prenatal care is not for the faint of heart. if you don't like getting blood drawn - i suggest that you don't get pregnant.
for the first several months, you will likely endure MANY tests that all involve your blood... vials will be extracted from your body at a rapid rate.
(of course, this depends on your doctor and your level of prenatal care, too...)
thankfully our bodies start making 20% more blood (or something like that - don't quote me) in order to support the child growing inside... though, i wondered in the first several months of tests if my doctor removed all the extra blood i was working so hard to create!
i usually don't mind getting my blood drawn too much, but the sheer frequency is really what i hated most of all.
assuming things progress smoothly, it should all come to a head at around 28 weeks when they do the glucose test (the most fun of all). this is to test whether you have gestational diabetes. you have to drink a container of gross liquid an hour before your appointment and then you aren't allowed to eat anything until the blood is drawn.
the liquid is gross. i drank mine ice cold and chugged it in a meeting while at work... if you don't pass the test, you have to do it again! but the second time you will have to wait for a longer interval of time than 1 hour between drinking the liquid and getting your blood drawn... i'm so glad i passed my test! telling a pregnant woman not to eat for more than 1 hour is just cruel.
another annoying poke that you might get is a rhogam shot - though you only need this if you are RH negative (which i was). it's a big old needle, right in the ass. you'll get it twice - around 28 weeks, and again right after birth.
>> here is information about being RH negative
aside from all the prenatal tests, there is a decent probability you'll need to get more needles stuck in your body during labor. not everyone is lucky enough to have a fast, painless, natural child birth.
sadly, i've heard more stories about the opposite experiences than i have about the quick & fast... now that i think it through, i'd estimate that 75% of my pregnant friends have ended up having emergency c-sections after 18+ hours of labor (only my dear sweet sister-in-law was blessed with the quick, fast & painless). i don't have a lot of friends who've had kids (i can definitely count them on 2 hands), and 5 of them have had emergency c-sections.
c-sections require an epidural because they use it as the primary anesthetic during the surgery (at a much higher dose than they give you for pain management).
i had an epidural anyways (for pain) despite my fear of being physically attached to my bed for my labor.
an epidural = more pokes & prods...
- IV in your arm
- needle in your spine
- urinary catheter in your hoohaw
honestly though, those things were insignificant in the heat of the moment.
and at the end of the day... being a lab rat for 9 months was DEFINITELY worth the little child that i have in my life now!
10.29.2009
sorry for the lapse
my apologies for the lack of posts lately.
apparently a new parent has significantly less time to themselves when there are no relatives visiting to help you care for your newborn!
i know, that should be obvious...
but i honestly, thought i'd be able to do the same amount of activities while my child napped regardless of whether my mom was in town to visit or not. turns out that is definitely not the case. i've been lucky to clean the kitchen, do laundry, and read my emails these past 2 weeks, let alone write in my blogs!
actually, my child coincidentally decided to take less naps in the daytime around the time my mom went back home. i learned that around 3 weeks old, babies often have a little growth spurt... this means:
- more frequent feedings (mine ate nearly every hour!)
- more fussiness
- worse sleep
all this adds up to: no time for mom to blog.
now we're at 5 weeks and life has stabilized... we've had a few awesome sleep nights (2x 7 hour stretches, several 5-6 hour stretches, and the norm is to get at least a 4 hour stretch, which is WAY better than the 1-2 hour stretches in the beginning).
