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What do you wish you knew....
or that your OB would have told you before pregnancy (TTC related), during pregnancy or post partum related? I realize this is a very savvy crowd who googles/bumps/ask docs all questions....but I'd still like to make a nice hand out for my patients.
Thanks girls!
Three losses in 2009;
Boy/Girl twins born in 2010
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Re: What do you wish you knew....
This is very minor, but I wish I would have known more about how my body might respond to my changing hormone levels post partum. I expected to lose a lot of hair (like I did in the first trimester) and that I would be emotional (and sleep deprivation didn't help), but I didn't expect to sweat a lot. I would wake up in the morning drenched in sweat. Luckily, my neighbor 2 doors down had twins 3 months before Evan was born and I asked her about it and she said it was totally normal and she experienced it too.
Other than that everything was pretty much as expected.
Dx: PCOS and short luteal phase
18 cycles (3 with our RE) - Metformin + Clomid + HCG booster did the trick!
BFP #1 6/22/09 EDD: 3/2/10 DS born: 3/8/10
TTC #2 since Dec 2011
BFP #2 7/8/12 EDD: 3/18/12 M/C @ 9w1d: 8/16/12
god, the sweats... not looking forward to that again.
see my previous post, i think one thing that would be nice would be "what to expect at your appointments". obviously no patient is alike but as a first time pregnant person who, at the time only had one friend she talked to alot about the appointments and that person was having twins... i had no clue what to expect at my appointments.
Just the basics like:
8 week - Ultrasound to date pregnancy, answer questions
12 weeks, listen for heartbeat, bloodwork, urine sample, review billing, answer questions
16 weeks, listen for heartbeat, urine sample, answer questions
blah blah... i guess i like to know what to expect and I never did until I got there. I think something like this in the packet i got at my first ob appt would have been good.
Good gravy, yes. My PP night sweats were horrendous.
Pics by Fleurish Imagery
Wished I knew/was prepared for having my first c-section; I was in denial until close to the end of my bed rest. The then nest, now bump people really pulled out great tips to get me ready quickly, though.
Wished I known how little a diet-controlled GD condition was to worry about.
Wished I known about the 6-8 week ultra-fussy period babies seem to go through.
Wished I'd been less concerned about how much with my first spent in the swing; I would have enjoyed a little more me time without guilt.
I wish I knew more about about post pardum. I had no idea that I would bleed so long (7 weeks) and that I could barely walk for 2 weeks. I am sure it would have been worse with a c-sec. I didn't realize how bad sore I would be.
Oh and my milk coming in...no idea that I would get these lumps in my pits when my milk came in. It hurt so much. I had to massage the milk out. Eventually everything evened out, but I freaked out when I felt those little lumps in there. WEIRD! Another thing relating to BF...I had NO idea my boobs would get even bigger literally a cup size or more bigger!
Our little miracle, Jett.
Planning Bio,
My Blog
For me, everything came during or after delivery.
I wish I would have known theBump existed!
I had no clue about the shakes which apparently a lot of people get during labor. This was not in my book or class I attended. I got horrible, uncontrollable shakes during labor and as they were trying to give me the epidural. I was scared, period...also had them just after giving birth.
That when you have the worst tear possible you won't be able to walk or sit right for three weeks..it was awful.
BF'ing has a laundry list of complicated and painful issues, it's not all roses for everyone....I lasted 6 weeks and experienced a lot of the issues. I wish I could/would have gone longer, but I think with the lack of sleep at the time it was the best idea.
My postpartum care was vastly different even though I delivered at the same hospital. I wish I had known about the "salami sandwich" when I had DD#1. I recovered so much faster with DD#2 thanks to my fabulous nursing care the second time around. DD#1 - I was still very sore 4-5 weeks after delivery. DD#2, I was sitting on a wooden chair in Freebirds 4 days after delivery. I wasn't given colace, tucks, epi-foam, dermaplast or anything the first time. If only I had known to use them...even if the hospital didn't provide them I would have purchased them ahead of time if only I had known.
I share the awesome salami sandwich with every mom I know.
large pad on bottom, next layer is an ice pack for the first two days, then layer tucks pads on top of the ice pack like salami, pump on epi-foam like mustard all over and then spray the entire thing with dermaplast (the blue can) and your bottom with dermaplast and put it on. It was heavenly and so very helpful.
