@Lcardinal04 did you find that the witch hazel stung at first? I had tried putting a little in my peri-bottle diluted with water but didn't end up using it since it stung so bad. Maybe I used too much. I will definitely have dermaplast on hand for recovery, that stuff was gold. Also, tucks pads felt good too.
@nlc8424 I didn’t have any stinging at all, but I also didn’t use it in the peri bottle. I used medicated round pads/thingies (I’m blanking on what to call them) and the big ingredient was witch hazel. I did a line of three or four of those on top of the ice pads I received from the hospital, then dermoplast. Hahaha, thinking back my walking with all that probably looked hilarious.
@Lcardinal04 I'll have to look for something like that. I plan on asking my OB about episiotomies and tearing with a second delivery to prep myself mentally, so being well prepared for the vag situation is important!
@Lcardinal04 did you find that the witch hazel stung at first? I had tried putting a little in my peri-bottle diluted with water but didn't end up using it since it stung so bad. Maybe I used too much. I will definitely have dermaplast on hand for recovery, that stuff was gold. Also, tucks pads felt good too.
I used just water in the peri bottle and had some stinging (urine on tear I assume) so I don't think the witch hazel was the cause. The witch hazel in the tucks pads felt nice
@nlc8424 “The vag situation”...I am dreading that situation!!! I need to make a note to ask my doctor about it as well, especially since this baby will likely be bigger than my first
Me: 32 DH: 32 BFP #1: 1/23/2012 DD: Born 9/20/2012 BFP #2: 12/30/2017 DS: Due 9/10/2018
@lpq0309 My personal experience was that I wanted minimal visitors at the hospital. There are people coming in to check you, give you meds, explain paperwork, teach you to breastfeed, etc. On top of all this you are tired, have limited mobility and discomfort, and you (and your SO) are trying to learn how to be parents! (Also you're semi naked a lot and bleeding so that can be awkward.) I got very overwhelmed and bike down the second day and we had to ask or families to hold off. This time grandparents and our siblings will be allowed to come meet the baby, then no more hospital visits. And we will again limit the amount of visits at home during the time DH has off from work. We found we just really wanted time to get used to being a little family and that time when all of us were home together all day every day was sacred. Obviously our parents did visit a few times during those first couple of weeks, but we didn't let them come every day or even every other day.
As far as episiotomies go, you should ask your OB. Nowadays, many hospitals/OBs no longer do episiotomies except in certain rare occasions. I know my hospital doesn't really do then anymore. (If I remember correctly this is based at least partially on the finding that it is easier for your body to heal a year than a straight slice. The irregular edges of a tear give more surface area for scar tissue to hold on to basically.)
Tearing. I had an epidural so I can't say what it might feel like without. I had a mild 2 degree tear. I actually think that was the only pain I could kind of feel just a little and it was just a stinging sensation. Not exactly pleasant, but it was a sensation on the periphery of my thoughts as the final pushes and arrival of baby were happening at the same moments. I could slightly feel a little bit of the stitches and kinda said " yowtch" I think, but again I was distracted because my new baby was laying on my chest.
I think the preference for PP vag care products varies from person to person a good bit. I had made a bunch of padsicles but they were kinda meh so I there most of them away. I think tucks pads and dermaplast are there most popular items. I remember one mom from my last BMB taking about how her DH learned how to prep her pads with all the tucks pads and aloe and such, and he said it was like making a sub sandwich for her.
I'm pretty freaked out about post partum vag this time too. Mostly because of the freaking veins. Delivery is just going to do wonders for those veins
And I remember hating padsicles. They just ended up giving me a "diaper rash" from all the added moisture down there as they thawed. I'll probably just make sure to have some ice packs set aside for that specific area.
@lpq0309 I had an episiotomy with my first. I'd been pushing for 90 minutes and my ob was consistently seeing DD's head get to the same point, and then sneak back in between contractions. I wasn't making progress, and we started to see distress in the baby. She asked me first...we'd either need to do an epi or get me down for a c section right away. I chose epi and she came out with the next push. I felt nothing when she made the incision as it was during a contraction. Since she'd been watching me push for so long, she could see where one of the constraining points was and made the incision perfectly. I didn't tear anything more. I don't remember how many stitches to close it up. They freaked me out too and were specifically something I wanted to avoid and mentioned that to my ob. In the end, it was necessary for us and not as bad as I feared.
As for the husband stitch, I made my comment earlier tongue in cheek about my ob making it. I don't think she actually did, but we had pp sex pain issues that went unaddressed. They aren't specific to epis though and a doctor could make one from tearing too. I don't think they're as common today as they were even ten years ago.
