Q for first timers who've had their babies - Page 2

[Bella Catalina]

I was prepared for--and expecting--a 12-14+ hour labor... maybe 8-10 if I was really lucky, lol... it was under 3 hours and I was in denial. We almost ended up with a UC or car birth because of it.

That pushing is like throwing up, only backwards. Impossible to control and incredibly intense, but kind of relieving afterwards.

That the transition would feel seemless and natural (although we often felt like we didn't know what we were doing)--one day he wasn't there, the next he was, and we couldn't remember what life was like beforehand.

And lastly, with no family around--and it's important to stress that I do not have a great relationship with my mum--how intense the need to have someone mother me was. I think this will be the hardest for me again this time.

[crosscat]

I had a very very easy labor. I thought it was going to be a lot harder - I didn't even realize when I was in transition, for example, because I thought it was going to be miserable. I never got that "I can't do this" feeling. I'm not sure if it was because of my Hypnobabies de-programming or if I just had a really easy labor (maybe both).

I didn't realize breast feeding was going to be SO time-consuming. I knew that babies eat 8-12 times a day, I just didn't realize sometimes I'd be spending up to an entire hour getting her fed! Sometimes it seems like it's about time to feed her again as soon as I get finished. I'm assuming it's going to get easier, though.

It's harder to get things done in the house than I expected, but I'm learning to hustle and do chores in between feedings.