let's get prepared...

[Lau88]

With grazes and tears/stitches its best to have a jug of warm water to pour over while weeing. It naturalises the ammonia.

 

[cookette]

Stalking!

 

[ParisJeTadore]

I wish I had worn the band! Instead, I have rectus diastasis, and will have to have physical therapy after baby #2 to try to coax the muscles back together. Even when I wasn't pregnant, my insides would bulge out--I thought that was how it is for every mother!

You poor dear! Would the band have prevented the diastasis or were you simply unlucky? I know a woman who had this happen badly enough that she needed surgery to repair it. Hopefully not the case for you!

 

[Buckles]

The trapped wind in my shoulder after my C section was so painful. Take peppermint tea in with you.
And I know everyone tells you to, but try and get as much sleep as possible afterwards as sleep deprivation is a big shock, but being a mummy is the best thing in the whole world x

 

[Pink Sarah]

weeing on a labial graze!! Oh my goodness the pain!! Makes labour seem like a walk in the park. I refused to drink liquids for nearly a whole day as I was so terrified to wee because of the pain, until the midwife told me off and made me drink

Finally found a certain position (sitting on toilet seat leaning forwards with both hands on the floor and legs up in the air!!) that meant the wee didn't

Oh gosh I totally forgot about this ^ !!! And the agony of walking any distance in first couple of days after delivery!

 

[EmzyJA]

I had a second degree tare and a graze and didn't find peeing too bad. My midwife told me to get some witch hazel and put some on a maternity pad and pop in the freezer. When you pop it in you knickers it gives good relief and helps and pain down there.

I hated the after pains, they were pretty painful and had no idea that's what happens after having a baby, no body ever told me!!!

 

[x Helen x]

With grazes and tears/stitches its best to have a jug of warm water to pour over while weeing. It naturalises the ammonia.

See, I know this is what they suggest, but it never worked for me! I tried just about everything - puring a jug of water, weeing in the bath, weeing whilst pointing a shower hose down there etc - none of it worked I guess my graze/tear was just so close to the urethra that the urine always hit it first before the water did. Weeing on a stupid angle was the only way I could find relief!

 

[Lau88]

With grazes and tears/stitches its best to have a jug of warm water to pour over while weeing. It naturalises the ammonia.

See, I know this is what they suggest, but it never worked for me! I tried just about everything - puring a jug of water, weeing in the bath, weeing whilst pointing a shower hose down there etc - none of it worked I guess my graze/tear was just so close to the urethra that the urine always hit it first before the water did. Weeing on a stupid angle was the only way I could find relief!

mine still hurt a lot, i found doing it while one bum cheek lifted off the seat helped. I cant imagine having to run a shallow bath every time you need a wee, seems unpractical.

 

[Leliana]

A weird thing I found about weeing after giving birth was that I could go hours and hours without remembering to go. I literally went from being pregnant and weeing every 10 minutes to sometimes going 6 hours!! Total revelation! Also, the first few wees after giving birth are MASSIVE!

 

[apple_20]

oh this brings back memories i had a c-section and had the shoulder pain gas thing too!

I also seemed to wee loads the first few days after birth (as the water retention went down) then all of a sudden id think when did i last wee?

I didnt realise i would need to wear a bra in bed, i got a sleep bra sooo comfy.

I thought I was prepared for a c-section (breech baby) but i hadn't realised I'd be unable to move from the bed for so long. I had my c-setion at 5.30 pm so they left the catheter in over night and didn't get the damn thing taken out until at least midday the next day. I couldn't reach my baby when he cried or to try breastfeeding without calling a midwife.

 

[ajlj1126]

This one is terribly important and I wish someone had told me, so that new moms don't freak out.

DH & I were told by my OB to keep an eye out for symptoms of Post-Partum Depression. He named off a bunch of things to watch for and we took it to heart.
So the day I came home from the hospital with my new baby, I was overwhelmed. She wouldn't sleep in her bassinet, only on my chest. I was exhausted. She wouldn't latch. I spent hours trying to get her to BF properly before giving her a little formula just so she'd sleep.

I cried so much, for hours and hours that first night home. I hadn't slept a wink since labor started and I was over-exhausted. I cried because I just wanted to cuddle my DH and I hadn't slept in a bed with him in a week! I cried literally all night that first night. And everything the next day made me weep. I'm not normally a crier, so DH automatically assumed it was PPD.