its amazing how good it feels to sleep for 4 hours straight after you endure the first 3 weeks of life, when babies wake up all the time. a typical night went like this in the beginning:
9pm: bedtime
10pm: wake up, change diaper, feed
11pm: done with above, mom goes back to bed
12pm: wake up, feed
1am: done with above, mom goes back to bed
2am: wake up, change diaper, feed
3am: done with above, mom goes back to bed
4am: wake up, feed
5am: done with above, mom goes back to bed
6am: wake up, change diaper, feed
7am: done with above, mom goes back to bed
8am: wake up... mom decides she's had enough so she stumbles downstairs to make a strong pot of coffee, turns on the morning shows & breastfeeds
but now it's like this:
10pm: bedtime
3am: wake up, change diaper, feed
4am: done with above, mom goes back to bed
5:30am: wake up, change diaper, feed
6:30am: done with above, mom goes back to bed
8am: wake up... mom stumbles downstairs to make a strong pot of coffee, turns on the morning shows & breastfeed
ahh bliss!
but, i hear word on the streets that babies have ANOTHER growth spurt around 6 weeks... so, i'm not looking forward to the next 1-2weeks.
if i disappear again, this is why.
apparently a new parent has significantly less time to themselves when there are no relatives visiting to help you care for your newborn!
i know, that should be obvious...
but i honestly, thought i'd be able to do the same amount of activities while my child napped regardless of whether my mom was in town to visit or not. turns out that is definitely not the case. i've been lucky to clean the kitchen, do laundry, and read my emails these past 2 weeks, let alone write in my blogs!
actually, my child coincidentally decided to take less naps in the daytime around the time my mom went back home. i learned that around 3 weeks old, babies often have a little growth spurt... this means:
- more frequent feedings (mine ate nearly every hour!)
- more fussiness
- worse sleep
all this adds up to: no time for mom to blog.
now we're at 5 weeks and life has stabilized... we've had a few awesome sleep nights (2x 7 hour stretches, several 5-6 hour stretches, and the norm is to get at least a 4 hour stretch, which is WAY better than the 1-2 hour stretches in the beginning).
its amazing how good it feels to sleep for 4 hours straight after you endure the first 3 weeks of life, when babies wake up all the time. a typical night went like this in the beginning:
9pm: bedtime
10pm: wake up, change diaper, feed
11pm: done with above, mom goes back to bed
12pm: wake up, feed
1am: done with above, mom goes back to bed
2am: wake up, change diaper, feed
3am: done with above, mom goes back to bed
4am: wake up, feed
5am: done with above, mom goes back to bed
6am: wake up, change diaper, feed
7am: done with above, mom goes back to bed
8am: wake up... mom decides she's had enough so she stumbles downstairs to make a strong pot of coffee, turns on the morning shows & breastfeeds
but now it's like this:
10pm: bedtime
3am: wake up, change diaper, feed
4am: done with above, mom goes back to bed
5:30am: wake up, change diaper, feed
6:30am: done with above, mom goes back to bed
8am: wake up... mom stumbles downstairs to make a strong pot of coffee, turns on the morning shows & breastfeed
ahh bliss!
but, i hear word on the streets that babies have ANOTHER growth spurt around 6 weeks... so, i'm not looking forward to the next 1-2weeks.
if i disappear again, this is why.
10.12.2009
easy pee-sy
being pregnant means ushering in a new era of bathroom intimacy... never in your life will you pee as much as you do both during and after your child is born.
in the beginning - you will start waking up in the middle of the night to pee at least once. this will feel surprising because the baby isn't big enough to put pressure on your bladder yet... you can thank all the new hormones rushing through your system, instead.
ah hormones... delivering such amazing sensations as morning sickness and frequent urination... thank you!
in the middle of your pregnancy, the pee flow at night slows down somewhat, but it's the calm before the storm. instead, you'll generally just find yourself feeling like the bladder is insanely full after you spend time walking around (gravity takes hold of the baby inside you and causes it to bear down on your unsuspecting bladder...). thankfully, you should find relief when you're not up and about.
then, in the weeks before the end, your pee frequency (day and night) will start ramping up...
the once-a-night pees will multiply. once, twice, three times... maybe more!
in the daytime, you may as well never go further than 100 feet from a bathroom.
your bladder is going to feel like the size of a pea. moving around or not -- the baby is simply growing. there isn't room inside your abdomen for both a full-term child and a normal-sized bladder, so your bladder takes the hit. it gets sandwiched between baby and pelvic bone.