I looked into them a ton but never bothered with padsicles. I used ice packs in the hospital but found peri bottle then tucks pads on my pad to be enough once I was home.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________ MMC 8/5/15 at 8 weeks DS born 9/13/16 BFP 1/13/18 - EDD 9/20/18 - It's a boy!
I liked the padsicles personally but basically they are only good enough to “numb” the area. Once they thawed I would throw them out, pat dry, and place a new clean pad. But I’m a weirdo who hated dermoplast. It made my tear burn so badly. The peri bottle was a Godsend. I forgot to take it with me to the grocery store one time when I was 4 or 5 days PP and there was definitely audible yelling from the restroom when I inevitably had to pee.
@magnolia209 I think that’s pretty much all I used. And my hospital sent me home with some of everything so I didn’t need to buy any for several days. If you’re buying in advance, make sure you get the right color dermoplast!
@magnolia209 - I didn't need anything else. My hospital provided a peri bottle and my awesome nurse grabbed a second for me when I told her we had a multi-floor house.
Pads I was happy to have different absorbancies, but you could always have some heavy ones on hand then wait and see what you end up needing. It was nice to switch to something less heavy once PP bleeding allowed.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________ MMC 8/5/15 at 8 weeks DS born 9/13/16 BFP 1/13/18 - EDD 9/20/18 - It's a boy!
@magnolia209 I think everyone is different and every hospital is different. My nurses loaded me down with two large bags of supplies when I was discharged. I actually still have left overs. I've heard of others who walked out with just a couple pads. The one thing I wish I had more of was mesh underwear, and I am likely going to see if somewhere sells them. I just found that they stretched and held the supplies in place. I'd rather not ruin my underwear.
It playing the odds of what you will need. You could buy all the supplies and not need them, or you could wait and then someone needs to run out to a drug store because you need more than the hospital gave you. I ran out of dermoplast and the tucks pads quicker, so I'll likely pre buy that. I also never found the large rectangular pads that went under my heavy pad in the drug store.
I took a bunch of pairs of mesh underwear since they were comfy at the hospital then never ended up using them at home. I had bought some size up cotton bikinis which I found I very much preferred once I was home.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________ MMC 8/5/15 at 8 weeks DS born 9/13/16 BFP 1/13/18 - EDD 9/20/18 - It's a boy!
@Car0liiine I told my H the same thing about wanting to have that time with the nurses to figure out how to be parents if that makes sense. I want that time to take in what just happened too lol. I'm definitely going to ask H about learning how to make some pp pads for me..
@Patience7150 Thank you!! I read a story about an on OB that did an extra husband stich and the lady had terrible pain when she was cleared for sex after 6 weeks because it was so tight. That kind of freaks me out..but I will ask my OB all these things.
@nackie Did you ask the hospital for the extra pp supplies or did the nurses just give them to you? I didn't know if I should ask for extras or not. I plan on taking as much as possible though..that's what I've been told from other moms...take all the supplies you can!
@lpq0309 they just gave them to me. They would restock the room with all the supplies whenever we were running low and when we were getting ready to leave told me I could take anything in the room other than the baby clothes. It ended up being enough diapers and pp supplies to get us through a few days.
@nackie Did you ask the hospital for the extra pp supplies or did the nurses just give them to you? I didn't know if I should ask for extras or not. I plan on taking as much as possible though..that's what I've been told from other moms...take all the supplies you can!
I just posted this in the Hospital Bags thread, but I'll put it here too.
Anything "consumable" that is put in your room and opened (diapers, wipes, tucks pads, regular pads, mesh underwear, etc.) cannot be given to another patient so I took it ALL home. A friendly nurse will usually bring you extras if you ask, or you can hide extras in your bag and tell the nurse you ran out.
The only thing we were asked not to take was laundry items - baby hat, onesies, and blankets. However when we mentioned we had a dog to our super nice nurse, she brought in a ziploc bag from home so we could stick a used blanket in it to bring home to our dog to smell before arriving home with baby. I am crossing everything she still works at the hospital.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________ MMC 8/5/15 at 8 weeks DS born 9/13/16 BFP 1/13/18 - EDD 9/20/18 - It's a boy!
I think this comment fits here... I wasn't super impressed with my main nurse last time (distracted, would forget to bring meds, I dropped the gel nipple soother face down and she said just wash it instead of giving me a new one) so this time I will be much more likely to speak up if I need something. I did have a few great nurses (labor nurse was A+) so I think I will expect better this time. I shouldn't have to ask for pain meds multiple times (we're taking Tylenol/ibuprofen) and I might have DH write down what times I get them and when the next dose should be so I know if the nurse is slacking or not.
