A Few Surprises

As you know, I did a lot of reading and mental preparation to gear up for labor and delivery.  However, there are several things that caught me off guard during and shortly after.

Here is the list.

1. The shakes.  I was about two hours into labor, when started shaking.  It was like I was cold, my teeth were chattering and my whole body shook, but I didn't feel cold.  It scared me.  I thought maybe it was because I didn't eat anything before or maybe the pitocin was causing it.  I dealt with it for a while, then I asked my nurse about it.  Thankfully, she said that it was normal.  She said it is just something that happens to some women as their body works through labor.  The shakes came and went during labor, but were gone when it was time to push.  They returned after labor, but piles of blankets helped to warm and soothe them away.

2.  After working the downstairs to push a human out, everything is kind of...not normal.  For example,  when I got to my postpartum room, I felt urge to pee.  I knew that it was going to take me about 5 minutes to get up and shuffle the 10 feet to the loo.  I was on my way, and really feeling the need to get my cheeks on the seat, but could not get there fast enough.  Everything down there was so tired, that I did not have the ability to "hold it".  What I am saying is, I peed on the bathroom floor.  Two steps away from the toilet.  This happened twice before I figured out to just go to the bathroom every two hours regardless of need, to avoid this from happening again.  Also, the farts returned to the parade...there is no holding those back either.

3.  Little man's nipples were swollen and kind of hard.  Our pediatrician told us that he gets hormones from breastmilk.  Those same hormones may be responsible for his baby acne.

4.  On that note, I thought breastfeeding was going to be this quiet, tender bonding time with baby.  However, it hurts.  It's tricky.  And the solution is the lactation consultants/nurses all forcefully grabbing your boobs and shoving it into baby's face.  With time, it has gotten better.  I have been getting some help from my local Le Leche League.  If you find yourself in this same situation, you may find help at one of their meetings, here is how to find a meeting:
http://www.llli.org/