sometimes, on a really fun day, the baby will headbutt your pelvic bone and cause you to wince in pain AND pee your pants at the same time. yay.
did you ever hear about pregnancy causing incontinence? well - it does. thankfully it's TEMPORARY, so don't get too disheartened (1 week after birth i regained proper bladder control)... but i'm telling you this so you won't be alarmed if you wet your pants unexpectedly during the daytime now and then.
the good news is that your pea-sized bladder can't hold much liquid, so its not enough to drench through your clothing and become obvious to your co-workers. phew!
i wish i'd logged how many times i urinated during the last 48 hours before birth... i would venture to guess it was upwards of 30 times a day. truly amazing.
finally - during the labor experience, i recall vaguely having to pee every hour in the beginning 12 hours (but maybe i was just wishfully thinking i'd pass my mucus plug or my water would break while i sat on the toilet)... i'm not sure i actually had to GO.
and after i'd checked into the hospital and received my epidural, they put in a urinary catheter. so, goodness knows what was going on from that point forward...
(btw, for the record - i was really freaked about the idea of a urinary catheter. it was one of several reasons i wanted to avoid using meds if i could. but, it turns out that once you're drugged up with an epidural you just don't give a shit anymore! and, you don't feel a thing when they do it).
i'd love to hear about a non-epidural, non-catheter birth experience to see if it matches mine in the post-labor pee department. i basically had a few days afterwards where bladder control was NON-EXISTENT, then slowly it was 50/50, and about a week later i was functioning normal again. but was this due to the catheter? or was this standard procedure? i have no idea.
my guess is that the lack of bladder control was really due to the sheer fact that you pee BUCKETS after birth for a few days, as your body starts expelling all the fluids you built up... yes, you literally pee away your swollen feet and hands. the volume of liquid was so surprisingly grand, i can only imagine that my little bladder just tripped out! i mean really - it went for months as a wimpy little pea-sized sac, and now suddenly it has to hold gallons? it simply couldn't cut it.
but - at least you're wearing monster-sized pads at that point in time due to the other fluids also exiting your body for the weeks following birth... apparently the pads are not just for the lochia, but also for the bladder issues. who knew?
well - that's that! baby crying... gtg.
in the beginning - you will start waking up in the middle of the night to pee at least once. this will feel surprising because the baby isn't big enough to put pressure on your bladder yet... you can thank all the new hormones rushing through your system, instead.
ah hormones... delivering such amazing sensations as morning sickness and frequent urination... thank you!
in the middle of your pregnancy, the pee flow at night slows down somewhat, but it's the calm before the storm. instead, you'll generally just find yourself feeling like the bladder is insanely full after you spend time walking around (gravity takes hold of the baby inside you and causes it to bear down on your unsuspecting bladder...). thankfully, you should find relief when you're not up and about.
then, in the weeks before the end, your pee frequency (day and night) will start ramping up...
the once-a-night pees will multiply. once, twice, three times... maybe more!
in the daytime, you may as well never go further than 100 feet from a bathroom.
your bladder is going to feel like the size of a pea. moving around or not -- the baby is simply growing. there isn't room inside your abdomen for both a full-term child and a normal-sized bladder, so your bladder takes the hit. it gets sandwiched between baby and pelvic bone.
sometimes, on a really fun day, the baby will headbutt your pelvic bone and cause you to wince in pain AND pee your pants at the same time. yay.
did you ever hear about pregnancy causing incontinence? well - it does. thankfully it's TEMPORARY, so don't get too disheartened (1 week after birth i regained proper bladder control)... but i'm telling you this so you won't be alarmed if you wet your pants unexpectedly during the daytime now and then.
the good news is that your pea-sized bladder can't hold much liquid, so its not enough to drench through your clothing and become obvious to your co-workers. phew!
i wish i'd logged how many times i urinated during the last 48 hours before birth... i would venture to guess it was upwards of 30 times a day. truly amazing.
finally - during the labor experience, i recall vaguely having to pee every hour in the beginning 12 hours (but maybe i was just wishfully thinking i'd pass my mucus plug or my water would break while i sat on the toilet)... i'm not sure i actually had to GO.
and after i'd checked into the hospital and received my epidural, they put in a urinary catheter. so, goodness knows what was going on from that point forward...