@DanyTargaryen Thank you! I wanted to have my H bring home something from the hospital for our dog to smell before we brought the baby home. I will definitely ask the nurse about putting a blanket in a bag for us. (Fingers crossed we have nice nurses like that)
With the post partum bleeding- I know you can pat dry but not wipe. What was everyone’s experience with showers? Did you just air dry for a minute or did you pay dry with a towel? And I’m assuming if so, the towels got blood on them? I’ve picked up a few bath/beach towels that were on sale to put down on the bed and to sit on for the first few days.. but I’m wondering if I need to get shower towels that I can throw away if I stain them? Am I way over thinking this?
@Redpuma119 I definitely had a towel on the floor in the bathroom that I didn't care if I had to throw out or bleach (we regularly have old towels around for our dogs though). But as far as drying myself I think I let myself air dry a bit. TMI warning: I think also after most showers for a while I would sit on the toilet while I got my pad situated and used my peri bottle and/or tucks to clean things up again before getting dressed.
@DanyTargaryen Thank you! I wanted to have my H bring home something from the hospital for our dog to smell before we brought the baby home. I will definitely ask the nurse about putting a blanket in a bag for us. (Fingers crossed we have nice nurses like that)
I would bring one from home just in case they won't let you take one of the hospital blankets. That way if they won't let you take one you can wrap baby in your own blanket while still in the hospital and take that home to the dog.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________ MMC 8/5/15 at 8 weeks DS born 9/13/16 BFP 1/13/18 - EDD 9/20/18 - It's a boy!
With the post partum bleeding- I know you can pat dry but not wipe. What was everyone’s experience with showers? Did you just air dry for a minute or did you pay dry with a towel? And I’m assuming if so, the towels got blood on them? I’ve picked up a few bath/beach towels that were on sale to put down on the bed and to sit on for the first few days.. but I’m wondering if I need to get shower towels that I can throw away if I stain them? Am I way over thinking this?
I dried everything else off then pat dry with TP between my legs.
Speaking of TP - you want something that isn't super cheap and dry but also isn't super fluffy. Some softness is good, but you don't want it leaving bits if it's too soft.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________ MMC 8/5/15 at 8 weeks DS born 9/13/16 BFP 1/13/18 - EDD 9/20/18 - It's a boy!
I think this comment fits here... I wasn't super impressed with my main nurse last time (distracted, would forget to bring meds, I dropped the gel nipple soother face down and she said just wash it instead of giving me a new one) so this time I will be much more likely to speak up if I need something. I did have a few great nurses (labor nurse was A+) so I think I will expect better this time. I shouldn't have to ask for pain meds multiple times (we're taking Tylenol/ibuprofen) and I might have DH write down what times I get them and when the next dose should be so I know if the nurse is slacking or not.
It's crazy to me you had to ask. After delivery I was given a bag with many doses of Tylenol and Motrin in it as well as a little sheet of paper with a chart on it to track dosages and times. I only had to ask for more meds once when I ran out. They really encouraged taking both Tylenol and Motrin and it was helpful to write down the times since Tylenol was every 4 hours and Motrin was every 6. Even writing them down I was late on a Motrin dose once and holy hell the cramps were bad while nursing.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________ MMC 8/5/15 at 8 weeks DS born 9/13/16 BFP 1/13/18 - EDD 9/20/18 - It's a boy!
With the post partum bleeding- I know you can pat dry but not wipe. What was everyone’s experience with showers? Did you just air dry for a minute or did you pay dry with a towel? And I’m assuming if so, the towels got blood on them? I’ve picked up a few bath/beach towels that were on sale to put down on the bed and to sit on for the first few days.. but I’m wondering if I need to get shower towels that I can throw away if I stain them? Am I way over thinking this?
I had no tearing so I could wipe whatever. I just used colored towels and everything washed out just fine. Even the stack of old towels I sat on and bled directly on came clean in the wash. I wouldn't use your nicest whitest towels, but in general you should be ok with what you already have. At least I was.
@nackie Did you ask the hospital for the extra pp supplies or did the nurses just give them to you? I didn't know if I should ask for extras or not. I plan on taking as much as possible though..that's what I've been told from other moms...take all the supplies you can!
Never hurts to ask for more supplies, you may get a nice nurse. Once the supplies are in your room, they can't give them to another patient. At my hospital they would not bring in more until you needed them, which was annoying when I really needed something and had to wait for an aide to bring them. Whatever they did bring in though I used or brought home.
