Ah yes the cramping after birth. I heard it gets worse with each delivery. I wonder if that's true?
DD2 was definitely more painful than DD1. Especially when breastfeeding I noticed more pain, it's like your body kicks into gear quicker and faster. So I am not at all looking forward to the pain with the third baby! I am planning to stay on schedule with my Motrin!
Married 03.09.09 Sweet Baby H 12.21.11 Sassy Baby P 03.26.14 Little Brother Due 05.22.17
I don't remember having to push the placenta out or anything either. It must have come out easily enough after DD? DH did said it was "gnarly" as kipperro would call it. I never saw it though.
@kns1988 yes! DH and I were talking about that after our class Tuesday! She isn't pushing for a non medicated birth but always has comments like this girl is my favorite (nonmedicated birth) and it's just so great how she pushed through without meds. Or you can get an epidural but it doesn't always work. Here are so many more options for unmedicated. No B! I want the drugs! They also say things that show they don't agree with the doctors and a few of those I know from previous education stuff I got from my doctor that it's for the baby's safety. Luckily my DH keeps his mouth shut bc I don't think the ladies teaching would like him very much knowing he is a doctor who has delivered babies.
FTM here, @hp_momma I was recently told that breastfeeding causes your uterus to contract down to its normal size which is somewhat like cramps. The female body is truly amazing! My mom says her cramping wasn't as bad with me as her previous two.
FTM here, @hp_momma I was recently told that breastfeeding causes your uterus to contract down to its normal size which is somewhat like cramps. The female body is truly amazing! My mom says her cramping wasn't as bad with me as her previous two.
Yes, that's the cramping I'm referring to. Second time around the breastfeeding usually kicks in faster so the cramping comes on faster and more intense. Your nurses will also come in and massage your uterus to get back to its normal size. And I wouldn't say it's "somwhat like cramps", it feels identical to labor cramps/menstrual cramps.
Married 03.09.09 Sweet Baby H 12.21.11 Sassy Baby P 03.26.14 Little Brother Due 05.22.17
I'm a page and a half behind, but I've got figure this out...
Breast tenderness. OMG, what can I do?! I've never had this before, even with PMS. It's primarily my right one and it's horrendous. Started yesterday evening and has been aching ever since. It just...aches and is so so sensitive. Don't look at it, don't touch it, don't even think about it. Is there anything to ease this? Is this my life now?
Cramping - Oh man I am not excited to hear that the cramping after can be worse the second time around. I actually do not remember that part much from the first time. Selective amnesia? Placenta - I remember them telling me I needed to push again, but that is about it. Pooping - Oh man. I pooped multiple times and while it is embarrassing and I apologized, prior to that I had already peed on the floor and thrown up multiple times. Also after I hemorrhaged and you could hear the blood hitting surfaces, so the quick to clean up of poo was probably the least of their bodily fluid struggles with me. Pre-Natal Class - I too would be totally annoyed with that style of presentation. I had the opposite issue and am a bit disappointing in my previous birthing class as they really glossed over breathing exercises and other pain management techniques and those would have been helpful to me since I couldn't get an epidural. Breast Tenderness - Sorry @nda_roxybabe I have no suggestions, but experienced that bad last time and it sucks.
With DD when the nurse said after I finished nursing they'd be back for the massage DH was very impressed that the hospital offered complimentary new mom massages... LOL not. I was so uncomfortable.
I'm trying not to think about the whole pooping thing. Both H and I know it's a very real possibility, but we're going to pretend like it didn't happen if it does.
They actually asked me if I wanted to see my placenta after delivery. I was a bit loopy/exhilarated and just assumed she wanted to show me it for a reason. Nope. Just a gnarly placenta.
Massage is the worst word for what they do to your uterus post-birth.
In our birth class with DS1, the instructor noted that the baby's head squishes everything out of you like a tube of toothpaste. Not the best image, but it makes sense. I'm pretty sure I pooped with both kids and I really didn't care in the moment. I definitely remember the nurse being pretty quick to clean things up with DS2 as it happened and it was definitely no big deal.
The cramping was definitely worse with #2 but I also stopped bleeding within a week or two and my uterus was back to normal size in no time. Mother Nature is amazing.
Feb 2012: DS1 born 40w2d, 7 lb 11 oz, 20" May 2014: DS2 born 40w3d, 10 lb, 23"
@hp_momma as a FTM and being who I am, I get all giddy when I learn something and hear you guys confirm it. Since being pregnant I've really enjoyed learning all the great things our bodies do to create life.
I'm not ready to feel contractions or cramps once I start getting a period again
Re: pain meds: after my birthing class this weekend i decided i'm okay with IV narcotics but i want to avoid an epidural, main reason being i want to try the fun birthing props like the fitball and the Jacuzzi and such which i won't be able to do with an epidural.
