What should I expect AFTER birth?

[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.

[myson]

2. Will my poor vag be defaced beyond repair? ....Does it ever go back to normal or does it stay loose and floppy forever more ?

3. Is DTD difficult or hugely differnt the first time after birth?

ok I'll just comment on these two points.

on about day 3 or 4 I got a mirror and had a look at my bits. DONT do this if you are inclined to panic over what once was... at least not so soon after the birth.

BUT when we first DTD at about 6 weeks, my DH said it was like i had never even had a baby come out of there.

it will repair in time. just remember to do lots of PF exercises before and after!

[NaNa]

Some great answers here, and you asked some good questions! I think everyone's covered it pretty well, but here's my input:
The pain of engorgement is what really knocked me for six. It was so unexpected and so sudden, I woke up on day three after the birth with what felt like hot volcanic-rock porn-star boobs. Impressive to look at, but excruciating. I remember that pain more than anything about the birth. So brace yourself for that one, and maybe have a good breast pump available. Ease the pressure a bit, and save your bub from drowning in milk!
Oh, and after a bit you'll suddenly notice your hair is falling out everywhere. Don't panic, but it can go on for months. You wont go bald! And your Dyson will definitely get a good workout!
And DO YOUR PELVIC FLOOR EXERCISES! Nobody wants a prolapsed uterus.

Best of luck for a wonderful birthday!

[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

[OceanPrincess]

... 2. Your vagina is designed to get back into shape! You may have some discomfort sitting if you tear a bit and need stitches, or if you graze (many people graze) - you might want to drink some Ural to help your urine not sting, use wet flushable toilet wipes, and lean RIGHT forward to wee (think, hands on ground butt in the air, so you don't get urine on your tender parts).

I now understand something - my sister (who gave birth 7 months ago) came round on the weekend and threw into my hossy bag a packet of Ural and some Voltaren! The Voltaren I understood but the Ural I scratched my head and thought "There must be a reason she gave me that" but we were on our way out to a wedding and I forgot to ask!

Now I get it!!!! Thanks Nelle for clearing that up!!!

[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.

[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!

[misskate]

hahaha myson, thats so cute

hello dd

one thing that i didnt expect was the pain in my pelvis through the birth and in the after effects. that was the biggest pain for me. you know how it opens up a little to let the babies head through. i looked like i had been riding an elephant for a year.


also, my tum was pretty good when i left hospital. it feels so weird though!

and vagina looks superhuman, like it should have its own postcode for a couple of days!!!

oh and another thing i forgot to add,
i had nookie 3 weeks after birth because i wanted to see how it felt and i was comfortable. TMI here, but before baby i had never had an orgasm, ever and since having him i can have one every time which is very cool! i had succomed to being one of those women that never ever get to have one. i put it down to a mixture of hormone change and being closer with dp.