I want you new mommies to know that the first few days after birth, your hormones are literally DUMPING out of you by the bucketfuls! You will be overemotional! You will cry a lot. It doesn't automatically mean you're PP. It takes 3 or 4 days to feel like yourself again. If you're still not right after that, then I would speak to a doctor.

 

[hope&faith09]

I wasn't aware of after birth pains - some with my first far worse with my second (so bad I thought I was in labour again!) but apparently very common.

 

[too_scared]

This one is terribly important and I wish someone had told me, so that new moms don't freak out.

DH & I were told by my OB to keep an eye out for symptoms of Post-Partum Depression. He named off a bunch of things to watch for and we took it to heart.
So the day I came home from the hospital with my new baby, I was overwhelmed. She wouldn't sleep in her bassinet, only on my chest. I was exhausted. She wouldn't latch. I spent hours trying to get her to BF properly before giving her a little formula just so she'd sleep.

I cried so much, for hours and hours that first night home. I hadn't slept a wink since labor started and I was over-exhausted. I cried because I just wanted to cuddle my DH and I hadn't slept in a bed with him in a week! I cried literally all night that first night. And everything the next day made me weep. I'm not normally a crier, so DH automatically assumed it was PPD.

I want you new mommies to know that the first few days after birth, your hormones are literally DUMPING out of you by the bucketfuls! You will be overemotional! You will cry a lot. It doesn't automatically mean you're PP. It takes 3 or 4 days to feel like yourself again. If you're still not right after that, then I would speak to a doctor.

I cried and cried and cried for about a week. I was still so scared after that. It took about a month to feel sane again. Dh was on ppd watch but I was ok.

I also had a thing called intrusive thoughts. That was beyond awful but that went away too, thankfully. As far as I can tell that's pretty normal after birth too.

 

[too_scared]

Double post oops

 

[ajlj1126]

Double post oops

What is intrusive thoughts? I haven't heard of that. Thank you for sharing your experiences. I thought I was crazy at first.

 

[Nikko88]

Intrusive thoughts are ones that you'd rather not have. They can range from thoughts of self-harming or harming the baby to imagining horrible things happening (e.g. fire burning down the house or someone stealing the baby etc.) and not being able to put those thoughts out of your mind.

Having suffered from depression before, it's definitely something I'm on the look out for. However, the thing to remember about these thoughts as horrible and scary as they can be, they are just thoughts.

Check out: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/am-i-normal/201110/intrusive-thoughts-normal-or-not

 

[ajlj1126]

Intrusive thoughts are ones that you'd rather not have. They can range from thoughts of self-harming or harming the baby to imagining horrible things happening (e.g. fire burning down the house or someone stealing the baby etc.) and not being able to put those thoughts out of your mind.

Having suffered from depression before, it's definitely something I'm on the look out for. However, the thing to remember about these thoughts as horrible and scary as they can be, they are just thoughts.

Check out: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/am-i-normal/201110/intrusive-thoughts-normal-or-not

Thank you for the info! I had a feeling that's what that was. I had thoughts like that at first, mostly just horrible and irrational anxiety about bad things happening to my DD. It got so bad I was scared to let anyone hold or touch her and I wouldn't go outside. Thank you for sharing!!

 

[too_scared]

Intrusive thoughts are ones that you'd rather not have. They can range from thoughts of self-harming or harming the baby to imagining horrible things happening (e.g. fire burning down the house or someone stealing the baby etc.) and not being able to put those thoughts out of your mind.

Having suffered from depression before, it's definitely something I'm on the look out for. However, the thing to remember about these thoughts as horrible and scary as they can be, they are just thoughts.

Check out: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/am-i-normal/201110/intrusive-thoughts-normal-or-not

This exactly.

It's awful but like you said, they're just thoughts. I'm REALLY not looking forward to them again.

 

[too_scared]

I thought of another one. Night sweats. I had very little swelling before baby came but I swelled up like a balloon after he got here. The night sweats were just my body getting rid of all the water it retrained. No one told me this was a possibility and it was awful. I would wake up with my pajamas soaked, the sheets wet, my hair wet. It was no fun at all. Being a winter baby in Newfoundland made for a very cold time nursing at night. I had to cover myself with a blanket all up around my back and around the back of my neck. I still sat there shivering while he nursed.

REALLY, REALLY not looking forward to that again.

 

[Luvspnk31]

I am too always in he lookout for the ppd. And it always takes me about a month to fell " normal" again. I remember having horrible dreams after my dd was born. Would dream about placing her in the toilet and would wake up in a panic. I would always have to check on her. I hated those dreams!!