It hasn't been an easy ride. From someone who used to not function well without 8 hours of sleep, to "2 hours of uninterrupted sleep and I'm good for the day" Yup, I kid you not. 101% attention isn't even enough. But heck, my little princess cracking a smile already makes up for the tiredness.
LABOR
- Its true, every woman has a different experience with labor. Asking your friends for their experience won't explain it. Asking my best friend has made me expect a spine-breaking pain but actually, your labor depends on your pain tolerance. I was in labor for 15 hours but I roughly felt anything until an hour before the delivery when they broke my water and let me tell you, I felt half-dead. It was excruciating--even with an epidural.
- Some say they felt their child's head actually pushing its way out but I honestly didn't feel Athena come out. I just kept pushing and waiting for my OB to say she's out. I was even ready to push once more until one of the nurses said my daughter was so small.
- A nurse pounded me.. Kidding, she actually helped pushing Athena out by applying pressure on my tummy.
- You bleed. A lot. 3-4 maternity pads isn't enough for a day on the first few days.
- They use a hot light called a perilight to slightly speed up your healing stitches. (Loved this)
- Sit up for 30 minutes first before getting up. You may feel like you can stand up immediately but heck no. I felt like total jelly.
- Epidurals don't wear off fast. It took me two days to completely feel everything again. Oh and a side effect of it wearing off is itching.
- Your first pee and first dump is scary. Remember when they put alcohol in your wounds? well how would pee feel... on a wound down there? Whats even cringing to think of is knowing that pee is dirty acid oh and taking a dump? Risky. You can pop your own stitches. (TIP: EAT FRUITS THAT SOFTENS YOUR POOP. Papaya, dragonfruit)
- A newborn's poop is black for the first 3-4 days
- First and foremost, post partum is real. Talking to my friends have helped. Really. (S/O to my best friend, wife/husband and mother rolled into one. Hi Ell <3)
- Once the remains of their umbilical cord comes out, you wrap them in a binder. Most of the time, they get caught up with poop.
- THEIR FAVORITE BED WILL BE YOUR CHEST.
- When you're breastfeeding, nipple cream is your best friend. (Alternative: petroleum jelly)
- Breastfeeding makes you eat so much. (Been told that seafood and soup strengthens your milk production. I've been eating-- DROWNING myself in so much mussels lately)
- Infants turn yellow. They call it jaundice. An hour under the morning sun helps wear it off. Vitamin D, yo.
- You'll end up having alarms every 2-3 hours. Newborns need to be fed and checked on a lot. Especially girls. Diaper checking is a must every now and then. They're more prone to developing UTI this early.
- Athena had something that looked like a pimple at 2 weeks. When I had it checked, it was germs from being kissed on the forehead. Now I run a policy with my brothers to never kiss her even on the forehead
- Bathing is scary. Naked, slippery, fragile newborn + bathroom floor.
- You are never fast enough. Athena hates having her diaper changed and cries the entire process until I'm done and I pick her up again.
- DO NOT AND I MEAN DO NOT LET YOUR BABY GET USED TO BEING CARRIED. As much as I love hugging Athena all the time, they adapt too easily and will get used to it a bit too much. THEY WILL CRY EVERY TIME YOU PUT THEM DOWN.
- Baby Einstein: Beethoven and Mozart. Though it has made me drowsy too, it never fails to help out in making my little princess sleepy (Athena falls asleep to Louis Armstrong's La Vie En Rose too)
- If you breastfeed, you leak.
- At 4 weeks, they start experimenting with their body parts such as their hands. Athena's been putting her hand around me as if offering a hug whenever she's being nursed.
- Setting them on their cribs is seriously like putting down a bomb.
- Their sleeping patterns change a lot. What I do to make sure Athena eats on time, is control her sleeping schedule. Although she tends to stay up at night a lot.
- Sleep along with them. You need just as much rest to attend to them.
Indeed the ability to breastfeed is a blessing. Apart from being able to save money and it being economical, it also lowers the risk of babies getting sick easily. Formula milk have higher sugar levels too. Learning this fact, I found myself more dedicated to nurse Athena. Currently, I'm also creating a milk stash for her. I seriously scrolled through Chesca Tonson-Bitangcol's posts just to find her post about her stash and I was motivated to start my own.
Fun Fact: Freezing your pumped milk makes it last up to 6 months.
Additional:
I keep 2 apps on my phone so I'd know what Athena's weekly development is probably capable of doing. Check it out! It's called Baby Center and Ovia Parenting. (I've had Baby Center since I was 12 weeks pregnant. I didn't expect that their guidance wasn't just during the pregnancy but even throughout the first few months!)
I keep 2 apps on my phone so I'd know what Athena's weekly development is probably capable of doing. Check it out! It's called Baby Center and Ovia Parenting. (I've had Baby Center since I was 12 weeks pregnant. I didn't expect that their guidance wasn't just during the pregnancy but even throughout the first few months!)
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