(btw, for the record - i was really freaked about the idea of a urinary catheter. it was one of several reasons i wanted to avoid using meds if i could. but, it turns out that once you're drugged up with an epidural you just don't give a shit anymore! and, you don't feel a thing when they do it).
i'd love to hear about a non-epidural, non-catheter birth experience to see if it matches mine in the post-labor pee department. i basically had a few days afterwards where bladder control was NON-EXISTENT, then slowly it was 50/50, and about a week later i was functioning normal again. but was this due to the catheter? or was this standard procedure? i have no idea.
my guess is that the lack of bladder control was really due to the sheer fact that you pee BUCKETS after birth for a few days, as your body starts expelling all the fluids you built up... yes, you literally pee away your swollen feet and hands. the volume of liquid was so surprisingly grand, i can only imagine that my little bladder just tripped out! i mean really - it went for months as a wimpy little pea-sized sac, and now suddenly it has to hold gallons? it simply couldn't cut it.
but - at least you're wearing monster-sized pads at that point in time due to the other fluids also exiting your body for the weeks following birth... apparently the pads are not just for the lochia, but also for the bladder issues. who knew?
well - that's that! baby crying... gtg.
10.04.2009
maternity clothing
prepare to spend a little money on maternity clothes.
you'll need 3 basic phases of clothing:
1. the early days (~4-5 mos) aka size "small"
you might be OK getting by with your largest non-maternity shirts, your old jeans buttoned with an elastic hairband and only half-zipped, a bella band to hold up those same jeans if the hairband isn't sufficient, and some loose sweaters.
or, you can buy some clothes for the next phase and wear them loose for a few weeks, if you want to... at this point in time, i was fitting perfectly into the small sizes in maternity stores (for shirts). a couple basic tops went a long way here because i could layer them under non-maternity tops for variety in looks without baring skin.
in this period of time, you will start to appreciate that maternity shirts are longer than normal shirts... there will come a day where you put on a non-maternity top and realize you look like white trash with your belly half-showing at the bottom end... though cute to do at home, its not very appropriate in public.
target has the cheapest maternity clothes - their basic t-shirts and tank tops are the best (~$10 each). they often sell a good, loose pajama-y cotton pant with a big old stretchy band around the waist which are uber-comfy, too. i bought a staple pair in all black pretty early on in my pregancy - and they pretty much saved me at the end when all my clothes (including my maternity jeans) stopped feeling comfortable to wear for more than an hour at a time.
in fact, 2 weeks after birth and i'm still wearing them nearly every other day!
but target also has some terribly ugly clothing too... the kind of clothing you'd imagine some middle-aged midwestern mom in mom-jeans would purchase. so dig through the cruft to get to the good stuff, then go to the gap to get a few trendier items. the gap maternity section is pretty nice (and cheap if you stick to the sale racks).
2. the middle days (~6-8 mos) aka size "medium"
your old pants will stop fitting you outright in this phase -- the butt gets too tight, the thighs get too tight, and forget about zipping them or buttoning them at all... if you are lucky enough to get them up that high, there won't be room around the belly to get them closed, and a hair band won't do a lick of good either.
i invested a decent chunk of change into 2 pairs of designer maternity jeans at pea in a pod, and they were money VERY well spent - i needed nice pants to wear to work. jeans are versatile, so these saved me for a good 3+ months... and the designer jeans were great because they have a stylish fit that makes you feel sexy still, but a big old elastic band that pulls up around your belly to keep everything tucked in and held up. i recommend getting at least one pair of nice jeans if you can.
