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April 2016 Moms
yodiggity
member
FTM questions for STM
yodiggity
member
Possibly dumb questions for STMs from FTMs.
This is a bit early but I wondered what moms do with baby when they have to poop, or shower or anything that involves not being in a room with baby. What if baby starts crying mid-poop? Do you finish your business or cut it short?
Re: FTM questions for STM
It's a boy! Grow baby, grow! EDD: 4/22/2016
You can also get a wrap style baby carrier for a lot of the time that they mostly just want held. We have a k'tan (simplified Moby) for the first few months and a MT and an Ergo for after they have more head control. You can use the MT and Ergo earlier, it's just a comfort thing. Any of them at least gives you your arms back!
**** Formerly Snoflakes4eva****
**** Formerly Snoflakes4eva****
It's a boy! Grow baby, grow! EDD: 4/22/2016
Confession of mine: Sometimes I would leave the baby in the k'tan when I used the bathroom. I got used to moving with it on and it just didn't pay to go through all that to take her out.
It's a boy! Grow baby, grow! EDD: 4/22/2016
**** Formerly Snoflakes4eva****
Confession of mine: Sometimes I would leave the baby in the k'tan when I used the bathroom. I got used to moving with it on and it just didn't pay to go through all that to take her out.
Same. Happy baby is totally worth it
This. I pretty much only knew what was coming because of the "things no one tells you" Pinterest posts.
I think this warrants it own thread but here we go.
You will bleed, as if you are having a horrible period. It doesn't matter whether you had a c- section or not. It normally lasts about 5 days but can last for weeks. And you cant use a tampon until you are cleared by your doctor. So get ready for some pad ass.
You will sweat, for me night sweats were the worst. It is completely normal but gross.
Your hormones will be everywhere, even without PPD.
It might take you days/ weeks to bond with your LO, and that is completely fine and normal.
All the pregnancy symptoms go away. Your hips stop hurting, you can sleep on your stomach, you don't have to pee every 16 seconds and you can breath easier.
Your first poop will be painful. Take stool softener and don't push!
Your first post partum shower will probably look like a murder scene but will feel amazing
After delivery you can eat/ drink anything.
If you deliver vaginally, the nurse will push on your stomach/ uterus to help your uterus contract. This can be painful, and you might queef..... loudly.
Your placenta might not come out easily. You might have to push it out or have it pulled out.
If you get Pitocin, there is a chance post delivery that you will shake really badly for an hour or so.
I also wasn't expecting the nurse to come into the bathroom with me for my first pee. She was very pushy about me putting an ice pack in my mess underwear.
When peeing, dab don't wipe.
If you get stitches, they might get stuck to the pad
**** Formerly Snoflakes4eva****
AEG84 said:
@mrstrax, I think it was you who mentioned googling postpartum stuff to have it prepared. I've done some reading and talked to a handful of mom friends, but would love more advice on what you found most helpful!
A good question to ask on your hospital tour is what they send you home with for you - mine sent me with a squirt bottle to "wipe" with, an extra pair of the mesh undies, 5-6 of the crazy giant pads (I used them for the first overnights), plus ibuprofen, a stool softener, tucks (witch hazel) pads, a little thing of nipple cream and (my favorite) an aerosolized topical pain killer called dermoplast - I'll be looking for a second can as I ran out with DD.
I'd recommend buying:
a pack of "heavy" maxi pads
a pack of "regulars"
a big box of thins/liners
a pack of cheap cotton panties a size big so the giant pads fit. Granny panty height is especially good for if you have a c/s.
Nipple pads for leakage (whether or not you BF)
If BF - a full size tube of nipple cream
Not totally related, but an app (free or paid) or notebook for tracking diapers/feedings and your meds. I didn't have any prescription pain meds after my vaginal delivery, but I was paying so much attention to DD is was impossible to remember if I took my ibuprofen at midnight... Or was it at 2... 10:30?
I've also seen people make ice packs out of pads, but didn't do it. I just sat on a bag of expired frozen peas if I wanted to ice down there.
So from your post I got the above....everything else *fingers plugged in ears* la-la-la-la-I'm-pretending-you-didn't-say-anything-la-la-la!
But seriously thanks for your candor and for sharing and HOLY $#!*
You might also want to consider a stock in Tuck's for hemorrhoids. Not everyone gets it, but it's pretty common.
