Things I Didn't Know About Delivery & Postpartum

Thought this might be helpful/amusing. This was my first baby and I had no idea what to expect. ...

Just because you are dilated to 10 doesn't mean you'll push right then. Stupid doctor made me wait 3 hours, but that's another story.

If you don't nurse, holy crud, your boobs will HURT. The worst of it only lasts a day or two. Buy small ice packs and put them in your bra, it will feel nice. Also, wear two bras at the same time (sports bras are nice). Buy nursing pads ahead so you don't leak all over your clothes.

Don't take white socks to the hospital—even the nurses said this. The first time I stood up, I got blood all over the floor and down my leg, ruining said white socks. Or just take them off before you get up, and wear flip-flops.

Be sure you keep drinking PLENTY of fluids afterwards. Being constipated is no fun, and it doesn't get any more pleasant now! If you are really worried about that, the doctor told me they recommend Colace or Milk of Magnesia.

Boppys work great in place of a doughnut to sit on. My SO laughed at me but I was too sore to sit in a chair for a few days after (and I only had one stitch!).

I didn't know about the whole bathroom thing...not sure how other hospitals do it but all the ones around here do this: It will hurt too much to wipe so they gave me a squirt bottle I put warm water in each time. Sounds gross but it will feel so good. Be gentle when you pat it dry—I caught my stitch once and cried. They also gave me Tucks, which are little cold, wet, round pads to put in your underwear. These feel extremely nice, too. I went out and bought more after I was discharged.

You can pass clots the size of half dollars and they won't be too concerned. Mine came about two weeks after birth. **Always check with your doctor though!!!**

YOU know when something is wrong, so don't let anyone tell you differently! So be a b***h! You have to remember that these nurses and doctors deal with cranky, whiney pregnant women all day every day, and will think that you are just another one unless you push your way in.

Cut your nails! I had nice long pregnant nails and in the first few days I accidentally scratched my baby :( I cut them shorter but not completely off, which I thought worked until last night ... when I got poop under one of them. Now they are completely gone!

The BP checks every few hours were nice for me, but that's only because I got induced due to high BP. So that stupid machine took my BP every 15 minutes until after I had him (so 22 hours on that machine). Don't be afraid to ask the nurse to turn the sound off of it. It sounds an alarm every time it's high, which was every single time for me.

Take an extra pillow or two. The beds at the hospital, since they can move the head/feet up and down, had a bar in the middle of it which jammed into my back every night. A pillow made it more tolerable.

When they push on your stomach afterwards, it HURTS. The doctor was the roughest, it took everything in me not to yell. And then he told me to just relax my stomach! Well stop trying to squeeze my uterus out and maybe I would! :D

I had a hard time pushing right so the nurse tried something else. She held one end of a towel and I held the other, and had me pull on it as hard as I could. It must have worked—I only pushed for 16 minutes! You might try it out and see which muscles it uses in your abdomen. If I ever have another baby, I'll definitely use this method instead. Be prepared though: My hands ached for a little while after.

