I'd like to talk about the TMI to expect after L&D

[papie]

Aug 21, 2013 13:05:57 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

How much did you bleed, and for how long? Did you really pass golf ball-sized clots? Did you have to wear Depends or are the crazies on my Bump BMB just, well, crazy? I bled A LOT for about a week, and then a bit for 3-4 weeks.  The worst is the first 48hrs.  Yes to golf ball sized clots.  Yes to depends, although I didn't have them.  They do give you some giant pads to use at first, but even those you go through really fast. 

Did your first bowel movement feel like birthing a child all over again? No, but it hurts.  A LOT.  And you worry your stitches will pop.  But they don't. 

How long until any soreness/pain disappeared down there (vag or abs depending on birth)? Two weeks?

What other TMI things happened that you wish you knew to expect? Sex will hurt for MONTHS.  Peeing hurts.  Pooping hurts.  EVERYTHING HURTS. 

Any other words of wisdom? It is worse than you can imagine, but better at the same time. 

[humanzee]

Recovery was not that bad, certainly not worse than I thought it would be! Honestly, the thing I'm dreading the most this time around is the damn night sweats!

When going to the bathroom for the first week or so, it really helped to hold a dry washcloth against my c-section incision for support.

I was totally freaked out about them removing the staples. It was not bad at all.. it was no more painful than tweezing an eyebrow.

I didn't get a wax again until about 12 weeks, but for no other reason than that it just wasn't a priority right away. Waxing over my incision was no big deal. The worst part was just the typical pain from waiting so long between waxes.

I had localized pain around one end of my incision which made me nervous. I later learned that's the area where my surgical knot is, and it wasn't unusual.

[2curlydogs]

Also, I did not sweat, swell, have hot/cold flashes, etc. post partum.  I do not remember having the "ring of fire" while pushing.

I did not have terrible engorgement when my milk came in.


I did, however, have contractions 3-4 minutes apart the entire time.

I also felt the uncontrollable urge to push and was only 6cm dilated.  This apparently happens to some women (no, this was not B descending) and, as the nurse informed me, if I tried to push I would tear my cervix.  I didn't realize you could tear your cervix until that moment.  That wasn't a fun thing to hear in the middle of transition.

[Velar Fricative]

This thread has been so helpful. Bless all you moms for contributing.

[blushing]

I can't believe I forgot about the sweats. Urgh! Why am I doing this again?

[pescalita]

Aug 22, 2013 11:05:04 GMT -5 formerlyak said:

Aug 22, 2013 9:35:11 GMT -5 pescalita said:

Like formerlyak I got the shakes in recovery. They also push on your incision periodically to make sure the staples are holding and discharge is going out the right way. It's terribly painful. I would ask for more meds, and she would give them, they'd kick in, and then she'd push on my incision. That will not be the order this time.

I was on morphine overnight afterwards, and I hated it. I kept waking up, remembering I had a kid, wondering of I should call down to the NICU, and then before I could reach for the phone I was out again. I didn't even know what was going on until they had turned it off. I'll be asking more about my IV this time, and I'm hoping they won't have it turned up so high with a baby in the room.

I don't think they had my meds up this high and my son roomed in the entire time. I think the first 12-24 hours I stayed in or around my bed because I still had the catheter in, but I was able to move to pick up ds, feed him, stand and stretch my legs, etc. They also checked my incision, but I don't remember them pushing on it. I remember them being surprised how quickly my skin healed and the Ob took my staples out on day 3 before I even left the hospital. She said usually you have to come back a few days later to get them out, but my skin was healing so well that it was actually pulling against the staples and it would be better to take them out and replace with steri strips.

Pescalita, I hope you have a better experience with the meds this time around. That morphine experience sounds terrible.

Thanks, I hope so too. Those two parts were really the only things that gave me pause about choosing RCS. I'm hoping without the NICU uncertainty and chaos things will go smoother, although being able to go back to my room and be knocked out wasn't the end of the world

[callie]

How much did you bleed, and for how long?
I'm 7 weeks PP and I'm still bleeding a little. But barely. I didn't pass large clots, just small ones a bareIy felt. I wore the large pads from the hospital for about 3 days after I was discharged. Since then I've been wearing thin regular sized ones.

