Postpartum Secrets and Tricks

[kristhegirl]

Seriously, PEE FIRST. It bears repeating.

I'll come back with more.

[kristhegirl]

Pinned, too. #modabuse

[suelou18]

I will add as I think of them.

I would suggest having some formula at home, just in case, even if you never plan to use it. I wasn't planning to formula feed, but my body had other ideas. It was a sanity saver for me one night.

I also liked having naked juices in the house. Easy to grab and go and get some calories in.

[britab]

Dec 30, 2016 21:42:53 GMT -5 @justinslovo said:

4 different items I used the most for myself postpartum.

- A really nice water bottle. Something you can open one handed or with a straw. It needs be easily accessible of you are nursing and wherever you are most likely to get trapped under a sleeping baby.

Have multiple water bottles. One in every area. Serious hydration is necessary to survive.

- chapstick. Enough said, follow above advice of having them stationed everywhere.

- a journal / pad of paper / dry erase board whatever. Jot down your thoughts in the motn. Happy, sad, scary, the facts.

Baby pooped. 425am.

Fed 4 oz or 10 minutes right side 115am.

Feeling desperate and wanting to leave baby to run away forever.

Baby smells like sunshine. In this moment life feels wonderful.

In the moment so much can feel so overwhelming the good and the bad... writing it down and coming back to it later can help immensely. You may find you will slowly track less and less quicker than you thought. While others will track every baby movement and emotion for years. No wrong answer.

And snacks. Granola bars, nuts, boobie bites (seriously delicious even if you aren't breast feeding)
www.icanteachmychild.com/booby-bites-energy-snack-for-nursing-moms-everyone-else/

You may find you go hours and realize you haven't eaten anything. Life is weird the first few weeks. Have non perishables scattered around and pick them up more often than you think you should.

And my last bit of pp advice for this post. Pee first. The baby can cry for an extra 45seconds while you use the bathroom. You can better take care of their needs after your bladder is empty. Make a habit of it. And once they get a bit older, that little pee break may be enough time for them to sort out their issue and quiet down by themselves. But CIO is a conversation for a few months after our babies are here...

A paper where we wrote down the feedings (left boob 10 min etc.), poops (for baby) AND when I was taking my pain killers! I just did Advil and Tylenol .

Lots of my friends said stool softener are a must, especially with pain killers.

For nursing, boob stuff. Nursing tanks, cream, cooling pads, washed pump parts. Sucks sending DH to get boob stuff.

Food you can eat with one hand-waffles, burritos, etc.

I got some pads wet and frozen them.

[kristhegirl]

I loved having an app to track feeding. I did Feed Baby Pro - briefly tracked diapers, too, but tracking feedings helped me not worry about remembering which side was next, how long she ate, etc.

I knew I'd always have my phone with me so an app was easy.

[cosmicav]

Post partum physical healing survival items:

-Colace and Miralax for days

-Tucks pads and store them in the fridge

-Peri bottle (hospital provided this for me, but if it does not, GET ONE!!)

-DERMAPLAST

[erinshelley21]

Major yes to the peri bottle. And stool softener. I pooped like 4 hours after I gave birth and thought that would be the horrific poop everyone told me about and it wasn't horrible. But it also wasn't "the poop" either and I hadn't taken softened to prepare. It was awful.

One item I really loved having was a robe. Not a thick one because I get hot, but just a cotton robe. I lived in that thing.

App on phone for tracking feedings and diapers was nice. We tried it on paper but that was just one more thing to haul around with us to the dr and weigh checks.

[kristhegirl]

Head's up about something sort of related - your hospital might approach you about insurance/Medicaid for the baby while you're there. (In America. Canadians, disregard.) I was definitely not prepared for that conversation, but it's a good thing to have some idea about. You can call your employer-sponsored insurance, fool around on the insurance exchange, and/or call Medicare to see what your options are prior to birth, which I highly recommend because afterwards I was not exactly quick on the uptake with comprehension.

[caer]

I second having a baby tracking app - I liked Total Baby.

I kept the following items in EACH bathroom: tucks, peri bottle, Advil, jumbo pads, dermoplast. Stairs were hard so it saved me having to go up and down each time I needed the bathroom.

Take everything you can home from the hospital with you. They charge your insurance anyway so take it. I took the diapers, peri bottle, tucks, extra mesh undies. And I specifically asked for more of those giant ice pads. They sent me home with a big bag of them, which was awesome.

[ladytiffany24]

Dec 31, 2016 9:31:46 GMT -5 caer said:

I second having a baby tracking app - I liked Total Baby.

I kept the following items in EACH bathroom: tucks, peri bottle, Advil, jumbo pads, dermoplast. Stairs were hard so it saved me having to go up and down each time I needed the bathroom.

