Pages

Thursday, October 4, 2012

6 things i forgot about post-partum

1. post-partum hormones making me ridiculously hot and sweaty. all.the.time. so glad i didn't bring slippers or socks to the hospital. totally did not need them. i just get really hot. and sweaty. my go-to hairstyle for bed is pulling all my hair up on top of my head with a hair elastic so it's off my back and neck.

2. uterine cramping while breastfeeding. oh my word they really do get worse with each birth. the one thing i did wish i had in the hospital for the first night was tylenol and advil. it was like being in labour except it didn't end for a week or so.

3. engorgement. well, i didn't really forget but it's been awhile since i last breastfed. and nipple chafing/pain/cracking. ouch. and milk leakage. we're at 2 weeks and 2 days and it's finally getting better.

4. burping. i somehow forgot about burping a baby after they nurse. it's my least favourite thing to do in the middle of the night. now that the baby has a clean diaper and a full belly and is sleepy, why not whack the kid on the back to get an air bubble out? sigh. so counter-intuitive. also? am i the only weird person who burps every time i am burping the baby? yes? okay. moving on.

5. extreme soreness - specifically in my back. for the first few days, i'm all hunched over trying to get a baby to breastfeed and latch properly and carrying an infant uses muscles you didn't know {or at least, forgot} you had. luckily the intense muscle pain subsided after a few days. it's probably due to my muscles just getting used to my bad posture and other contributing factors. i'm sure my back is an absolute mess, though. oh where is my massage therapist brother-in-law when i really need him?

6. the sweet smell of new baby. my new baby. best.thing.ever.

4 comments:

  1. You are not alone! Hubby and I always burped while burping the baby. It worked better for us than it did our boys! ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha. Yay! I'm glad I'm not the only one this happened to.

      Delete
  2. Amen sista. I also forgot about many of these things. Only 3 days in but yea..

    Oh those cramps are really getting me at night too. Kept deliberating over whether to get up or not last night for Tylenol but managed to fall asleep.

    Last time I was really sweaty but not this time, at least not so far.

    Ouch engorgement! Milk came in yesterday afternoon & hello increasing several bra sizes within a matter of hours and then another size overnight. Luckily, I'm not dealing with pain from cracking but that's cause I'm still nursing S once a day so have been nursing straight for almost 2 years...so my nipples are pretty tough.

    Love that you burp when u burp your babies. I never burped S cause a breastfeeding specialist told me in most cases it wasn't neccesary & found it true for him. He was not very gassy & almost never spit up, tho. We'll see what O is like...haven't burped her yet anyways.

    Yes, hello back pain from bad posture. I need to stretch & exercise.

    Mmm, New baby smell is the best!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Noah was my spitter-upper - like EVERY SINGLE FEED but he never complained about the gas/spitting up. He was just a spitter. :)
      I eventually stopped burping my babies at night once they got more calm and less frantic/gulpy (maybe I have a fast letdown?) during feedings.

      Yeah, I didn't have issues with my nipples cracking when I had Jude because they were still somewhat used to nursing Noah although I had weaned him several months before hand.
      But it's been 2 years since I last nursed a baby so...getting used to it all over again.

      I can't wait to hear the rest of your birth story! :)

      Delete

I love hearing from you!
If you're commenting as "Anonymous" please make sure to sign your name under your comment so I know who you are!
Happy day to you!