Things they should tell you when/before you get pregnant:
1. That no matter what you think labor will be like, it won't and you'll hate it and wish that you'd never gotten pregnant (at least until you hold your baby, then all memories of how painful it was will pass).
2. Labor and delivery are so traumatizing to your body that when all is done you will shake like nobodies business and feel extremely cold.
3. Again, after it is all done you'll forget how hard and awful it was and all you'll be able to think about is how precious your baby is and how happy you are now.
4. Nursing is very difficult. Baby has to learn as well as you how to do it and it can be very frustrating for both of you and may end in tears on both ends as well.
5. No matter how healthy your baby is you will constantly be checking on him/her while he/she is sleeping to make sure your baby is still alive.
6. No matter how much you think you'll love the time to relax and take it easy for the first few weeks after baby is born, you will end up feeling like you have no time/energy to get things done and you will feel discouraged that your kitchen is a mess, or your floor needs vacuuming, etc.
7. You will NOT want daddy to go back to work and it may cause or add to a bout of depression when he does.
8. Everything that seems out of the ordinary will freak you out and cause you to call grandma in the middle of the night for advice on whether to call the doctor. Then in the morning you will call the doctor, still very worried, and find out that there is nothing to worry about.
9. Your appetite will not be what it was when baby was in your womb, but if you are breastfeeding then you will still need to eat regularly and very healthy.
10. You may think that it will be okay that baby wakes up lots during the night because daddy can help with that... the truth is that (if you are breastfeeding) he can't help and so there is no reason for him to get up and you may feel jealous of all the sleep he is getting.
11. The breast pump is a breastfeeding mother's best friend! Buy one! Rent one! or borrow one from a friend! You will not regret it!
12. Pitocin absolutely sucks! Do everything you can to avoid it. It will make your contractions extra painful.
13. As much as you may be tempted to drink castor oil in order to induce labor, don't do it! You will hate yourself later. It is a very very bad idea. Yes it works, but there is a price to pay and it isn't pleasant.
There are many other things that I am sure I will add later, but I can't think of them right now. Honestly, the thing that is most important out of all of these is this:
Breastfeeding is difficult. It can and most likely will be very frustrating. You will want to give up. You will feel like a failure when you can't get your baby to latch on and nurse. You might be up with your baby for 2+ hours just trying to get him to nurse and finally your baby will be exhausted and fall back to sleep and you will feel horrible that your baby is hungry but there seems to be nothing you can do about it. You may turn to a breast pump for help and then feel even more like a failure for giving up so easily. It will drain you emotionally and physically, especially if you really want to breastfeed. If you expect it to be easy, you will be devastated when it isn't. However, when your baby finally does latch on and nurses till he/she is full there is no greater joy and relief than to see how content he/she is.
Some comical notes on this:
I did try castor oil again, ignoring my own advice. I won't ever try it again. It didn't work this time.
The shaking I had last time was most likely due to the pitocin I had in my system, not my body going into shock. I didn't have pitocin this time and did not end up shaking or feeling so cold.
The breast pump is still, in my opinion, a mothers best friend. But I will also add that it can become your worst enemy too. Either you will love it because it is helpful, or you will hate it because it is time consuming and annoying.
2. Labor and delivery are so traumatizing to your body that when all is done you will shake like nobodies business and feel extremely cold.
3. Again, after it is all done you'll forget how hard and awful it was and all you'll be able to think about is how precious your baby is and how happy you are now.
4. Nursing is very difficult. Baby has to learn as well as you how to do it and it can be very frustrating for both of you and may end in tears on both ends as well.
5. No matter how healthy your baby is you will constantly be checking on him/her while he/she is sleeping to make sure your baby is still alive.
6. No matter how much you think you'll love the time to relax and take it easy for the first few weeks after baby is born, you will end up feeling like you have no time/energy to get things done and you will feel discouraged that your kitchen is a mess, or your floor needs vacuuming, etc.
7. You will NOT want daddy to go back to work and it may cause or add to a bout of depression when he does.
8. Everything that seems out of the ordinary will freak you out and cause you to call grandma in the middle of the night for advice on whether to call the doctor. Then in the morning you will call the doctor, still very worried, and find out that there is nothing to worry about.
9. Your appetite will not be what it was when baby was in your womb, but if you are breastfeeding then you will still need to eat regularly and very healthy.
10. You may think that it will be okay that baby wakes up lots during the night because daddy can help with that... the truth is that (if you are breastfeeding) he can't help and so there is no reason for him to get up and you may feel jealous of all the sleep he is getting.
11. The breast pump is a breastfeeding mother's best friend! Buy one! Rent one! or borrow one from a friend! You will not regret it!
12. Pitocin absolutely sucks! Do everything you can to avoid it. It will make your contractions extra painful.
13. As much as you may be tempted to drink castor oil in order to induce labor, don't do it! You will hate yourself later. It is a very very bad idea. Yes it works, but there is a price to pay and it isn't pleasant.
There are many other things that I am sure I will add later, but I can't think of them right now. Honestly, the thing that is most important out of all of these is this:
Breastfeeding is difficult. It can and most likely will be very frustrating. You will want to give up. You will feel like a failure when you can't get your baby to latch on and nurse. You might be up with your baby for 2+ hours just trying to get him to nurse and finally your baby will be exhausted and fall back to sleep and you will feel horrible that your baby is hungry but there seems to be nothing you can do about it. You may turn to a breast pump for help and then feel even more like a failure for giving up so easily. It will drain you emotionally and physically, especially if you really want to breastfeed. If you expect it to be easy, you will be devastated when it isn't. However, when your baby finally does latch on and nurses till he/she is full there is no greater joy and relief than to see how content he/she is.
Some comical notes on this:
I did try castor oil again, ignoring my own advice. I won't ever try it again. It didn't work this time.
The shaking I had last time was most likely due to the pitocin I had in my system, not my body going into shock. I didn't have pitocin this time and did not end up shaking or feeling so cold.
The breast pump is still, in my opinion, a mothers best friend. But I will also add that it can become your worst enemy too. Either you will love it because it is helpful, or you will hate it because it is time consuming and annoying.
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