if not - there are plenty of cheaper pants you can get at target and at the gap with the elastic waistbands (critical from month 7 onward), in a variety of styles. these waistbands become important because one day you will find that any kind of pressure cutting into your lower abdomen while you sit down during the daytime is extremely uncomfortable and painful. it will illicit visions of your clothing slicing into your unborn child's head and causing warpage to their otherwise perfect face (don't worry - it DOESN'T do this... but you will irrationally think it does). it also adds unnecessary pressure to your already compressed, pea-sized bladder. trust me, your bladder doesn't need extra compression.
the bands also offer some support, which feels nice as you get used to the growing mass on your front side. you'll have a heightened sense of growth in these months as your skin really starts to stretch like it has never stretched before.
amen for elastic.
3. the end (month 9 - birth) aka size "large" or "house"
thankfully, all the maternity pants i bought pretty consistently fit me during my pregnancy up to the (almost) end. if you buy a good set of staples, hopefully you will be covered the whole 9 months as well... just be prepared for the pressure to build up near the end as i mentioned, so have at least 1 pair or more with a looser fit around that area, to tide you over in the final days.
as for tops... that's a different story!
during my pregnancy, i bought a mix of black & white tanks, tees, long & short sleeves, in small, medium and large sizes. the large shirts looked HUGE when i bought them and i couldn't imagine i'd ever fit inside something so big. i tucked them away in my closet and nearly forgot i had them. then one day - lo and behold, they fit perfect. the smalls were laughable at this point in time... the mediums could work in a pinch, with the right pants or sweater.
your belly will get very very big at the end. you don't need the large tops for long, but you WILL need a few. i recommend at least one sweater, too - or steal from your baby daddy's stash (if they are larger than you). you will want to feel covered up and cozy during most of this month because you'll be larger than you've ever been in your life and it's a strange sensation - one i'm not sure we ever get used to.
thankfully, it's fleeting - one month, and then you're back to the middle-sized phase after birth.
... other staples
i was lucky enough to be pregnant during the summer so i never had to buy new shoes. i wore heels, flip flops & sneakers up through month 7, then exclusively flip flops through the end (the heels stopped fitting, and i couldn't reach my feet to tie the sneakers without the help of my baby daddy!).
if your feet swell a lot & you're pregnant during the winter - i'm sorry! i hope you can find something cheap that will tide you over. i was astounded when my flip flops got too tight.
sweaters that open in the front and tie around the waist are great - you can wear them the full term because they're cute when they fit right and cute when they have a belly peeking out of them. if you find one you like, get it.
same goes for coats - try to find one with a belt or a tie so you can use it long after you're too big to zip or snap it up.
flowy dresses with an empire waist are cute and sexy until about month 8 when you realize your ass is much too big & they make you look like a house. these are nice-to-have garments, just for variety or the occasional party you need to attend.
you'll need 3 basic phases of clothing:
1. the early days (~4-5 mos) aka size "small"
you might be OK getting by with your largest non-maternity shirts, your old jeans buttoned with an elastic hairband and only half-zipped, a bella band to hold up those same jeans if the hairband isn't sufficient, and some loose sweaters.
or, you can buy some clothes for the next phase and wear them loose for a few weeks, if you want to... at this point in time, i was fitting perfectly into the small sizes in maternity stores (for shirts). a couple basic tops went a long way here because i could layer them under non-maternity tops for variety in looks without baring skin.
in this period of time, you will start to appreciate that maternity shirts are longer than normal shirts... there will come a day where you put on a non-maternity top and realize you look like white trash with your belly half-showing at the bottom end... though cute to do at home, its not very appropriate in public.