Take everything you can home from the hospital with you. They charge your insurance anyway so take it. I took the diapers, peri bottle, tucks, extra mesh undies. And I specifically asked for more of those giant ice pads. They sent me home with a big bag of them, which was awesome.

+1 to all.of.this!

[Deleted]

+whatever to peeing first.

My advice is have a plan for meals. You'll get tired of snacks and such, so dump meals are awesome. Some top faves for us were crockpot beef and broccoli and salsa chicken. I'm going to make some in a few weeks to store in the freezer so I can just throw it all in the crock pot.

[erinshelley21]

Dec 31, 2016 11:11:40 GMT -5 @priss08 said:

+whatever to peeing first.

My advice is have a plan for meals. You'll get tired of snacks and such, so dump meals are awesome. Some top faves for us were crockpot beef and broccoli and salsa chicken. I'm going to make some in a few weeks to store in the freezer so I can just throw it all in the crock pot.

I've been doubling anything that I make that can freeze for the last month or so to use once the baby is here. Also stocking up on frozen lasagna and pasta meals when they are on sale and I have a coupon.

[madameovary]

A mysterious wet spot on your baby's side could mean you are leaking. Check on milk savers on amazon to collect drips (not a problem for everyone).

A heads up to my loss ladies: when they come to take information for the birth certificate they will likely ask about previous pregnancies and their outcomes.

I was also unprepared for the wave of grief I felt for my lost baby holding my perfect rainbow in my arms.

[jnow]

Snacks everywhere.

Don't be afraid to tell people they can't visit. On the other hand, take them up on help. Seriously, don't be a hero.

[jnow]

Oh and don't be afraid to call the pedi. That's what they are there for.

[ladytiffany24]

Dec 31, 2016 20:15:14 GMT -5 jnow said:

Snacks everywhere.

Don't be afraid to tell people they can't visit. On the other hand, take them up on help. Seriously, don't be a hero.

A big fat hell yes to not being afraid to telling people they can't visit! You may even want to set some boundaries ahead of time.

[cosmicav]

Dec 31, 2016 20:15:14 GMT -5 jnow said:

Don't be afraid to tell people they can't visit. 

I would like to second this advice like 5000 times. Don't let selfish people trample over YOUR needs just because they want to see a new baby. Do not set a precedent that you can be ignored when you make a request (mostly this applies to people with crazy family, like my mom). Stay strong on your requests and don't feel bad about it.




Maybe this is mean but... My mother drove her ass 3 hours to my house (when I was TWO DAYS post partum) after I told her very specifically NOT to visit yet because my baby was in the NICU and I was not healing well. I said, "you can visit next week, we cannot have visitors right now," which I feel is not an unreasonable request, and she still showed up with her asshole spouse. 

I told her to go home because I was not going to entertain her. I do not regret it. She has not "surprise" visited again. SET YOUR PRECEDENTS NOW.

[cosmicav]

I also would like to recommend flip flops or really large slippers/fuzzy socks or something for the first week-ish after birth. I was not prepared last time for the outrageous swelling of my ankles and feet. Holy shit. Apparently that swelling is super normal though.

[obi]

Tucks pads are life. I lined them on my pads.
Also, go sit on your toilet. Now, try to lift yourself up from your toilet with mostly upper body strength. If you have nothing to grab onto/support yourself (bath tub, window sil, etc) think about what you can put there. Even a walking stick of some kind to help you. Just make sure whatever you use is sturdy and safe.
When your abdomen or coochie are totally torn up this can be an impossible task. I specifically remember crying while my H helped me stand up because I couldnt do it myself.
You'll be amazed how much of your strength to stand comes from your abdomen and pelvic floor.

[erinshelley21]

I would have a manual pump on hand. Since ds came so unexpectedly, mine hasn't been ordered yet and I didn't have mine until 2 weeks after he was born. I borrowed one from a friend of SIL, but dh had to go to Walmart (not close!) at 8pm on a Saturday and buy whatever manual pump they had because my boobs were so engorged when my milk came in that ds couldn't even latch. That and we just had no idea what we were doing. Pumping a little right when that happened would have made nursing so much easier and I wouldn't have been in the pain I was.

[amandamh2]

Sitz bath with epsom salts. I was so itchy from the stitches where I tore but my friend with kids brought me this and it saved me. Plus sitting and relaxing with warm water was a wonderful sanity break.
Set alarms in the first few days to remind yourself to take pain meds. I had a relatively easy birth but still regretted it any time I was late to take my tylenol. Alarms and tracking made things much better.

+whatever to water and snacks everywhere. I was always thirsty and always starving for weeks.

[cosmicav]

If you need to cough or sneeze after you've given birth, brace your vagina and/or incision spot before the sneeze.

[kristhegirl]

Jan 3, 2017 18:32:29 GMT -5 cosmicav said:

If you need to cough or sneeze after you've given birth, brace your vagina and/or incision spot before the sneeze.