You all better not be screwing with me about breastfeeding the second time around coming in faster. It took 72 hours for my milk to come in last time, if it takes that long again I am going the formula route, it was exhausting.
I don't remember much about the belly smooshing after delivery. Either it wasn't that unpleasant or maybe they didn't do it that much? C-section perk? My mind has done a really good job erasing a lot of that experience.
Oh the uterus "massage" made me yell! That was the first and only time I yelled/made a peep with my first. With my second, breastfeeding made me cramp so painfully that I was in tears.
@WombThereItIs Re: STM BFing I've been exclusively pumping since hour zero with my babies so ive had an interesting perspective on the whole milk volume increase phenomenon. Obviously everyone is different but I had a faster increase this time than last AND I had a c-section at 32 weeks which put my boobs at a distinct disadvantage. I posted my pumping volume nerdery a while back but everything really started to click at 48 hours (with DD it was day 4 before things turned around - granted, I was not EPing). What the latest research shows is that nursing or hand expression (not pumping but it can't hurt) in the first hour really does make a substantial difference in terms of getting supply off to the best start. There's a neo in CA (Jane Morton) who doesn't even stress about catching that first expression of colostrum (that is, if the baby and mom are separated and baby isn't taking it directly from the breast) - she has moms just get the colostrum out so that the body gets the message to make more.
Re: the fundal "massage" post-birth - I don't remember them AT ALL from my vaginal birth with DD but goodness gracious they were not fun after my c-section. Hopefully that's not the norm.
@WombThereItIs Breastfeeding was definitely faster the second time around for me, hopefully it is for you too! And the uterine massage with DD1 was hardly anything to remember, but man DD2s was painful! With DD1 I hardly took any Motrin, but with DD2 I was keeping up with it like clockwork!
Married 03.09.09 Sweet Baby H 12.21.11 Sassy Baby P 03.26.14 Little Brother Due 05.22.17
@WombThereItIs youve got to be kidding.... The "massage" post csection was excruciating. I labored all the way and pushed for hours before having a csection and the most painful part of the entire experience was that awful massage. I cried each time and my husband couldnt even watch bc the nurse was like elbow deep in my stomach after id just been sliced open. I am dreading that. Maybe i had a mean nurse.
@Jkp7749 I also pushed a ton and had a cesarean. So weird I'm not remembering this! Maybe because I hemhorraged a little? No clue.
Now I am usually a very staunch defender of medical professionals but I did have some of the worst nurses I have ever met when in the mother/baby unit so there is a chance they just didn't do it or didn't do it properly?
Random: oh my gosh! This little guy is straight up poking out the right side of me! Not sure if it is his butt or his back or what, but dang no wonder I've been having issues on that side, even if it was in the back!
"A day without laughter is a day wasted." ~Charlie Chaplin
2+time mamas with 1yr olds - HOW are you surviving pregnancy?? I'm doing my friend a solid and babysitting her 12 month old this morning. He won't nap for me, weighs almost 30 lbs, and I'm dying! All moms are super (I mean, we grow people!) but all of you with young children are really rockstars!
Much like @Louise_Belcher , I have a total void in my memory about the massage. It's like it just never happened!
These STM BF stories are giving me hope that this time around won't suck as bad as the last time. I know we have a whole BF post and this has been said before, but I want to say it again because I think it's really important for FTM...you may have nurses in the hospital telling you that BF is going great, baby has a good latch, etc...and you will likely leave the thinking to yourself "my baby is nursing like a champ! I got this and it's way easier than I thought it would be!"...and then there may be a crushing blow 24 hours after you get home and go to your first pediatrician appointment when it turns out, in fact, it is NOT going as well as you think it is. I sincerely hope that doesn't happen to you, but it happened to me and I was devastated and confused. This seems to happen to many people that I know personally, so I'm pretty confident that this is more common than people think. Just keep your chin up and remember that it's NOT just you, you are doing your best, and ultimately, you will always choose what's right for your baby, which is THE most important thing.
@Kipperoo Agreed that the STM BF stories are giving me hope too! And you wrote out my exact experience from last time and I wish I would have known just how common it was.
Add me to the list of people afraid of pooping in the delivery room. I know its normal and I shouldn't be worried about it but I kinda still am!
@kns1988 our birth class was very anti-Med and anti-intervention. I think that is fairly common. Our instructor was visibly disappointed when she found out no one in the class was planning a "for sure" med free delivery. I do think though as @Louise_Belcher pointed out they should be teaching the breathing techniques for those who are not eligible for an epidural and for the contractions that happen pre epidural.