Also, nipple cream/wax for breastfeeding helped me so much. You can get lanolin, or organic, whatever you choose I'm sure it will be fine.
Also, nipple pads saved so many of my shirts.
It's a boy! Grow baby, grow! EDD: 4/22/2016
I wasn't prepared for how swollen and painful my vag would be after (naive I know but when that epidural wears off. holy crap). You will barely be able to get out of bed. You will need help just getting to the bathroom. They also stick a massive ice pack in your pad so it's hard to sit, stand, or feel normal at all.
My junk was so freaking swollen. My vag looked like two twinkies!!! I kid you not and it hurt like a mother. You will look at it and wonder how it will ever go back to normal again. It does. Our bodies are amazing.
You might be really light headed after delivery. I fainted the first time they had me use the restroom. Really glad the nurses were there to catch me. Don't try and do it alone until you feel really confident.
When/if you choose to breastfeed, your uterus will contract whenever your baby sucks and it feels like you are in labor again. It is not fun but luckily only lasts the first couple days.
Using the restroom is quite the ordeal. You can't wipe with toilet paper for 4-6 weeks. You have to use a perry bottle and blot the area. Not to mention, constantly change pads, use witch hazel wipes (heaven sent), spray with numbing/itch spray. It's a process.
Also the thought of going poop after delivery will terrify you. I didn't go for 4-5 days, which I hear is pretty normal but some of it was because I was terrified of all the horror stories I had heard. I think it can sometimes be that way but I also think the fear of going was worse than actually going.
If you get stitches, they will most likely itch when you are healing and they start to dissolve. That itching for me was unreal and there isn't anything you can do to make it stop. Did not expect that.
You won't get any sleep in the hospital unless they take your baby to the nursery (and then they will still wake you up for feedings and to push on your uterus). I kept my baby with us the whole time and got woken up at least every two hours throughout the night. I don't think I slept at all. I could not wait to be released so I didn't have to deal with that two nights in a row! So annoying!
There is a possibility that you could be anemic after delivering. I wasn't during pregnancy but became so after losing a good amount of blood. They sent me home and 4 days later I fainted in the shower twice. Be careful with heat if you know you are anemic. Hot shower+anemia=bad. My advice would be to lay down when showering and try and shower with DH if you can. He saved my life...twice lol.
Obviously this is a very individual experience. Some women will be able to relate to some things and others they won't (like my SIL who was a recovery unicorn) but these are just a few things that I have gathered from personal experience and from the experiences of my friends and family.
Hope it helps!
Your hair will fall out! As in, you will think you are going bald type of falling out.
The second night in the hospital is hell. In the hospital I mentioned what a nightmare the night was to the lactation consultant and she said the second night is just unexplainable. almost like baby realized they are out of the womb.
Download an app to track feedings. I had no idea this even existed prior to having a child.
There was a really funny article I read years ago that I will try to find and post. It's damn accurate but hilarious as well.
I agree with everything said before, but for those ladies having girls- be prepared. Some infant girls have mini-periods when they are a couple of days old. It can even look like little crystals. I freaked out when it happened to DD, but the ped said it is common and its just residual hormones from mom.
My c/s recovery was a breeze. I didn't take any pain killers at home, and I only took a few while in the hospital. My bleeding was light, though it lasted about 5 weeks.
My first VBAC, however, did result in a 2nd degree tear, incontinence (bowel and bladder) for several weeks, and I lost a ton of blood. I couldn't sit for at least 2 weeks. I also grew lots of gray hair after that.
My least favorite part of post partum is the sweats and getting super drowsy from nursing for the first few weeks.
My favorite part of post partum is MOTN nursing sessions when it's just me and baby awake in a very quiet house
Different hospitals have different policies (up to and including no water, just ice chips) because of the chance of aspiration if a c-section is needed. It's like how they say not to eat for 12 hours before a scheduled surgery - it's just not as safe to be operated on with a full stomach.
Definitely buy larger granny panties. A lot of my underwear rested right where my c section scar was so higher underwear was needed.
Definitely steal the mesh underwear and gigantic pads from the hospital. You bleed a lot in the beginning and I felt like a regular pad couldn't hold it. And be prepared that anytime you move in the hospital bed, to feel blood gush out. It was super gross.
And be prepared to not care who sees your vag at that point. Since I had a catheter in, the nurses would come in and squirt me down and change my pad. All modesty was out the window.
Hmm if I think of anything else, I'll post it.