15 Things to remember after giving birth: Post Partum

#thedailyblab a pregnancy, and birthing post which arms new mother’s with much needed information such as, sex after birth and the ‘no way in hell’ reaction, with chastity (in the abstinence sense) shackles firmly in place!

Warned is forearmed, as they say! Blabbermama’s orders!*

This is graphic, and most definitely resides in the ‘too much information category’ for most, but these things need to be discussed for women to be aware. These are things I wish I knew before giving birth during that post partum period.

1. Post Partum Bleeding (Lochia): Yes, after everything you have been through, 9 months of carrying that beautiful little cherub, experiencing morning sickness or worse, perhaps swelling or pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes and the rest, this will be topped it off when you finally give birth. You will be greeted with perhaps the heaviest ‘period like’ flow imaginable, which can last between 3-6 weeks after birth. I was blessed with 7 weeks… but hey, it was worth it- look at that cute face! If you experience golf ball sized clots or anything unusual at all, please seek advice from a medical professional, you can read more [here] about potential complications.
2. That first poo you have after giving birth, it just feels wrong. It doesn’t matter if you had a natural or cesarean birth, everything down in that area just feels delicate and the pressure from a poo makes it that bit worse. Push through it, literally, you had a baby, you can do it.
3. First time you pee is also monumental, I struggled for a few days although I had anesthetic so this differs for everyone, my bladder was a bit sluggish, you’ll get there. Put the taps on and let it flow. (Very tempted to put a Frozen Meme in here, well resisted)
4. Hormones, hormones, hormones! You might be buzzing after birth, or completely drained, adrenaline on high, then crashing, emotional, tearful, happy and confused. Nobody knows how they will react to the rush and flow of hormones, but it’s normal. If you are concerned, have a conversation with a medical profession or someone you trust, it’s better to talk, you won’t be judged. [Here] is an additional resource which contains great information on this topic.
5. That first shower you have after giving birth, that’s a little piece of magic right there. Then you bring on the cup of tea/coffee on the side perhaps a biscuit or a smidgen of cake? Pretty close to Heaven, if not on the periphery.
6. Cesarean ladies, that bandage over your wound, holy moly, the bandage is huge! Underneath it all though, it isn’t as bad as it seems. You might be bruised and feel quite battered internally and externally- I certainly did, but it heals and the incision is surprisingly small- how did they get a baby out of there?! Keep it clean, and follow your medical instructions for rest and exertion. More info [Here]
7. Natural Birth ladies, bruised and painful, stitches or no stitches, forceps or no forceps, it’s going to hurt, but that pain will ease and soon that rush of hormones will come bounding in, and your birthing experience might even become slightly hazy. More info [Here] for guidance on resting after birth
8. You’ve been told countless times, but pelvic floor exercises are your best friend. So give your friend a squeeze like you haven’t seen them in months, a few times a day. Blabbermama’s orders [folds arms and nods]
9. Sex after birth, the iron gates of ‘no chance in hell’ will loosen and become ‘OK, let’s have a go and see’ and eventually all caution about hurting and trauma will ease and it’ll be back to mission normal again. [Post coming soon, click Here for more information on getting back on the wagon!]
10. Clothing, fitting into your pre-pregnancy clothes, put these thoughts to the side, or in the bin if you can, great if you can fit into whatever clothes you want, but do not, DO NOT (repeated on purpose) put undue stress and pressure on yourself. Your body is amazing, give it a break and applaud it for what it’s been through, don’t put it through the mill. If you need reassurance of how important this is, take a look at that cheeky little cherub you just gave birth too. Read my post [Here] on how I feel about the unnecessary pressures women are under after giving birth, it has a graphic image, you’ve been warned!
11. You can sleep any way you want now, on your back on your belly, whatever floats your boat! (Yes, sleep may be elusive, but at least during those nuggets of gold, you’re not resigned to left sided sleeping!)
12. Eating resumes to normal as well, ‘I’ll have a Subway Italian BMT please’
13. The cleanliness of the house really doesn’t matter, so put the hoover down and walk away from the mop. Don’t know where they are at the minute? Even better!
14. Pyjama days are allowed, and in fact, whole heartedly encouraged, use your lazy PJ days to bond with your new little cherub. I had a pyjama day, one of those greasy, hair straggled and food smeared days, although it ended rather unfortunately. Take a peek [Here]
15. Whilst your looking after that cute newborn, remember, look after yourself as well, a happy and healthy mum is just as important as a happy and healthy baby.

 

Do you have any other advice you would share with a new mama? Let us know, leave a comment!

