Postpartum Experience

fishee333 · January 2016

I found this article on Lucie's List super interesting and helpful. As a FTM I have no idea what to expect. It talks about right after the delivery and up to a few days later - what it's going to be like for both mom and baby, including all the TMI details.
https://www.lucieslist.com/postpartum/after-delivery/

I'm curious for STMs or for those who have already had your baby how your postpartum experience was, and is this article comparable?
It also links a postpartum recovery kit & I'm wondering if this is worth looking into and spending money on? https://astore.amazon.com/lucslis-20?_encoding=UTF8&node=2

SaguaroBlossmom · January 2016

I was absolutely wired after both of my births. DH would be sleeping, baby would be sleeping yet there I was , up alllllll night.
The bleeding is insane, snag as many of those diaper pads and mesh underwear shorts as you can , they are awesome.. for 6 weeks I bled lightening up as time went on obviously but it's like, oh you enjoyed 9 months with no blood? Here you go *imagine the shining* Depending on if you tore, going pee was torture , stung my stiches soo bad. Tucks pads and the little squirting bottle are your best friends for several weeks.

They didn't mention how bad nursing will hurt, not only your nipples, but every time your baby latches on it stimulates your uterus to contract. Had to ask for ibuprofen on the regular thanks to that. Quite painful.

I didn't see anything about hormones in there , but they are absolutely nuts. I remember bawling my eyes out at the hospital. Over nothing, literally. Also, a couple nights post birth you will probably have a horrible night of sweating profusely, thanks again hormones!

That's all I can remember for now..

jeanbug12 · January 2016

I would say that article is mostly accurate! Of course everyone's experience is different.

I have had both a c-section and a vaginal delivery and the only thing on that recovery kit list I used was a peri bottle which was provided by the hospital. So for me the kit is not worth it.

mamakculb · January 2016

I'd say this article seems pretty accurate. I never had Vicodin for pain afterwards, just some pain killer...maybe hydrocodone? I don't even know.

I have to disagree with having pain because of stitches when peeing. Honestly I never noticed any and I had an episiotomy because my son's head and arm came out together with the cord wrapped around both. I was terrified to poop though. And of course they want the nurse to babysit you the first time you poop. She kept telling me it's okay to push and I told her I just imagined the stitches all popping out and unraveling and my uterus falling out into the toilet or something. Turns out there was just some pressure and my colon felt great afterwards.

The uterine cramps are pretty uncomfortable. Feels like bad PMS cramping every time you nurse. I just imagined it as a hard core ab workout giving me a slim tummy again haha. Definitely snag all the post partum goodies from the hospital. The mesh panties are so unsexy but so wonderful. The ice pack and maxi pads are better than what you'll use at home and the peri bottle is handy.

I delivered my son at 3:30am. I was probably awake for another hour or so after to nurse and finish up all the birthing fun. I slept til about 7/8am and then we started having visitors...medical and familial. I had a ton of energy but after a couple hours my BIL and SIL came in and I handed her the baby and just passed out for a good hour haha. I went home the second day and felt good, just sore like after a good leg and ab workout. I hope this time goes as well for me. It'll be a lot different having a 2 year old to come home to as well as having a newborn.

Rach8672 · January 2016

I would like to add that when people say get some rest while you can at the hospital , it must be a complete joke ! We had more Dr visits , vital checks , specialists ie audiology it was almost impossible to sleep. You could spend 45 minutes calming LO down and getting the perfect swaddle to actually keep LO asleep and the nurse will come in and unswaddle and wake LO for a temp reading . Of course my vital check and vital check for LO were out of synch , SMh . I can't wait to get home !

jessfrks · January 2016

First time mom. Wasn't due until Jan 3rd.Went to work on Dec 22nd (I was 38 weeks) and was having some cramps that started about 7:00 am. Didn't realize they were contractions. Eventually everyone at work told me to call the Dr and they told me to go to ER to get checked. And I was 4 cm dilated ( this is at 10 am). Imagine my surprise!! I started pushing at 2:40 pm and she was born at 4:07 pm. Wow!! No epidural and no pain meds. And she was worth every second. So excited!!
The days after I came home from hospital I had random things going on. Had some lightheadedness but that went away after about 2 days. I had I guess what you would call the "baby blues" I started crying randomly for no real reason. That went away pretty quick.
The bleeding was really bad the first couple days. I'm 2 weeks postpartum and still bleeding quite a bit but some days hardly at all.
The soreness was bad! The ice packs in the pads at the hospital were awesome!!

After 2 weeks I'm feeling pretty good!

danasphillips · January 2016

I had pretty bad PPA with my first, but I think a lot of it had to do with having too many visitors and my hovering MIL. I'm looking forward to knowing better this time around and being able to put my foot down when I need to. Physically I felt great though! Just typical sore muscles and crotch from a bit of tearing.

