Why didn't anyone ever tell me this before?!

I'm a first time mom and I've gotten so many tips and tricks from other moms, my family and friends and online. There were, however, a few surprises in store for me that I would like to share with you about-to-be first time moms out there. And I'm just going to be blunt about.

1. You are going to reach a point in your pregnancy when one day you go to the bathroom, and you can't turn around to reach your butt anymore... This was quite a surprise for me and of course I had a "Why didn't anyone ever tell me this before?!" moment.

Don't even worry about not being able to trim down there, girls. You've gotten bigger problems to worry about, namely, getting all the poop off your butt when you go to the bathroom. :booty:

2. At around 3 months of age, little girls have small, hard beads under their nipples. After accidentally feeling one on Claire when I picked her up one day, I checked her nipple and found a second one. Then I ran over to Athan and checked him and found nothing. My sister-in-law, who has a two year old girl, laughed at me when I called her freaking out about it. She had the same reaction and called her ped when she discovered this little surprise that no one ever told HER about before, either. No worries, this is just little, undeveloped booby glands.

3. Six weeks after your delivery when you are cleared to have sex, it's going to hurt. I don't care if you delivered vaginally or had a c-section. It hurts anyway. I'm four months in and it STILL hurts. So no need to freak out and worry that something is wrong when you experience this. It is normal and it will eventually go away. Just keep trying but go slowly.

And don't forget, you don't need to fake a headache if you know what I mean. You have a real excuse!

4. Whether you chose to breastfed or not, your boobs are going to get big in the beginning. If you had small boobs before, you are in for a real treat. Big, full boobs smash together. This causes the formation of a lovely sweaty, milky smell between them. By the end of the day, this smell will be wafting up and out of the top of your shirt. All those sample wipe packs that you get with big boxes of diapers? Stuff them in your purse and wipe down once in a while. You'll still be a milking machine, but at least you won't smell like one anymore.

I wish I could think of more things but this is it for now. Hopefully, I can help prevent you from having too many "Why didn't anyone ever tell me this before?!" moments. All of you other moms out there, feel free to add more. My babies are only 4 months old so I am sure that I have a lot more surprises coming my way!

 

:rofl:

Oh, the milk smell. Strangely, I kind of miss it now that my bfing and pumping days are over with.

I'll try to think of some to add. Great post!

 

My twins are 4.5 (years!) and I still didn't know that about the undeveloped booby glands. :blush:

 

I didn't know about the underdeveloped breast gland thing either. Hmmm.

After you deliver your belly could be described "like a bowl full of jelly".

 

I'm so glad someone else experienced this besides me!

 

Lanolin stains. I have several t-shirts I won't wear in public anymore (good thing they're mostly baggy mens ones).

Cold hands. (the baby's hands that is, at 1 am, on my breasts)

 

I'm glad I'm also not the only one that had this issue either...

oh and be forewarned - newborn little girls can also pee straight up in the air...Abigail was the first one to water me when we were still in the hospital - not Ian!

I didn't know about the undeveloped breast buds either....

 

The biggest thing I was not expecting was how uncomfortable it was for my organs to shift back into place. For a few days after the boys were born I could not even take a deep breath! My muscles were completely shot and my organs were all smooshed at the very end that when there was actually room for everything to shift back it hurt. The hospital staff gave me a post-partum support belt that was a life saver!

 

That you won't fit into either your regular clothes (too small) or your maternity clothes (too big) for a while. No one tells you about the "4th trimester" wardrobe you need as your uterus returns to its normal size. A little frustrating!

 

Um, yeah. DH was not impressed. I'm glad we have an informal support group. :escape:

 

I can actually still reach my hiney fine but I am having real problems peeing IN the cup twice weekly at my OB appts.

 

oh I used to make them dig up a top hat for me to pee in - I got tired of peeing on my hand all the time!

 

I understand the difficulty peeing in a cup! My OBs office renovated their bathrooms and put toilets in that have long, narrow seats and bowls. I quickly informed them that was a big mistake! I couldn't see what I was doing on a normal toilet, much less that one!

A few things to add -

- when the nurses offer you a stool softener, take it! Then ask for more to take home with you!

- get over any modesty you have now! It will be gone by the time you are headed home from the hospital.

- get up and move around as much as possible, even after you are home. Your body will stiffen up within a matter of minutes.

- as PP mentioned, lanolin stains, so don't plan on wearing nice, expensive bras and pjs unless you want to replace them soon. Lanolin will leave nice, greasy looking stains.

-

 

:rotflmbo:

 

:laughing: I guess I have long arms, b/c I never had any trouble reaching my butt. ardon:

I was so surprised by how squishy your belly becomes the minute the babies are out. It goes from hard as a rock to a tub of jelly instantly. No one told me that I would continue looking pregnant for a good 4 - 5 months after they were born. I wasn't prepared for that!

 

I wish! Mine was so full of air and my uterus was so swollen that it was rock-hard for several more days.

FWIW, I also had trouble reaching my butt, though I had forgotten about that! :laughing: And yeah, peeing in a cup at the OB's office was no picnic either.

 

Okay, I have one for before you give birth! No one told me that it is very possible that your boobs will leak...WAY before giving birth! Working with 2 guys, neither of which were married or had children...No one wanted to tell me, so they just told me I looked tired and sent me home! Urgh! How humiliating!!

 

OMG - this is hilarious and so true! I forgot that I couldn't reach my butt - ha, ha! I'll have to think of more things and add them.

