Fluids- July 16, 2012
When the doctor broke my water to start labor, (Yea! That’s right! I was induced, okay! I’ve heard the criticism.) little did I know that would just be the start of the wave of fluids to leave my body for not just the next six hours, but the next six weeks.
The worst was in the hospital when I couldn’t go. I kept apologizing to the nurses who had to catheterize me. I filled a two liter container. No, I’m not exaggerating.
As if meconium laced newborn diapers weren’t gross enough, no one tells you about all the postpartum leaking, seeping, and general weeping. I’m here today to share more about post-baby bodily fluids. You’re welcome!
- Sweat– The first two weeks after Charlotte was born I would wake up in drenched sheets with wet strands of hair. I would apologize to Greyson for all the saline in the bed.
- Urine– I had to go all the time. It was always an ordeal, you know, with the stitches and such.
- Colostrum– The very first bit of breast milk you have. The first time I fed Charlotte in the Delivery Room I was shocked to find it there! I remember saying, “Oh my God! There’s milk in there!”
- Breast milk– The next few days after Charlotte was born my mom kept asking me, “Has your milk come in yet?” I would reply, “I dunno.” She would say, “Oh! You’ll know.” Boom! Little did I know, when the dairy opened, I would be in business for a full year. My cups runneth over. I swear sometimes I thought I had enough milk for two babies. I never had to buy formula. That was awesome. I have to say, I really miss calorie burn of lactating. Now, I have to run instead of sit on the couch with the breast pump. Boo!
- Lochia– That’s a fancypants Latin word for “six weeks of heavy period”. Oh, and no tampons. Only pads. I had horrific flashbacks to 7th grade.
- Tears– I’m not a cryer by nature. I mean, I’m not cold hearted. I shed a few reading The Notebook and watching Mr. Holland’s Opus. But, it was nothing compared to other women (::ahem:: my sister) who sobbed during Titanic. (“I’ll never let go, Jack!”) Something happened when the hormones started dropping. I came home and saw flowers from friends and coworkers and could stop crying about it. This Chevy commercial came out the week we brought her home. It killed me! I would just look at Greyson and say, “What has happened to me?!”
Even with all that dampness I look back on those first days affectionately. There was nothing like it. You just have to wade through.
November 4, 2010. The day we brought her home. I was nervous, puffy, swollen, but happy.
Spread it around:
I’m a few weeks post-partum and am still having occasional night sweats. Last night was bad. Had to change my sheets today because they were STINKY. I know, that’s such an attractive thing to share….
Yep. Its a very wet business. Here’s what I experienced:
1. I was induced with Will and they broke my water. I was not induced with John, and they still broke my water. I think water only breaks at the onset of labor in like 10% of pregnancies. Most of the time I think it’s broken at the hospital.
2. Maybe it’s just me, but the sweatiness did not happen after John. It did with Will, so I don’t know if maybe you are less sweaty in subsequent babies or if it just differs on a case by case basis. I was disturbingly disappointed not to have sweated after John.
3. I have never known when my milk came in. I’ve never had a shortage. I could pump 20 oz in one sitting and still primarily nurse. But people would ask me if it had come in and I’d be like, I mean, we got milk! What is this like? Is it just this huge onslaught of milk or what?
4. I’m looking forward to the postpartum tears again. With Will, I’d listen to Abba’s “Slipping through by Fingers” on repeat and sob. With John, it was Stevie Nicks singing “Landslide.”. There’s something cathartic to me about postpartum tears.
Really I kind of like the leaking. It feels like a huge cleansing and a fresh start. This post sounds like pregnancy nostalgia… Are you getting the urge to plunge back into the gestational waters? I think I’m seeing the signs…