Surprising Postpartum Symptoms

the easy lift. Instead of carting around a watermelon sized belly, you get to snuggle your tiny bundle of joy and savor that fresh baby sweetness and e l c figure out how to pee again, why your feet are so puffy and why that nurse keeps coming into your room pumping on your poor aching belly and calling it uterine massage. Even if you sail through pregnancy and have the easiest labor and delivery on record, and especially if you didn't, your body has been stretched and pushed to the max

and it needs a chance to recover. Let's face it, giving birth comes with more than a baby. It comes with a whole lot of new symptoms and new questions, wondering what you can expect when you're all finished expecting. Today, M and I are here to deliver the good, the bad, and the very unexpected about your postpartum recovery, whether you're still in the hospital, trying to rest up at home, or just trying to plan ahead so you'll be ahead

of the game. We've got your postpartum questions covered, so you know what to expect every step of the way. So as we all know by now, I didn't have a clue of what to expect until I wrote What to Expect, so everything was the rise. Now, Emma, what would you say surprise you most about postpartum? What were the physical symptoms that threw you for a loop? Okay, so I remember the first time I got out of bed, I looked in the mirror and I was like, holy shit,

my boobs look amazing. In my entire life, they had never looked this good. I mean, I guess maybe they hurt, but I didn't even care. I was like wow. Emotionally, with Lennox, I was like on euphoria. It was amazing. I was happy. I was like wow, for the first time in my life. I didn't use my phone, but with Sevy I was. I had horrible postparmed depression, so I didn't really even like him. Um, so I didn't really want to be around him. And I know that's hard to say. Now I can say it like and

be like, you know, this is my journey. But at first, obviously it's really hard to accept. But with Lennox it was completely different, and I was like, I got this. I think the only thing for me. I thought that right away my belly would be gone and it wasn't. And I remember I was like, wait a second, I

have these amazing boobs, but I also look pregnant. So so when I asked my Facebook moms what surprised them most about postpartum, one thing that I did here over and over again was, you know, I didn't expect breastfeeding to be that hard. I thought it was a natural process. It's just kind of come naturally. And so many moms said they regretted not taking a class or reading up in advance, because then they felt completely unprepared. You have thoughts on this, cop I do. I have a lot

of thoughts on this topic. Um. First of all, I couldn't breastfeed, and that was hard to accept with my first. With my second, I let it go easier. But I thought that was just like this most like organic thing on earth. But it wasn't in terms of classes. I did one lamas or whatever it's called class and I quit. I just couldn't do it, Like, I'm just not that person. So you asked the same question of your mom. There were some of the things that you heard. I heard

some really interesting ones that I've never actually heard before. Um, someone set their joints felt wobbly after birth. Yeah, that's the hormone relaxing, which is appropriately named so it's it loosens up all your ligaments, which is great when you're getting ready for childbirth because you want everything to be

all loosened up so baby can come out. But the flip side, it can take months for that relax and to leave the building, and in the meantime everything is so wobbly, and plus you've stretched everything out quite a bit while you're waiting for the relaxing to tighten back up again. You need to support yourself at least some of the time. With a belly band really takes the

pressure off. You're a big fan, love belly bandit. Okay, so this is actually really I had no idea this was a thing because I didn't have a C section. One of my followers said that they were bleeding even with a c section. Yep. So here's the thing. I thought that a lot of moms are super surprised. But the blood has accumulated during the nine months of pregnancy, the blood and the tissue that was, you know, keeping

your baby nourished in your uterine lining. So the thing is it only has one exit, only one way it can leave, and that's through your vagina. So whether you had a c section or you had a vaginal birth, that blood's gotta go. You're going to have heavy bleeding

at first clots, that's the tissue. I remember the first time I got out of bed after I had you and there was this gush of blood because of course when you're lying down, it all accumulates and then you stand up, and so be prepared for that um If you get home from the hospital and it started tapering off and then you notice is starting again, one thing to consider as your overdoing things and you need a little bit more rest. But if it continues to be or suddenly is very heavy or has a fell smell,

