Ari Francis! (and a Q)

danakatiepfoltzer · June 2012

I tried to upload a photo but it's not working!

Ari Francis was born May 28 at 1:55 pm. He is 8. 10 and 22 inches! He is my little prince!

It was a rough 20 hour labor, which ended with an emergency vacuum delivery (the cord was really tight around his little neck). So, here's my Q. I had really bad tearing.. and some stitches were required on my rectum too. Anyway, my Dr. gave me stool softeners, but I'm still paranoid that I'll rip my stitches. I made the mistake of looking down there two days ago...and what a disaster! Yikes... I hope that it looks better one day.

Any tips on making BM's easier (besides stool softeners and lots of water)?

Jess & Drew · June 2012

Congrats! The only other BM suggestion I can think of is to make sure you are getting the right amount of fiber. Also if it helps any, it took me almost 5 days after birth before I had a BM an I think that is fairly common...maybe it will take you a few days also and things will be a little more healed down there.

SweetT94 · June 2012

i had the same thing happen on DS...and i was so scared to have a BM. i would suggest to take as many of the stool softeners as your doc will allow you too (i think 2-3 a day depending on the strength)....and drink as much water as possible. i started my softeners this time at 35 weeks because i did not want to be in the same position i was in last time.

i ended up holding in my BM for a number of days. The nurse finally recommended an enema, which i did and it helped. hang in there.

GL!! The first one is hard to get through....but dont worry, you will be fine. Just try to get your "poop" as soft as possible so that you do not have to strain at all. I had a 4th degree tear that was sewn through my rectum as well and it healed up just fine.

blueshamrock7 · June 2012

Congratulations! I haven't been where you are, but in the BM department... do not hold it in, that makes it worse when you do go... and get a sitz bath, sold at your local drugstore/CVS for about $20. Use it every time you have a BM or if you feel like you are ready to have one and you can, use it for a few minutes before. You fill it with hot/warm water and sit on it on the toilet. It can relax the area a bit before you go - or help soothe you after you go. Also, along with the stool softeners, you may want to take a fiber supplement (like Benefiber once a day - you mix it with water). Eating a good amount of fruit can help keep you regular, too... just remember, you want your stool soft, but not too soft where it's like diarrhea (that's not good either). Good luck/feel better soon!!