POST PARTUM ~Day 1 and Beyond

Icepacks and Hormones, NOBODY TOLD ME THIS!

Hello,

I'm continuing with my story of after delivery / day 1 because there is still so much to say about it. There were great things about it; finally holding Samara, naming her, seeing all of my plans for her happen (Thank you God!) and there were hard things; the way our nursing journey started, nursing, my postpartum body, all of the unknowns...

Let's talk about those, the unknowns. I hadn't known how much damage a baby could do coming out. I had 3 degree tearing (the worst you can have are fourth degree tears), swelling, stitches, hormone changes etc. Nobody tells you that you will be given a bag of Tylenol and stool softeners as well as ice packs to sit on for the first 24 hours. Nobody tells you that you'll be discharged right away but advised to stay for at least 24 hours in case you start to hemorrhage. Nobody tells you that going to the bathroom can potentially be terrifying. And nobody tells you that you will not care if your husband sees you pee because he's going to be going to the bathroom with you to put the ice pack in your new underwear and he's going to help you get the IV pole into the bathroom with you and he's going to make sure you make it to and from the bed to bathroom and vice versa because you feel like you've been in a car accident. However, if somebody did tell you, would you really believe them? Best of all is you no longer care. When I was delivering Samara it was such an intimate moment and I had requested only women in my room at all times, except for my husband, and I'm so glad I did because while who was in my room didn't matter at the time because all of my focus was on getting her out, I think it would have bothered me later. I am a super private person but in that moment of birthing the only thing that matters is your baby and safely delivering her/him. As for my husband accompanying me to the toilet I didn't care about that either. I needed him to get those icepacks for me and to make sure I didn't fall over and I knew it. Luckily for me he is a very kind and understanding sort of a man and so he was happy to do it. None of it freaked him out or grossed him out, he was along for the adventure, the good, the bad and the personal.

If your hospital doesn't provide icepacks to put in your pad make some! It helps with the swelling and pain so much I can't even tell you. They are beyond wonderful (if you are a man or have never given birth vaginally you will not understand and may even be offended at the rawness of my posts honesty, don't be, it's life) and I could have worn them for much longer but was advised against going longer than the first 24 hours by my nurse. Buy HUGE night time pads because you will need them for a few weeks post birth and you will not want to be fussing with any messes. Just being honest here.

July 6 ~ One week
Postpartum

38 weeks, right before I
delivered

Postpartum body. Expect to still look pregnant and let others to know what to expect as well. You will be much smaller compared to pre delivery but you will still have a pregnant looking stomach. Everything is soft. Also, you may have had the perfect pregnant belly but begin to notice some stretch marks after birth that you couldn't see before. Don't stress about them, love them. You just carried a baby in that beautiful tummy for 9 months (approximately). Be on the look out for muscle separation in your abdomen area around the six week mark if you start working out as if you have it then sit ups will not be for you. Do a little research, test your tummy and act accordingly. Your uterus will begin to contract and shrink back to its original size as your baby nurses, you may or may not feel this (uncomfortable possibly but not painful). In total I lost 30 pounds in 3 weeks. I lost 10 pounds post birth (so in a matter of minutes). I lost 10 pounds of water weight the second week and another 10 pounds after that (probably from the lack of sleep and eating all over the place). Make sure you eat and hydrate so your body can heal and produce milk for your new baby!!!

July 17 ~ Almost 3 Weeks
Postpartum

And Beyond...

Something else to know (or just think about) is if you have an IV for fluids your swelling is going to be a lot and it doesn't start to leave your body until around day 5. At the day 5 mark you should start having to pee a lot more and experience night sweats as your body rids you of all of the excess water you accumulated. I personally dropped ten pounds that week ~ it's was nuts.

The hormones are a menace! I think mine kicked in around day 2 and I went from being in awe to feeling ALL the feels. I would cry at everything, worry or have irrational fears about Samara, I had sleep insomnia, I had so much love in my heart I felt like it would run down my face in tears because it was flowing out of me (it did by the way). I wasn't depressed, I didn't have to deal with unattachment and my fears went away or were soothed by Raymond. I was really blessed in that I talked about them and he was able to talk me out of them or we prayed and allowed God's peace to take over, plus I took each thought and either kept it or told it to go. When the big scary thoughts come you can tell them to someone who can help you rationalize and you can also take a minute and decide if this thought can stay in your mind or if it needs to go. The thing is that it's okay to cry as long as you don't cry too much. It's okay to feel all of the feels and have the fears etc as long as they aren't controlling you or taking over you. If you can't stop crying or your thoughts and feelings are in control of you call someone right away and they will make sure you aren't alone and that you can get the prescription you need to help balance your hormones out. It was a really intense couple of weeks with the insane amounts of hormones flowing through me.

Whatever is going on make sure that you're getting enough sleep (it doesn't matter day or night, if your baby is sleeping you most likely should be too) as it will help you heal faster, be a better parent and partner. You'll get the hang of things soon enough. It's a steep learning curve and you're doing great!

Keep searching for the healing and sunshine,
Love your friend,
Laura