When I was expecting my first baby, I asked anyone and everyone for whatever insights they were willing to share. Here is a summary of advice on recovery post birth and breastfeeding, along with other information I learned along the way and wished someone had shared. The reality is … nothing can truly prepare you for birth, because the experience is uniquely yours. But I am certain you will recognize certain bits of your story here. And I am forever grateful to all of the moms who imparted their lessons learned.
Part 1 . Preparing for Birth
Part 2 . Birth
Part 3 . Post Birth and Breastfeeding
Part 4 . Other Baby Tips
Part 3 Post Birth and Breastfeeding
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- Laughing! Sneezing! Coughing! It’s all challenging. Try to avoid. I jest, but seriously, you’ll see what I mean. All of the muscles are weak and you need to rebuild your strength. Remember my note about preparing your body prior to birth? The same exercises will help you recover post birth. Check-out BirthFIT and functional breathing.
- If you are experiencing pain or pelvic floor dysfunction beyond what feels like a “typical recovery period,” I highly recommend seeing a physical therapist. Look for someone who specializes in post partum. When I gave birth to Big, I damaged my hip. I lived with severe pain for over a month – there were moments where I couldn’t raise my right leg more than an inch off the ground. And the pain wasn’t abating. All of my doctors kept telling me to “Give it time” and “Everyone recovers at different rates.” I finally sought the care of a physical therapist who diagnosed the injury and prescribed a treatment plan. Within weeks the pain was gone, and I was back on the up and up.
- You will fear your first poop. Take the stool softener that the hospital offers. Starting immediately after birth and throughout the healing process, I drank a smoothie with a ton of greens each day. I no longer feared my poop.
- Birth pushes your relationship to a whole new level (and it’s not just the stress of taking care of a completely helpless human being). Like I said earlier, birth is messy. Expect to let it all hang out. Your Other just may need to do almost everything for you. This includes helping you get underwear on … which means seeing that your lady parts looks like a hotdog bun. Yes, I am being serious. Hot. Dog. Bun.
- Amazon Subscribe & Save = convenience and discounts. Have your first delivery before your due date. We like Bambo Nature diapers, Jackson Reece wipes, Babo Botanicals lotion and body wash. All are recommended by Gimme the Good Stuff, a blog dedicated to helping parents avoid toxic products and simplifying the idea of “natural” products (check-out their review of the wipes, diapers, lotion, and body wash. You can also buy directly from their online shop.)
On Breastfeeding
- Breastfeeding burns a ton of calories . . . I never woke up hungry in the middle of the night while pregnant, but I do now. Stock some bars and other snacks by the bed. Drink lots of water.
- Our one and only EXTREMELY long night was our first night home after the hospital. My milk hadn’t fully come in yet, and we didn’t realize it. Big was hungry (starving!) and giving us all the signs. We ended up supplementing with formula for about 36 hours. Don’t be afraid to supplement a couple feedings (we used a dropper the hospital provided), while your milk supply comes in. Breastfeed first to encourage your milk supply, then follow-up with a bit of formula. Happy baby = happy first time parents. HERE is what Gimme the Good Stuff has to say on formula.)
- There are lots of positions to breastfeed. Most importantly, make sure Baby’s head is facing forward and aligned with the spine (meaning the head isn’t turned to one side, while the shoulders face a different direction). Look to your right or left and try to swallow, and you’ll immediately understand why. Baby’s body should be directly facing your body (tummy to tummy).
- Always offer both breasts during each feed, and alternate which breast you start with.
- If Baby is hungry, you’ll see Baby root, open mouth and the tongue will protrude. Try to catch before Baby has a nuclear meltdown.
- For a proper latch, place your nipple deep in Baby’s mouth. Do NOT let Baby suck on the tip of your nipple (PAIN). To encourage a proper latch, angle your nipple to Baby’s nose. If Baby doesn’t open wide naturally, stroke your nipple from the bottom of the lip to the bottom of the chin to prompt Baby’s mouth open. With a strong latch, you can see the top and bottom lip around your nipple (sort of like a fish face). If you don’t, sweep your finger under the lip and pull it out. We called it the “lip flip.” I also notice it is painful when Baby sucks, if Baby isn’t doing the fish lips.
- The latch is important. If it hurts after the first few sucks, re-latch. To de-latch Baby, take your pinky and insert it in the side of the mouth to break the seal. With Big, BFing was super easy, with Little, not so much. I was surprised that two kids from the same parents could yield such different BFing experiences. If you can’t seem to perfect the latch, look into tongue and/or lip ties. I’m certain Little had a lip tie, which made BFing tough . . . but we adapted and it’s easy now.
- Listen for Baby’s swallows – it is a soft “cah” sound.
- You can help move the milk supply by “expressing” your breast – take your fingers at the edge of your breast and move them toward your nipple. On occasions where I experienced clogged ducts, I found doing this while breastfeeding relieved the issue. Note, it is painful, but the relief is nearly immediate.
- If you’re experiencing pain at the tip of your nipple and you see a white “blister” on the end, you’re likely experiencing a nipple bleb or milk blister. This was a rather common occurrence with Little. I noticed once the nipple bleb was eliminated, the pain goes away almost immediately.
- If the baby is gasping, clicking, or having trouble latching, you might have a fast letdown or the baby could have tongue tie. There are solutions for both of these (I found Kelly Mom super helpful). Baby will eventually be able to handle the fast letdown, but it is frustrating in the beginning.
- Your breasts let down spontaneously. You can wear pads, but I preferred Lily Padz (and bonus … you can use these with backless dresses post breastfeeding).
- Pumping is what I’d describe as a necessary evil. It is absolutely the least sexy experience your breasts will ever endure.
- If you plan to pump, you do not have to take the breast pump the hospital offers. Call your insurance and ask what breast pumps they cover. In addition, they’ll often give you a credit to use for the breast pump of your choosing. Many new moms I know swear by Willow.
- To easily store and feed breast milk, we loved Kiinde. You can pump directly into the bags that are then inserted into the bottle. Bonus that you can transition the bags from holding breast milk to holding baby purees.
- Understand the signs of low milk supply.
- BFing is a beautiful experience. I warn you, however, your nipples will never be the same again. This seems to be a fairly consistent experience.
Like all of my posts tied to the birthing process, I’ll close with what I believe to be the most important advice. Trust your intuition. Every baby is different. People will constantly give you unsolicited advice. Take what works for you … and to hell with the rest. (Big smile … I do see the humor in this statement.)