it just smell like a period. Otherwise, if you have any kind of sudden heavy bleeding, than definitely call your doctor right away or if you're still in the hospital, called the nurse um. A lot of people said that mommy brain was a thing. I know that's a thing because I sometimes like literally have to sit there and be like, okay, what is my name? Yep, yeah, so it's a thing. I get it. I feel you grow solidarity. No,

for sure, you know, of course it's the hormones. Your brain shrinks eight percent when you're pregnant, but it doesn't bounce right back, so there's sleep deprivation. There's lots of reasons why you're pouring your o J into your coffee or your coffee into your cereal. Okay, um, what about contractions while nursing in the first two weeks. These are called after pains, but you have them whether or not your breastfeed. You just feel them more intensely when you're breastfeeding.

That's because you're releasing oxytocin. And oxytocin is a hormone that helps your uterus contract after you give birth, and that's a good thing. You wanted to contract, but I mean,

you thought labor was over. These can be prettieddarn painful, and you're definitely going to notice the more after your second or third baby or subsequent babies, because just like you do with kicks and racks and hicks, everything sort of you know, as I like to say, has that lived in Look your uterus, your uterine muscles, your abdominal muscles, and so everything is more relaxed. So it can be

pretty painful. What about the pain of stitches? D I know, I know, and I had a basiotomies because that's what they did back in the day. Thankfully they don't do those routinely anymore. But you know, if you tear at all, you're going to have stitches. But the thing is, your baby is like what eight nine pounds, seven eight pounds, They're not going to pass through without leaving a mark, and it's gonna hurt, right, But if you have stitches,

think about it this way. It's a wound like any other and it's going to take time to heal um and like any stitches you have, they're gonna take time to heal. One thing you need to do is keep your hands off of it because a lot of moms want to touch to see how it's recovering. Don't do that. Leave it be, use your peri bottle, and I know which peribottle you like to recommend. It changes the game. Yeah, so the whole idea is to keep the area clean

without rubbing. You don't want to do rubbing. Something else you can try is a sits path, you know, or putting cold pax in your maxipads, some of them postpartum ND where it comes with cold pax. And then keegels. You're not going to feel them as you do them right away, but do them anyway because that's going to help tone the area and bring blood flow back, the good kind of blood flow back to your paraanegum um. And also sit on a doughnut pillar. I cannot recommend

that more. I literally would not go anywhere without my doughnut. It's saved me. Okay, what about all of those emotions? So many people talk about this, it's a big thing. Yeah, talk to me. So your emotions initially are going to be all over the map. I mean you could feel anything from just completely overwhelmed, um like who is this stranger sniffing at my breast? You can also feel like

over the moon excited. So there are all kinds of ways you can feel initially and we're going to talk about that a little bit later, but just be prepared to go with the flow at first. Okay, So, if you're wondering what to expect after delivery, postpartum is one of the most common trending topics in the what to Expect community, and one we ask for your biggest surprises of postpartum and your best tips for surviving and thriving.

You definitely were not shy about sharing. Now. A lot of people talked not fondly about the uterine massages or fundel massages um you get after delivery. Massage does sound like fun and you know, restorative after you've just given birth, and who doesn't like a good massage? But um, not so much with this kind it can hurt like a mother. Emma, do you remember that? Did I have one? Yeah? You

always have one. Sometimes moms only need one after after delivery, and sometimes depending on their needs, they might need more UM. And it's to help the u uterus contract and prove an excessive leading. I think it's coming back to me. I was so like freaked out after Sevy because I was so like just disconnected, so I don't really remember anything. Well, that's probably good in this case because my mom's report

as so painful. And you know, even if the nurse is super nice, you know they're coming in and they're pounding on your abdomen. It can hurt, and you're gonna have one, whether you have vaginal birth or c section. Now something else. I know you're super eager to talk about the first poop out. Okay, So this I remember because I was literally sitting on the toilet the whole entire time texting my friend. I was like texting her, I was like, it's coming. I'm scared. I'm scared. She's like,

