What Really Happens To the Body After The Birth!
Today’s guest post comes from the lovely Mandi, a qualified Nursery Nurse, who is very knowledgeable when it comes to the world of motherhood having had 7 children and blogs over at Hex Mum Plus 1. Her post is full of some great information – definitely things I have found helpful.
I am sure you have all been following this incredible journey with Victoria, Ross and Grace, and like me, cannot wait to hear about the arrival of the little man, although he is certainly planning on making a grand entrance the amount of time poor Victoria is currently spending in hospital! (Note from Admin: this post was written prior to the arrival of Rex!)
So, as a mum of seven, I have been through this birth lark a fair few times, so I kindly agreed to write a post about what it is really like, no sugar coating, as, when I had my first daughter over 19 years ago it was all a bit of a shock and nobody had really spoken about what happens to you and your body directly after having a baby, so, here goes…
Table of Contents
Down There..
When people say it is like passing a watermelon, they are correct, just remember to take that final bit nice and slow, and definitely remember your short little pants (not the underwear, the blowing and breathing!) After baby is born, im not going to lie it does feel like the under carriage is on fire, so my first words of advice are drink, drink, drink, I’m not talking about going out and getting hammered (that’s usually left to the men to ‘wet the baby’s head’) I mean liquid, water, squash, fruit juice. Whilst you are in hospital with your bundle of joy, apart from visiting hours, its pretty boring, so you pass the time pouring yourself lots of drinks from the jug supplied (my favourite hospital tipple is Ribena) but once you get home, this sort of gets forgotten, and trust me if you do not drink enough, when going for a wee, you will be met with ‘the burn’ and nobody wants that, so instruct one kind, caring individual to be your drink monitor, and supply you with large amounts of liquid. If you are breastfeeding you will get incredibly thirsty, so ensure you have a large drink ready when you sit down to feed.
But it is not just the wee, there is the other bodily function, that midwives get a little bit obsessed with, having the bowels open! It will probably be one of the first questions they ask you every time they visit! It isn’t as bad as everyone imagines, but do ensure a high fibre diet so that it makes it as easy as possible, and if you are at all concerned its worth holding one of those giant maternity pads between your legs, particularly if you have had stitches.
The bleeding after birth (or lochia if you want to use the correct term) varies between women, and you do occasionally get small blood clots that look like big blobs of dark red jelly, and the midwives will want to know if you pass any of those and the size, so compare them to money, is it the size of a 5p or a £2 coin. Invest in some great big knickers to hold those bad boy pads in place, not very glamourous but after pushing something that size out of your foof, you tend not to care!
If you have had more than one child you will experience after pains, it’s just the uterus contracting back down to where it is supposed to be, but they get worse with each child you have, just a warning for all those about to have baby number 4,5,6 or 7!!
Moving onto the other affected part of the anatomy
The Boobs…
Regardless if you choose to breastfeed or bottle feed (fed is best) by day 3 your boobs will resemble cannonballs, or Jordan at her peek! This is when all the milk comes in and you may experience the 3 day blues, just prepare your partner for these, that nothing they say or do will be right and you will probably burst into tears if they offer you a cup of tea, it’s just that great big rush of hormones. You will probably find that your boobs resemble Niagara Falls, and of course they don’t just leak on one side so invest in some breast pads and remember if you are having some bra free time, you could end up dripping on baby’s head as you feed! (this may have happened on more than one occasion!).
If you are breastfeeding and it is really sore the baby may not be latched on properly, so put your finger in their mouth and break the suction to take them off and reattach, do not try to just pull them off, because your nipple will just keep getting longer! After a feed the best thing to put on your breast is your own milk, and so much cheaper than all the lotions and potions.
Next, lets talk about
Mummy Tummy
You have just spent the best part of nine months growing this wonderful little human being, so do not expect your tummy to immediately spring back into its original birth shape, it isn’t likely to ever be exactly the same again and you don’t need it to be, in fact for the first few weeks after the birth you will still look as if you are pregnant, I thought this was important to mention, particularly for first time mums as I remember this came as quite a shock to me, all those years ago, I’m not quite sure what I expected, I guess that the baby would come out and all of the big belly would disappear..
Love your tum and the job that it has done.
So, there we have it, exactly what to expect after giving birth, but I wouldn’t change it for the world and it is SO worth it!
My youngest will be 4 in September so I am now facing different stages like teenage boys and eldest daughters going off to university, so as one stage finishes, a new trickier, trying stage begins, but the one thing that is true is, each and every moment passes by so quickly, so savour every moment of every day with your new bundle of joy, as time really does fly. Xxx
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Big family Little Adventures http://www.bigfamilylittleadventures.co.uk
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