after the birth?..

Hey there, After reading the discussion on another topic, I thought I'd start this up:

What piece of info do you wish you had been told about regarding the first few days and weeks after having baby? - what did you find really surprising or shocking? write it down so that all the new-mummies-to-be won't get the shock of their lives!

Yeah the breast feeding thing was a bit of a major for me, so i stayed in hospital 2 nights to make sure i got it sussed asking the nurses to come in every time i feed to make sure i was doing right. Luckily they didn't get sick of me. And i didn't get cracked nipples for the whole 13 months i breastfeed. But I did get mastitis so i guess there are other downfalls.

Another thing i found really hard to cope with was the breathing of a newborn. Because of the mucus they still have inside they sound like they are choking when they sleep.

I went home from hospital on the third day after Alyssa was born, my midwife said to me it would be the worst night as apparently its when the baby realises its out of the womb and also i was taking her out of the hospital where she had gotten used to, to somewhere foreign. I wish i had stayed in hospital that extra night.

Also I wish i had known what to do with a baby with colic. Or that id had more understanding from my midwife about it. Luckily My GP was great.

Sorry to write so much. But its a real learning curve. Hopefully im more prepared with this next one ha ha

funny how everybody has a diferent experience - i never felt like hot boulders under my boobs and my baby never breathed like he was choking either, and his first night home was a pice of cake. My husband and i were awake at 3 before the baby waiting for him to cry tho. what i wasnt expecting was the emotional rollercoaster...the first couple of days after the birth i was on cloud nine, tho i was weak from blood loss and was sore. Then i was so low and terry eyed, my midwife turned up one day to have me answer the door in my knickers, tears streaming down my face holding a crying baby in one arm and the phone in the other.2 days later nothing would have fazed me. lou is right even tho breastfeeding isnt supposed to hurt the whole time - it can hurt a bit to start with - so be prepared, it isnt the piece of cake some people like to make it out as, but worth it if you can get it right. i could go on for hours, will try not to tho - my best resource was my mom and my sister (she has two kids herself), and i found that people really want to help when you have a newborn, so is best to listen to their advice nod your hed sagely then go and do what feels best for you - and dont be scared to let people do your washing or cook if they want to - that never lasts for long so take it while you can.. the end of my novel...   

okay, can someone say something good about after the birth? have read the entries, I know they are helpful.....but now I'm freaked out. Have changed my mind...don't need to have a baby now.

Sorry Lizzle, There is heaps of great awesome good stuff. But people don't tend to tell you about these things i guess. I wish people had told me so i could prepare my brain i guess. But all of these things are worth going throught to get your little bundle of joy, and poo.

I freaked out on the jelly tummy thing too - before Maya was born my tummy was rock hard, and when I got in the shower straight after she was born I was shocked by how flabby it had become so quickly!
I can also relate to the teary, useless feelings a few days after having Maya. My midwife came to visit and I remeber collapsing in tears because I couldn't do up the stupid domes on the stretch and grow, and I remember thinking "I'm such a useless mother I can't even dress my baby". But that passed.
Bad advice I was given - to express the excess milk as I had too much.This made me make even more milk, and I ended up with nasty mastitis.
Also, noone warned me that my milk would suddenly let down in the middle of the supermarket and I ended up standing in a puddle of milk and wet clothes
Good advice I was given - to feed baby 3 hourly during the day, and let her sleep as long as she could at night. She was sleeping thru by 7 weeks. I know this doesn't work for everyone, but it worked for us.
Finally, no one told me how stisfying it is to stand at the cot and just watch your baby sleep. Sounds really boring, but it is so peaceful and relaxing to see them dreaming without a care in the world - if you're not dead on your feet from exhaustion!

good point janine - fore warned is fore armed...and lizzle i can almost gurantee only half of this may happen to you

I think what you guys have written is fantastic. You are right. Who in their right minds tells a pregnant woman this sort of information. I think ignorence is a kind of bliss but having some idea of what to expect is really helpful. Thanks a bunch. I've only got five weeks to go and then I will let you know which bits helped. And yeah, it is good to know this stuff before it happens. Thanks again.

lol. It can be a bit scary when you finally realise that there's gonna be a baby at the end of it all! I mean you would assume that obviously if you're pregnant you sorta know this... but really one day it just dawns on you that "oh my god, I'm gonna be a mum!" don't stress, now you know all the good and the not so good... you can begin to try and prepare yourself. enjoy the next few weeks and make sure you do something nice, just for yourself, before baby comes.

yeah, gotta love some of that outdated stuff.   

so going along with that line - maybe we should write the WORST, most useless, or most stupid advice we've ever been given.