I wasn't expecting this in the 4th trimester!
After we got home from the hospital, I tried to keep track of how I was feeling and what was happening. It's really easy to get lost in the whirlwind of newborn life as a first time mom. Here are just a few things I wasn't expecting, or things I noticed and wanted to make note of to maybe help someone in the future. What things do you remember about those first few weeks postpartum?
4th trimester
Week 1
Birth was INTENSE. Epidural is magic. So sore at first. Ice packs and Dermaplast saved me. Taking a 3 day old to the doctor is stressful. Taking a 4 day old to the doctor is stressful. Sleep doesn’t exist but neither does time so it’s okay. By the end of the week my lady parts didn’t hurt so bad. Milk came in on day 4. SO PAINFULLY engorged. I wasn't expecting it to hurt so bad? Tried pumping and Haakaa in addition to breastfeeding, pumping didn’t work well, think I have the wrong size flange.
Week 2
I have some sort of infection- bladder? Got checked and prescribed clindamycin. Sleeping upstairs in my nest on the couch with Mav in his bassinet in the pack and play beside me. Trying to figure out a routine but also feeding on demand. Still bleeding but not bad? Boobs hurt really bad in the morning and before each feeding. Dogs are adjusting. Weigh 146 lbs now, down from 159 at last obgyn cervical check. Uti or whatever is better now. Bleeding has nearly stopped. Nipples pretty sore now but I think it’s from my bra. Bleeding has stopped (day ~11 or so). Gotten a little more sleep with the schedule we’re sort of following. He’s had tummy pains after eating mostly in the evenings. Gripe water seems to help. Mostly just a cycle of change feed sleep repeat. Gunna try pumping next week to see if Derek can help feed.
Week 3
I still haven’t tried pumping. Nights are super hard. His 2 week appt went well, he’s 7lbs 4.5oz and 21 inches long! He met Aunt Leigh this week, and Jared and Megan and E. His clothes fit a little better now. Derek took me on my first solo outing and that wasn’t a doctors office- lunch (Grimaldi's for pizza and dessert and then Target). Derek goes back to work tomorrow and I am not ready. Maverick is more awake now during the daytime and will turn his head to look at stuff. I wasn't expecting him to have such good head control so early on!! I weighed 140 this week. I’m not bleeding at all anymore but my stitches are still there and bother me some. Nipples still very sore. Better when I use nursing pads in my bra as opposed to them rubbing on my bra fabric.
Week 4
I bought the Taking Cara Babies sleep course and it started helping immediately. Walked with Aub twice. Pumped about 2oz the first time I tried with the bigger flanges. Trying to get on a pumping schedule around breastfeeding while also sleeping is nearly impossible. Swaddling him is key to longer sleep stretches. He slept 3 of his night naps in his own bed on Thursday night of this week!!! It was shocking. Getting the hang of keeping him from getting too tired. Hard to get him to do anything after he eats for his “awake time” lol. Also stopped pumping cause my nips were sore. We found out we didn’t get into the daycare so I tried 8 others and they’re all full. Exploring all options at this point.
Additional Thoughts
Clearly my mind was in a bunch of places during this time period. I remember being SO stressed about Maverick sleeping. I wasn't expecting to have so much anxiety around pumping and feeding. Pumping never worked for me, and I'm beyond thankful that we decided it would be best for me to stay home because that allowed me to continue exclusively breastfeeding (going on 9.5 months at this point!) I also should not have been so concerned with my PP weight (how often do we hear we're supposed to "bounce back" after giving birth *eye roll*). I ended up nearly losing my milk supply because I unknowingly wasn't eating enough to maintain it. Thankfully, I was able to bring it back and I'd be happy to write a post on how I did it.
Thanks for reading!