BarrettJ89 · January 2016

I'd say the article is pretty accurate. I had internal tearing (3 sets of stitches on the inside-ouch). On one hand, they didn't snag on the pads/mesh undies and I never really felt the stitches, which is good I suppose. I didn't have any cramping afterwards, but they aren't joking about the bleeding. Holy moly!
I had an epidural with my son (absolutely fabulous), but after they took the catheter out, I was so swollen down there (no shit, Sherlock! I just pushed out an 8.4 lb baby, had a cath, and 3 sets of stitches! Of course my hooha is angry!) I couldn't pee on my own. When you do use the bathroom, avoid toilet paper! Use that spray bottle with luke warm water... They insisted on babysitting me while I tried, which maybe I'm just too self-conscious. So awkward. I can'tell pee and I'm bleeding like I never knew possible. I dunno, but I knew I had to pee, I just couldn't. So they used a straight catheter to drain my bladder. That wasn't satisfactory, so they put in an overnight catheter. Most painful experience I've ever had (thank you for impatient nurses). I'm sad they didn't mention how glorious your first shower will be! Also, after delivery, I was only there for one night.

I'd say to make sure you are open with the doctors/nurses over any concerns (bleeding, pain, exhaustion, anything and everything). Don't be afraid to turn away visitors or tell certain people to come back later (like the hospital photographer if they have one, or the people coming to do paperwork like the birth certificate).

The after care kit doesn't seem worth it. For me, the hospital supplied the peri spray bottle, the derma plastic spray, the mesh underwear, and colace). I hated the colace. For me it worked too well... nothing like bleeding like crazy and sitting yourself. Ugh. Raid the hospital of everything in the room for you and baby. Ask for extras!

mamakculb · January 2016

Rach8672 said:
I would like to add that when people say get some rest while you can at the hospital , it must be a complete joke ! We had more Dr visits , vital checks , specialists ie audiology it was almost impossible to sleep. You could spend 45 minutes calming LO down and getting the perfect swaddle to actually keep LO asleep and the nurse will come in and unswaddle and wake LO for a temp reading . Of course my vital check and vital check for LO were out of synch , SMh . I can't wait to get home !

Oh my gosh I am right there with you. They offered to let us stay an extra night and I said no thanks I wanna go home and sleep, haha! I was so glad to quit getting interrupted.

Ju111310 · January 2016

I think this varies so much from person to person, just be prepared for the worst and hope for the best lol With my first, I had the best and I'm praying that I get so lucky this time around! I had a very fast delivery, an epidural & no tearing or episiotomy. I was up walking & peeing within an hour of delivery. I delivered at 230 am, got moved to postpartum room around 5 am. I was starving & got Cracker Barrel breakfast around 6 am. Finally got an hour nap around 9 while baby was in the nursery getting labs drawn & checked out by pediatrician. I was soooo sleepy by then! My postpartum bleeding was minimal, like a heavy period for about 2 days then lightened up & no huge clots (and I've seen patients have some HUGE clots). I was in absolutely no pain after delivery, I took the naproxen (anti inflammatory med) and stool softeners as they are ordered as routine meds by my OB but needed no additional meds, ice packs, sitz baths, peri bottles or anything. I quickly changed out of their mesh panties and diaper sized pads into my own comfortable hiphugger undies & a normal sized pad within 12 hours of delivery. I started taking stool softeners daily around 37 weeks, which may have helped, but my postpartum poos were not painful or difficult. So no, the kit would not have been helpful for me. I do recommend bringing cottenelle type flushable wipes, because I was terrified at the thought of scratchy hospital toilet paper but wanted to be able to clean up better than the peri bottle allowed.

BarrettJ89 · January 2016

@Ju111310
I. Am. So. Jealous. Lol

MssyMmmy · January 2016

The number one thing I've been struggling with is hormones. The lack of sleep and being in the hospital for 4 days made me super weepy. I had a c-section so I am not sure about the vag pain but definitely snag the hospital underwear and peri bottle. Super handy!

CaraBoonie · January 2016

@Ju111310 My mom says she never (for 3 births, and her first was over 9lbs with bad tearing) had anything much worse than period bleeding, and only for a couple weeks. She was sore at the site of her stitches with the bad tearing for her first for many months after, but not for her two smaller babies, and it was just soreness, nothing too bad. Every time I mention postpartum prep and buying things, she tells me to wait and see how it is for me, since it wasn't bad for her (and so far we seem to have similar experiences with periods, conceiving, and pregnancies, so I'm frankly expecting a similar postpartum, even though I know there are no guarantees)

SBH041815 · January 2016

The story was pretty true to form from both my previous experiences(I had two vaginal deliveries). They talk about the uterine massage that the nurses do after delivery and during the rest of the stay; that I found to be extremely painful. I remember wanting to slap the nurse every time she cheerfully announced it was time for that. Like previous posters I too hated the checking my vitals and baby's vitals because I got no rest because of it and was ready to get home. I had a hard time dealing with the emotions after delivery too; some crying and just feeling overwhelmed at first.