just let it go. I'm like, yeah, I'm scared. It's good to her and she's like, just let it go. So and then afterwards looks like I did it and it doesn't feel great. But I remember, like there's a lot of blood. Yeah. Now, um. One thing that a lot of moms mentioned about their first poop is that the stool softener is your friend. Yea, So if they don't give it to you, and they will, but just in case they forget, make sure you ask for your

school softener. They're gonna give you some to take home with you, but just in case, have some at home, because the softer your school is going to be, clearly the easier it's going to be to push out and the less painful. Also, when you're on the potty, put a stool under your feet and lean forward, one of those called squatty potties. People like, yeah, I mean there's a product for everything. Um, And then you can use a little lubrication just like when your your baby's constipated,

so that it can slide out more easily. But even more importantly, get up as soon as you can and you're able, so that you can get literally things moving. Drink lots and lots of water, and those hospital carps are going to clog you up, so bring some healthy snacks, some something whole grain, some fruit, dried fruit, and try probiotics because those can definitely help and no harm. I think for me it was the wipe being that was

the situation, like the worst part of it. So that's why my little frieda baby Freedom Mom squirt bottle came in hand. You scored it, squired and then dab a little dabble, do you, yes, absolutely, and don't forget to wipe from front to back. That's important, especially when you're trying to prevent infection postpartum. Okay, now peeing because you

gotta pee. This is kind of ironic because you spent most of your pregnancy peeing and then you give birth and all of a sudden, like you feel like you can't pee, and they are on top of you at the hospital. Did you pee? Did you pee? How much did you pee? They want you to pee into a basin so they can measure your output. First of all, pee lying down is really hard. If you had an epidural, you had a casseter, so that's one thing um, and if you had a c section, everything's going to take longer,

but it regardless. Your poor bladder has taken a beating during labor and delivery, especially if you had a vaginal on birth, it may feel paralyzed. You also have a lot of swelling, and the swelling makes it harder to pee. The old tricks apply. Run some water because that can inspire you, run the faucet and also runs some water over your pareneum because that can inspire you as well. There are no secrets between you and your nurse, right, No,

They're going to see everything and here everything. So what were your p experiences? Emma. Um, see, the p doesn't really like stand out as much as the poo. It can burn, Yeah, definitely burn. So straddle you pee a drop and then it's like testing the water. So it's like putting your feet in the pool. It's I don't know, you gotta do with though. You don't want to like implode with pa. Well, no, and they won't let you

leave the hospital unless you're peeing normally. And so again, if you've had a catheter, they may have to reinsert it just to get the recipe out. But yeah, work on drinking lots of water. What about night sweats? Did you have night sweats? Girlfriend? I had all day sweats. Honestly, one mom said it was like someone dump buckets of water on her multiple times a night and she had to sleep on towels and changed the sheets through the night.

You have all of this accumulated fluid, which you may be happy to get rid of, but maybe that's not the number way you number one way you feel like getting rid of it, but you're gonna sweat so um. On kind of a related topic, women talked about being smelly. Okay, so first of all, there's lots of sources of smelliness after you give birth because there's the lochia. So that's like having your period, but you can't wear a tampon,

so you've got this big pad full of blood. You may be as soon as mal comes in any way, covered in spit up. You know. The other thing is that babies actually use their mom's scent as a honing device. So you know, your sweat is your baby's like radar. So because you're sweating a lot, and you have this distinctive odor around your armpits and your breasts, and that's why they tell you not to, you know, wash your breast with soap, among other things, but the baby is

actually attracted to that scent. Another postpartum surprise is hair loss for some moms anyway. You know, some moms expected to have him right away and then they think, oh, I you escape this entirely, and it really kicks in close sort of two to four months postpartum, and it gets really bad at four months. You know. Of course, that's because all you hold onto your hair during pregnancy annal with all those hormones, and then it's it's just got to go. So another thing that mom's talked about

was accepting their postpartum bodies. Um, what were your thoughts when you saw your postpartum body. I thought my TETs looked amazing. Um, I thought that my stomach looked like I've never seen it before. I've always been pretty like fit and so like after you have a baby, I was like, wait, whose stomach is this? But hey, it's mine. I remember crying on the floor of a Victory's secret pink dressing room because literally from that like mean girl quotes,

