What should I expect AFTER birth?

[hj1981]

Yep i know what u mean - no matter what happens, good and bad, yucky and not so yucky its all part of a wonderful journey that is oh sooooo worth it in the end!
Im looking forward to hearing about how it all goes for you!!!! xo

[MantaRay]

Dee, that is a fantastic question hun. I was the same, and didn't even realise until after I'd given birth, that I literally had no idea what to expect.

I'm not going to answer your questions specifically, because I think you have some good answers already, but instead I'll share with you the things that took me by surprise:

- The amount of blood after giving birth
- How awful it felt not being able to move around after having an epidural and how long it took to recover
- How fantastic it felt to be able to move around after NOT having an epidural and how quickly I recovered
- That pain from an episiotomy really hurts and that lasts for a couple of weeks
- The pain from engorgement when your milk comes in is horrendous - probably worse than the episiotomy
- Breastfeeding isn't always easy at first, but with the right support you can overcome it. Learn the numbers for the ABA and a local IBCLC qualified LC now, and take them to hossy with you jic.

I hope that helps you. It is so good that you are preparing for this now. Good on you.

[LaDeeDa]

Hey MR - thankyou so much for adding to this ! I can't tell you how much I appreciate other Mum's thoughts and inputs!!!

xoxox

[Tobily]

For me seeing my tummy after my first was born was a bit shocking and failed souffle about sums it up.
My body is not the same as it was before I had children even though I am back at the weight I was before my first was born. My shape has changed (hip bones are further apart, tummy muscles are weaker, and I put on weight now if I don't watch my diet - where for my whole life before kids I could eat anything and not gain a gram...I guess my metabolism has shifted). I think most women find their body shape changes permanently in some way.

The thing that has surprised me though is my boobs. Through two pregnancies, and breastfeeding two babies (one for over two years) they are still in pretty good shape and I don't see a difference. So I guess I can put to rest the myth that b/fing always ruins your boobs

Oh and I swear, no one - NO ONE - ever mentioned to me that when you first stand up after giving birth you look at the floor and expect to see your insides in a pile between your feet! It felt really, really weird feeling everything "settle" back into it's original space once the baby was out lol.

[Arcadia]

This is a fabulous thread! So much of the post-birth stuff took me by surprise, and I kicked myself for not being better prepared.

My tummy looked like a deflated souffle for about 3 days. now it is totally back to normal. Tone and all.

Vag - I had a pretty big heamatoma on my left labia (TMI) and I had to put ice condoms in my knickers for a few days (just fill some condoms with water and put them in the freezer - it is AMAZING relief). My hymen was pretty big before birth, but now I have a hymen tag - the left over skin, which is a bit annoying.

I lost almost all my extra 14kg in the birth. I am 2kg off my pre-preg weight now and back into normal clothes almost straight away.

Things that surprised me were:

- The PAIN of engorgement. OMG. Put wet face washers in the freezer now, so you can ice those sore, sore BBs.
- The blood loss. I stopped bleeding after day 7, but then had an orgasm and WOOSH lost heaps of blood when I stood up. I almost fainted and was worried I had an infection! It was normal though and only about 30ml, but geez its scary.
- How weird your whole fanny looks ater birth - its really swollen down there.
- Doing your first poo is a BIG ordeal. I was lucky, but some women really have pain. I recommend holding a HOT washer over your perineum when its time.

Umm...think that's it.

Best of luck with it all.

[Lozza]

- i looked in a little mirror to see my baby's head crowning and i am still traumatised from it ( not recommended)
-The after pains especially when breastfeeding
- Heavy bleeding like you've never seen (make sure you have black comfy knickers)
- ice packs or even frozen water filled condoms for your vag to soothe any pain after
- I had a natural birth no tearing or stitches but it still looked horrendous after blisters and swollen i was very worried but it did go back to normal quickly
- really spongy belly i still had a little belly 6 months on
-dtd was a little uncomfortable but just tell your partner to go jump if they pressure you
but it did get better and back to normal for me

[Novella]

after pains when breastfeeding can be really painful (I had a drug free labour but had panadol for after pains)
drink lots of water and urals are good to stop the wee stinging
yes engorgement can definitely be painful
the exhaustion from labour but being too excited on a natural high to sleep then crashing the next day
how hungry I was after labour, I could have eaten a cow
how long the bleeding went for,
dtd- after #2 better than before kids go figure, first time dtd after baby use lube, lots and lots of lube and take it slow
after dd1 (tear and stitches) my vagina felt sore, swollen and puffy after #2 (no tear)felt normal

[LaDeeDa]

I just want to take a moment to thank everyone who has posted their experiences in this thread....
I've absolutely loved reading them, scaring DF with them and I know it's made me feel a whole lot more mentally ready to attack this all.....

Thanks so much everyone xoxoxox

[myson]

how hungry I was after labour, I could have eaten a cow

when i was filling in the menu request each day in hospy they had things like...

sandwich OR salad OR hot meal
then
fruit OR dessert

i crossed all the OR 's out and wrote AND!!!! i was starving!

[Deltadawn]

Doubledee

If you had a good tummy with good tone beforehand, your tummy will be fine within a few weeks. After 14 years of swimming I also had a 4-6 pack tummy and my tummy was back to almost normal 8 days after the birth. It still "felt" a little soft to touch but looked pretty good. I also did medicine ball sit ups until I was about 24 weeks pregnant too though.

I dont remember by va-jay-jay being in too much pain. In fact, the nurses were a bit suprised that 48 hours after the birth, I still hadn't asked for any panadol. I had 10 stitches too but not too much pain. My va-jay-jay (well, labia really) was a little swollen for a few weeks where the stitches were and I also got a minor prolapse 10 weeks after the birth because I didnt conentrate on my pelvic floor muscles but that rectified itself 6 months after the birth. The Ob said it was quite common and it would fix itself which it did.

I think we DTD about 8 weeks afterwards and although felt a little tight, there wasnt too much pain at all. Not at all what I was expecting. Someone told me it was like losing your virginity all over again but definitely not that bad. DH actually said that it didnt feel too much different either which was a relief to me!

Two things I want to warn you about though which you didnt ask about and wish someone had told me:

1. Bleeding: I thought I was bleeding to death after the birth and even called the nurses in a few times. I was going through a maternity pad every 1-2 hours and everytime I got out of bed, it felt like a waterfall flooding everywhere.

2. That first poo after the birth: Not as bad as I was imagining. It didnt affect the stitches whatsoever and wished I hadnt have put it off and put it off. The quicker your body gets back into normal mode, the better.