I sweet talked a second of the nifty squirt bottles out of my nurse, so I had one in each bathroom. I also had a basket w a handle that I kept the tucks pads, lidocaine goo, and pads in, that way when I switched bathrooms for the day (bedroom is upstairs, spent the days on the main level) I could grab it and easily kept everything in reach when I needed it.
bfp#1-10/29/12,EDD: 7/3/13. nothing found @ 1st u/s, natural mc 12/10/12. "Bean"
bfp#2-5/10/13! EDD: 1/18/14. "Peanut" Arrived 1/13/14. Diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis
bfp#3- 9/26/14. EDD: 5/7/15. no heartbeat found @ 1st u/s, natural mc 10/23/14. "Little Bug"
@BusinessWife my hospital didn’t even offer tucks. It was just something I had on hand from reading recommendations while lurking BMBs.
I don’t have any experience with the Fridet, but the bottles my hospital gave were fine. Maybe TMI I used them for an embarrassingly long time after birth because my periods were super heavy after, so it was nice to feel clean haha
@BusinessWife I'm a fan of the Fridet. At the end of my first pregnancy I had a hard time reaching all the important bits in the nether lands and it really helped out with potty time clean up. I don't want to talk about hemorrhoids too much, but if you wind up with them, being able to wash up as opposed to wipe up really comes in handy and the Fridet is better for getting certain angles. For me it was money well spent and definitely useful during 3rd tri and pp. I'm planning to buy another one soon.
Eta: you'll have to ask your hospital what they supply in regards to tucks pads. Mine gave us plenty to use there and have some to take home.
@lpq0309 It’s kind of tradition around my area to take a hospital receiving blanket home as a souvenir of LO’s birth. I’m pretty sure the nurses and hospital staff expect it. I wouldn’t sweat it too much. I’m pretty sure it’s built into hospital budgets somewhat.
I just snagged the regular peri bottle from the hospital. I actually ended up with two? Which really came in handy when I inevitably dropped one in the toilet one night.
I was given a peri bottle at the hospital and my nice nurse got me a second one. They did provide tucks pads, and I ended up getting extras to bring home even though I had already bought some. It's not guaranteed to go home with a bunch so I'd rather spend the few bucks at Target to be sure I have some right when I get home.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________ MMC 8/5/15 at 8 weeks DS born 9/13/16 BFP 1/13/18 - EDD 9/20/18 - It's a boy!
For any STM curious, I asked my OB about episiotomy/tearing the second time around and here is what she said: it's difficult to say basically. Since the tissue was stretched before, it's possible that it'll stretch just fine for birth. Or, since I had an episiotomy before, it's possible that the area will just tear naturally (oh joy). So TBD. My OB tries really hard not to cut if she doesn't have to, so I'm just going to think positive.
Re: PP Preparedness
BFP #1: 1/23/2012 DD: Born 9/20/2012
BFP #2: 12/30/2017 DS: Due 9/10/2018
This time grandparents and our siblings will be allowed to come meet the baby, then no more hospital visits. And we will again limit the amount of visits at home during the time DH has off from work. We found we just really wanted time to get used to being a little family and that time when all of us were home together all day every day was sacred. Obviously our parents did visit a few times during those first couple of weeks, but we didn't let them come every day or even every other day.
As far as episiotomies go, you should ask your OB. Nowadays, many hospitals/OBs no longer do episiotomies except in certain rare occasions. I know my hospital doesn't really do then anymore. (If I remember correctly this is based at least partially on the finding that it is easier for your body to heal a year than a straight slice. The irregular edges of a tear give more surface area for scar tissue to hold on to basically.)
Tearing. I had an epidural so I can't say what it might feel like without. I had a mild 2 degree tear. I actually think that was the only pain I could kind of feel just a little and it was just a stinging sensation. Not exactly pleasant, but it was a sensation on the periphery of my thoughts as the final pushes and arrival of baby were happening at the same moments. I could slightly feel a little bit of the stitches and kinda said " yowtch" I think, but again I was distracted because my new baby was laying on my chest.
I think the preference for PP vag care products varies from person to person a good bit. I had made a bunch of padsicles but they were kinda meh so I there most of them away. I think tucks pads and dermaplast are there most popular items. I remember one mom from my last BMB taking about how her DH learned how to prep her pads with all the tucks pads and aloe and such, and he said it was like making a sub sandwich for her.
And I remember hating padsicles. They just ended up giving me a "diaper rash" from all the added moisture down there as they thawed. I'll probably just make sure to have some ice packs set aside for that specific area.
