Thank you so much for your congratulations and good wishes on the birth of our daughter! We are having a great time getting to know her. My main focus has been nursing, as it really hurt the first several days (we're talking toe-curling pain), but we're doing much better now that the lactation consultant has come to help. The sore and cracked nipples don't bother the baby at all, though, and she's feeding great!
I haven't had a chance to write out the birth story yet, but in a nutshell: I made it through 19 hours drug-free! Afterwards my husband and I were discussing it, and we realized that despite all of my research on the subject, there were a lot of things that we didn't know about labor! Here's what we came up with.
Things My Husband Learned About Childbirth:
- Books are nice, but you don't have any idea what labor is about until you see it.
- Even though the books say labor can be painless, it can't.
- Doctors can be accommodating for a natural birth, but afterwards they just want to get things done.
- Keeping a woman motivated through labor is tough! Make sure she eats and has enough rest before the hard labor begins.
- Pushing really is like pooping.
Things I Learned About Childbirth:
- There's something to be said for trying to induce naturally. We tried several things on Saturday and labor started that night! Coincidence? We'll never know.
- Just because all your mother's labors were short doesn't mean yours will be. It's best not to count on that or you'll be mystified as to why it's taking so long.
- Labor is painful. It's not that I really thought it would be painless. But I didn't realize just how much it would hurt once I made it to 7 centimeters. The good news is, the first stage really was more of just intense pressure but not actual pain. But transition and second stage really were painful. Just a heads up.
- A change in nurses can be a godsend. I was really dreading the shift change because I really liked my first nurse. But the second nurse was just what we needed: a no-nonsense lady who really helped us to get out of transition and into pushing.
- You really do just want it out. I was always a bit turned off when I heard women say things like "Just get it out of me!" And yet by the end of my labor I was desperately asking "Why isn't she out yet?!"
- How much blood there would be. It was everywhere afterwards! This was probably a bit worse in my case because I tore really bad.
- The pain doesn't necessarily end with the birth. Having your stomach mashed to get the placenta out and especially getting stitched up afterwards hurt. But at least you've gotten to hold your baby by then and you can watch your husband enjoying his first moments of fatherhood.
Is there anything about babies that you didn't (or couldn't) know until you experienced it?