My 10 Surprises For The First Days After Baby's Birth

My 10 Surprises For The First Days After Baby's Birth

You've had your baby, now what? All the preparations I had made for the days after delivery were for the baby, beyond packing a hospital bag for myself with a few post-natal essentials I had heard about -including disposable knickers or granny pants and maternity pads, I hadn't given much thought to how the next days were going to pan out for me. Here are some things or feelings that I experienced after I gave birth to Coco that I was not expecting.

1. The epidural itch  
About five or six hours after Coco's birth, I found myself needing to scratch my legs and feet and then eventually that spread to my whole body. I really didn't understand why this was happening and the mid-wives seemed surprise too. Initially, I was given Piriton but that had almost no effect. I ended up getting a stronger drug, possibly called Naloxone. I later found out this is one of the side effects of the epidural.

2. Wanting to constantly hold and take care of baby
I did have the support of my Mum and MisterB to help me through those first post partum days, but all I wanted to do was hold Coco. I want dot hold her all the time and look after her myself. I was selfishly 'hugging' my baby. I had to remind myself to take care of my bruised body too, which was recovering from hours of labouring, stitches, haemorrhoids, cramps and the wearing off of the epidural. Dad and Grandma were very understanding about it, and by week three or four, I was more than happy to ship her off to them while I got some sleep, so the feeling did become less intense over time.

3. Tears after delivery - of relief 
I would always see women cry on birth programmes, after delivery, and it was a scene that played out as  -their beautiful babies are here and they are just so overwhelmed with joy and happiness and are utterly in love. I secretly thought - 'oh how corny, I won't be doing that'. Well, I was surprised when I burst into tears after Coco was pulled out and put on my chest. Except, they were tears of utter relief. Relief that baby was born, she looked fine, I could stop pushing and we had done it without having to change to a c-section (which was a possibility, after hours of pushing). Now I wonder, were those Mums I watched crying out of joy or pure relief?

4. First thought when I stared at my daughter
'How did that fit into my tummy'. I was astounded - she looked so big compared to what I was expecting. She weighted about 3kg, so she was not very big in absolute terms, but when  I compared her size and my stomach - I just could not get my head around the proportions and how she could fit in there.

5. The adrenaline rush
I thought I would immediately feel so tired after the birth, particularly once I got home, but the rush of hormones and excitement of her being here after the entire pregnancy wait, took over and lasted at least the first week. While baby was wake - I was awake, actively watching TV, cooking, talking on the phone, reading enthusiastically to her etc. When she was sleeping - I was rocking and bouncing her about, trying to play with her. Soon all those energy zapping activities came to a grinding halt -see why at number 7, below.

6. Breastfeeding was hard going, time helps
I cannot emphasis enough how difficult breastfeeding can be for something so 'natural'. The tough stuff included: sore nipples as they got used to the constant friction, engorged breasts as milk comes in, pain as the milk lets down (fills into breast) and working to get the baby latched unto the nipple correctly.

Once I had the correct latch (shape the boob and shove into baby's mouth), I realised that time was the thing that would make breastfeeding easier and by about 6/8 weeks it did start to feel more natural. That chapter of painful breastfeeding is well and truly over now, thankfully.

7. The oddly very peaceful first two weeks 
For the first two weeks baby Coco slept so many hours in the day, the house was actually very quiet considering there was a newborn present. She hardly cried, even at night when she woke up it was just for food - her eyes were closed the whole time and once she was finished and changed,  I put her down and she continued to sleep peacefully. I expected things to stay that way. I now see that those were the 'good times', before colic set in.

8. Breastfeeding makes you sleepy
Every time I breastfed (even now), I got so relaxed and noticed my eyes closing. It just makes me feel so sleepy. It's apparently due to the hormone oxytocin which is released as milk lets down which also acts as a relaxant.

9. I got a bad case of the four day blues
I had been warned about the fourth/fifth post-natal blues by the midwives, doctor, nurses at hospital. The visiting midwife and health visitors also covered this, and tried to prepare MisterB. They explained that I would be weepy, emotional, and may feel like I was not in control of my feelings. I took it all very lightly because it sounded just like me, haha. I am generally the weepy, emotional type anyway so I thought I wouldn't really notice a difference.

I did notice - I cried for two days straight. Every mini issue seemed a hundred times more pressing and important, and I just felt so sad about a lot of things. I was soon back to feeling normal, though and couldn't really understand why I had reacted in such an OTT manner just a few days earlier.

10. It was 3 weeks when it clicked 
She was mine, my daughter, here to say! I was able to actually start feeling it for real - like deep down inside, with certainty. In retrospect, I see that the first couple of days were consumed with feelings around whether I was doing things right, as well as trying to get into the rhythm of bathing, changing, feeding etc. It took another three weeks for me to feel like I was starting to understand what her different cries meant and that I was able to meet her needs more naturally, without defaulting to panic/anxiety mode first.


New Mums - you are doing a fantastic job. Believe it when people tell you, give yourself a big break and give yourself permission to do YOU those first few days. Even when those around you do not understand your quirky decisions or highly-strung attitude about 'your baby', trust your instincts - you actually do know best!

Take care
x

My 10 Surprises For The First Days After Baby's Birth