My random: I'm sitting here bawling my eyes out at the friends episode where Monica and Chandler find out they get to adopt a baby. I love that show even though I've seen each episode a billion times
Yes @Kipperoo! Agree 100% I left the hospital thinking we were pros at breastfeeding. I mean one of the nurses even referred to my nipples as "super nipples". I was devastated when we got to the Peds appt and DD was losing weight and my "super nipples" were chapped and bleeding. So glad to hear that might not be the case this time, but having experienced it once I hope I'm better prepared for the possibility.
DS turns 1 tomorrow:) it's a challenge with this pregnancy and him. Luckily he is a snuggler and only weighs 18lbs(yes he is very little), but man can he zoom around the room on all 4's or with his push walker. I have a hard time getting from floor to standing, but overall it hasn't been awful
I'm equally excited and terrified for BF-ing. I can be so sensitive and I'm just afraid it's going to be excruciating.
Just go in prepared that it's going to be painful at first. I don't believe in the whole "if you have a good latch it's not painful". It IS painful at first. I vividly remember toe-curling pain for the first week or so and dreading each feading. It's not easy by any means, but I think you just have to go into it with an open mind and understanding that it's an adjustment for both you and baby!
Married 03.09.09 Sweet Baby H 12.21.11 Sassy Baby P 03.26.14 Little Brother Due 05.22.17
Blegh breastfeeding. I am 100% dreading doing that again more than labor. Figuring it all out is hard and uncomfortable and you have a small creature screaming at you while you are hormonal and a mess. Those first two weeks....whew!
I've got a shiny new nipple shield in my hospital bag in case I need one again! But the STM bf stories have me hopeful it will be easier this time.
It turns out DS was +5 in each eye so extremely farsighted and needs glasses. We picked out some cute green ones after our appt and DH and I are getting over the guilt of not noticing sooner- he's 2.5 and the dr said that she would have noticed at 6 mo. She also said that this baby due in May has a 30% chance of having the same issue so she will be seeing the ophthalmologist at 1. I'm pretty surprised our pediatricians didn't notice it either- but we will be frequent flyers at the ophthalmologist for both kids from now on so hopefully we won't miss something like this again!
Anyone been checked yet by their OB? I think she just did it today because of the swab so she was already down there. I've never had an OB tell me that I'm at a fingertip but still closed and would be easily induced. That was new.
I'm with you @MrsFreeman2010. I've been dreading breastfeeding again since I first got my BFP. Though the STM saying that it happens faster are definitely giving me a little more hope!
And wow, thanks for all the fantastic memory flashbacks of labor and birth. I think I'd blocked out all the puking and pooping and painful as hell "massage", but it all just came screaming back.
Re: Randoms and Questions 3.27 - 3.31
Sweet Baby H 12.21.11
Sassy Baby P 03.26.14
Little Brother Due 05.22.17
@kns1988 yes! DH and I were talking about that after our class Tuesday! She isn't pushing for a non medicated birth but always has comments like this girl is my favorite (nonmedicated birth) and it's just so great how she pushed through without meds. Or you can get an epidural but it doesn't always work. Here are so many more options for unmedicated. No B! I want the drugs! They also say things that show they don't agree with the doctors and a few of those I know from previous education stuff I got from my doctor that it's for the baby's safety. Luckily my DH keeps his mouth shut bc I don't think the ladies teaching would like him very much knowing he is a doctor who has delivered babies.
23 y/o;
[05/06/17]
First time mommy
90% of the way there
Sweet Baby H 12.21.11
Sassy Baby P 03.26.14
Little Brother Due 05.22.17
Breast tenderness. OMG, what can I do?! I've never had this before, even with PMS. It's primarily my right one and it's horrendous. Started yesterday evening and has been aching ever since. It just...aches and is so so sensitive. Don't look at it, don't touch it, don't even think about it. Is there anything to ease this? Is this my life now?
1st Baby 5/12/17, Henry
Placenta - I remember them telling me I needed to push again, but that is about it.
Pooping - Oh man. I pooped multiple times and while it is embarrassing and I apologized, prior to that I had already peed on the floor and thrown up multiple times. Also after I hemorrhaged and you could hear the blood hitting surfaces, so the quick to clean up of poo was probably the least of their bodily fluid struggles with me.
Pre-Natal Class - I too would be totally annoyed with that style of presentation. I had the opposite issue and am a bit disappointing in my previous birthing class as they really glossed over breathing exercises and other pain management techniques and those would have been helpful to me since I couldn't get an epidural.
Breast Tenderness - Sorry @nda_roxybabe I have no suggestions, but experienced that bad last time and it sucks.
Welcome @michelle59-2
DS2 5/17
#3 Due 9/20
1st Baby 5/12/17, Henry
Massage is the worst word for what they do to your uterus post-birth.
