Comments on: 40 things about what to expect after labor and delivery, childbirth, and coming home that no one told me

By: Sheigh

Sheigh — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 21:32:28 +0000

Don’t forget baby’s first poop! That was a surprise for me.

Also, you will will not feel sexy after giving birth. You will not have time to want to feel sexy. Your spouse can wait.

You don’t want to look into the mirror during or right after. Talk to your spouse before hand about them not looking during labour either.

Toys that make noise will drive you crazy no matter how soothing they sound at first.

Don’t let people make you feel bad. You will be the mom that your little one needs. Your friend with a new baby may have an impeccable home and be going to mom and baby programs every day of the week. Just because they do doesn’t mean you have to.

Leave your little one with a suitable caregiver (Grandma, Grandpa, Aunts, Uncles, good friends, etc) at least once a week so you can do something for you. Even if it’s just reading a book in the bath or watching a movie of your choice in another room. You will want to call/peek in a lot but you need the time away to appreciate your time with your baby.

By: Mom of a 3 Month Old

Mom of a 3 Month Old — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 15:42:59 +0000

Thanks for sharing. It really sounds like you had a tough time with the hormones. Thankfully I had about a week of crying a little bit for no reason at all. I also am not breastfeeding, so I was able to get a lot of support from hubby with feeding, which meant a lot more sleep. But the physical recovery was brutal and still am coping. I had a wonderful delivery experience…thanks epi! However, when I got home it was tough. I had a 4th degree tear. Awful. It all seems like a distant memory now, and she’s only 3 months. Good luck and I enjoy reading.

By: Pregnancy Miracle

Pregnancy Miracle — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 00:47:13 +0000

Wow, thanks for this great list. I am currently in the “night sweats” phase and not enjoying it… Great to see that I have so much to look forward to =P

By: kell

kell — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 21:28:22 +0000

I definitely can identify with all of these. The one thing I didn’t know is that I should have Preparation H just in case (I know probably to much information but after having a baby. embarrassment of those things pretty much go out the window for me). It’s not just constipation that causes hemorrhoids. Also, the lochia reminded me almost like my water breaking in small gushes. The mesh panties and the pads they give you at the hospital were a life saver for me. I didn’t want to get them on mine. The regular pads just didn’t seem to absorb enough and felt worse than the pads. I grabbed a ton of them and was glad I did. Also, the weight thing is definitely irritating. I weigh much less than pre pregnancy and I still can’t wear my regular clothes. I’ve never had the experience of my tonsils removed but as for it hurting more, I had gal bladder surgery and another surgery, but nothing compared to child birth. But at least with child birth a wonderful thing comes after the pain. After surgeries the only good that comes out of it is less pain. I didn’t get the pleasures of an epidural though so I don’t know what no pain feels like (wish I did). When it comes to people touching my child I still have a problem with it with my daughter. You learn to let advice go in one ear and out the other and not to let people get to you.

By: FutureMama

FutureMama — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 17:28:03 +0000

Thanks! wow! I love adding to the list of things “they don’t tell you beforehand!”

By: Mindykoob

Mindykoob — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 17:07:04 +0000

Thanks for all of this GREAT info! I am 36.5 weeks pregnant, and am being induced in a week and a half (unless of course he comes on his own before then lol) , so all of this info is great! I have a few friends who have 5 week olds, so they’ve been giving me lots of good advice too!

Keep up this wonderful blog! P.S. Did you guys know you were mentioned in the note from editor in Pregnancy magazine?! CONGRATS!!

By: Alaina

Alaina — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 03:00:33 +0000

Haha – I brought way too much stuff to L&D too! We also have a virtually unused nursery with a lot of unused things and our baby is 5 months old! I posted a lot of stuff on Amazon to sell.

By: Liz

Liz — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 19:33:44 +0000

Yes, it is all so true! Three more to add… First, no one told me not to get too excited about being able to sleep on my stomach again b/c it wouldn’t feel good while breastfeeding since my boobs would be so big and uncomfortable. Second, no one told me how hungry breastfeeding would make me! I was used to packing snacks to satiate me while I was pregnant but I am way hungrier now than I was then, I swear I can’t eat enough. You would think that would help the last 10 pounds of baby weight come off but the scale isn’t budging except on the unfortunate days when it ventures back in the wrong direction. Ugh! Lastly, no one told me that no matter how much you want the baby and love it, you’ll still envy those “on the other side” of parenthood. I sit in restaurants and just gaze at couples who haven’t started their families yet (or so it appears) and, not gonna lie, get really jealous sometimes…they don’t realize how carefree their lives are!

On the lonely part, during those nights when it is so hard to be awake and feeding my little one (or rocking him while he screams), I just imagine all the other women around the world doing exactly the same thing in that very moment. Even though I have no real connection to them, it somehow makes me feel better to know I’m part of an incredible community of women raising children and going through the same thing both today and throughout the ages. I also went to Mommy & Me yoga for the first time this week and it was the best experience to be with other mommies and their babies. It’s offered once a week but I wish it was offered way more often, I can’t wait for next week’s class to roll around!

By: bandfsfirstpregnancy

bandfsfirstpregnancy — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 17:35:52 +0000

My mom had her tonsils out in her early 30s and she wrote back (after I showed her this) that she would go through pregnancy again any time, but not getting her tonsils out again!!! And she had 2 ‘natural’ births and 1 with some meds. I guess that’s kinda’ comforting to us expecting…
Thank you so much for this blog – you are really a HUGE help to us expecting ladies!

By: Jane

Jane — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 15:59:38 +0000

Mia – I’ll definitely write a blog post about those two things in the near future. Great idea!

Tori M – Ah, yes, the love of having granny panties. I remember T. and me going to Target to buy some granny panties & I honestly thought that there was no way that I would wear them. Boy was I wrong! The mesh panties from the hospital certainly did hold that big pad that I had to wear right after delivery in place!

Emily – Oops, didn’t mean to make you worry about pooping AND peeing Hopefully you won’t do either of them! Here’s hopin’. And yes, I’ll write a post about the nursery/baby things that we haven’t used.

Madge – I’m afraid that my 1 week postpartum pic & my 5 wk postpartum pic will look the same. We haven’t actually taken another pic just yet, only because I haven’t had the approval from my OB to work out. My appt is tomorrow, so stay tuned for regular updates soon.

Jenn – Sorry you’ve had such a rough road with getting pregnant. My in-laws are here for a total of 2 weeks and I just keep telling myself that when they are gone I’ll have the baby back to myself. In the times that I want to shower and T. is working, I appreciate them being here bc they watch/hold the baby while I shower. I guess I just have to “pick my battles” and realize that even though i’m possessive they really mean no harm. Plus, it’s just 2 more people that are head over heels in love with my Monkey & that’s an awesome thing. Good luck to you!

Sarah – The witch hazel pads are sold at Walgreens, CVS, etc as Tucks pads. I think they are more for hemorrhoids but they are the same pads that we were given at the hospital. HTH!