Are you getting closer to your due date and wondering what postpartum might be like? It turns out, there are a lot of things no one talks about regarding postpartum pain, breastfeeding, emotions, using the bathroom, and more. I’ve come up with a few things you may want to know about postpartum so you know what to expect.
Not everyone experiences the same things during pregnancy, labor, delivery, or postpartum. You may not have any of these issues, but they’re things that I went through and could be helpful knowledge for you!
This post may
Postpartum Was Worse (For me)
For me, those first weeks of postpartum was worse than pregnancy, labor, and delivery. In my experience, I didn’t feel back to my normal self until about 8-9 weeks postpartum. By “my normal self”, I mean, my pains all disappeared and I’m doing everything I could do before pregnancy.
The reason I say postpartum was worse for me, is that it took so long to heal. There was a ton of bleeding and it didn’t stop until 7 weeks postpartum (most women don’t bleed near that long), lots of different pains in my abdomen and lady area, and just overall mental and physical exhaustion.
These are all normal factors of healing from childbirth, but I just don’t think I was prepared for it. I was more concerned about delivery and forgot that there is a whole recovery period you go through while adjusting to being a mom at the same time.
A little advice, don’t just think about what you are going to do for delivery; you’re going to need to have help postpartum and plan to have your help on call for about two months after that. It helps if you have family near by but if you don’t, maybe you have wonderful neighbors that can help you.
Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding is awesome in so many ways, but you have to learn how to do it correctly. Allow the breastfeeding consultant to help you and even your nurses while you’re still in the hospital. Try to get breastfeeding and your latch down pat before going home.
I didn’t know that your nipples were still going to hurt for the first week or two even if you have a good latch. The skin on your nipples will likely feel raw and will scab a little. When the scabs go away, the pain of breastfeeding subsides for the most part.
A great tip for healing your nipples: Use your breast milk! Breast milk has all sorts of uses! After feeding, pinch out a drop of milk and pat it around your sore nipple. Let it air dry. With time, it will heal. I’ve found this works better than all those nipple creams.
When your milk comes in, you may experience random sharp pains in your breasts. As they fill with milk, they get big and feel heavy and hard. You’ll soon be begging your baby to drink for relief!
The good thing is, your baby will most likely be hungry by that time anyway. If not, I’ve found the Haakaa to be very helpful.
A Haakaa is a silicone manual breast pump. To use it, all you do is place it on your breast, squeeze and release once to create a suction. Your milk will then start dripping in.
It will relieve some of that pressure to help you feel more comfortable until your baby is ready to eat. I don’t use it to empty my breast; just to get a little bit out until my baby is ready for me.
I don’t like to use my electric pump, mainly because I don’t want my body to be creating way more milk than what my baby needs, thus making me leak all the time and constantly feel engorged. So the Haakaa is my solution!
A lot of moms like to pump and up their milk supply, which is totally cool too. But I personally like to exclusively breastfeed. Do what is best for you and your baby.
Another thing about breastfeeding is when your baby first starts to suck, it feels very uncomfortable in your nipples. To me, it felt like tiny shards of glass trying to come out! This is called the “let down” (not everyone has a painful let down). It is just a lot of milk trying to come out at once. Just close your eyes and count to ten, the pain should be over by then.
I’ve been breastfeeding for 3 months now and i don’t feel that anymore, thank goodness.
I’m so glad I’ve stuck with breastfeeding, it is so good for you and your baby and very emotionally rewarding as well.
Very Emotional
You will likely be very emotional for a month or more postpartum; whether it’s good emotions or bad. Luckily, I had all good emotions.
You’ll probably cry just looking at your sweet baby, thinking about how much you love them. I’m serious; you just wait
Don’t get me started about when they start giving you real smiles! (The first month or so, it is only a reflex)
Earlier this week, I was singing “you are my sunshine” to my
Bleeding
Expect to see a lot of blood for a few weeks after birth.
Some women only bleed for 2 weeks postpartum. However, I was not that lucky. For me, it was almost 2 months. And even though I chose to exclusively breastfeed, I still ended up starting my menstrual cycle! T
If you don’t already know, most women don’t start their menstrual cycle until they stop breastfeeding. It’s not that way for everyone though.
Another thing to expect regarding bleeding is that after you have delivered your baby and the placenta, your nurse will push on your tummy to help your uterus shrink and push out any blood that may remain in it.
They will probably do this multiple times in the 24 hours after delivery until they feel that your uterus is firm and you are no longer pushing large amounts of blood out. (Gross, I know. But I had no idea they were going to do this and thought you may want to be prepared) Not gonna lie; it hurts.
Contractions
That’s right, you will have contractions after you give birth.
When breastfeeding in the first 24 hours after birth, you’ll have painful contractions.
The hormones released while breastfeeding triggers your uterus to contract, causing it to shrink back to normal size and push leftover fluids out.
Your nurses will likely offer you ibuprofen to ease the pain. It really helps. And you will KNOW when the ibuprofen is wearing off. Don’t hesitate to call the nurse to bring you the next dose.
Wondering what contractions feel like? I’ll fill you in so you know what to expect.
Sleep
You’re probably not going to want to sleep at all after birth (even though you’re exhausted) because you’re gonna be all eyes on baby! But while you’re at the hospital, the nurses will be checking on you and your baby making sure everything is okay. So trust me, get sleep!
When you get home, you’re going to be spending the next few weeks running on fumes as your baby gets adjusted to your sleep schedule and will need to be fed every 1-3 hours.
On top of that, you’re probably going to be watching them like a hawk through the night to make sure they’re okay. But that’s what they make the smart sock for. It measures your babies heart rate and oxygen levels and will alert you if your baby needs help. That way you don’t have to worry so much about watching your baby all night long!