* Blabbermama is not a medical professional, so if in doubt, seek assistance!

The Daily Blab [TDB]: Look at the size of her bump!

Welcome to #thedailyblab series which will feature posts hot of the press on parenting, birth and all things family.

An article featuring on the daily mail today discussed the size of pregnancy bumps throughout pregnancy and how no ‘one size fits all’.

It seems incredulous that the size of pregnancy bumps is even a ‘thing’ now, we have previously discussed the pressures on women post partum to lose weight and to look how they did pre-pregnancy, without the stretch marks, the scars, the bruising, both internal and external, mental and physical. [Read here]
Now, it seems, pregnant women are being examined by their pregnancy bump outside of the realm of medical examination- it is known that during pregnancy, bumps are measured as a sign of baby’s growth. This is a technique used by the NHS, which may highlight any potential difficulties in pregnancy. This is separate from this discussion.

Women are being ridiculed for looking either ‘too big’ or ‘too small’ for their gestation period.
A number of things need to be flagged first of all;

• The size and appearance of bumps can change in subsequent pregnancies, often women in subsequent pregnancies have bigger bumps, although like everything, this isn’t always the case.
• Activity levels of mums fluctuate, some women are able to continue with their daily exercise regimen, (at a level that they deem appropriate for themselves as a pregnant woman, this may maintain or reduce,) where other mums are absolutely knackered by pregnancy. This is completely understandable given the extraordinary journey and physical exertion their bodies are going through.
• Morning sickness and Hyperemesis Gravidarum can really effect the life of a pregnant woman, this can be seen in regards to nutrition, energy and the physical and mental toll that sickness induces. This means that putting on pregnancy weight may slow, or the mum may actually lose weight.
• Mums also experience increased appetite, the levels of calorie intake increase according to NHS guidelines as the pregnancy progresses, but some mums can experience ravenous moments.

We shouldn’t penalise or scrutinise a mother’s bump, comments such as ‘wow, you look big,’ or ‘your bump is too small’ etc, can be damaging to the mum and can cause undue stress and worry. That mother who appears to have a small/big bump may find herself worrying unnecessarily at a throw away comment.

Tactfulness and awareness of mum’s who are going through an incredible experience should be emphasised. Comparing bumps or making comments when you know nothing about what that mother has experienced can only cause hurt and self consciousness, if there are any worries about growth and bumps, let the professionals investigate and explore those issues founded on medical practices rather than measurement by the naked eye, which can often be deceiving.

Bumps, in whatever size and shape, resemble the act of growing and nurturing. Pregnant Mama’s out there should be proud of their role in that journey – don’t be the person that taints it for them.

Have you ever experienced these type of comments? Did it effect you in any way? Get involved, leave me a comment and let me know!

Linked with;

Daddy Debut: What’s that leaking?

We have met Little Mama and her many adventures with her 8mth old Little Lord. If you have missed the journey you should really catch up, there have been some pretty interesting times such as;

• The Bathtime disaster when she had to vacate abruptly, thankfully before she came face to face with a floater (yes, you know the type, yes apologies for the toilet humour- but in this case, it happened and baths are still avoided);
• The time when she decided to have a covert Pyjama day or;
• When Little Doggy and Little Mama went head to head in the Shower fiasco (go on Little Doggy, do your worst! But shhhhush!)

But…

What about Little Daddy, he’s been awfully quiet, staying below the radar for fear of public targeting through Little Mama’s secret weapon- her blog! I wonder how many bloggers hold their significant other ransom via

Baby Milestones: Baby talks back! The beginning…

The 8 month old Little Lord sat, peering at Little Daddy, clearly he was contemplating some serious baby business. He had been thrashing around among PVC City, did the usual mad dash towards remote control tower and gave a cheeky glance towards forbidden TV corner- before he was able to navigate his cheeky little vessel over to illuminated TV corner and perhaps cause the lights to ominously ‘go out’, he decided he wanted to be heard- and no, not the usual baby babble that we had been increasingly hearing- this baby could now talk.

The highly coveted remote control

Little Mama sat in the corner having a coronary over how fast her Little Lord was growing, first crawling (when he accomplished his Bond mission and entered Spy Academy), then full blown teething of the HULK SMASH variety, recently standing– yes- standing, (sit your baby butt down MR!) and now he was talking?! Poor Little Mama wiped her brow as she watched the scene unfold.

But what would be the Little Lord’s first words?

Baby Milestones: Standing already? Your joking, right?!