I'm one of those gals that doesn't lose all of the baby weight while nursing, ack! It's apparently more common than I thought. I sought advice from my OB and endocrinologist and was told both times that it is normal for women with my health conditions and to just hang in there and get aggressive when my babies wean. I think women assume that you're going to be back in your size 4 jeans at 6 weeks postpartum and well, that's not the reality of life.
My OB's office did this and it was very nice to reference.
I wish I had known about the peeing afterwards - oh, the peeing. I felt like I was a waterfall day and night b/c I was losing all of the water weight.
Also - my pedi wasn't on call the day of the birth, so she sent someone from another practice and she was awful. She basically told me that if I didn't feed my baby every 2 hours, I would never be able to establish BFing. Luckily, I had a few good nurses that talked me down from sobbing when my baby wouldn't nurse every 2 hours. They said the baby is tired from just being born, and we'll just wait and try again later - and guess what - I did end up successfully BFing!
Also - the first week at home is HARD. At the hospital, you are on cloud nine and everyone is visiting and all is well. Then you get home, and your milk comes in and the baby is crying and you are crying. I had a friend from OOT in that week (she had previously scheduled the trip - didn't know when the baby would be there), and it was horrific. I just wanted to be in bed all day, so DH ended up having to entertain her most of the time. She said she definitely got a wake up call about how it *really* is with newborns that week (she doesn't have kids)! lol.
I also did the salami sandwich. ;-)
I was told "sometimes moms cry a little" during the first two weeks after giving birth. A little? Riiiiight. I was totally unprepared for the hormonal roller coaster during those first two/two and a half weeks.
BFing is *** hard. So is learning to live life in 3-hour intervals. And getting BFing advice from a pedi is almost never a good idea - recommend to your BFing mommas that they see a lactation consultant or attend a support group (maybe even have a short referral list available).
i wish i would have known that everytime i tried to walk the week after delivery i would be totally out of breath.
i also wish i would have trusted myself during delivery and not listened to what the nurse "knew" was happening. turns out- you know your body better than your nurse ever could. definitely something i'm glad i know for this time.
I think this is a great idea!
Yeah, ditto this.
And that, while it seems like total hell when you're going through it, it's really not that long of a time and "this too shall pass." Take it day by day!
I would have really liked something like this. Every practice is different so it would have been nice to know how my OB does things.
As far as the other stuff, I would just recommend a good book for them. Things are soooo different for everyone, it's going to be hard to sum it all up in a handout.
Yes yes yes and yes! I was a MESS for the first 3 weeks. And learning to live life in 3 hour (or less!) intervals, feed on demand, being glued to the couch, etc. was extremely hard for me to adjust to. I ended up nursing for just about 8 months, so I eventually adjusted and grew to absolutely love that time with DD but it was hard in the beginning.
No one really tells you that...so it's easy to get caught in the guilt trap because you aren't sure if you're supposed to feel that way. It's tough. Moms need to be told it's ok to say out loud that things are really hard.
But medically speaking, I guess...the night sweats. I had no clue that was going to happen and OMG did it happen.
I wish I knew that I might not fit into my pre-pg clothes until I was 10lb UNDER my pre-pg weight because my shape was so different.
I wish I knew that my gyno doesn't know as much about infertility as they like you to believe, so I would have gone to an RE earlier.
And somewhat off topic, but I wish that every doctor that ever has you pee in a cup had a freaking hook to hang your purse on in the bathroom. This really drives me insane.
I wish my OB would have told me its standard practice for every one at St Josephs to be given Pitocin to labor faster. Even after I shared my birth plan with her, that said Id like to try to labor naturally with pain relief- I was pressured into pitocin (while thowing up and having the shakes from the epidural). I arrived at the hospital at 6cm dilated and started pitocin at 7. I like to know whats happening to my body and I was too naive to know this was standard so I didnt research pitocin or know anything about it.
After my baby boy came, I wish I would have known the warning signs for jaundice- besides just being yellow (baby is a little dark- so I didnt notice a skin change). I didnt know that Asians are at higher risk or that it can be a serious condition. I didnt find this out till our pedi called me at 6pm and told us to go to the Texas Childrens ER for treatment when his billiruben got dangerously high.