If it makes you feel more comfortable, you could also bring the monitor to the hospital with you to try out before you go home.
It’s hard to rest during the day as well (once you’re home) because you feel the need to be
If you really need that housework done, ask for help from your mom, sibling, friend, partner, anyone that agrees! I’m sure someone would be willing to help you so you can get some rest.
Without sleep, your body will take even longer to heal.
Privacy
Just a heads up; you will have no privacy at the hospital.
You’ll have a nurse coming in to check on you and baby every 3 hours on the dot, if not more.
If you plan to breastfeed, don’t feel self-conscious. Go ahead and flop your boob out when it’s time. The nurses are going to see your breasts and probably need to handle them in order to help you get the right latch.
Don’t worry, the nurses see tons of boobs every day. It’s just a body part, everyone has them. If you need help getting a latch, take the help. A perfect latch is extremely important.
A lot of women who fail at breastfeeding is because they never got the baby latched correctly. Thus causing extreme pain. Be patient with yourself and your baby; and let those nurses help you.
Friends & Family
You may end up being different, but I really didn’t want visitors for almost 2 months after childbirth. Becoming a mother is so awesome, but a bit overwhelming at first. It took me a while to actually want people around (other than my baby, my husband, and my mom) without my anxiety going through the roof.
Be prepared, family members and friends will try to give you all kinds of unsolicited advice on parenting; which can be aggravating at times. Especially when those people expect you to do what they unsolicitedly advised you about! LOL
In the end, you are the parent of your child and you make your own decisions on what you think is right for your child.
Secondly, friends that have never had a baby will likely not understand what you’re going through. They may get mad about the fact you probably won’t talk to them as much at first; or how you may not see them as much anymore.
Handle it how you see fit; but for me, I didn’t have the energy to stay upset about it or try to explain myself to them. They have no clue what a huge job/ life adjustment it is becoming a mom. If they’re a true friend, they’ll try to be understanding and stick around. If not, don’t worry about it. You’ll find new [mom] friends that you have more in common with.
Using The Bathroom
It hurts when you go to the bathroom for a while. It almost feels like your lady bits are going to fall in the toilet! And that’s with going #1 and #2!
After every time you go, it will be smart to use a peri bottle to help clean yourself.
Another tip..pat, don’t wipe.
Also, take stool softeners!!! Especially if you’re having to take
Inti macy hurts
I’m not gonna go too into detail with this, but it may take longer than 6 weeks to be able to be intimate again. I tried around 8 weeks and it was still uncomfortable down there.
Vitamins
If you’re breastfeeding, you’ll want to keep taking prenatal
Appearance
The skin on your belly will be loose for a while. After your baby is born, it will take weeks for your belly to go back to normal. Keep that in mind when packing clothes to go home in from the hospital.
It may take some work to get your belly to shrink as well! I am having to start exercising after getting it okayed with the doctor.
Postpartum Pain
The first postpartum pain I noticed was the first time I stood up after having a natural birth. It felt like my butt was reaching for the floor. Imagine what it would feel like if there was a really strong magnet on the hospital bed and one in your butt. So when you stand up, they are trying to pull back together. That’s what it felt like. Ouch!! That went away in the first 48 hours though, so it wasn’t too bad.
If you’re worried about labor and delivery, I’ll tell you what helped me most to get through it.
The second pain I noticed was in my lady parts. Sitting criss-cross is not an option for at least a few weeks. It’s very painful in the vaginal area if you do.
Laughing was also a no-no for me for a few weeks, unfortunately. I wanted to watch a Netflix comedy show by Ali Wong with my sister because she had talked about how funny it was gonna be; also relatable because Ali had just had a baby. Thinking about laughing turned me off. I so badly wanted to have something to laugh at, but was scared to because of the pain!
The third pain is something that will last a few weeks as well. Lower abdominal pain. Even walking slowly around the house will be uncomfortable in your belly area.
While your uterus is shrinking back to its pre-pregnancy size and your insides are moving back into place; I suggest wearing something that will compress your belly. Whether it’s a belly wrap or some tummy compression leggings; it’ll make your belly feel so much better in the first few weeks.
Self-Care
It’s a big job adjusting to taking care of a newborn baby, but don’t forget to take care of yourself. I stopped taking care of myself there for a little while at the beginning and started feeling a little down. I’ll list a few things that really helped me feel better.
Ideas for self care to lift your spirits:
- Take a warm shower (not a bath, unless approved by your doctor (to prevent infection))
- Put on makeup
- Change up your hair (I cut mine to shoulder length…it felt great to change things up a little)
- Put your feet in a Foot Spa with some lavender Epsom Salt for a calming pedicure at home
- Watch your favorite Netflix show or YouTube channel while breastfeeding
- Go for a walk
- Clean the house (I know, not really “self-care”, but it sure does make me feel better!)
- Listen to a book on Audible (here is a free trial, plus 2 free audiobooks)
- Diffuse some nice essential oils (do your research first to make sure the oil you use will be okay for your baby)
I don’t like to spend much time at all away from my baby, so these are all things that can be done with your little one close by!
It’s All Worth It
All of this postpartum pain and crappiness is completely worth it when you look at your baby and realize just how much you love and adore them.
Your postpartum experience may end up being a lot different or could even be very similar to mine. Either way, I hope being with your baby makes it wonderful and worthwhile. Becoming a mother is the best thing that has happened to me. I’ve loved every second of it. All of the uncomfortable-ness of pregnancy, labor, delivery, and postpartum pain is worth the gift that God has given you. You’re going to do great!