Rising to his feet, dusting of the last remaining fibres of the previous weeks Hulk episode, the 8 month old Little Lord decided to upgrade spontaneously and without any warning. He had recently mastered the art of crawling, with style and sophistication as Bond Baby, but crawling alone could not satisfy the Little Lord’s craving for adventure, this baby would not be delayed- for next on his list, was standing unaided.

Do you accept his challenge?

Little Mama sat, and watched as the Little Lord tried to lift his nappy padded bum from the floor and onto his walker (of the shiny PVC Plastic variety, obviously) she felt naive, she thought she had time, she had only recently got over the last upgrade of crawling. Having baby proofed the living room, created a designated ‘remote control’ spot on the table, far away from little hands, shielded the many different types of electronic box that lay below the TV (noting to herself to ask Little Daddy what they were all for anyway, but resigning herself to the fact that they were probably an ill-forgotten Ebay purchase of the ‘impromptu’ variety.) 

Little Mama had felt sure, almost confident with the fact that this would be it, at least for a couple of months. But no,

No.1 Parenting fear: When the Baby pulls a HULK strop

The 8 mth old Little Lord sat playing in the midst of PVC Plastic City, tossing cups and biting rattles, when he felt a tingle in his gum. It had grown incessantly and no gnawing or biting could quell the increasing urge to chew and chomp his way through anything. It was the familiar swell of the plague called ‘Teething’. He angled around to see if Little Mama had noticed his discomfort but alas, she wasn’t a mind reader much to his disappointment. He set about fixing her oblivious ways…

Little Mama sat and played with Little Lord, he was happily wrecking around in his toys when she noticed him stiffen and his face grow weary. She pretended like everything was

For the love of Jo- STOP!

#TheDailyBlab focus on recent news events

The Little Mama sat silently, tapping into her phone to check the latest updates across the world of social media. Tuning into the news channels and catching up with the daily events. The monitor sat next to her, and her son, the Little Lord who was 7.5mths old lay peacefully slumbering in his cot. She took a moment to consider life around her.

Not one who often sits in quiet reflection. The Little Mama considered recent events. In the news headlines across the space of a week, so many horrors had been splashed across the world, causing splinters to ricochet and hurt or appall many . The shocking hatred in Orlando, where bullets tore flesh

Superbaby Flies!

Is it a bird? Is it a plane?

No! It’s SuperBaby!

Luthor Corp. sat facing away from the 7.5 month old Little Lord- who had cloaked himself as Superbaby for the day. He watched, tense and waiting for their next move. He re-positioned his bum on his chariot for the journey may take some time. Luthor Corp. Mama had already attacked by using his Kryptonite of #buckles against him, he hadn’t seen it coming and couldn’t even instigate his ‘back arch’ powers to resist her. Then, Luthor Corp. Mama had the cheek to turn around and

Meet the Character: Superbaby the intro

By day, he was a Little Lord masquerading as a baby but by night he was:

SuperBaby!

Coming soon… here is a snippet to quench your thirst!

Character Interview:

Loves- A well stocked booby of milk or a bowl of pasta- there’s no Lois Lane’s♥ on this baby’s mind. (Nor will there be for the foreseeable future, Little Mama will have words otherwise)

Fears- His own Kryptonite of #cotjail, #buckles and *GULP* #lostrattle

Happiest when– Chasing Little Dog, his trusty sidekick and listening to music (of the pop/rnb variety much to Little Rocker Mama’s disdain)

Saddest when- The Luthor Corp. thwarts his plans of midnight raves, sudden epicly timed nappy explosions or when they make him leave the swing in the Park before he’s had his adrenaline junkie fix- flying through the air sans cape.

 

James Bond: The search for the next recruit

See previous-New James Bond announced- [with video] Part II and Baby Crawling Saga: The Little Cruiser Lord Part I

Starring: Little Lord as Baby Bond and Little Dog as Little Spy Dog

Cameo: Little Mama as ‘M’

The Little Lord lay in his slumber pit feeling accomplished that he was now able to crawl- he had successfully completed his Bond audition and he had celebrated hard the night before with milk, which of course was shaken and not stirred. However…

It had dawned on the Little Lord that he required security for his new role as Bond Baby. He hadn’t considered the fame attached to such a prestigious position as 007 which would surely hinder his performance during future missions. Plus, he had heard from M- (Little Mama) that the ladies had went weak with his dimpled cheeks and devilish smile. Someone would have to keep them at bay. He pondered for he couldn’t think who could be up to such an esteemed task.

Enter…

LITTLE BOND DOG!

The Legend

The Little Lord had heard tales of utter amazement at how brilliant Little Bond Dog’s skills were. He heard that Little Bond Dog could hear a