Tag: Postpartum

Postpartum

What to Expect Within the First Few Hours After Delivery

Humble Mama

Nothing can compare to the feeling of absolute bliss (given that all goes well) once your little bundle of joy is snuggled up in your arms. With both my babies I remember the quietness and peacefulness of just finally having them in my arms and caring for them. I remember staring, both times, in amazement.

Newborn Assessments

Immediately after giving birth they place the baby in your arms for a brief moment before cutting the umbilical cord, then they are taken to be cleaned up, assessed, and weighed. (In the meantime, don’t think you’re done. You still have to push out the placenta. The contractions are milder and can take anywhere from 15-20 minutes. Your doctor then will stitch you up, if you had any tears). The first assessment your newborn undergoes is known as the Apgar score. They are monitored for heart, respiratory rates, muscle tone, reflexes, and color at 1 minute, and 5 minutes after birth. With my first, baby, they whisked her away to the nursery for additional testing and put in an incubator since she was born at 35 weeks, making her a preemie. My second pregnancy was completely different, my son was born at 38.5 weeks. He wasn’t taken to the nursery till much later about 2-3 hours after bonding.

Bonding

Once your little one has been assessed, cleaned up, and weighed you get to bond by placing your baby on your body. The technique is called skin-to-skin. If you, like me, had a pregnancy tracker app, you probably read all about skin to skin and the benefits that are associated with it. There is just something magical about having this tiny being laying on your chest.

Breastfeeding

The bonding often leads to baby led initiation of breastfeeding. Here is where your baby might begin breastfeeding or trying to latch on. For me, the second time around happened more naturally. Because my daughter was whisked away for testing, I wasn’t able to bond with her for an hour. I don’t know if that played a role in her not latching but we still did skin-to-skin a few hours after her birth.

Refueling

Now after 2-3 hours, its time to refuel! This is when I was finally able to have a drink of water and have a snack. Because I delivered both my babies in the afternoon, my first meal of the day was dinner. I’m not sure if all the work (blood, sweat, and tears) of pushing out a baby makes your first meal or sip of water taste like the best thing ever, but seriously. It was heaven. Make sure you eat well. Get your daily servings of fruits veggies protein and healthy fats to help with your recovery and even with your breastfeeding journey, if that is what you decide.

Bathroom Break

Now at the 5-6 hour mark, If you had an epidural, it takes some time for you to get the feeling back in your legs and be able to get up and go to the bathroom. Your nurse will help get you to and back, from the bathroom. This is also when they whisk the baby to the nursery. Here is where you’ll get cleaned up, as best as possible. Your flow typically feels and looks like a very heavy period. I suggest having some items readily accessible for this process. I used Frida Mom Upside Down Peri Bottle, to keep stitches dry and clean. The brand Frida Mom, also has a kit that came in pretty handy but the hospital can also provide you with a peri bottle, pads and Dermoplast which is a pain relieving spray that will work wonders for the soreness/pain post delivery.

Recovery

After you leave labor and delivery and are taken to the maternity ward with your new bundle of joy, your recovery begins! For me the first 24-48 hours were painful. Especially during breastfeeding. Breastfeeding helps your uterus contract and helps reduce post delivery blood loss. I took Motrin or Tylenol every 4-6 hours for the first 24 hours to help with the pain. Make sure you still take your prenatal vitamins, to help get some nutrients your body still needs. Eat well and take care of yourself. Remember, you can’t take care of another being without taking care of you first. I know once you leave the hospital, it can be hectic, but this is what family is for. This is what your spouse is for. If you find yourself overwhelmed and needing help, don’t be afraid to reach out to a trusted friend. This is all part of the journey. It is different for every mama, so don’t compare yourself. Just know that you can get through it. You got this humble mama!