target has the cheapest maternity clothes - their basic t-shirts and tank tops are the best (~$10 each). they often sell a good, loose pajama-y cotton pant with a big old stretchy band around the waist which are uber-comfy, too. i bought a staple pair in all black pretty early on in my pregancy - and they pretty much saved me at the end when all my clothes (including my maternity jeans) stopped feeling comfortable to wear for more than an hour at a time.
in fact, 2 weeks after birth and i'm still wearing them nearly every other day!
but target also has some terribly ugly clothing too... the kind of clothing you'd imagine some middle-aged midwestern mom in mom-jeans would purchase. so dig through the cruft to get to the good stuff, then go to the gap to get a few trendier items. the gap maternity section is pretty nice (and cheap if you stick to the sale racks).
2. the middle days (~6-8 mos) aka size "medium"
your old pants will stop fitting you outright in this phase -- the butt gets too tight, the thighs get too tight, and forget about zipping them or buttoning them at all... if you are lucky enough to get them up that high, there won't be room around the belly to get them closed, and a hair band won't do a lick of good either.
i invested a decent chunk of change into 2 pairs of designer maternity jeans at pea in a pod, and they were money VERY well spent - i needed nice pants to wear to work. jeans are versatile, so these saved me for a good 3+ months... and the designer jeans were great because they have a stylish fit that makes you feel sexy still, but a big old elastic band that pulls up around your belly to keep everything tucked in and held up. i recommend getting at least one pair of nice jeans if you can.
if not - there are plenty of cheaper pants you can get at target and at the gap with the elastic waistbands (critical from month 7 onward), in a variety of styles. these waistbands become important because one day you will find that any kind of pressure cutting into your lower abdomen while you sit down during the daytime is extremely uncomfortable and painful. it will illicit visions of your clothing slicing into your unborn child's head and causing warpage to their otherwise perfect face (don't worry - it DOESN'T do this... but you will irrationally think it does). it also adds unnecessary pressure to your already compressed, pea-sized bladder. trust me, your bladder doesn't need extra compression.
the bands also offer some support, which feels nice as you get used to the growing mass on your front side. you'll have a heightened sense of growth in these months as your skin really starts to stretch like it has never stretched before.
amen for elastic.
3. the end (month 9 - birth) aka size "large" or "house"
thankfully, all the maternity pants i bought pretty consistently fit me during my pregnancy up to the (almost) end. if you buy a good set of staples, hopefully you will be covered the whole 9 months as well... just be prepared for the pressure to build up near the end as i mentioned, so have at least 1 pair or more with a looser fit around that area, to tide you over in the final days.
as for tops... that's a different story!
during my pregnancy, i bought a mix of black & white tanks, tees, long & short sleeves, in small, medium and large sizes. the large shirts looked HUGE when i bought them and i couldn't imagine i'd ever fit inside something so big. i tucked them away in my closet and nearly forgot i had them. then one day - lo and behold, they fit perfect. the smalls were laughable at this point in time... the mediums could work in a pinch, with the right pants or sweater.
your belly will get very very big at the end. you don't need the large tops for long, but you WILL need a few. i recommend at least one sweater, too - or steal from your baby daddy's stash (if they are larger than you). you will want to feel covered up and cozy during most of this month because you'll be larger than you've ever been in your life and it's a strange sensation - one i'm not sure we ever get used to.
thankfully, it's fleeting - one month, and then you're back to the middle-sized phase after birth.
... other staples
i was lucky enough to be pregnant during the summer so i never had to buy new shoes. i wore heels, flip flops & sneakers up through month 7, then exclusively flip flops through the end (the heels stopped fitting, and i couldn't reach my feet to tie the sneakers without the help of my baby daddy!).
if your feet swell a lot & you're pregnant during the winter - i'm sorry! i hope you can find something cheap that will tide you over. i was astounded when my flip flops got too tight.
sweaters that open in the front and tie around the waist are great - you can wear them the full term because they're cute when they fit right and cute when they have a belly peeking out of them. if you find one you like, get it.
same goes for coats - try to find one with a belt or a tie so you can use it long after you're too big to zip or snap it up.
flowy dresses with an empire waist are cute and sexy until about month 8 when you realize your ass is much too big & they make you look like a house. these are nice-to-have garments, just for variety or the occasional party you need to attend.