comments

Showing 1 - 20 of 22

Previous | 1 2 | Next

pamulathegreat Send a Note Send a Gift Write on Board Add as friend 1/3/2010 - 4:01AM Report Abuse	lol iam due may june =] i loved this post! it didnt scare me...but it def made me think lol i wonder about the ripping tho..is that everyone? if the pain is as bad as the streching my body is doing THAT HURTS LIKE ALL FREAKING HECK then i think i will be good =]
newmom17 Send a Note Send a Gift Write on Board Add as friend 11/21/2009 - 12:31AM Report Abuse	im due in 68 days! and im slightly freaking out! but this post helped me alot...i live in a rinky-dink town, and not for lack of trying, havent had ANY prenantal classes or Lamaze classes or whatever, and this is my first baby!!! now that i know somethings to expect, i feel a little better and ill be sure to ask for the squirt bottle! THANK YOU!!!!!!!!
Empress82 Send a Note Send a Gift Write on Board Add as friend 10/8/2009 - 4:53PM Report Abuse	I love this post. I'm due in about 2 weeks, this was really helpful. Thanks!!
beebee702 Send a Note Send a Gift Write on Board Add as friend 9/28/2009 - 5:30PM Report Abuse	ohmigosh. im 8 weeks pregnant and im getting more scared than ive ever been in my life. does everyone get stitches? what are they for?
Carinaa Send a Note Send a Gift Write on Board Add as friend 9/1/2009 - 7:37AM Report Abuse	haha. I laughed really hard about the nail thing. It sucks, huh? You get such pretty nails, and you dont even get to keep them for very long :(
kenyette Send a Note Send a Gift Write on Board Add as friend 8/18/2009 - 8:39AM Report Abuse	oh...and what about the horrible hemorroids? no one told me about that one.
talbu1981 Send a Note Send a Gift Write on Board Add as friend 8/17/2009 - 8:10PM Report Abuse	gotta love the Victoria secret undies they give you!!! with my daughter I tore and not only did I get the squirt bottle and tucks pads but I also got a triple AB spay which was nice and cool and VERY nice flexable ice packs to add to my undies. . . . mmmmm wish I could have taken some of those babies home!!
ohbabybaby Send a Note Send a Gift Write on Board Add as friend 8/17/2009 - 7:38PM Report Abuse	Yeah it's amazing how you completely lose your modesty. I was all shy going in but once I started pushing I didn't even realize there were people in the room (and there were about 9 or 10!). But make sure everyone is out of the room when you get up to pee the first time, I made my SO get out too, even though he'd just watched DS be born. The nurse was a little old lady and she was so nice, she didn't think anything of it that I had blood all down my legs and the floor, she helped me take my gown off so I was completely naked, she helped me put it back on over the IVs. She was really funny too, I asked her if I needed to get the underwear I brought in my bag, she laughed and said "nope you get hospital Victoria's Secret ones!" Too funny when you see what they actually are. :)
jennnwes07 Send a Note Send a Gift Write on Board Add as friend 8/16/2009 - 9:01PM Report Abuse	I was a week late and had to be induced. I got at the hospital at 6am and they started everything at around 7:30 It took me till around 3pm to be a full 10cm and i pushed for 4 minutes and pop theres my boy. it was really easy for me and it didnt hurt. I got the epideral and the only thing that hurt was after the pushing when they started pushing on my stomach i wanted to scream. and i had the water bottle too to spuirt down there when you had to go to the restroom and it felt really soothing. trust us. warm water not hot and def not cold.
Rebel_Rose21 Send a Note Send a Gift Write on Board Add as friend 8/14/2009 - 4:15PM Report Abuse	what i wish i had known then what i kno now is...that after the delivery when you go pee its going to sting and hurt real bad..i reckon from tha stiches and every thing jus being sore..so after a few unshed tears and wishn that i didnt have to pee and after i was healed and my son was a few mths old..i read in a magazine that if you pee standing up that it wont hurt cuz your pee isnt touching nething thats sore..basically you jus spread your legs and stand over the pot and go..sounds weird yes i kno but i am most def gon try it with this baby...
twinand1blessing Send a Note Send a Gift Write on Board Add as friend 8/14/2009 - 11:49AM Report Abuse	Yes, C section pain is the worse and coughing is horrible. I had whooping cough (pertusis) and didnt know it. Needless to say I coughed until I almost died. My daughters had it and gave it to me then I had it and gave it to the baby. We were all quarantined and the baby was hospitalized after several visits to the ER. The only one who didnt get it was my husband. Being in the military has its advantages!!! He had been thouroughly vacinated. My daughters were up to date also but hadnt reached the booster age for the pertusis shot.
shinkabutt Send a Note Send a Gift Write on Board Add as friend 8/14/2009 - 9:44AM Report Abuse	wow I'm due in december this is my second child my son is 9 years old I can't remember nothing from my first birth besides the needle in my back and the paind after the baby. Cecreians are the worst pain hopefully tis is natrual birth.. thanks for the tips
RCP89 Send a Note Send a Gift Write on Board Add as friend 8/13/2009 - 3:02PM Report Abuse	I was very hesitant about reading this because I didn't want to scare myself. I'm definately scared but at least now I can prepare myself for all the pains and awkwardness of birth. I'm due in November but I'm going to get my bag together now. Thanks a lot.
seraloo Send a Note Send a Gift Write on Board Add as friend 8/12/2009 - 3:33PM Report Abuse	damn. i havea thing about wearing cute socks. guess ill just have to paint my toenails pretty or something. im not due until november but thanks so much for this post, ill definitely keep all these things in mind. =]
shona Send a Note Send a Gift Write on Board Add as friend 8/8/2009 - 1:16AM Report Abuse	They also don't tell you how much it hurts after a c-section. I had five vaginal births and my last birth was via c-section. Coughing made me want to pass out. Holding a pillow over the incesions site helped, but not enough. Got to LOVE those pain meds though.
juice00 Send a Note Send a Gift Write on Board Add as friend 7/22/2009 - 8:45PM Report Abuse	I love this. I think after you have a baby you can't be embarrassed quite as easily anymore.. four hours after I had mine I tried going to the bathroom by myself... I sat down and couldn't get myself to go, and then apparantly I passed out and woke up to five nurses heaving me into a wheelchair. Oh and I was revived by a nurse holding ammonia under my nose. That wasn't as bad as them putting a catheter in after my epidural had worn off though......
lacyj99 Send a Note Send a Gift Write on Board Add as friend 7/13/2009 - 11:26AM Report Abuse	DO NOT SQUEEZE YOUR BUTT CHEEKS TOGETHER DURING CONTRACTIONS!!! lol...I know that sounds stupid but it really is a knee-jerk reaction. I did it (i didn't realize I was doing it) and caused a hematoma...it's a softfall sized pocket of blood that is trapped under the skin. It's very painful and I couldn't sit flat in a chair for 8 weeks. not fun at all!
Random_1 Send a Note Send a Gift Write on Board Add as friend 7/12/2009 - 1:45PM Report Abuse	The squirt bottle and Tucks pads (which are for hemorrhoids but work wonderfully for soothing everything down there after giving birth, especially if you have stitches) are things I can't imagine NOT using, so if your doctor/midwife doesn't mention or offer those, ask for them.
ljzmami Send a Note Send a Gift Write on Board Add as friend 7/9/2009 - 10:44AM Report Abuse	Great advice for newbies!!! Sooo right about the squirt bottle. And that first poop is like giving birth all over again! But it's ALLL worth it! Thanks for sharing!
preggercleo Send a Note Send a Gift Write on Board Add as friend 7/8/2009 - 1:48PM Report Abuse	well I have not had my baby yet but this is helpful advice and I totally intend to use it.. better buy some flipflops