Postpartum

5 Things I Wish I Knew In Advance About Postpartum

Humble Mama

Having a baby is really such a beautiful thing. Bringing life to this earth is just such an inexplicable feeling to describe. You are overjoyed, relieved, excited, yet happy, scared, and anxious all at the same time. So many things going through your mind. The truth is so many powerful emotions can even result and be a part of depression.

Post-Partum Depression

It’s real. You hear about it, and you think it won’t be you but the reality is many women often experience postpartum depression after delivering their baby. Though I did not experience a severe form of postpartum depression, I certainly have dealt and currently still dealing with anxiety. If you are experiencing this, or know someone who is, I encourage you to seek help. There is support out there. If you don’t feel comfortable reaching out to your partner, a family member, or a friend to express how you’ve been feeling. Reach out and seek help at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration hotline. Before you can take care of anyone else, you need to ensure that you can take care of you. YOU matter Mama!

You will have an extremely heavy period

I have no idea if my first postpartum period was just 100 times heavier than after my first pregnancy however, I will tell you this, it was intense. I mean I expected it to be heavy but, I honestly felt like my body was angry for not having a period in over a year. Because I was caught off guard, I did not have adequate protection with me. I ended up picking up some of the post-partum disposable underwear, Frida MOM Disposable Postpartum Underwear – that I used postpartum. This was about 4 months post-partum around the time I stopped my breast feeding journey.

Pelvic pain

So, you finally gave birth to your sweet little bundle of joy, but… wait… why are you still feeling so much pain in your pelvis? If like me, you still experience some pelvic pain after labor and delivery I was told it is normal. If the problem persists then you might want to check with your doctor. According to the US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, 20% of women experience PPGP/SI joint pain, 75% of the time, the pelvic pain is a result of having pelvic floor dysfunction, but this can only be diagnosed through a history of physical examination and tests.

Hair loss

SO MUCH HAIR LOSS! My goodness, if you are lucky, you will not experience it as bad as I did. However, all I remember is washing my hair and thinking I definitely have a bald spot. I kept asking my husband if I was bald because I was in disbelief of what had just occurred. When I say that I saw a ball of hair that could probably make up a wig; was about the amount of hair I would lose on a wash day, I am not kidding. As always, I went to my sister-in-law for help (she is a hair expert/Mama/ guru/ my go to for everything you name it! Love you! all 3 of you to be exact lol xo!) She suggested using a garlic shampoo and conditioning treatment. I could not believe I had forgotten all about this product, it is one of my favorites. I also used collagen hair vitamins to help with hair health and I have to say I have seen significant improvement (3 months in). If you are going through the same, don’t be hard on yourself! Postpartum hair loss is normal and temporary, our bodies are still going through changes. Eventually your hair growth cycle will go back to normal within 6-12 months postpartum. I am currently at 10 months postpartum and starting to see some normalcy.

Breastfeeding

Okay… I had a really hard time with this. As much as I wanted this to be a beautiful long journey, I intended it to be that way, it just did not work out for me in either pregnancy. With my first pregnancy, I delivered pre-term. I had my daughter at 35 weeks, I don’t know if this had anything to do with it, but my milk supply did not come in until day 3 when we were leaving the hospital and she would just not latch on. I didn’t have much support at the hospital to begin with (there wasn’t a lactation consultant in that weekend, and some of the nurses weren’t helpful at all, they made me feel like I was just doing everything wrong). My second experience was much better in the hospital, but despite the help I received from the lactation consultant, my milk supply just was not where it needed to be. My son was already at 3-4oz per bottle and I was pumping between 1-2oz every 4 hours. I tried so many different things; lactation cookies, teas, pumping more often, using a hospital grade pump (this really helped a lot) but it just wasn’t enough, and it was not working for me. Moral of the story is, breastfeeding is not for every mama.

I ended my journey at about the 4-month mark. Ultimately the lesson learned is, “fed is best!” Whether you can offer your baby breast milk or formula, if your baby is being fed and is healthy, that is all that matters! So, if you’re having a hard time, know that you’re not alone. This is all a part of being a mama, just know that you got this!