 

I had to laugh when I read the part about not worrying about "down there" anymore. I am 32 weeks and I think my pelvic exams are going to be starting, and for some reason I was freaking out about my appearance on Saturday. I convinced my husband to take care of it for me (after he told me to call my two best friends and have one of them do it, like that was more normal), so I was very surprised when he told me he was ready and I walked into the bathroom and he had the electric razor plugged in! He had an extension cord and everything so it would reach to the shower. We didn't do it because we didn't have time, but I think I will be taking him up on the offer this week although the electric razor kind of scares me. Thanks for the post, it made me smile!

 

=D Thank you for the advice! Loved it!

 

Yes! Claire did that to me several times.

Stool softener will become your best friend and holy heck yeah on getting over your modesty. What was especially lovely was having nurses/nurse's aide's come to clean up my bloody crotch after the babies were here. Yeah... I hope they get paid well.

You said it!

Here are a couple more tips that I just thought of...

From my experience, if you are nursing a baby on one boob, your milk will start to flow in both boobs, so don't be sitting around in the buff with an unlactched booby or you'll be all wet. Find some nursing pads that you like and keep those suckers on at all times!

Another delightful thing is that when newborn babies poop, it is loud and squirty. Do not be tempted to immediately change their diapers when you here this sound. You have to wait a bit or you will end up with volcanic poop eruptions that splatter you, the walls and floor. I cannot tell you how many times this happened to me in the first few weeks. Just when you think they are done and take off the diaper, they show just how wrong you were.

 

BTDT! DH wanted to do the same thing. Sometimes it tugged a little on hair, but other than feeling like a sheep it was similar to how it grows in normally. Ahh, womanhood.

 

Love these! I'm definitely having the :booty: and peeing in a cup problem right now :laughing: . And I've given up on grooming "down there." It's just way too difficult now!

 

I laughed and giggled through every post and reply :rotflmbo: But honestly, sex hurting 4 mos in doesn't sound right. I maybe different but my births, 4 total, never caused pain. A little discomfort the first time but NEVER 4 mos in. Is this just me?

 

No, I never had any pain during sex afterward either. Now I wasn't doing it until probably 2 months or more after delivery, but it never once hurt.

 

One thing that I wasn't expecting was the post pregnancy belly... Pre-twin pregnancy, I was about 120 lbs (5'4") with pretty decent ab muscles. I had already experienced child birth previously and knew it took awhile to get back to "normal" but after a couple of months, my "normal" stomach returned with no effort. This time, however, is a completely different story!!! The weight came off no problem because of twin bf'ing... however, this only makes the belly even more noticable! I seriously still look pregnant! And it isn't a soft, chubby belly. It is still hard. I talked to my ob about it at my 6 week post partum check up and he said I had rectis diatasis (separatation of ab muscles) and that it would go away after about a year if I worked at it. He said the reason it feels hard is because my "insides" are creeping out between the ab muscle separation. nice. For the first 3 1/2 months, sucking in and spanks didn't even help... now it is possible to hide it with clothes and sucking in but it is still noticible if I am not trying to hide it... and especially after a big meal. AND I still have an outty belly button so must always wear layers which is getting hot now that weather is warmer. I need to be consistent about an ab workout routine but can't seem to do it... so really... should not be complaining if I can't make effort to correct it.

 

Seriously, as long as you've showered, I wouldn't worry about it. OBs have seen it all!!!

I did have this problem after one of my babies, my 2nd. I had a 3rd degree tear with him, which was part of it. But at about 4-5 months, I finally went to the OB and told him how sex was really quite miserable. It turned out I had some kind of a bacterial infection that I wasn't even aware of. After the meds, it was soooo much better!

 

Ditto. The muffin top look is quite :blink: ... Although tonight I was cuddling DD and thinking how nice it is to have a bit of a belly for her to rest on..now that she's getting heavier.

Have you tried putting a couple of bandages in an "x" over it?

 

take pictures RIGHT after they are born -- quite a few of them. A pic with BOTH babies, pictures of individual babies, family picture, Because by day 2-3 you can puff up like a BALLOON and will look puffy for pictures.

Day 3 is "Blues Day" if you are prepared for it then you can handle it better. I was able to fight it off with my second pg.

I never knew you can "dream feed" well now when they are really young but as they get older some babies will drink while asleep !! Never knew that !

Heather

 

OMG - I am SO GLAD that I'm not the only one who can't fully reach her but. It's awful. And as for 'trimming' down there - it's really, really hard. I try to put a large mirror on the toilet and squat down to see what I'm doing. I am getting waxed, but they don't trim....

And no one told me about the wardrobe I'd need for after the birth. I had to buy 2 sizes too big to wear for 4-5 months after my first baby because my uterus just wouldn't go down.

 

Great topic!!

1) no one ever told me how uncomfortable it would be for my milk to come in. I found that applying heat to the breast before a feed helped with let down and by wetting a diaper and freezing it it was perfect to fit in my bra for after the feed. No one told me about these tricks till after my first DS and they worked good with the twins. I only had to do it for two days and it helped lots!!

2)I found out after my first DS that if you express a little a month or so before they are born that that will help harden up your nipples and then they aren't so sensitive when your ready to start breastfeeding!

3) Don't take the tags off of all your baby clothes until your ready to use them. I never thought my boys would be in different sizes but they have never worn the same size since they were born so all the matching outfits we got as gifts were useless because they could never wear them at the same time.

4) drenching pads with water and freezing them also works well for tears and sore bottoms after delivery.

5) Omega 3's and multivitamins work good for baby blues and also give you a little boost in energy(or at least I thought it did?)

 

I breast fed my first DD only. I went to a breast feeding class and even had the lactation consultant help at the hospital. One day DD spit up blood and I freaked out. I couldn't even call the doctor I was so freaked. My dh had to do it. Turns out this is normal. My nipples were cracked and she just spit up some of my blood. Why didn't they tell us at the class this could happen?

 

For those having a csection, no one told me that even passing gas was not going to happen until about day 2. I was in agony.