May17 Siggy Challenge
Labor
The cramping was definitely worse with #2 but I also stopped bleeding within a week or two and my uterus was back to normal size in no time. Mother Nature is amazing.
May 2014: DS2 born 40w3d, 10 lb, 23"
Due May 2017 with DD1!
@hp_momma as a FTM and being who I am, I get all giddy when I learn something and hear you guys confirm it. Since being pregnant I've really enjoyed learning all the great things our bodies do to create life.
I'm not ready to feel contractions or cramps once I start getting a period again
23 y/o;
[05/06/17]
First time mommy
90% of the way there
I don't remember much about the belly smooshing after delivery. Either it wasn't that unpleasant or maybe they didn't do it that much? C-section perk? My mind has done a really good job erasing a lot of that experience.
May '17 labor memes
Re: STM BFing
I've been exclusively pumping since hour zero with my babies so ive had an interesting perspective on the whole milk volume increase phenomenon. Obviously everyone is different but I had a faster increase this time than last AND I had a c-section at 32 weeks which put my boobs at a distinct disadvantage. I posted my pumping volume nerdery a while back but everything really started to click at 48 hours (with DD it was day 4 before things turned around - granted, I was not EPing). What the latest research shows is that nursing or hand expression (not pumping but it can't hurt) in the first hour really does make a substantial difference in terms of getting supply off to the best start. There's a neo in CA (Jane Morton) who doesn't even stress about catching that first expression of colostrum (that is, if the baby and mom are separated and baby isn't taking it directly from the breast) - she has moms just get the colostrum
out so that the body gets the message to make more.
Re: the fundal "massage" post-birth - I don't remember them AT ALL from my vaginal birth with DD but goodness gracious they were not fun after my c-section. Hopefully that's not the norm.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And the uterine massage with DD1 was hardly anything to remember, but man DD2s was painful! With DD1 I hardly took any Motrin, but with DD2 I was keeping up with it like clockwork!
Sweet Baby H 12.21.11
Sassy Baby P 03.26.14
Little Brother Due 05.22.17
Now I am usually a very staunch defender of medical professionals but I did have some of the worst nurses I have ever met when in the mother/baby unit so there is a chance they just didn't do it or didn't do it properly?
May '17 labor memes
I still hope it doesn't happen.
I just got to pick my child's birthday. Csection is scheduled for 4/19. Three weeks away. Holy cow.
1/7/2015 Twins born @ 34 weeks
"A day without laughter is a day wasted." ~Charlie Chaplin
These STM BF stories are giving me hope that this time around won't suck as bad as the last time. I know we have a whole BF post and this has been said before, but I want to say it again because I think it's really important for FTM...you may have nurses in the hospital telling you that BF is going great, baby has a good latch, etc...and you will likely leave the thinking to yourself "my baby is nursing like a champ! I got this and it's way easier than I thought it would be!"...and then there may be a crushing blow 24 hours after you get home and go to your first pediatrician appointment when it turns out, in fact, it is NOT going as well as you think it is. I sincerely hope that doesn't happen to you, but it happened to me and I was devastated and confused. This seems to happen to many people that I know personally, so I'm pretty confident that this is more common than people think. Just keep your chin up and remember that it's NOT just you, you are doing your best, and ultimately, you will always choose what's right for your baby, which is THE most important thing.
DS2 5/17
#3 Due 9/20
@kns1988 our birth class was very anti-Med and anti-intervention. I think that is fairly common. Our instructor was visibly disappointed when she found out no one in the class was planning a "for sure" med free delivery. I do think though as @Louise_Belcher pointed out they should be teaching the breathing techniques for those who are not eligible for an epidural and for the contractions that happen pre epidural.
My random: I'm sitting here bawling my eyes out at the friends episode where Monica and Chandler find out they get to adopt a baby. I love that show even though I've seen each episode a billion times
1/7/2015 Twins born @ 34 weeks
1st Baby 5/12/17, Henry
Sweet Baby H 12.21.11
Sassy Baby P 03.26.14
Little Brother Due 05.22.17
bag in case I need one again! But the STM bf stories have me hopeful it will be easier this time.
It turns out DS was +5 in each eye so extremely farsighted and needs glasses. We picked out some cute green ones after our appt and DH and I are getting over the guilt of not noticing sooner- he's 2.5 and the dr said that she would have noticed at 6 mo. She also said that this baby due in May has a 30% chance of having the same issue so she will be seeing the ophthalmologist at 1. I'm pretty surprised our pediatricians didn't notice it either- but we will be frequent flyers at the ophthalmologist for both kids from now on so hopefully we won't miss something like this again!
And wow, thanks for all the fantastic memory flashbacks of labor and birth. I think I'd blocked out all the puking and pooping and painful as hell "massage", but it all just came screaming back.