DH slept through the night from the beginning and I pulled out his baby book and that was defenitly not the case)

The last thing is that mainstream moms and AP moms will give you advice. You have to be careful of the bias because it is so confusing being pregnant the first time.

Last thing ( I mean the real last thing) all that crap at babies R us is a waste of money. Ask AP moms for the essentials and beg your friends to give you gift certificates or exchange exchange exchange after your shower.

[Caroline248]

Originally Posted by Katie's Momma

My list would include:

how d*mn much bf hurts!
that I would not immediately feel an overwhelming sense of love at birth

I think those two are the most important to share with a new mom to be....I was so upset with myself that I didn't want to hold my first right after delivery, it took a couple of hours before that mama instinct kicked in. I thought I was the worst person in the world. All I cared about was getting some food!!

And the pain of breastfeeding...it was the taste blood in your mouth pain...I stuck through it, but most of my friends say they had "unusual" amounts of pain so they had to stop...noone realized that is the norm.....

Caroline

[Kristeen]

Wow, is it too late to put this little one back where it came from?

Re sinus': I'm so glad I read this today as I woke up this morning with a sniffly, drippy nose and thought that I had a cold!

[mamaBlue]

Originally Posted by Graceoc

Afterpains!!!!! I had this wonderful, all-natural waterbirth with virtually no-pain and then about DIED from the afterpains. I couldn't even nurse because everytime she would nurse the pain was UNBEARABLE and I would just break down in tears. This lasted for almost 2 days (until I got some STRONG meds!) I would have given birth 10x's over rather then deal with the afterpains.

AMEN! 5 minutes after Lulu was born they came. OMG! I was going to die! Perhaps if I had remembered they were a possibility, I would have been better prepared.

[peacenlove]

some of my experience;

throwing up in labor- i broke many (hundreds) of blood vessles in my face, under my eyes-(from straining)

hospital birth- my son had swallowed macomium during birth and they rushed him to intensive care, i didn't see him for 4 hours ( it was 1:30 am) the nurse came to me and wanted to give him formula- i said no way!

pain of breastfeeding- cracked nipples-

soaking my top, the bed, let down of the other breast while ds is nursing on one

pp hormones- i too felt crazy, emotional, frustrated

the overwhelming love for my son

peace kathleen

[mthomas]

the way your hair falls out post partum. I didnt notice it so much this time around, but the first time, I can clearly remember taking a shower and looking down. My pubic hair was patchy looking - lol. It was a little alarming at first.

[hallesmom]

Originally Posted by CraftyMommaOf2

The pain of the uterus shrinking back down and the clots you can pass after birth. I'm sure this is waaaay tmi, but I had a clot pass that was the size of a softball and I was positive I was dying!

Yes, I thougth that surely they left part of my placenta inside!!! Horrible, just horrible.

I also read about how your uterus contracts while breastfeeding, but I didn't realize that I would bleed more during this time too! ick.....

I also didn't realize that even thought I felt fine, I had a hard time getting up to go to the bathroom after birth, and that I needed to hold a towel/pad underneath me. Boy was there a mess to clean up! TMI** I know!

[LaLaLuna]

Originally Posted by peacenlove

some of my experience;



hospital birth- my son had swallowed macomium during birth and they rushed him to intensive care, i didn't see him for 4 hours ( it was 1:30 am) the nurse came to me and wanted to give him formula- i said no way!

I know Im being anal here (sorry!) - I feel the need to clarify that newborns aren't at risk for swallowing meconium; it's when they inhale it that it's a (potentially) major problem.

And good for you for refusing the formula!

[naturegirl]

:

I have to admit that most of these I have heard of but I still don't think I grasp how troublesome, icky, painful many of them are.

No turning back now though...36 weeks today! This baby will be coming sometime "soon".

[edamommy]

ahhhh good one!

I would say...
1. that milk comes in early and I may leak it during the night to wake up in a pool?!
2. That there are such things as high needs babies... that would have prevented the whole pregnancy!
3. That there is such emotional back lash from a csection/pregnancy gone wrong.
4. I could go on and on and on!!!
Kimberley

Oh and that it felt that, with each new day my hips were physically cracking open... ugh!!!!!!!!

oh, and the MYTH that breastfeeding promotes wieghtloss... HAHAHAH!!!