10.01.2009
boobies! part 2.
PART 2: Nursing Boobs (days 0-5)
i waited to buy my nursing bras until after my milk came in. i'm extremely glad that i waited, even though it made for a slight panic during my first day home from the hospital.
i had NO idea what would occur with my breasts - and never in a million years dreamed i'd be trying on D-cup bras...
but lo and behold! engorgement happens. this perpetually flat-chested vixen can vouch.
i'll talk loads about breastfeeding in future posts... sticking strictly to the topic on nursing boobs, here are some observations:
1. you should start getting slight leakage during the end of your pregnancy - this is the first sign the ladies are working, when they spill out a strange, clear liquid called colostrum. thankfully it's not enough to soak through a normal bra (so your co-workers should never notice...) but when you're home in your pajamas, don't be alarmed to find a small puddle spring up from time to time.
2. the first day or two (or three) after birth, your ladies will still only be making colostrum - which apparently works wonders for clearing out your baby's digestive tract, hence the reason we don't make milk the moment the first contraction hits.
given this - the boobs don't change much right away, and the unfortunate thing is that the magical elixer (colostrum) comes in small quantities. so, your baby drops ounces off its birth weight despite being physically attached to you for what seems like 2 days straight. sucking sucking sucking - and it doesn't necessarily feel good.
our nurse called this the marathon feed -- and claimed it's like your baby placing an order with the boobs for how much milk to make. meanwhile, the baby's mechanism for "ordering" its future milk supply wrecks havoc on your nipples... so you might want ask the hospital or your lactation consultant for a free sample of modified lanolin to lube them up afterwards. or, just rub colostrum all over them & air dry (it's truly magical! heals them right up before your next feeding).
breast milk has the same magical healing properties - i was even told to put some on my baby's face if she scratched herself with her nails. she did, so i did - and the next day, there was not a trace of her injury anywhere on her beautiful cheeks. awesome!
3. as the milk starts to arrive, you might start feeling achy or feverish. take some tylenol or advil from time to time so you don't feel crappy and can instead enjoy being a new mom.
4. the engorged breast feels hard to the touch, and you may notice lumpy areas that come and go - massage them during a feeding and it helps the milk flow out (and it just feels good).
5. the nipples may also be really sensitive. clothing might become a big issue - not just to find something that's easy to breastfeed in (turns out nothing i own is!) but to also find some fabric that feels good on sensitive tits... scope out stores that sell breastfeeding tops, bras and pajamas before you give birth so you know who to come rushing to in a panic when you get home and the milk shows up to the party & you have nothing to wear...
6. buy yourself at least one shirt that opens easily in the front (via ties or buttons) for that first day home. or just be prepared to walk around without a top on (you will lose all sense of modesty at this time anyways).
7. nursing bras are really weird and come in all sorts of styles - some clip at the top, some snap at the bottom, some have stretchy fabric that pulls apart to reveal a place to slide your booby out. i never would have know what to buy before i gave birth - possibly because i didn't even "get" the bras & how they worked.
yet somehow afterwards, i instantly "got it". and again, i'm really glad i waited to buy them (even though it meant a shameful, bra-less walk to my maternity store where i entered in a panic demanding that they bra me up and tame the wild beasts). everyone is different, and everyone's boobs behave differently. i never would have picked out the right size beforehand.
8. boobs leak. a lot. like, when you're using one to feed, the other one gets jealous and starts dripping all over you. or, when you get out of the shower, they might both start dripping away despite your beast efforts to towel them off. i slept with a washcloth for 2 nights just to soak up the leaky breastmilk until i was able to get to the store to buy absorbent pads (wow, what a difference they make!).