nothing fits me but swoopants. But that's so true, true everybody. And like as much as I tell people embrace it, embrace it, like I don't follow that advice, And um, that's so it's important to admit. Yeah, but I think other people look beautiful after the having the baby. I'm smart. You think you're just harder on yourself because that's just how we are operating. But for me, like when I see a mom with stretch marks or her tommy, I'm like, oh,

you know, you just made a baby. That's amazing. But if I see it myself, I'm like, it's hard to embrace it. But I feel like it's so important. Making babies hard work. Let's face it. You're creating a human being from scratch, and you've got the badges that you should wear proudly. And I feel like it's helping that moms are sharing their bodies on Instagram. Maybe not so much as the celebrity bodies because you know, maybe they had a trainer, but real mom bodies are good for

others to see. Now you're linear, Negra, the black lines. Still have it? You still have it. I love it. I love mine. It's still because at this point, because it fades, you know, months, you get it more after the second one. Sorry, faded. It's like my tattoo on my foot. It but it's still there, so I can still see mine, like if I really really really focus. It's like, you know, when you first have the first positive pregnancy test and you can barely see the exact

posting online. You do you see wine? I see one? Do you see a wine? But a lot of moms are surprised to be so puffy after they deliver, right, I was so puffy in my face. I looked like a cabbage patch doll. They're so cute though, So that's because, well, first of all, you had epidurals both times, and they pump you full of fluids. You can look super swollen

after you leave the hospital. Now, you just got to remember that if there's excessive swelling once you get home, and especially if it's above the near in places like you wouldn't normally expect swelling, then definitely call your doctor. But something I want to say about pregnancy weaking and how long it takes to lose it. I mean, we've said this before, you've heard this before, but it takes nine months to gain it, and you've got to give yourself at least that long to lose it. Oh at least.

I mean, you went right to get some new sweats, right, because I think maybe the ones you brought were too tight or yeah, I was in it to win it, you know, I was committed to the sweats. With the second one, I ordered extra large men's sweatpants because I was wearing a diaper. I don't need anything tight at that point. I need something loose. And you wanted high waisted, especially if you had a C section, because I was gonna put pressure on the scar. But lounge pants, you

need the tie. You need the tie. Wi yeah, yeah, yeah. So um. Many moms reported loving their new boobs. We already heard that you loved yours, and then a lot of them said they love their stretch marks. I love when people on Instagram poster stretch marks and add like glitter to it. Oh so cute. What were some of the things that mom's told you were the most helpful or that you found the most helpful postpartum? That freed

the baby, That freed the baby. Score bottle saved me because it's got that curved head and it really gets in there, and plus you can use it afterwards as like a bi day, So there's um. Some practical things that moms on Instagram were all about. Breast gel pads really smart, the ones that you can cool and warm. Disposable underwear. That's a must because the last thing you want to do is like scrub panties that have blood and after birth, when you're dealing with any born um

help really important. Having someone cook meals for you, like a family member, family support. You know a lot of things people love having, Like the gift is food delivery. Food delivery service. Maybe someone gives it to you for a week so you don't have to worry about breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Just gus on your grown family. Also the gift of being able to rest, having somebody watch the baby, let you nap off and on a few times a day.

My two picks are the freedom the underwear and they donut Donut And I feel like many moms were all about the nipple butter. Yes, yeah, but I feel it has to be said that some moms really wanted their space and felt COVID was a blessing in disguise. I'm sure our silver lining because you didn't have a thousand people hovering over you gives you some uninterrupted bonding time. Now, one thing I have to say is that you've got to listen to your body, because your body is going

to tell you when it's time to slow down. It's going to tell you if something's not quite normal. Because most of the symptoms you're gonna get postpartum are normal, the vast majority are normal. But they can be super uncomfortable, they can be super annoying. But when you have a doubt about symptom, I can't emphasize this enough. This is the first time you're gonna be using your mom gut if you feel something's wrong, if the bleeding seems too excessive.