Oh, lord, this reminded me of the gushing every time I moved/coughed/sneezed for the first two days.

Which then reminds me: the nurses will come in and check your bleeding a few times during recovery. This involves pressing on your stomach while ensuring that the blood is exiting at an acceptable rate. It is uncomfortable.

I'm not sure if they do this for C-sections. They may, since I believe it's partly to make sure you don't have any retained placenta. I'm sure there's equally odd/gross things they do for incision checks.

[Deleted]

Jan 3, 2017 18:57:52 GMT -5 kristhegirl said:

Jan 3, 2017 18:32:29 GMT -5 cosmicav said:

If you need to cough or sneeze after you've given birth, brace your vagina and/or incision spot before the sneeze.

Oh, lord, this reminded me of the gushing every time I moved/coughed/sneezed for the first two days.

Which then reminds me: the nurses will come in and check your bleeding a few times during recovery. This involves pressing on your stomach while ensuring that the blood is exiting at an acceptable rate. It is uncomfortable.

I'm not sure if they do this for C-sections. They may, since I believe it's partly to make sure you don't have any retained placenta. I'm sure there's equally odd/gross things they do for incision checks.

Literally all moms talk about this and my last hospital didn't do it.


It kinda makes me worry if the nurses were cutting corners...

[britab]

Jan 3, 2017 19:19:00 GMT -5 @priss08 said:

Jan 3, 2017 18:57:52 GMT -5 kristhegirl said:

Oh, lord, this reminded me of the gushing every time I moved/coughed/sneezed for the first two days.

Which then reminds me: the nurses will come in and check your bleeding a few times during recovery. This involves pressing on your stomach while ensuring that the blood is exiting at an acceptable rate. It is uncomfortable.

I'm not sure if they do this for C-sections. They may, since I believe it's partly to make sure you don't have any retained placenta. I'm sure there's equally odd/gross things they do for incision checks.

Literally all moms talk about this and my last hospital didn't do it.


It kinda makes me worry if the nurses were cutting corners...

Mine pushed on my uterus but not while monitoring my crotch!

[kristhegirl]

Jan 3, 2017 22:27:23 GMT -5 britab said:

Jan 3, 2017 19:19:00 GMT -5 @priss08 said:

Literally all moms talk about this and my last hospital didn't do it.


It kinda makes me worry if the nurses were cutting corners...

Mine pushed on my uterus but not while monitoring my crotch!

I think that part was making sure it wasn't like "here's a clot the size of Japan!"

[ladytiffany24]

Not sure why I randomly thought of this today but here's some random advice. Just because your doctor clears you for sex at your 6 week appointment doesn't mean you have to start having sex. H was all excited when I was cleared. But sorry dude! No thanks. I knew my body well enough to know that I wasn't even ready to try. For some women, they're ready. Hell, others are ready to start before then. But just listen to your body! I had some tearing and stitches and I was pretty terrified. Lube will be your best friend.

Oh, and lube will be your best friend too if you breastfeed. You can dry up pretty easily down there while breastfeeding.

[kristhegirl]

Adding to ladytiffany24, if you tear you may have scar tissue that may be painful during sex for a while, no matter how ready you are and how much lube is going on. It just takes time. Go slow.

I think some C-section mamas from my other board reported a similar phenomenon, so it may also be a slight shifting of your anatomy from carrying a child, not just scar tissue.

I had no clue it would hurt until I actually had sex. There was no indication of it beforehand, so that was a fun surprise. It took another 4-6 weeks to go away but we weren't having a whole lot of sex at the time, either, because newborn. More frequent sex may have actually helped. Just not rough sex.

[Deleted]

Jan 4, 2017 9:16:03 GMT -5 kristhegirl said:

Adding to ladytiffany24, if you tear you may have scar tissue that may be painful during sex for a while, no matter how ready you are and how much lube is going on. It just takes time. Go slow.

I think some C-section mamas from my other board reported a similar phenomenon, so it may also be a slight shifting of your anatomy from carrying a child, not just scar tissue.

I had no clue it would hurt until I actually had sex. There was no indication of it beforehand, so that was a fun surprise. It took another 4-6 weeks to go away but we weren't having a whole lot of sex at the time, either, because newborn. More frequent sex may have actually helped. Just not rough sex.

So true! I have a weird spot from where my DS had his hand on his face. It has gotten better with time, plus I'm here again so it wasn't too bad.

[kristhegirl]

This is about the lovely discharge.

First, it is not a smooth transition from "I'm wearing adult diapers" to not needing even a liner. Don't be fooled by several hours' worth of nothing. Just wear a pad.

Second, I love the Always Infinity pads, but I wear them backwards. If you aren't familiar, they are wider in the back. I don't need the wide part under my butt, I need that coverage at the front! Your mileage may vary, of course, but they work great backwards if you also need the coverage up front.