I read a lot in general, and I especially read a lot when I’m anxious about something or planning a life event. So you can only imagine how many articles and books I read about pregnancy, labor and delivery, recovery… you get the idea. Actually, maybe I didn’t read enough about the whole ‘recovery’ thing, because I was quite surprised about a few aspects of it.
Here’s a list of…
I hope by reading this you’ll be better (mentally) prepared if you’re pregnant and not too scared of ever getting pregnant if you aren’t already.
C-sections can be highly uncomfortable. I’m not saying your experience will be awful (although I will say mine was) but don’t expect to not feel anything. At the very least, you will feel a lot of pressure. Also, wear your contacts into the OR if you want to be able to see anything (like your newborn after he/she is born)! Not wearing mine was a rookie mistake on my part.
You will bleed for weeks afterwards (even with a c-section!). My bleeding finally stopped at four weeks and I barely noticed it ended because I was so darn distracted with lots of other things. So, the good news is you won’t care if you’re bleeding constantly because you won’t be leaving the house much anyway and you’ll be too preoccupied with newborn things to notice. That being said, load up on extra pads from the hospital – they’re the best! Also, I totally didn’t mind the mesh underwear and brought an extra pair (or two) home with me.
You will get menstrual/contraction like cramps the first few times you breastfeed. This is freakin’ painful but doesn’t last for very long, thank goodness!
Night sweats. Why did no one warn me about this?! Wait, did anyone warn me about this?! Well, for quite a few weeks I would wake up at night absolutely drenched in sweat. And when I was awake, I was battling with Tim about whether to turn the air conditioning on (YES, it needed to be on!) or to keep it off. Every time Tim reached for that darn ‘off’ button I contemplated kicking him. If I was more mobile, I probably definitely would have kicked him. It is truly amazing how warm I was convinced my house was. I really thought Tim was trying to suffocate us with heat. Of course, weeks later he’s trying to turn the AC on and I’m insisting it’s freezing in the house… crazy hormones.
Going to the bathroom is… awkward. I thought the bathroom problems were reserved for those who delivered their babies vaginally, but this is not the case! Basically, my body forgot how to function normally and I spent quite a bit of time in the bathroom just attempting to get something to happen. I’ll leave it at that, but just be ready for it. I’d recommend having stool softeners and/or Metamucil or something similar on hand for when you get home.
Recovering takes time. I know this sounds obvious, but I was somehow unprepared for how long I’d be at home doing absolutely nothing. I thought I’d be super preoccupied taking care of a newborn, but we have a sleepy baby and sometimes I’m quite bored! Make sure you have books and movies that you’re excited to dig into!
Your boobs will get super uncomfortable. I figured my boobs wouldn’t feel great, but I more expected my nipples to be the sore parts. However, my nipples felt great and my boobs felt crazy engorged (once my milk came in). Once I started feeling engorged I would just hope Clara would wake up to eat to take some pressure/milk out of them. If I was going to do it again, I’d have a manual pump handy so I could pump out a very little bit if my boobs got super painful (pumping more than just a bit will mess with milk supply).
It may take time to bond with your newborn. OK, this sounds negative and I don’t mean it to be… but in my experience, I didn’t bond with Clara immediately. The first few days I knew I loved her, but it wasn’t an emotion so much as logical thought. For a while, I just took care of her. Then, when I began to physically recover and become less tired, I truly started becoming obsessed with everything about her. I point this out so that if any other moms feel the same, they don’t feel like a ‘bad mom’! I wasn’t super hormonal or sad or anything like that after she was born, but I think expecting to feel instantly bonded to another human is a big expectation, so if it doesn’t happen, (I like to think) it’s normal!
Shaking and swelling will happen. The day Clara was born I couldn’t stop shaking. It was lovely, I assure you. (I say this with heavy sarcasm, it was freakin’ awful!) Also, I was super swollen. I’m pretty sure this is because I was given so many fluids during labor and delivery, but maybe it’s ‘normal’ for everyone? Either way, I didn’t swell at all during pregnancy and in the hospital my face and legs got huuuuge. I felt like a water balloon, which is just how every woman wants to feel after giving birth, right?! I thought I was supposed to feel smaller! Oh well, the excess fluid went away with all the night sweats that I previously mentioned.
It’s not as hard or awful as everyone makes it seem. Sure, maybe I just had an easier experience than other women. I’m sure I did, actually. I’m sure I also had a more difficult experience than some women. Either way, I don’t think any of it is as bad as I was led to believe. Physically, you will definitely be able to get through the first few weeks. Mentally… that’s a whole different conversation!
What did I leave off? What about birth/recovery were you the most surprised by?
Cheers!
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