Did your first bowel movement feel like birthing a child all over again?
No, I just tried to stay relaxed and not clinch. And I took stool softeners once a day for about ten days. I never had a problem.

How long until any soreness/pain disappeared down there (vag or abs depending on birth)?
3 weeks maybe.

What other TMI things happened that you wish you knew to expect?
No because I researched like a mad woman.

Any other words of wisdom?
The bright side of going in thinking the worst is when "the worst" doesn't happen it makes the whole thing seem like a victory.

[countthestars]

Aug 21, 2013 18:40:16 GMT -5 blindyswife said:

Aug 21, 2013 15:27:00 GMT -5 kristie said:

I am not answering these questions because I know that my experience was more extreme than most will experience and refuse to scare you guys. But, the pooping wasn't that bad since I took the stool softeners. I had no idea about the intensity of the night sweats. I woke up cold and soaking wet every night, changed clothes multiple times a night the first few nights and changed my bed daily. Seriously, it was bad. Plus the leaking boobs, and the mess below..... I swore never again, it only took three years to change my mind. Lol.

I haven't read all the replies yet, and I'll give my answers in a bit, but I just wanted to say- 

OMG the hot flashes. I was apparently HOT my whole recovery while in the hospital. For both kids too. Our room thermostat said it was 67 in our room, H was freezing the whole time, kept asking if he could turn the heat up, wore sweats and a sweatshirt to sleep at night, and asked the nurse for an extra blanket. Meanwhile, I'm only wearing the hospital gown the whole time, and I'm all, "it isn't hot in here, what are you talking about? Here, take my blanket, I'll use just my sheet." Lol. 

Same for me!

[countthestars]

Ok, I'll try to remember as many questions as possible. Lots of tmi

Eta: 7 weeks pp, 2nd degree tear

I wore pads for 4 weeks but never had big clots. My blood was pretty runny/wet and there was a lot of it. I am still wearing liners because of the weird yellow discharge (my doc says its normal).

Poop hasn't been an issue for me. It took a few days but was normal once it came.

I haven't worn a thong yet because of the discharge but may this weekend.

My pee is unexpected and hard to control. I laughed so hard I peed myself at three weeks PP. it's still a little scary.

I sleep in a nursing tank. I have to wear pads in my bra at all times for the leaking. The Target brand is SO uncomfortable. Pay the extra dollar for Laniasoh.

Bring nipple cream to the hospital and use it before and after every feeding. Seriously.

The night sweats are bad. Mine lasted a couple weeks. I was not expecting that.

I have a skin tag in my vagina. It is uncomfortable. We haven't had sex yet because I am scared. I'm going to have my doc cut it off.

Take a look at your hooha now. I don't remember what mine used to look like but I don't think it's the same now

[geek96]

Thanks for the insight ladies. This reminds me that I should be doing kegels.

[sonrisa]

Aug 21, 2013 15:46:05 GMT -5 mekiakoo said:

Would you recommend wearing a bra when you sleep because of the leakage? Or what do you do?

Everything is such a mess when you sleep those first few weeks. You are trying to keep bleeding under control and there's the prolific smelly night sweats. Milk leakage is just one more messy fluid and one of the least gross ones. Just get your DH to change the sheets daily (or do it yourself if you are up for it). We need a new mattress and new sheets but I'm specifically waiting until we get past water breaking risk and the post-partuum mess before we do. 

[sonrisa]

I haven't read all of this, but one thing that not everyone is prepared for: nursing fucking hurts. You will hear people who say it doesn't hurt if you and the baby are doing it right, but that only is true after the baby matures enough to get it right or for some lucky women whose babies get it right away.

Nursing also takes muuuuch longer than you might anticipate. My kid was small and had nursing issues. They wanted me to nurse every 2 hours, 3 at most. And then pump for half an hour after that. Well, every nursing session took over an hour. So it would take 1.5 hours to get through it all. Pee and pain meds break. Try to nap for half an hour and right back at it. Some kids nurse faster, but some don't.

[sonrisa]

C-section scars take time to fully heal. It will scar over pretty quickly, but there will still be discomfort as the various layers of tissue and muscle heal or move. The worst is over after a month but it took a year not to hurt standing up after I peed.