9. buy a breastfeeding book to have at home. you don't need to crack it open until the kid comes out - but you will definitely want it in a panic at least once afterwards, when it feels like everything you're doing is wrong.
i waited to buy my nursing bras until after my milk came in. i'm extremely glad that i waited, even though it made for a slight panic during my first day home from the hospital.
i had NO idea what would occur with my breasts - and never in a million years dreamed i'd be trying on D-cup bras...
but lo and behold! engorgement happens. this perpetually flat-chested vixen can vouch.
i'll talk loads about breastfeeding in future posts... sticking strictly to the topic on nursing boobs, here are some observations:
1. you should start getting slight leakage during the end of your pregnancy - this is the first sign the ladies are working, when they spill out a strange, clear liquid called colostrum. thankfully it's not enough to soak through a normal bra (so your co-workers should never notice...) but when you're home in your pajamas, don't be alarmed to find a small puddle spring up from time to time.
2. the first day or two (or three) after birth, your ladies will still only be making colostrum - which apparently works wonders for clearing out your baby's digestive tract, hence the reason we don't make milk the moment the first contraction hits.
given this - the boobs don't change much right away, and the unfortunate thing is that the magical elixer (colostrum) comes in small quantities. so, your baby drops ounces off its birth weight despite being physically attached to you for what seems like 2 days straight. sucking sucking sucking - and it doesn't necessarily feel good.
our nurse called this the marathon feed -- and claimed it's like your baby placing an order with the boobs for how much milk to make. meanwhile, the baby's mechanism for "ordering" its future milk supply wrecks havoc on your nipples... so you might want ask the hospital or your lactation consultant for a free sample of modified lanolin to lube them up afterwards. or, just rub colostrum all over them & air dry (it's truly magical! heals them right up before your next feeding).
breast milk has the same magical healing properties - i was even told to put some on my baby's face if she scratched herself with her nails. she did, so i did - and the next day, there was not a trace of her injury anywhere on her beautiful cheeks. awesome!
3. as the milk starts to arrive, you might start feeling achy or feverish. take some tylenol or advil from time to time so you don't feel crappy and can instead enjoy being a new mom.
4. the engorged breast feels hard to the touch, and you may notice lumpy areas that come and go - massage them during a feeding and it helps the milk flow out (and it just feels good).
5. the nipples may also be really sensitive. clothing might become a big issue - not just to find something that's easy to breastfeed in (turns out nothing i own is!) but to also find some fabric that feels good on sensitive tits... scope out stores that sell breastfeeding tops, bras and pajamas before you give birth so you know who to come rushing to in a panic when you get home and the milk shows up to the party & you have nothing to wear...
6. buy yourself at least one shirt that opens easily in the front (via ties or buttons) for that first day home. or just be prepared to walk around without a top on (you will lose all sense of modesty at this time anyways).
7. nursing bras are really weird and come in all sorts of styles - some clip at the top, some snap at the bottom, some have stretchy fabric that pulls apart to reveal a place to slide your booby out. i never would have know what to buy before i gave birth - possibly because i didn't even "get" the bras & how they worked.
yet somehow afterwards, i instantly "got it". and again, i'm really glad i waited to buy them (even though it meant a shameful, bra-less walk to my maternity store where i entered in a panic demanding that they bra me up and tame the wild beasts). everyone is different, and everyone's boobs behave differently. i never would have picked out the right size beforehand.
8. boobs leak. a lot. like, when you're using one to feed, the other one gets jealous and starts dripping all over you. or, when you get out of the shower, they might both start dripping away despite your beast efforts to towel them off. i slept with a washcloth for 2 nights just to soak up the leaky breastmilk until i was able to get to the store to buy absorbent pads (wow, what a difference they make!).
9. buy a breastfeeding book to have at home. you don't need to crack it open until the kid comes out - but you will definitely want it in a panic at least once afterwards, when it feels like everything you're doing is wrong.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)