Some of my favorite items for dealing with my crotch area after delivery were:
Peri bottle!!! The warm water felt like heaven for the pain/stitches
Tucks/nupercaine(sp?) and this numbing spray for my tush because PP pooping was a really bad deal for me...lots of hemis unfortunately!
The large pads, absorbent and covering as much area as possible.

Also for other needs:
A waterproof mattress pad: night sweats and leaking breastmilk were rampant for the first couple weeks
Comfortable, sleeping, nursing bras and plenty of breast pads to absorb the milk that would leak randomly or leak from one side while nursing from the other.
A very informative book on breast feeding and a lactation consultant's number in my phone were also invaluable for me because I had many questions and concerns about breastfeeding as baby and I were learning to do it.

That's all I can think of right now!

GAgirlinSDakota · January 2016

I have nothing useful to add here b/c it's all been said. It just seems like the right place to share this little story:

After having my first baby they removed the catheter and we were waiting for me to have the urge to pee. About 10 minutes after visitors showed up I suddenly needed to go NOW. So, I'm wiggling and struggling off the bed and a giant blood clot (the size of a small grapefruit) shot out, rolled off the bed, bounced across the floor, and splattered against the wall. I was mortified! Luckily, by the time I was out of the bathroom, the visitors had fled.

The End

OrangeFox · January 2016

A lot of people have said most of what I was going to say.
I definitely felt super emotional for a few weeks. I remember crying over nothing several times.
I didn't have any trouble with bowel movements postpartum. It was a little scary and slightly uncomfortable, but not really a big deal. Peeing was a little painful the first few days because I had stitches and lots of bleeding. But I used the peri bottle every time and it didn't take too long until it was better. I also used the cold pack pads for the first few days and loved them. I loved the sitz bath and will do that again too. If you don't want to buy the toilet bowl thing you can take a bath with the same herbs (as long as you didn't have a c-section).

Rach8672 · January 2016

I want to face punch the night time L&D nurse ! Vitals at the worst effing time everytime . She gave my baby her first bath last night at 130 am and my baby was born at 409 pm ... Why the f*** would you do that ? If she wakes us one more time .... I also asked about the possibility of supplementing my LO feeding because she has lost 8% body weight and my nipples are killing me . Her response is no you shouldn't have to. No explanation .. Umm no as in she will be well fed either way or no as in suck it up who cares if your breasts are on fire. I swear she must not have kids. Sorry end of rant .

ShannyFann · January 2016

I was in labor for 25 hrs and pushed for over 2 hours of that so I had what the doctor said was "a nice hemorrhoid cluster" which was rough. After they removed the catheter and epi I literally could not feel my legs or anything else below my belly button for several hours. The nurse and my husband had to practiaclly carry me to the toilet. I had to use brain power to get myself to pee because all my lower abdominal muscles were basically asleep. I was exhausted and felt like I had been hit by a truck so sleep was all I wanted to do. I had no appetite. But my pain was easily managed with extra strength Tylenol and dermaplast spray. A donut pillow was seriously one of the best post baby investments I ever made. Ice packs and good absorbent pads are a must. Personally I hated the mesh undies, but give them a whirl, you might like them. I used the peri bottle religiously. I didn't eat for something like 3 days so I didn't have to poop until the day after I came home and by then I had been popping colace like it was my job. It wasn't terrible but it wasn't pleasant. Basically my recovery was less about my lady bits and more about my hemorrhoids and how absolutely exhausted I was and how weak my muscles got after such a long labor and so much pushing. My top picks for items would be donut pillow, colace, peri bottle, good thick pads, dermaplast, hemorrhoid cream/wipes. Oh and something to help keep the belly jiggle under control until it all starts to tighten up again.
As a public service announcement I will advise you NOT to look at your hoo-ha when you get home. There is no unseeing that. The doctor who discharged me was one of those guys who, although he is an OB and sees it every day, was totally in awe of what women's bodies do and was enthusiastic about me "checking it all out when I got home." Never, never again will I subject my eyes to my nether region three days after having a baby. **shuddering**

fishee333 · January 2016

Thanks everyone for sharing! It's super helpful and interesting to hear others' postpartum experiences.

juju0592 · January 2016

You really don't have to spend money on a kit. Just make sure you have snacks, and lots of monster pads. Most hospitals provide everything else. It's also different each pregnancy. With my first I bled for 2 weeks and had stitches. My second, I didn't tear and only bled for three days. (Lucky I know). Also, just mentally prepare for the mean cramps the night following giving birth. With my second, I thought I was gonna die the cramps were so bad.

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