If you are in a lot of pain, if you have a blood pressure cuff and you notice your blood pressure is elevator, you have a racing heartbeat, trouble breathing, chest pain, leg pain, lots of excessive swelling, make sure you call the doctor right away. And I want to

add something really fast. I think that you know, especially you mom Um, you're very like you don't want to bother anybody, but I feel like it's important in this situation, Like for me, Um, I'm sure if you guys follow me, you know the time I saved lenox is life because I had mom intuition. If I hadn't bugged the doctor on a Sunday, Lenox wouldn't be here today. And the

same thing goes for your own health. And I think it's very important to always listen to that little voice in your head, even if it's wrong, because what if it is right exactly And even if that doctors initially or the nurse initially says, oh, that's just that comes with postpartum. Yeah, don't sweat it. But if you are sure something is not right, then get it checked out. That's what they said to me at first. With Box, you're like, oh, it's some fine, it's fine. I'm like, no,

it's not. Let me send you a picture. And that's when they said get to the hospital now. So I'm saying you always trust that exactly. So now, emotionally, it's also good to know what to expect. Almost every mom has some form of baby blues, right, I mean, I'm sure you even had a little bit with Lennox. I definitely did with you. I was weepy, but I was overwhelmed. It was like normal crash of hormones. But there's a big difference between baby blues and other kinds of mood disorders.

So baby blues fade within two weeks. They usually come on right away if you have feelings and I know you want to speak to this as well, but if you have feelings of anxiety, depression, rage, obsessive or scary thoughts, flashbacks to a traumatic delivery, even a fear that you might hurt yourself or your baby, And if those fears come on any time after delivery, anytime in the first year even or sometimes it can come on after you

wean your baby. And if they persist, or if they're really scary right from the start, you're not able to function, You're not able to love on your baby or get sleep or food. Get checked out immediately, because postpartum mood disorders are real. Am you want to weigh in well? Also, I said, I don't want you to feel embarrassed. Um, I know that you know I've had postparmed depression. And yes, it's hard to ask for help. So I just think it's important to overcome the sticks stigma because you know,

it should be completely normal as it is. It should not have a stigma because you know it happens to more people than they would probably like to admit. At least one in eight women have some kind of postpartum mood disorder. Those are the ones who report it, so imagine what the true number is. It's probably far higher. So and it can take any form. If you don't feel like yourself, and if it's more than just being overtired sleep deprivation hormones, please please please check in with

the doctor right away. Um, reach out for that help that you need. Someone actually on my Instagram said that they had it during delivery, before the baby is even born, they started getting depression. Well, you're gonna have it during pregnancy, so and that puts you at higher risk postpartum. So anytime you feel it during pregnancy postpartum, even if you have a history before you're pregnant, make sure you let your doctor know. So, Emma, do you have any other

advice you want to give to postpartum moms? I do coffee, coffee, coffee and coffee. But walk before you run, you know, take your time. It's new, it's beautiful, but it's also scary, and it's unknown territory. And here's the thing. Your mind might not be able to wrap its head around it, but your body knows what to do, and we'll take the reins. Amen. That's beautiful. Well, you know my advice by now, stop and smell the babies, push pause, and

don't forget to take care of yourself. That's actually one of the best ways you can take care of your baby. So enjoy the baby in your postpartum And we love you, love you athletics Mommy and Heidi because it's because they're great. They're just really nice to me. You really love me. What does mommy do for work? Jim podcast and makes it really weird and cool? You want to say hi, huh oh baby, belove my Baby below. I need you, Oh how I need you. Thanks for listening. Remember I'm

always here for you. What to Expect is always here for you. We're all in this together. For more on what you heard on today's episode, visit what to Expect dot com slash podcasts. You can also check out What to Expect when You're Expecting, What to Expect the First Year, and the What to Expect app. And we want to hear from you. Connect with us on our community message board or on our social media. You can find me at Heidi Murkoff and Emma at Emma bing wt E,

and of course at What to Expect. Baby Love is performed by Riley Peterer. What to Expect is a production of I Heart Radio. From more shows from I Heart Radio check out the I Heart Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever. Listen to your favorite shows in my Arms Right, Don't You Stay, Knija Knejo, Baby Love, Baby Lo