As for the husband stitch, I made my comment earlier tongue in cheek about my ob making it. I don't think she actually did, but we had pp sex pain issues that went unaddressed. They aren't specific to epis though and a doctor could make one from tearing too. I don't think they're as common today as they were even ten years ago.
MMC 8/5/15 at 8 weeks
DS born 9/13/16
BFP 1/13/18 - EDD 9/20/18 - It's a boy!
heavy pads
peri bottle
tucks pads
dermoplast
ice packs for down there
Pads I was happy to have different absorbancies, but you could always have some heavy ones on hand then wait and see what you end up needing. It was nice to switch to something less heavy once PP bleeding allowed.
MMC 8/5/15 at 8 weeks
DS born 9/13/16
BFP 1/13/18 - EDD 9/20/18 - It's a boy!
It playing the odds of what you will need. You could buy all the supplies and not need them, or you could wait and then someone needs to run out to a drug store because you need more than the hospital gave you. I ran out of dermoplast and the tucks pads quicker, so I'll likely pre buy that. I also never found the large rectangular pads that went under my heavy pad in the drug store.
MMC 8/5/15 at 8 weeks
DS born 9/13/16
BFP 1/13/18 - EDD 9/20/18 - It's a boy!
@Patience7150 Thank you!! I read a story about an on OB that did an extra husband stich and the lady had terrible pain when she was cleared for sex after 6 weeks because it was so tight. That kind of freaks me out..but I will ask my OB all these things.
Thank you both!
Anything "consumable" that is put in your room and opened (diapers, wipes, tucks pads, regular pads, mesh underwear, etc.) cannot be given to another patient so I took it ALL home. A friendly nurse will usually bring you extras if you ask, or you can hide extras in your bag and tell the nurse you ran out.
The only thing we were asked not to take was laundry items - baby hat, onesies, and blankets. However when we mentioned we had a dog to our super nice nurse, she brought in a ziploc bag from home so we could stick a used blanket in it to bring home to our dog to smell before arriving home with baby. I am crossing everything she still works at the hospital.
MMC 8/5/15 at 8 weeks
DS born 9/13/16
BFP 1/13/18 - EDD 9/20/18 - It's a boy!
I wasn't super impressed with my main nurse last time (distracted, would forget to bring meds, I dropped the gel nipple soother face down and she said just wash it instead of giving me a new one) so this time I will be much more likely to speak up if I need something. I did have a few great nurses (labor nurse was A+) so I think I will expect better this time. I shouldn't have to ask for pain meds multiple times (we're taking Tylenol/ibuprofen) and I might have DH write down what times I get them and when the next dose should be so I know if the nurse is slacking or not.
MMC 8/5/15 at 8 weeks
DS born 9/13/16
BFP 1/13/18 - EDD 9/20/18 - It's a boy!
Speaking of TP - you want something that isn't super cheap and dry but also isn't super fluffy. Some softness is good, but you don't want it leaving bits if it's too soft.
MMC 8/5/15 at 8 weeks
DS born 9/13/16
BFP 1/13/18 - EDD 9/20/18 - It's a boy!
MMC 8/5/15 at 8 weeks
DS born 9/13/16
BFP 1/13/18 - EDD 9/20/18 - It's a boy!
I sweet talked a second of the nifty squirt bottles out of my nurse, so I had one in each bathroom. I also had a basket w a handle that I kept the tucks pads, lidocaine goo, and pads in, that way when I switched bathrooms for the day (bedroom is upstairs, spent the days on the main level) I could grab it and easily kept everything in reach when I needed it.
bfp#1-10/29/12,EDD: 7/3/13. nothing found @ 1st u/s, natural mc 12/10/12. "Bean"
bfp#2-5/10/13! EDD: 1/18/14. "Peanut" Arrived 1/13/14. Diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis
bfp#3- 9/26/14. EDD: 5/7/15. no heartbeat found @ 1st u/s, natural mc 10/23/14. "Little Bug"
**Psalm 139:16**
Same with the Tucks - will they have actual tuck pads enough to bring home? Or should I go ahead and get some from Amazon to have on hand?
I don’t have any experience with the Fridet, but the bottles my hospital gave were fine. Maybe TMI I used them for an embarrassingly long time after birth because my periods were super heavy after, so it was nice to feel clean haha
Eta: you'll have to ask your hospital what they supply in regards to tucks pads. Mine gave us plenty to use there and have some to take home.
MMC 8/5/15 at 8 weeks
DS born 9/13/16
BFP 1/13/18 - EDD 9/20/18 - It's a boy!