the stuff the books don't tell you

a few things they don't mention in the books (at least, not that i ever read):

-discharge.  yes, they mention that you will have increased discharge throughout pregnancy, but i don't recall reading just how heavy it gets, especially towards the end.  for 5 days before my induction, i kept thinking my water broke.  i even called the ob and ended up in triage on saturday because I swore my water broke.  nope.  just lots of clear or whitish discharge.

-swelling (pregnancy).  again, i know they tell you that your hands will swell, but i definitely never read that they would feel arthritic.  i've had to have matt open things for me because my hands hurt so badly.  and no amount of water seems to help.  of all my friends who've had babies, only one had experienced this.

-swelling (postpartum).  you would think (at least I did) that having the baby and getting rid of all that fluid would help with the swelling.  be not fooled, friends.  my feet blew.up. after delivery.  it was downright comical; they looked cartoonish.

-sweating.  and to think, i thought i was sweating when i was pregnant.  ha!  i am sweating buckets overnight now.  i didn't know it was possible for a person to sweat so much from non-activity.

-cluster feeding.  admittedly, i didn't read a book specifically about breastfeeding, so maybe this is covered in one of those.  but i read a lot online, and found that i only heard about cluster feeding from my girlfriends.  and that has to be because cluster feeding sucks so badly, that no book will mention it lest they scare you off breastfeeding for life.  do yourself a favor and read about now.

-urinary issues.  all the books will tell you that you'll experience some urinary leakage.  psh.  because i was so swollen, i had, like, no feeling down there.  ok, that's a lie.  i had pain.  but i could not feel when i needed to pee, and therefore i ended up basically peeing myself a few times.  luckily, postpartum, you're wearing pads as thick as a mattress, so you never make a real mess, but it's a very unsettling feeling to know that, as a 33-year-old woman, you've just pissed yourself.

-worry.  we've all heard it a thousand times - as a mother, you never stop worrying.  they aren't kidding.  i think of myself as a pretty laid-back person, but even i find that i am constantly worried - is he getting enough to eat?  am i producing enough milk?  is he choking?  is my let-down too much for him?  is he warm enough?  is he happy?  am i responding to his cues right?  you get the gist. 

mama's recovery

dudes, having a baby is amazing.  you never know how strong you really are until you push a baby out of yourself.  but damn, it is rough on your body. 

if you recall, i labored for 27 hours, then pushed for 3 hours.  apparently at some point during the pushing, the nurse told matt that i was going to feel like i'd run a marathon the next day.  she wasn't kidding.  my abs hurt.  my forearms hurt (i used the grab bars on the bed to help me push).  my back hurt.  i was exhausted. take the painkillers they offer you before you experience the pain.  i turned down the tylenol/motrin/percocet (you have a choice) immediately after delivery because i wasn't feeling any pain.  big mistake.  take it right away.  and if you're feeling too much pain to sleep or function, take the percocet.  i only took one dose, but it helped me get enough sleep that i could be present for daxon. 

the abs and forearms got better by the second or third day.  but man, things "down there" stay sore for a long time.  i am 2 weeks post-partum today and just started feeling normal a couple days ago.  things were swollen and numb but painful, if that makes any sense.  a tip: get yourself one of those rubber donuts to sit on.  it's the one thing the hospital doesn't give you, but it made a huge difference for me.  also, my mom spoke to the pharmacist when i sent her out for some supplies, and the pharmacist suggested hydrocortisone with cooling sensation - it felt awesome.  stock up on tucks pads, and put some in the freezer.  the hospital gave me a sitz bath, but i hated it - it actually hurt me and i could only tolerate it for 30 seconds before needing to get off of it.

for breastfeeding, daxon has been a champ and i haven't really experienced any major nipple soreness or anything.  but every now and then i still need to put something on them, especially after a pumping session (i need to get bigger flanges for my pump).  i find that earth mama angel baby's nipple butter is way better than lansinoh lanolin - it's not as sticky and goes on much more easily.