What to Expect After Giving Birth

There are so many lovely things about motherhood...recovering from childbirth is not one of them. After delivering a cantaloupe through your vagina things are just...different. I'm not here to share any horror stories or be too graphic that you are nauseous but I want to inform you, as a friend, on what is gonna happen to your body.

But first of all, perhaps most of all, let me remind you that despite your seemingly misshapen form, poor self image, feeling gross or just plain exhausted...

That you are beautiful beyond words.

You are a mother now. 

Learn to embrace yourself in all your flaws. You grew & birthed a child which is an amazing miracle. A gift.

A profound life moment that won't be robbed by your self image. Don't let that take the shine from this momentous occasion.

5 Things to Expect After Giving Birth

1. Directly after birthing your child you will feel like a Damn Warrior! It's sincerely true. Giving birth is the singular most powerful event in your life. Whether you birthed naturally or have interventions- birth is pure, raw, life giving amazing-ness. Despite the long, arduous labor- the end result is magical. I had the miracle of having a natural hospital birth. The high that I experienced after 21 hours of laboring and 2 hours of pushing was the greatest thrill of my life. It was better than any mountain I climbed, even more powerful than my wedding. (Don't tell my husband ;)) It's the ultimate climax to the long awaited pregnancy that seems like it will never end. YOUR BABY in your HANDS! Beautiful.
2. You will wear an adult diaper and love it. And you will even have someone come "change" you. Yep. It's for real. After vaginal birth you may or may not have some tearing between your vagina and rectum. It is normal, it is ok. You will heal eventually. I had a small internal tear that required a few stitches so I got off easy (DO YOUR KEGELS & SQAUTS LADIES). After birth you change into a new gown and are given lovely adult diaper-like mesh underwear. The best part is that they are disposable. In the first 24 hours ANGELS FROM ON HIGH aka POSTPARTUM NURSES (all nurses really) come and check on your wore out vagina. They make sure that you are comfortable, healing, checking on your bleeding and then teach you how to care for your sweet lady parts. They coached me to the bathroom along with my husband and encourage you to use your vagina again. Before leaving the hospital I recommend you LOAD UP on them. No shame. Put them on your baby shower gift registry even. They are a treat to your postpartum self. Seriously, every woman who has used these magical underwear would agree. :)
3. You will be terrified of peeing or pooping. After leaving the hospital with your postpartum goodie bag including some extra pairs of those fabulous mesh diapers, a squirt bottle (cause ya ain't wiping your vagina for awhile) and hopefully something to help relieve that healing burn. I used witch hazel and made an Undie Sunday. Yes I said it. Freaking banana split for your vagina. See here for a how to make an Undie Sunday. Before leaving the hospital the nurses have encouraged you to pee and if your really super brave...to poop. Most the time it's difficult to poop at first because you'd probably already relieved your bowels on the delivery table. Or just plain constipated. You will feel like you are giving birth all over again when you successfully deliver that first poo. #proudmoment For more Postpartum Vag Care tips read The Bumps Crotch Care 101 Article.
4. You will have things coming out of your postpartum vagina and no it's not an internal organ. I was fortunate enough to have a close friend of mine warn me about this and thank God otherwise I would have been terrified. After a vaginal delivery or C-section, you'll experience a vaginal discharge called lochia (sounds like a mythical beast!) which consists of leftover blood, mucus, and sloughed-off tissue from the lining of the uterus. LOVELY RIGHT?! For me I had quite a bit of bleeding and the first shower was pretty scary with all the stuff coming out. But again, all a part of the healing process. It's good that your body is expelling the leftovers. Just load up on pads (or if your like me you asked your amazing postpartum nurse to hook you up with those amazing mesh diaper underwear, see #2) and just wait it out. If, however, you think your bleeding is excessive, let your practitioner know ASAP.
5. Sex will sound like the worst idea ever. Your practitioner will advise that you wait 6 weeks to start sex again, which is usually the time when you revisit the practitioner for your postpartum check up. After delivering a baby outta that region you don't even want to touch it. I had a friend tell me- "Don't- for the love of God- look down there." And she was right. I was freaked out even wiping my vagina let alone letting something IN my vagina. Now, you may be different. I have friends who were on hyper drive because they hadn't had sex in so long being pregnant! I even had a friend tell me this hilarious story from her mother who was a Labor and Delivery Nurse who walked in on a couple having sex 24 hours after the baby was born in their postpartum recovery room! So perhaps you might be ready! After I got the 6 week post check up green light from my doctor my husband and I celebrated that night by having some pumped breast milk available, a bottle of wine and LOTS of lube. Take it easy. Take it slow. Do what feels right. For hilarious and helpful post baby sex tips I recommend reading this article by Buzzfeed.

Just know that you are surrounded by a sisterhood of women called mothers and we are here to support and encourage you. For example, don't know if you have seen the now famous photo of the mom post partum in the hospital wearing the fabulous mesh undies, being real, raw and proud of her hard work! Love the dad's supportive grin!!! For the full article read here.

Repeat after me: I am beautiful. I am a mother. I will heal. I am a goddess.