It's been almost ten months since I was pregnant and delivered my little lady, but there are still post-partum things that I have been surprised by. (It seems like the "after effects" are spread out over the first year or two of your kid's life?)
Hair Loss and "Baby" Bangs
Pregnancy finally gave me luscious, seemingly thick hair and it was amazing. I didn't start the shedding process until Brighton was about 6 months old - at first it was just more hair in the shower and in my brush, but then I noticed it on everything and started to panic.
And then it got worse. One night as I was pulling my hair into a top knot, I noticed that around my entire hairline, there were tiny 1/2 inch hairs growing in and I had bald spots around my temples. Bald spots!!!! My self esteem took a little nose dive that night. Of course, I have made it worse by fretting about it constantly, pointing it out to friends and attempting to dye said baby bangs to match my blonde highlights. Now I have orangish-blonde baby hairs around face. Awesome. I need to call my hairdresser.
Peeing when you sneeze
Need I say more? Invest in some panty liners ladies! Do your kegels!
Night Sweats
I had this for a week after Brighton was born, but thankfully my nurse warned me about them (and told me the cause was my body trying to shed the extra fluid due to pregnancy. Is that actually true?) But as I have started to wean Brighton from nursing 6 times a day down to 1, my hormones are leveling out again and one side effect is night sweats.
I have woken up almost every other night for the last few weeks totally drenched. We change our sheets a lot around here. Lots of extra showers too. Ugh.
Aunt Flo
My first post pregnancy period was awful - heavy, tons of cramps, felt like a psycho. The second one was twice as bad. On the flip side, at least I didn't have o buy tampons for almost 17 months!
Alright ladies, what other post-partum horror stories do you have to share? I know I am not alone in these!! Happy Friday!
I felt like I was bleeding to death with post partum periods too.
ReplyDeleteI'm in my 3rd trimester with #3 so I've got a few.
DeleteLightning crotch~ stabbing vagina pains, also can happen to your boobs. Hurts!
Breastfeeding can hurt even if they are latched on correctly! Every single thing I read said that it shouldn't hurt if they are latched on correctly. Well, it took 6 weeks with my first for my nipples to get used to breastfeeding, 4 weeks with #2. It hurt so bad I wanted to cry. It's normal, it doesn't last forever, it does get easier!!
My leg hair doesn't grow when I'm pregnant. Ha! I can go a week without shaving, it's awesome!
Stretch marks on my calves. My body holds onto everything while I'm pregnant, plus I carry a LOT of water weight. That equals stretch marks just about everywhere including my calves. Sigh.
I was reading through the other posts, this is super TMI but the nurse put her (gloved!!) hand inside to show me where to push. That I could feel, made it much easier to focus on a specific part.
I can say that the 2nd time is a lot easier. Pushing was a lot faster, I felt like I healed a lot quicker (from tears and in general), and nursing was easier.
nurse here,
ReplyDeleteregarding sweating postpartum - yes, it's true! your total body fluid volume in circulation increases during pregnancy, and most women pee a lot and sweat a ton after giving birth. it's your body's way to get back to its normal equilibrium!
I feel like EVERY body is different and each pregnancy is SO different...I am 27 weeks with #2 and there are some symptoms have been so different. For me the things that shocked me were:
ReplyDelete1) my belly button never fully recovered...everything else went back to looking like it used to but my innie never really went all the way back. At 27 weeks my belly button is now FLAT!
2) I had terrible "baby bangs" around my temples and the back of neck
3) I feel like my bikini line went into hyper-drive... as in I could shave EVERY day
4) I have yet to find someone who has had this one... but my feet get really itchy during pregnancy. With my first pregnancy the entire soul of my foot was flaky dry red skin... my OBGYN even sent me to a special dermatologist and they were stumped
i had the foot thing! everyone was totally confused too.
DeletePost partum night sweats are the worst! I had them big time for a few weeks. Like I would wake up and my shirt was SOAKED!
ReplyDeleteSame here!!!
DeleteWhen did you get your first post Partum period? I'm 8 months pp and still no sign of Aunt Flo. I fear her wrath!!
ReplyDeleteRight when Brighton was about 8.5 months old. It was right when I was cutting back on breastfeeding.
DeleteOh my goodness this post was reassuring ;) I'm almost 8 weeks PP and could have written this whole post except AF. I still have the night sweats. Glad to hear they eventually stop. Its so gross! And the baby hair. Oh my goodness I actually took my husbands beard trimmer and cut them on day because I just could stand them lol not really a good solution since they are going to keep coming back. And the sneeze pee. I actually brought it up at my 6 week check up and asked the doc if I am forever turning into an 80 year old women ;) The only other lovely thing is my "extra" belly that didn't use to be there and because I had a csection it has no feeling at all. Ive asked around and apparently that may never come back. awesome :)
ReplyDelete