Healing: I had 3 minor tears during delivery- none of which were my perineum- classified as level 2 because they required stitches to make sure they heal correctly. My stitches haven't really bothered me this whole time. They itch a little from time to time. I put a mirror down there about a week after birth and honestly- it was nowhere near as disturbing as i thought. i put a mirror down there yesterday and it looks pretty much how it looked before i gave birth. I am 6 lbs heavier than my pre-pregnancy weight (and trust me, 2-4 of that is these snazzy new boobs baby gave me) However, I have to tell you, I fractured my tailbone giving birth. That's right, I had everything easy BUT I BROKE MY ASS! So, it's been 5 weeks and I am still in pain, my entire buttcrack is black and blue, and my tailbone shifts and pops when i sit wrong. I can walk and everything, sitting it just not very comfortable.
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| 1 month-Baby's First Halloween. My rock hard abs have not returned, but for the most part, my body returned to what it was in the second trimester- before my belly popped. |
Birth Weight: I really beat myself up about his weight loss in those first 3 days. It made me feel inadequate or like a bad mom- like i was failing. Sage nurses and bottlefeeds like a champ and i make plenty of milk. Turns out, studies are popping up everywhere showing that babies whose moms were given IV fluids (they gave me 3L, i assume because my water was broken when i arrived.) during labor basically get waterlogged and have bigger weight losses after birth, both because of the extra fluid during initial weight and because the fluid acts as a diuretic filling extra diapers those first few days. My hospital at no point pushed formula or suggested supplementation(but my hospital is anti-formula), but i want you to know- that first week is ok. Sage lost 12% of his body weight in those first 3 days (15oz- almost a whole pound!) and his bilirubin was a little high. I ate lactation cookies and drank milk tea, and just felt desperate. It turns out that a lot of iv fluid babies average a loss of 8%-10% rather than the 5%-7% they quote. By week 1, despite the books, i pumped and gave him bottles and i so do not regret that. He will nurse or bottlefeed, and it's exactly the same nutrition no matter how he gets it, but Daddy got to join in, grandparents and later close friends got to join in on that experience. AND mommy got to sleep. My husband and i already have different schedules because of his work hours, but i get to sleep from midnight-8am or 2am-10am and that is a glorious thing. Try not to take weight loss personally, and not to worry.
Gas: Our baby (lots of babies) has a lot of gas. We burp him, but gas is just a part of life. We do give him gas drops after every bottle feeding, and gripe water when he gets hiccups, but babies magic tea and happi tummi hot pack have been most helpful. Of course, babies just know that when their tummy hurts eating makes them feel better- which does not hold true for gas. Sometimes i let him nurse, but if he just ate i don't need to overfill his belly. We do pacifiers, and he finds it very comforting to snuggle a boob with anything in his mouth, he likes sucking on something and feeling warm skin- the pacifier creates that comfort zone without overfilling his tummy.
